Columbus

[NWAvs]

I was looking at the passed few drafts, and am I the only one who thinks they just draft really bad?

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[R S]

I don't think they draft bad, but I do think they rush their prospects. Voracek, Brule and Brassard all should have played longer in junior/AHL before being thrown into big roles at the NHL level. Hopefully Johansen doesn't turn out the same.

 

[GoJackets1]

I was looking at the passed few drafts, and am I the only one who thinks they just draft really bad?

Before Howson got here, yes. But Howson has drafted some great late round players like Calvert and David Savard. And I give him a lot of credit for drafting johansen.

 

[NWAvs]

Ahh ok. I I was just wondering cuz I was looking through past drafts and it seems like teams beire an after then gave more impact players everytime. When did Howson start?

 

[Timeless Winter]

They don't only draft bad, they develop players horribly too.

 

[thestonedkoala]

They don't only draft bad, they develop players horribly too.

Winner!

And I don't think Filatov is going to do anything either, which is a shame.

 

[Amputechture]

Like others have said I feel as though they have rushed some of their higher drafted players in previous years. Hopefully they dont make the same mistake with Moore and Johansen because those two look to be solid picks.

 

[Brodeur]

Ahh ok. I I was just wondering cuz I was looking through past drafts and it seems like teams beire an after then gave more impact players everytime. When did Howson start?

Howson took over in 2007, but literally was hired a week before the Draft. Part of him being hired was keeping most of the staff that had existed during the previous regime.

Most of the focus on their bad drafts will be on their first rounders. Klesla was the consensus best player remaining in the 2000 Draft, but they didn't do him any favors by rushing him into the lineup.

2003 should have helped, but Zherdev didn't pan out like they thought--then GM Doug MacLean proudly declared they had Zherdev #1 on their list. Back in 2001, they shipped off their 2003 2nd rounder to Dallas for Grant Marshall. Dallas turned that pick (33rd overall) into Loui Eriksson.

2004, they picked #4 in a draft where there was thought to be a set top 3 with Ovechkin/Malkin/Barker. Columbus opted to trade down and missed with their picks.

2005, I think all of us would have taken Brule. But they rushed him and injuries derailed his development.

2006, they picked sixth when most considered a top tier of five. Their decision came down to Derick Brassard or Peter Mueller.

 

[Crede777]

Howson took over in 2007, but literally was hired a week before the Draft. Part of him being hired was keeping most of the staff that had existed during the previous regime.

Most of the focus on their bad drafts will be on their first rounders. Klesla was the consensus best player remaining in the 2000 Draft, but they didn't do him any favors by rushing him into the lineup.

2003 should have helped, but Zherdev didn't pan out like they thought--then GM Doug MacLean proudly declared they had Zherdev #1 on their list. Back in 2001, they shipped off their 2003 2nd rounder to Dallas for Grant Marshall. Dallas turned that pick (33rd overall) into Loui Eriksson.

2004, they picked #4 in a draft where there was thought to be a set top 3 with Ovechkin/Malkin/Barker. Columbus opted to trade down and missed with their picks.

2005, I think all of us would have taken Brule. But they rushed him and injuries derailed his development.

2006, they picked sixth when most considered a top tier of five. Their decision came down to Derick Brassard or Peter Mueller.

This. We've only had 2 GM's in our 10 years. Doug MacLean (above) was real bad and didn't do the franchise very many favors.

Since Howson took over, I struggle to pick a player I'd have taken before Voracek, Filatov, and Moore on draft day. Would have gone with Fowler over Johansen, but meh I'll give that one to Howson as it's much too early to judge that draft.

Mostly it's a story of not being low enough. Columbus has never earned a top-2 pick, we had to trade up to get Nash. A bunch of 6-8 overalls is hard to form a team around, especially if you rush them because you have no good older players.

 

[Palinka]

The biggest shift in drafting plans from Doug MacLean to Scott Howson has been the actual implementation of a draft plan. What's unfortunate is that, because MacLean was such a colossal dope of a drafter, his deficiencies (of which there were many) have been unfairly passed on to the current regime.

The last four drafts have shown that, no, there is not a problem in Columbus with drafting. And, Filatov aside, there's not been any actual problem with development either, and it's certainly reasonable to point the finger squarely at the player for stunted development rather than the organization.

This is a thread I made a few months ago. It looks at every draft pick that Doug MacLean ever made, from the strange to the idiotic (Kiel McLeod) and all points in between: http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=872682

What you notice is that, since Scott Howson took over, the post-first round picks are actually still NHL prospects a year later, two years later, and three years later. That wasn't the case with MacLean. What you see now are players who are given opportunities to actually develop and then make the jump as their play dictates. The plan with someone like Matt Calvert (5th-rounder, 2008) was to draft him, give him two more years in Brandon, and give him a couple in the AHL to see if he could crack the NHL lineup. Instead, he made the team out of camp one year after being drafted but decided to take a last shot at the Memorial Cup, then showed he didn't need much AHL seasoning. Allen York was a 6th-round afterthought (2007), but he got four years in at RPI and then made the jump to the AHL at the end of this season. Tomas Kubalik (5th-rounder, 2008) has shown that he might be ready for the NHL, David Savard (4th-rounder, 2009) will get a long look...you get the idea.

Howson has done more in four years of drafts than MacLean did in seven. It's completely unfair to push MacLean's issues onto Howson simply because of the chair that both have occupied. Actually, scratch that....MacLean was never in the chair (or the office) on the floor with the rest of hockey ops.

 

[JacketsFanWest]

Just to add, back in the MacLean days, there was a lot of Huh? Who? on draft day. Despite a lot of hope, those players typically ended up never panning out (except for Andrew Murray)

Under Howson, there have been many lesser known players drafted (like Allen York, Cam Atkinson, Matt Calvert, Tomas Kubalik). They are tending to go off-the-board with some of their picks.

At the time, those Jackets draft picks didn't look all that impressive. But now, those players have at least panned out to be very good prospects.

That isn't to say that every pick is going to pan out now, but there's more hope that there is far better drafting, scouting and development that will lead lesser known players to follow the same path.