Bob McKenzie's Top 30 Draft Prospects

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Buffaloed

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JohnGalt said:
No one likes Bobby Mac more than I do but if you were a scout for an NHL team would you be telling him (or anyone) where you had Brule ranked? Why? That is exactly what your job is not to do. If I were a GM and one of my scouts went giving out lists that scout would get the boot.

If I was rating my team's prospects for Bob, I wouldn't be totally honest. If I really liked Brule I'd bump him down a few spots then where I actually have him rated. If he slumps in enough ratings, teams might not draft him before your turn. If I didn't like him, I'd hype him up and hope some other team picks him so the player I really want is still there when I pick. Hopefully it all evens out from getting a large enough sample, but this sort of thing does go on. Prior to the 2003 draft, Darcy Regier stated on the record that the Sabres would not use the #5 pick for Thomas Vanek. Was he sincere at the time, or merely trying to deter other teams from trading up to draft him?
 

BobMckenzie

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Jul 23, 2003
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Brule said:
Don't forget about me... :rant:

LOL! Oh well, I could really care less if he went 2nd or 30th.

Well, like I said, it only takes one team to like him at 2 and if that team has the second pick, bingo! It's not like I talked to all 30 teams...as for the poster who asked why 10...it's a nice round number, it's a manageable amount of work and I've found the overall big picture doesn't change much beyond a sample size of seven to 10...hardly scientific, but hey, I sucked at science and, besides, I get to make up the rules.
:D
 

Atlas

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And as for the poster who can't believe NHL team scouts would actually tell me what they really think and where they have players rated, well, all I can say is they do (and it's a good thing, too) and it's probably because we have a strong bond of trust that dates back in many cases 15 to 25 years. To tell you the truth, my entire livelihood is based on people telling me things they ought not to.


Bob, I'm thinking it must be like Buffaloed suggested. We already have a good idea about the projected top 15 players or so. So the scouts give you an "I like this guy over this guy" and every one knows what range we are talking about. And I'm sure you see these guys in the stands and they say all kinds of things after a couple brewskis.

I've enjoyed your Draft Preview for years. In the case of Brule, it's hard for me to imagine a scout being honest about him being #2 or #6 on their list. And, of course, the scouts have their own opinions but the head scout and GM or even the owner might trump what so-and-so thinks. It's great fun!

My guess is that the better drafting deptartments (New Jersey and Detroit, for example) throw out a lot of deception. They seem to run disciplined systems.
 

Seachd

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Mar 16, 2002
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Thanks, Bob. Very interesting.

I like the little side stories involved (I never knew that about Ryan). I also like the fact that a lot of the guys were all over the place in terms of where they're ranked. Should make things pretty fun when the draft rolls around.

Pretty surprised to see how highly Bourdon and Hanzal are thought of. Not to mention how low Latendresse is.

I can hardly wait for this thing to roll around.
 

Captain Conservative

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BobMckenzie said:
To tell you the truth, my entire livelihood is based on people telling me things they ought not to. :dunno:


And here I thought you slept your way to the top. :sarcasm:


Thanks for the great draft preview Bob. :handclap:

Where do you think the Caps will draft if what you've heard from your "sauces" are correct?
 

An Ape called Yoko

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Ok. But this is pure bs about Bergfors:
"Some teams fear he doesn't have enough speed ".

Who told him that? The worst scout on the planet? His speed is his game. He is probably one of the fastest players in the draft. Well done Bob.

:clap:
 

King'sPawn

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Buffaloed said:
If I was rating my team's prospects for Bob, I wouldn't be totally honest. If I really liked Brule I'd bump him down a few spots then where I actually have him rated. If he slumps in enough ratings, teams might not draft him before your turn. If I didn't like him, I'd hype him up and hope some other team picks him so the player I really want is still there when I pick. Hopefully it all evens out from getting a large enough sample, but this sort of thing does go on. Prior to the 2003 draft, Darcy Regier stated on the record that the Sabres would not use the #5 pick for Thomas Vanek. Was he sincere at the time, or merely trying to deter other teams from trading up to draft him?

See, I just don't think it works like that. Call me naive, but I figure the scouts are giving Bob their honest opinions on these prospects.

1. NHL teams have MANY scouts. Ten scouts from ten different NHL teams disclosing this information tells very little. GMs have a much more in depth compilation of scouting reports than what's being revealed to Bob.

2. Why, of all players, would each team suddenly pick on Brule? Why isn't Johnson, Pouliot, or Ryan... 3 of what a lot of us pegged to be in the top 5, skewed at all?

