The NHL Draft is always a fun weekend because it's full of hope and excitement and while the extent of that hope and excitement has been analyzed extensively over the past 48 hours, here are my general thoughts on the weekend's events.
Draft Winner:
Besides the obvious top three picks, I'm a big fan of who Buffalo was able to add to their stable in Mikhail Grigorenko, Zemgus Girgensons and Jake McCabe. All three are your typical blue-collar Sabres who could all be studs sooner than later.
Draft Trade Winner:
I wanted a jaw-dropping trade this weekend and I do believe we got it when Pittsburgh traded Jordan Staal to Carolina for the #8 overall pick, Brandon Sutter and Brian Dumoulin. While I agree that it's a win-win for both teams, I think Carolina wins a bit more. They get a stud two-way center who is certain to sign an extension and stick around Raliegh without selling the farm. Part of that is due to the news that Staal rejected a 10-year contract in Pittsburgh taking away some of their bargaining power with trade partners. That said, they were still able to snag two players that have a a very good chance of starting the season in black and vegas gold and a very high draft pick. A good return, but not the best they could have gotten had the rejected extension not gone public.
Draft Steal:
Nic Kerdiles was a projected mid-to-late first rounder and inexplicably fell to the second round, just like Brandon Saad did last year. His fall was softened a bit when he was selected by his hometown Anaheim Ducks. He's already in Madison going to classes and training with the Badgers at the University of Wisconsin, so his reveal as an NHL star won't come for at least another year or two, if not three or four, but he's my steal of this draft right now.
Draft Surprise:
The Calgary Flames went off-board when they selected Mark Jankowski out of a Canadian high school in the first round. If you want a guy, you make sure you get him and not hope he's still on the board later and Calgary wanted him….bad. To put some emphasis on that, many teams were disappointed they nabbed him so early. He's scheduled to play in Dubuque of the USHL this year and then head to Providence College in 2013, but there's a strong chance he could be heading there sooner. The Flames took a risk with this pick, but all signs point to this one paying off.
Draft Scene:
By the time we reach the 7th round most of the draftees are not there and I was therefore back in my seat in the press box and not in the interview room in the bowels of CONSOL Energy Center which meant I was able to witness Matthew Beattie's selection by the Vancouver Canucks as the 207th out of 2011 picks at this year's draft. His family went bananas, hugs all around and a very noticeable sigh of relief as he walked down the stairs from the stands and on to the draft floor. It was a really nice moment to see. He'll play for Yale in the fall.
Draft Omission:
I was really surprised given his bloodlines, development with USA Hockey's National Team Development Program, abilities as a goal scorer, performance at the U18 World Championship and final scouting ranking that Quentin Shore wasn't selected. He'll play for the University of Denver in the fall.
For pictures from this weekend, check
my twitter feed.
Julie
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