View Full Version : 2004 NHL Entry Draft
Looks like this might be the last exciting thing we get out of the NHL for a while (Saturday on ESPN2 and TSN), and most of the excitement will be done after the first hour I suspect... maybe some big trades though, who knows.
Alexander Ovechkin and Yevgeni Malkin are heads and tails above the rest of their class and if separated and drafted in any other year, both would be likely to go #1 except for the years guys like Lemieux were drafted. Both big, strong goal scorers with great vision, hands and passing ability... compared favorably to Atlanta's Kovulchuk, only both are more responsible in their own end / better rounded players. Both are Russian, and neither a sure bet to get out of the Motherland without some haggling from the Russian league.
Caps draft first and will take Ovechkin if no one offers a trade they can't refuse. Talk has been that Chicago is trying hard to get this guy, but short of giving up Ruutu and their #3 pick, they're not going to get him. They have zero leverage really. Pens pick 2nd and are pretty sure to take Malkin IMO as they're not less than three or four years away from contending anyway. Makes no sense to trade a guy who could wind up a bigger talent and producer than Jagr for some "pretty good players" scoring 40 and 50 points today.
Cam Barker is the projected third pick but nowhere near Ovechkin or Malkin talent-wise or in his chances for making an NHL team right off the bat. It is said both Malkin and Ovechkin will likely start for the Pens and Caps (or wherever they end up unless that team is already a contender (unlikely)).
Man, I don't know nuthin' about the Draft...
Except that I have two Early Entry Tickets, and five public ones...
:D
Bastard! Might be worth going there on your way to a nice lunch or something. I think the first round starts at about 12:00 pm ET. Not the kind of thing you want to sit through all day though, unless you are one of the Hansen brothers, have a buddy who is being drafted, or are an employee of an NHL franchise maybe. I would hang around for the first 15 picks or so because that's when any big trades are likely to be announced, which is kind of exciting sometimes.
Especially when Ottawa offers Pittsburgh Jason Spezza and their first round pick for the chance to get Yvegni Malkin... ya right.
:D
We figured we'd make a day of it. :) Show up about 10:30, enjoy the outdoor carnival before the heat hits, get inside about 11, get some good seats, and stick around for a few hours just for the heck of it. I'm going to take a paperback and just soak it all in. :)
Dude if you have an iBook or PB with wireless you should post some pics and comments to this thread. There may be some Flames Girls down there, after all... can't keep them all to yourself!
It should be a good time no matter how long you hang around; I'm sure there will be plenty of cool people to talk with during the boring spells on stage, as the only people there are likely to be die-hard fans. Personally I think you should send Murbot and I a ticket so we can come down there and heckle Glen Sather and Bob Clarke when they make their picks.
:D
You guys make it down here, they're yours. :)
Hmmm... you got a place for us to crash? Hey wait... weren't you the guy with the demonic spiders running around your house? Maybe I should consider a hotel. I wonder what air fare to NC is these days....
Well, for the low low price of $519 I can be there tomorrow and leave Sunday. I love hockey and all, and as much as I'd love to pound a few brews with you and Murbot, I cannot afford such extravagances right now. In fact trying hard to pay down one of the bigger (though not huge) credit card balances I've had in the last couple years (damn Nikon digital cameras). Plus, I have to make room on my statement for my new 23" Cinema Display... then I can REALLY be in debt!
:eek: :| :cool:
Damn, that sounds like it would be fun. Unfortunately I'm leaving in half an hour for a 4 day golf weekend. Going to be 12 of us poor married bastards playing 36 holes a day (beer a hole gets damn hard after 18!) and hitting the bars at night, in Kimberley, BC.
If I survive, I'll check in to the thread on Sunday night. :lol:
And with that, I am outta here! Later dudes.
DMBand0026
2004-06-24, 12:18
Reminds me of the Family Guy...
Lois: Peter, you're drunk again!
Peter: No I'm not, I'm just exhausted cause I've been up all night drinking.
Have fun with the golf Murbot, someone will send you minute by minute updates of the draft to hold you over on the hockey side of your life. Unless of course you're planning on being too drunk to notice that you're missing anything.
Damn, that sounds like it would be fun. Unfortunately I'm leaving in half an hour for a 4 day golf weekend. Going to be 12 of us poor married bastards playing 36 holes a day (beer a hole gets damn hard after 18!) and hitting the bars at night, in Kimberley, BC.
If I survive, I'll check in to the thread on Sunday night. :lol:
And with that, I am outta here! Later dudes.
Well I didn't post in time but hope that lad takes it easy. Beer a hole can cause real problems beyond just losing golf balls.
:D
I've done a couple weekends where my buddies and I played either 18 or 36 a day all weekend. By the time I'm done with hole 36 I'm ready to never play golf again... until next year's weekend extravaganza. Evil game, golf. I'm not half bad but the only way I have fun is to just play like I don't give a shit (and I don't, even when playing for money)... if I start playing too much though that makes not giving a shit difficult in its own right.
No surprises except for Phoenix's pick so far (Wheeler, still in HS). Pittsburgh didn't trade Malkin for existing players or picks, which is just fine by me. In two years we're likely to hear this kid's name being called quite often during NHL broadcasts. Just needs to put on about 25 pounds and add another year of professional experience before he reaches the NHL.
Probably won't go to the AHL at all I imagine. Ovechkin will likely play this year for the Crapitals, and have an immediate impact the way Kovulchuk did for the Thrashers when he came into the league.
Heh, yeah, the arena erupted in a standing ovation when Gretsky came to the mike for Phoenix that went on a bit too long for his comfort, it seemed... and then went dead *SILENT* when he announced their pick, except for "Who??"
Wheeler was listed at #72 in the expected draft listing, and he comes in at #4. Whaaaaaaa?
Canes getting Ladd in a last minute swap with Columbus was a nice touch. 71GP last season, 75 pts (30G, 45A). Our goalie stable is solid, our defense is one of the better rated ones in the league, but we simply can NOT put the puck in the net. This is what we needed. Kewl.
Yah, Canes did well. St. Louis also finally did what they've needed to do all along: get a top-notch goalie prospect. I don't want to think about how many Cups they might've contended for in recent years if they'd only had a top-notch goalie.
Trick Fall
2004-06-28, 23:05
It's all about the Rangers :lol: Actually, I'm not unhappy we picked a goalie. One of em's bound to be good. Now we got Lundquist, Blackburn and whoever they picked. I honestly think in about three years we'll be really good. If there's even an NHL by then. :grumble:
I'm sorry but I think Sather was an idiot for wasting a top ten pick on a goalie when they already have two very good young (if inexperienced / confidence lacking) goalies. He should've drafted one of the second tier stud forwards (first tier being Ovechkin and Malkin). He's going to find out in a hurry Jagr is not the solution to his problems on offense. The defensive prospects were pretty few and far between this year other than Barker, so I can't blame him there but....
The Pens OTOH, while not likely to win in the next year or two, are absolutely stacked to the gills with good young talent at just about every position (especially defense and goalie). Put them with a few solid vets after another season or so of experience and they could do some damage.
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