Just Wondering

[Kipper933]

Also in Lecavlier's draft year he was considered a clear cut number one pick in a pretty deep draft and he's just now coming into his own as a player.

I'd disagree. Heading into the draft, there was a fair bit of speculation that Legwand might go 1st overall, or at least more so than in '01 w/ Kovalchuk and Spezza.

I think most of the hype for Lecavalier in '98 actually came post-draft because of the owner's comments of the "Michael Jordan of Hockey".

 

[Epsilon]

You obviously don't understand much about drafting. Daigle got way more buzz than Ovechkin and therefor he would have been picked above him. Lecavalier may have, as well as Mush Head and others. Even last year you can't say he wouldn't have since Pittsburg obviously had their sights on Fleury. In every year there's a chance he WOULDN't be first and Daigle is one that almost certainly would have been picked over him.

He would have easily gone first last year because there's no way in hell Dudley would have traded out of the #1 position if he had a shot at Ovechkin.

 

[Rico Im Ur Fata]

You obviously don't understand much about drafting. Daigle got way more buzz than Ovechkin and therefor he would have been picked above him. Lecavalier may have, as well as Mush Head and others. Even last year you can't say he wouldn't have since Pittsburg obviously had their sights on Fleury. In every year there's a chance he WOULDN't be first and Daigle is one that almost certainly would have been picked over him.

Exactly. Capman29 is probably too caught up in worshipping the deity that is Ovechkin to realize that hype is half of what drafting is. That's why they call the NHL entry draft to be a crapshoot.

No one here is trying to denounce Ovechkin the player in any way. But the fact remains that when players such as Sundin, Daigle and Lindros were drafted the buzz around them was incredible. Ovechkin - as good a prospect as he is - simply didn't create as much buzz as those players had surrounding them.

 

[Paxon]

He would have easily gone first last year because there's no way in hell Dudley would have traded out of the #1 position if he had a shot at Ovechkin.

While I agree that Dudley would have prized Ovechkin, we can't say there is "no way". Perhaps Pittsburg wanted Fleury more than we knew and would have been willing to give a more enticing package for the pick. Though in such a situation where they'd have to pay more it'd probably be obvious to them that Ovechkin was what would be the first pick and that they could trade for the second or keep their third to get Fleury, but the point still stands that we simply don't know.

I can't imagine a team that would take Ovechkin over Crosby whatsoever. Crosby is said to have better offensive ability and though Ovechkin should be the better defensive player, if they were even, and at that it seems Crosby is more highly-touted, Crosby would still be picked first because he is Candian. Much easier to market a Canadian megastar than a Russian megastar. One could figure that a Russian couldn't become a megastar at this point simply because he is Russian.

 

[Birko19]

First of all, a major influence on draft rankings of scouts is hype . In hindsight Ovechkin is above Daigle but at the time Daigle was hyped to be the second coming, and there Daigle was talented - he just didn't have the heart nor the right direction.

I agree with you, Ovechkin would't get drafted ahead of Daigle simply because Daigle was supposed to be in Mario's class, he was clearly the best prospect that year ahead of Pronger, Karyia and many other great prospects.

I think Ovechkin would't get picked 1st in 1984:Lemieux, 1991:Lindros, 1993: Daigle, and 1998:Lecavalier, all these guys were hyped a lot and recevied more attention then what Ovechkin got this year, I could also make a case for next year in Crosby and 2001:Kovalchuk could be argued, not to mention the hype Spezza recieved on the same year.

Anyways, hype and potential don't matter, it's what you do with the potential that matters, other then Lemieux and Lindros the other guys did't really live up to their hype, I mean Lemieux was truley a phenom and we can safely say that he lived up to his hype, Lindros was dominant and while he did't exactly reach Lemiuex's class he was on his way to becoming the top player in the league and perhaps be able to grab some trophies here and there if it was't for his injuries, Daigle is a bust, and Lecavalier did't live up to the hype he was given, I mean I think Vinny will be a better superstar in the league racking up 80-90 point seasons along with 1 or 2 big seasons over 100+, but he's no Michael Jordan of Hockey that's for sure.

