SB Nation - Alex Bourret

Latest Trade Adds Further Flux To 2005 NHL Entry Draft

Cory Lavalette — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:43:22 -0000

by Jeff McIntosh - AP

Los Angeles Kings defenseman Jack Johnson, once considered a sure-fire No. 1 defenseman, is one of several 2005 first-round picks who find themselves playing for a team other than the one that drafted them. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jeff McIntosh)

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July 22, 2005.

I was sitting in my car, stuck in traffic on the bridge entering Carolina Beach, waiting to finally reach the surf with my family. My wife and I were eagerly anticipating our 2-year-old daughter’s first trip to the coast, to see what she'd think of the gritty sand between her toes, the crashing waves, and the pelicans, with their broad wings and oversized beaks.

But that Friday — the beginning to a long, memorable summer weekend for us, along with countless others in the Carolinas and beyond — was also a pivotal day in hockey history: the Sidney Crosby Sweepstakes.

It still is remembered that way. But for a lot of other players and teams, the 2005 NHL Entry Draft is about something else: loss and failure, untapped potential and wanton trades. The latest of which happened yesterday.

But back to that fateful day. Sitting on that bridge, I listened closely as NHL commissioner Gary Bettman read the results to the one-of-a-kind NHL Draft Lottery, an event different from any before. The names of each team were read in reverse order.

Tampa Bay at 30.

Calgary at 26.

Division foe Washington was 14th.

With each team and their corresponding selection, the stakes got higher. Vancouver at 10. Columbus — one of four teams with a high of three balls in the machine — went off the board at six. That left only Pittsburgh as a remaining favorite, with Anaheim, Minnesota, Montreal and, yes, Carolina with a shot at nabbing the top overall pick and the rights to select sure-fire star Crosby.

The Habs — a long shot with just one sphere rattling among 45 others — went next. Then the Wild. Final three. I gripped the wheel, and explained to my wife the significance of the moment. I knew that, regardless of the remaining results, the Hurricanes were in position to land a big-time prospect. But this was Sidney Crosby: The Next One.

The Canes’ run at Crosby ended there, with "Carolina Hurricanes" uttered by Bettman as this third overall selection. Pittsburgh — as we all know — beat out the Ducks for Crosby.

By landing the third pick, the Canes fell shy of getting Crosby, and even prized Michigan defenseman Jack Johnson seemed out of reach. That left Benoit Pouliot as the top-rated player likely to be on the board, along with the likes of Bobby Ryan, Gilbert Brule and Anze Kopitar. Personally, I was leaning toward Pouliot; a big, skilled forward out of Sudbury in the OHL.

Nine days after the lottery, the teams gathered for the draft. The Pens, of course, took Crosby. I waited for Anaheim to take Johnson so I could finally see who Carolina GM Jim Rutherford would select at No. 3. But Brian Burke, then the Ducks GM, threw the league a curveball and chose Ryan second overall. Rutherford — who has been reluctant to use his first-round picks on defensemen — had no choice but to choose Johnson, whose physical play coupled with offensive instincts had many penciling him in as a No. 1 blueliner for years to come.

Just 14 months and one day later, the Carolina Hurricanes — having stunningly won the Stanley Cup in 2006 — dealt Johnson, along with salary burden Oleg Tverdovsky, to Los Angeles for defenseman Tim Gleason and center Eric Belanger.

Yesterday, the Wild gave up on the fourth overall pick, Pouliot, sending him to Montreal for a second-rounder from the same year, Guillame Latendresse. Johnson was the second of the 30 first-round picks traded from that year's draft — Tuukka Rask was traded by Toronto to Boston on draft day 2006 for fellow goalie Andrew Raycroft — and Pouliot is the latest to find himself moving on to a new city.

Looking down the list of the first round picks from 2005, the Johnson trade still stands out as the blockbuster — and one that, despite early expert analysis suggesting Carolina was ripped off, leans toward Carolina's favor given Johnson’s struggles and Gleason’s growth.

Crosby and Ryan — the top two picks — have emerged as a superstar and emerging star respectively. Johnson, at No. 3, is with the Kings and, despite playing on a very good, young team, is a team-worst minus-11 with just two goals and four assists in 24 games (Gleason, on the other hand, is 4-2-6 and minus-1 in 18 games on the last place team in the league, plus a team leader). The teams who picked first, second and third are probably happy with how things panned out for them (though surely Johnson’s antics in not turning pro infuriated Rutherford at the time).

The rest of the league? Well, most probably aren't all that happy.

