Pavels Dog
Registered User
It's not really an excuse, more like context. A lot of our draft picks from 00-05 set the stage for the 08 cup. Filppula, Hudler, Franzen, Helm. In addition to Kronwall in 00. A larger focus on d-man drafting during those years could have cost us that cup. Despite that, they did find Ericsson and Quincey which is a solid turnout. And they used the only 1st rounder they had since 00 on Kindl, and the next 1st rounder on Smith. A sign they knew what was coming and were preparing for it. Just a shame neither player worked out like we hoped but at the time they looked like solid picks.I'd certainly argue it should have been. Rafalski and Lidstrom didn't hit 40 overnight. You can make all the excuses you'd like, but other teams have found some gems in the mid rounds with defenseman and we have nothing to show for ourselves in a pretty big time frame.
And I don't blame our scouts much for not finding those late-round gems. There are so few, and it's basically like winning the lottery when you find them.