The 2005 draft?
1st round -
Matt Pelech - Injuries may have delayed his jump to the NHL, but anyone I ever hear talk about this guy all say the same thing.....he's going to be an NHL defenseman, and probably starting next year.
3rd round -
Gord Baldwin - Again, all I have to go on is what I read and hear on this site, but has he not taken a big step forward this year with his development? That's what I've been hearing. Bottom line, our team is full of veteran defenseman so a third rounder like this is going to be given plenty of time to develop. At the very least he is making our AHL affiliate a better team for now.
3rd round -
Dan Ryder - OK, there is no way in blue hell that you can blame Sutter or the scouts for what happened with this kid. Such a shame, because the talent level was there and he would very likely be (or have been already) knocking down the door for a roster spot as we speak.
4th round -
JD Watt - Still with organization. Will he be an NHLer? Probably not, but he was a 4th rounder. At this point in the draft having a player not end up in the NHL isn't a big deal IMO, if they do end up there it's a bonus. At 22 years old though, and still with the organization he's not a complete write off yet.
5th round -
Kevin Lalande - Traded for a 3rd rounder this upcoming draft I believe. It's Columbus' pick too, so it'll be an early 3rd rounder. Not bad when you take a 5th round pick that has never played an NHL game and turn him into a 3rd rounder 5 years later.
5th round -
Matt Keetley - Still with organization and from what I can gather had a bit of an off year. Still, at 22 and being a goalie, he still has lots of time to turn into an asset down the road.
6th round -
Brett Sutter - Just making the jump to the NHL now, and is looking good doing it. As I mentioned with Watt, whenever a pick from this deep in the draft can make your NHL roster (or turn into a viable asset) it's a bonus, no matter what position or role that player fills.
7th round -
Myles Rumsey - 7th rounder busted out and didn't make it. Not a big deal.
Looks like a decent draft to me, especially when you look at how many of these guys are still in the organization, or in Lalande's case, been flipped for a future asset.
Also, when you look at what we drafted and when (4 of first 6 picks were either defensemen or goalies - usually take longer to develop) this draft class isn't a write off yet IMO.
Not to mention, if Ryder hadn't taken the road he took and instead had made the jump to the NHL this year along with Sutter, this draft would be looking really good. Either way, you can't blame the scouting staff for the unpredictable circumstances surrounding Ryder.
EDIT: Oh yeah, forgot to mention our second rounder that year. We didn't pick anyone in that spot because Sutter had traded it away......for Mikka freakin Kiprusoff. Pretty good asset management if you ask me. A franchise goalie for a second round pick? Yeah, I'll take that deal any day.
