| Subject: GWHL Draft Review |
Author:
Ryan Archer
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Date Posted: 17:23:54 12/06/05 Tue
GWHL 2007 draft review: An unbiased look at the winners and losers of the draft by a guy who was definitely the biggest loser. There weren’t a lot of real losers in this draft. The draft was very deep and most people that were at the draft drafted well. There is something said about showing up and doing your homework, you’ll usually come away with a smile and a loot of great young guys. However trading your picks could hurt you when draft day comes around and you see what you missed out on.
Big Losers
The London Lasers were looking to make big waves in the playoff picture and dealt off all their picks. Instead they barely made the playoffs. They did however have great playoff success knocking out the president’s trophy winners only to be swept by Halifax on their way to the cup.
Picks they didn’t get:
1st round – Yellowknife selected Tomas Vanek
2nd round – Winnipeg selected Danny Fritsche
3rd round – Charlottetown selected Konstantin Glazachev
All could have been London Lasers……..
Toronto, you are a loser when you lose the top pick in a draft. Eric Staal would have been a fine addition to Toronto, but instead Stanley cup runner-ups Victoria snagged him. Toronto got a nice pick in the second round in Patrick O'Sullivan but he is no Staal. This was not a good year for Toronto who also finished last in the standings and is currently sitting over cap! A lesson should be learned from London and Toronto, DON’T TRADE YOUR FIRST PICKS!
Winners
Edmonton had three picks in the top ten and made sure they counted they selected Patrice Bergeron 2nd overall and with Thornton out of the way he should excel as Boston’s top center. Dion Phaneuf was selected third and he won’t disappoint either winning the rookie of the month for November in the NHL and looking to be a possible Calder trophy nominee. Marc-Andre Fluery was picked 8th overall and Edmonton is on a role. Fluery recently sent Thibault packing and was named the Penguins #1 goalie. Are done yet? Well in the second round Edmonton selected Mikko Koivu, Jussi Jokinen, Jeff Tambellini, Zbynek Michalek and Ryan Kesler, three of which are having pretty decent seasons so far in the NHL and look like they are here to stay. Edmonton is going to be sick with talent in the next few years.
Halifax after coming off a Stanley cup victory you would think that Halifax would be drafting low. They were able to win the cup and secure 3 picks in the top 10 as well. Choosing Jeff Carter 4th overall was a little risky but it should pay off, Carter is flourishing in Philly and is looking to be top center caliber. Brent Seabrook was selected 5th overall right after Zherdev. Like Phanuef, Seabrook is having a great year but unlike him he is doing it on a stinky team. Seabrook should also get some Calder consideration. With 10th pick Halifax took Ryan Getzlaf who along with Corey Perry are looking to be the Ducks future offence. Getzlaf is good and will only improve. Halifax followed it up with Steve Bernier and Shawn Belle in the second and Jason Williams late in the 3rd. Williams is arguably the steal of the draft and is having a career year in the NHL.
Winnipeg made good with their two picks in the first round selecting Nathan Horton 7th overall, who has come under fire in Florida but has flashes of brilliance. Injuries have slowed him down but he is still a bonified top line forward. Milan Michalek was picked 11th overall, he has been played increasingly in San Jose and looks to have what it takes to be a top line forward. Winnipeg snuck in a couple good picks later in the 2nd round selecting Dan Fritsche, Shea Weber and Marcel Goc. Fritsche and Goc are already playing in the NHL and Weber is not far off. In the third round they drafted Lee Stempniak and with the last pick of the draft and the runner up for steal of the draft they took Alexei Ponikarovsky.
Yellowknife had a very disappointing season but they made up for it in the draft. Having trouble with goaltending Yellowknife selected two goalies in the draft that should soon become the backbone of the team. But before they drafted the two goalies they managed to draft Tomas Vanek and Cory Perry, two great goal-scoring forwards to add to their arsenal of talented forwards. In the second round they drafted their first goalie Pascal LeClaire they followed it up in the second round drafting Ray Emery, both goalies are going to be stellar in the NHL and will help Yellowknife in the near future. Yellowknife also drafted Erik Christensen late in the 3rd.
Victoria was recently taken over by a new GM and he made his mark on the team right away drafting Eric Staal first overall and later drafting Zach Parise, both of which are already toted as elite players in the NHL. In the second he drafted Lukas Krajicek who is Florida’s best defenceman in the NHL. Later in the third he chose Mike Cammalleri who has yet to prove himself as an elite but has the potential of being a great NHL player.
Honorable mentions:
Ottawa: Nikolai Zherdev, Robert Nilsson, Mike Richards, Marc-Antoine Pouliot
Quebec: Ryan Suter, Braydon Coburn, Duncan Keith
Saskatoon: Dustin Brown, Eric Fehr, Anthony Stewart, Brian Boyle, Danny Richmond and Ryan Stone.
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