2008 NHL Draft Review: Tampa Bay Lightning

Ok, so we've gone through the NY metropolitan area teams. I'm going to do the remaining 27 teams in order of their first selection. So, first up is the Tampa Bay Lightning who were granted the right to select consensus #1 pick Steven Stamkos. If Stamkos was the only name they called this entire draft then they still would have been one of the big winners. Luckily for new owners Oren Koulis and Len Barrie, they had six other picks.

Steven Stamkos - 1st overall (1st round) Center. Sarnia Sting (OHL)
No shocker here. Amy Winehouse does a better job of hiding addiction than the Lightning did of hiding their intentions of selecting Stamkos. And with good reason. They would have been out of their minds (and GM Jay Feaster out of a job) had they not taken the center who has been compared favorably to Joe Sakic and Steve Yzerman. Saying Stamkos can pass is like saying Jimmy Page can play guitar. He also showed a scoring touch, notching 11 goals in Sarnia's breif post-season. Having 1997 #1 draft pick Vincent Lecavalier in Tampa with him is probably one of the best scenario's Stamkos can step into. With Jeff Halpern being lost until at least November, count on Stamkos to be a fixture in Tampa from the get-go.

James Wright - 117th overall (4th round) Center. Vancouver Giants (WHL)
Stamkos is the guy who will get a lot of attention in the future, whereas Wright might be the kind of guy who does a lot of little things well with little accolades. He's a big kid who wins battles in the corner. He may prove to be a steal for the Bolts as his draft year suffered from a bout with mono.

Dustin Tokarski - 122nd overall (5th round) Goalie. Spokane Chiefs (WHL)
Was named MVP of the Memorial Cup for the Chiefs after sharing duties with Kevin Armstrong through the season. He may have a breakout campaign next year and make life seem unfair to the rest of the WHL in general as he should be between the pipes for the Chiefs full-time.

Kyle De Coste - 147th overall (5th round) Right Wing. Brampton Batallian (OHL)
De Coste could be a valuable checking or energy line winger for the Lighting if he makes it to the show. Heart and sould guy never stops moving or looking for an opportunity to help his team.

Luke Witkowski - 160th overall (6th round) Defenseman. Ohio Jr. Blue Jackets (USHL)
Witkowski suffers from Kasparaitis disease: He will take himself out of position to make the big hit more often than is advisable. He may be the guy teams have to answer to if they take liberties with Stamkos at some point.

Mattias Sointu - 182nd overall (7th round) Right Wing. Ilves (Finland Jr)
Can you say Eero Somervuori? Well, not at first, but who can unless you're Finnish? Sointu's small frame unleashes a cannon. Does not lack skill, but size and consistency are big issues.

David Carle - 203rd overall (7th round) Defenseman. Shattuck St. Mary's (Minnesota HS)
There were only eight players picked after Carle this year. Tampa is really hoping none of them turn out to be all-stars.

2008 NHL Draft Review: New York Islanders

The Islanders had at least two selections in each of rounds 2-6 of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, but they may be remembered more for whose name they didn't call than for whose name they did.

Josh Bailey - 9th overall (1st round) Center. Windsor Spitfires
With the #1 European and WJC stand-out Nikita Filatov still on the board, the Isles traded down four spots to take Bailey, who GM Garth Snow maintains the Isles had pegged all along. The most telling trait Bailey possesses is the ability to make his teammates better players (scary to think how good Kyle Okposo could be in this case) Bailey is a tireless worker, a play-maker and will be a great asset on the Isles man-advantage in the future. His on-ice intelligence allows him to read the play in all situations. This allowed him to be one of Windsor's most effective penalty killers as well.

Bailey may be a great player, but it seems the Isles fan-base had already ordered their Filatov jerseys. Drafting the flashy Russian may have made more sense for the franchise struggling to sell tickets. Hopefully in the future, Bailey can prove the critics wrong, but one wonders if he'll put any extra bodies in Uniondale.

Corey Trivino - 36th overall (2nd round) Center. Stouffville Spirit (OPJHL)
I'll be blunt: At first glance Corey Trivino looks like a 12 year-old. The Etobicoke, Ontario native looks more like the kid hawking popcorn at the Nassau Coliseum than somebody who will be on the ice. On the ice is a different story. Trivino has never been cut from an international camp. Trivino dominated the OPJHL playoffs, proving to be a clutch scorer for the Spirit. Like Bailey, he is a pass-first center. At 6'1", 170lbs Trivino will need to add muscle to his slight frame.

