Blue Bullet
Registered User
Notes and thoughts on my rankings and the 2006 draft
This year reminds me in some ways of the 1993 draft when you had the talented and dynamic Alexander Daigle (though I think Kessel will turn out better than Daigle) go 1st overall and the big two-way d-man in Pronger go 2nd. This year I think it will be a reversal of the two with the d-man going 1st.
It was very tough in choosing between Johnson and Kessel. Johnson edged Kessel out due to the rarity of big d-men with his mobility and two-way play.
Though the WJC exposed some holes in Kessel’s game (which most scouts already knew about), I still think there is a bit of a gap between him and the #3 spot. In my mind, Kessel did not do anything to lose the #1 spot but instead Johnson earned it.
The top end of the draft is very good this year with the top 12 guys on my list all having the potential to be top line players and stars on the teams that pick them.
There is not much that separates the players between 3rd and 8th. I was really struggling to separate them as all of them bring very good all-around games. In the end, I ranked them in accordance to which ones had the best combo of skill, skating, size and intangibles.
Nigel Williams has entered my potential star category. At times this year, he has looked like the best big man on his team over Erik Johnson. He is a bit of a late bloomer and he is still raw in some of his development but the upside is huge. Williams is at the stage in his development that Erik Johnson was at a year ago.
There is a slight drop-off between 12th and 13th
After the first three d-men are gone, the rankings are made up of offensive d-men with some warts to their game and second pairing stay-at-home d-man. Most of the offensive d-men have a combination of the following problems: skating, physical play or defensive awareness.
There are still good offensive forwards available after the top 25 but they are of the boom or bust variety. The other forwards on the list are guys that may wind up as 2nd line players but are more likely to turn out as checkers and role players.
I like the top end of the draft but the draft does lack depth in the later rounds.
This year I did factor in the lack of an IIHF agreement with Russia. In the end there were no Russians that I felt were worth taking a risk on in the top 50. However, if I had done a top 60 or 75 you would have likely seen Alexandrov, Zharkov, Vasyunov and Makarov all make my list.
RANK NAME POS TEAM BD HT/WT
1 Erik Johnson D USA U-18 (NTDP) 3/21/1988 6’4/222
Future star d-man in the making
2 Phil Kessel C Minnesota (WCHA) 10/2/1987 6’0/189
Most dynamic player in the draft
3 Jordan Staal C Peterborough (OHL) 9/10/1988 6’4/209
Has the best combo of size, skill and skating of any forward in the draft
4 Jonathan Toews LW/C North Dakota (WCHA) 4/29/1988 6’2/195
Most complete player in the draft
5 Niklas Backstrom C Brynas (SWE) 11/23/1987 6’0/183
He may be the best Swedish player in years
6 Michael Frolik RW Kladno (CZE) 2/17/1988 6’1/187
Skating and hands second only to Kessel
7 Peter Mueller C Everett (WHL) 4/14/1988 6’3/210
His skating is the only reason he is ranked 7th instead of 3rd
8 James Sheppard C Cape Breton (QMJHL) 4/25/1988 6’2/201
Like Mueller his skating drops him to the 8th spot
9 Bryan Little C Barrie (OHL) 6/9/1987 5’10/194
A talented player whose game is intended for the new NHL
10 Nigel Williams D USA U-18 (NTDP) 4/18/1988 6’5/226
Late bloomer that has outperformed Johnson at times this year
11 Bob Sanguinetti D Owen Sound (OHL) 2/29/1988 6’2/182
Fast skating, smart two-way d-man but lacks a physical game
12 Derick Brassard C Drummondville (QMJHL) 9/22/1987 6’0/174
One of the most talented offensive players but his all-around game is lacking
13 Kyle Okposo RW Des Moines (USHL) 4/16/1988 6’0/195
Good player in the mold of Brendan Morrow or Kyle Calder
14 Chris Stewart RW Kingston (OHL) 10/30/1987 6’2/227
Not as talented as his older brother but makes up for it with a better work ethic
15 Jiri Tlusty C Kladno (CZE) 3/16/1988 6’1/198
Has the skills, skating and grit to be a solid 2nd line player
16 Cory Emmerton C/LW Kingston (OHL) 6/1/1988 6’0/181
