nivek_wahs
04-30-2008, 04:47 PM
http://www.reginapats.com/News/302/
Pats methodical about picks
Greg Harder, Leader-Post
Published: Wednesday, April 30, 2008
The Regina Pats are tossing around baseball analogies in anticipation of Thursday's WHL bantam draft.
Regina has an obvious need to throw strikes with its first two picks after trading away selections in the third and fourth rounds -- to Prince Albert for Ryan DePape and to Kamloops for Ryan Bender.
The Pats are slated to pick 17th in the first round and 39th in the second. Barring a trade to acquire more picks -- which is a distinct possibility -- there will be a 66-player gap between Regina's second-round pick and its fifth-rounder.
"With no third or fourth we have to make sure we get two guys (at the top) who can play," offered Pats director of scouting Todd Ripplinger. "We won't be gambling on a home run. We need to hit a double. We need a guy who's going to be committed, we need a guy who can play -- not necessarily be a No. 1 centre or a No. 1 D, but we need a guy who can play in our top four D and our top two lines."
Parker is pursuing trade options which could at least partially fill the gap in the third and fourth rounds. That said, he's confident the team can have a successful draft with or without adding more picks.
"Not having picks restricts you a little bit in some areas but I think having our first and second is important," noted Parker. "What it does is it makes you change your thought process a little bit with those first two picks. You're maybe not trying to hit a home run as much as you are just trying to get on base. You have to make sure those two players play (in the league). They have to be serviceable guys for you down the road. We think with our draft last year and a couple of our list (additions) that we have a lot of depth immediately above this age group so that helps fill the void a little bit from not having a third or fourth."
As a result, Parker believes the Pats can afford to play it safe at the top of the draft. That said, he's still hoping to get lucky and hit at least one out of the park in the late innings.
"You need to try to have one or two players pan out in the latter part of your draft," he said. "Todd and his group have done a real good job of doing that over the years. You look at the history of some of our later round picks: Craig Schira (sixth round), Ian Duval (7th), Jordan Eberle (7th), Jordan Weal (4th). We've had guys in the middle to latter part of the draft who have really panned out."
The Pats are leaning towards taking a defenceman at No. 17 after selecting forwards in both the first and second round of the past two drafts. That said, they're also open to choosing the "best player available" if the right defenceman doesn't fall in their lap.
"We bulked up last year with our forward group," noted Ripplinger. "We need to balance the depth chart out. But if the guy's not there that we're totally comfortable with, we'll take a forward."
At this point, it's anyone's guess who the Pats will select in the first round. With 16 teams picking ahead of them, their fate is largely in the hands of others.
This year's draft features several top-end forwards but is also deep on defence.
"A lot of (your decision-making process) comes from necessity," added Parker. "Maybe you've got a draft where there's a lot of forwards so you can take that defenceman early knowing you're still going to get a quality forward. The last couple years there were a lot of defencemen so we took those couple forwards early and still got (quality defencemen) later. It works both ways. We'll take the best player available at 17. Certainly it maybe leans you towards a position when you've taken players at other positions in your last two drafts but I don't think it's locked that we'll take a defenceman."
Pats methodical about picks
Greg Harder, Leader-Post
Published: Wednesday, April 30, 2008
The Regina Pats are tossing around baseball analogies in anticipation of Thursday's WHL bantam draft.
Regina has an obvious need to throw strikes with its first two picks after trading away selections in the third and fourth rounds -- to Prince Albert for Ryan DePape and to Kamloops for Ryan Bender.
The Pats are slated to pick 17th in the first round and 39th in the second. Barring a trade to acquire more picks -- which is a distinct possibility -- there will be a 66-player gap between Regina's second-round pick and its fifth-rounder.
"With no third or fourth we have to make sure we get two guys (at the top) who can play," offered Pats director of scouting Todd Ripplinger. "We won't be gambling on a home run. We need to hit a double. We need a guy who's going to be committed, we need a guy who can play -- not necessarily be a No. 1 centre or a No. 1 D, but we need a guy who can play in our top four D and our top two lines."
Parker is pursuing trade options which could at least partially fill the gap in the third and fourth rounds. That said, he's confident the team can have a successful draft with or without adding more picks.
"Not having picks restricts you a little bit in some areas but I think having our first and second is important," noted Parker. "What it does is it makes you change your thought process a little bit with those first two picks. You're maybe not trying to hit a home run as much as you are just trying to get on base. You have to make sure those two players play (in the league). They have to be serviceable guys for you down the road. We think with our draft last year and a couple of our list (additions) that we have a lot of depth immediately above this age group so that helps fill the void a little bit from not having a third or fourth."
As a result, Parker believes the Pats can afford to play it safe at the top of the draft. That said, he's still hoping to get lucky and hit at least one out of the park in the late innings.
"You need to try to have one or two players pan out in the latter part of your draft," he said. "Todd and his group have done a real good job of doing that over the years. You look at the history of some of our later round picks: Craig Schira (sixth round), Ian Duval (7th), Jordan Eberle (7th), Jordan Weal (4th). We've had guys in the middle to latter part of the draft who have really panned out."
The Pats are leaning towards taking a defenceman at No. 17 after selecting forwards in both the first and second round of the past two drafts. That said, they're also open to choosing the "best player available" if the right defenceman doesn't fall in their lap.
"We bulked up last year with our forward group," noted Ripplinger. "We need to balance the depth chart out. But if the guy's not there that we're totally comfortable with, we'll take a forward."
At this point, it's anyone's guess who the Pats will select in the first round. With 16 teams picking ahead of them, their fate is largely in the hands of others.
This year's draft features several top-end forwards but is also deep on defence.
"A lot of (your decision-making process) comes from necessity," added Parker. "Maybe you've got a draft where there's a lot of forwards so you can take that defenceman early knowing you're still going to get a quality forward. The last couple years there were a lot of defencemen so we took those couple forwards early and still got (quality defencemen) later. It works both ways. We'll take the best player available at 17. Certainly it maybe leans you towards a position when you've taken players at other positions in your last two drafts but I don't think it's locked that we'll take a defenceman."