Aaron Ness - 40th overall (2nd round) Defenseman. Rouseau High (Minnesota HS)
Ness, who has drawn comparisons to Phil Housley and Brian Leetch was crowned "Mr. Hockey" as Minnesota's top high school player this year. A few years ago Ness may not have been drafted at all let alone in the 2nd round of a deep draft due to his size (5'10, 157lbs) . His accomplishments on the ice (1st in scoring among defenseman, 10th overall, member of the USA U-18 squad) may be not be as impressive as his dedication off the ice. Ness took eight classes on campus and three more on-line in order to graduate early and attend the University of Minnesota in the Fall of 2008.

Travis Hamonic - 53rd overall (2nd round) Defenseman. Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)
Hamonic needs to figure out if he's a physical defenseman with an offensive flair or an offensive defenseman with a physical edge. He shows signs of being capable in either capacity, but gets caught trying to do too much.

David Toews - 66th overall (3rd round) Center. Shattuck St. Mary's (Minnesota HS)
Toews is not a younger carbon copy of his brother, Chicago center Jonathon Toews. David is a solid player in his own right, but was not blessed with the gratuitous amount of hockey manna that his older brother was (but who the hell is?!) Any expectation that he will be should be negated from the start. But Toews wasn't drafted purely riding on his last name either. He's a good skater with an quick shot and soft hands. His keen hockey sense makes him a smart penalty killer and defensive center.

Jyri Niemi - 72nd overall (3rd round) Defenseman. Saskatoon Blades (WHL)
This kid looks like a meaner version of Ivan Drago. As hard as Drago hit Rocky Balboa, Niemi's shot hits the back of the net. His 96 mph shot wowed the crowd at the Top Prospects Game. For a rookie defenseman learning the North American game, he also hit the net often, finding the back of the cage 14 times. A few more years with Saskatoon should round out his defensive game and give him more experience as a PP quarterback.

Kirill Petrov - 73rd overall (3rd round) Right Wing. Ak Bars Kazan (Russia-RSL)
The Isles passed up one skilled Russian in the first, but they made sure they didn't let another get away. This pick may prove to be the steal of the '08 draft. Petrov is a big, powerful winger who plays well in the corners as well as finding open ice for himself and his line-mates. Petrov has made his desire to come to the NHL very clear and the Isles will be waiting at JFK as soon as he books his flight.

Matt Donovan - 96th overall (4th round) Center. Cedar Rapids Rough Riders (USHL)
Swift skating defenseman from Edmond, Oklahoma displays excellent lateral mobility which he uses well in the defensive zone as well as leading the break-out. A smart simple defenseman.

David Ullstrom - 102nd overall (4th round) Center. HV71 (Sweden-Jr)
Ullstrom will be a big body up front in a few years once his 6'3" frame fills out. Mostly used at center, Ullstrom has seen time on the wing as well. He can play physical and has a good set of hands, but is not terribly defensively adept and does not utilize his line-mates as well as he will need to in order to make it to Long Island.

David Poulin - 126th overall (5th round) Goalie. Victoriaville Tigres (QMJHL)
There's only a decade and change left in the "Rick DiPietro Back-Up Plan". I kid, I kid. He's a butterfly goalie with good rebound control that has won games for Victoriaville this year on his own. Big and athletic like, he is very technical and plays the game by the book. Some have questioned his dedication to conditioning though.

Matthew Martin - 148th overall (5th round) Left Wing. Sarnia Sting (OHL)
Winger with good size will mix it up and drop the gloves.

Jared Spurgeon - 156th overall (6th round) Defenseman. Spokane Chiefs (WHL)
The 5'8" Spurgeon put up 43 points in 69 regular season games for the Memorial Cup champs, playing a good two-way game. Anyone lacking Spurgeon's size needs a ton of guts to play in the WHL and Spurgeon has it. He willingly takes the body and gets into the fracas when the opportunity arises.

