What happened to your picks?

[MatthewFlames]

One of my favorite things about NHL draft day is seeing where my HFNHL picks were selected....

14th: Lauri Korpikoski: Picked 19th by the NewYork Rangers. Went 5 picks lower than my pick (ironically at the spot the real Flames were to pick) but at least someone wanted him badly enough to trade up. Should see playing time in NewYork sooner rather than later..

44th: Lukas Kaspar: I really liked this guy (he has great "hockey hair" according to TSN) and didn't think I would get a shot at him at 44. The Sharks traded up and picked him 22nd overall. Cool.

63rd: Ondrej Sekeras: Went 71st to the Buffalo Sabres... seems to be tagged into the right spot.. the rounds where teams pick players who have high upside (in this case skill & heart) but some major weakness (size)...

74th: Jason Churchill: Well, he went to San Jose 129th, the last pick in the 4th round. He wasn't the first goalie picked by San Jose either, and was one of FIVE goalies they picked. The good news is that they have a really good track record of drafting NHL calibre goalies.

Thats it for my picks in the HFNHL draft... how did your picks do?

Click to read more...

 

[Hossa]

#2 Evgeni Malkin- Went 2nd overall to Pittsburgh. You guys gave me a hard time for reaching at the second overall pick, but apparently PIttsburgh agreed.

#12 Drew Stafford- Went 13th overall to Buffalo. I'm reasonably happy it was Buffalo who got him. I'd rather the Sabres than the Wild at 12, because the Wild seem to have a penchant for rushing their young players.

#19 Andreij Meszaros- I thought he'd go top 10, I honestly did. When he started falling, I was dissapointed, until I realized he could fall all the way to my Sens at #23. He did, and for the second year in a row, my third pick in our draft was the Senators first pick of the real draft.

#30 Wes O'Neill- Ya, laugh it up. I'm the one who took O'Neill. He went 115th overall to the New York Islanders. I knew taking him was a big risk, but you gotta roll the dice every now and then. He has top 4 potential and that's all that I'm concerned with right now.

#36 Jakub Sindel- Dropped to Chicago at #54, but the upside is still there. Chicago had a monsterous draft, picking up tons of talented players, so hopefully Sindel can seperate himself from the pack.

#47 Bryan Bickell- Admitedly the only one of my first day picks to actually rise, Bickell went 41st to once again Chicago. I'm really high on this kid, like, really high, so I'm happy that he went a bit higher too.

A few other notes:

Martin Vagner who I acquired during the season and subsequently re-entered the draft, went to Carolina in the 9th round, 268th overall. Well, at least he didn't pull a Scott Kellman on me and fall right through.

Robbie Earl who I picked last year in the 6th round, went 6th round, 187th overall to the Toronto Maple Leafs this year. Mixed feelings about that.

Peter Guggisberg who I used a 9th round pick on last year, went 6th round, 166th overall to Washington.

 

[Tampa GM]

1 22 TBL Johannes Salmonsson
Was drafted by Pittsburgh as 31st overall, -9 from my hfnhl draftposition. Could be nice to see Malkin/Salmonsson together in the future.

1 29 TBL Carl Söderberg
49th overall to St Louis Blues. -20 from my hfnhl draft.

2 32 TBL TBL Oscar Hedman
132nd! overall to Washington. -100 from my postion and yes Hedman will be one of the steals of the 2004 draft. I still cant believe he fell that far.

Now I hope I get the players in round 4-9 that I have on my list. I have Alexander Edler(3rd rounder) on my list but I believe I manage to put him to far down to be able to select him this year. Franzén who also was a 3rd rounder is also on my list so I hope I could grab him atleast.

 

[Chuzwazza]

The Sabres were over the moon about their draft.

Pick #7- Andrew Ladd (LW).....Picked 4th overall by Carolina
Seems a lot of teams liked the youngster. Should look good in a canes uniform, especially playing on Eric Staal's wing in the near future. Skating is a question mark, but that's not uncommon with young power forwards. Might be the next young canadien top 5 pick that scores big in the NHL.

Pick #31- Travis Zajac (C).....Picked 20th overall by New Jersey
Was a little bit of an unknown going into the draft, but the fact that he was taken by the NHL's Devils does give him a bit more credibility than if he was taken by say...the islanders in the same spot. Has skill and size, and should be a pretty well rounded player. A pleasant surprise as a whole.

