Best 2004 Draft So Far

[Behn Wilson]

I may be breaking the trend of hyping up my own team, but last June I thought Chicago had one of the strongest drafts. Dunno if that's still the case since I haven't really followed the progress of any of their prospects. Washington also had a very solid draft.

It helps that we gutted our team and had four second round picks as a result. Obviously Barker is the real deal. Bolland seems to be coming along well but its hard to tell how much of his results are from the team he is playing on.
Time will tell. Everyone else seems to be playing pretty much as expected.
Bickell, Berti, Sidell, Garlock...

 

[Vinland]

Count me in as a guy who isn't buying into all this Meszaros hype that is piling up around here lately. I think he was a good nab for the Senators at 23, but probably still would go mid to late teens.

The guy has some major holes in his game. He is a real block head out there at times. He makes horrible decisions in his own zone and takes alot of dumb, needless penalties. He does both of these things way too often to ignore. I think people see a big body who can move the puck like he does and get to blinded to see the holes in his game.

Good prospect, but not a steal by any stretch of the imagination at 23.

:lol

 

[Jejune]

Not that I think the oilers had the best draft last year by any means, But I think that in order to objectively make that decision we should see the draft of all the teams. So here's edmonton's 04 draft
14 G Devan Dubnyk 2.66 GAA .914 SPC 6 SO 62 GP
25 C Rob Schremp 60 GP 40 G 48 A 88 P
44 D Roman Tesliuk 68 GP 8 G 20 A 28 P
57 L Geoff Paukovich 35 GP 12 G 9 A 21 P
112 L Liam Reddox 66 GP 34 G 44 A 78 P
146 D Bryan Young 60 GP 1 G 11 A 12 P
177 D Max Gordichuk 57 GP 2 G 2 A 4 P
208 R Stephane Goulet 67 GP 22 G 25 A 47 P
242 C Tyler Spurgeon 69 GP 18 G 39 A 57 P
274 G Bjorn Bjurling 24 GP 2.58 GAA .912 SPC 1 SO

 

[CH Wizard]

How about the Leafs? Err, never mind.

I think , they had a nice draft.They made some steals (Vorobiev,Earl).

 

[leafaholix*]

How about the Leafs? Err, never mind.

The Leafs had a good draft with the number of picks they had.

90 - Justin Pogge - Very good goalie prospect with great potential
113 - Roman Kukumberg - Almost 25 years old now, but a guy that they expect to step in ASAP.
157 - Dimitri Vorobiev - One of the top defensemen at the WJC, easily top 3. Steal.
187 - Robbie Earl - Tremendous skill-set, very good offensive potential, one of the finer skaters in the draft. Steal.
220 - Max Semenov - Not a high ceiling, but a top 4 defenseman for Lada in the Super League at age 20.
252 - Jan Steber - Highly rated by CSB, has 3rd line upside. Good physical player and untapped offensive skills.
285 - Pierce Norton - Will attend Providence, tearing it up in high school hockey (Thayer Academy).

7 picks in 2004, 3 are already top 10 prospects for us. Scouting's on the upswing.

 

[fredez]

The two best drafts are those of Chicago and Washington. They had a lot of picks, Washington had 3 1st rounders and they managed them very well.

Washington notables : Ovechkin, Green, Bourque, Yunkov (see Remax games), Lepisto (projected at first round according to many), Hedman, Guggisberg (small skilled Swiss)

Chicago notables : Barker, Bolland, Bickell, Garlock, Sindel, Berti, Maunu, Hromas (its their first 8 picks and theyre from good to very good, after those picks they pretty much got no steals in the late rounds however)

 

[DBL]

To be brutally honest, Minnesota's doesn't look too hot...

AJ Thelen
Roman Voloshenko
Petr Olvecky
Clayton Stoner
Ryan Jones
Patrick Bordeleau
Julien Sprunger
Jean-Claude Sawyer
Aaron Boogaard
Jean Michal Rizk
Anton Khudobin
Kyle Wilson

A LOT of projects in that draft...

