McKeen's Final Ranking, Top 15

[X-SHARKIE]

Brian Burke...who isn't even with the Sharks org said that he talked to a scout who had Kaspar as the 9th best player in 04.

It happens people.

 

[Hiishawk]

I (and a few others) believe that Hellstrom is pretty close to Salomansson among Sweden 86ers right now and that he is the best player in this draft NOT born Sept. 16/86- Sept. 15/87. 1st round might be a reach but I think his position in the draft may well surprise people. I'm pretty sure of one NHL team that has him top 30.

 

[NYR469]

I remember that last year Phoenix's head scout said that Wheeler, Stephenson and Lisin were all in their top 15 (having drafted them 5th, 35th and traded to get Lisin 50th). None of those really figured in the consensus popular top 15 before the draft.

Was pretty surprised at the comment because if those three dont do well, it reflects badly on his judgement.

Another comment I remember back in 2001 was Beat Forster being in their top 30 skaters (drafted 78th)

teams always say that a guy was high on their list AFTER they pick them, they aren't going to sit there and say 'well we think this guy sucks but all the better players were gone so they picked him'...they want to present it like they picked the 9 best players in the history of the world. so you have to keep in mind the source and take it with a grain of salt...

sort of the same thing, how many times have you seen a guy interviewed after being drafted and that player claims that he has always dreamed of playing for the team that picked him because he grew up a fan of that team...

the only time i've heard a team had a player picked ranked really high was when the rangers picked tyutin in 2001 because JD specifically mentioned tyutin as being #10 on the rangers list and saying that if the top 9 guys were gone they planned to trade down to take tyutin and get some extra picks. so they said it BEFORE picking him, not after.

 

[PuckFan01]

Niskanen has been rumoured to be in some clubs' top 15.

Whatever those clubs are smoking, I wish I had some. That would be a big blunder if some club took him in the 1st round.

 

[X-SHARKIE]

I (and a few others) believe that Hellstrom is pretty close to Salomansson among Sweden 86ers right now and that he is the best player in this draft NOT born Sept. 16/86- Sept. 15/87. 1st round might be a reach but I think his position in the draft may well surprise people. I'm pretty sure of one NHL team that has him top 30.

Can you tell me a bit more about him? Not familiar with him.

 

[Tap on the Ankle]

Bourret before Pouliot? Rask before Price? Does not compute... *head asplodes*

 

[Anthony Mauro]

teams always say that a guy was high on their list AFTER they pick them, they aren't going to sit there and say 'well we think this guy sucks but all the better players were gone so they picked him'...they want to present it like they picked the 9 best players in the history of the world. so you have to keep in mind the source and take it with a grain of salt...

Does it really matter though? If a team like the Coyotes say Stephenson was high on their list I'm gonna believe them bc they took him at what 35/36. There's no way you think they're lying to you, if there was someone rated higher on their list they wouldn't have taken LStephenson.

 

[Hiishawk]

Can you tell me a bit more about him? Not familiar with him.

He was The Man on the Sweden U19 team this year- but I don't know why he wasn't selected to their WJC squad, maybe one of the Swedish posters can fill me in on that. Word is that he wsn't quite as dominant with MoDo.
Good size, powerful stride, great hockey sense- both with and without the puck. Plays with authority, can carry or dish the puck equally well, can take the body or make the finesse pass- he simply looked like a man among boys at the 2 tourneys I saw him at.
There is also a 1st time eligible Hellstrom named Alexander but he is no relation to, and should not be confused with, Mattias.

 

[czechhockeyfan]

He was The Man on the Sweden U19 team this year- but I don't know why he wasn't selected to their WJC squad, maybe one of the Swedish posters can fill me in on that. Word is that he wsn't quite as dominant with MoDo.
Good size, powerful stride, great hockey sense- both with and without the puck. Plays with authority, can carry or dish the puck equally well, can take the body or make the finesse pass- he simply looked like a man among boys at the 2 tourneys I saw him at.
There is also a 1st time eligible Hellstrom named Alexander but he is no relation to, and should not be confused with, Mattias.

You pretty much confused me, I thought you meant defenseman Alexander Hellstrom who I consider as interesting mid-round pick.

 

[Gwyddbwyll]

teams always say that a guy was high on their list AFTER they pick them, they aren't going to sit there and say 'well we think this guy sucks but all the better players were gone so they picked him'...they want to present it like they picked the 9 best players in the history of the world. so you have to keep in mind the source and take it with a grain of salt...

Teams do say that, you're right. However, I look at the market they're making a statement to. Phoenix does not have hordes of fans who are rabidly fascinated by prospects and the draft, so I'm inclined to believe it. It wasn't marketing propaganda plastered across headlines but a snippet of a quote dug up by one of our board members in a sideline article that otherwise would have passed most of us by. Also Stephenson was a surprise to us at 35 - there were many other more popular choices with more hype. Later on, Dallas' scout also directly referred to this, saying he was gutted that Stephenson was taken right before their pick. To draft Lisin, they had to make two trades, so that also supports the statement that they were high on him. All the evidence supports their statement. You have to take each case on its own merits really.

 

[Chief]

Brian Burke...who isn't even with the Sharks org said that he talked to a scout who had Kaspar as the 9th best player in 04.

It happens people.

It happens all the time, is more like it. One director of player personnel told me that if fans could see teams' draft lists, they'd be shocked by how much they vary.

Maybe nyr469 or one of the other Ranger fans will be able to remember better than me but back in the 2003 draft, the Rangers produced a "behind the scenes" type program. If I'm not mistaken, I thought they had Jessiman ranked as #4 overall, Phaneuf ranked before him and M.A. Fleury wasn't even in their top rankings.

 

[NYR469]

It happens all the time, is more like it. One director of player personnel told me that if fans could see teams' draft lists, they'd be shocked by how much they vary.

Maybe nyr469 or one of the other Ranger fans will be able to remember better than me but back in the 2003 draft, the Rangers produced a "behind the scenes" type program. If I'm not mistaken, I thought they had Jessiman ranked as #4 overall, Phaneuf ranked before him and M.A. Fleury wasn't even in their top rankings.

if i remember correctly the top 4 on the chart was phaneuf, staal, zherdev, jessiman