Pick #63- Andy Rogers (D)......Picked 30th overall by Tampa Bay
A few people were surprised by the Sabres picking Rogers, simply because he's not the kind of Defenceman drafted by the organisation in recent seasons. That said, the faith shown by Sabres management proved to be wise, as Rogers went to Tampa Bay with the last pick in the 1st round. Capped off a run of D-men that included names like Schultz and Fistric. Management was apparently very excited after the selection.

On another note, Buffalo also praised HFNHL GM Dion Ong for his first day at the draft table, after taking Ovechkin, Barker and Thelen at 1,3 and 8, and then picking 1st rounder Jeff Schultz at 40, before selecting the steal of the HFNHL draft, Blake Wheeler. In fact, this year, the two Australian GM's combined to select 7 NHL first rounders with their 1st 7 picks, and 8 of their 1st 9, with the only man out, Grant Lewis (who was taken 1 pick before the HFNHL Sabres took Rogers at 62) going 40th overall in the NHL draft. given 5 of the 9 picks were not in the 1st round of the HFNHL draft, that's quite an achievement, obtaining nearly 1/3 of the entire 1st round between 2 teams in the process.

 

[Donga]

On another note, Buffalo also praised HFNHL GM Dion Ong for his first day at the draft table, after taking Ovechkin, Barker and Thelen at 1,3 and 8, and then picking 1st rounder Jeff Schultz at 40, before selecting the steal of the HFNHL draft, Blake Wheeler. In fact, this year, the two Australian GM's combined to select 7 NHL first rounders with their 1st 7 picks, and 8 of their 1st 9, with the only man out, Grant Lewis (who was taken 1 pick before the HFNHL Sabres took Rogers at 62) going 40th overall in the NHL draft. given 5 of the 9 picks were not in the 1st round of the HFNHL draft, that's quite an achievement, obtaining nearly 1/3 of the entire 1st round between 2 teams in the process.

On another note... Australian GM's had 4 out of the first 5 picks.

I'm just as shocked as anyone with the Wheeler pick. I was like when Gretzky said his name.

 

[Hossa]

On another note... Australian GM's had 4 out of the first 5 picks.

I'm just as shocked as anyone with the Wheeler pick. I was like when Gretzky said his name.

Any chance you want to flip Blake Wheeler for Wes O'Neill at this point?

 

[BlueAndWhite]

Pick #63- Andy Rogers (D)......Picked 30th overall by Tampa Bay
A few people were surprised by the Sabres picking Rogers, simply because he's not the kind of Defenceman drafted by the organisation in recent seasons. That said, the faith shown by Sabres management proved to be wise, as Rogers went to Tampa Bay with the last pick in the 1st round.

I wouldn't be overtly thrilled that Tampa Bay picked Rogers. I definitely wouldn't take it as a good sign. Yay, Jay Feaster likes Rogers. This is the same guy that wasn't too keen on one Joni Pitknanen.

This of course, is coming from a bitter General Manager that saw ALL but one of his draft picks fall from their HFNHL draft position. The one didn't fall, went undrafted.

 

[HFNHL Commish]

#30 Wes O'Neill- Ya, laugh it up. I'm the one who took O'Neill. He went 115th overall to the New York Islanders. I knew taking him was a big risk, but you gotta roll the dice every now and then. He has top 4 potential and that's all that I'm concerned with right now.

A few other notes:

Robbie Earl who I picked last year in the 6th round, went 6th round, 187th overall to the Toronto Maple Leafs this year. Mixed feelings about that.

O'Neill didn't even show up for the second day of the draft. I felt terrible for the guy...I think Andrew and I both predicted every pick from 50 through 115 to be Wes O'Neill. Meant to try and ask Kyle Woodlief what he thought happened to O'Neill, but never got around to it.

As for Robbie Earl...let's just say he didn't look particularly happy to get drafted by the Leafs. He was sitting with Wolski and a couple of other guys right in front of us. The moment he returned to his seat from the draft floor, he took off his Leafs jersey...only player I saw do that all day.

 

[Dr.Sens(e)]

I wouldn't be overtly thrilled that Tampa Bay picked Rogers. I definitely wouldn't take it as a good sign. Yay, Jay Feaster likes Rogers. This is the same guy that wasn't too keen on one Joni Pitknanen.