Roman Voloshenko
Petr Olvecky
Clayton Stoner

Are real solid picks, IMO. Not a fan of AJ Thelen though, and don't know the rest. But those 3 above are improving nicely. Stoner seems like a real steal.

 

[ZombieMatt]

I agree with JaMac, that the Buffalo picks are doing reasonably well and, for a group of relatively unheralded players, actually are a pretty nice draft day set.

 

[Greg7]

Count me in as a guy who isn't buying into all this Meszaros hype that is piling up around here lately. I think he was a good nab for the Senators at 23, but probably still would go mid to late teens.

The guy has some major holes in his game. He is a real block head out there at times. He makes horrible decisions in his own zone and takes alot of dumb, needless penalties. He does both of these things way too often to ignore. I think people see a big body who can move the puck like he does and get to blinded to see the holes in his game.

Good prospect, but not a steal by any stretch of the imagination at 23.

That is right out of left field. As much as I absolutely love your name (and probably the only person who understands the reference), there is a whole lot of crap in that there post, and you obviously haven't seen him play much. In the weak 2004 draft, Meszaros at 23 is a complete steal. If it were redone today, he would easily be top ten, and there's just no way the Thrasher's pass him up. He has adjusted seamlessly to the North American game, playing a very physical style. Your comments regarding his apparently poor decision making are just plain wrong. He makes the occasional mistake in his own end as any young defenseman will, but he has been far and away the most consistent player on the Giants this year, solid defensively, an absolute horse in the absence of Fistric playing easily 30+ minutes a night, and he has stepped into a leadership role, picking up an A early in the season. He is incredibly strong, has an excellent first pass, a bullet of a shot, skates very well, goes on end to end rushes semi regularly, and hits like a machine. He does take more penalties than he should, but this is not a big deal considering the style of game he plays. The funny thing in all of this is, I don't even really like Meszaros much.

 

[Seph]

Buffalo's been a good drafting team lately along with Ottawa, Nashville and Washington.

I think NYI had a real nice draft last year.

16 Petteri Nokelainen - top 6 forward
47 Blake Comeau - 3rd liner
115 Wes O'Neill - Top 4 D (Granted just my opinion right now)

While I don't think that the Isles had the best draft last year in the league, I think this list is rather incomplete.


3rd round (82overall) C Sergei Ogordnikov in the RSL has put up 16 GP 2G 2A, and 20GP 8G 13A in the 1st League.

7th round (227overall) D Chris Campoli - as a rookie defenseman in the AHL, he's second on the team in scoring and is outscoring players like Pitkanen, Ehrhoff, Whitney, Seidenberg, etc, while stepping in immediately as the team's number 1 D.

8th round (244overall) LW Jason Pitton improved to 66GP 22G 15A in the OHL

9th round (276overall) G Sylvain Michaud 56GP 27-18-6 2.89GAA 0.905 SV% while facing over 30 shots per game in the QMJHL and has won defensive player of the week at least once that I've noticed.

Also, Comeau, who is almost exactly the same size as Ladd and plays a hard hitting gritty 2way game, is currently outscoring Ladd in the WHL in the same number of games, albeit, only by 2 points.

And Nokelainen ended up with 52GP 15G 5A in the FNL. Before the draft he was said by scouts to have similar offensive talents as Tukonen but was less apt to use them. But he ended up with triple Tukonen's goals and twice his points in the same league. He's also said to be more complete, better defensively and from what I've seen of him, more willing to hit, while being all of 1 inch and 8 pounds smaller. Also, the other Finn taken in the first ended up with only 6 assists and no goals.


Pretty good considering the draft. But I still say Washington, Buffalo, Pittsburg and Chicago clearly came out ahead.

 

[hockeyfan125]

Count me in as a guy who isn't buying into all this Meszaros hype that is piling up around here lately. I think he was a good nab for the Senators at 23, but probably still would go mid to late teens.

The guy has some major holes in his game. He is a real block head out there at times. He makes horrible decisions in his own zone and takes alot of dumb, needless penalties. He does both of these things way too often to ignore. I think people see a big body who can move the puck like he does and get to blinded to see the holes in his game.

Good prospect, but not a steal by any stretch of the imagination at 23.

