Winners and losers of the 1st round?

[Ghost of jas]

jas -

The lack of a transfer agreement with Russia and players like Malkin having to flee in the middle of the night in some cloak and daggers game make Cherepanov falling to 17 not especially surprising. Tell me anyone who thought Esposito would fall to anywhere close to 20.

We're still talking a top 5, maybe even the best talent in the 1st round according to some sources. I NEVER thought he'd fall that far. I thought Espo would go middle of the 1st round. I even thought someone, like a Detroit, with the finances, would disregard the transfer agreement and trade up for the kid. The Rangers were talking about trying to move up to 3 to get him. They didn't have to move any assets at all. Complete stunner, IMO.

 

[Hunter Gathers]

What's his nuts on the TSN broadcast said that one scout he talked to said that Cherepanov was falling because of his work ethic and not because of the transfer agreement. And I'm inclined to believe this. If the courts upheld Malkin's departure from Russia, there's no reason why they wouldn't do the same for anyone else. And Cherepanov has said in interviews that he wanted to come to the NHL after one more season in Russia. I don't think the transfer agreement was the dominant issue for most teams.

He apparently came off as cocky and arrogant in an interview with Edmonton (which, IMO, is the language barrier).

And he would not have a work ethic problem playing on the team he does. He wouldn't have gotten the ice time he did if it was as bad as some uninformed people have claimed in the past.

 

[Luigi Habs]

Winners: SJ/NY Rangers/Pittsburgh/St-Louis

Losers: Toronto/Edmonton/LA

 

[SomeDude]

Sorry, Cherepanov and his agent made it clear prior to the draft (and his team, Omsk, knows it and is OK with it)

As okay with it as Malkin's team was? They said the same things. Not saying that the same thing will happen, I would have been thrilled if he had fallen to 20 for the Pens, but I'm okay with not having to deal with the drama from Russia again.

 

[cjmurph]

Winner - San Jose. No first round picks going in, but Doug Wilson trades spare parts and comes and away with Couture and Petrecki, and still has 8 picks tomorrow.


Loser - Devils. No first round pick because of the Malakhov fiasco...2 years later and still paying for those blunders. To make matters worse, the Rangers, Flyers and Penguins all add terrific prospects.

 

[Hunter Gathers]

As okay with it as Malkin's team was? They said the same things. Not saying that the same thing will happen, I would have been thrilled if he had fallen to 20 for the Pens, but I'm okay with not having to deal with the drama from Russia again.

Malkin had an extension signed I believe and actually had to get out of his contract.

Cherepanov's contract is up after this season and he, his agent, and Omsk have all said that he will not be there next year and that he will be in the NHL or at least in North America in some capacity at the minimum.

Totally different situations. He does not have to get out of a contract that won't exist after this year.

And even if he does somehow get signed into an extension, the Rangers have the money to "pay off" the Russians.

 

[PCH]

very happy for Columbus to have nabbed Voracek at 7.. I started Jakkub watch after the Kings took Hickey at 4..knew we had a chance at him. Hopefully he can step in and replace David Vyborny when necessary.

 

[TheRedressor]

Winners:

1. NYR-Purest goal scorer in the draft FALLS to 17.

2.PIT- LOL they can roll four 1st lines.

3. SJ- Wilson is a genious to trade scraps for 2 first rounders

Can't really call anyone else losers in this except for:

1. NJD- Salary cap screwed them over

2. NYI- Easily will move out of this category if Smyth re-signs.

3. TOR- could have had Eller/Espo/Cher instead they have Toskala and Bell

 

[RangerBoy]

Cherepanov's agent Jay Grossman

That at least is according to Alexei Cherepanov’s agent Jay Grossman, who said the player’s agreement with current team Omsk is he’ll be free to come to the NHL after next season.

“We don’t believe it’s an obstacle at all,” Grossman said by phone from the draft. “It may be an issue with certain players but it won’t be an issue with Alexei because we have an agreement with the team and they know his intention is to play in the NHL.”

http://rangers.lohudblogs.com/2007/...v-to-new-york-may-not-be-a-struggle/#comments

Can we stop with the "I want to thank the people of Columbus for their hospitality and I want to thank John McConnell and I want to say hello to our fans at the draft party at the the local strip joint"...it becomes very irritating.Have Bettman make the selections like the commissioners of the other leagues do.Nice and simple

 

[chizzler]

San Jose and Doug Wilson. Awesome draft considering they had no picks in the round. This guy is turning out to be one of the top GM's in the league easily. All the rest had picks and the kids fell into their laps.