Has the hands and two-way play to be a very good 2nd line center
17 Jonathan Bernier G Lewiston (QMJHL) 8/7/1988 5’11/180
The top goalie in the draft due to his athleticism and reflexes
18 Ty Wishart D Prince George (WHL) 5/19/1988 6’5 214
Solid, reliable d-man that plays a very smart and safe game
19 Jesse Joensuu RW Assat (FIN) 10/5/1987 6’4/207
Big power forward that lacks the hands to be a top 10 pick
20 Ivan Vishnevsky D Rouyn Noranda (QMJHL) 2/18/1988 6’0/178
Talented offensive d-man with good speed and a hard shot
21 Michael Forney LW Thief River Falls (USHS) 5/14/1988 6’2/185
Has goods hands for a player his size but the rest of his game needs work
22 Mark Mitera D Michigan (CCHA) 10/22/1987 6’3/202
Stay-at-home d-man with good mobility for a player his size
23 Ben Maxwell C Kootenay (WHL) 3/30/1988 6’0/175
Talented offensive player that needs to bulk up
24 John DeGray D Brampton (OHL) 3/14/1988 6’4/202
Reliable, smart, stay-at-home d-man with limited offensive upside
25 Joey Ryan D Quebec (QMJHL) 10/19/1987 6’2/186
An underrated physical stay-at-home d-man
26 Brian Strait D USA U-18 (NTDP) 1/4/1988 6’1/200
Similar description to that of Ryan
27 Leland Irving G Everett (WHL) 4/11/1988 6’0/177
Reliable goalie that plays an economical game
28 Ryan Hillier LW Halifax (QMJHL) 1/25/1988 5’11/184
Hard working energy player with speed and skill
29 Nick Foligno LW Sudbury (OHL) 10/31/1987 6’0/190
Physical forward that has had an inconsistent year
30 Tomas Kana C Vitkovice (CZE) 11/29/1987 6’0/189
Good two-way player with a decent skill level
31 David Kveton RW Vsetin (CZE) 1/3/1988 5’11/180
Talented offensive player that plays too much on the perimeter
32 Billy Sauer G Michigan (CCHA) 1/622/1988 6’2/170
Solid goalie that is already a starter at the college level
33 Ben Shutron D Kingston (OHL) 6/14/1988 6’0/188
Offensive d-man that lacks a physical game and needs to improve in his own zone
34 Chris Summers D USA U-18 (NTDP) 2/5/1988 6’2/180
Solid puck-moving d-man whose stats do not reflect his offensive game
35 Ryan White C Calgary (WHL) 3/17/1988 6’0/204
Physical center that will be a very solid checker at the NHL level
36 Bobby Hughes C Kingston (OHL) 11/11/1987 5’11/181
Good combo of skill and work ethic but in a smaller frame
37 Tony Lagerstrom C Sodertalje (SWE JR) 7/19/1988 6’1/187
Good two-way player whose offensive game has improved over the year
38 David Ruzicka D Kladno (CZE JR) 3/8/1988 6’3/185
Lanky d-man who is being ranked all over the map
39 Matt Corrente D Saginaw (OHL) 3/17/1988 6’0/196
Physical d-man with some offensive skill but needs to improve in his own zone
40 Tomas Marcinko C/W Kosice (SVK JR) 4/11/1988 6’4/187
Talented big man whose work ethic is very inconsistent
41 James McGinn LW Ottawa (OHL) 8/5/1988 6’1/183
Solid energy player whose scoring totals have been rising as of late
42 Mathieu Carle D Acadie-Bathurst (QMJHL) 9/30/1987 6’0/200
Offensive d-man that needs to improve his all-around game
43 Riku Helenius G Ilves (FIN JR) 3/1/1988 6’3/202
A big, talented Finnish goalie that is moving up the rankings
44 Ryan Flynn RW USA U-18 (NTDP) 3/22/1988 6’3/212
Hard working, physical player with 3rd line potential
45 Francois Bouchard C Baie Comeau (QMJHL) 4/26/1988 6’0/180
Talented playmaking center who will be a boom or bust
46 Trevor Lewis C Des Moines (USHL) 1/8/1987 6’1/192
Okposo’s center is starting to get some credit due to his strong play
47 Codey Burki C Brandon (WHL) 11/17/1987 6’1/193
Speedster with decent hands; probably a bottom 6 energy player
48 Niko Hovinen G Jokerit (FIN) 3/16/1988 6’5/198
Like Helenius, a big Finn that covers a lot of the net
49 Hugo Carpentier C Rouyn Noranda (QMJHL) 3/17/1988 6’2/200
Underrated player with decent hands and a good size frame
50 Logan Pyett D Regina (WHL) 5/26/1988 5’10/199
Short, stocky d-man whose play has regressed over the last little while
This year reminds me in some ways of the 1993 draft when you had the talented and dynamic Alexander Daigle (though I think Kessel will turn out better than Daigle) go 1st overall and the big two-way d-man in Pronger go 2nd. This year I think it will be a reversal of the two with the d-man going 1st.