As much as I enjoy reading your posts (even for a Flame fan ) I have to whole-heartidly disagree with you here. Meszaros shoudlve been a top 5 pick, and will be a stud dman in the NHL.

I would even take him over Cam Barker pretty easily, but that is another story.

If the draft was redone...the top 5 imo would be:

1. Ovechkin
2. Malkin
3. Barker
4. Olesz
5. Meszaros

Tukonen, Radulov, Schremp, others would be higher up as well...but Meszaros is a stud.

 

[leafaholix*]

As much as I enjoy reading your posts (even for a Flame fan ) I have to whole-heartidly disagree with you here. Meszaros shoudlve been a top 5 pick, and will be a stud dman in the NHL.

I would even take him over Cam Barker pretty easily, but that is another story.

If the draft was redone...the top 5 imo would be:

1. Ovechkin
2. Malkin
3. Barker
4. Olesz
5. Meszaros

Tukonen, Radulov, Schremp, others would be higher up as well...but Meszaros is a stud.

I agree.

I'd take Meszaros over Cam Barker as well.

But every draft there seems to be that one or two guys who are almost flawless when you read the scouting reports, but for some reason they drop lower than they should.

 

[Legionnaire]

not the best draft, but i think the kings did solid enough to go in the top 10 list of the drafting community in 2004.

11 R Lauri Tukonen - some people call him a steal. i duno how someone at the 11 spot is really a "steal" unless they were ovechkin talent. but it's a solid pick
95 D Paul Baier - solid defender, impressed me a fair amount. solid pick
110 L Ned Lukacevic - good skater, decent pick
143 R Eric Neilson - has a fair chance at becomin a solid enforcer in the NHL. solid pick
174 F Scott Parse - tearin it up in the NCAA, can't complain. good pick
205 G John Curry - don't kno much about him
221 G Danny Taylor - soldi fundamentals. solid pick
238 G Yutaka Fukufuji - doin well in the ECHL and has heard many compliments from coaching staff. may be a serviceable backup in the NHL. good pick
264 C Valtteri Tenkanen - don't kno much about him

so i think we came out pretty ok, not great, but picked up i think 2 good picks and many solid picks, nothing like the sabres though.

I don't think Neilson has the size to be an enforcer in the NHL. He could end up a Lappy type though after a couple years in the AHL.

 

[Clutch Mediocrity]

It's good to hear you Nuckle heads who see him alot in BC are contrary to the more negative reports. I've seen him play a few times thanks to my subscription to all Sportsnet regions (Pacific gives some games), plus the World Juniors. I've also listened to some games online/looked at boxscores. It certainly does appear he takes a few too many penalties but that's not a huge concern. Many great defensemen do and it should ease a bit as he matures. In regards to the giveaways - they existe. I've seen them myself on a few too many occasions. But they aren't even close enough to warrant where he was drafted. It's not occuring on a nightly basis. Easily a top 10 pick in my books. Ahead of Barker? Hopefully he will prove that claim someday. As of now, I contend Meszaros was the second best defenseman in the draft. That can change with time however - here's hoping it does.

 

[Levitate]

i'd say the caps had the best draft, mainly cuz of getting "lucky" and getting ovechkin. they have some other good players in there too (but I'm honestly not a fan of bourque...i think in a way he surprised some people by actually being a good hockey player and not just riding his fathers coattails...but i don't see him as a great hockey player right now and worthy of large amounts of praise. i wasn't terribly impressed with him in the WJC's...outside of maybe 1or 2 periods in the first game, he wasn't that great.)

but you'd kind of expect the caps to have a great draft with 3 first rounders and all that, not to mention the #1 overall.


as far as the rangers go...honestly it's a hard draft to tell yet because they took a lot of guys who aren't immediate impact players, but who could end up being real good players with some development time.

people love to bash montoya but IMO he certainly has the skill to be a great goalie, he's just struggled with consistancy this year as well as being somewhat a victum of michigans "system" (don't allow a lot of shots cuz you're on offense all the time, then give up wonderful scoring opportunities and leave your goalie out to dry resulting in him having a poor save %). he's started off the CCHA tournament real well though and we'll see how he does there...might end up in hartford next year and I expect him to bounce back well.

