Jaysfanatic*
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I was having a debate with someone that in 2001 Spezza was the clear cut #2 after Kovalchuk at #1, much like everyone knew Malkin would go after Ovechkin. I said that anyone at #2 would have taken Spezza, agree or disagree?
arrbez said:agree. it was between those two.
There were very high expectations for this draft. It was viewed as a strong draft. Nowhere did I call Kovalchuk, Spezza, Ruuttu et al disappointments. But as a whole, this draft class has left me wanting more. There was a ton of talent, but the number of first line NHLers/No. 1 defencemen/No. 1 goaltenders is going to be lower than projected.Douggy said:I don't think its fair to call 2001 one of the most disapointing drafts ever.
1) A lot of the solid prospects in this draft didn't see NHL icetime until this year: Colaiacovo, Perezhogin, Umberger, Leclaire, Emery, etc.
2) Some STILL haven't seen a lot of the NHL, but still have potential: Woywitka, Budaj, Paetsch
3) None of them played in the NHL as 21 yearolds, due to the lockout.
4) Some have had injury problems so far: Blackburn, Ruutu, Colaiacovo, Grigorenko, Pilar
5) And some of them are just flat out good players who don't deserve to be called disapointments: Kovalchuk, Spezza, Hamhuis, Hemsky, Ruutu,
God Bless Canada said:As for 2001: Kovalchuk and Spezza are well on their way to being elite for their roles. But Chistov disappointed after an impressive rookie year and went back to Russia. Weiss is going to become a solid NHL player, but won't be the player many thought he would be. (Consensus opinion was he could be an Yzerman, Sakic or Francis clone). Svitov looks to be a bust. There are a few exceptions, but most of the rest of the first round appears to be destined for one of three categories: didn't meet expectations (Kobasew, LeClaire, Koivu and Komisarek will fit that description), fringe NHLer, or outright bust. Blackburn seemed destined for stardom, but suffered a debilitating arm injury while training and retired last summer.
Hamhuis was considered by most to be a top-pairing defenceman, possible No. 1, in the making. He actually was ranked No. 2 in the Central Scouting Service's year-end rankings. He's well on his way to fulfilling his potential.Pete Rock said:That's painting a pretty sour picture of the '01 and although for the most part it's well deserved, there are still some who probably won't fit into those categories.
IIRC all of Hamhuis, Morrisonn and Gleason were projected as 2nd pairing d-men while Hamhuis had the upside of filling in on the top pairing from time to time, something that certainly hasn't been disproven this year. I can't recall if Hemsky was seen as a first liner or not, but he may be coming out of his shell this year.
But yes, this draft was not the prettiest ever, especially for Leafs fans who had Carlo Colaiacovo as the next saviour.
God Bless Canada said:The Spezza hype machine started in 1998 when he impressed as a 15-year-old with the Brampton Battalion. At that time, he was viewed as a shoo-in to be No. 1 in 2001. But by the time June of 2000 rolled around, he had lost some of his luster. Two goalies - Pascal LeClaire and Dan Blackburn - were actually being mentioned as candidates to supplant Spezza as No. 1. Six months later, Kovalchuk was the consensus top pick.
On Draft Day 2001, Kovalchuk was the consensus No. 1. Spezza was viewed as a virtual lock to go No. 2. Ironically, though, the few that didn't have Kovalchuk as No. 1 actually did have Chistov at No. 1. Nobody had Spezza as their No. 1. Weiss and Svitov were almost locks to round out the top 5.
Honestly, this draft and 1997 will go down as two of the most disappointing ever. (1997 will be lauded as the draft that produced Thornton, Marleau, Jokinen, Luongo, Brewer, Morrow, Boynton, Samsonov, Hossa and Hannan, and that's just the first round, but there are many, many highly skilled players who disappointed or outright flopped).
As for 2001: Kovalchuk and Spezza are well on their way to being elite for their roles. But Chistov disappointed after an impressive rookie year and went back to Russia. Weiss is going to become a solid NHL player, but won't be the player many thought he would be. (Consensus opinion was he could be an Yzerman, Sakic or Francis clone). Svitov looks to be a bust. There are a few exceptions, but most of the rest of the first round appears to be destined for one of three categories: didn't meet expectations (Kobasew, LeClaire, Koivu and Komisarek will fit that description), fringe NHLer, or outright bust. Blackburn seemed destined for stardom, but suffered a debilitating arm injury while training and retired last summer.
Several strong picks from beyond the first round - Roy, Tyutin, Cammalleri, Jokinen, Svatos, Ziedlicky and Plekanec among them - will somewhat redeem this draft.
Honestly, that's nothing. The 2001 draft is a recent one. It's only five years ago. (I still have the 2001 THN Draft Preview). I could write 3,000 to 4,000 words about that draft.Devilsfanatic said:Thanks for that dude, you went to the call of duty and beyond.
Jackmans Domain said:funny how the downside of all those players are.....average NHL players. I figure, the downside would be complete BUST......
The hillarious part is some of the 'upside' players being worse than the 'downside'.Jackmans Domain said:funny how the downside of all those players are.....average NHL players. I figure, the downside would be complete BUST......
Artie said:Here is a copy of something that was posted by someone on these boards. Not sure who. But some of the names have really fallen off the map. I have put some in bold.
I remeber Habs fans thinking they had STOLEN Milroy as an early 2nd rounder because he was ranked quite high.
Someone already mentioned that Chistov was being touted as the MOST talented player in the draft, just a little on the small side and Svitov was going to be the next premier power forward.
Imagine Jokinen was the downside for Mikko Koivu!!
God Bless Canada said:Is this a bad draft? No. But the thing about bad drafts is that we usually go into those drafts expecting crap, and they deliver crap. 1989, 1996 and 1999 were expected to be crap. (The numbers don't look bad for the 1989 draft, but it was a draft saved by the USSR: first players passed over because they were from the USSR [Fedorov, Mogilny and Konstantinov; Bure was drafted in his first year of eligibility], and then because the USSR collapsed). But when you see a crop of kids who have the potential to be top-notch NHLers, and most don't deliver, mostly due to their own failures, then it is a disappointing draft.