Winners and losers of the 1st round?

[The_Human_Atombomb]

Just a quick question, what was the trade for San Jose to acquire the second first rounder?

 

[TheGreatone94]

Winners - Rags. Cherry will be the best player from this draft class, mark my words.

Losers - LA - simply because of the fact that they should have traded down and got another pick as well. Hickey isnt a bad prospect, just taken too high.
Carolina - Sutter at 11? Way too high for an over rated prospect

Possible Losers - EDM - passing on Cherry will be a tough pill to swallow in the future, not to mention passing on Espo. Plante would have been a good pick at 30, not so much at 15. The book is still out on Riley Nash. He is a fairly unknown commodity, and could turn out to be a player. But as it stands right now, the Oilers are losers.

 

[JonathanK81]

Just a quick question, what was the trade for San Jose to acquire the second first rounder?

San Jose gave up the 41st pick and a 2008 2nd rounder to get the second first round pick

 

[Ghost of jas]

I love what San Jose did. Got a guy with great upside in Couture and a replacement for McClaren in the future in Petreki.

Like Montreal's picks. Had their guys and got em. McDounagh is going to be a stud.

Rangers How can you not like getting a top five talent at 17? Whatever issues he may have, that's huge value at that spot.

Blues work their magic again getting the sleeper in Eller and then moving up to make sure they got their other guy in Cole.

Calgary. I don't know if it was luck or what, but they were able to move down and still get a guy that could turn out to be one of the best players in the draft.

BUT THE REAL BIG WINNER IN THIS YEARS DRAFT...

Is the USNDP and the USHL. Shows what a good job they've been doing in turning USA hockey into a force to be reckoned with.

That, to me, is why, the Rangers are winners here. You get incredible value. In what is considered to be a weak draft, you get a top 5 (perhaps, even top 3) talent, without having to trade up to do so. Maybe someone like Backlund, who also has top six talent, but fell because of his knee problem, would have been a safer pick. But, in a draft where there supposedly wasn't much separation after the top 6-7 picks, you come away at 17, with one of the top talents in the draft. The Rangers system is stacked with players similar to what taking the safe route would have amounted to. They could afford to take a risk like this.

 

[Transported Upstater]

San Jose is a big winner, they go from no firsts to getting Couture and Petrecki AND they find someone dumb enough to take Mark Bell.

We aim to please.

Everyone but our own fans, that is...

 

[shuriken]

Yes, San Jose definitely deserves a HM as a winner.

http://hfboards.com/showpost.php?p=9634628&postcount=99

 

[helicecopter]

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.

Honestly, Esposito at 20 fell a bit further than i could expect whereas i couldn't stop laughing because of Cherepanov free fall..
(btw, i'm also more surprised to see Backlund at 24 than Espo at 20, unless there's something wrong with his knee)

 

[AH]

Man, Doug Wilson is impressive. Last night, he became my fave GM. Just amazing display of knowledge, strategy and asset management.

Winners: San Jose, NYR, St Lou.

Losers: Edmonton (for passing on Cherepanov).

 

[Hawerchuk9]

Winners :

1- San Jose
2- St-Louis
3- NY Rangers
4- Pittsburgh

Losers :

None really right now but I also wonder why the Kings didn't trade down a little to pick Hickey.

 

[jb**]

well you wont know for years but the flyers had the #2 pick and the other teams in their division with a first, pens and rangers drafted a better player IMO. flyers never take a shot with guys who can be gamebreakers. wanted to see them make a trade to draft either of these guys. espo may make it look bad if he gets to play with crosby

 

[Talentless Practise*]

Man, Doug Wilson is impressive. Last night, he became my fave GM. Just amazing display of knowledge, strategy and asset management.

He certainly did well. However, i think there might very well be a better defenceman than Petrecki available with the 2nd they gave up in the 2008 draft.

 

[John Flyers Fan]

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.

Holmgren saw him numerous times and I know his wrok ethic was a major red flag. On numerous occasions Homer when asked about Cherepanov has just shaken his head ... "one night he's spectacular, one of the best players on the ice, and then the next night you can't find him with a spot light."

Skill certainly isn't a question mark, and the Rangers need a top end player like him and do have some depth to take the risk. As he started falling I was hoping the Flyers would jump back into the mix to grab him.

I knew if he slipped to the Rangers, Sather would take him. I don't like that he ended up in New York, but better there than in Pittsburgh.

 

[PerryTurnbullfan]

I don't understand how the Oilers are considered losers, especially with Gagner. You all say that Plante would be there at 30, who the hell do you think you are stating such bullcrap as that? Are you one of those insiders who knew that he wasn't on the radar?

Anyway, nothing wrong with a big, tough mean Canadian defenseman who stands 6'5" and 225 at 18. Reminds me of the type of defenseman that won the cup this year. With all the big defenseman coming up in the Oiler farm, all I can say is they all look very mean.

Just because you watch highlights on youtube doesn't make you a scout.

If it don't work out with Plante (I think it will.), then trade him to St. Louis. The Rams need some defensive line help. Plante was an absolute monster when he went up to the draft table. Zdeno Chara may have a new adversary. He may not be done growing yet either. Big guys with skill are hard to find. Plante has been picked all over in mock drafts. I have more problems with the Hickey pick. This one I can understand. Maybe if someone steals his batman lunch box (Turris), he'll play with the "edge" every seems to say that he doesn't have. Size and skill you can't teach. Hopefully the skating and quickness will progress. Gagner would have looked good in the Blue note. I think the Oilers will make out just fine with their picks.