korpikoski is a kind of long range prospect...he didn't get a ton of icetime in the finnish league this year, playing down on the chart behind NHLers and being a rookie. from all accounts he played well though and has tremendous work ethic...he can score against players his own age just fine and the feeling i get is that he just hasn't "grown up" as fast as guys like nokelainen. give him time to mature and he'll be a good hockey player...

they also picked up some guys like billy ryan and darin olver...skilled guys with some offensive talent but most people are gonna go "who?" when you say those names. playing in the NCAA...ryan is a rookie with maine and has done alright...with more experience and filling out some more, i think he'll be a more integral part of their team next year and will take over more scoring responsibility.

darin olver leads N. Michigan this year in scoring...struggled to score goals a bit this year but has been on a tear assist wise lately. talented guy but needs to get stronger.

then you have bruce graham, jakub petruzalek, roman psurny, ryan callahan, brandon dubinsky...lot of players we really just gotta wait and see how they turn out...

I'm fairly happy with the draft cuz i think there's enough talented guys in there that a few will develop quite well at least

 

[MrMastodonFarm*]

But every draft there seems to be that one or two guys who are almost flawless when you read the scouting reports, but for some reason they drop lower than they should.

Maszaros is nowhere near flawless. Get away from whatever scouting report you read and watch him play.

As for Meszaros vs Barker.. well, I am not a big Barker fan either.

 

[markov`]

That is right out of left field. As much as I absolutely love your name (and probably the only person who understands the reference), there is a whole lot of crap in that there post, and you obviously haven't seen him play much. In the weak 2004 draft, Meszaros at 23 is a complete steal. If it were redone today, he would easily be top ten, and there's just no way the Thrasher's pass him up. He has adjusted seamlessly to the North American game, playing a very physical style. Your comments regarding his apparently poor decision making are just plain wrong. He makes the occasional mistake in his own end as any young defenseman will, but he has been far and away the most consistent player on the Giants this year, solid defensively, an absolute horse in the absence of Fistric playing easily 30+ minutes a night, and he has stepped into a leadership role, picking up an A early in the season. He is incredibly strong, has an excellent first pass, a bullet of a shot, skates very well, goes on end to end rushes semi regularly, and hits like a machine. He does take more penalties than he should, but this is not a big deal considering the style of game he plays. The funny thing in all of this is, I don't even really like Meszaros much.

Agree with everything. I ranked Meszaros was the 2nd best defenseman before the draft. Him, Barker and Smid are gonna be really, really good defenseman out of the 2004 draft.

 

[markov`]

Maszaros is nowhere near flawless. Get away from whatever scouting report you read and watch him play.

As for Meszaros vs Barker.. well, I am not a big Barker fan either.

How many times have you seen Meszaros play?

Because I actually did 4 times, and he was not far from "flawless". Maybe it was just a bad game you caught.

 

[MrMastodonFarm*]

Because I actually did 4 times, and he was not far from "flawless". Maybe it was just a bad game you caught.

I've seen him, oh, about 10 times now I guess. That is live in person, on TV with the Giants, and on TV at the World Juniors. Each game he makes some major mistakes that just leave me shaking my head. Those mistakes are major bonehead penalties that could have easily been avoided or blunders in his own end.

I'm not saying he won't correct these but he is far from the steal at 23rd overall most people think he is. I see why he was drafted where he was drafted.

 

[Frenzy31]

I think the Blues had a very solid draft and since everyone seems to honking their own teams horn, I will do so also. By no means an I saying that we can compare to Chicago or Washington, but we did have a strong draft.

1. Schwarz: There will always be a debate that compares him to the two taken ahead of him. Only time will tell who of the three winds up better. I am glad that he came over to get used to NA style of play.

2. Carl Soderberg: Played in the SEL for Malmo but also saw time w/ a 2nd tier team where to put up a number of points. W/ the NHLers in the SEL, he didn't get the icetime that many thought he would. We will see how he continues to progress.