Justin DiBenidetto - 175th overall (6th round) Center. Sarnia Sting (OHL)
The smallish center put up 93 points for Sarnia this year as a 20 year old improving 30 points from the previous season.

2008 NHL Draft Review: New York Rangers

Michael Del Zotto - 20th overall (1st round) - Defenseman. Oshawa Generals (OHL)
The Rangers got a slider again. A year after grabbing Russian wiz-kid Alexei Cherepanov another player that many thought would be gone well before the #20 slot fell into the Rangers' lap. Del Zotto was once touted as a can't miss top-10 pick. While he had a slow-start to the season, his fall may be more aptly contributed to the rise of the like of Doughty, Bogosian, Schenn, and others. Del Zotto is an offensive defenseman and there's no two-ways about it. As good as he is offensively, he may be worse defensively. At times, he gets caught watching the play rather than initiating it. In the future he looks to be a power play quarterback. While it doesn't plug an organizational need (Bobby Sanguinetti is a similar player) the Rangers brass most likely went for the best player available.

Derek Stepan - 52nd overall (2nd round) - Center. Shattuck St. Mary's (Minnesota HS)
The area where Stepan excels is his creativity with the puck. Stepan became more defensively responsible this past year, becoming a top penalty killer for Shattuck. The biggest knock on him right now is he needs to get bigger, but he'll be given ample time to do so as he will attend the University of Wisconsin next year and should remain there for at least two years before making the jump to the AHL or NHL.

Evgeny Grachev - 75th overall (3rd round) - Center. Yaroslav (Russia-3)
Big power forward needs to improve on his skating in order to be effective at higher levels. His stick skills and accurate shot would be better served if his lateral movement was better.

Tomas Kundratek - 90th overall (3rd round) - Defenseman. Trincec (Czech Republic)
He's a guy who doesn't do anything especially amazingly, but doesn't do anything terribly either. Plays his best when he plays simple.

Dale Weise - 111th overall (4th round) Right Wing. Swift Current Broncos (WHL)
Overager had 29 goals for the Broncos this year and followed it up with 13 points in 12 play-off games. Weise is a gritty winger with leadership capabilities.

Chris Doyle - 141st overall (5th round) Center. PEI Rocket (QMJHL)
Point-per-game player in the QMJHL, Doyle's skating may hurt him in the future. He displays a good arsenal of passing and shooting skills, but he is not a great mover.

Mitch Gaulton - 171st overall (6th round) Defenseman. Erie Otters (OHL)
Selected 6th overall in the 2006 OHL draft, Gaulton hasn't lived up to his belling since then. But, Gaulton can get the puck out of the zone effectively and has a howitzer. He has a physical side as well and would be better suited as a stay at home defenseman unless he can show better judgment when joining the rush.

Hearbreaking/heartwarming story from the Draft

David Carle, younger brother of San Jose defenseman Matt Carle, and 2008 NHL Draft prospect was diagnosed with a heart condition that leaves him at risk for sudden heart failure by the Mayo clinic. The discovery comes just a day before he was slated to be selected in the NHL Entry Draft.

While my heart crumbles for this kid, he seems to have a solid head on his shoulders.

"It's really not the end of the world,'' Carle said by phone Friday from Faribault, Minn., where he is visiting friends. "I'm really quite fortunate they were able to find it.

"I've still got a long life ahead of me. I have a lot to look forward to and a lot of opportunities ahead of me.''

In light of the news, Carle decided to end his hockey career at the age of 18 (I greatly respect both Carle and teh University of Denver for honoring his scholarship).

So, one would assume that's it for Carle. What team would take a kid who has publically declared he will no longer play hockey?

Enter new Lighting co-owner Oren Koulis.
The Lightning used their last pick of the draft to take Carle, who had been pegged anywhere between the late first and third rounds.

General manager Jay Feaster said prospective new owner Oren Koules knows the family and the diagnosis might not be as severe as first believed. Besides Koules said, "The kid worked his whole life to be drafted in the NHL, and I don't see a reason he shouldn't be."

Best of luck to David.

UPDATE - The original article has been edited. The first sentence quoted has been removed. It looks as though Tampa's selection was done purely out of kindness. Unbelievably generous move by the Lightning organization.