From a person who panned that trade as well, I think it's fair to say Fedotenko has more than held up his end of things. It's quite likely the Bolts wouldn't have won the Stanley Cup without him, and that in itself is worth a hell of a lot more than Mr. Pitkanen.

 

[Hossa]

O'Neill didn't even show up for the second day of the draft. I felt terrible for the guy...I think Andrew and I both predicted every pick from 50 through 115 to be Wes O'Neill. Meant to try and ask Kyle Woodlief what he thought happened to O'Neill, but never got around to it.

As for Robbie Earl...let's just say he didn't look particularly happy to get drafted by the Leafs. He was sitting with Wolski and a couple of other guys right in front of us. The moment he returned to his seat from the draft floor, he took off his Leafs jersey...only player I saw do that all day.

With respect to O'Neill, I too felt bad for the guy because while there are some oustanding questions about him, they are not questions about his character. If you read HF's article on him, you can see that. The questions are his lack of physical play and his hockey sense.

As for Earl, in a twisted way, it's great to know he doesn't want to be a Leaf. That being said, if it speaks poorly to his character, that's not something I want either.

 

[HFNHL Red Wings]

I also enjoy watching the NHL draft to see where my guys go but I have a different perspective.

I do to some degree ask myself the question ‘did I miss something’ if a player goes significantly higher or lower than expected but in 90% of cases I don’t care what position a player is selected. If they are the type of player I believed and assessed their chance of success correctly I don’t care if they were taken 1st or 291st. Case in point, look at all the HF articles/posts on reassessing past drafts.

What I do care about is what team drafted my player. What is their development system like? What is the depth level at that position for the team? Does this player suit the teams style? Are the questions I ask.

Example. Jordan Smith. I had him 33rd on my priority list and got him 80th in the HFNHL draft. Don’t look at that fact he was taken 39th in the NHL as validation. I look at the fact that Anaheim’s development system is mediocre and that Jordan will be fighting for ice time with Popovic, Rome, Malec, Smid, and Foster, et. al. On that bases I view drafting of Jordan Smith as a disappointment as his development will be slowed.

As I went back to look at many of the surprise picks (early or late) and the info at hand I can honestly say that in 95% of cases I would not have ranked the players any differently (especially Chris Bourque and Logan Stephenson).
Then again I’m stubborn right Nick :-P

Anyway here IMO are some of the puzzling trends from this years draft:

1. Order dmen were taken – a lot of size picks taken early, some of which appear to be seriously limited in their skill sets, while more complete dmen went later. Although not necessarily complete players O’Neill and Hedman going so late was rather baffling.
2. The small skill players were ignored more than usual (with exceptions of course). Given how many of them were available this year and Martin St. Louis’ success I had assumed they would go earlier this draft.
3. Goalies. Like dmen the order after the first 4 was a bit of a surprise. Houle and Brown taken in the 8th round?!

Players not drafted:
There were quite a few players surprisingly not taken at all, several of which were ranked highly. This is just a few that surprised me.

Sergei Shirokov – CSB ES037 and number one on my remaining picks list
Blair Yaworski – CSB NS047. Although not elite he definitely has potential.
Alex Leavitt – Tons of offensive skill but probably blacklisted after suing his NCAA coach (Eaves)

Justin Peters – CSB NG004. Showed up just about everywhere as a projected 2nd/3rd round pick.
Alexis Ahlqvist – CSB EG006 and highly touted by Mckeen’s and RLR. I have to admit I was not sold on him but he was better than a couple of other goalies taken.

Kyle Koziara – Not ranked by CSB but showed up in just about every top 100 list I found.
Derek Merlini – Bone crushing 6’6†dman appears to have more upside than several of the other ‘size’ picks selected.

 

[Hossa]

I also enjoy watching the NHL draft to see where my guys go but I have a different perspective.

I do to some degree ask myself the question ‘did I miss something’ if a player goes significantly higher or lower than expected but in 90% of cases I don’t care what position a player is selected. If they are the type of player I believed and assessed their chance of success correctly I don’t care if they were taken 1st or 291st. Case in point, look at all the HF articles/posts on reassessing past drafts.