It was very tough in choosing between Johnson and Kessel. Johnson edged Kessel out due to the rarity of big d-men with his mobility and two-way play.
Though the WJC exposed some holes in Kessel’s game (which most scouts already knew about), I still think there is a bit of a gap between him and the #3 spot. In my mind, Kessel did not do anything to lose the #1 spot but instead Johnson earned it.
The top end of the draft is very good this year with the top 12 guys on my list all having the potential to be top line players and stars on the teams that pick them.
There is not much that separates the players between 3rd and 8th. I was really struggling to separate them as all of them bring very good all-around games. In the end, I ranked them in accordance to which ones had the best combo of skill, skating, size and intangibles.
Nigel Williams has entered my potential star category. At times this year, he has looked like the best big man on his team over Erik Johnson. He is a bit of a late bloomer and he is still raw in some of his development but the upside is huge. Williams is at the stage in his development that Erik Johnson was at a year ago.
There is a slight drop-off between 12th and 13th
After the first three d-men are gone, the rankings are made up of offensive d-men with some warts to their game and second pairing stay-at-home d-man. Most of the offensive d-men have a combination of the following problems: skating, physical play or defensive awareness.
There are still good offensive forwards available after the top 25 but they are of the boom or bust variety. The other forwards on the list are guys that may wind up as 2nd line players but are more likely to turn out as checkers and role players.
I like the top end of the draft but the draft does lack depth in the later rounds.
This year I did factor in the lack of an IIHF agreement with Russia. In the end there were no Russians that I felt were worth taking a risk on in the top 50. However, if I had done a top 60 or 75 you would have likely seen Alexandrov, Zharkov, Vasyunov and Makarov all make my list.
RANK NAME POS TEAM BD HT/WT
1 Erik Johnson D USA U-18 (NTDP) 3/21/1988 6’4/222
Future star d-man in the making
2 Phil Kessel C Minnesota (WCHA) 10/2/1987 6’0/189
Most dynamic player in the draft
3 Jordan Staal C Peterborough (OHL) 9/10/1988 6’4/209
Has the best combo of size, skill and skating of any forward in the draft
4 Jonathan Toews LW/C North Dakota (WCHA) 4/29/1988 6’2/195
Most complete player in the draft
5 Niklas Backstrom C Brynas (SWE) 11/23/1987 6’0/183
He may be the best Swedish player in years
6 Michael Frolik RW Kladno (CZE) 2/17/1988 6’1/187
Skating and hands second only to Kessel
7 Peter Mueller C Everett (WHL) 4/14/1988 6’3/210
His skating is the only reason he is ranked 7th instead of 3rd
8 James Sheppard C Cape Breton (QMJHL) 4/25/1988 6’2/201
Like Mueller his skating drops him to the 8th spot
9 Bryan Little C Barrie (OHL) 6/9/1987 5’10/194
A talented player whose game is intended for the new NHL
10 Nigel Williams D USA U-18 (NTDP) 4/18/1988 6’5/226
Late bloomer that has outperformed Johnson at times this year
11 Bob Sanguinetti D Owen Sound (OHL) 2/29/1988 6’2/182
Fast skating, smart two-way d-man but lacks a physical game
12 Derick Brassard C Drummondville (QMJHL) 9/22/1987 6’0/174
One of the most talented offensive players but his all-around game is lacking
13 Kyle Okposo RW Des Moines (USHL) 4/16/1988 6’0/195
Good player in the mold of Brendan Morrow or Kyle Calder
14 Chris Stewart RW Kingston (OHL) 10/30/1987 6’2/227
Not as talented as his older brother but makes up for it with a better work ethic
15 Jiri Tlusty C Kladno (CZE) 3/16/1988 6’1/198
Has the skills, skating and grit to be a solid 2nd line player
16 Cory Emmerton C/LW Kingston (OHL) 6/1/1988 6’0/181
Has the hands and two-way play to be a very good 2nd line center
