2009 SBN NHL Mock Draft Underway

by Bob Wage on Jun 17, 2009 3:56 PM EDT

Sports Blog Nation will be covering the upcoming NHL Draft in a huge way. First of all, several bloggers from our network will be attending the event and have been given credentials so that they can report back to their readers with more information than ever before. (Unfortunately, I can not make the trip this year). We will be watching closely though and will give updates as the draft approaches.

Also, James Mirtle's site, "From the Rink", has an ongoing mock draft in process right now. James has this set up so that he reveals three picks each day. Every team is represented by their corresponding blogger. There are no major surprises yet, but of course the choices become more difficult as the draft progresses. Canes Country will be making the Hurricanes selection sometime next week when number 27 comes up.

Speaking of mock drafts, Cory will be posting our own version right here on Canes Country early next week. He completed one of these already in March, but obviously the order of the teams has changed since then so he needs to do a bit more tweaking.

A site called DC Sports Report has a nice database of several mock drafts to review. Let's see which players some of these sites have the Canes drafting.

Sports2debate - Dylan Olsen, D, 6'2", 206
DC Sports Report - Carter Ashton, RW, 6'3", 205
TSN - Carter Ashton, RW, 6-'4", 205
My NHL Draft - Calvin deHaan, D, 5'10", 170
Heated Skates - Stefan Elliot, D, 6'1", 180
SNY Rangers Blog - Stefan Elliot, D, 6'1", 180
The Hockey Program - Jeremy Morin, C, 6'0", 189
The Fantasy Hockey Geek - Jeremy Morin, C/LW, 6'0", 190
Islanders Info - Landon Ferraro, RW, 6'0", 170
Fire the Cannon - Nick Leddy, D, 5'11", 175
Red Light District - Jeremy Morin, C, 6'0", 190
Western College Hockey - Peter Holland, C, 6'2", 185

The ISS ratings have skater Kyle Palmieri rated as the 27th best player in the draft. Palmieri is smallish at 5'10", but personally reminds me a bit of Zach Parise.

It's always interesting to look at the wide variety of different choices and ratings that are out there. After the first few picks, you really don't know what is going to happen until the actual selections are made. Sometimes teams go off the map completely when making their choice, although that usually doesn't happen in the first round.

Paul Branecky of CH.com has 10 players to watch on his blog. Cory will be throwing out a few more names when he completes his final mock draft next week. But I thought we could go ahead and continue the conversation now. (Some of us have been talking about this already) Who do you want the Canes to draft? Who do you think they will draft? Who is the sleeper, the promising player who is under the radar? Who is over-rated?

We will have plenty of discussion concerning the draft right up until "D" day.

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Comments

I think with a pick as late as ours...

It’s an exercise in futility to try and have a wish list. You never know what can happen with that many picks in front of you. It’s not inconceivable that the team will have somebody as high as, say, #15 on their draft board still available by the time #27 rolls around.

Remember, kids...don't ever let facts get in the way of your argument.

by MichaelProcton on Jun 17, 2009 5:48 PM EDT reply actions

Draft or Hype?

Ok what I mean Bubba is we hear a lot of hype about the draft every summer for our team, but we never seem to have players each year consistantly come from the draft to our lineup. They seem to get traded away or never make it up to our line-up. I realize Staal came to us because of the draft. Can you sometime in the next couple of weeks give us a list of our drafts from say 2004 until 2008 and see where they are now? It just seems to me we don’t see a a lot of our drafts make it to our team line-up. I realize they have to mature and grow at levels below the NHL for a few years, but have they made a difference for this team in the past 5 years? I may not even realize how many players on our team was part of our draft picks, I’m hoping I will be pleasantly surprised. Thanks.

by c59 on Jun 17, 2009 10:29 PM EDT reply actions

Erik Cole – round 3 #71 overall, 1998
Ryan Bayda – round 3 #80 overall, 2000
Niclas Wallin – round 4 #97 overall, 2000
Cam Ward – round 1 #25 overall, 2002
Eric Staal – round 1 #2 overall, 2003

Yeah…the NHL draft is pretty much a crap shoot unless you have a top-3 pick, and even then you might end up with an Alexandre Daigle or Patrick Steffan. Cole and Bayda were drafted in similar positions, but Cole’s been an NHL regular his whole career, even a bonafide superstar at times. Bayda’s been up and down for years and didn’t really become a regular part of the roster until this season. I really don’t pay much attention to the draft or get into “Who would you pick?” conversations simply because I’ve never seen any of these guys who are in Juniors or playing in European leagues actually play, and you really can’t tell anything just by looking at their stats or a highlight reel on youtube. It’s not at all like the NBA or NFL draft where we’re pretty familiar with the players through college ball.

by nomadologist on Jun 17, 2009 11:41 PM EDT up reply actions

And Andrew Ladd served both as a contribtor and netted us one as a top-10 draft pick.

Remember, kids...don't ever let facts get in the way of your argument.

by MichaelProcton on Jun 18, 2009 12:01 AM EDT up reply actions

How could I forget him? Drafted 4th overall, and he just had a career year with 15G/34A/49Pts, for what it’s worth

by nomadologist on Jun 18, 2009 12:19 AM EDT up reply actions

agree… The NHL draft is a crap shoot. Like C59 said

“Can you sometime in the next couple of weeks give us a list of our drafts from say 2004 until 2008 and see where they are now?”

no one from 2004 and beyond…

But that is what is expected from the NHL draft. It will pay off in the end.

by packpigskinfan25 on Jun 18, 2009 12:07 AM EDT up reply actions

Why so serious, nomad? Is your imagination broken?

by Caniac1026 on Jun 18, 2009 9:19 AM EDT up reply actions

good idea about the draft history. we will do a more detailed analysis about that in a couple of days.

GM of CanesCountry.com

by Bob Wage on Jun 18, 2009 1:48 AM EDT reply actions

There is a definite improvement in the team’s draft success the past couple years. I wouldn’t underestimate the importance of next Friday and Saturday.

CanesCountry.com: An Eye On Carolina Hockey

by Cory Lavalette on Jun 18, 2009 11:05 AM EDT reply actions