1st Round Draft of Combined 2001, 02, 03 Drafts, Pretty Cool

[Gags1288]

Obviously you never watch Bouwmeester, because Florida gets no recognition !

Imgine if Pitkanen played for an awful team for 24 minutes a night, and was asked to play defense because he is about the only defenseman who can play defense, do you think he would join the rush as often ? That's the point that you don't want to understand !

Everybody called Tanguay a leach, so why Pitkanen isn't one... he is the future on D for the Flyers team so they are going to treat him well and let him develop by not hurting his confidence ! Pitkanen doesn't have the same role that Jay has on his team, and he wouldn't do better if he had !

You obviously don't understand the flyers and Ken Hitchcock. Hitch has sat Pitkanen a few times this year for defensive lapses. He doesn't care about hurting Joni's confidence, he cares about winning and if Joni doesn't play sound defensive hockey, he doesn't play at all. If Pitkanen played on any other team in the league, I think he'd have more points, because there is no other coach in the league, save Lemaire, that is as defense first as Hitchcock. Joni doesn't jump into the play as much as he wants because he's worried about his defense first. It just so happens that Pitkanen has the rare ability to attack at the right time and still not get caught. As for the leach part, think about the flyers pp. They went from being one of the worst teams in the league on the pp to being one of the best teams, the only thing that changed was Joni Pitkanen. He's far from a leach.

You ought to watch the kid play a little more, he's a pleasure to watch and right now he's as good as Jay Bouwmeester whether you're willing to admit it or not.

 

[John Flyers Fan]

Every list where Jay Bouwmeester isn't in the top-5 is a joke !

There is no way that Pitkanen is ahead of Jay-Bo too ! He has one more point than Jay this year... playing on a much better team and being able to jump because he has the rights to make mistakes ! Jay is Florida's first-defenseman so he has to be reliable and he can't join the rush like Pitkanen can, just because he has so much more responsabilities !

If you had them switch teams, J-Bo's minutes played would drop from 24 down to 18, and Pitkanen's would rise from 18 to about 24.

Also the Flyers play a much more defensive style than the Panthers play. Hitchcock does not like his defenseman leading or even joining the rush.

Pitkanen would have far more offensive leniency in Florida.

The majority of Pitkanen's points come on the PP, and if you'll notice the Flyers PP was been horrific the last 2 years, and this year it's among the league leaders. The only major player addition to that PP has been Pitkanen

 

[I Am Ziggy Palffy]

where's frolov...any top 10 list without him should at least kick out 5 guys, and insert frolov

 

[Jeffrey]

where's frolov...any top 10 list without him should at least kick out 5 guys, and insert frolov

frolov was drafted in 2000!!

 

[Ovechkin#1]

how is fleury not in there?? also, what about horton instead of hemsky

Theres no way that Horton is better then Hemsky

 

[Disco Volante]

thats a very interesting list...i just dont see why semin is so high up there?? also, fleury should be in everyones top 10, why would he be drafted 1st overall in one of the deepest drafts in the last few years if he wasnt top 10 caliber

i would maybe take out semin and put in a vanek...even a hemsky at least

I thought of Hemsky and really my final cut has been made on controversial value, cause I think they'll be pretty similar players. Maybe Semin a little more of a finisher, and Hemsky a playmaker, but they've got the hands.

As for Fleury, he ain't in my top-10 of the last 3 drafts, sorry to say. At the time, I put him below Lehtonen and Miller, I still do.

 

[jmelm]

I said it before and I'll say it again, not enough love for Getzlaf in these posts. I'm not saying he should be in the top 10. What I am saying is that he is obviously very under-rated, IMO.

 

[BabyBennettov]

You obviously don't understand the flyers and Ken Hitchcock. Hitch has sat Pitkanen a few times this year for defensive lapses. He doesn't care about hurting Joni's confidence, he cares about winning and if Joni doesn't play sound defensive hockey, he doesn't play at all. If Pitkanen played on any other team in the league, I think he'd have more points, because there is no other coach in the league, save Lemaire, that is as defense first as Hitchcock. Joni doesn't jump into the play as much as he wants because he's worried about his defense first. It just so happens that Pitkanen has the rare ability to attack at the right time and still not get caught. As for the leach part, think about the flyers pp. They went from being one of the worst teams in the league on the pp to being one of the best teams, the only thing that changed was Joni Pitkanen. He's far from a leach.

