Twenty eight of the 30 NHL teams selected players from the CHL in Saturday's draft. Neither St Louis nor Nashville picked a CHLer this year. This has not been a pattern with either team, as last year each team selected 4 players from among the major junior leagues (the Blues chose 4 players from the Western Hockey League and the Predators, 1 from the WHL and 3 from the Ontario Hockey League).
Five teams chose only one CHL player in the draft this year. Pittsburgh, who had the second overall selection, picked the highly touted Jordan Staal. Widely expected to go second, the very talented center with excellent bloodlines followed in his brothers' footsteps. With the addition of Staal, Pittsburgh continues to amass incredible talent up front, and with former CHLer Marc-Andre Fleury in net, it is scary to think of what this franchise will become over the next 5 years.
Chicago, who also has a very good stable of young players in their system, added Kingston's Ben Shutron to their list of prospects. Shutron, who was expected to be selected higher than number 95 (4th round), is a very good offensive defenseman, but there are some questions as to his on-ice decisionmaking. If he can overcome some of the deficiencies in his mental game, Shutron will be a steal for the Blackhawks.
The New York Islanders, with former Moncton Wildcats' coach Ted Nolan behind the bench, only chose one major junior player on Saturday, and that player was one of Nolan's own. In the sixth round of the draft (at #160), the Islanders chose defenseman Andrew MacDonald. Although not really on most of the NHL teams' radar, MacDonald, who 19 years old, had an excellent rookie season in the QMJHL. With 46 points in 68 regular season games, a +22 plus/minus and 62 PIM, he was among the best players on the team.
The Islanders chose their players from across a broad spectrum, however, the team displayed a propensity to select Americans. It remains to be seen whether this is a trend or just a result of the availability of players this year.
For the second straight year, Toronto selected only one CHLer in Saturday's draft. In the fourth round (at # 99), the team chose the Red Deer Rebels goaltender James Reimer. A rookie in 2005-06, Reimer accumulated a record of 7-18-3, as well as a GAA of 2.81 and a save percentage of .910 during the regular WHL season. With this weekend's trade of Tuukka Rask for Andrew Raycroft, Reimer becomes one of only 3 goaltending prospects in the Maple Leafs' system.
It is worth noting that, after selecting many young Canadians in previous years, the Leafs have been picking many European players in the past 2 drafts. Of the 13 draft selections in 2005 and 2006, only 4 were from North America.
Tampa Bay is the final team that selected only one CHLer in Saturday's event. With the team's sixth round pick (#168), the Lightning chose the tough defenseman Dane Crowley. This season Crowley split his time between Saskatoon and Swift Current, playing in 71 regular season games. The 6'2", 207 lb blueliner had 21 points and 149 PIM in that time. Never one to back down from a fight, Crowley does need to work on his defensive skills to make the jump to the NHL. Over the course of the 71 games, he had a plus/minus of -15; in the 4 playoff games in which he appeared, Crowley was -5.
With only 4 selections in this year's draft, Tampa Bay chose 2 North Americans. Last year, when the team had a full complement of picks, the Lightning chose 6 CHLers.
Of the seven teams that chose 2 CHLers on Saturday, Phoenix chose the top rated prospect. By selecting Peter Mueller in the eighth position overall, Phoenix became the first of four NHL teams to choose an Everett Silvertip to their prospect list. Mueller is an outstanding center, whose playmaking ability is matched by his grit and determination. In 52 regular season games, Mueller recorded 58 points (26 goals, 32 assists), with a plus/minus of +4, and 44 PIM. He continued his assault into the playoffs, where in 15 games, he accumulated 13 points (7 goals, 6 assists), +4 plus/minus and 10 PIM. In the 5th round, the Coyotes went back to the WHL for their selection (# 152 overall) and selected Medicine Hat defenseman Jordan Bendfeld. The 6'3", 209 lb defenseman is very solid in his own zone (plus/minus of +19) and physical. During the regular season, he accumulated 92 PIM. In 13 playoff games for the Tigers, Bendfeld had 4 assists, while maintaining a +9 plus/minus. Many of his 27 PIM were for banging and generally being a pest.