Here are the other players who are either no longer with the team that chose them in the first round in 2005:

No. 4 — Benoit Pouliot, Minnesota: Traded yesterday (Nov. 23, 2009) to Montreal for Guillame Latendresse. Career stats: 65 GP, 9-9-18
No. 6 — Gilbert Brule, Columbus: Traded July 1, 2008, to Edmonton for Raffi Torres. Career stats: 178 GP, 20-28-48
No. 10 — Luc Bourdon, Vancouver: Killed in a motorcycle accident May 29, 2008. Career stats: 36 GP, 2-0-2
No. 13 — Marek Zagrapan, Buffalo: Signed with Severstal of the KHL May 9, 2009. No NHL games played.
No. 14 — Sasha Pokulok, Washington: Was not tendered a qualifying offer June 29, 2009. Currently in the ECHL. No NHL games played.
No. 15 — Ryan O’Marra, Islanders: Traded Feb. 27, 2007, to Edmonton along with Robert Nilsson and a first-round pick for Ryan Smyth. Career stats: 1 GP, 0-0-0
No. 16 — Alex Bourret, Atlanta: Traded Feb. 7, 2007, to Rangers for Pascal Dupuis and a third-round pick. Then traded June 21, 2008, to Phoenix for a third-round pick. Was not tendered a qualifying offer June 30, 2009. Currently playing for Brno in the Czech league.
No. 18 — Ryan Parent, Nashville: Traded Feb. 15, 2007, to Philadelphia along with Scottie Upshall, a first-round pick and third-round pick for Peter Forsberg. Career stats: 67 GP, 0-6-0
No. 21 — Tuukka Rask, Toronto: Traded June 24, 2006, to Boston for Andrew Raycroft. Career stats: 14 GP, 9-3-2-2 record, .919 S%, 2.33 GAA
No. 22 — Matt Lashoff, Boston: Traded March 4, 2009, to Tampa Bay along with Martins Karsums for Mark Recchi and a second-round pick. Career stats: 58 GP, 1-14-15
No. 30 — Steve Downie, Philadelphia: Traded Nov. 7, 2008, to Tampa Bay along with Steve Eminger and a fourth-round pick for Matt Carle and a third-round pick. Career stats: 82 GP, 11-14-25

(Note: Andrew Cogliano, the No. 25 pick by Edmonton, was part of a package that would've sent Ottawa’s Dany Heatley to the Oilers. Heatley nixed the deal by refusing to waive his no-trade clause. He was later dealt to San Jose, while Cogliano — still mentioned in trade rumors frequently — remains in Edmonton.)

That's 12 of 30 players drafted just four years ago who are no longer with the team who originally held their rights. Only two players from the 2006 draft (Phil Kessel and Ty Wishart) have been moved. The 2004 draft was also volatile (13 players traded or not with their original team for another reason), but 2003 has just nine even though we're six years removed from that draft.

The Rask and Johnson deals were the first of many involving this group. The Hurricanes and their fans have embraced Gleason, a throwback blueliner whose toughness, blunt honesty, defensive acumen and emerging offensive skill make him one of the franchise cornerstones. Johnson — who was, once upon a time, supposed to be that player — is overshadowed by 2008 second overall pick Drew Doughty, arguably the best young defenseman in the game.

Sure, the 2005 draft will always be remembered as the year Crosby — the youngest captain to hoist the Stanley Cup — went No. 1 overall. But for several other first-round picks that year, the path to NHL stardom has been more like my car stuck on that bridge: the headlights pointed at the distant sea, the inhabitants of the vehicle wishing, hoping to make memories that will last a lifetime.

For some, the bridge will eventually be crossed. For others ...

Thrashers Dump Q Scout After Parade of Disasters

The Falconer — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 14:40:53 -0000

In Part 6 of the "How to Build a Contender" series I wrote the following:

Some scouts are simply better than others. A smart organization would know who is better and give greater weight to the most accurate scouts when making their master list. Every human being has biases, you can not change that fact but you can adjust to it. Some scouts may have a good eye for something and a bad eye for other traits. A smart organization should analyze their area scouts "misses" and look for patterns. Does "Scout A" hate short players?--adjust his rankings. Does "Scout B" have a weakness for players with bad character--tell him he must add more character detail in his reports.

Scouting is a very lonely and very demanding business. Every scout works hard, eats bad food, watches terrible hockey and rarely gets thanked. I have no interest in ever working amateur scout--you must REALLY love hockey to do it. It is a hard job, but having said that, sometimes an organization must let under performing scouts go. I hate saying that about anyone in this current economy, but all of us most perform. Players who don't perform get sent to the minors, coaches who don't perform get fired. Everyone should be held to account and scouts are no different.

The scout that I had in mind when I wrote that paragraph is the guy who covered the QMJHL for the Thrashers. Let's review the picks that have come out of that league for the Thrashers.