You ought to watch the kid play a little more, he's a pleasure to watch and right now he's as good as Jay Bouwmeester whether you're willing to admit it or not.

Be sure that I'll watch Pitkanen closely and I've already done that and I like the kid too !

I never say he wasn't good enough or something... but based on their NHL play, you can't have a clear-cut winner for now ! But on their junior years, Bouwmeester is head-and-shoulders above Pitkanen !

Nothing against the player, I love Pitkanen too, but what I want you to understand is that Jay Bouwmeester is all alone on his team, whereas Pitkanen has one-heck of a supporting cast !

 

[HockeyGuy1011]

Be sure that I'll watch Pitkanen closely and I've already done that and I like the kid too !

I never say he wasn't good enough or something... but based on their NHL play, you can't have a clear-cut winner for now ! But on their junior years, Bouwmeester is head-and-shoulders above Pitkanen !

Nothing against the player, I love Pitkanen too, but what I want you to understand is that Jay Bouwmeester is all alone on his team, whereas Pitkanen has one-heck of a supporting cast !

too bad....im going to the panthers vs flyers game tonight but j-bo is out with a broken leg...it would have been perfect timing to watch him vs pitkanen straight up...but i guess we'll have to wait

 

[jacketracket*]

Be sure that I'll watch Pitkanen closely and I've already done that and I like the kid too !

I never say he wasn't good enough or something... but based on their NHL play, you can't have a clear-cut winner for now ! But on their junior years, Bouwmeester is head-and-shoulders above Pitkanen !

Nothing against the player, I love Pitkanen too, but what I want you to understand is that Jay Bouwmeester is all alone on his team, whereas Pitkanen has one-heck of a supporting cast !

I think that that's the point a couple of people are trying to make about Pitkanen.

The strong supporting cast that he has around him also cut into his ice time. I think Johnsson is getting more PP time than Pitkanen, and w/the Flyers D strength---relative to Florida's---Pitkanen isn't going to have to be THE man.

 

[King of Stankonia]

I said it before and I'll say it again, not enough love for Getzlaf in these posts. I'm not saying he should be in the top 10. What I am saying is that he is obviously very under-rated, IMO.

Very well said. IMO, there were a good number of teams in the NHL that under-rated him as well. I thought he was top ten in the 2003 for sure.

 

[King of Stankonia]

I was going to do a top ten for those three, but that could take hours, so I figured I'd just go with the top ten from the 2003 first, and then go with the others in subsequent posts.

1. Marc-Andre Fleury (Does anyone else think that they're "Blackburning" him at the Mellon?)
2. Nathan Horton
3. Eric Staal
4. Dion Phaneuf (They weren't joking when they said he could be the next Scott Stevens with better offensive upside)
5. Ryan Suter
6. Nikolai Zherdev
7. Anthony Stewart
8. Milan Michalek
9. Braydon Coburn
10. Ryan Getzlaf (happy jmelm?)

 

[TWS]

My list would be:
1. Kovalchuk
2. Fleury
3. Nash
4. Bouwmeester
5. Pitkanen
6. Lehtonen
7. Zherdev
8. Hemsky
9. Spezza
10. Phaneuf
11. Staal
12. Suter
13. Michalek
14. Hamhuis
15. Lupul
16. Horton
17. Chistov
18. Grebeshkov
19. Koltsov
20. Parise
Fire Away!

 

[I Am Ziggy Palffy]

frolov was drafted in 2000!!

opps

 

[Hockeycrazed07]

4. Dion Phaneuf (They weren't joking when they said he could be the next Scott Stevens with better offensive upside)

They're very similar in point production potential, but where Stevens did it with passing, Neufy will do it with his shot. Neufy can't pass like Stevens does, and Neufy's shot projects better than Stevens' (though it isn't there, yet).

~Crazed.

 

[Winston Wolf]

too bad....im going to the panthers vs flyers game tonight but j-bo is out with a broken leg...it would have been perfect timing to watch him vs pitkanen straight up...but i guess we'll have to wait

I'm sure tonight's game might sway your opinion a little bit. Pitkanen would've had a hat trick if not for Luongo's awesome save in the 2nd period, while the Flyers were on the PP.

I like Bouwmeester and all, but I think offensively speaking Pitkanen is quite a bit better.