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NHL Draft '12 - Thoughts on Day 1 |
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The 1st round of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft ended four hours ago and I'm still not sure what I thought of it. It had some truly entertaining moments. Unfortunately, all the excitement disappeared from the building after the Jordan Staal deal...I'll get to that in a bit. I've definitely watched less interesting drafts.
Where should we start? How about the beginning.
Oilers Nail'ed It
I'm still trying to figure out why almost all members of Edmonton's main-stream media kept saying all day the Oilers were going to draft Ryan Murray. Trying to build suspense, perhaps? Trying to intentionally get under the skin of the fans, maybe? Sounds like something I would do. Hey, radio is a dying art form. Need to do whatever to keep people listening, I suppose. Relax, I'm making a funny.
Obviously Yakupov was the top prospect, and just as obviously, the team with the 1st overall pick was going to take him. There was no mystery here, aside from asking why the Big Oilers Hype Machine was trying to sell that the Oilers were going to take someone else.
One thing I did hear, and this I can agree with and support: The drafting of Nail Yakupov likely signals the dealing of Ales Hemsky on Saturday. Apparently, Cody Franson is for trade and Hemsky could be going to Toronto. It's almost a for-certain that the Oilers will be moving an asset or two around to acquire a D man. I'll speak more about the upcoming Oilers Day 2 after I finish looking at the rest of the 1st round.
The Defense Didn't Rest
Too many defensemen were taken in the 1st round. I'm sorry...I know this was a great year for D, but seriously, big mistake. Wasn't 8 of the Top 10 picks were D? I don't understand.
The picks themselves in the Top 10 were somewhat logical. From what I understand, Murray has been the Jackets guy for a long, long time. Even though the team perhaps needs forwards more than D, they weren't passing up on Murray, mostly due to what he'll bring to the team as a leader and future Captain. Galchenyuk at #3 and Reinhart at #4 went according to the script. I'm not sure why the Leafs, who are heavy on D to begin with, took Morgan Rielly, but I think that answers the question if Justin Schultz is going to TO or not (he's not).
Anaheim picking D at #6 made sense, but Hampus Lindholm, really? I knew Lindholm moved up in the eyes of scouts, but I didn't think he moved up that much. My comment to the people I was watching the draft with was that I think Anaheim saw Erik Karlsson play this season and wanted their own version of him. Could someone please explain to me how the Islanders got Visnovsky from the Ducks for only a 2nd round pick? Was Steve Tambellin in the bathroom or asleep when that happened? Horrible deal for the Ducks.
Let's skip over the Wild and get to the big shock of the night:
The Jordan Staal Deal
Ha.
Hahahahahahahaha.
Who am I laughing at? All of the Penguins fans and others (TO fans in particular) who have been insisting for weeks Staal was worth, let's say, the Oilers 1st overall pick. Let's go over what Carolina had to give up to get Jordan Staal: 8th overall, which ended up turning into Derrick Pouliot; a player the Penguins could have drafted at #15 overall; not at #8. They also received Brandon Sutter, and some guy no one has ever heard of. Sutter is not Jordan Staal. Heck, he's not even Sam Gagner.
I won't say the Penguins got hosed. They could have received more for Staal, I think, but what they managed to do is confirm what I've been saying: Jordan Staal isn't worth nearly as much as many fans say he is. This being said, I think the Staal brothers are going to absolutely tear up the NHL next season.
I've had one laugh. Now let's get to my next huge laugh of the night:
The Feast with Two Backs
Here's a true story...I said the other day that Jay Feaster was stupid, and was going to trade down as a way of getting two picks instead of one. He did exactly what I said he would. The punchline of the joke was, I remarked to my friends that the deal was actually a great one. The Flames only gave up seven spots, and received an extra 2nd round pick for doing so. It made total sense to me.
And then, Jay Feaster goes up and takes a player he could have drafted with the 2nd round pick. Mark Jankowski. Who? Sure, they showed video of him easily skating around the opposition...playing in the Whatever League. Can you say Riley Nash? Whenever I think Jay Feaster can't do worse, he does. He makes a great deal, and then completely screws it up by taking a 2nd round talent. The Flames could of drafted Olli Maatta. Keep that in mind, Flames fans, when Maatta has an NHL career five years from now, and Jankowski is selling snow cones at a Flames game.
Other 1st Round Notes
- Remember how a number of media types were hyping Teuvo Teravainen? He went 18th. Yep, he has tons of skill. He's also small, and that's a killer in the NHL.
- First goalie off the board was Russian Andrei Vasilevski, who went to the Lightning. Malcolm Subban was the other goalie taken in the 1st round.
- 3rd ranked Filip Forsberg ended up going 11th overall to Washington. I'm not sure I'm understanding that. I know I was screaming at the TV for Steve Tambellini to acquire a 2nd - 1st round pick, but alas. By the end of the night, the people watching the draft with me suggested Tambellini had either left, was asleep under the table, or was watching episodes of Celebrity Jeopardy on his iPad. It's too bad the draft tables didn't come with crayons...might have kept him awake.
- I like Buffalo's style. They needed a big center, and found a way to draft two. OMG, the Flames are so very stupid.
- I was sad, but not surprised to see the Coyotes draft Henrik Sameulsson 27th overall. Too bad for the Oilers...I know they would have loved to take him with the #32 pick.
The Oilers on Saturday
So what can Oilers fans expect on Saturday, during Day 2 of the draft?
- The Oilers will make the second pick on Saturday, unless they deal it. There's a fairly decent chance they will, as they need to add a Top 4 D man somehow. As I said, Franson from Toronto is a possibility. Buffalo might also be willing to move a D man...Sekera, perhaps?
- If the Oilers use their 2nd round pick, and they likely will, I feel it will be one of the following players (in no specific order): Sebastian Collberg - RW, Matt Finn - D, Nicholas Kerdiles - C, Ludvig Bystrom - D, Pontus Aberg - LW, Ville Pokka - D or Oscar Dansk - G. Let's see if we can narrow it down...
I said in my pre-draft prediction I thought the player the Oilers would take at #32 was defenseman Ludvig Bystrom. That's completely possible. With Columbus drafting 1st in the 2nd round, and with the Jackets taking a defenseman in the 1st round, it's fair to assume they'll take a forward. Considering they could use size up front, I think Nicholas Kerdiles is the pony to bet on.
This leaves the Oilers with a tough decision. Matt Finn is a no-nonsense D man who can drop the gloves if needed. The Oilers need more toughness, so he's an attractive player to take. Selecting him would also be consistant with the theory that a team should take a D in the 2nd round if they take a forward in the 1st. This being said, the NHL is all about moving the puck, and Bystrom is a better skater and puck mover. I'll stick with Bystrom if the Oilers take a D man.
Two interesting names for me are Aberg and Dansk. Dansk is on the same level as Subban and Vasilevsky, so the Oilers could steal a top-flight goaltender with the #32 pick. Aberg is a big forward who wasn't suppose to still be available at this point. I realize Collberg might be considered the better offensive talent, but the Oilers need size on the wings. Hmmm, which to choose?
I'm going to stick with my pre-draft prediction. The Oilers will take defenseman Ludvig Bystrom, with every intention of having him be Oscar Klefbom's pairing partner three or four years from now.
In the 3rd round, I absolutely think the Oilers will target Mitchell Moroz. Lukas Sutter is another player the Oilers have interest in if he's still available in the 3rd round.
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
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