Poll: 2005 NHL Draft Take Two: Twenty-Sixth Overall Pick
Hindsight is an amazing thing, and allows us to look back and wonder “what could have been.” Though perfection is attempted, scouting and draft selection is far from an exact science and sometimes, it doesn’t work out the way teams – or players – intended. For every Patrick Kane, there is a Patrik Stefan.
We’re looking back at the 2005 NHL Draft, which kicked off the salary cap era and ushered in many of the current NHL superstars. The question we’re looking to answer is knowing now what we didn’t know then, how different would this draft look now with the benefit of hindsight?
Here are the results of our redraft so far:
1st Overall: Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins)
2nd Overall: Carey Price (Mighty Ducks of Anaheim)
3rd Overall: Anze Kopitar (Carolina Hurricanes)
4th Overall: Jonathan Quick (Minnesota Wild)
5th Overall: Kris Letang (Montreal Canadiens)
6th Overall: Tuukka Rask (Columbus Blue Jackets)
7th Overall: Bobby Ryan (Chicago Blackhawks)
8th Overall: Marc-Edouard Vlasic (San Jose Sharks)
9th Overall: Ben Bishop (Ottawa Senators)
10th Overall: James Neal (Vancouver Canucks)
11th Overall: T.J. Oshie (Los Angeles Kings)
12th Overall: Keith Yandle (New York Rangers)
13th Overall: Paul Stastny (Buffalo Sabres)
14th Overall: Marc Staal (Washington Capitals)
15th Overall: Patric Hornqvist (New York Islanders)
16th Overall: Niklas Hjalmarsson (Atlanta Thrashers)
17th Overall: Anton Stralman (Phoenix Coyotes)
18th Overall: Jack Johnson (Nashville Predators)
19th Overall: Matt Niskanen (Detroit Red Wings)
20th Overall: Justin Abdelkader (Florida Panthers)
21st Overall: Martin Hanzal (Toronto Maple Leafs)
22nd Overall: Andrew Cogliano (Boston Bruins)
23rd Overall: Kris Russell (New Jersey Devils)
24th Overall: Darren Helm (St. Louis Blues)
25th Overall: Cody Franson (Edmonton Oilers)
Now we move forward to the 26th pick, which was held by the Calgary Flames.
To recap how this works:
- We will go through the 2005 NHL Draft and have our readers select, through a voting process, who they think should have been taken with the selection.
- The entire first round will be redrafted, spanning picks one through thirty. The new selection is chosen by the majority of votes.
Back in 2005, the Flames took defenseman Matt Pelech from the Sarnia Sting. Since being drafted, Pelech played a total of 13 games in the NHL, tallying four points (1-3). Of those 13 games, Pelech spent five with the Flames and the other eight with San Jose. During the 2013-14 season, Pelech spent time in the ECHL with the Utah Grizzlies after playing for both San Jose and its AHL affiliate Worcester. A season later, Pelech recorded 39 games with the Rochester Americans. Last season, Pelech appeared in 49 games for the Schwenningen Wild Wings in the DEL (Germany) and has played the current season with Graz EC in the Austrian league.
With the 26th pick of the 2005 NHL Redraft, who should the Flames select? Cast your vote below! Mobile users, you can vote here!
Snapshots: Steel, Cogliano, Jagr
News and notes from around the NHL this evening:
- The Anaheim Ducks announced today that they’ve signed 2016 1st round draft pick (30th overall) Sam Steel to a three-year Entry Level Contract. The Ducks acquired the pick from the Toronto Maple Leafs—who themselves acquired it from the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Phil Kessel trade— in the Frederik Andersen trade. Steele is lighting up the WHL this season, scoring 23G and 31A in 25 games. Despite his numbers, Steele was a surprise cut from Team Canada’s World Junior Team.
