Sens Get Big On Defence

The Ottawa Senators seemed to do pretty well at this years NHL Entry Draft in Montreal. Where they did not do well was on the trade front in any attempt to move Dany Heatley. As far as the draft itself goes it looks like the Sens looked ok and managed to get some good players as well as fill some organizational needs. I was fairly pleased with the selection of big defenceman Jared Cowen with the 9th pick. Cowen was ranked 9th By Central Scouting. It was well publicized that they were looking at Nazem Kadri but he was plucked by the Leafs, that was the one benefit of having Leafs GM mic’d up.

I must say I was glad that Brian Burke decided to go that way and take Kadri from London who was listed 15th by Central Scouting. Kadri is a good offensive player but I just don’t have much interest in him and not sure if he is a true sure thing at the 9 spot let alone the 7th, only time will tell though . I think having a big strong D-man is harder to find. After seeing how the Zedeno Chara/Wade Redden decision went having the big guy seems a little more valuable... especially if you factor in Erik Karlsson who is penciled in to be the more offensive puck mover within the next few years. Cowen suffered a knee injury this year but hopefully he makes a full recovery. If he is able to do so he should be a force for Team Canada at this years World Junior Tournament in Saskatoon.

In the second round they filled an organizational need picking a goaltender Robin Lehner. There isn't too much left on the farm and this guys is thought to be the best goaltender in the draft and comes from a good pedigree (his father was the goaltending coach for Ranger goalie Henrik Lundqvist). The other player picked up was another Swede, a forward, Jakob Silfverberg. Hopefully with the 2 picks in the second round being so high that they can develop into some quality players in the near future.

Beyond the 2nd round it is a much longer shot to make the team but maybe one of Chris Wideman, Mike Hoffman, Jeff Costello, Corey Cowick, Brad Peltz, Michael Sdao can be one of those diamonds in the rough

Draft Day 2009

The Ottawa Senators are poised and ready to go with the number 9 pick overall in tonight's draft in Montreal. I don't know if a Dany Heatley trade is going to happen or not. There is a lot of speculation from - There is a team to beat and there is nothing out there. If there is a trade it will probably involve the 9th pick in some way, and I hope that it does. I don't care if they only move to 8 or move back to 10...just not 9.

My prediction is if they end up with the 9th pick they will probably end up with Nazem Kadri. One of the players that I don't realy was to see in Ottawa. The last time the Sens had the 9th pick was in 2005 in the Sidney Crosby draft and they selected Brian Lee. Who should they have picked? Anze Kopitar or Marc Staal, but probably Staal and I even said that when it happened. I think Kadri to the Sens would be a mistake even with an impending loss of Dany Heatley. In that area of the draft there is the possibility of Magnus Svensson Paajarvi , Oliver Ekman-Larsson or perhaps a Dmitri Kulikov or Jared Cowen (D). Any of whom I would rather see in the red, white and black.

The time is ticking down, what will happen, what big deals will be made? Have to tune in and watch, should be some good theatre at least. I hope that GM Brian Murray knows what he is doing and is able to get this team in the the right direction going forward.

Draft Season

In the next two days some of the most entertaining and potentially important events will take place in the NBA and the NHL. The direction of teams and the balance of power could be affected for years to come. Thursday evening the NBA will be holding its draft and Friday the NHL will be doing the same for it’s brand. This is a fun time for fans who like to speculate on who is better, who should go where, where players will go and what deals are out there to be made.

There are some subtle differences between the way we will view each of these entities. In the NBA there are only 2 rounds and 2nd round players are a long shot at best for not only getting any playing time but just making the team. The players who are drafted will enter the league next year and be on the roster and playing. Another thing is that with the popularity of the NCAA Tournament plenty of people are well aware of the majority of at least the mane of the players that are going to be coming out, which allows for fans to identify and be more familiar with who their team is selecting.
In the NHL it is different. There are multiple rounds and sometimes there hidden gems late in the selection process. The players are younger and come from junior teams in smaller locations with minimal coverage. Outside of the very top players there are many 1st round picks that there are a lot of players that people just don’t know unless you either research or follow junior hockey. Players selected past the number 4 or 5 pick have little or no chance of playing in the league. Most will be sent back to junior or stay with their club teams overseas for more seasoning and for the players to mature. It will usually take 2-3 years before many players even make the team, let alone make an impact.

