Biggest steal of the 1st round...2004 draft?

[Parrish]

Far to early to tell.It is mostly just who you think will prevail to work out.I think it will turn out to be Lukas Kaspar.

 

[Jayhorns]

Johan Fransson

 

[Paxon]

1. Tukonen
2. Schwartz

I agree, though perhaps I'd switch the order. Schwartz could very well end up the most dominating goalie of his generation, though he'll have some good competition in Lehtinen, Fleury, Luongo (though he's considerably older), and others. Tukonen is going to be a special player. I haven't been really following the draft for too long, but this past one was certainly the most surprising I've seen unfold.

 

[Spetzky]

Meszaros to the OTT

 

[Law Dawg]

Marek Schwarz for sure, he has the potential to be a franchise goalie and a lot of scouts rated him ahead of Montoya ....

 

[VanCanuck]

Meszaros

 

[King'sPawn]

Blake Wheeler. I can't believe he fell so far.

Dude, you are such a homer. You must be a Coyotes fan... so typical of you guys to overrate your prospects so much.

Ovechkin was CLEARLY the steal of the draft!

And yes, this is a joke for the humor impaired. Had to try and build on misfit's gem of a comment

 

[Thundermare]

I think he was kidding how can it be otherwise at 5th and such a reach he has to be... tell me you were ... please

 

[Puckhead]

How is it a 'steal' when NONE of the players have not played ONE NHL game?

The only indicator is NHL success. Not gobs of points in juniors, strong play at WJC, WC, etc...

Agreed, but it's more fun at this point to look at what that player's abilities, and hope they can put it together. What is it to sit here and say "HOW IS IT A STEAL WHEN NONE OF THESE PLAYERS HAVE EVEN PLAYED ONE NHL GAME YET" If you don't want to share your opinions on what these players projections could be then there are plenty of other threads you could be visiting.

 

[rikker]

Nokelainen. He is on the Finnish junior team while there is no sight of Tukonen or Korpikoski.

I'm ready for the 'homer' cat-calls...

 

[Puckhead]

Nokelainen. He is on the Finnish junior team while there is no sight of Tukonen or Korpikoski.

I'm ready for the 'homer' cat-calls...

No reason to worry about the Homer calls, Nokelainen is a very good prospect and I believe you will see him in the show before too long. Having said that, do not lose sight of the fact that Tukonen is definitely a more complete player at this point and has a very high ceiling. I think based on what each of the three Fins has to offer and given their situation with the team that drafted them I believe that Tukonen will have the best opportunity to shine, followed by Nokelainen slightly edging out Korpikoski. The latter two may change between now and the time they are given a serious look.

 

[EJG123]

Ovechkin was CLEARLY the steal of the draft!

Actually, it could be argued that he really was a steal. All it cost GM GM was his soul to win that lottery!

In all seriousness, my prediction is that Schwartz will be the "steal" of the draft. Early on it will look like Schremp for the first couple of years but then Schwartz will move to the head of the class.

 

[Colorado Avalanche]

Vojtek Wolski 21 pick

 

[F. Duchemin]

It's kind of like saying there is no point in having a weather channel because you will never know if their predictions are right or not until the weather actually happens.

Words of wisdom, no doubt!

 

[montreal]

Nokelainen. He is on the Finnish junior team while there is no sight of Tukonen or Korpikoski.

I'm ready for the 'homer' cat-calls...

Tukonen played on the team last year while Nokelainen and Korpikoski didn't, so I don't know what you mean by saying Nokelainen is on the junior team and the others aren't. All 3 will be there in decemeber I would think.


As for the biggest steal of the 1st round, I'm going to go with Thelen, who I think could end up being the top defensemen from this draft.

 

[X-SHARKIE]

No question it well turn out to be Tukonen...Schwarz taken behind Dubnyk was as a big steal as well.

Olesz at 7 well put together a better career then three of the players taken ahead of him as well.

 

[hockeyfan125]

Tukonen
Schwarz
Soderberg

 

[thestonedkoala]

Roman Voloshenko dropped into the 2nd round, I know there is some question over his skating but I don't think it means he is going to be a total bust. He is more of a boom or bust type for the Wild then usual but I heard his skating problems were overblown and he is in fact a solid offensive dynamo player, a type the Wild need.

 

[Rita12]

schremp,wolski,schwartz,tesliuk,meszaros were soem good picks

 

[Draft Guru]

Evgeni Malkin.

Any other ordinary year and he's the number 1 pick.

 

[NYRangers]

He is on the Finnish junior team while there is no sight of Tukonen or Korpikoski.

Korpikoski is in camp with the mens team.

 

[NYIschremp44]

Nokelainen. He is on the Finnish junior team while there is no sight of Tukonen or Korpikoski.

I'm ready for the 'homer' cat-calls...

ouch...as a fellow islanders fan i would like to distance myself from comments such as these! we're not all this stupid people...I promise!

 

[Russian_fanatic]

Kyle Chipchura who was rated the top North American prospect by Central Scouting prior to injuring his groin in January. Barker and Ladd went # 3 and #4 overall, but Chipchura was considered a better prospect than either for most of the year. Kyle came back from an injury in 2 weeks that sidelines most players for months. Johann Fransson opted out of the draft a year ago with the same injury becuase it ruined his draft rating.

Chipchura got what Kesler got in the 2003 draft. They don't posses offensive talent or atleast not much, but they're GREAT(Imagine Tony the Tiger ) defensively.

 

[rikker]

ouch...as a fellow islanders fan i would like to distance myself from comments such as these! we're not all this stupid people...I promise!

Forwards (WJC)

Nokelainen-Filppula-Bergenheim
Töykkälä-Immonen-Marjamäki
Tukonen-Kontiola-Oksa
Petrell-Piispanen-Nurmi

i apologize, Tukonen is on the team. teach me to believe hearsay.

Korpikoski...on which men's team?

Forwards (World Cup of Hockey)
Selänne, Teemu 7/3/1970 Helsinki, Finland Colorado Avalanche
Nieminen, Ville 4/6/1977 Tampere, Finland Calgary Flames
Koivu, Saku 11/23/1974 Turku, Finland Montreal Canadiens
Jokinen, Olli 12/5/1978 Kuopio, Finland Florida Panthers Miami
Ruutu, Tuomo 2/16/1983 Vantaa, Finland Chicago Blackhawks
Peltonen, Ville 5/24/1973 Vantaa, Finland HC Lugano - SUI
Eloranta, Mikko 8/24/1972 Turku, Finland TPS Turku - FIN
Laaksonen, Antti 10/3/1973 Tammela, Finland Minnesota Wild
Kapanen, Sami 6/14/1973 Vantae, Finland Philadelphia Flyers
Hentunen, Jukka 5/3/1974 Joroinen, Finland HC Fribourg-Gotteron - SUI
Lehtinen, Jere 6/24/1973 Espoo, Finland Dallas Stars
Hahl, Riku 11/1/1980 Hameenlinna, Finland Colorado Avalanche
Ruutu, Jarkko 8/23/1975 Helsinki, Finland Vancouver Canucks
Kapanen, Niko 4/29/1978 Hattula, Finland Dallas Stars
Pirnes, Esa 4/1/1977 Oulu, Finland Los Angeles Kings



anyway, my point was that Nokelainen is a soild prospect who gets little respect.

and JNR, stick it out your a**. a**hole.

ouch!

 

[littleHossa]

Weren't Nokelainen and Korpikoski on the same line in the WJC? I think they were on the 3rd, while Tukonen was on the 1st.