Mind you, if I was a GM, I would not feel comfortable with my scouts disclosing any of their info with anyone but myself or my scouting team. But, those scouts that do so have done so with the idea that their identity and team is kept secret by Bob. Likewise, Bob's article is dependent on the honesty of these scouts. Why is it such a stretch that, possibly, scouts just aren't as high on Brule as the rest of us are?

Thanks for the time taken to do the article Bob. Well done!
 

Le Golie

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Jul 4, 2002
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As for the reliability of these sources, trust is a two way street. As BM said these are people he has been building relationships with for years. These sources trust him to be confidential and he obviously must trust them to be forthcoming and honest with their information or he wouldn't publish it.
 

PecaFan

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King'sPawn said:
2. Why, of all players, would each team suddenly pick on Brule? Why isn't Johnson, Pouliot, or Ryan... 3 of what a lot of us pegged to be in the top 5, skewed at all?

His point wasn't about Brule at all. His point was that scouts have good reasons not to give the whole truth. By definition, those other players *would* be skewed as well, ranked higher than normal if many were downplaying someone.

Now, most likely it all pretty much balances out, because for everyone downplaying Brule in hopes of getting him, there's someone downplaying Johnson, etc.
 

Debrincat93

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Duff88 said:
I have already said it alot, but if Zagrapan falls lower than #20, alot of teams COULD regret it.

Now, I know that he's a risky pick, but his skillset alone make him worth the risk; I'd say he's a calculated risk and could make a lot of teams cry in a few years.

That said, this is a great list and it's really appreciated. Thanks mr. McKenzie, I can't wait to read what you have to say when you'll post about this here. :handclap:

kinda like how schremp had problems and a lot of teams are regretting that now :dunno:


btw: is this a weak draft for russian and swedes? i see only bergfors in the first, low draft for euros or just in the first round :dunno:

i dont see 1 russian in his mock in the first, suprising cuz theyve come up with so many top end guys in the past few years, and not 1 this year
 
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Seph

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An Ape called Yoko said:
Ok. But this is pure bs about Bergfors:
"Some teams fear he doesn't have enough speed ".

Who told him that? The worst scout on the planet? His speed is his game. He is probably one of the fastest players in the draft. Well done Bob.

:clap:
Read the actual sentence. No one is calling him slow, or even a bad skater. But for a guy who isn't all that big and if you question his skill level, the bar kind of gets raised for how good of a skater he has to be an impact player at the NHL level.
 

Seachd

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Seph said:
Read the actual sentence. No one is calling him slow, or even a bad skater. But for a guy who isn't all that big and if you question his skill level, the bar kind of gets raised for how good of a skater he has to be an impact player at the NHL level.
From what I noticed, he wasn't blindingly fast, but he looked like a pretty decent skater. I doubt he's one of the fastest guys in the draft, as Ape said.

But from what I saw of him (U18s), he looked like one of the most skilled guys in the whole tourney. I'm not a scout, but I was impressed. He also seemed pretty smart on the ice.
 

CH Wizard

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Nice job, Bob.

This all based on opinions.The thing is that, they're different from the ISS and CSS ones.So what? We fans, want to see the different views on every prospect in the draft.

I also find Brule low...but it's ok.Pouliot upside is huge and and that's why he'll be drafted anywhere in the 3-6 range.

I saw that there's a huge gap between Price and Rask.Well, Price has many tools, he's also big but I wouldn't put Rask that low.Setoguchi has to work on his consistency because that'll scare a lot of gm's.He definately had some good U-18's tho'.I also think, he'll go late first.

Stoa will definitaley be a sleeper kind of pick.

Nice overall ranking. :handclap:
 

LaLaLaprise

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Feb 28, 2002
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I liked the rankings personally. I know when some places do rankings they try and "one up" each other by throwing in "their boys" and ranking guys who have no business being top 10 in the top 10. Kind of like what Redline does every year. They have JP Lavvaseur ranked top 10 all year, maybe it is too get attention or they just feel they need to be different.

That is what I like about BOB's rankings, he doesnt try to go all showy and just does a solid safe list.
 

MePutPuckInNet

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I'm surprised to see Cogliano at 18. [Not because I don't think he deserves to be, but I just didn't think anyone else thought so].

He's more like Zach Parise than ... Zach Parise is.

He'd be a fine pick for the Minnesota Wild,,,yep, that's what I'm thinkin'.
 
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