Suppose Its Time To Look Ahead.

[Lars]

Its time to pull out the Post-2006 Draft ... 2007 Draft Thread. I have yet to hear much about this draft class only things about The Young Angelo Esposito from the Q. So who Are the top guys for the 2007 Draft? And What kind of draft does it look like... A Strong or Weak One?

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[MattyW]

Hard to tell now if it will be strong or weak, but there are some intriguing gusy at the top of the rankings.

Esposito could have super-star potential depending on his year this season after having an awesome rookie campaign.

Nick Petrecki has great size on defense and is probably the best rearguard as of now.

Michael Backlund is said to be better than Backstrom.

Brandon Sutter, Colton Gillies, Zach Hamill - could be a very strong draft from the preliminary reports.

 

[RightKinger]

Hopefully its a strong draft class because the Kings are rebuilding and we will probably have a top 5 pick. I like this Backlund kid. How does this draft compare with recent drafts?

 

[Dr Pepper]

When's the 4th Staal going to reach draft status? I believe he was just drafted into the OHL last season, so he could have a while to go, I'm not clear on the process.

 

[Le Golie]

When's the 4th Staal going to reach draft status? I believe he was just drafted into the OHL last season, so he could have a while to go, I'm not clear on the process.

He's two years away and don't expect him to threaten any of the top guys. He has decent size (about 6'2 at 16 years old - pretty skinny though), but nowhere near the skills that his brothers have. To put it in perspective, he played Minor Midget (against players his own age) and was the fifth leading scorer on his team. He had 48 points in 61 games. That type of production doesn't normally get you drafted into the OHL unless your name is Staal. Eric and Jordan were far more dominant when they played at this level, and I believe they were playing a level up from their own age group.

I've seen him play, he's a long shot to be an NHL'er. He will probably get drafted late, but he won't be in any threads about the top picks.

 

[joe_shannon_1983*]

He's two years away and don't expect him to threaten any of the top guys. He has size, but nowhere near the skills that his brothers have. To put it in perspective, he played Minor Midget (against players his own age) and was the fifth leading scorer on his team. He had 48 points in 61 games. That type of production doesn't normally get you drafted into the OHL unless your name is Staal. Eric and Jordan were far more dominant when they played at this level, and I believe they were playing a level up from their own age group.

I've seen him play, he's a long shot to be an NHL'er. He will probably get drafted late, but he won't be in any threads about the top picks.

What?

I thought the youngest Staal was rumoured to be the best one?

 

[Le Golie]

What?

I thought the youngest Staal was rumoured to be the best one?

That myth comes from a misprint in The Hockey News draft preview when Eric was ranked #1. They were supposed to write that Jordan may be the best of the bunch, they made a mistake saying it was Jared, and now people are still confused by it. I heard Scott Oak say it again this past weekend, but it's false. Jared isn't as good as his brothers.

 

[Draft Guru]

That myth comes from a misprint in The Hockey News draft preview when Eric was ranked #1. They were supposed to write that Jordan may be the best of the bunch, they made a mistake saying it was Jared, and now people are still confused by it. I heard Scott Oak say it again this past weekend, but it's false. Jared isn't as good as his brothers.

Yep, you nailed it on the head. Jordan is supposed to be the best of the bunch, but even that is a longshot after the way Eric has developed.

 

[Lars]

Hehe... Backlund.

Back To Back Johnson's and now back to back Back___'s.

 

[Jaded-Fan]

Its time to pull out the Post-2006 Draft ... 2007 Draft Thread. I have yet to hear much about this draft class only things about The Young Angelo Esposito from the Q. So who Are the top guys for the 2007 Draft? And What kind of draft does it look like... A Strong or Weak One?

Yes, but can Angelo play wing? Pens' fans have more than a passing interest in the question.

 

[habsprospects]

That myth comes from a misprint in The Hockey News draft preview when Eric was ranked #1. They were supposed to write that Jordan may be the best of the bunch, they made a mistake saying it was Jared, and now people are still confused by it. I heard Scott Oak say it again this past weekend, but it's false. Jared isn't as good as his brothers.

http://x11.putfile.com/11/30815024636.gif

 

[hfboardsuser]

My top 10 for '07 right now is:

1. Mikael Backlund
2. Angelo Esposito
3. Logan Couture
4. Jakub Voracek
5. Sam Gagner
6. Karl Alzner
7. Brandon Sutter
8. Nick Petrecki
9. Colton Gillies
10. Mark Katic

 

[nomorekids]

This draft is supposed to be much deeper than this year's.

 

[Crosby=Gretzky]

Europe has many guys with high end talent.

Michal Repik(Czech Rep.), a winger, who played with the Giants this year, is expected to go in the top 15. Jakub Voracek is considered to be in the top 3 with Backlund and Espo, and is gonna be the first pick in the Import draft this year, going to the Mooseheads.
There are a few guys from Sweden: Backlund and center Oscar Möller.
Ondrej Roman from the Czech Republic is a big center who has first round upside. There's also a guy named David Stich, who's a physical defenseman with size(6'2''). He has already played with his club(Plzen) in the first league.

There are loads of good NA defensemen for the 2007 draft: Petrecki has already been mentioned, Tristan Llewellyn and Colby Cohen is two American defensemen, who should go in the top three rounds. Then there's Alex Grant, Karl Alzner, John Negrin, Thomas Hickey, Stefan Lund, Keaton Ellerby and Mark Katic, all from the CHL. Tyson Sexsmith(Vancouver, WHL) is the top ranked goalie. James Van Riemsdyk(attending University of New Hampshire this following season), James O'Brien(don't kow what college he's going to), Zach Hamill(Everett), Colton Gillies(Saskatoon), Zach Torquato(Saginaw), Logan Couture(Ottawa) and Logan MacMillan(Halifax) and lots of other NA forwards could go in the rounds 1-4.
So this draft seem to have a VERY strong and deep first half, but pretty much fades out after round 4.