Will Ovechkin be the star everyone thinks he'll be? maybe? will he become the next Alexadre Daigle? also a possibilty.

 

[Levitate]

lindros without injuries definatly = one of the most dominating players of all time. even with injuries a case could be made that he had his run where he was the most dominating player in the game...

not exactly cuz he had the pure scoring power of a lemieux or the hockey sense of gretzky...but he is/was amazingly talented and could dominate that way...but what really made him shine was the way he physically dominated games combined with that talent he had...that's just something you hardly ever see and i can't think of a single player in the NHL right now that could dominate in that way lindros could.

lindros definatly would have been picked over ovechkin

 

[Vipers]

I know the Lecavalier hype, but almost all of it came from Tampa Bay. If not for that I don't think Lecavalier has a fraction of the hype he had.

It's true Handsome B. Wonderful.
6 years after the draft it's always easier for us to evaluate, but the hype was everywhere in the N.H.L., because Legwand at this moment was second to Lecavalier with extremely good stats for a freshman in O.H.L.:59 54 51 105 56 and those 2 where supposed to be franchise players at the moment of 1998 draft. So, I just believed that these 2 where looked at the same level that Ovechkin can be see today, "statistically" spoken. We have to report at this moment( 1998).

Something else, to choose a Russian 1st to a North American player, he has to be seen as an exceptional talent, but this is another possible thread.

 

[Moskau]

What I want to know is how Capman29 hasn't been banned for repeated Flame Bait.

 

[Legionnaire]

What I want to know is how Capman29 hasn't been banned for repeated Flame Bait.

Just start clicking the little exclamation point on the left side under his name..

 

[salty justice]

Im surprised no one has really realized that any year prior to the mid 80's there werent many Russians in the NHL, nor Russians being drafted. He could have been better than Mario, but in the 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s he would have gone unnoticed, or would not have been let out of Russia.

Im not saying he would have deserved to go undrafted, but it would have been a realistic possibility for a huge chunk of time.

 

[Legionnaire]

Im surprised no one has really realized that any year prior to the mid 80's there werent many Russians in the NHL, nor Russians being drafted. He could have been better than Mario, but in the 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s he would have gone unnoticed, or would not have been let out of Russia.

Im not saying he would have deserved to go undrafted, but it would have been a realistic possibility for a huge chunk of time.

I thought that was pretty much common knowledge. I didn't mention it because it seemed as though the question was posed in a manner to apply to todays standards.

 

[Vatican Roulette]

Didnt Quebec know that Lindros didnt want to play for them? If thats the case, I think that if Ovechkin had the same hype he has now, they would have just taken him, IMO

very true, but look at the players they got for selecting him and then trading him. They practically built a dynasty out of one trade(and the movement of those players afterward)

 

[markov`]

Lecavalier, Daigle and Lindros were more hyped than Ovechkin.

 

[Lionel Hutz]

Sorry to bust your bubble but that is not what would have happened . If you put both Ovechkin and Lindros in the same draft Quebec would have taken Ovechkin because Lindro did not want to play there. No contest between Ovechkin and Daigle because talent wise Daigle is not even in Ovechkin league :Ovechkin in a shutout.
One question why would you make such a stupid statement like that because t proves you know nothing about hockey nor talent .

Your answer puts one in the postition of evaluating the outcome based only on pre-draft knowledge, then uses post-draft knowledge to make the case.

Using only pre-draft knowledge, I digress about Dagle (not Lindros, you may be right there).

Its easy to sit here today, and say Daigle is near worthless, but you simply could not, at the time say that. If you tell me you thought that at the time, I just won't believe you. Daigle was the supposed "best prospect since Lemieux" there was no question in anyone's mind at the time of that draft, that Daigle would be a superstar. He was every bit as highly touted as Ovechkin, and I think if that draft option were presented to someone knowing only what they could know before the draft, it would be a difficult choice. If it was Ottawa (bilingual city-new franchise) picking, I'd say they'd take Daigle pretty much hands down.

I find your harsh retort that the other person made such a stupid statement and knows nothing about hocky or talent, to be ironic.

An 18 year old Mario would have go first any year. Lindros, Daigle, Lecavilier, all were hyped enough to have a good shot at going 1st over the big O.