HF's 2005 Staff Mock Draft

[Chaos]

Wow, that late! Why is that? Led the CCHA is scoring this season, was 2nd in 2003-04. Ranked 6th overall in scoring in the nation this year, up from T-13. Kid can score and play some great hockey. Good take that late. Who would you take at 28?. That is, going by the HF Mock Draft previous selections.

He's too good an offensive player for the Dallas Stars to select in the first round. Now, if he were a character, two way 3rd line type guy, then they might take him. But he has too much talent and scoring ability for the Stars to take that high.

P.S.- The above contains heavy amounts of sarcasm.

 

[dafranchz]

P.S.- The above contains heavy amounts of sarcasm.

Yeah I felt it!

 

[KH1]

Very good as usual. I would love Bourret at #15

 

[Anthony Mauro]

He's too good an offensive player for the Dallas Stars to select in the first round. Now, if he were a character, two way 3rd line type guy, then they might take him. But he has too much talent and scoring ability for the Stars to take that high.

P.S.- The above contains heavy amounts of sarcasm.

Haha, PS by no means am I saying thats a bad pick. It only benefits the rest of the 29 teams by getting Hensick out of the way and leaving another prospect undrafted as of then. That just lets "their" guy slide down even closer to their pick. Thanks alot.

 

[borro]

The Caps need defense. I could see them trading up for a Brule or JJ. I think they would take Bourdon in that situation. Lee would address a need and I know the Caps like him. Just not the BPA.

 

[txomisc]

He's too good an offensive player for the Dallas Stars to select in the first round. Now, if he were a character, two way 3rd line type guy, then they might take him. But he has too much talent and scoring ability for the Stars to take that high.

P.S.- The above contains heavy amounts of sarcasm.

Unfortunately, it might be true. Actually I think we are due to blow our early pick on a goalie this year

 

[fred2792]

It's a good mock! For Montreal, I prefer Kopitar to Ryan but he's my close second choice. He could be a good fit too, since so much time we try to get a power foward... I just hope we'll see Zagrapan fall to Nashville, it will be a great fit there.

 

[ZombieMatt]

To those who might have seen Latendresse play in the U18s and want to lynch me for the pick, go to the Canucks board where I have explained the reasoning.

 

[Sabres75]

Buffalo may not take their need at 13th

Although, I agree that the Sabres need a defensman..........I feel that at 13th the 1 or 2 possible defender is already gone.

Over the past few days I have come to the realization that going with a forward at 13th is better for several reasons;

1. Forwards like Cogliano and Stoa have better upside potential than remaining d-men at 13th.

2. Less time to develop a forward and reduces risk of coming out with Phillip Boucher(Sabres pick at 13th) who can't develop and then had to trade.

3. Sabres are thinking best player available at 13th..........If you don't believe me see Drew Stafford 13th pick 2004. YES the Sabres need a defenseman, but if Staal doesn't drop from the sky expect them to take a forward or best player available.

 

[MontrealSF]

It's a good mock! For Montreal, I prefer Kopitar to Ryan but he's my close second choice. He could be a good fit too, since so much time we try to get a power foward... I just hope we'll see Zagrapan fall to Nashville, it will be a great fit there.

I like the mystery of Kopitar too, but I felt the Habs were more in a dire need of a power forward. This was a very tough choice.

 

[Letang fan 58]

My only problem with the staff mock is that Price is taken far to low....i cant imagine him making it out of the top 10 and think its possible he could go top 5 with an outside shot at minnesota taking him~

 

[GKJ]

Jared....you may have went a little too risky there with the Devils. That is a pick you may want to try in the 2nd round. Still addresses the Devils needs though. Great read.

Has that ever stopped the Devils scouts in the past?

 

[X0ssbar]

You do realize how long goaltenders take to develop right? Take Ryan Miller for example. He's been highly touted, at one point the number one ranked prospect by HF, and he's 25 now. So with the UFA age being lowered to 27 are you really going to waste all of that time developing a guy so he can walk after two years of being with your club? I think not. Goalie's in the first are going to be a dying breed unless they are exceptional talents ala Lehtonen.

I was thinking the exact same thing. I could also see teams passing on high risk/high reward defensemen like a Valabik in the first round due to the new UFA rules. Heck the same could be said for Euros in general. You don't want to waste an early pick on a Euro unless your certain he'll be willing to cross the pond in 2 years.

It will be interesting to watch how these new UFA rules effect the draft this year.

 

[Season Ticket Holder]

Good read.

Quite a few explanations involved "Team needs X" or "Team is a bit lacking in the X department". The mantra of the past was always, "best player available", but in this new age of the NHL, are people foreseeing teams picking more for need?

