The 2006 Draft Revisited

[Espo7]

I think is way to early to tell. I belive Toews will be the best all around forward of this draft, however EJ will still have most impact on his team.

Some names to mention that would have moved up are Peter Mueller, Milan Lucic, and Nikolai Kulemin. (Bouchard and Maxwell might deserve to go up as well, however it all depends because it is in relation to their last season at an older age, to their draft one)

 

[Stealth JD]

Johnson did nothing last year to deserve his no. 1 ranking unless throwing your stick somehow became an important skill. He whined all year while he was at Minnesota about how he wasn't being used properly, than he did nothing in the playoffs when they actually game him a chance. He is slow footed and not very smart. Why do you think he is still no. 1?

I think Staal and Toews would be ranked higher on every NHL Team's ranking sheet if they did this all again today.

slow footed? not very smart? whining? not deserving of his #1 ranking?
what....did EJ one-time your momma? clearly you've got an axe to grind, because your whole post is laughable.

 

[bagh]

Errr how exactly can you say that, just because they have played in the NHL and Toews, Backstrom and Johnson haven't? Johnson would still go #1. I think the top 5 would stay exactly the same.

Um..yeah...you notice how you highlighted everything I said in that 1st sentence except the last 3 words. Well, those last 3 words were kind of important. At the moment , those two guys should be ranked one and two on the basis of being more NHL ready and NHL production. I'll admit the rest of those guys have talent that much is obvious, but you never know what could happen during the pre-season (i.e. injuries or if they cna make the team) or whether or not they can translate that to the NHL. these guys could hence at the moment I'd rank them #1 and #2 until the other guys outproduce them.

By the way I think Bakstrom can outproduce kessel this year for sure, but I really want to see what he can do against staal. They'll both have high scoring linemates and it is going to be a delight to watch.

 

[Mr Sakich]

You do know taht that is Mathieu Carle of the Montreal Canadiens and not Matt Carle of the San Jose Sharks right?

Just making sure since Im a Habs fan and I was happy to see someone be so high on Carle

i did not know that, thanks for catching it. I was definately thinking of the San Jose Carle

Petry had a huge year, he was the USHL Player of the Year and Dman of the Year. This guy has crazy upside.

 

[Zim]

Um..yeah...you notice how you highlighted everything I said in that 1st sentence except the last 3 words. Well, those last 3 words were kind of important. At the moment , those two guys should be ranked one and two on the basis of being more NHL ready and NHL production. I'll admit the rest of those guys have talent that much is obvious, but you never know what could happen during the pre-season (i.e. injuries or if they cna make the team) or whether or not they can translate that to the NHL. these guys could hence at the moment I'd rank them #1 and #2 until the other guys outproduce them.

By the way I think Bakstrom can outproduce kessel this year for sure, but I really want to see what he can do against staal. They'll both have high scoring linemates and it is going to be a delight to watch.

I'm saying that if you re-did the draft NOW the top-5 would remain the same. I read your post and gave my opinion on it.

 

[Jaded-Fan]

Actually, I would dispute both of those. Making it to the NHL at 18 is great, but it doesn't mean you're going to have a more promising career then a guy who doesn't debut until 19, 20, or 21. I think the top 5 picks would probably go in the same order again if you re-drafted.

Staal was the huge wild card going into the draft and by far the most intriguing player. Several teams wanted to move to two to grab him. Huge potential to be the best player to come out of the draft by far (was said at the time) but so young and a wild card as to how that potential would develope. What did he do? Come in at 18 and not only was comfortable but in many ways dominant, though still with a huge amount of room to grow.

How anyone can dispute that right now he has the edge in the guessing game for having done what he did and the huge potential most thought he had, is beyond me. Until Johnson, backstrom, Toews come in and do more in the actual NHL, how can you not give the edge to Staal? It is not as if Staal came out of nowhere and was some fluke 7th rounder. The is analogous to those asking if Tavares will be better than Crosby before Tavares stepped on the ice in the NHL. The players were not that far apart (top five) going into the draft last year. The ball is now in the others court to prove it like Staal did.

 

[Gardebut30]

Staal was the huge wild card going into the draft and by far the most intriguing player.

Kessel wasn't exactly a non story during that draft.

 

[Bruinster*]

As Bruins fans, I'm very happy with kessel who was better and better.

Lucic and Marchand are 2 Bruins '06 draft pick who really blosom this year.

