Official Draft Thread

[beater97]

Alright! Very nice pick Burke!

[bryant08]

http://mapleleafshotstove.com/index.php ... -got-away/

[bryant08]

The first shoe drops with Jay Bo dealt, and I'm still trying to find out some stuff about these 2nd rounders we took.

[bryant08]

International Scouting Services: "An agile two-way skater, Ryan is another US forward who just keeps his feet moving all the time. Ryan has very good puck control at full speed. He can be a bit selfish with the puck at times. A hard forechecker, Ryan gets back and helps out D in own zone. Plays his size and physical style very well. Good solid footwork and agility. Ryan is a very good skater with speed which he uses along with good anticipation to break to open ice. He plays very hard and intense and makes good decisions with the puck. Worked well in the d-zone by blocking a few key shots and doing a fine job of covering his point. Has verbal to Boston College." - on Kenny Ryan

From Hockey's future:
"Blacker was solid throughout the 2008-09 season, playing a positionally sound game, which helped him make smart defensive plays. He rarely was caught out of position and did not resort to taking reactionary penalties. Has the size to be a solid NHL defenseman, but his overall game could still use some work."

I heard the ceiling for Blacker is top 4 d-man and he apparently skates well, I don't know much about Kenny Ryan.

[bryant08]

Leafs take Jamie Devane out of Plymouth, never heard of him. And there go some talented goalies, Burke better be getting Gustavsson if he doesn't want to draft a goalie prospect until the 5th round or later.

[bryant08]

Kenny Ryan

Scouting Reports:
http://thehockeywriters.com/55-kenny-ry ... -rankings/ (compared to Jere Lehtinen)
http://www.nhl.com/ice/draftprospectdet ... t=lastName
http://www.freep.com/article/20090622/S ... 906220316/
http://www.areavoices.com/undhockey/?blog=52411 (combine results)

Interview with NHL.com:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7BFx83_hl4

5 questions:

1. If I could be anyone for a day... a solider at war
2. Best gift I've received: my Nintendo 64
3. If I could be in one movie.... Top Gun
4. My childhood hockey hero: Darren McCarty
5. My favourite goal celebration: The glass jump or arm sweep

FAVORITES

NHL Team: Calgary Flames
NHL Player: Jarome Iginla
Shootout move: “Top glove or backhand”
Goal celebration: “Glass jump or arm sweep”
Video game: NHL ‘09
Movie: Never Back Down
TV Show: Home Improvement
Actor: Will Smith
Group: Dave Matthews
Website: Youtube.com
Book: The last lecture
Home cooked meal: Pasta
Sport (other than hockey): Swimming
Activity away from the rink: Basketball
Place to shop: Finish line
Place to visit: Florida

He did incredible at the Combine, second in pull up strength, tenth in push up body weight, fifth in upper body power and third in the fatigue index.

CSS Rank: 56

[bryant08]

Jesse Blacker

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=426126

Jesse Blacker, six-foot, 190-pound defenceman, Windsor Spitfires

(Final Central Bureau Ranking North America 47th)

"Had a great year, really improved as the season wore on. He was a big part of that team winning.

"Plays hard, a real meat-and-potatoes player. He blocks shots, hits and has enough skill to make the first pass.

He has a chance to be a No. 4 defenceman at the NHL level. It all depends on how he continues develop from here on.

"He'll go in the late second round on."

http://www.windsorstar.com/sports/draft ... story.html

Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5imdhklRT-E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYYEj3elaZU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zh9oDHY63xg

(All fights)

Windsor Spitfires head coach Bob Boughner: "Jesse’s improvement from his rookie year to this year was huge. His skating is his biggest asset; he’s able to get himself out of trouble with his feet. He is learning how to be more physical as the year goes on and his confidence is growing rapidly. He has good size right now as he stands 6'1 and still growing. He has a very good stick in his own end for a young defenseman."

http://www.tsn.ca/draftcentre/feature/?fid=7288

CSS Rank: 47

[bryant08]

Jamie Devane

I haven't been able to dig up much on Devane, I've never heard of him and he wasn't ranked in the top 200 by CSS. He models his game after Milan Lucic, throws the body around and isn't afraid to drop the gloves. I would have to think Burke sees something of great potential in him, although it wouldn't be that bad to have a young enforcer. I wouldn't be happy to just see him end up a fourth line goon though.