 

[Jaded-Fan]

Malkin had an extension signed I believe and actually had to get out of his contract.

Cherepanov's contract is up after this season and he, his agent, and Omsk have all said that he will not be there next year and that he will be in the NHL or at least in North America in some capacity at the minimum.

Totally different situations. He does not have to get out of a contract that won't exist after this year.

And even if he does somehow get signed into an extension, the Rangers have the money to "pay off" the Russians.

Jon, we have disagreed in the past but do not take my comments as a slam. I think that the trouble Russia has given did make some teams shy away, to the Rangers's benefit. And yes, I think that he will be over and be a huge steal for the Rangers. But I do think the troubles getting players here played a role, no matter what he said and what his contract situation currently is. Malkin was pressured into an 'extention' at 3 am. The Russian mob supposedly has ties to hockey going way back. However you slice it there are safer picks. Again, that is good news for you all.

 

[Rico Fatastic]

He apparently came off as cocky and arrogant in an interview with Edmonton (which, IMO, is the language barrier).

And he would not have a work ethic problem playing on the team he does. He wouldn't have gotten the ice time he did if it was as bad as some uninformed people have claimed in the past.

I certainly don't know myself. I'm just repeating what they said on the broadcast. There had to have been some reason for him to fall, and I don't buy the notion that the transfer agreement was that reason.

 

[Hunter Gathers]

Jon, we have disagreed in the past but do not take my comments as a slam. I think that the trouble Russia has given did make some teams shy away, to the Rangers's benefit. And yes, I think that he will be over and be a huge steal for the Rangers. But I do think the troubles getting players here played a role, no matter what he said and what his contract situation currently is. Malkin was pressured into an 'extention' at 3 am. The Russian mob supposedly has ties to hockey going way back. However you slice it there are safer picks. Again, that is good news for you all.

I actually think it is a combination of his awful Four Nations tournament and apparently some bad interviews with clubs that scared a lot of teams off from him. And the teams that interviewed him were probably the HIGHER ranked teams while the lower guys never thought he'd ever drop there and might not have even talked to him, as I'm sure some teams don't talk to players they feel they have no interest in or could never land.

And after he started falling, a snowball eventually formed into a huge snow boulder rolling down the hill and I think a lot of the later teams thought something was up and steered clear from him. But it's pretty clear he was the Rangers man the entire time. Just surprised that they didn't have to move up to get him.

I'm not worried about the "transfer" agreement in the least. The Rangers would never let some club in Russia stop them from bringing a player over. Too much $$$ to throw at the problem to bother caring.

 

[shureshot66]

Malkin had an extension signed I believe and actually had to get out of his contract.

Cherepanov's contract is up after this season and he, his agent, and Omsk have all said that he will not be there next year and that he will be in the NHL or at least in North America in some capacity at the minimum.

Totally different situations. He does not have to get out of a contract that won't exist after this year.

And even if he does somehow get signed into an extension, the Rangers have the money to "pay off" the Russians.

and this is what really confused me about how far he fell... i can't imagine the same headaches that came with malkin et al. applying to cherepanov.

rangers fans, i have to believe, are thrilled with how it worked out.

 

[Hunter Gathers]

I certainly don't know myself. I'm just repeating what they said on the broadcast. There had to have been some reason for him to fall, and I don't buy the notion that the transfer agreement was that reason.

There's a whole slew of reasons and I bet every team would have a different reason for not taking him.

It was really a bizarre draft and a bizarre fall for him.

 

[Hunter Gathers]

and this is what really confused me about how far he fell... i can't imagine the same headaches that came with malkin et al. applying to cherepanov.

rangers fans, i have to believe, are thrilled with how it worked out.

I think a combo of thrilled and shocked, to be honest. I mean, I'm still shocked that he wasn't a top 5 pick.

Absolutely floored.

 

[mouser]

Tell me anyone who thought Esposito would fall to anywhere close to 20.