What I do care about is what team drafted my player. What is their development system like? What is the depth level at that position for the team? Does this player suit the teams style? Are the questions I ask.

Example. Jordan Smith. I had him 33rd on my priority list and got him 80th in the HFNHL draft. Don’t look at that fact he was taken 39th in the NHL as validation. I look at the fact that Anaheim’s development system is mediocre and that Jordan will be fighting for ice time with Popovic, Rome, Malec, Smid, and Foster, et. al. On that bases I view drafting of Jordan Smith as a disappointment as his development will be slowed.

As I went back to look at many of the surprise picks (early or late) and the info at hand I can honestly say that in 95% of cases I would not have ranked the players any differently (especially Chris Bourque and Logan Stephenson).
Then again I’m stubborn right Nick :-P

Anyway here IMO are some of the puzzling trends from this years draft:

1. Order dmen were taken – a lot of size picks taken early, some of which appear to be seriously limited in their skill sets, while more complete dmen went later. Although not necessarily complete players O’Neill and Hedman going so late was rather baffling.
2. The small skill players were ignored more than usual (with exceptions of course). Given how many of them were available this year and Martin St. Louis’ success I had assumed they would go earlier this draft.
3. Goalies. Like dmen the order after the first 4 was a bit of a surprise. Houle and Brown taken in the 8th round?!

Players not drafted:
There were quite a few players surprisingly not taken at all, several of which were ranked highly. This is just a few that surprised me.

Sergei Shirokov – CSB ES037 and number one on my remaining picks list
Blair Yaworski – CSB NS047. Although not elite he definitely has potential.
Alex Leavitt – Tons of offensive skill but probably blacklisted after suing his NCAA coach (Eaves)

Justin Peters – CSB NG004. Showed up just about everywhere as a projected 2nd/3rd round pick.
Alexis Ahlqvist – CSB EG006 and highly touted by Mckeen’s and RLR. I have to admit I was not sold on him but he was better than a couple of other goalies taken.

Kyle Koziara – Not ranked by CSB but showed up in just about every top 100 list I found.
Derek Merlini – Bone crushing 6’6†dman appears to have more upside than several of the other ‘size’ picks selected.

Peters went 38th to Carolina.

 

[Dr.Sens(e)]

Drew - Justin Peters actually went 38th overall.

In terms of the Blues picks, no major surpises, although to Drew's point, I'm happy to see my forward picks go to the Hawks and Jackets.

David Bolland - Blues 1st rounder - 27th overall). Drafted by the Hawks at 31. A bit of a suprise to see him drop from the first round (thought he do top 25), but no big deal. He'll get plenty of chances to crack Chicago's line-up in a couple of years.

Adam Pineault - Blues 2nd round - 38th overall. Drafted 46th by Columbus. I flip-flopped this decision back and forth between Wheeler and Pineault for a few minutes. Admittedly and as ilogical as it sounds, I regretted this choice as soon as I heard Wayne's selection on Saturday. But time will tell, as both were long-term projects with boom and bust potential.

Ryan Garlock - 2nd round, 51st overall. Drafted 45th by Chicago. Was really coveting this guy for my late 2nd rounder, and glad to see him go to Chicago ala Bolland. The Hawks had quite the haul of forwards with Bolland, Garlock, Sindel and Berti. I know a scout with the Hawks, so I'm looking forward to asking him about "our" picks and patting each other on the back for our mutual brilliance.

 

[HFNHL Red Wings]

Peters went 38th to Carolina.

DOH!. Don't know how I missed that one.
I had even done a secondary google search for 'Justin Peters 2004 NHL entry draft' b/c I was so surprised and the first 20 matches were just CSB lists and pre-draft articles so I assumed he had not been drafted.

 

[HFNHL Red Wings]

On the Robbie Earl subject here's a link regarding his draft day disapointments. It says nothing about him being disappointed about the Leafs but more about where he was drafted. Then again this is a Toronto newspaper/tabloid

http://www.canoe.ca/Slam040628/nhl_tor1-sun.html

 

[BlueAndWhite]

From a person who panned that trade as well, I think it's fair to say Fedotenko has more than held up his end of things. It's quite likely the Bolts wouldn't have won the Stanley Cup without him, and that in itself is worth a hell of a lot more than Mr. Pitkanen.