I'm not sure that's the case. I'd still venture to say that teams will pick the best player available, regardless of position, but maybe that's shifting.

Even with the new CBA, that's not going to change the rate at which young guys develop. While we may see MORE young guys playing due to financial constraints, this isn't going to become the NBA or NFL where drafted players often step right in and make a huge impact (except perhaps with the likes of Crosby).

So, do people think need is gonig to become more of a factor than in the past?

STH

 

[turnbuckle*]

Always fun to see the different mocks, and this one is 'different'.

I'm not positive that center is Columbus' biggest need. Last time I checked you needed 6 defencemen, and they don't have it. Is Klesla going to be a number one? Even if that eventually happens, who is their projected number two? Columbus is going to seriously consider Staal at #6 IMO. Mclean traded Sydor for Svitiov because he thinks he'll come around - I'm skeptical of that, but it wouldn't surprise me to see Columbus take Staal. If Staal drops to 9, Ottawa may consider him, but they are really not targetting d-men, and I would be shocked if they pass on Price to add yet another blueliner. Pothier, Redden, Phillips, Chara, Meszaros, Volchenkov....c'mon!

AS for Latendresse going 10th overall....the love for this year's most overrated HFer is not going to stop until next Saturday I guess. I loved CSS's ranking on him. I'm just waiting for someone to make a mock draft with Blunden in the top 8.

Bergfors over Bourret is just wrong IMO - Bourret brings a similar skill set, but tons more strength, grit and heart. If my favourite team picked Bergie over Bourret I'd be royally pissed.

 

[Vatican Roulette]

Detroit can not afford to draft a goaltender with this pick. They desperately need help on the wings and defense. Goaltending has tons of depth.


A lot of the other picks are off IMO as well.

 

[Seachd]

You do realize how long goaltenders take to develop right? Take Ryan Miller for example. He's been highly touted, at one point the number one ranked prospect by HF, and he's 25 now. So with the UFA age being lowered to 27 are you really going to waste all of that time developing a guy so he can walk after two years of being with your club? I think not. Goalie's in the first are going to be a dying breed unless they are exceptional talents ala Lehtonen.

If he's going to walk at 27, he'd have to have 4 years in the NHL first.

 

[CH Wizard]

I'd have no problem with Ryan.He's a good goalscorer...we've been lookin' for a goalscorer here in Montreal for so a longtime.

 

[X0ssbar]

I'm not positive that center is Columbus' biggest need. Last time I checked you needed 6 defencemen, and they don't have it. Is Klesla going to be a number one? Even if that eventually happens, who is their projected number two? Columbus is going to seriously consider Staal at #6 IMO. Mclean traded Sydor for Svitiov because he thinks he'll come around - I'm skeptical of that, but it wouldn't surprise me to see Columbus take Staal. If Staal drops to 9, Ottawa may consider him, but they are really not targetting d-men, and I would be shocked if they pass on Price to add yet another blueliner. Pothier, Redden, Phillips, Chara, Meszaros, Volchenkov....c'mon!

While agree that Columbus has some titanic sized holes on defense to address they also lack a legitimate center prospect with first line potential. Fritsche could fill this roll but he has some serious injury question marks. Regardless, Columbus always goes the BPA route in the first round. The consenus is that there are 6 elite prospects in this draft and Staal, while a good propect, is not in that group.

This comment sums up the CBJ's plan come draft day:

"Yeah, obviously if you had No. 2 you’re getting your choice, but I’m telling you it was unbelievable for us to try and pick between two and six. We had hours of fights in our meetings, trying to pick and slot-in two through six. We had people on our staff -- the guy we have sixth -- there are a lot of people wanting him two, three, four. So, you don’t get your choice, but we’re going to get a very good player who is going to compliment our group. I think you know the top six names pretty well and they’re the ones saying it goes one to six and then (the draft pool) drops. I feel really good about that."

Only way we draft Staal is if we trade down - which I would never rule out.

Also - MacLean has stated that he is targeting to bring in two veteran defensemen either via UFA or trade. So hopefully our defensive holes will be addressed through those channels.

Link

 

[ZombieMatt]

AS for Latendresse going 10th overall....the love for this year's most overrated HFer is not going to stop until next Saturday I guess. I loved CSS's ranking on him. I'm just waiting for someone to make a mock draft with Blunden in the top 8.

I'll certainly respect your opinion, but having had the opportunity to see both play live a few times while I was out in New Brunswick the past year, I just don't see a reason to take Bourret ahead of Latendresse. If you want to blame the "overrating" on anyone, it would be my fault because I have actually seen him play a number of times in person and saw him play exceptionally well.

