Kane vs. Cherepanov

[markzab]

http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=347096

It's a thread on our Flyers board. It seems to have turned into a Kane vs. Cherepanov debate. I thought some opinions from the rest of the HF community on this would be interesting.

Click to read more...

 

[montreal]

http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=347096

It's a thread on our Flyers board. It seems to have turned into a Kane vs. Cherepanov debate. I thought some opinions from the rest of the HF community on this would be interesting.

I think your going to have a hard time getting solid opinions on Cherepanov for the most part, since most will likely only have seen him at the wjc's except for people from Russia. Add to it the probelms with the RHF, which as the article from the flyers beat writer states that the Caps and Pens didn't let it effect their decision to take AO and Malkin, but what the writer overlooks or forgets is that the problem wasn't as big of a deal during June 2004 since the existing deal between the NHL-IIHF wasn't up until later that summer I believe plus there hadn't be a flat out refusal to sign at the time of the '04 draft like we have recently seen.

On the other hand, there was some talk that things between the NHL/IIHF/Russian Federation was improving. I dont' know how true that is, and who's to say if a new deal will end up getting done this summer, when the current contract expires.

The writer also says that the Flyers should not even consider it as a problem,

So the transfer agreement should not be a stumbling block for the Flyers. Not even a consideration, to be honest. It always works out.

Personally I think that is a mistake, as you should always take all factors into consideration. I'm not saying don't pick him, I'm saying that the Flyers are making an investment, and when making an investment you need to balance all the risk factors with each investment.

I would be happy if my team ended up with either Kane or Cherepanov. The problem is, you never know how many shots you will get at drafting 1 or 2 overall. It would be a massive blunder if a team were to select Cherepanov and then he ends up not coming over. Not that I think it would happen, but it's a risk that is at least there to a degree, that you won't have with other players.

I was more impressed with Cherepanov at the wjc's, so I'd lean towards him but Kane is highly skilled too. In addition with Kane he's a late '88 so that means he only has to play in the OHL for 1 year. He can jump to the AHL after next season since he'll turn 20 in november of the following year in '08-'09. But with Cherepanov he's already playing against men, and doing well, so if there's no problems bringing him over then he might be able to jump into the AHL since there's no age limit.

Now if I were the flyers and ended up with the 1st overall pick, I would think long and hard about Karl Alzner. I know that many will likely not be happy with that since defensemen usually don't go 1st overall (save for EJ last year) but I personally like Alzner a lot and having Parent and Alzner would give the team 2 very good D prospects. Plus Alzner like Kane is a late '88 so you could start to develop him after one more year in the dub since he turns 20 in september, just missed last years draft by 9 days. Perhaps something could be worked out with LA or teams around the Flyers to see who they want, perhaps drop down a spot and pick up another asset at the same time.

But it's just a thought, it's a tough year to really try and figure what will happen come draft day, add to that the draft is still 4 months away, so a lot can happen between now and then.