Both of these selections were excellent pickups by the Coyotes. Last year, Phoenix had 5 selections in the draft and chose 1 player from the Q. This year, there were 8 picks and the Coyotes chose 2 CHLers.
For the past 3 years, Atlanta selected a CHLer with the team's first selection, and this year made it four in a row. With the 12th pick overall, the Thrashers chose the highly skilled and appropriately named center Bryan Little. At 5'10", 190 lbs, the third year Barrie Colt is the consummate playmaker. Very strong, with excellent acceleration, Little piled on the points this past season, registering 109 (42 goals, 67 assists) in 64 games, while maintaining a +26 plus/minus and taking a total of 99 PIM. He continued his wonderful play into the playoffs, where Little scored 23 points in 14 games. Not afraid to mix it up, and a very creative two-way player, Little can do it all. It was an excellent selection for the Thrashers. With the Thrashers' second selection in Saturday's draft (2nd Round, 43 overall), Atlanta went out west, to Moose Jaw, for another really talented center in Riley Holzapfel. Incredible defensively, Holzapfel had a +35 plus/minus during the 2005-06 regular season. On top of that, he tallied 57 points (19 goals, 38 assists) in 64 games. These picks are great for the Thrashers who are undergoing great changes among their forward lines both in this upcoming season and for the foreseeable future.
Vancouver also selected 2 CHLers on Saturday. With only 1 pick in the first 2 rounds, the Canucks used that selection to take Austrian-born WHL sensation Michael Grabner. The Spokane Chiefs right winger was highly rated, but was expected to go later in the first round. Even at #14, this was an excellent selection for Vancouver, who had just traded away a star forward, Todd Bertuzzi, the day before. Grabner, who tallied 50 points in 67 games last season, is an exciting sparkplug who can make things happen on the ice. Evan Fuller, also a right winger, was chosen by the Canucks in the seventh round (197 overall). Fuller is an energy player, who gets on the ice and bangs everything in sight. Never one to walk away from a fight, Fuller needs to improve some of his other stats to make it to the professional level. Also of note regarding Vancouver's draft picks, I spent quite a bit of time at the NHL Combine talking to Juraj Simek (selected #167 overall), who is planning to come over and play in the Q this season. Look for his name to be among those called in Wednesday's import draft.
Colorado had only 6 picks in Saturday's draft and with every one of those selections, the team chose a North American. In the first round (#18), the Avalanche selected Kingston Frontenacs' right wing Chris Stewart. As everyone has heard by now, Stewart appeared at the Combine not looking very lean. Prior to the moment when he took his shirt off to be photographed and measured, every NHL team in the room was waiting with great anticipation for watch his test results. The GMs and scouts had all taken the time to come down to the ballroom to watch. There was almost a collective gasp in the room when Stewart removed his shirt. He went on to have very good results in the upper body tests, and good ones in the measurements of lower body strength. As expected, he did less well on the anaerobic and aerobic measures. That said, Stewart is a menace on the ice, with great hands and positioning. He can fight his way through checks and plants himself extremely well in front of opposing teams' nets. Plus he is a very good skater for a power forward. Had he not looked the way he did at the Combine, Colorado never would have had the chance to select him at number 18. Lucky for them, as absent injury, Stewart will have a fine NHL career. His fitness can be worked on; many of his other skills can't be taught. Colorado had 2 second round picks. With the first, the team chose another player who had dropped in the draft, US defenseman Nigel Williams. With their third selection, the Avalanche chose the Brandon Wheat Kings' center Cody Burki. Burki is another player who dropped somewhat in the draft order. Expected to be a early or mid round selection, Burki was the penultimate pick in the second round. A very talented chippy playmaker, Burki recorded 61 points (27 goals, 34 assists) in 70 games (plus/minus of +5 and 69 PIM). He really has not developed to his full potential yet, and the Avalanche are hoping that he will grow into a more complete player. He is a high risk high reward player, who has the offensive skills to really make a difference. If he develops a two-way game, Burki could be a steal for Colorado.