- Staying with the Anaheim Ducks, forward Andrew Cogliano surpasses Jay Bouwmeester for the fifth-longest consecutive game streak with 738 consecutive games played. Cogliano has never missed a game in his entire NHL career, and is the only active player with such a significant streak from the start of their career.
- Florida Panthers forward Jaromir Jagr is two points away from tying Mark Messier for second on the NHL’s all-time points list with 1887 points. Jagr started tonight three points back but as of 7:15CST has one assist in the Panthers’ game against Buffalo Sabres. Jagr has 1885 points (755G and 1129A) in 1661 NHL games. One wonders how many more points Jagr would have amassed had he not played in the KHL from 2008-2011.
Evening Snapshots: Carolina-Detroit, Toronto-Anaheim
A look at a couple of tonight’s games around the NHL:
- 7:45 pm: Per St. James, who spoke with Red Wings general manager Ken Holland, the game has been cancelled.
- 7:43pm: The next update looks to be in about 15 minutes tweets the Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James. More boos and St. James feesl the game may be called.
- 7:08pm: The Detroit News’ Ted Kulfan tweets that repairs continue on the coolant that is causing the problems. Another update will be at 7:30pm CST. Kulfan reports that the crowd booed the announcement, which is understandable after the game was supposed to begin at 6:00pm CST.
- The game tonight between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Detroit Red Wings will be delayed at least an hour (as of 6:55pm EST) due to a malfunctioning ice-cooling system. According to the team, they discovered a freon leak in the compressor and are working to fix the issue. Neither team has had its pre-game warmups yet, so fans are in for a bit of a wait. The Red Wings, however, are up against a time crunch because they play tomorrow night in Tampa Bay against the Lightning. According to Team President Don Waddell, the NHL imposes a “22-hour rule” between starts. That means that any game must start at least 22 hours before a team’s next start. If the ice cannot be repaired in time, the NHL may postpone the game to a mutually available time.
- If the Detroit Red Wings end up playing, they will be without Tomas Jurco, reports the Detroit Free Press’s Helene St. James. Jurco has the flu and is considered day-to-day. Since returning from back surgery, the Czech forward remains scoreless in nine games and is averaging less than ten minutes of playing time a game.
- Tonight’s matchup between the Anaheim Ducks and Toronto Maple Leafs marks returns for two people: current Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle, and current Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen. Carlyle coached the Toronto Maple Leafs from 2012-15 before management fired him midway through the 2014-15 season. Carlyle remained outside the NHL until the Ducks fired Bruce Boudreau and hired Carlyle this offseason. Andersen’s return pits him against his successor John Gibson. The Ducks decided to stick with the young Gibson, and trade the then-RFA Andersen to the Maple Leafs. Both goalies won the Jennings Trophy last year with the NHL’s fewest goals against.
Pacific Division Notes: Brown, Gaborik, Bieksa
Former Los Angeles Kings team captain Dustin Brown was scratched from this afternoon’s road contest in Boston. According to Jon Rosen of L.A. Kings Insider, Brown is battling an upper-body injury and is listed as day-to-day.
Brown, who was stripped of the captaincy and replaced by Anze Kopitar this last summer, has had a moderate bounce-back campaign after the worst season of his career in 2015-16. Through 30 games Brown has contributed 14 points to the Kings attack and he’s already halfway to his points total from last year when he tallied 28 in 82 games. He is a five-time 20-goal scorer and netted 18 in the strike-shortened 2012-13 season.
With the expansion lurking around the corner, it’s been wondered whether the Vegas Golden Knights would gamble and take Brown, who is almost assuredly going to be left exposed by the Kings. While he is still capable of playing a physical role on a team’s third-line and obviously would provide the new franchise with veteran leadship, Brown has another five seasons left on his pact with an AAV of $5.875MM. Some have suggested the price tag would simply be too high for Vegas but if the Kings were willing to retain salary then it’s at least feasible the two sides could work out a trade following the expansion draft.
