07 Draft Preview

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Leo Naphta

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May 14, 2004
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It's early days yet, but forwards Michael Backlund and Oscar Möller are probably Sweden's best prospect. Backlund was mentioned the other day by one of the coaches in Sweden's development program as the most talented Swede in a decade, and Möller was mentioned in the summer by the chief of the development program as the best 89-born in the country. So both should presumably have a good chance of being first-rounders.
 

Leafs 67 and Waiting

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Jul 15, 2005
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Mike Neal Belleville Bulls younger brother of James Neal Plymouth Whalers (2nd round 33rd overall)

From what I am hearing Mike Neal is "bigger", "meaner" and a better skater than his talented sibling. Dhould go very high in the first round.
 

Rise from the Ashes

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Sep 13, 2005
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u know whats funny.. esposito was playing for the West island Lions now known as the Lac st louis lions and was cut... and he said screw you and got a scholarship and now is a top 5 pick depending on his performance.
 

scoutman1

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Feb 19, 2005
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here are guys who should be top 10 picks:

Angelo Esposito
Zach Hamill
Jimmy O'Brien
Michael Biega
Jean-Simon Allard
Alex Grant
David Skokan
Thomas HickeyOndrej Roman
 

scoutman1

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Feb 19, 2005
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here are guys who should be top 10 picks: I know there are more than 10 but these guys will be up there:

Angelo Esposito
Zach Hamill
Maxime Gretchev
Jimmy O'Brien
Dwight King
Michael Biega
Jean-Simon Allard
Alex Grant
David Skokan
Thomas Hickey
Ondrej Roman
Nick Petrecki
Karl Alzner
Tristin Llewellyn
Tysen Sexsmith
Logan Couture

Esposito IMO will be better than Hamill come 2007 draft...I don't even think there will be question come that time. Hamill is pretty damn good though, I would say he has superstar writen all over him.

man the QMJHL has one hell of a draft that year with:

Angelo Esposito
Jean-Simon Allard
Alex Grant
Maxime Gretchev
David Skokan
Maxime Tanguay
Stephen Lund
Yuri Cheremetive
Scott Brannon
Colin Escott
Logan MacMillan
Kevin Charland
Nicola Riopel
Nicolas Seguin

the talent from the QMJHL this year is just SICK
 
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Dr.Sens(e)

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Feb 27, 2002
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Of note, Logan Couture has looked VERY good with the 67's in pres-season. Remember, this is the guy who supposed to go first overall in the OHL draft before Tavares was deemed eligible. He stated he might go the US college route, so he dropped to the 67's in the 1st round.

He lead the team in pre-season scoring with something like 8 points in 6 games. It's only pre-season and most of the top players are just returning, but he will be worth watching. The 67's are pretty loaded with solid young players who will be around for the next few years (McGinn, Alphonso and Lahey to name three yet to be drafted), so this should help his production and draft position in the next two seasons. He was playing with Alphonso (another '07) and newcomer Tibor Radulay ('06) in preseason. Lahey is also an '07, while McGinn ('06) is a possible 1st rounder for this year.

Of note, Kilrea has been particularly vocal about how good Couture has looked, which is extremely rare for a rookie. He usually is pretty restrained when it comes to talking up the young guys.
 

GKJ

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Feb 27, 2002
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WHat I already like is that it seems to be wide open judging by posts in this thread. Unlike the past few years where it was: Ovechkin. Crosby. Kessel next year.
 

Blackshad

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Oct 12, 2002
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kingpin_19 said:
I know it's early, but right now who has the heads up for #1, Esposito or Hamill?

And who are the early favourites to go in the 1st Round?
Hahhaaha Esposito is good. but no way he is a 1st overall... wow.
 

Blackshad

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Oct 12, 2002
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scoutman1 said:
here are guys who should be top 10 picks: I know there are more than 10 but these guys will be up there:

Angelo Esposito
Zach Hamill
Maxime Gretchev
Jimmy O'Brien
Dwight King
Michael Biega
Jean-Simon Allard
Alex Grant
David Skokan
Thomas Hickey
Ondrej Roman
Nick Petrecki
Karl Alzner
Tristin Llewellyn
Tysen Sexsmith
Logan Couture

Esposito IMO will be better than Hamill come 2007 draft...I don't even think there will be question come that time. Hamill is pretty damn good though, I would say he has superstar writen all over him.

man the QMJHL has one hell of a draft that year with:

Angelo Esposito
Jean-Simon Allard
Alex Grant
Maxime Gretchev
David Skokan
Maxime Tanguay
Stephen Lund
Yuri Cheremetive
Scott Brannon
Colin Escott
Logan MacMillan
Kevin Charland
Nicola Riopel
Nicolas Seguin

the talent from the QMJHL this year is just SICK

Where's Brassard :dunno: :dunno:
 

kingpin_19

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Jan 5, 2005
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Richard_Zednik said:
u know whats funny.. esposito was playing for the West island Lions now known as the Lac st louis lions and was cut... and he said screw you and got a scholarship and now is a top 5 pick depending on his performance.