The beauty of the NHL Entry Draft is that there is usually the most wheeling and dealing on the floor as compared to the other major sports. There has already been one significant deal in the NBA so far but there usually not a lot of movement. In the NHL GMs seem to get a little more trigger happy and the potential for players and picks being moved is much greater and makes for some fun and exciting viewing.

Both drafts have to potential to help shoot a team towards the top or make other teams tumble to the bottom in the years to come. Every draft has some sleepers and others have their busts and only time will tell who will emerge as the victor.

2009 Memorial Cup

The CHL’s Memorial Cup is set to begin on Friday. First things first, I am one that believes it should be the Memorial Cup...not the Mem Cup. That name is meant to honour and I don’t like when people use the short form, seems a little disrespectful.
Many sports shows like to use the short version, I don’t thinks it sounds right and find it in poor taste. Just a personal opinion.

The Windsor Spitfires, Rimouski Oceanic, Kelowna Rockets, and Drummondville Voltigeurs are the 4 representatives. The action kicks off with the host Rimouski vs. Kelowna on Friday night. All game should be on Sportsnet and should all be shown in HD. For those who like (or love) the World Junior’s this is another short tournament where every game is as important as the one that follows it, maybe more important....no as important. A first game loss can put you in a huge hole that can be very difficult to get out of. It is that kind of pressure game that makes this such a fun tournament to watch.

It is very helpful too for the more casual observer that there are actually some names that people will recognise. Not a lot of people follow Jr. Hockey too closely to know the players. If you watched the World Jr’s or have an eye on some of the scouting for the upcoming NHL Entry Draft to see who your team may be in the running to draft come June you will surely see some familiar names. That just makes it a little easier to get into.

Granted it is in tough for ratings and exposure since it is going up against the NHL Playoffs that are actually proving to be close and very competitive due to the "parody" that currently exists due to the Salary Cap. If you do get a chance to watch some of these games I suggest you do so, it is a high paced game at that level and usually will have a good amount of offence.
What more could a fan ask for?

NHL Draft Lottery Order...For Now

Not since the Sydney Crosby sweepstakes h there been a a lottery that has drawn as much interest as this years NHL Entry Draft Lottery.There are only 5 teams with the ability to move to #1 as each team can only move up a maximum 4 positions. The 5 teams with a chance to be selected are as follows: 1.New York Islanders 2.Tampa Bay Lightning 3.Colorado Avalanche 4.Atlanta Thrashers 5 Los Angeles Kings. Now there is always the chance of trades later on but as of right now the order will be determined tonight on TSN and brought to you by Scotiabank!
There is a nice grouping of reps from the teams in the running for the top pick with Peter Mahovlich and Dave Andrychuk and former Senators goalie Craig Billington....if things don’t go well for the LA Kings I think that there could be a good chance that Ron Hextall has an on ice flashback and just snaps and starts slashing TSN’s nice HD Set.

Bill Daly VP of the NHL is also on hand and ready to announce the “winners”.
Kings were at 5 and stay # 5
Thrashers were 4 and Stay #4
Avalance were 3 and Stay #3
Tampa Bay were 2 and stay #2
New York Islanders were projected 1 and Stay #1

Everything went according to Hoyle and there was no movement or surprises. Provided Brian Burke doesn’t make good on his intentions on making a move to the front of the line with a trade it will be John Tavares and Victor Hedman going 1-2 to either NY or Tampa and it will likely fall in that order JT then Hedman. After that things get a little muddled as far as where players will fall. Anything in the top 10 should net a good player it is just depending on team need and best available player.

Toronto has 7 and that is right in the area with Luke’s younger brother Brayden Schenn. Ottawa in at 9, like they were when the made the questionable pick of Brian Lee and not Marc Staal a few years back. Look for them to once again take a defenceman and expect it to be either Oliver Ekman-Larsson or Dmitri Kulikov provided they too don’t make a play to move up a few spots which may just happen as Bryan Murray needs to do some “Tweeking”.