Elsewhere in the Pacific Division on this Sunday:
- Rosen also pointed out that it appeared right wing Marian Gaborik would be a healthy scratch today for the Kings based on what he saw at this morning’s warm-ups. That premise was confirmed by Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). Gaborik, who has been prone to injuries throughout his career, has missed all but nine games this season after hurting his foot while representing Team Europe in the recent World Cup of Hockey. He has potted just a single goal to go along with three helpers in those nine appearances and it could be that Kings head coach Darryl Sutter is growing impatient waiting for the Slovakian sniper to find his offensive game. Gaboriak is averaging just 14:28 of ice time per game, a rate that is 3 1/2 minutes below his career average. Like Brown, Gaborik is in the midst of an expensive, long-term contract that has four seasons remaining beyond 2016-17, and comes with a cap charge of $4.875MM.
- Kevin Bieksa has spent the vast majority of his 11-year career as a reliable, two-way top-four blue liner. Now in his second season with Anaheim, the 35-year-old Bieksa is averaging less than 20 minutes of ice time per game for the first time since his 39-game debut campaign in 2005-06 while with Vancouver. As Eric Stephens of The Orange County Register writes, Bieksa is not only adjusting to a lesser role but he is adapting his playing style to mask the fact he is no longer a player in his prime. Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle has encouraged the veteran blue liner to embrace the adjustments: “I think every player has to become somewhat of a chameleon,” Carlyle said. “You have to change with the game and what’s going on with it. I coached Kevin Bieksa when he was in his first year pro out of college. He was not a player, I can tell you, that many people would have believed was going to be an NHL prospect. He worked and he committed. “His personality is one that he’s a striver. And he’s done that and he’s done very well. He’s had a great career. … There’s never ever been a doubt that this guy’s not going to try. He’s going to give you everything he’s got.” As Stephens noted, Bieksa has played less than 15 minutes in each of the team’s last two contests and is skating on the third-pair. Bieksa understands the situation he is in, and as always is willing to whatever it takes to help his team: “To be a good teammate, sometimes you have to take a role that maybe you don’t like,” he said. “But if that’s what they think is in the best interests of the team, you take it, accept it and you do the best that you can.” With a plethora of NHL-caliber defenders in the organization and little cap space available to upgrade the roster elsewhere at the deadline, there have been some suggestions the team could look to move Bieksa, who has one year left at $4MM, to create added flexibility. He does possess a NMC, which adds a further layer of complexity to making a deal beyond his salary and age, however.
Injury Notes: Green, Cizikas, Huberdeau
After taking a late hit from the Anaheim Ducks’ Ryan Kesler as the game was ending last night, Red Wings’ defenseman Mike Green is “probably day to day” according to GM Ken Holland (via Brendan Savage of MLive). While the team is taking the day off, they’ll know more about his condition on Monday. The Red Wings won the game on the back of Tomas Tatar‘s first career hat trick, and Green logged his normal heavy workload. The veteran defender has 18 points in 32 games this season and is on pace for another solid year. With 413 points in 681 games, Green has been one of the most consistent offensive producers from the back end over the last decade, though he hasn’t suited up for 80+ games since 2007-08. Injuries seem to find him, and we’ll keep an eye on his status heading into Monday’s matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes.
- The Islanders announced today that Casey Cizikas will be out for a while, as he’s unable to even skate yet. The 25-year old center missed the Islanders’ last game with an upper-body injury, and it’s unclear if he’ll be back before the Christmas break. Cizikas has taken on a larger role with the team this season due to their lack of depth down the middle, playing over 14 minutes a night. With 13 points in 29 games, he was well on his way to a career year before the injury – his previous being 29 last season. In his absence, Brock Nelson moved back to center and Anders Lee moved up to the top line. Cal Clutterbuck, a longtime winger of Cizikas, was skating alongside Ryan Strome.
