nivek_wahs
05-02-2007, 03:53 AM
http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/sports/story.html?id=c846ae1e-22df-44e5-b538-c0e8f12216a5
Parker not optimistic he can get top line centre
Greg Harder, Leader-Post
Published: Wednesday, May 02, 2007
The WHL trade market will re-open for business during Thursday's bantam draft, but Regina Pats GM Brent Parker may be limited to window shopping.
Although the draft is typically a starting point for offseason trade talks, much of those discussions will likely be slowed by the Edmonton Oil Kings, who have the right to veto any deal prior to the June 5th expansion draft.
The rule discourages teams from unloading players who may otherwise be left unprotected in the expansion draft and could therefore be lost for nothing. Teams can either protect 15 players from age 17 or 20 or they can secure 13 players from age 17 to 19, plus three 20-year-olds.
"There is nothing you can do trade-wise unless it's approved by Edmonton," explained Parker, who's on the lookout for a top-line centre. "(If two teams work out a deal) you'd go to Edmonton and say, 'OK, here's the deal that's on the table.' If it's (one) player for (one) player it probably doesn't affect them because they're still going to likely have the same guys protected. But if it did involve a couple players and changes the expansion draft list then they might be against it. If they're against it, it can't happen."
Parker's top offseason priority is to find at least one player to replace graduating centres Garrett Festerling and Kyle Ross, who finished one-two in team scoring. The Pats hope to claim an impact player in the CHL import draft (June 27), but Parker will also be pursuing his options on the open market.
The GM said nothing is imminent on the trade front, adding that it will likely be "pretty tough" to land an elite forward from another team.
"Nobody wants to give them up," said Parker, who may be forced to part with one of his prized defencemen in order to consummate such a deal. "You talk (to other teams), you throw ideas around. As much as anything right now you're planting seeds and hopefully something gets done down the road. There are a couple things we feel we could do. Maybe it doesn't happen over the summer. Maybe it's in the fall or maybe you have to wait (for the season to start), but we're certainly pursuing it."
Parker doesn't expect a lot of player movement during Thursday's bantam draft, but that doesn't mean there won't be trades. In fact, discussions are heating up between teams looking to either move up or down in the first round.
"That's as much as anything a case of people being confused about who to take or who might be there," said Parker, who is slated to pick 13th. "I think there will be a fair amount of discussion come the draft itself, teams maybe moving up or moving down. We've had some discussions with some teams and we wouldn't be averse to going either direction if different scenarios played out."
This year's draft is considered deep, but there is a lot of uncertainty about the high-end picks. The differing opinions on top prospects could open the door to trades.
"If you know a certain player is not going to get picked by a certain team and you really like the guy, you pay a price to put yourself in a position to get him," explained Parker. "We have some players we really like that (could be available) if we moved up into the top eight or top 10, yet some of our people think those guys could still be there at 13 anyway. We've talked about moving down because we feel we might still be able to get a couple of the kids we really like and maybe get an extra pick. I think a lot of it will depend on who goes first."
© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2007
Parker not optimistic he can get top line centre
Greg Harder, Leader-Post
Published: Wednesday, May 02, 2007
The WHL trade market will re-open for business during Thursday's bantam draft, but Regina Pats GM Brent Parker may be limited to window shopping.
Although the draft is typically a starting point for offseason trade talks, much of those discussions will likely be slowed by the Edmonton Oil Kings, who have the right to veto any deal prior to the June 5th expansion draft.
The rule discourages teams from unloading players who may otherwise be left unprotected in the expansion draft and could therefore be lost for nothing. Teams can either protect 15 players from age 17 or 20 or they can secure 13 players from age 17 to 19, plus three 20-year-olds.
"There is nothing you can do trade-wise unless it's approved by Edmonton," explained Parker, who's on the lookout for a top-line centre. "(If two teams work out a deal) you'd go to Edmonton and say, 'OK, here's the deal that's on the table.' If it's (one) player for (one) player it probably doesn't affect them because they're still going to likely have the same guys protected. But if it did involve a couple players and changes the expansion draft list then they might be against it. If they're against it, it can't happen."
Parker's top offseason priority is to find at least one player to replace graduating centres Garrett Festerling and Kyle Ross, who finished one-two in team scoring. The Pats hope to claim an impact player in the CHL import draft (June 27), but Parker will also be pursuing his options on the open market.
The GM said nothing is imminent on the trade front, adding that it will likely be "pretty tough" to land an elite forward from another team.
"Nobody wants to give them up," said Parker, who may be forced to part with one of his prized defencemen in order to consummate such a deal. "You talk (to other teams), you throw ideas around. As much as anything right now you're planting seeds and hopefully something gets done down the road. There are a couple things we feel we could do. Maybe it doesn't happen over the summer. Maybe it's in the fall or maybe you have to wait (for the season to start), but we're certainly pursuing it."
Parker doesn't expect a lot of player movement during Thursday's bantam draft, but that doesn't mean there won't be trades. In fact, discussions are heating up between teams looking to either move up or down in the first round.
"That's as much as anything a case of people being confused about who to take or who might be there," said Parker, who is slated to pick 13th. "I think there will be a fair amount of discussion come the draft itself, teams maybe moving up or moving down. We've had some discussions with some teams and we wouldn't be averse to going either direction if different scenarios played out."
This year's draft is considered deep, but there is a lot of uncertainty about the high-end picks. The differing opinions on top prospects could open the door to trades.
"If you know a certain player is not going to get picked by a certain team and you really like the guy, you pay a price to put yourself in a position to get him," explained Parker. "We have some players we really like that (could be available) if we moved up into the top eight or top 10, yet some of our people think those guys could still be there at 13 anyway. We've talked about moving down because we feel we might still be able to get a couple of the kids we really like and maybe get an extra pick. I think a lot of it will depend on who goes first."
© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2007