3. Viktor Alexandrov: Playing in the RSL and playing very well. Puts up points and a very good pick in the 3rd round.

4. Michal Birner: Came over to get used to NA style of play and didn't adapt well. Was traded in mid season to Saginaw where he drastically improved playing along side fellow countryman. (Personally, I like the 5 and 6 picks better)

5. Nikita Nikitin: I think he is the sleeper for the Blues system. He has spent the entire year in the RSL w/ OMSK. WJC Russian team requested him for a tryout, but OMSK wouldn't release him . He only played in 3 game through December but over the last 3 weeks has played 9. Don't know if that is due to injury or what, but it is a good sign w/ OMSK going to the playoffs.

6. Roman Polak - The 2nd Czek taken in the draft. Came over and is playing for the WHL. Not statistically great (pt wise) but doing well and adapting to NA style.

7. David Fredrickson - Spent part of the year in the 2nd tier SEL and saw very few games w/ the SEL. Played on the WJC for Sweden. Holmstrom type player. Pleau thinks that his game is more fit for NA style - We will see.

9. John Boutin - He is an older player and is in the Q. His numbers are respectable but not great. Typical 9th rounder.

 

[Vatican Roulette]

I may be breaking the trend of hyping up my own team, but last June I thought Chicago had one of the strongest drafts. Dunno if that's still the case since I haven't really followed the progress of any of their prospects. Washington also had a very solid draft.

I agree. Them and Washington had the best drafts IMO. I dont know if they will be like that in the end, but as far as getting players with talent and a good chance to suceed, i think they get my vote.

 

[Seph]

korpikoski is a kind of long range prospect...he didn't get a ton of icetime in the finnish league this year, playing down on the chart behind NHLers and being a rookie. from all accounts he played well though and has tremendous work ethic...he can score against players his own age just fine and the feeling i get is that he just hasn't "grown up" as fast as guys like nokelainen. give him time to mature and he'll be a good hockey player...

When I brought up Korpi's stats this year in my post about Nokie, I wasn't trying to degrade Korpikoski's development at all. He could very well turn out the best of the three finns, as he has a nice game and some good skills. I was just pointing out that Nokie was rated behind Tukonen and Korpikoski, despite having a better all around game because scouts questioned his scoring ability and wanted to see him put up better numbers. I only used Korpikoski as an example to show just how good Nokelainen's numbers are for his age in that league.

Obviously all three of them still have maturing to do and a lot of potential to grow into more. Korpi's speed and work ethic alone should be enough to turn him into a useful NHLer even as a downside. And he has plenty of time to still improve his scoring touch. He remains a nice safe pick at where he was drafted. Either way, I definitely didn't mean to imply that he was a bust or even a worse prospect after this season.

 

[West]

While I don't think that the Isles had the best draft last year in the league, I think this list is rather incomplete.

3rd round (82overall) C Sergei Ogordnikov in the RSL has put up 16 GP 2G 2A, and 20GP 8G 13A in the 1st League.

Ok, not outstanding long shot to make an NHL impact.

7th round (227overall) D Chris Campoli - as a rookie defenseman in the AHL, he's second on the team in scoring and is outscoring players like Pitkanen, Ehrhoff, Whitney, Seidenberg, etc, while stepping in immediately as the team's number 1 D.

I don't see him as noticably better than Dennis Wideman who's could very easily be a career AHL'er but he could also be a top 4.

8th round (244overall) LW Jason Pitton improved to 66GP 22G 15A in the OHL

Has an outside shot at making NHL as a fourth liner.

9th round (276overall) G Sylvain Michaud 56GP 27-18-6 2.89GAA 0.905 SV% while facing over 30 shots per game in the QMJHL and has won defensive player of the week at least once that I've noticed.

Long shot to make NHL even considering this year.

Your average team is going to graduate about 2 quality career NHL'ers a year and one of those will be a career 3rd and 4th liner. There's going to be a few surprizes but hyping alot of guy's who are longshot players doesn't mean you had a good draft.

