shanwon said:
This isn't quite like the NFL draft, were players are pretty much guaranteed to sign, thus, there is much more conversation with the players before draft day.
I too love the armchair GM's who read a few draft reports and want to question everything Mcphee does. Quite honestly this draft is the biggest crapshoot of all the majors sports because the players are typically not ready to physically play (at the highest level) for 3-5 years after being drafted.
Lighten up guys and have some faith that the scouts know what they are doing, and that GM heeds the advice of those who make it their profession to pick out talent from 16-18 yr old kids.
Well, let me qualify my post...
1) I don't think we should have taken a goalie in the first round. GMGM passed on a solid center prospect, Patrik Berglund, to take a goalie - IMHO center is our greatest need. 99% of the time, goalies take the longest to mature. I wouldn't mind using 2nd round picks to take goalies.
Patrik Berglund:
This guy is 6'3" and growing, just turned 18 this month. In reading about him (from what pro scouts write) I think he's got a lot of upside and potentially could have filled a HUGE need for the Caps:
"Huge forward. Good skater who could still use some first step quickness. Moves well for his size. Creative, cool playmaker with a good understanding of the game. Fine over all skill level, smooth hands, good, quick wrist shot. Effective two-way forward who has improved a lot during the 05-06 season. Looks composed. creates a lot of danger. With his long arms he protects the puck very well. Very good reach. Excellent size, will improve his over all game when he gets more muscle and strength. Has changed his attitude and is now a good, hard working competitor with great offensive instincts. Can play physical and aggressive when needed."
"Berglund combines his size and great reach with good technical skills and decent scoring ability. He is tough to steal the puck from when he reaches full speed and protects the puck well. Berglund likes to drive the net and when he does not get a good shot opportunity, he is a good passer as well. Should play more physical and work on his speed. Earlier considered a bit one-dimensional and not very hardworking, Berglund has improved significantly in both areas during last season. Somewhat inconsistent in his play and a bit streaky though."
The other centers on the farm (or in some scenarios, in the NHL next year) include Tenute, Gordon, Aulin, Steckel, Beech, and Laich. I shiver at the thought of those guys centering our 2nd line.
2) I can never say for sure, but Semen Varlamov could have been available at #34. Regardless, we got another goalie sitting there in Michael Neuwirth. Jhonas Enroth was also available. We could have got 2 decent goalie prospects with these picks.
My earlier post in another thread said we should have taken Williams at #34. That's simply because with the new order of things, we drafted two Euro goalies that need to come over in two years or we lose them. The countdown starts at the same time - why not draft 1 goalie and another with a 2nd round pick next year? You get an "extra" year of development and really don't lose anything because goalie is a crap shoot.
Williams certainly dropped - maybe he interviews poorly or is cross-eyed. I dunno. I'm still mad we passed on Ryan Parent...
Anyway, with the previous logic we could have added:
1 "closest thing to a sure thing" prospect in Backstrom
1 "better center prospect than anyone in the system not named Backstrom" in Berglund
1 decent goalie in Varlamov, Neuwirth, or Enroth
1 "no worse than Yonkman maybe just like Schultz, Pokulok, Finley" wild-card defensman in Williams
With the exception of the goalies, these guys were all ranked consistently in the top 25 by most major scouting services. But, yeah, you are right - I'm an armchair GM and I this is only my opinion. But I would have been a
lot more excited to see Backstrom, Berglund, (insert goalie name here), and Williams than what we just drafted.
As far as the comparisons to other drafts, you're right NHL and MLB are the biggest crap shoots going. My old Orioles had two of the biggest flops in Ben McDonald and Jeffrey Hammonds. So, yeah, nothings a sure thing, but they are surer things than others
But I digress - I really don't care about the other picks - as one person said, would we recognize any of them if they walked into the same room as us? No, and I don't expect any of them to play for us either, so I can't say that I care what they look like. Not every late round pick is going to be a Pivonka, Khristich, Bondra, Klee, Kono, or Brunette - you just hope you get one every few years. That said, I like the Osala pick.