I always found the 1995 draft interesting. There seems to be a whole lot of nothing and a lot of run-of -the-mill players. The 1st round had a lot of players that made the NHL, but few stars. Almost all the picks were "busts" or disappointing, but some homeruns in there too. Any time teams load up on 1sts, I can't help but worry that it will be another 1995.
From what I recall, Langkow was considered by a lot of people to be the best bet at #1, but then he slipped to #5. In the end, he is the best of all the players picked in the top 5 and probably the best player from the 1st round aside from Iginla. Other notables from that draft were Doan, Savard and Kipper.
I think this draft sticks out to me because it was the 1st time that I actually started following prospects and reading up on drafts beforehand.
In general, most drafts are bad compared to 2003.
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"A pessimist thinks things can't get any worse. An optimist knows they can."
(The bolded names were Flames at some point in their careers.)
A few names, who ended up having lengthy careers, turned up from the later rounds.
This is to give some thought to loading up, just for this year's draft. Several of those players will get hurt, not develop or not make it for any number of reasons.
That may be so. But I think scouting, and prospect preparation, have improved substantially in the last 15 years. The players tend to be more NHL ready, and NHL teams are better at assessing their strengths and weaknesses.
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I think things are a little different today compared to the last few decades. I recall there were lots of internal struggles and disagreement within the Flames management, Coats, Polano, etc when it came to some of those bust picks. Things actually got slightly better (still not great) under Craig Button and under Sutter poor due to his prefering measurables over outright skill. I now see a scouting direction that is more in tune with today's players that values skill and hockey sense above all other measurables. We can't be sure if Sven, Gaudreau, Jankowski, Granlund will pan out but at least we have a pool of really skilled young players and I like what the Flames have done under the current regime a heck of a lot more than what the Oilers have done during the same time outside of their no-brainer first overall picks. I have faith that the Flames will come out of this upcoming draft with some really good players.
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Stockpiling NHL-ready goalie depth is the right move in a scenario where your established number 1 for the past decade is not coming back. It's irresponsible to hitch your wagon to any one guy, because none of them have done anything to earn that sort of trust.
So bring in a bunch of wildcards with potential, let them fight it out, and let the results speak for themselves. They aren't going to challenge for anything but another top pick next year anyway, so the time is right for a full fledged competition to take place. It's sort of one of the biggest reasons people like sports.
It's the right move if the NHL-ready goalie depth cost the team nothing. But it didn't. Assuming guys like Ramo and Berra were not merely "throw-ins", these guys cost us another prospect that the team could have acquired and realistically they were goaltenders that was worth very little to their previous team, because they weren't returning to play for their previous team. Furthermore, while Ramo is NHL ready (and it's not like he's signed), Berra is expected to need NHL seasoning. Of course, a lot can happen from now until opening day next season. Ramo might be battling for a backup spot while Berra might be battling for the #1 AHL job. So ya they better be good, if not, it's a Paul Byron waste of asset acquisitions all over again.
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I’m always amazed these sportscasters and announcers can call the game with McDavid’s **** in their mouths all the time.
Yeah, it was a concussion. I remember the Islanders passed on him at the draft because of supposed character issues but the guy was really good for us up until that concussion. He had 11 points in 19 games in his call up and had really good chemistry with Val Bure, he was 21 at the time and things looked good.
Interestingly enough he was still playing hockey till about two years ago. I don't really remember the details anymore, but curious why the Flames gave up on him. Did his play change that drastically? Must have.
I remember being pretty pissed when we passed on Samsonov that year. He was the most hyped player that year by far and had a pretty great start to his career.
Dig through your old piles of THN Future Watch. Were you 15 then, too?
Guess what? Eric Duhatschek used write that the Flames brass said that there "whispers of Chelios" about Derek Morris.
Even the professionals, who scout for a living have a difficult task of projecting how 17 year olds will progress. Any kid can just sit here with hindsight and say, "oh, this was a great draft year" and one just did. Want to impress? Tell us who the superstars are buried in the mix for June.
Sorry didn't read the whole thread so don't know the context of your discussion but Morris did have Chelios potential, unfortunately he did t have Chelios heart or character. Talent wise, and skill sets were very similar but the difference was that Chelios was probably the most fit NHLer of all time and Morris was at the opposite end of the spectrum.
Chelios just had that desire to be the best, whereas Morris just didn't really care.
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I don't think 1997 was ever considered a deep draft but had high quality players at the top. It was one of those dream drafts where you had a big franchise center as the consensus #1 pick (Thornton), a franchise center available at #2 (Marleau), a top European center (Jokinen), and a franchise goalie (Luongo). The only thing missing was a franchise defenseman, although Brewer came pretty close as a prospect.
Not sure if this accurate or not but thought it was interesting.
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We all know by now that Jay Bouwmeester was traded to the St. Louis Blues for prospects and a first round pick. A steep price to pay for a guy who may not even play on the team next season. While the Blues were willing to part with their first rounder, the Kings found the price to be a little steep.
According to a report from The Fourth Period, the Kings were very close to making another trade. The report also says that the Kings were willing to part with prospect Tyler Toffoli, but not for a guy they considered to be a rental player. While the trade never came to fruition, it is certainly interesting to see that Los Angeles was dangling Tyler Toffoli as potential trade bait.
How is Jay Bouwmeester not going to play for the Blues next season? I think the guy has his contracts confused.
Interesting news about Toffoli though. I wonder if the Flames were willing to eat a little of JBo's salary, if they would've been able to get him with a 1st rounder.
I'm not necessarily saying the returns on this trade and the Iginla trade are terrible. But I'm just curious - has any other NHL team ever traded away their top forward-franchise player, and their top defenseman, for zero immediate return, all in the same season? I think this is probably a blow-up without precedent, or maybe my memory is failing. Even the Gretzky sale had an NHL player or 2 in return.
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How is Jay Bouwmeester not going to play for the Blues next season? I think the guy has his contracts confused.
I think there was some speculation that the Blues might have budget issues next season with so many key RFAs. He is probably expecting that the Blues will have to trade him after this season.
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"A pessimist thinks things can't get any worse. An optimist knows they can."
I think there was some speculation that the Blues might have budget issues next season with so many key RFAs. He is probably expecting that the Blues will have to trade him after this season.
Interesting. In this type of situation doesn't the club that acquires a player with a NMC have the option to not honor it moving forward? If that's the case St Louis might get a better return than they gave up if they move him in the off-season, just by virtue of having more clubs competing for his services.
Sorry didn't read the whole thread so don't know the context of your discussion but Morris did have Chelios potential, unfortunately he did t have Chelios heart or character. Talent wise, and skill sets were very similar but the difference was that Chelios was probably the most fit NHLer of all time and Morris was at the opposite end of the spectrum.
Chelios just had that desire to be the best, whereas Morris just didn't really care.
It wasn't even a knock on him, specifically, Morris was just an example.
Players don't develop as projected, are brought into the wrong environment, get hurt or there's a miscalculation. It'd make an interesting thread topic, if somebody felt inclined, "Draft Do Over."
Can think of some killer examples:
The Maples Leafs drafted Trevor Johansen with their 1st rounder in '77. They could've had Mike Bossy instead.
A favorite here: The Flames needed a goalie prospect in 1990. Trevor Kidd was going to be The Guy. Martin Brodeur was still on the board.
That same year, the Sabres identified power forward as a major organizational need. From the looks of his junior career in nearby Niagara Falls, Brad May fit the bill. Instead, he became a checking winger/fighter. They could've had Keith Tkachuk instead.
Tons of other examples.
Last edited by Badger Bob; 04-06-2013 at 03:09 PM.