 

[heygarebear]

it's still way to early to tell

the order would still go the same.

we'll have a better idea after this upcoming season. When Johnson, Toews, and Backstrom hit the NHL

I have no doubt in my mind that the Blues would still take EJ at no.1.. if it were redone today

 

[Rise from the Ashes]

Im a big Maxwell fan

 

[Gags1288]

Staal was the huge wild card going into the draft and by far the most intriguing player. Several teams wanted to move to two to grab him. Huge potential to be the best player to come out of the draft by far (was said at the time) but so young and a wild card as to how that potential would develope. What did he do? Come in at 18 and not only was comfortable but in many ways dominant, though still with a huge amount of room to grow.

How anyone can dispute that right now he has the edge in the guessing game for having done what he did and the huge potential most thought he had, is beyond me. Until Johnson, backstrom, Toews come in and do more in the actual NHL, how can you not give the edge to Staal? It is not as if Staal came out of nowhere and was some fluke 7th rounder. The is analogous to those asking if Tavares will be better than Crosby before Tavares stepped on the ice in the NHL. The players were not that far apart (top five) going into the draft last year. The ball is now in the others court to prove it like Staal did.

Because production at 18, in the long run, is rather irrelevent. I'm confident that EJ, Backstrom, and Toews will all have big impacts in the NHL and will all be better players then Kessel at least. Staal obviously did a very nice job as an 18 year old rookie and that's something to be happy about, but the reality is that EJ is still a defenseman with star potential and #1 upside, which is the hardest thing to find in todays game.

OK, let's bring up Tavares. He's easily a better prospect then Staal and every GM in the league would take him over Staal if given the choice right now despite being just 16 years old and not having any NHL experience, IMO. Now obviously EJ isn't quite the level of prospect that Tavares is, but he's still one of the top 5 defenseman prospects (if not top 3 or even #1) in the last decade and that's pretty darn good.

Obviously those guys still have to prove that they can do what Staal and Kessel for that matter accomplished in the NHL. I think the teams who own their respective rights are rather confident that they will do just that and I'm not sure any of those teams would deal those guys straight up for Staal regardless of what he did in his one NHL season. NHL success as an 18 year old proves that Staal can play in this league and be very effective, but it doesn't prove that he's going to be better then EJ, Toews, or Backstrom over the long haul and that's what really matters.

 

[Gwyddbwyll]

Neuvirth was an unknown to me at the time but he's one that had a great year isnt he?

Vasyunov was a hugely popular faller/sleeper/steal but hasnt really broken out (yet).

 

[Freaky Habs Fan]

It's way too early because it's still at the projection level. Statwise, many prospect would move up and down, but some of them will peak at a young age, and some of them will become better and better.

For exemple, Giroux had another good season in the Q, but I still don't think he'll have a great career in the NHL. His game will not translate well enough to make him a scoring machine. He'll be an NHLer, but not an impact one.

 

[TheLeastOfTheBunch]

Its way too early to tell, you need at least 5 years to judge this draft.

 

[Grizzly Adams]

I'm not asking people to predict the future, I'm only asking you what players drafted in '06 do you think have increased their value or fallen behind in the last year.

 

[thestonedkoala]

Sheppard, I don't know how, but he would be a top 10 pick easily now.

 

[nags]

slow footed? not very smart? whining? not deserving of his #1 ranking?
what....did EJ one-time your momma? clearly you've got an axe to grind, because your whole post is laughable.

Hey, I'm not the one living in a motel!

Where's your next stop, "in a Van Down by the river!!!"

 

[Pogge's Time]

How about Codey Burki? If scouts could have predicted how dominant he was going to be last year, he would have definitely been a first rounder.

 

[Behn Wilson]

Johnson did nothing last year to deserve his no. 1 ranking unless throwing your stick somehow became an important skill. He whined all year while he was at Minnesota about how he wasn't being used properly, than he did nothing in the playoffs when they actually game him a chance. He is slow footed and not very smart. Why do you think he is still no. 1?

I think Staal and Toews would be ranked higher on every NHL Team's ranking sheet if they did this all again today.

I agree about Staal and Toews being 1/2 today. Even with Staal's impressive rookie year, I would still consider taking Toews at #1 if the draft was held today. Its almost a tossup to me.

 

[Plager05]

The Blues might have offered more to trade up for Staal then they did but they still would've taken Eric Johnson.