I wasn't arguing the value returned for Pitkanen, just commenting on the fact that Feaster mentioned at the time of the trade that he wasn't impressed with Pitkanen's play.

 

[Hossa]

DOH!. Don't know how I missed that one.
I had even done a secondary google search for 'Justin Peters 2004 NHL entry draft' b/c I was so surprised and the first 20 matches were just CSB lists and pre-draft articles so I assumed he had not been drafted.

Speaking to the original point of this thread...Peters who went 38th overall, I happened to pick up with the third pick in the fourth round, or so I have been informed (work does not let me login to yahoo). That's basically an early 2nd rounder with an early 4th rounder. Makes up for the O'Neill case, almost.

 

[Ohio Jones]

If I hadn't (uncharacteristically) moved most of my picks this year, I'd be pretty bitter. It was bad enough with Drew, Rob and Nick around, who share in many respects similar drafting philosophies with me, but it's even harder now with Sean and Brock on board!

Looking it over quickly, Sean made out particularly well in the fourth round - in additino to Rogers, he added two other promising defencemen - Gatineau's Doug O'Brien and Mississauga's Kyle Quincey (drafted in 2003 by Detroit). Both solid pick-ups with a good shot at playing a role in Vancouver's future. Oh, and he added Guelph LW Ryan Callaghan as well, who went in the 4th to the Rags. Not a bad round's drafting!

 

[Dryden]

Hawks drafted rounds 1-4

Mike Green NHL WSH RD 1 #29 HFNHL CHI RD 1 #18

Hockey News report

Mike Green was dealt a bad hand this season. Had he been on a good team, he probably would be ranked a lot higher for the draft.

Green is small for a defenseman but he never gives an inch. He’s a tenacious battler who can quarterback a power play.

“Good shot, good vision and just a wasted year,†is how one scout put it. “Don’t give up on him though.â€

Green was invited to the summer evaluation camp for Canada’s national junior team last August and played in the Canada/Russia series in December.

That works in his favor. Another attribute is the brave face he wore while toiling with the Blades. From that comes resilience.

“There are an awful lot of positives considering he has had a bad year on a bad team,†said a scout. “He showed a lot of character on a team that lacked leadership.

Added another scout: “He didn’t waste his chance. He’ll be a better player because of it.â€

Red Line Report

The workhorse defender was the lone bright spot on a horrible Saskatoon squad. A mobile, two-way defender who logs 25-plus minutes every night and plays in all situations. Very good puck movement skills and decisions in puck distribution. Accurate tape-to-tape passes at top speed. Very effective at both leading and jumping up into the rush. Above average hockey sense and vision make him a strong PP quarterback. While not very big, he plays a physical game and is strong on his skates. Good at standing opponents up at the blue line and is smart about when to go for the big hit – picks his spots. Solid positionally in his own zone and effective down low. At times he isn’t as aggressive as he should be offensively, but it could be that he was just overworked this season.

Projection: Character, two-way No. 2-3 defenseman

Style compares to: Craig Rivet

Chad Painchaud NHL ATL RD 4 #106 HFNHL CHI RD 3 #78

Painchaud, 18, notched 42 points (17 goals, 25 assists) and 25 points as a rookie with Mississauga (OHL) last season. The 6-0, 180-pound left wing ranked third on the team, led the club’s rookies and shared sixth among OHL rookies with 42 points. The native of Mississauga, Ontario, was fourth on the team and sixth among OHL rookies with 25 assists, and ranked fifth on club and shared seventh among league rookies with 17 goals. Painchaud led the team and all OHL rookies with a plus-23 rating. He was rated 42nd among North American skaters heading into the draft.

Mitch Maunu NHL CHI RD 4 #120 HFNHL CHI RD 4 #121

Just as they did on day one, GM Lewis and company kicked off day two by selecting a North American defenseman. The Hawks used their first pick in round four (121st overall, real Hawks were 120th) on Windsor's Mitch Maunu, a 6-1, 205-pound blueliner who was ranked 87th overall by the independent scouting service Red Line Report.

Blackhawks amateur scout Tim Higgins called Maunu a "very steady, stay-at-home defenseman that shows good puck-handling skills and is very responsible." The second player selected by the Blackhawks out of the Ontario Hockey League in the 2004 draft, Maunu actually grew up a fan of the club watching Jeremy Roenick and Steve Larmer.