- Down in Florida, the return of Jonathan Huberdeau is inching closer and closer. Harvey Filakov of the Sun Sentinel tweeted out some photos of the young forward skating by himself today as the Panthers took the day off from the ice. Huberdeau has missed the entire season so far with a leg injury, after putting up a career high 20 goals and 59 points last season. As Florida struggles to a 14-13-5 record, they’ll welcome Huberdeau back with open arms and expect the former 3rd overall pick to help them push for a playoff spot down the stretch. The team could really use him, as they currently rank 23rd in goals for.
Pacific Division Snapshots: Meier, Ward, Theodore, Gagner
In an effort to spark a struggling offensive attack, the San Jose Sharks promoted their 2015 first-round pick, Timo Meier, to the big league team where it is expected he will make his NHL debut tonight, as was reported earlier today. Meier has appeared in 17 games for the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL and has tallied nine goals and 15 points in his first professional campaign. One consequence of inserting the rookie into the lineup, as Kevin Kurz of CSN Bay Area writes, is that it creates more competition and at least for tonight, respected veteran Joel Ward will be the odd-man out of the lineup.
Ward is off to a slow start this season with just two goals and nine points through 30 contests but is just one year removed from a 21-goal, 43-point campaign. He also adds value on the penalty kill, where the 10-year veteran ranks 4th among San Jose Sharks forwards in shorthanded ice time.
Sharks bench boss Peter DeBoer admits it isn’t easy to make the decision to scratch Ward, saying “those aren’t easy conversations.” But as Kurz points out, the Sharks rank just 21st in the league in scoring and after qualifying for the Stanley Cup Final last season, the pressure is on to take the next step. In order to do so, it’s evident DeBoer wants to generate more offense and is willing to tinker with the lineup to accomplish that goal.
“We’re 30 games in,” DeBoer said after Friday’s morning skate at Bell Centre. “We were good last year. We had a great season, but we weren’t good enough. It’s clear the mandate here is to take another step this year.
“Guys build up equity on what they did last year to a certain point, and then…we have to see some results. We’ve got a lot of depth here, and a lot of young guys knocking on the door. That’s the message.”
Elsewhere in the Pacific:
- Defenseman Shea Theodore has been one of the Anaheim Ducks top prospects since the moment he was drafted in the first-round of the 2013 draft. He saw his first NHL action a season ago and registered three goals and eight points in 19 contests but saw his production and ice time dip in the playoffs. Nonetheless, he was expected to challenge for a regular role in training camp but after failing to do so, Theodore was reassigned to San Diego of the AHL to start the season. However, the 21-year-old blue liner has earned another opportunity, and as Eric Stephens of The Orange County Register reports, Theodore is working hard to take advantage of it. Theodore has appeared in nine straight games and 11 of the last 12 for the Ducks. Anaheim head coach Randy Carlyle is a “no-nonsense type,” and it can be difficult for young players to earn his trust, as Stephens notes. But, Cam Fowler earned his stripes as a 19-year-old blue liner while playing under Carlyle and it’s feasible Theodore is able to do the same. Stephens adds that because both Clayton Stoner and Simon Despres remain out, the latter expected to be on the shelf long term with concussion-related symptoms, Theodore is likely to stick in the lineup for the immediate future.
- Forward Sam Gagner burst onto the scene as an 18-year-old fresh out of junior hockey, scoring 49 points in 76 games as a rookie for the Edmonton Oilers during the 2007-08 season. But in the eight full seasons since his flashy debut, Gagner failed to improve upon his rookie performance and bounced around from Edmonton to Arizona and then on to Philadelphia – although he did register at least 37 points in each campaign through 2014-15. Last season was a disaster, however, as he recorded just eight goals and 16 points in 53 games with the Flyers and found himself skating in the AHL at one point. In large part because of that disappointing performance, Gagner received little interest as a free agent this offseason, but ultimately landed on his feet, signing a one-year deal with Columbus. As Robert Tychkowski of the Edmonton Sun argues, the match between the former Oiler and the Blue Jackets couldn’t have worked out any better for the two parties. Gagner already has 12 goals and 21 points in just 26 games and is a key contributor to the Jackets #1 ranked power play unit. The 27-year-old forward is thoroughly enjoying his time in Columbus: “I’ve gotten a great opportunity to play some important minutes. I’m out there at important times of the games and I really relish that opportunity. And it’s a winning team, we’re all playing well. That’s something that’s been really fun for me.” If Gagner continues to produce at his current pace, he’ll finish with 30+ goals and around 60 points. That would prove to be an excellent return on Columbus’ minimal investment.
