nivek_wahs
08-25-2006, 06:55 AM
from sportsnet.ca (http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/columnist.jsp?content=20060824_125517_3408)
Early look at '07 draft
August 24, 2006
It's never too early to predict the top NHL draft picks for next season.
Shockingly enough, we awoke the other morning to the realisation that the 2006-07 season is upon us already, so it's time to fire up the engines and start fine-tuning Red Line's preliminary list for the 2007 Entry Draft.
The first thing we must note is that we've all been getting a little spoiled at the top end of the draft the past few years with the Russian super-studs, Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin, in 2004, Sidney Crosby in 2005, and Erik Johnson, the top blue line prospect of the last 15 years, headlining the show this year. While it's tough to produce that marquee level of talent every year, a look ahead to 2007 appears to offer a nicely varied mix of talent evenly spread between forward and defence, and between North America and Europe.
A quick glance at Red Line's early line top 10 for 2007 reveals just how evenly split the talent is along geographic lines. In Canada, there is one player each from the Maritimes, Quebec, Ontario, and the West. From Europe, there are two Czechs, one Russian, and one Slovak. And two Americans round out the group.
Quebec centre Angelo Esposito is the top offensive talent available and the early line favourite to be the top overall selection next June. Minnesota high schooler Mike Hoeffel, Ontario centre Logan Couture, Czech winger Jakub Voracek, and Russian flyer Egor Averin represent the next tier on offence and, while Esposito is the clear top gun, all four seem at least capable of battling for top five overall status at next June's draft. Throw big, physical American blue-liner Nick Petrecki and Maritimer Stephen Lund, a well-rounded defenceman, into the mix and it shapes up as a wide open affair.
Esposito earned his designation as the pre-race favourite with a tremendous rookie season in which he helped fuel the high octane Quebec Remparts' offence with a 39-goal, 98-point season in only 57 games. His powerful stride and speed, combined with great vision and on-ice awareness of different game situations put him a notch above the rest heading into the season.
Couture is a slick and instinctive playmaker who also knows where the net is, and Hoeffel is just a complete package of size, skating, hands, and defensive savvy.
Petrecki can take over entire games with his physical dominance and has a booming point shot, while Lund is cerebral and highly intelligent in all three zones with fine agility and footwork for a big man.
The first wave of Europeans is led by Averin, the highly skilled Russian winger, and Voracek, a hard-driving horse from the Czech Republic.
Averin has blistering speed and wonderful creativity - the only thing he lacks is physical stature at 5-10/165 pounds. Voracek is a dangerous natural scorer who is strong enough to bang in the corners and is relentless in his pursuit of the puck.
Czech Michal Repik and Slovak David Skokan are another pair of skilled Euro wingers who already have a year of North American experience under their belts. Repik had a marvellous freshman campaign in the WHL, getting all the way to the Memorial Cup with Vancouver. Skokan, on the other hand, played for a rebuilding Rimouski club and got a ton of ice time; he'll be expected to lead a resurgent Oceanic squad offensively this season.
The WHL weighs in with a pair of high end d-men with dramatically different styles. Karl Alzner is a physical, shutdown d-man who plays a mistake-free game and takes care of his own end impeccably. John Negrin's game is growing by leaps and bounds and with his excellent stride and agility, plus intelligence and acumen at the offensive end, he's got a huge upside.
At this point we're assuming that there will finally be a transfer agreement in place with the Russian Federation by this time next year - which is good news, since 2007 will feature a good Russian crop after two down years. In addition to Averin, we see another 4-6 Russians as potential first rounders, led by huge defenceman Artem Dubinin, and a trio of slick goal sniping wingers in Alexei Dostoinov, Ruslan Bashkirov, and Alexei Cherepanov.
One area of the 2007 draft that is noticeably thin is the goaltending crop. For the first time in recent memory, we enter the season with not one goalie ranked with a first round grade. Minnesota high schooler Kent Patterson is the best of a mediocre crop at this point, though a few other candidates will undoubtedly emerge.