NHL Draft: NJD Round-up, Devils select Tedenby

I was hoping for the Devils to select Indiana (USHL) defenseman John Carlson, aka the Baby Dinosaur (so-called after he smashed the side of his fist down upon the melon of a fallen opponent in a fight a few years back). Alas, the Devils passed up on the puck hulking puck-mover, moving down three spots to the 24th pick to select diminutive Swedish winger Mattias Tedenby. I'm not upset, he was the second name that popped into my mind when asked who I wanted.

The kid from HV71 (yes, that's the team's name) has skills. He can flat out fly and provides some offensive flair to an organization that needs it. That said, he's small. Gionta small. He's listed at 5'10" 176 lbs, but I'm not so sure. He was about eye-to-eye with Devils GM Lou Lamoriello once he got up to the podium and about half as wide. Tedenby will definitely need to bulk up as it looked as though the geriatric Lamoriello may have been able to dismember the kid if he chose to do so. But in today's NHL, smaller players can flourish.

Bottom line is Tedenby is a kid with blinding speed, solid stick skills, but needs to bulk up to get to the NHL. He's at least a few years away from the big show.

Other selections
Brandon Burlon - 52nd pick (2nd round). Defenseman St. Michael's Buzzers (OPJHL)
Burlon is a beast. At only 6'0", 190lbs he finished among the top of the pack in most of the categories at the Draft Combine. While Burlon has power he uses it more for locomotion than for destruction. Not overly physical, Burlon is a very smooth skating defenseman. Is able to join the rush, but is not a pure offensive defenseman. One thing they lost when passing up on Carlson was a booming shot from the point, something Burlon possesses as well. He could turn into a solid 2nd pairing defenseman for the Devils, but will not in NJ for at least two or three years as he needs to fill out physically as well as test himself against better competition.

Patrice Cormier - 54th pick (2nd round). Center Rimouski Oceanic (QMJHL)
Cormier is a gritty, hard working, drive-to-the net center. Is it really a surprise the Devils picked him? He's not a stranger to dropping the gloves either. Scouts had limited exposure to this once highly-touted kid from New Brunswick as he was side-lined with injuries keeping him out of some of the more pivotal showcases. He may turn into one of the more valuable selections of the draft and a real steal for the Devils.

Adam Henrique - 82nd pick (3rd round) Center. Windsor Spitfires (OHL)
A teammate of Burlon's for gold-medal winning Team Ontario at the 2007 Canada Games, Henrique is another hard-working pivot who projects as a spark plug at the NHL level. A great face-off man. Oddly enough, was invited to Canada's under-18 camp when fellow Devils draft pick Patrice Cormier was unable to attend.

Matt Delahy - 102nd pick (4th round) Defenseman. Regina Pats (WHL)
A reliable stay at home defender really didn't show up on the radar until this year. Was given increasing amounts of ice-time by Regina and responded well to the added pressure.

Kory Nagy - 142nd pick (5th round) Center - Oshawa Generals (OHL)
The Devils are trying to fill the void down the middle in years to come. Nagy comes a bit off the board, not ranked by most of the scouting services and he is very similar to Henrique and both players seem to be the a hopeful replacement for John Madden. Like Henrique, Nagy is a strong face-off man who is a capable shut-down center. He's not going to be an offensive juggernaut ever. Nagy only managed 17 points in 57 regular season games. But guess what? He had 9 points in 15 playoff games.

David Wohlberg - 172nd pick (6th round) Center. USDP U-18
A physical two-way center will attend the University of Michigan in the fall. Had 22 points in 45 games for the US program.

Harry Young - 202nd pick (7th round) Defenseman. Winsdor Spitfires (OHL)
Devils take their second Spitfire of the day. This time they selected the 6'4", 200 pounder to help solidify their defensive core. Windsor head coach has spoke glowingly about Youn citing him as possibly the most improved player in all of the OHL this past season. His defensive responsibility has made him an effective penalty killer for the Spitfires. He has also been writing an off-season journal for WindsorSpitfires.com.

Jean-Sebastian Berube - 205th pick (7th round) Left Wing. Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (QMJHL)
The big winger had 118 PM and 24 points in 64 games for the Huskies. He doesn't turn 18 until July 20th.



Look for a team-by-team report throughout the coming weeks starting with the Devils divisional rivals the Isles and Rangers.