2011 WHL Draft

[Brandon]

The Hurricanes were talking about Wong during the Alberta Cup. When I talked to BR he said that Wong could be one of those later round steals. They also have their eyes on a player from LA, maybe he is next.

Alberta Cup is a good showcase of talent. Just looking at the list of players
on the teams that played here. 12 were taken in the 1st round, 4 were taken in the 2nd round, 6 were taken in the 3rd round, 8 were taken in the 4th round and 3 were chosen in the 5th round.

So far after 5 rounds the winning team Calgary South Flames had the most selected (9) including 4 in the 1st round.

Hit the road Jack!

Absolutely Wong could be a late round steal but he could be a total miss. I just wonder if he still had some sliding to do before. The kid has buckets of potential to play on I am just not sure I am sold on his will. That drive and determination can mean a lot but it can also mean jack. Hey Ryan Getzlaf was a late round pick up too.

Alberta really has stepped up its competitive level of late. Really producing a lot of great players and this year was a fantastic showcase all season. Some really great teams and great competition. That Calgary South team was like the dream team. All season teams in the South had nightmares of what would happen if the Royals and Bisons combined. I am glad I didn't have to try and line match that group. Interesting to me that a player like Josh McCulloh has slipped so far down. I think if you had the opportunity to see AMBHL games this year you really got a treat to some great talent. There are still some very good Alberta players on the outside looking in right now.

[HURRICANE'S ROCK]

Interesting thing about our 1st pick, Ryan Pilon, is that he is one of the youngest players chosen in the entire draft. He is a late birthday of Oct 10 1996. If you go to Alan Caldwell's blog he explains the significance of being a late birthdate player.

"Overall, 62% of draft picks were born in the first four months (33%) of the year 1996. You can see what a disadvantage the boys born in the last third of the year (10.3% of picks) had against the bigger, older boys from the early months. This happens every year" http://smallatlarge.blogspot.com/

Pilon is almost a full year younger than our 2nd pick, Reid Duke. At their age, one year can make a huge difference in the players physical and mental maturity. For Pilon to be that young and be taken that high shows what a huge upside this kid has. If he was born about 10 weeks later he would not even have been eligible for this draft.
If I have my facts correct, another positive to his late birthday is he will not be eligible for the NHL draft until 2015. All the other players the Canes chose will be eligible in the 2014 NHL draft. What this means is in all likelihood, Pilon will be here for an extra year. For example, RNH can be gone to the NHL after just 2 years in the league where Pilon will be here at least 3 years. Zach Boychuk was not drafted until he had played 3 fulls years for the Canes as he to had an October birthdate.

[grainbear]

We already know that we will for sure have room for 1 player and maybe 2 if our Russian player does not return? If you were the GM do we trade away that choice for a younger player or do we continue to look for a draft pick in the bantam draft for next year. Or perhaps bundle that choice with a player or players who we will most likely have to trade if we are going to create some space for the 1993,1994 or 1995 born players. Also what our your thoughts on Fyten,Braes,or Sutter are any of them going to so impress at NHL camps that they get sent to the AHL or ECHL for development rather then return to us ? Lets hear your reflections on these developments

[shushu]

We already know that we will for sure have room for 1 player and maybe 2 if our Russian player does not return? If you were the GM do we trade away that choice for a younger player or do we continue to look for a draft pick in the bantam draft for next year. Or perhaps bundle that choice with a player or players who we will most likely have to trade if we are going to create some space for the 1993,1994 or 1995 born players. Also what our your thoughts on Fyten,Braes,or Sutter are any of them going to so impress at NHL camps that they get sent to the AHL or ECHL for development rather then return to us ? Lets hear your reflections on these developments

bundle up the top import draft with as you say a player that will be on the way out of town for sure ( most likly a dman) and trade for a player that can help up front this coming year....as for our o/a players the only one that i could see staying in the big league would be sutter and that would be completely based on the name on his jersey, and nothing else.....personally i hope all 3 of our 20's return for their last year of jr...........ps.............it would be nice to see kuv come back and play if given the ice time he deserves, he is a big assest when he is on top of his game, but old rich seem to have it in 4 him so who knows......................

[Bocephus]

Pilon sounds even better, HR. Leverton is one prospect that intrigues me the most. Really looking forward to see how he develops. It's starting to hit home now how many top end players I won't see play 36 or more times a year. The Canes cupboard is starting to overflow. One more dreadful year and they will be the envy of the league for 4 or 5 years.