I'd say Nokelainen(top 6), Comeau (3rd liner) and O'Neill (top 4 D) have a better than 50/50 chance of hitting the level I predicted. Everyone else (except maybe Chris Campoli) will being really good hockey players are longshots for having any NHL career.

NYI 1993 Draft (one of their best drafts in last 15 years).

23 Todd Bertuzzi
40 Bryan McCabe
66 Vladimir Chebaturkin
92 Warren Luhning
118 Tommy Salo
144 Peter Leboutillier
170 Darren Van Impe
196 Rod Hinks
222 Daniel Johansson
248 Stephane Larocque
274 Carl Charland

Why was it a good draft

23 Todd Bertuzzi
40 Bryan McCabe
118 Tommy Salo
170 Darren Van Impe (played 411 games and 115 points over nine seasons).

 

[Seph]

Ok, not outstanding long shot to make an NHL impact.

I don't see him as noticably better than Dennis Wideman who's could very easily be a career AHL'er but he could also be a top 4.

Has an outside shot at making NHL as a fourth liner.

Long shot to make NHL even considering this year.

Your average team is going to graduate about 2 quality career NHL'ers a year and one of those will be a career 3rd and 4th liner. There's going to be a few surprizes but hyping alot of guy's who are longshot players doesn't mean you had a good draft.

I'd say Nokelainen(top 6), Comeau (3rd liner) and O'Neill (top 4 D) have a better than 50/50 chance of hitting the level I predicted. Everyone else (except maybe Chris Campoli) will being really good hockey players are longshots for having any NHL career.

NYI 1993 Draft (one of their best drafts in last 15 years).

23 Todd Bertuzzi
40 Bryan McCabe
66 Vladimir Chebaturkin
92 Warren Luhning
118 Tommy Salo
144 Peter Leboutillier
170 Darren Van Impe
196 Rod Hinks
222 Daniel Johansson
248 Stephane Larocque
274 Carl Charland

Why was it a good draft

23 Todd Bertuzzi
40 Bryan McCabe
118 Tommy Salo
170 Darren Van Impe (played 411 games and 115 points over nine seasons).

Agreed that NYI's draft is unlikely to stand up against 93. There are very few drafts that will net you a top 3 powerforward in the league, a top pairind D, a reasonable number goalie and a very serviceable bottom pairing D.

And I'm not trying to say any of these guys have particularly high chances of making the NHL as anything more than serviceable role players. I was more pointing out the improvement in play in several guys, and were the draft done over again, they might've gone higher. Few expect any 7-9th rounder to turn out like say, Rick Tocchet. But these guys have improved their play and have proved they were very solid picks for where they were taken.

I think you may be selling Ogordnikov a bit short, as I see him as a boom or bust player. Either being a nice secondary scoring center, or nothing. Campoli I think as a very good shot at making the NHL, at worst as a PP specialist. Pitton was included more for his improvement over his draft year. If he continues to improve at the same rate, he has higher upside than the fourth line, especially considering his size. This is admittedly a major 'if'. Michaud was included for pretty much the same reason. He is putting up good stats considering the league and team he plays for. He has shown stretches of brilliance. If he continues to improve he could be a very serviceable back up, which would be great for a 9th rounder.

These guys have shown improvement. Very nice improvement in a number of them. While their top end is admittedly limited, if they continue to improve as they have, we could end up with some nice players. But regardless, they weren't half bad picks and are developing nicely.

 

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Meh, I don't see it as being that drastic. I don't beleive Meszaros has a big leg up on any of the players drafted around him. Wolski, Chipchura, Zajac, Chucko, Schremp. I don't see Meszaros being that much better of a prospect then any of those guys. I just don't see it. He has some big wholes in his game.

Just for reference, I don't see Meszaros being a better prospect then Mike Green. Both of them are 85's and are the same age as Weber, Coburn, Phaneuf etc. Meszaros has serious holes in his own end as long with poor decision making. His offence isn't near Green's in terms of playing in the WHL right now. Is Green a steal at #29?

I would easily take him over Green. Of course I'm not the world's biggest Green fan. I think Ottawa got a pretty good player at #23. I'm not sure I'd call him a total steal at this point but it could end up that way.