Draft in Review

by Anne

I was at rehearsal, where I've been a lot for the last few days and will continue to be for the rest of the summer.

I wasn't able to learn anything about any of the prospects until I returned home last night.

Here are my pithy insights:

HOLY CRAP! Everyone we drafted was at least 6'0" tall!

Round 1:

Zack Kassian -Windsor, ON. 6'3", 210 lbs, RW.

He seems adorably dim and he started out as a figure skater. Amazing. He said his favorite team was Toronto growing up but when asked about this situation now he said: "Now its the Buffalo Sabres...Toronto, I don't like them at all." Well done, Mr. Kassian. He's big, he hits a lot, he scores a lot. Buffalo will like him. He already works out with and knows Mike Weber and knows of Patty Kaleta

ETA: Love for Mr. Kassian from Maine Hockey Blog: “My brother really stepped in there to be a father figure,” Kassian said to the NHL.com. “I have to give a lot of credit to my mom and my brother. They drove me everywhere, got me where I needed and made me the man I am today. They deserve a lot of credit and I thank them a lot.”

Round 2: Nothing doin'

Round 3:

Brayden McNabb - Sasktatoon, SK. 6'4" 200lbs, D

Well we got a Brayden from Saskatoon. Granted, the Brayden I would've hoped for was Schenn, but McNabb works as well. There wasn't much to report from him at the draft, I don't think he was there, so there were no interviews. He's a defenseman. He was tied for the team lead in goals scored by a defenseman this year.

Round 4:

Marcus Foligno - Buffalo, NY - 6'2" 200lbs - LW

Son of Mike. Born in Buffalo when his dad played here. The better looking but perhaps less talented brother of Nick. He had better do the leap if/when he scores his first NHL goal. Do it for Dad, and for the fans, Marky Mark.

Round 5:

Mark Adams - Massachusetts (?) 6'2" 187 lbs

I can't find much of anything out about this kid other than he plays high school hockey and he's committed to play college hockey in Providence. He played for Malden Catholic high school in Massachusetts. He was taken #134 but was not ranked among the 210 North American skaters. Ho-kay?

Round 6:

Connor Knapp - Harrell, NY. 6'5" 215 lbs - G

He's super tall. Built like Millsy but bigger. Plays for Miami of Ohio. Played for Boston of the EJHL. Uhh, he was hella good when he played there. He posted a record of 22-1-0 in 2006-07 with three shutouts and a 1.66 goals-against average. Yeesh.

Round 7:

Maxime Legault - Mont Tremblant, QC. 6'2" 195 lbs - RW

Um, he has the same birthday as my sister, so I'm down.

In other team news: The Kings took Brayden Schenn 5th over all, the Pens took Simon Despres. I'd seen a few mock drafts that had the Sabres taking Despres but, if he fell to 30th overall, I wonder the validity of those drafts. The Canucks got Jordan Schroeder who most people feel was a steal at #22 and most analysts thought he'd go at least in the top 20.

All in all, yet another exciting(?) draft.

Also, Chris Pronger as a Phlyer? Barf.

The Flames acquiring Bouwmeester (or his negotiating rights anyway) is pretty sweet and helps keep them in the running to be a team I enjoy next season. However, if JBo walks away from the Flames, they'll be back to square 1. The Kings traded Brian Boyle to the Rangers. I'm not losing sleep over this.

Free Agency on Wednesday!

If any of you who read this blog cheer for the team that Jaroslav Spacek signs with (sob) on Wednesday... treat him well!! :'(