Updated ISS 2007 draft rankings -- Dec. 4

[ISS Hockey]

Backlund dropped because of this too:

Sounds like someone overhyped him...

He has an infection in his knee, we're told. He's had it for a while -- since January I just heard -- and it is affecting his skating. He should get this taken care of, because he's a talented player when healthy.

 

[GKJ]

He has an infection in his knee, we're told. He's had it for a while -- since January I just heard -- and it is affecting his skating. He should get this taken care of, because he's a talented player when healthy.

Thanks for the clarifyication then. It won't help him though if he can't skate -- thats the whole new gyst of being able to step foot on NHL ice

 

[Slitty]

That's 5'11 actually.

180cm=5´11 actually

Thanks for the correction.

 

[Slitty]

And how is ISS close to having the correct height in listing him as 6'3''? i thought he was tall and rather lanky?

UH? That's not the impression i had when i saw him something like one week ago. I thought something like 5'11"..

edit* i see it was discussed later.. but this makes it even more confusing:
"He is 180cm and 78kg... " 180 is not that tall (5'11 like they said and not 5'9..nor 6'3!) and 78kg for a 180cm tall 17yrs old doesn't sound lanky!

As you can probably tell, I don't know feet too well to the point of not actually being able to picture just how much shorter a 5'9 player is compared to a 6'3 player. My apologies. I am a little better with pounds, but nevertheless I often find myself converting weights to kilograms for a better understanding. Can we just agree on 180cm and not bother with all this confusing imperial measurement system nonesense?

 

[MM425]

Ganger/Kane are by far the highest scoring players on the list... and they're 6th and 11th?

I know scouting isn't everything... but these guys are dominating the OHL as rookies... I was expecting a little more love.

 

[Tilley_]

Does this draft class look to be more forward or defense heavy? Last year was termed the "year of the goaltender" with four first round goalies taken. From the Dec ISS report it looks to be more defense heavy with 13/30 being dmen.

 

[johnny canuckistan]

Damn typos. Spelling of Alexei Cherepanov's name and his height (six-feet) will be fixed. Thank you for your forbearance.

Spelling of Russian names can vary widely when they are anglicized. The Russian alphabet doesn't correspond to ours, so different spellings are acceptable.

Thank you for using the word "forbearance" though, thus elevating the level of discourse in these forums greatly.

 

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Ganger/Kane are by far the highest scoring players on the list... and they're 6th and 11th?

I know scouting isn't everything... but these guys are dominating the OHL as rookies... I was expecting a little more love.

There's a lot more that goes into predicting who will be the best NHLers than straight up comparisons of their statistics. Scouts watch these guys play and factor in size, strength, skating, skill, decision-making, work ethic, etc to determine how good they think they'll be in 5 years. If it were as simple as comparing stats then they wouldn't bother watching these kids so closely.

 

[Bégin is the bestest*]

i'm surprised to not see Maxime Tanguay on this list. he should be around Gratchev's rank.

 

[Bégin is the bestest*]

quote from TSN: Entry Draft to be held June 23 in Columbus.


why the draft is always held around national day? last year it was on national day, this year is just the day before, i'm gonna be celebrating again instead of watching the draft.

 

[Langway]

i'm surprised to not see Maxime Tanguay on this list. he should be around Gratchev's rank.

Probably due, at least in part, to him being injured and not having played for a while.

 

[JeromeHP]

Forget about tanguay or gratchev , Olivier fortier is the real deal IMO

 

[Jared Ramsden]

Plante at 17th? I think he's a first day pick, but first round? Over complete players like Ross?

Otherwise pretty accurate. You could argue i going higher, but once you get past the top ten everyone's lists will differ. Seems like this year has great defensemen in high quantity, and some really talented forwards here and there.

How long is it going to take for Valach to get on one of these lists? I think he's better than Plante. And he's bigger.

Plante has really come a long ways since last season. You could see that Alzner was going to be highly touted coming into this year, but Plante has really improved a great deal. His body positioning has improved immensly and his reach combined with his big frame makes him tough to get by around the net and in the corners. He's still a little raw, but there is a lot of upside. Showing some good offensive potential too.

