#1 in 2007? Who will it be? Other 07 talk.

[X-SHARKIE]

Two Questions: Is Katic a fiery player, competitive in his own zone? Is he scrappy? I've seen clips of his offensive stuff, WOW, but defensively how is he?


Also: IMO, the 07 draft from a distance looks horrid in terms of goaltending. Even a year before the draft usually you can identify a couple of studs, but this year I don't have any one goalie who really stands out.

In 2009 i'm anxioux to see what Max Strang can do.

 

[VOB]

Two Questions: Is Katic a fiery player, competitive in his own zone? Is he scrappy? I've seen clips of his offensive stuff, WOW, but defensively how is he?
.

Yeah, he plays with an edge....doesn't mind the rough stuff one bit despite his small stature. He was just 16 years old last year but was not a defensive liability.

 

[5mn Major]

OBrien looks to be the real deal. It will be interesting to see how this 17 yo brings his game against drafted 21 and 22 yos in the NCAAs this year.

 

[helicecopter]

Backstrom reminds me alot of Scott Gomez with his ability of carrying the puck up ice while not being overly fast.

Uh? Gomez's rushes carrying the puck up ice have great speed!
And this seems a bit contradicting as well:

With skating its Backlund all the way. He's alot faster than Backstrom and can make plays at top speed. IMO he's around Kessel skating wise

Kessel has great speed so..

 

[#66]

Uh? Gomez's rushes carrying the puck up ice have great speed!
And this seems a bit contradicting as well:
Kessel has great speed so..

IMO Gomez is more shifty than fast. Backlund and Kessel are both fast. So I'm not sure whats

 

[MALKIN IS GOD !!!!!!*]

Mine would look like this:
1.Esposito
2.Backlund
3.Voracek
4.Couture
5.Petrecki
6.Katic
7.Gagner
8.O'Brien
9.Gillies
10.Sutter

HM: Van Riemsdyk

Let's hope the Penguins are good enough not to have a chance at these 10 unless one slips to say spot 19. That would make for a good season and a good draft pick

Nice !!

 

[Crosby=Gretzky]

I hear this quite a bit about Sexsmith but I'll ask it again, on what are you basing this opinion? He was injured all summer, did not come back to the team until January, did not do well at the U-17 tourney when he did come back, hardly played in the regular season in Vancouver, and played zero games in the playoff/mem cup. What exactly has he done to be placed in the position that some posters place him?
BTW, there is no way he will be the #1 guy this year if Slade does not come back. It's a mem cup host year and if Slade is gone Vancouver will trade one or more of their young goalie/player prospects for a proven #1 vet.
You are correct about Mucha, the kid can play and has a record to prove it.

I said that he has the potential to be a first round pick, and that I think he'll end up among the top 30 picks. I agree with your statement, Sesmith is by no means a first round pick at the time, but even if he will be the backup, he'll still get to play atleast 15-20 games, and maybe he gets a shot in the Mem. Cup.

An another note, what do you think of Sexsmith's teammate Michal Repik?

 

[Crosby=Gretzky]

Let's hope the Penguins are good enough not to have a chance at these 10 unless one slips to say spot 19. That would make for a good season and a good draft pick

Nice !!

I would love if the pens could get van riemsdyk, he's exactly what we need, a big goalscoring winger with top line potential. But I believe that his stock will rise, he'll dominate with the NTDP this year, so I bet he goes top 10, where (I hope) the pens will not pick.

 

[Big Daddy]

I said that he has the potential to be a first round pick, and that I think he'll end up among the top 30 picks. I agree with your statement, Sesmith is by no means a first round pick at the time, but even if he will be the backup, he'll still get to play atleast 15-20 games, and maybe he gets a shot in the Mem. Cup.

An another note, what do you think of Sexsmith's teammate Michal Repik?

I like Repik and I hope he does well this draft year. He skates well and is a creative playmaker also with a great scoring touch. He started the season on fire but then slowed down a bit but still finished strong for a rookie.

 

[helicecopter]

IMO Gomez is more shifty than fast. Backlund and Kessel are both fast. So I'm not sure whats

Ouch, it seems i read Backlund instead of Backstrom here:

Backstrom reminds me alot of Scott Gomez with his ability of carrying the puck up ice while not being overly fast.

nevermind..
Still, i think Gomez is faster than Backstrom carrying up the puck

 

[X-SHARKIE]

I'm anxious to see Gillies play again. I watched Saskatoon to see Setoguchi.. Gillies didn't get much ice time, zero on the PP. However I loved his size, his forecheck and his skating ability.

HOw are his hands? vision? Shot?

 

[Tomlinson23]

What about Kyle Turris? I watched him in the RBC Cup the past year, boy can he put the puck in the net and stick handle, hes headin to Wisconsin next yr, when he fills out, definitely remember this kids name

 

[rt]

Van Reimsdyk (pronounced Van REEZE-mick for those who don't know)...

If this is true, I hate him. That is rediculous.

 

[SpecialK]

What about Karl Alzner? Rated 5th on the Red Line and has been around the top 15 for a while now, any info on him?

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Van Reimsdyk (pronounced Van REEZE-mick for those who don't know) is a nice kid. I've met him a few times and seen him play a number of times as well. He seems to be a very cordial, nice kid who loves the game.

How is that!?!

But he makes Phil Kessel look like a supermodel.

See, that first part of your post was improbable, but now you're pushing the boundaries of what's humanly possible.

 

[rt]

See, that first part of your post was improbable, but now you're pushing the boundaries of what's humanly possible.