I thought it was kinda cool how thay viewed the 2007 draft from all points of view... Already. I bolded the WHLers mentioned.
Early look at '07 draft
August 24, 2006
It's never too early to predict the top NHL draft picks for next season.
Shockingly enough, we awoke the other morning to the realisation that the 2006-07 season is upon us already, so it's time to fire up the engines and start fine-tuning Red Line's preliminary list for the 2007 Entry Draft.
The first thing we must note is that we've all been getting a little spoiled at the top end of the draft the past few years with the Russian super-studs, Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin, in 2004, Sidney Crosby in 2005, and Erik Johnson, the top blue line prospect of the last 15 years, headlining the show this year. While it's tough to produce that marquee level of talent every year, a look ahead to 2007 appears to offer a nicely varied mix of talent evenly spread between forward and defence, and between North America and Europe.
A quick glance at Red Line's early line top 10 for 2007 reveals just how evenly split the talent is along geographic lines. In Canada, there is one player each from the Maritimes, Quebec, Ontario, and the West. From Europe, there are two Czechs, one Russian, and one Slovak. And two Americans round out the group.
Quebec centre Angelo Esposito is the top offensive talent available and the early line favourite to be the top overall selection next June. Minnesota high schooler Mike Hoeffel, Ontario centre Logan Couture, Czech winger Jakub Voracek, and Russian flyer Egor Averin represent the next tier on offence and, while Esposito is the clear top gun, all four seem at least capable of battling for top five overall status at next June's draft. Throw big, physical American blue-liner Nick Petrecki and Maritimer Stephen Lund, a well-rounded defenceman, into the mix and it shapes up as a wide open affair.
Esposito earned his designation as the pre-race favourite with a tremendous rookie season in which he helped fuel the high octane Quebec Remparts' offence with a 39-goal, 98-point season in only 57 games. His powerful stride and speed, combined with great vision and on-ice awareness of different game situations put him a notch above the rest heading into the season.
Couture is a slick and instinctive playmaker who also knows where the net is, and Hoeffel is just a complete package of size, skating, hands, and defensive savvy.
Petrecki can take over entire games with his physical dominance and has a booming point shot, while Lund is cerebral and highly intelligent in all three zones with fine agility and footwork for a big man.
The first wave of Europeans is led by Averin, the highly skilled Russian winger, and Voracek, a hard-driving horse from the Czech Republic.
Averin has blistering speed and wonderful creativity - the only thing he lacks is physical stature at 5-10/165 pounds. Voracek is a dangerous natural scorer who is strong enough to bang in the corners and is relentless in his pursuit of the puck.
Czech Michal Repik and Slovak David Skokan are another pair of skilled Euro wingers who already have a year of North American experience under their belts. Repik had a marvellous freshman campaign in the WHL, getting all the way to the Memorial Cup with Vancouver. Skokan, on the other hand, played for a rebuilding Rimouski club and got a ton of ice time; he'll be expected to lead a resurgent Oceanic squad offensively this season.
The WHL weighs in with a pair of high end d-men with dramatically different styles. Karl Alzner is a physical, shutdown d-man who plays a mistake-free game and takes care of his own end impeccably. John Negrin's game is growing by leaps and bounds and with his excellent stride and agility, plus intelligence and acumen at the offensive end, he's got a huge upside.
At this point we're assuming that there will finally be a transfer agreement in place with the Russian Federation by this time next year - which is good news, since 2007 will feature a good Russian crop after two down years. In addition to Averin, we see another 4-6 Russians as potential first rounders, led by huge defenceman Artem Dubinin, and a trio of slick goal sniping wingers in Alexei Dostoinov, Ruslan Bashkirov, and Alexei Cherepanov.
One area of the 2007 draft that is noticeably thin is the goaltending crop. For the first time in recent memory, we enter the season with not one goalie ranked with a first round grade. Minnesota high schooler Kent Patterson is the best of a mediocre crop at this point, though a few other candidates will undoubtedly emerge.
I thought it was kinda cool how thay viewed the 2007 draft from all points of view... Already. I bolded the WHLers mentioned.