[grainbear]

This is looking at the current roster and drafted players, removed those traded and added those we have picked up. Interesting to see the results, it kind of shows how poorly we did when our formed gm was here before Preston and Robinson came on board,


1992 We look much better on d because of the changes made since the new g-man and Robinson came on board

the first number is the position drafted out of the total pool by that position.
D-Men
Pick Number: 17,19,38,42 out of 80 (first 3 are by trade)
Center;
47,55 out of 59
RW: 2,25 out of 33 (2 pick by trade)
LW: 7,24 out of 46
G: 5 th of 22

1993
D-Men: 12,22,30,67 out of 72
Center 8,46,59,60 out of 61
RW: 12 out of 37
LW: 34 out of 36
G: 14 out of 18

1994
D-Men: 21,38,78,79 out of 80
Center: 20,36.47 out of 66
RW: 15 out of 31
LW: 1,10 out of 36
G: 0 out of 20

1995
D-Men 13,20,31,74 out of 86
Center: 3,11 out of 41
RW: 10 out of 22
LW: 13 out of 23
Fwd: 8,11 out of 24
G: 7 out of 33

1996
D-Men: 2,17,27,41 out of 70
Center: 1,12 out of 51
RW: 15 out of 31
LW: 1,10 out of 51
G: 12 out of 20

I certainly looks good for the future, I did not look at 1991 as we can only keep 3 players. A lot coming up this year will be how fast these younger talented players can step up to this level, You also add in the youngsters like Soffilas, Ramsay ,Kuvaev , and Kovacs and things are looking upward from free agency and Import and then our 12 pick over all for the import this year and let the games begin

[blacksheep]

Interesting thing about our 1st pick, Ryan Pilon, is that he is one of the youngest players chosen in the entire draft. He is a late birthday of Oct 10 1996. If you go to Alan Caldwell's blog he explains the significance of being a late birthdate player.

"Overall, 62% of draft picks were born in the first four months (33%) of the year 1996. You can see what a disadvantage the boys born in the last third of the year (10.3% of picks) had against the bigger, older boys from the early months. This happens every year" http://smallatlarge.blogspot.com/

Pilon is almost a full year younger than our 2nd pick, Reid Duke. At their age, one year can make a huge difference in the players physical and mental maturity. For Pilon to be that young and be taken that high shows what a huge upside this kid has. If he was born about 10 weeks later he would not even have been eligible for this draft.
If I have my facts correct, another positive to his late birthday is he will not be eligible for the NHL draft until 2015. All the other players the Canes chose will be eligible in the 2014 NHL draft. What this means is in all likelihood, Pilon will be here for an extra year. For example, RNH can be gone to the NHL after just 2 years in the league where Pilon will be here at least 3 years. Zach Boychuk was not drafted until he had played 3 fulls years for the Canes as he to had an October birthdate.

You are on to something Rock. Read Malcolm Gladwell's "Outliers". Has an interesting take on players born in the first third of the year. Right down to Jan 12 passes to Feb 8 back to March 10 in the high slot and a blistering shot stopped by Feb 22. He runs thru some goals of a Memorial Cup game between the Giants and the Tigers. Your right Pilon is a year behind the others.

[Bocephus]

I wonder how the prep for a Mem Cup bid is coming along? Any update?

[grainbear]

Get on the Small Thoughts at Large web site and get your vote in right now it looks like I am the only one to vote, He does all the teams but the vote determines who comes first. Lets step up Canes fans

[Stuck in the Penalty Box]

I wonder how the prep for a Mem Cup bid is coming along? Any update?

The WHL powers-at-be will be making a decision this month to whittle down the list of bidding teams by one or two. There are five teams (Calgary has withdrawn) bidding for the Mem Cup. PG, RD, Kel, Sask, Leth. They will likely trim down to 3 or 4 left to make the formal bids. Consensus being that PG will likely be dropped and maybe one other. I would not be surprised if the Hurricanes were dumped also, as there are two major concerns.....the weakness of the team over the last two seasons, a young team again this coming season, improving for 2012-13 but not enough to be at or near the top of the league, without making huge deals (not Preston's approach). Considering what was given up for Eakin and Schenn....not going to happen here. The other concern is the financial situation and season ticket base.

If the Hurricanes are not going to get the bid for those reasons, then I hope they get cut in June. It takes a lot of man-hours and money to prepare a formal bid. I really think it will come down to RD and Sask. Private ownership, solid teams, strong season ticket base.