EHM The Blue Line

NHL.com wrote:The order of selection for the first 14 drafting positions in the first round, only, of the 2007 Entry Draft is as follows:

1. Chicago Blackhawks
2. Philadelphia Flyers
3. Phoenix Coyotes
4. Los Angeles Kings
5. Washington Capitals
6. Edmonton Oilers
7. Columbus Blue Jackets
8. Boston Bruins
9. St. Louis Blues
10. Florida Panthers
11. Carolina Hurricanes
12. Montreal Canadiens
13. Toronto Maple Leafs
14. Colorado Avalanche

http://www2.nhl.com/nhl/app?articleid=2 ... rvice=page

Happy for the Hawks.

I saw the title 'Chicago wins' and nearly fell off my chair.... good for the Hawks! Who do people think they'll take?

Think they'll take Cherepanov?

I think they'll go with Kane. Then Philly takes Turris. Then I don't know.

Kane or Voracek to Chicago,... unless someone else likes one of those two enough, and makes a deal with the Hawks. See below.

Turris to Philly for sure.

Phoenix will take whoever is left of Kane/Voracek (I think it will be Kane left over)

LA takes Cherepanov.

However, I would not be surprised if the Hawks dealt this pick, and either dropped down or packaged for a strong 1st line centre (provided Handzus does not resign) to mentor Toews. May also trade for a decent winger to play with Toews.

Does LA need another forward? They already have the likes of Frolov, Cammalleri, Kopitar, O'Sullivan, Tukonen, Brown...
I think they might trade down and get Alzner.

I can´t believe it, finaly we get the number one pick But the player we will select will probably bust anyway.

Its look like a weak draft year.. but we never know what the futur will give us

DaleHawerchuk wrote:I can´t believe it, finaly we get the number one pick But the player we will select will probably bust anyway.

You could, of course, suggest that they should postpone their 1st overall to next year.

^^heh. As for the Kings..you take the best player available. In my mind..that is what Cherapanov is at that point.

LA has a solid core on the blue line too. Led by JJ. They are pretty high on all positions, except goal after LaBarbara.

batdad wrote:LA has a solid core on the blue line too. Led by JJ. They are pretty high on all positions, except goal after LaBarbara.

They have Bernier, their the #11 overall pick in '06, don't they?

Bernier-- Yeah they have him but I dunno why...not really sure what to base it on, but he just does not make me think starting goalie.

Too much EHM, perhaps? I've never seen him amount to much in the game. He's good trade bait though, if you're the Kings.

Kekkonen wrote:

DaleHawerchuk wrote:I can´t believe it, finaly we get the number one pick But the player we will select will probably bust anyway.

You could, of course, suggest that they should postpone their 1st overall to next year.

Or the year after that *John Tavares*

Hmm, no one mentioned Angelo Esposito (was top canidate one year ago) and Sam Gagner.
Ok, maybe the Penguins get a chance to take Esposito as a 4th Line Center
1st Crosby
2nd Malkin
3rd Staal
4th Esposito

Espo has dropped off the map. He played 2nd line centre this year for Remparts and Patty Roy. He did not make the Cdn Junior team (u20). He did not impress in the reg season or playoffs. He just has not developed the way people thought he would. He has been caught by many.

Gagner has caught him as well. Witness him making U20. However, neither player is projected to go until somewhere between 7th and 15th. Could be scary if they get back on their horses, and learn what kind of effort it takes to be a star.

Telling sign re Espo: If he is as good as they said at one point, no way would he be a 2nd line centre in junior, no matter what Patty says about "teaching him to play like Steve Yzerman." I am pretty sure Yzerman learned to play the way he did, as a 1st line centre in junior AND the NHL.

It's good to read these "insider informations" from you. here in europe we don't get a lot of "deeper" information from the players. i read esposito was injured and was left off the wc-squad. i follow most sites on the net and read the iss lists but its always good to have special infos

BTW: if tavares is as good as in ehm.....the next crosby waits

TAvares is good....darn good. Maybe not Crosby good, but darn good.

He is developing nicely and I highly doubt he will be left off the U-20 Canadian team next season. Unless of course, every single draft pick from the last 2 years is returned to junior. Which could happen I guess. Even then I think he will be a nice replacement for Jonathon Toews who will almost 100% play in Chicago next season.

Esposito may have had a minor injury during WJC but it was not the reason he was cut. He was cut during tryouts cause he could not beat anyone out. Toews, Gagner, Downey etc...all way better than he is.

Yippie Hawks get scrwed with the third pick in a draft that Ovechkin and Malkin go 1-2 and 7th in the Crosby draft but get #1 when you get the 5'10" 165lb Kane. This is what being a Blackhawks fan is alllll about

Also, if the first time ever that the Blackhawks pick #1 they take a Russian you'll know the team has been sold. Or hell has frozen over... or both.

Minstrel wrote:
Also, if the first time ever that the Blackhawks pick #1 they take a Russian you'll know the team has been sold. Or hell has frozen over... or both.

At least Scrooge Wirtz will be far gone!

Minstrel wrote:Yippie Hawks get scrwed with the third pick in a draft that Ovechkin and Malkin go 1-2 and 7th in the Crosby draft but get #1 when you get the 5'10" 165lb Kane. This is what being a Blackhawks fan is alllll about

Also, if the first time ever that the Blackhawks pick #1 they take a Russian you'll know the team has been sold. Or hell has frozen over... or both.

I feel some of the pain. The Flyers manage to create their worst season in their 40 year history, meaning that on the bright side we're guaranteed a top two pick in the draft. ...But au contraire my fellow Flyers fans... there're more Ovechkin's or Crosby's to be taken.

P.S. On a related note, the Flyers web-site's current poll is this:

"Which player do you hope the Flyers will take with the second pick in the 2007 draft?"

With 6442 total votes currently recorded, the choice of "I don't know enough about them yet" is the leading choice with 26.7% of the votes. ...I know it's kind of meaningless... but I found it a little funny because the poll question is what first got me truly thinking about who was in the draft, and I first realized I had no clue who was good or worthwhile in this year's class. Which deflated my excitement for having such a high pick.