17 Jonathan Bernier G Lewiston (QMJHL) 8/7/1988 5’11/180
The top goalie in the draft due to his athleticism and reflexes
18 Ty Wishart D Prince George (WHL) 5/19/1988 6’5 214
Solid, reliable d-man that plays a very smart and safe game
19 Jesse Joensuu RW Assat (FIN) 10/5/1987 6’4/207
Big power forward that lacks the hands to be a top 10 pick
20 Ivan Vishnevsky D Rouyn Noranda (QMJHL) 2/18/1988 6’0/178
Talented offensive d-man with good speed and a hard shot
21 Michael Forney LW Thief River Falls (USHS) 5/14/1988 6’2/185
Has goods hands for a player his size but the rest of his game needs work
22 Mark Mitera D Michigan (CCHA) 10/22/1987 6’3/202
Stay-at-home d-man with good mobility for a player his size
23 Ben Maxwell C Kootenay (WHL) 3/30/1988 6’0/175
Talented offensive player that needs to bulk up
24 John DeGray D Brampton (OHL) 3/14/1988 6’4/202
Reliable, smart, stay-at-home d-man with limited offensive upside
25 Joey Ryan D Quebec (QMJHL) 10/19/1987 6’2/186
An underrated physical stay-at-home d-man
26 Brian Strait D USA U-18 (NTDP) 1/4/1988 6’1/200
Similar description to that of Ryan
27 Leland Irving G Everett (WHL) 4/11/1988 6’0/177
Reliable goalie that plays an economical game
28 Ryan Hillier LW Halifax (QMJHL) 1/25/1988 5’11/184
Hard working energy player with speed and skill
29 Nick Foligno LW Sudbury (OHL) 10/31/1987 6’0/190
Physical forward that has had an inconsistent year
30 Tomas Kana C Vitkovice (CZE) 11/29/1987 6’0/189
Good two-way player with a decent skill level
31 David Kveton RW Vsetin (CZE) 1/3/1988 5’11/180
Talented offensive player that plays too much on the perimeter
32 Billy Sauer G Michigan (CCHA) 1/622/1988 6’2/170
Solid goalie that is already a starter at the college level
33 Ben Shutron D Kingston (OHL) 6/14/1988 6’0/188
Offensive d-man that lacks a physical game and needs to improve in his own zone
34 Chris Summers D USA U-18 (NTDP) 2/5/1988 6’2/180
Solid puck-moving d-man whose stats do not reflect his offensive game
35 Ryan White C Calgary (WHL) 3/17/1988 6’0/204
Physical center that will be a very solid checker at the NHL level
36 Bobby Hughes C Kingston (OHL) 11/11/1987 5’11/181
Good combo of skill and work ethic but in a smaller frame
37 Tony Lagerstrom C Sodertalje (SWE JR) 7/19/1988 6’1/187
Good two-way player whose offensive game has improved over the year
38 David Ruzicka D Kladno (CZE JR) 3/8/1988 6’3/185
Lanky d-man who is being ranked all over the map
39 Matt Corrente D Saginaw (OHL) 3/17/1988 6’0/196
Physical d-man with some offensive skill but needs to improve in his own zone
40 Tomas Marcinko C/W Kosice (SVK JR) 4/11/1988 6’4/187
Talented big man whose work ethic is very inconsistent
41 James McGinn LW Ottawa (OHL) 8/5/1988 6’1/183
Solid energy player whose scoring totals have been rising as of late
42 Mathieu Carle D Acadie-Bathurst (QMJHL) 9/30/1987 6’0/200
Offensive d-man that needs to improve his all-around game
43 Riku Helenius G Ilves (FIN JR) 3/1/1988 6’3/202
A big, talented Finnish goalie that is moving up the rankings
44 Ryan Flynn RW USA U-18 (NTDP) 3/22/1988 6’3/212
Hard working, physical player with 3rd line potential
45 Francois Bouchard C Baie Comeau (QMJHL) 4/26/1988 6’0/180
Talented playmaking center who will be a boom or bust
46 Trevor Lewis C Des Moines (USHL) 1/8/1987 6’1/192
Okposo’s center is starting to get some credit due to his strong play
47 Codey Burki C Brandon (WHL) 11/17/1987 6’1/193
Speedster with decent hands; probably a bottom 6 energy player
48 Niko Hovinen G Jokerit (FIN) 3/16/1988 6’5/198
Like Helenius, a big Finn that covers a lot of the net
49 Hugo Carpentier C Rouyn Noranda (QMJHL) 3/17/1988 6’2/200
Underrated player with decent hands and a good size frame
50 Logan Pyett D Regina (WHL) 5/26/1988 5’10/199
Short, stocky d-man whose play has regressed over the last little while
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