You have two guys with similar upsides. Frankly, Bourret doesn't have 1st line potential. 2nd line, yes, first, from what I've seen...no. Latendresse could be a first line player. At #10 overall, with the Canucks desperately lacking anyone with big time ability, why take a 7B over an 8C?

 

[Jason MacIsaac]

I'll certainly respect your opinion, but having had the opportunity to see both play live a few times while I was out in New Brunswick the past year, I just don't see a reason to take Bourret ahead of Latendresse. If you want to blame the "overrating" on anyone, it would be my fault because I have actually seen him play a number of times in person and saw him play exceptionally well.

You have two guys with similar upsides. Frankly, Bourret doesn't have 1st line potential. 2nd line, yes, first, from what I've seen...no. Latendresse could be a first line player. At #10 overall, with the Canucks desperately lacking anyone with big time ability, why take a 7B over an 8C?

Agreed, Latendresse is a bus moving full speed. He plays like a smaller Bertuzzi. He has a mean streak, he is strong along the boards and he has amazingly soft hands around the net. His skating is a little off but that can be fixed with hard work. I have said this in the past and will say it again, Latendresse is better then Brule.

 

[Divine Wind]

I don't like the habs picking Ryan. I'd take Kopitar before him. But I'd like to see the habs trade up (to carolina) or down (to ottawa) to take Pouliot or stall or Bourdon

Damn! I wish Edmonton had those sort of problems to deal with!

 

[turnbuckle*]

Matt, first-line players normally have to be able to skate -he can't even skate at the NHL level at this point, let alone be looked at as a future first line NHLer. Perhaps he is like a bus, and if he is it's a Hippie bus going 10 miles an hour. With all due respect Matt, you are not a professional scout, and I am basing most of my thoughts on Latendresse based on scout's opinions, not my own.

I saw many a junior player in my younger days that I naively thought would be good NHLers because they were big, and at times dominant at the major junior level. Steve Maltais is a prime example when he played for the Cornwall Royals. He simply dominated other players physically, and he was a pretty good scorer as well. I thought he'd end up being a better NHLer than Matt Schneider, whom the Habs (my team) had drafted. I was wrong. Why? His skating.

Well, scouts are telling me the same thing about Latendresse, and having had the opportunity to see him play on at least a half dozen occasions last season, I agree with them. IMO Bourrett will be a solid second liner some day, while Latendresse will struggle to make the NHL. If he can dramatically improve his skating, he will be a decent second liner someday, a physical presence that can chip in 25-30 goals - but a player on the same level as a Nash, Kovalev, Kovalchuk, Heatley, Hejduk, Tkachuk, Kariya, Samsonov, Palffy, Ovechkin,Lemieux, Gagne, etc. - in other words, a first line winger? I'm extremely skeptical. Those are lofty standards.

 

[ZombieMatt]

You obviously have you opinion set, and that's fine. That is the nature of things.

But I'd just like to point out that a 30 goal scorer is a first line player on most teams. I never said he would be a player on par with: "Nash, Kovalev, Kovalchuk, Heatley, Hejduk, Tkachuk, Kariya, Samsonov, Palffy, Ovechkin,Lemieux, Gagne". These are elite first liners. Not every first line player is an All-Star. 30 teams, 3 players per top line, that's ninety first line players in the NHL.

 

[Upside]

Matt, first-line players normally have to be able to skate -he can't even skate at the NHL level at this point, let alone be looked at as a future first line NHLer. Perhaps he is like a bus, and if he is it's a Hippie bus going 10 miles an hour. With all due respect Matt, you are not a professional scout, and I am basing most of my thoughts on Latendresse based on scout's opinions, not my own.

I saw many a junior player in my younger days that I naively thought would be good NHLers because they were big, and at times dominant at the major junior level. Steve Maltais is a prime example when he played for the Cornwall Royals. He simply dominated other players physically, and he was a pretty good scorer as well. I thought he'd end up being a better NHLer than Matt Schneider, whom the Habs (my team) had drafted. I was wrong. Why? His skating.

Well, scouts are telling me the same thing about Latendresse, and having had the opportunity to see him play on at least a half dozen occasions last season, I agree with them. IMO Bourrett will be a solid second liner some day, while Latendresse will struggle to make the NHL. If he can dramatically improve his skating, he will be a decent second liner someday, a physical presence that can chip in 25-30 goals - but a player on the same level as a Nash, Kovalev, Kovalchuk, Heatley, Hejduk, Tkachuk, Kariya, Samsonov, Palffy, Ovechkin,Lemieux, Gagne, etc. - in other words, a first line winger? I'm extremely skeptical. Those are lofty standards.

Hey turnbuckle clean out your mail box