No, he's an ugly assed kid. He looks like the type that will be less ugly as he gets older, though. Kessel looks like he'll always be really ugly. None of them have anything on Kopitar as far as I'm concerned. Thank god for that tinted visor.

 

[kingpin_19]

No, he's an ugly assed kid. He looks like the type that will be less ugly as he gets older, though. Kessel looks like he'll always be really ugly. None of them have anything on Kopitar as far as I'm concerned. Thank god for that tinted visor.

At least we don't have to worry about them getting distracted by women...

Anyways, I think Voracek is up at #1 right now. Any arguments with that? The WJC is only a month away, who do you think will make a move up the rankings with an impressive tournament?

 

[Round John]

I'm anxious to see Gillies play again. I watched Saskatoon to see Setoguchi.. Gillies didn't get much ice time, zero on the PP. However I loved his size, his forecheck and his skating ability.

HOw are his hands? vision? Shot?

Gillies is the smoothest skating 'big man' I've seen play in the WHL. This year he is seeing more time in all situations.

His forecheck is solid, physical play is intimidating, but do not expect a fighter as he does not drop the gloves.

He has shown growth as a setup man, my biggest caution is in goal scoring as he has yet to display a natural scorers touch.

If Gillies would show a better scoring touch he has the potential to be a 1st overall pick. Without the scoring touch I feel he will be a late top 10, maybe in the teens, pick in the next entry draft.

I suspect Gillies will be one of the more hotly debated prospects in scouts meetings. Los Angeles has been watching him very closely.

 

[McOilbleeder]

Can anyone help me out here? I have heard that this draft is deep, but i was wandering, is there any legitimate Top-Pairing guys out there on Defence???

 

[Round John]

Can anyone help me out here? I have heard that this draft is deep, but i was wandering, is there any legitimate Top-Pairing guys out there on Defence???

Legitimate top pairing? Potentially Alzner and Ellerby from the WHL. But they are not stand out top prospects like Bouwmeester, Phaneuf, or Seabrook.

Doyle from Everett has looked solid in limited viewing.

Ross is an offensive dman who has shown solid physical play on a struggling Pats team.

Ellington has excellent wheels and looks good on the rush again an offensive defenseman.

Many solid d prospects out of the WHL though none spectacular, and none look ready to make the jump quickly to the NHL.

 

[Unknownbutfamous]

Van Reimsdyk (pronounced Van REEZE-mick for those who don't know) is a nice kid. I've met him a few times and seen him play a number of times as well. He seems to be a very cordial, nice kid who loves the game.

But he makes Phil Kessel look like a supermodel.

No, sorry to sound arrogant, but its Van-riems-dike.

 

[Kamsa]

What about Kyle Turris? I watched him in the RBC Cup the past year, boy can he put the puck in the net and stick handle, hes headin to Wisconsin next yr, when he fills out, definitely remember this kids name

Ive watched Turris this year, with the way he has played this season and in the jr.a challenge, I really believe he could push for top 10. Every scout who watches him cant stop raving about his play.

 

[#1GuinFan]

Ive watched Turris this year, with the way he has played this season and in the jr.a challenge, I really believe he could push for top 10. Every scout who watches him cant stop raving about his play.

I agree, I think you'll see him make a dramatic jump in every scoutinger services rankings, especially after the RBC cup. Top 10 is not out of the question.


As for Gillies, I don't think a top 10 spot is going to be possible. His size, skating and forecheck are very attractive aspects, but his lack of offensive potential/upside will keep him out of the top 10 IMO. It wouldn't surprise me to see him slide into the 20's, maybe even the 2nd round.

 

[Prussian_Blue]

...IMO, the 07 draft from a distance looks horrid in terms of goaltending. Even a year before the draft usually you can identify a couple of studs, but this year I don't have any one goalie who really stands out.

Perhaps not in North America, but there seem to be a couple of kids in Europe with real potential... check out Tomas Hiadlovsky, Christian Engstrand, and a guy who's been passed over a coupe of times now.

Antti Härmä of Blues Espoo is a January 1987 birthdate who was passed over in 2005 and 2006. He’s bigger than (CSS top Finnish goalie Juha) Metsola at 5-11, 185 pounds, and his numbers this year have been outstanding (18 GP, 12-3-0, 1.59 GAA, 93.32% save percentage).

I've done some research on some European players, and compiled what I call "Hot Lists" at my blog, http://futurenotes.blogspot.com

The "Future 'Notes" blog has just been updated with a comparson of my "Hot Lists" for the Czech Republic, Finland, Slovakia and Sweden to the Central Scouting Preliminary Rankings just published.

The "Future 'Notes" Hot Lists for these four countries included the player for each country ranked by CSS as that country's top draft prospect, and overall managed a 36.89% rate (38 of 103) of correctly identifying (that is, picking the same players as Central Scouting) the top prospects in each country, sight-unseen.

When it came to identifying the top ten prospects in each country, "Future 'Notes" hit the mark on three of the top 10 Czechs, five of the top 10 Finns, six of the top 10 Slovaks, and five of the top 10 Swedes, an overall success rate at the top of the rankings of 47.5%.

Leaving aside the high probability that the Blues will not draft a goaltender in June, "Future 'Notes" correctly identified nine of the ten goaltenders ranked by Central Scouting on the four nations' lists.

We have included in the blog entry the criteria used to select the players for the Hot Lists, and have also added some up-to-date stats and scouting info on several of the players.

Check it out, and thanks.

P_B

 

[rt]

Van Reimsdyk (pronounced Van REEZE-mick for those who don't know) is a nice kid.

If this is true, I hate him. That is rediculous.

No, sorry to sound arrogant, but its Van-riems-dike.

So how is it pronounced? Also, where is he going to play next year?