Pacific Notes: Anaheim’s Coaching, Versteeg, Tanev
While it’s not often that a team will change their head coach but keep all of the assistants around, that’s what the Ducks did this offseason when they brought back Randy Carlyle, writes Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register. GM Bob Murray noted that he and Carlyle had agreed to try working with the retained assistants for a year and then they would decide from there what to do but it’s hard to imagine changes at this point considering the team is comfortably in a playoff spot and only two points out of the division lead. That was different from when Murray fired Carlyle back in 2011 as both assistant coaches were let go at the same time as well.
One of Anaheim’s assistants is former Ottawa bench boss Paul MacLean. While he’s pleased with his current situation – it certainly helps that MacLean and Carlyle were teammates back with Winnipeg back in the 1980s – he indicated to Stephens that he would like to be a head coach again someday:
“Do I want to be a head coach again? Absolutely. I’d take that opportunity. If it comes my way, it would be something I would accept. But at the same time, I can’t just say I want to be that (team’s) coach. They’d have to come and ask you. If they don’t ask you, you’re not even in the conversation. My goal would be to move on and be a head coach at another point in time. Until that time arrives – or if it never arrives – I’m perfectly satisfied with the type of work that I can get done here.”
If the Ducks continue their strong play this season, it’s likely that MacLean will be in the conversation for any potential head coaching openings so that continuity behind the bench may not last much longer.
Elsewhere in the Pacific Division:
- It has been an adventurous few months for Kris Versteeg. After his deal in Switzerland was voided, he wound up with Edmonton in training camp, then spurned an offer from them to join Calgary. Now, as Wes Gilbertson of the Calgary Sun notes, Versteeg has had some tough luck with the injury bug, dealing with three separate injuries over the past six weeks. The 30 year old made his latest return to the lineup yesterday against Tampa Bay after missing two games with an upper body issue. When healthy, Versteeg has been a nice addition for the Flames with 11 points in just 20 games, giving them a bargain for his $950K cap hit.
- Canucks defenseman Chris Tanev took part in practice today, reports Sportsnet’s Dan Murphy (Twitter link). He has missed the last 20 games with an ankle injury and while he likely won’t be ready to return after just one practice, this suggests he’s at least closer to returning which would be a big boost for a Vancouver back end that is also missing Alex Edler and Philip Larsen.
Comparative Standings: One Year Ago
With the first third of the season completed for all but Columbus (who have amazingly played just 26 games, six fewer than the Winnipeg Jets), there have been some huge swings from a year ago.
Those Blue Jackets are the league’s most improved team, with a staggering 18 more points through 26 games than last season. Their huge swing is only matched by the Dallas Stars equally amazing drop-off of 18 points the other way. The Jackets can attest their improvement to the development of young players like Zach Werenski and Alexander Wennberg, while the Stars have seen a litany of injuries to their star players including Jason Spezza, Patrick Sharp and Johnny Oduya.
The Central Division as a whole is off to a slower start this year, with only the Chicago Blackhawks bettering their 2015-16 record. The Colorado Avalanche, expected to take a step forward with their young core has suffered the exact same fate with 23 points through 27 games.
The two biggest Canadian rebuild stories, Edmonton and Toronto have both improved, though not as largely as the fan bases in each city might have you believe. Four points for the Maple Leafs and five for the Oilers lend credence to the idea that it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish that counts. Though both franchises have a lot to look forward to, keeping up an advanced pace for an entire season is extremely difficult. The two teams finished last season with just 69 and 70 points respectively.