2000 Simon Gamache 9th Round, 48 NHL Games. A tiny little guy with a hot dog attitude in him. He could score in bunches at every level but his lack of speed prevented him from sticking in the NHL. Plays in Switzerland now.
2000 Carl Mallette 4th round, 0 NHL Games. The Thrashers didn't even offer him a pro contract after he finished juniors. A bust by age 20 he played 137 ECHL games and managed just 10 AHL games. Played in weak European leagues (France and Austria) the last few seasons.
2003 Jimmy Sharrow D 4th round, 0 NHL Games. Skinny kid with who racked up points in the Q but wore out his welcome in the ECHL after just 23 games. Thinks he is god's gift to hockey. Still playing in the AHL at age 24.
2003 Guillaume Desbiens 4th rounder, 0 NHL games. I liked Desbiens as a player in the ECHL but he never really put in the hard work in the off season that would have allowed him to make a bid for a NHL job. He needed to work on his skating each off season and he looked to be in poor cardio condition at more than one Thrashers camp. He had a decent season on a loaded Manitoba AHL team last year at age 24 after the Thrashers choose not to re-sign him.
2005 Alex Bourret 1st round, 0 NHL Games. A huge bust and head case. The team realized they had a problem on their hands and traded after less than 2 years. In general the Thrashers give more weight to character than some other organizations--how this guy finished high on their list is a mystery to me. Not a bright guy, he dropped out of high school. After poor play at the Traverse City Rookie Tournament he declared himself "injured" and the training staff couldn't detect any problems. Twice traded, he is on his 3rd NHL organization and on the express lane to Bustville.
2005 Chad Denny 2nd round, 0 NHL games. He looked rather ordinary in the ECHL and he has struggled to get into games and get ice time in the AHL. They have tried him at wing. At age 22 he should be much further along than this. He certainly doesn't look worthy of a 2nd rounder to me.
2005 Jordan LaVallee 4th round, 4 NHL Games played. The Thrashers took him as a 19 year old and he is the best of the three Q players taken in 2005. He has averaged half a point per game in the AHL but his defensive game will determine whether he makes the NHL or not. He is in the mix with a bunch of other players heading into NHL camp this fall. According to one Wolves fan he wants out of the Thrashers organization.
2008 Danick Paquette 3rd round,0 NHL games. Young enough to still be a prospect, but he clearly lagged behind most other players at Prospect Camp. Some of undrafted invitees looked better to me than this 3d round pick.
Dishonorable mention #1: Anthony Aquino, 0 NHL Games, drafted in the 3rd round by Dallas in 2001, he was acquired by the Thrashers in 2003 presumably because they had him high on their draft list. He was another head case who was scratched from ECHL games and simply couldn't execute a basic game plan on the ice.
Dishonorable mention #2: Angelo Esposito, fell hard in the 1st round in 2007 until Pittsburgh took him. Was included in the Marian Hossa trade because the Thrashers had him high on their list (but lacked a 1st rounder due to the Tkachuk trade). Here's what I wrote about him recently:

Simply put, I'm skeptical. He has NHL speed and NHL hands but I question his judgment and hockey sense. I've watched him make a slick move to beat a defensemen only to pass the puck to an empty patch of ice. I've seen him throw three fakes in a shootout and then hit the goalie in the chest. There is no doubt he has talent, but I'm skeptical he will ever maximize that talent at the NHL level (and I'm not the only person that feels this way). He'll get a shot at the NHL because of those skills but I question if he will qualify for a NHL pension (400 games, 5 year career).

Our of the nine QMJHL players discussed above most of them had some sort of attitude problem or lacked hockey sense or were fundamentally lacking in hockey skill. For the Thrashers organization the Q has been a black hole into which they have poured money and draft picks with almost nothing to show for their investment.

In my build a franchise a series, I noted that the Thrashers need to be hard headed and even ruthless in their decision making if they hope to compete while being outspent by other NHL teams. And it appears that in this case the team has done the right thing, they did not renew the contract of Normand Poisson the primary scout for the QMJHL this summer. Good organizations demand accountability from their players, coaches and hockey operations department. Letting Poisson go indicates that failing to pay attention to character on your draft list will get you canned.

Coyotes Extend Qualifying Offers to a Dozen Players

OdinMercer — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:07:31 -0000

More photos » by Paul Connors - AP

Phoenix Coyotes left winger Scottie Upshall, right, was given a qualifying offer on Tuesday.

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The Coyotes today extended qualifying offers to twelve Restricted Free Agents ahead of the July 1st start of free agency. Details of the offer sheets have not yet been released, but here are the players we made offers to:

Scottie Upshall: Yay! No way we let him go after how he performed for us after the trade from Philly.

Keith Yandle: No question he would be staying with how weak we are on D.

Enver Lisin: Kept the speedster around. We really need to work on his defensive skill set, but the kid can flat out fly.

Daniel Winnik: Solid 3rd line center but needs to pick up his game to what it was a couple seasons back if he wants to stay in Phoenix instead of riding the bus.

Nigel Dawes: From what I heard from the team they hadn't been all that impressed with him, but maybe this is just to keep an asset rather than getting noting for him.

Dave Spina: A locally grown kid who could finally be the first native Arizonan to play in the NHL. The fans here love him and he's a solid guy.

Josh Tordjman: He can compete with Al Montoya for either the Starting spot in San Antonio or possibly the backup spot if we can't find someone to backup Bryzgalov.

Alexander Nikulin: Protecting an asset as I think we've already heard rumors of him going to the KHL.

Stefan Meyer, Shaun Hushka, Sami Lepisto: The new guys we aquired in the Reinprecht deal and trading picks at the draft.

The Coyotes did not extend qualifying offers to the following restricted free agents:

Alex Bourret, Garth Murray and Joakim Lindstrom.