Next Couple Drafts Could Bring One Team A Solid Future
Posted 8:44 PM ET | Comments 0
From the 2001-2002 season to the 2003-2004, the Pittsburgh Penguins found themselves at the bottom of the Atlantic Division three years in a row. Placing so low in the standings allowed Pittsburgh to draft the likes of: Marc-Andre Fleury, Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby and Jordan Staal. Drafting these players has taken the Pittsburgh Penguins from being the laughing stock of the NHL to being one of the most dangerous teams night in night out for the past four or five seasons, winning one Stanley Cup in that time.
This leads me to the current NHL Entry Drafts. We are seeing the Edmonton Oilers slowing become a team that will lead the Western Conference for years to come lead by Jordan Eberle, Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Odds are good that these guys are going to turn into NHL stars.
So lets use the Ottawa Senators for example. Since going to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2007, the Senators have had to much success. But there misfortunes on the ice have lead to some good picks on draft day, most recently being Mika Zibanejad. Throw in some wheeling and dealing done by the Senators Brass and that got them former CHL Rookie of The Year Matt Peumpel, and American Right Winger Stefan Noesen. Both in the first round as well. They have already drafted three solid Defensemen in: Jared Cowen, Erik Karlson, David Runblad.
With all that, they still need more peices to finish the puzzle. Daniel Alfredsson is not getting any younger and a Jason Spezza trade seems inevitable to me. Even though the Senators have had such a hot start, it is not realistic to say that it will last. The inexperience they possess will ultimately see them plummet in the standings. Depending on how far they go, it may not be such a bad thing. Nail Yakupov widens the gap between him and the rest of the prospects with each game. If the Senators finish last, they have a very good opportunity to snag the promising right winger. So now we have Nail Yakupov centered by Mika Zibanejad.
Now going back to Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza, if the Senators were to trade these two or even one, they should be able to land a 1st round pick. A lottery bound team would unlikely trade for Alfredsson, but Spezza on the other hand may be able to. If the senators could even crack another top ten pick, they may be able to draft up for the final piece to the puzzle. Filip Forsberg is a Swedish born sniper who has already garnered top five attention. Some even call him the best Scandinavian prospect of this draft.
Obviously this is purely speculation. Most likely wont even happen. But that does not mean it could not happen. Ottawa has assets to make the kinds of trades to make this happen. A line made up of Forsberg - Zibanejad - Yakupov has danger written all over it and could be the next Hall - Nugent-Hopkins - Eberle line. This of course does not account for the possibility for Stepan Syndrome for any of these three kids.
This leads me to the current NHL Entry Drafts. We are seeing the Edmonton Oilers slowing become a team that will lead the Western Conference for years to come lead by Jordan Eberle, Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Odds are good that these guys are going to turn into NHL stars.
So lets use the Ottawa Senators for example. Since going to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2007, the Senators have had to much success. But there misfortunes on the ice have lead to some good picks on draft day, most recently being Mika Zibanejad. Throw in some wheeling and dealing done by the Senators Brass and that got them former CHL Rookie of The Year Matt Peumpel, and American Right Winger Stefan Noesen. Both in the first round as well. They have already drafted three solid Defensemen in: Jared Cowen, Erik Karlson, David Runblad.
With all that, they still need more peices to finish the puzzle. Daniel Alfredsson is not getting any younger and a Jason Spezza trade seems inevitable to me. Even though the Senators have had such a hot start, it is not realistic to say that it will last. The inexperience they possess will ultimately see them plummet in the standings. Depending on how far they go, it may not be such a bad thing. Nail Yakupov widens the gap between him and the rest of the prospects with each game. If the Senators finish last, they have a very good opportunity to snag the promising right winger. So now we have Nail Yakupov centered by Mika Zibanejad.
Now going back to Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza, if the Senators were to trade these two or even one, they should be able to land a 1st round pick. A lottery bound team would unlikely trade for Alfredsson, but Spezza on the other hand may be able to. If the senators could even crack another top ten pick, they may be able to draft up for the final piece to the puzzle. Filip Forsberg is a Swedish born sniper who has already garnered top five attention. Some even call him the best Scandinavian prospect of this draft.
Obviously this is purely speculation. Most likely wont even happen. But that does not mean it could not happen. Ottawa has assets to make the kinds of trades to make this happen. A line made up of Forsberg - Zibanejad - Yakupov has danger written all over it and could be the next Hall - Nugent-Hopkins - Eberle line. This of course does not account for the possibility for Stepan Syndrome for any of these three kids.