Well, to give someone credit, Draft Buzz had him going to the Habs at #22.

 

[Porn*]

san jose... from what we can tell.


but we won't know for at least 2-5 years...

 

[CanadianCommie]

The way this draft is, I don't think I can say anyone won yet. There were some weird, off-the-board picks, but a lot of guys picked in the mid and late 1st round were guys without a consistent ranking.

The only really crazy pick was the L.A. pick. Heh, that was way, way, WAY out of left field.

However, I think the surprises that could turn into winners include the Pens getting Espo and the Rangers getting Cherry. Those two could make a lot of other teams look stupid, but they still have a lot of that boom/bust potential and aren't necessarily a sure thing, much like the entirety of the first round this year.


EDIT: San Jose actually getting a couple of picks and unloading players they didn't need was brilliant though, so in theory they won, but it's still only draft picks, they aren't players yet.

 

[cc]

I agree with everyone who said that Cherepanov was the biggest steal of the draft so far. I think teams will be kicking themselves for not drafting him.

 

[HackandLube]

The Oilers entered kings of the 1st round and exited paupers.

 

[shureshot66]

I think a combo of thrilled and shocked, to be honest. I mean, I'm still shocked that he wasn't a top 5 pick.

Absolutely floored.

seems to be the same sentiment in pittsburgh at this early stage. we're all aware that esposito has some potentially troubling shortcomings as a player, but to nab him at #20 overall -- it feels great to be able to take him. especially because there wasnt a whole lot of excitement for the draft (thankfully) for the first time in awhile.

to be honest there was just the slightest twinge of familiarity with the excitement of the crosby lottery, especially as it came down to pittsburgh and anaheim with the way the draft order worked out.

 

[futurcorerock]

Cherepanov's agent Jay Grossman



http://rangers.lohudblogs.com/2007/...v-to-new-york-may-not-be-a-struggle/#comments

Can we stop with the "I want to thank the people of Columbus for their hospitality and I want to thank John McConnell and I want to say hello to our fans at the draft party at the the local strip joint"...it becomes very irritating.Have Bettman make the selections like the commissioners of the other leagues do.Nice and simple

But then Gretzky won't get the obligatory standing ovation each year

 

[Hunter Gathers]

seems to be the same sentiment in pittsburgh at this early stage. we're all aware that esposito has some potentially troubling shortcomings as a player, but to nab him at #20 overall -- it feels great to be able to take him. especially because there wasnt a whole lot of excitement for the draft (thankfully) for the first time in awhile.

to be honest there was just the slightest twinge of familiarity with the excitement of the crosby lottery, especially as it came down to pittsburgh and anaheim with the way the draft order worked out.

My honest assessment of Espo is that I feel like he could become a good, 2nd line center. A complimentary player. I don't think he'll ever be good enough to do things all for himself but I do think that if they converted him to wing that he COULD compliment a guy like Crosby or Malkin fairly well. Although I don't think he's a 1st line talent. More of a secondary guy.

But at this point, he's the kind of guy who you'd want to have with your Crosby or your Malkin. He will do well in Pittsburgh. Better than in towns who would have him as their top, premier prospect.

 

[MS]

San Jose has to be considered the biggest winner. Deal a backup goalie set to be an UFA in a year and a couple 2nd rounders for two guys who were pretty much consensus top-15 picks. Great management by Wilson.

Columbus is probably the other biggest winner. Voracek is a stud, and I have absolutely no idea how he falls to them with that pick.

As someone who's seen a fair bit of Hickey and Plante, it's absolutely amazing that those guys went as high as they did. Plante especially, who I wouldn't have taken in the top 50 picks - slow, clumsy, lacking hockey sense. Reminds me of Pokoluk going in roughly the same position, a selection which has turned out pretty embarassingly for Washington. Lowe talking about 'drafting Western Canadian kids' being a priority sounded like an idiot. Those two teams came out pretty short considering what they went in with.

I'll call the Rangers a winner when I see Cherepanov producing in an NHL jersey. The Russian situation is a mess, and half these 'super-skilled Russian forwards' are a mess upstairs, too. Good risk to take where they picked, but Ranger fans shouldn't count their chickens too soon.

Esposito went when he should have gone. Far too much of a Daigle/Fata quality there to take him much higher.