 

[fanofthegame]

In the november ranking turris was 23rd he is now 9th kane was 19th he his now 11th and veilleux is now 18th he was 30th

ISS, now that turris jumped up after the world junior A challenge, i was wondering how the other college bound players did in the december rankings after the tournament. Brendan Smith, Ben Winnett, Casey Pierro-Zabotel, Riley Nash???

 

[VernonForrest]

Hi there,
question for you guys. Why do you have a director of scouting AND a chief scout?

 

[Anthony Mauro]

Plante has really come a long ways since last season. You could see that Alzner was going to be highly touted coming into this year, but Plante has really improved a great deal. His body positioning has improved immensly and his reach combined with his big frame makes him tough to get by around the net and in the corners. He's still a little raw, but there is a lot of upside. Showing some good offensive potential too.

I see his top-end potential as a Kurtis Foster, but if I'm a team I'm not taking that risk. He may have made strides in his overall development, but he's still a below average defenseman. He does struggle with some smaller, shiftier players and is not a shutdown defenseman in the slightest. I don't know, to me if you're a 6'5'' offensive defenseman you better be dynamic and gamechanging. He's a little too quiet, in the way he racks up points, and subtly affects the Hitmen's offensive game. Something about that quietness raises questions of his ability to continue improving at higher levels.

 

[Legionnaire]

Thanks for the clarifyication then. It won't help him though if he can't skate -- thats the whole new gyst of being able to step foot on NHL ice

His draft stock may fall, but it's just a simple off season procedure (getting his knee scoped) to clean out the infection.

 

[ISS Hockey]

Hi there,
question for you guys. Why do you have a director of scouting AND a chief scout?

Well, I didn't do the hiring or come up with the titles so I'm not sure I can really answer the "why" part of your question.

What I can tell you is that our director of scouting is the big cheese of our scouting staff. The head honcho who co-ordinates all of our scouts, including the chief scout, and compiles all of the reports from these scouts. He then writes our reports, which I edit. He also scouts, but because of his administrative duties, he yearns to get to the rink more than he can.

Our chief scout is the guy that we send to all the big tournaments and he also acts as a crosschecker, getting an extra pair of eyes on a prospect after our regional scouts have seen him. This guy just scouts full-time.

Hope this answers your question.

 

[LaLaLaprise]

Forget about tanguay or gratchev , Olivier fortier is the real deal IMO

Finally...someone who knows where its at lol

Fortier is by far the best 2007 draft eligible on Rimouski.

 

[88Nords19]

quote from TSN: Entry Draft to be held June 23 in Columbus.


why the draft is always held around national day? last year it was on national day, this year is just the day before, i'm gonna be celebrating again instead of watching the draft.

You mean Quebec's provincial holiday. The National holiday is a week later. And, either way, I don't think the league really cares about Canadian holidays.

 

[Fozz]

You mean Quebec's provincial holiday. The National holiday is a week later. And, either way, I don't think the league really cares about Canadian holidays.

Don't go there buddy. This isn't the place for your it... Go on the political discussion board for comment like that.

 

[88Nords19]

Don't go there buddy. This isn't the place for your it... Go on the political discussion board for comment like that.

Forgot the smiley face to indicate I was joking, but either way, good call, not worth it.

 

[sticknrink]

Who is the best offensive center that would be available in the #9-#14 range?

Canucks have their first and three second round picks in 2006. I'm hoping our management plays it right.

 

[ISS Hockey]

ISS, now that turris jumped up after the world junior A challenge, i was wondering how the other college bound players did in the december rankings after the tournament. Brendan Smith, Ben Winnett, Casey Pierro-Zabotel, Riley Nash???

Pierro-Zabotel #42, Smith #45, Nash #105, Winnett #139.

 

[ISS Hockey]

Does this draft class look to be more forward or defense heavy? Last year was termed the "year of the goaltender" with four first round goalies taken. From the Dec ISS report it looks to be more defense heavy with 13/30 being dmen.

Definitely the year of the defenceman. Especially in the WHL. Some excellent defensive cornerstones playing out there: Alzner, Ellerby, Negrin, Blum, and Hickey and throw in guys like Mark Katic from the OHL and Nick Petrecki from Omaha of the USHL and that's quite a fine collection of blueline talent.