This was the second year in a row that the Avalanche have stuck with North American draftees. This year, one of the team's picks was from the OHL; last year all of the CHL players chosen by the Avalanche were from the WHL.
The Philadelphia Flyers have a history of drafting players with an edge. This year, for the first time in many years, the team turned toward more finesse players. I already discussed some of the virtues of the team's first round selection (Claude Giroux) yesterday. But let me reiterate that I think that Gatineau's Giroux, chosen at #22, is an excellent addition to the Flyers' stable of prospects. The winger has great hands, excellent skating skills and a creative hockey mind. He is exactly the kind of player that the Flyers need. In the 6th round, the team then took another player from the Q--goaltender Michael Dupont. Ranked 16th among North American goaltenders by Central Scouting, Dupont was a surprise pick. During the 2005-06 season, Dupont appeared in 48 games, going 19-24-0, with a GAA of 3.68 and a save percentage of .890. Not sure what Philadelphia is thinking with this pick, but maybe they know something we don't about this 6'0", 175 lb Swiss netminder.
This is the second straight year that the Dallas Stars chose 2 players from the CHL in their draft. With the 27th pick in the first round on Saturday, the Stars selected Ivan Vishnevskiy. The Russian defenseman is a very talented offensive defenseman, who this past season registered 48 points (13 goals, 35 assists) in 54 games with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. A great skater, with a wonderful shot, if Vishnevskiy improves his defensive skills, he will be an excellent player in the NHL. With their second pick of Saturday's draft, the Stars chose the Brampton Battalion's Aaron Snow. The gritty, two-way left winger was selected with the 90th pick overall, in the third round. Snow tallied 68 points in as many regular season games this season, while maintaining a +11 plus/minus and accumulating 107 PIM. Snow is a solid third-line NHL prospect, who is really starting to blossom.
Dallas only had 5 picks this draft and not very good position in the first round, no selection in the second round and last in the third (last year, the team had 7 picks). Given the drafting position of the Stars, one could not expect much this year. Vishnevskiy is a talent with high risk, and Snow only projects to be a third-liner. The other 3 selections, in later rounds, really do not appear to be much better. In all, not a very good draft for the team.
The final team with only 2 CHLers chosen is the Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers had no first round picks, and, in fact, did not select a player until mid way through the second round. That player was USHL defenseman Jeff Petry. With the Oilers' next pick (3rd Round, # 75), the team chose Owen Sound's defenseman Theo Peckham. Peckham had a very disappointing 2005-06 season and had dropped in the rankings as the season went along. After an excellent rookie season in 2004-05, Peckham, the large nasty blueliner, was on everyone's radar. He could take care of his own end and intimidate (in 04/05 Peckham had a +14 plus/minus and 209 PIM). But his own zone coverage was not as good this season, as his PIM went up even further (-11 plus/minus and 236 PIM). Peckham could use a little more discipline in his play. No one is going to worry that he can be intimidated, and no one expects that he will become the point on the power play, he just needs to play a little bit more of thinking man's game. If he can make those changes, he will be a steal for Edmonton. With the team's first fifth round selection, the Oilers selected goaltender Bryan Pitton. The Brampton Battalion's backup netminder this past season, Pitton went 16-4, with a GAA of 3.08 and a save percentage of .904.
With only 5 selections in this year's draft, the Oilers chose 2 players from the OHL. Last year the team selected 2 players from the CHL, 1 OHLer and one from the QMJHL. This is puzzling, as one would expect that there would be some WHL players in Edmonton's back yard that the team was willing to take a chance on, or even other junior players from the west that would interest the team, however, it appears that this is not the case. Surprising to say the least.
Fourteen teams down, 16 to go. Stay tuned.