Red Line Report

"Continues to get thicker from a physical standpoint and plays it tough and mean in front of the net … Has a good shot and will join the rush frequently … Tougher than most realize. Loves to hit, especially the good old-fashioned open-ice hip check, though he tends to get out of position going for the takeout."

Central Scouting Board

Is a good skater both forward and backward … has good lateral movement with speed … has a wide stance and is solid on his skates … an offensive minded defenseman … joins the rush or will jump in from the point … moves the puck well … possesses an adequate point shot and is a dependable penalty killer … a steady competitor … is capable of playing a physical game but must display this on a more consistent basis … a solid open-ice hitter … does not look for trouble but will respond to a challenge … a hard worker … used in all game situations … uses his anticipation and on-ice vision to intercept passes.

 

[Hossa]

If I hadn't (uncharacteristically) moved most of my picks this year, I'd be pretty bitter. It was bad enough with Drew, Rob and Nick around, who share in many respects similar drafting philosophies with me, but it's even harder now with Sean and Brock on board!

Looking it over quickly, Sean made out particularly well in the fourth round - in additino to Rogers, he added two other promising defencemen - Gatineau's Doug O'Brien and Mississauga's Kyle Quincey (drafted in 2003 by Detroit). Both solid pick-ups with a good shot at playing a role in Vancouver's future. Oh, and he added Guelph LW Ryan Callaghan as well, who went in the 4th to the Rags. Not a bad round's drafting!

It's always interesting to see what players people can find who aren't drafted in the HFNHL but are in the NHL. I know I was kicking myself for not picking up on Alexander Suglobov last year, and Drew got him instead. You can feel confident knowing that you had Martin Houle before any of us did.

As for the guys I picked up, I traded for that third selection in the 4th round because I wanted Peters. That was a situation where I really wanted him (or Klubertanz), so I felt they were worth going to get. Callahan is a guy I've liked all year, and Quincey has been on my radar thanks to Brock's boosting of his play for most of the year as well. I'm facing steep consequences for grabbing Quincey before Brock did.

As for O'Brien, I actually had him listed last year. I was positive I had him high enough to draft him last year, but it didn't quite work out. He was about three slots lower than my 9th round pick Peter Guggisberg on my list. At that point, he hadn't been drafted yet, and he hadn't won the QMJHL Defensive player of the year award yet, so he would have been a coup. Guggisberg was a good pick, but Radomir Pala in the 8th round has yet to surface since the 2003 draft, so I should have got O'Brien last year.

Stay tuned to see if I pick up a few other undrafted types in the upcoming rounds. I'm not sure, but I may have a solid Senators prospect as my top ranked player not yet picked now that the fourth round has been processed.

 

[Ohio Jones]

You can feel confident knowing that you had Martin Houle before any of us did.

While it's true I had Houle high on my goalie list last year, I was beaten out by Hasnain, who also tabbed David Tremblay (who is also in NHL Philly's goalie pool). Fortunately for me, I was able to pry Houle loose mid-season, leaving me with the top two goaltenders in the Q in my system (Houle and Corey Crawford, if you consider M-A Fleury as having graduated...).

 

[Hossa]

While it's true I had Houle high on my goalie list last year, I was beaten out by Hasnain, who also tabbed David Tremblay (who is also in NHL Philly's goalie pool). Fortunately for me, I was able to pry Houle loose mid-season, leaving me with the top two goaltenders in the Q in my system (Houle and Corey Crawford, if you consider M-A Fleury as having graduated...).

Ah yes. That Hasnain character stole Tremblay from me as well. I quite wanted Tremblay in the middle rounds, but once again didn't have a good feel for where I needed to rank "my" players in order to get them when I wanted them. That being said, I'm not sure I like Tremblay as much now as before, considering his struggles in big games.

 

[Donga]

Wes O'Neil may have dropped that far. If I had the chance, I still would have taken him ahead of Wheeler still. While Wheeler was a pleasant surprise (what an understatement), O'Neill will have a break out year next season. Mark my words. Why I say this is that reading some websites, he has played injured throughout this season hence the lack of physicality. Once he is healthy, then we'll see the real O'Neill.

Sean, If you want Wheeler how about this Malkin and O'Neill for Wheeler and 3rd