Some clips of his fights:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3CommwI94c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjMQpJt3 ... re=related

[bryant08]

Eric Knodel

His blog: http://ericknodel.blogspot.com/

Never heard of him either, with the size (6'6, 215) comes potential, but likely a very low chance that he reaches that potential.

CSS Rank: 205

[bryant08]

Jerry D'Amigo

From everyone I talked to, likely the Leafs best pick after the first 2 rounds, in terms of his skill level.

Scouting Reports:
http://thehockeywriters.com/50-jerry-da ... -rankings/ (compared to Zach Parise-lite)
http://www.nhl.com/ice/draftprospectdet ... t=lastName

Favourites

NHL Team: NY Rangers
NHL Player: Jason Spezza
Goal Celebration: “Sweep the ice”
Video Game: Tiger Woods 07
TV Show: Lie to Me
Music Artist: Dave Matthews
Website: hotnewhiphop.com
Home cooked meal: Steak dinner
Activity away from the rink: Golf or Swim

CSS Rank: 67

[bryant08]

Barron Smith

Article: http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Columnists/Py ... 1-sun.html

Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b82-sy3A ... re=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfUIlUOfek4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je0QSMRo ... re=related

[Mike Hunt]

I was really hoping for them to pick a goalie in the second or third round but it's really hard for me to be angry about any of the picks. They went with skill early and with grit, size, and potential from the 3rd round on. It seems to be a pretty sound strategy.

[The-Insider]

bryant08 you're doing a great job, good stuff!

I'm suprised that they've completed 5 rounds already.

[bryant08]

I was really hoping for them to pick a goalie in the second or third round but it's really hard for me to be angry about any of the picks. They went with skill early and with grit, size, and potential from the 3rd round on. It seems to be a pretty sound strategy.

I was expecting a goalie in the third for sure especially when guys like Hackett and Babkov for available. But I don't know enough on these specific prospects to judge, but obviously I'd keep a look out at the Windsor Spitfires and London Knights to get a good read on a few of these guys.

[TR50]

Much love Bryant...these updates and stuff are phenomenal...good stuff bud!

[Griff83]

Kadri wasnt the guy I wanted at #7 but hes got good skills, can skate, plays with a edge and should turn out to be a solid player. Im just not sure hes going to become a frontline #1 center, I'd expect him to pan out more in the Andy McDonald/Dave Bolland type good second line centers capable of about 65-75 points in there prime.

I like the pick of Kenny Ryan at #50 and think hes got a good chance to be a steal. Hes got good size, good feet and real good touch around the net. The second round in this draft was stacked with talent and we picked up a kid who works hard and has a good skillset. I possibly would have liked to seen Tomas Tatar at this pick but Ryan was a good selection.

Not the biggest Blacker fan. Its hard to get a read on him seeing he was stuck down on the depth chart in Windsor, so hopefully its just a case of his skills being overlapped due to not getting enough frontline icetime or oppurtunity. We will really see next season what this kid is capable of when his role on the team gets bigger. There are a few players I would have rather selected at #58.

3rd rounder on Devane was a total waste of a pick. You prolly could have selected this kid in the 5th/6th round and I dont like the idea of wasteing such a high pick on a kid thats basically just a goon.

D Amigo was prolly the best value pick of the entire draft and wouldnt have been one bit mad if he was picked in the third round. He reminds me of a poor mans Zach Parise with a bit more strength and less offensive abilities. I actually think he has a good chance to become as good or better then Kenny Ryan. D Amigo was a big part of the USA U-18 team and was named to the tournament all star team.