Below are the current standings. In parenthesis is the difference in points through the same amount of games last year.
Pacific Division Notes: Noesen, Domi, Jooris, Gryba, Davidson
Sometimes things just have a way of working out for the best. That turned out to be the case for the Anaheim Ducks back in the 2011 NHL draft. Curtis Zupke of the Los Angeles Times relays the story of Stefan Noesen, who was a first-round draft pick of the Ottawa Senators in 2011, but has spent the last five seasons working to establish himself as an NHL regular. During that span he has overcome two major leg injuries – torn knee ligaments in his first pro season and a lacerated Achilles the next year – and was part of a trade package Ottawa sent to Anaheim for Bobby Ryan. As Zupke notes, Noesen may not be a household name but he has an opportunity to win a job with the Ducks on the team’s fourth line.
Interestingly enough, the Ducks, who owned the 22nd choice in the 2011 draft were prepared to select Noesen but the Senators took the American winger one pick before Anaheim could pull the trigger. With their top option off the board the Ducks decided to move down the board, dealing the 22nd pick to Toronto for the 30th and 39th overall selections. The Leafs selected Tyler Biggs, who has yet to appear in the NHL and is currently playing for the Kalamazoo Wings of the ECHL. The Ducks, on the other hand, took forward Rickard Rakell at 30 and goaltender John Gibson at 39; two key contributors for Anaheim.
Meanwhile, the Ducks would get Noesen anyway when the winger was acquired from Ottawa along with Jakob Silfverberg and a first-round pick – the Ducks would choose Nick Ritchie with that selection – in exchange for Ryan.
Elsewhere in the Pacific Division:
- Yesterday it was learned that the Arizona Coyotes had placed Max Domi on IR with what was believed to be a hand injury. Officially Domi was listed as week-to-week but Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos reports (via video link) that the sophomore winger will have surgery on his injured hand and could miss as much as six weeks. When asked about the report, Coyotes GM John Chayka declined comment, according to Craig Morgan (Twitter link).
- Earlier today it was announced that the Coyotes were awarded their waiver claim on Josh Jooris, formerly of the New York Rangers. In a corresponding transaction to clear a roster space, the club reassigned Tyler Gaudet to Tucson of the AHL (Twitter link). Gaudet has appeared in four games for the Coyotes this season and has just one assist while averaging nearly 13 minutes of ice time.
- The Edmonton Oilers have been beset this season by injuries on their blue line but now it appears as if reinforcements may be on the way. The team tweeted today that injured defensemen Eric Gryba and Brandon Davidson could be back in the team’s lineup as soon as Tuesday. The possible return of Davidson has to be especially good news for the Oilers. The 25-year-old blue liner established himself as a steady presence on the team’s back end as a rookie last season.
Ryan Garbutt Clears Waivers
December 9: Garbutt has cleared waivers, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link).
December 8: According to Pierre LeBrun of ESPN, the Anaheim Ducks have decided to put forward Ryan Garbutt on waivers Thursday morning. This likely means the return of Rickard Rakell to the Ducks lineup is imminent, after missing the last few games with an upper-body injury. The team had brought up Stefan Noesen recently to fill in, but since the 23-year old is also waivers-eligible, the team doesn’t want to expose him by sending him back down.
Garbutt, signed to a three-year, $5.4MM deal in 2014 and is owed $2MM of actual salary this season (though, as Ducks8 points out down below, the Dallas Stars retained half of that hit) due to the back-loaded nature of the deal. Though the price tag is reduced, it still seems unlikely that he’ll be claimed as the 31-year old has not been able to repeat the 32 point season that earned him the deal. With just three points in 27 games this season, he is ticketed for the AHL’s San Diego Gulls for at least the immediate future.