Questions on European Prospects

I've got a couple questions on the overall crop of European prospects eligible in this summer's draft (some might be considered stupid, so save the smart aleck answers!).

1) Aside from Ovechkin (sp?) who are definite and/or likely players to go in the first round among the Europeans?

2) Overall how do the Europeans look in comparison to the North Americans in this summer's draft? (combining CHL with NCAA and US/Canadian developmental leagues such as the USHL and BCHL here)

3) Is this year's crop an excellent crop, say compared to the 2003 draft? if so, does one league(s)/country(s) stand out more than the others? If so, which ones and why? (and please keep national biases to the side).

4) What (approximate) percentage of Europeans would you say will be taken in the first 3 or 4 rounds?

When answering these questions, please provide position, team and (if it is not obvious) what league they play in. This will immesely help in my on-going research project.

Thanks in advance.

 

The other big name is Evgeny Malkin from Russia. He is almost a full year younger than AO and could have just as much upside as him. he should be 2nd pick

Alexander Radulov, Igor's little brother, will go first round.

Rotislav Olesz from Czech is slated now at either 3rd or 4th pick

Wojtech Wolski(Canada by way of Poland) has a great shot and offensive skills could be in the top 10.

Lauri Tukonen is rated on some lists ahead of Olesz.

Those are the big names i know, feel free to add names or scouting(would be apreciated by me as well).

 

1) Malkin, Olesz, Schwarz, Tukonen should all be top 10 picks I assume. Guys like Smid, Radulov, Meszaros, Lisin, Kasper, Sindel, Nokelainen, Fransson, Hedman, Voloshenko, Soderberg, Lyamin, Korpikoski, Gracik should all be top 40-50 picks, tough to say which ones will be late 1st rounders or early 2nd rounders. Sorry for so many names, but it's hard for me to cut out some over others as I havent' seen many of them yet.

2) Wow thats a tough one, but I'd say it's in the Euro's favor. They have the top 2 players in this draft, the top goalie (imo), and several good players. I can't say overall but in the early rounds I think the Euro prospects will be more in favor unless the impending IIHF/NHL deal causes a problem.

But for arugements sake, I'll list the 1st rounders for the NCAA/CHL/US. Barker, Schremp, Wolski, Ladd, Thelen, Stafford, Picard, Valabik (euro but plays in OHL), Graham, O'Neil, Pineault, Wheeler, Schneider, Berti, Chipchura, McGrath, Bolland, Green, Zajac. All could be top 40-50 picks again.

3) No this draft to me is more like 2002, in that there are good players but the depth isn't there from last year. But last year could turn out to be one of the better drafts ever. As for which league/country, tough call. The WHL is looking good with some big defensemen, while the QMJHL may have one of their worst drafts. Russia certainly looks to be the top country but again the problems with the IIHF deal could cause gms to reconsider their picks perhaps. (I have no idea what effect if any it will have just guessing) Russia has some big top scorers in Ovechkin, Malkin, Radulov, Linsen, Voloshenko and defensemen Lyamin, who seem to be getting a lot of buzz. But the Czech's also have a number of impressive prospects as well.

4) Wow another tough one. It's really hard to say, I'd guess and say around 50% or so or maybe 60-40 for Euro's. I would say it would be higher for Euro's in the 1st round, but after that it becomes difficult to say who will be picked where.


I'll list all the players I named,

Malkin- C Magnitogorsk RSL
Olesz- C Vitkovice Czech
Schwarz- G Sparta Czech
Tukonen- RW Esspo sm-liiga
Smid- D Liberec Czech
Radulov- RW ? High league or 1st league ??
Meszaros- D trencin Slovakia
Lisin- RW Dynamo 1st league
Kaspar- RW Litvinov Czech
Sindel- C Sparta Czech
Nokelanien- C ?? finish league tier-2 ??
Fransson- D SEL
Hedman- D SEL
Voloshenko- LW 1st league?
Soderberg- C Malmo SEL
Lyamin- D CSKA/CSKA-2 RSL/1st league
Korpikoski- LW TPS sm-liiga
Gracik- RW Topo Slovakia ??

Barker- D Medicine hat WHL
Schremp- C London OHL
Wolski- LW Brampton OHL
Ladd- LW Hitmen WHL
Picard- LW Lewiston QMJHL
Valabik- D Kitchner OHL
Graham- C Moncton QMJHL
Wheeler- C Breck USHS
Schneider- G Andover
Berti- LW Oshawa OHL
Chipchura- C Prince Albert WHL
McGrath- C Kitchner OHL
Bolland- C London OHL
Green- D Saskatoon WHL
Zajac- C Salmon Arm BCJHL

 

Thanks guys. I guess what I'm trying to get is a feel for how deep the European pools are this season.

What I'm noticing already (judging by you two's posts) is that the Eastern Europeans look to be the most prominent (for a lack of a better term) as far as who is likely to go highest in the draft.

So this leads me to my next question....

Is the pool of top eligible players among the Eastern Europeans (Russians, Czechs, Slovakians) deeper than those say from Sweden and Finland?

 

Yes I'd say so