 

[BZArcher]

While pick wise, I think San Jose was probably the biggest winner, I think that Columbus should be on the list - not just because of drafting Voracek (though that helped), but all the media reaction I'm reading as I get ready to go back down for day 2 is "Wow, Columbus really is a big hockey town!"

I think the Draft is doing an amazing job of helping us erase the image in a lot of player and media circles that Columbus is where hockey (and players) go to die.

 

[phil macrackin]

Winners
Columbus - Voracek is the most underrated player in the draft.
San Jose - Wilson made great moves all day.
Montreal - Red Line had great things to say about McDonagh and Pacioretty. Both picks will look great in 2-4 years.
Anaheim - MacMillan is perfect for a Burke team.
Carolina - Sutter fits their profile perfectly, kind of like Anaheim.

Losers
LA - Hickey is a good player but they could've loaded up on other assets through trades and gotten him at 10-15.
STL - I'll be in the minority, but I don't like Perron and I'm always skeptical of taking players from non-traditional hockey countries. (I know, Kopitar yadda yadda but...)
Minnesota - Gillies that high? Blech.
Edmonton - Gagner is overrated in my opinion and the other two picks weren't great.



As for the Esposito/Cherepanov debate, people are finally seeing that attitude is HUGE with NHL scouts. These guys are both talented but are pure poison. Get used to this trend because this is the No. 1 thing that sways scouting decisions at the end of the day, I think. Character will tip the scales at crunch time every time. See Couture, MacMillan, Sutter, etc. These are solid players but are highly coveted because of their attitudes. This is a trend I REALLY like. It's no accident that the past two Cup winners are well-known for following this blue print. Just look at the leaders and draft picks in Carolina and Anaheim if you don't believe me.

 

[Seachd]

I love how people are saying Lowe could have gotten Plante and Nash in the second round. It's all you people, when the draft comes around each year, who are proven to know nothing.

 

[chizzler]

In my opinion, Edmonton and St.Louis were the only two teams up at the top that had the flexability to take the chance and draft either Cher and Espo. They had more than one pick(three) and it would have been worth it to them. All the rest had to make the correct desision. A first rounder is valuable because if you bomb it, it sets you back years, prospects wise. The ones that don't pan out, hurts teams greatly. I can't believe all of those teams were wrong about them.

 

[PerryTurnbullfan]

In my opinion, Edmonton and St.Louis were the only two teams up at the top that had the flexability to take the chance and draft either Cher and Espo. They had more than one pick(three) and it would have been worth it to them. All the rest had to make the correct desision. A first rounder is valuable because if you bomb it, it sets you back years, prospects wise. The ones that don't pan out, hurts teams greatly. I can't believe all of those teams were wrong about them.

The Blues have been hit and miss with Russians. After the stuff mentioned about his work ethic (could be false) and our track record, I'm glad we passed. Espo looked none to pleased when the Blues traded up to 18 before they picked Cole. If he didn't want to come to St. Louis, then I didn't want the Blues to draft him. He just reacted like.."Please don't pick me" I hope Cole crushes him in the boards when he hits St. Louis and Eller and Perron outscore him. He should do well in Pittsburgh. The Penguins got some talent. I hope they will be able to afford it in a few years. I'm a Pittsburg fan and see Malkin, Crosby, and now Espo $$$$$$.

 

[YouAreStupid]

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

Terrible to have have gotten two ACTUAL NHL players, instead of potential.

Bad Leafs... bad....

 

[Amazing Oopah]

Hard to assess winners and losers when all of these prospects have yet to skate a combined minute in an NHL game

However, the big potential winners here are the Rangers and the Penguins. If the embarrasment of dropping so low doesn't motivate Cherepanov and Espo, nothing ever will. Good gambles for both squads.

Also find it interesting that these two teams who are playoff contenders took risks while teams mired in different facets of rebuilding/retooling settled for the 'safe' picks.

 

[YouAreStupid]

I don't understand how the Oilers are considered losers, especially with Gagner. You all say that Plante would be there at 30, who the hell do you think you are stating such bullcrap as that? Are you one of those insiders who knew that he wasn't on the radar?

Anyway, nothing wrong with a big, tough mean Canadian defenseman who stands 6'5" and 225 at 18. Reminds me of the type of defenseman that won the cup this year. With all the big defenseman coming up in the Oiler farm, all I can say is they all look very mean.

Just because you watch highlights on youtube doesn't make you a scout.

All of this talk about winners and losers is BS anyhow. Nobody has any idea how things will pan out.

The Oilers put themselves in a good position by having 3 firsties and now they have to see if their scouting staff did their homework.

I'm sure for you, as an Oil fan, it must have been exciting to have all of those picks. That in itself is something.

 

[YouAreStupid]

Winner is STL imo.

Eller will be the steal of this draft. He's the next Zetterberg.

I think you're right.

He's a great player.

 

[Kopistar]

you people are nuts, dean tried to trade down, but their were teams that were also interested in Hickey. He couldnt trade down too far otherwise he'd be gone. He tried with 3 teams and none of them worked.

Hickey will own, you just watch.

 

[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.

It apparently was an issue for some GM's:

Lowe, for one, said he passed on Cherepanov at No. 15 because of the uncertainty over the transfer agreement between the NHL and the Russian federation and made an interesting point: That if a young Russian gets too good too soon, a handful of Superleague teams can actually offer them more money than if they played in the NHL's entry-level system, which is governed by the cap. The fear of "wasting" a pick played on his mind, but he was also prepared to look at Cherpanov at No. 21 if he dropped that far.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/serv...hockeyblog20070623100544/WBStory/WBhockeyblog

 

[dao256]

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.

Farhan Lalji