Well if he improved that much in that short of a time, and if Esposito hasn't already peaked in his development, he may continue improving at a torrid pace and get the number one pick. Personally I feel Hamill is much better than Esposito, but I haven't seen Esposito near enough to make that judgement fairly.
 

buckyhockey8

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Jun 13, 2005
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Madison, WI
Blake Kessel ? It's still pretty early, but he's a Suter trained D-man. I can't tell if he'll be a first rounder for sure. It's really just too early. :dunno:
 

cagney

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Jun 17, 2002
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Forward Jimmy O'Brien and d-men Nick Petrecki and Tristan Llewellyn are certainly the top guys in the US right now. Others to watch are forwards James Van Riemsdyk and Mike Hoeffel and d-men Kevin Shattenkirk and Colby Cohen. Guys who have the skill but not the complete game or size are forwards Pat Kane and Ryan Hayes and d-man Cade Fairchild.

Some players from the Czech Republic to watch are forwards Jakub Voracek, Vladimir Ruzicka and Ondrej Roman and d-man David Stich.
 

cagney

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Jun 17, 2002
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buckyhockey8 said:
Blake Kessel ? It's still pretty early, but he's a Suter trained D-man. I can't tell if he'll be a first rounder for sure. It's really just too early. :dunno:

From what I've heard he's not much of an NHL prospect at this point. He could play in the NCAA some day though.
 

orangeandblack

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Nov 27, 2004
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philadelphia
cagney said:
Forward Jimmy O'Brien and d-men Nick Petrecki and Tristan Llewellyn are certainly the top guys in the US right now. Others to watch are forwards James Van Riemsdyk and Mike Hoeffel and d-men Kevin Shattenkirk and Colby Cohen. Guys who have the skill but not the complete game or size are forwards Pat Kane and Ryan Hayes and d-man Cade Fairchild.

Some players from the Czech Republic to watch are forwards Jakub Voracek, Vladimir Ruzicka and Ondrej Roman and d-man David Stich.

i agree with slot of what you said, id also look out for max gratchev and cj severyn from the usa. cagney, i know you follow usa hockey pretty extensively, have you heard who has looked good, and who is still adjusting on the u17 ntdp team? how are the goalies?

this year will also tell alot about usa major junior players. yuri cherementiev and todd chinova will play in the q. matt smythe, dan kelly, and nick palmieri will play in the ohl. There are 6 kids from the 89 california wave team that have made whl rosters, and drayson bowman and josh gionfriddo are also playing in the dub. theres quite a good crop of major junior kids in this age group, and it will be interesting to see if any of them elevate themselves from the rest of the pack.
 
Jul 29, 2003
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I think Brett Leffler is a dark-horse pick to be a top pick in this draft(not necessarily first, but top 10 or so). Good physical forward, and his development won't be hurt with him playing on what looks to become a solid Regina team in the future. The potential to play with Ian Duval, a solid forward who could get drafted this year, and Petr Kalus, Boston's second rounder this past year.

My first pick right now would be Zack Hamill, though.
 

cagney

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Jun 17, 2002
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orangeandblack said:
i agree with slot of what you said, id also look out for max gratchev and cj severyn from the usa. cagney, i know you follow usa hockey pretty extensively, have you heard who has looked good, and who is still adjusting on the u17 ntdp team? how are the goalies?

this year will also tell alot about usa major junior players. yuri cherementiev and todd chinova will play in the q. matt smythe, dan kelly, and nick palmieri will play in the ohl. There are 6 kids from the 89 california wave team that have made whl rosters, and drayson bowman and josh gionfriddo are also playing in the dub. theres quite a good crop of major junior kids in this age group, and it will be interesting to see if any of them elevate themselves from the rest of the pack.

Gratchev plays for Russia in international competition so as far as I'm concerned he's Russian. Severyn doesn't seem like a particularly spectacular player from what I've heard to be honest.

I follow US hockey as close as I can but unfortunately I don't have any inside connections. Getting updates on the NTDP teams on a weekly basis is nearly impossible. With the exception of coverage of international tournaments I only got first hand accounts of a handful of thier games last year. I'd love it if I could go to see games for myself but that's just not possible unless I win the lottery ;)

A lot of the kids going major junior don't seem to be considered amongst the elite in thier age group (in the '89 age group that is). The guys who I'm interested in the most are Matt Smyth, Drayson Bowman and Jeremy Smith. I don't think they're sure bets at all but they seem to be the ones with the most potential. Overall though, I honestly think the US '89 talent in the USHL is more impressive than that going major junior.
 
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