The 2015 NHL draft is over and with it, lots of news from highly drafted players from BU to highly baffling decisions by Boston. Intriguing to be sure.
UND had four players drafted in Boeser, Tomek, Wolanin, and Wilkie. Honestly, if you read a lot about the surprise about Wolanin's draft, be so. He was unranked on the rankings and was slated to be undrafted yet went in the 4th round.
This isn't unheard of for UND freshmen. Remember: Brett Bruneteau was drafted in the 4th round by Washington and he wasn't on anyone's boards.
This doesn't mean much. Going from what Sirius Radio analysts opine, those taken in the 4th round or later are various project picks designated boom or bust in various levels of perceived values (in other words, a project pick taken in the 4th round is seen to have more of a possibility or upside than one taken in the 7th round). Pretty straight forward, not out on the limb type stuff.
In other news, former UND commit turned flake Ryan Gropp got drafted in the second round. Good for him. I'm sure he'll light it up at...wherever.
To me, the biggest winners from the NHL Draft:
1. The QMJHL. It seems like every other pick came from the Q.
2. Michigan U. The Wolverines led the NCAA in NHL draft picks with 7
3. China. Their first ever NHL draft pick came in this year's draft. I didn't know Yao Ming could skate (ha ha ha.. no really, this kid, Song is his last name, seems to be a pretty decent skater)
4. BU and BC had great representation in the first two rounds
5. Team USA: MANY drafted
6. Buffalo and Edmonton. Edmonton drafted and traded well, but I think Buffalo was the best overall in every respect on draft day.
Losers:
1. Boston Bruins. Sorry Goon. First, they trade for Martin Jones. Why? I guess that's a strong endorsement for Malcolm Subban's development? They couldn't keep Svedberg (who Siriux/XM said Boston had soured over but I didn't think he was all that bad) but really... Sean McIndoe (@DownGoesBrown) tweeted: Martin Jones: I hate being stuck behind an all-star on a long term deal. Agent: You just got traded. Jones: Awesome! Where to? Agent: Um...
And the three picks. Ok, the two picks. The #13 pick was fine. The other two? Sorry. There were FAR FAR FAR better players on the board. In fact, the #15 pick, Senyshyn, wasn't on anyone's draft board before the Boston's 4th pick, #39 in the second round so they could have chosen someone like UMich commit Kyle Connor or Matthew Barzal.
I know Goon's a big B's fan and will probably disagree with me but this is NOT a good debut for Don Sweeney. Sadly, a snarky commentby Sean McIndoe (@DownGoesBrown) stated "$100 to Chiarelli if he goes up there for this pick and leads off with "Miss me yet, Boston?"
Hindsight might prove me wrong. Senyshyn may be a great pick. Debrusk might be a great pick. But only hindsight will change most people's minds.
For the record, however, I think trading Lucic was a good idea. Sometimes you have to let a guy you love go. I remember when my Wings let Federov go. Now, that wasn't as amicable a parting as Lucic's situation, but still... I loved Federov. As for Hamilton, I think money was the issue, sure, but there is NO WAY.. NO
2. Vancouver Canucks: Another awesome snarky comment on Twitter: Fear The Fin
Five years ago the Canucks had Roberto Luongo, Cory Schneider and Eddie Lack. Now they have no cash, no jobs and no goaltending.
Ok, I'm not sure if I necessarily agree with "no" goaltending. Ryan Miller is a good goaltender, but sadly he's no longer great. And Jacob Markstromm is actually looking to be solid. I've seen him play on TV a few times and he looked inconsistent but solid. In other words, a Swedish Marc Andre Fleury.
3. Pittsburgh Penguins: They did nothing. Nothing at all. Well, they were talked about a lot in the Kessel sweepstakes. They were mentioned in acquiring Jeff Skinner from Carolina.... but Pierre McGuire couldn't even make the Penguins relevant in this year's draft. They need cap relief and the Pens didn't seem to care to do it this way, whereas many other teams did.
4. Peter Chiarelli - Former B's GM and current Edmonton GM called Florida a city. Good for you Peter.
5. Pierre McGuire - Just because he's got no excuse for being as ill-informed as he always seems to be. If it isn't related to Crosby, he doesn't know. Time for TSN to assign a "minder" to McGuire to stop him from sticking his foot in his mouth. Oh, and if he's going to be between the benches, he needs to wear a helmet. He's been hit a few too many times.
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