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Poll: 2005 NHL Draft Take Two: Fourteenth Overall Pick

at CDT | by 2 Comments

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)

Now we move forward to the 14th pick, which was held by the Washington Capitals.

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, Washington selected hulking blueliner Sasha Pokulok.  It’s safe to say they’d love a do-over with this one.  Pokulok was drafted out of Cornell and turned pro early one year later.  He spent the bulk of his entry level contract in the ECHL and was let go shortly thereafter without getting into an NHL game.  He then went overseas for a few years, spending time in Germany, Austria, Croatia, and Kazakhstan.  He currently is playing in the LNAH in his fourth season there, a minor pro league in Quebec with any hopes of making the NHL completely gone.

With the 14th pick of the 2005 NHL Redraft, who should the Washington Capitals select?  Cast your vote below!

Mobile users, click here to vote.

Kotkansalo Commits To Boston University

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One of the best defenseman available in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft is set to join the team that cleaned up at the top of the 2016 Draft, Boston University. This June, the Terriers watched as a combination of current players and 2016-17 commits were selected all over the first round of the NHL Draft. Freshman Clayton Keller went #7 to the Arizona Coyotes, sophomore defenseman Charlie McAvoy was taken by the hometown Boston Bruins at #14, freshman defenseman Dante Fabbro went soon after at #17 to the Nashville Predators, and almost immediately following that, freshman forward Kieffer Bellows went #19 to the New York Islanders. Yet another freshman defenseman, Chad Krys, was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks in the second round. After the recent commitment of Kasper Kotkansalo, BU will have yet another defenseman go early in 2017.

Kotkansalo, a strong, Finnish defenseman who played most of his junior hockey with the Espoo Blues in Finland, finally made the jump overseas this year to play with the Sioux Falls Stampede of the USHL. Just three games in to the new campaign, Kotkansalo has decided where he’ll be going for his next season in North America, as he’ll head to Boston to join the Terriers. In a draft that looks to be dominated early on by CHL junior players, Kotkansalo appears to be one of only three NCAA-bound players that look like first round picks at this point. His Blues and World Juniors teammate Eeli Tolvanen has gone from friend to foe, joining USHL rival Sioux City Musketeers this season, having already committed to joining BU’s biggest rival, the Boston College Eagles, next year. Tolvanen is expected not only to be a first round pick, but a top ten pick. After the winger Tolvanen is center Casey Mittelstadt, an American playing for the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers and committed to the University of Minnesota. Mittelstadt too is a bona-fide first rounder, with potential to move up into the top ten ranger as well.

Rounding out the group is Kotkansalo, who is expected by most to be a mid-to-late first round pick, and right now is realistically the only NCAA-bound defenseman capable of being taken near the top of the draft. The fact that he is headed to a school where he will play with other top picks may be enticing for teams, as Boston University has put together an elite team where player development is assured. Watch for the big Finnish blue liner this June in the NHL Draft and next year in NCAA action with the BU Terriers.

Poll: 2005 NHL Draft Take Two: Thirteenth Overall Pick

at CDT | by 1 Comment

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)

Now we move forward to the 13th pick, which was held by the Buffalo Sabres.

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 Sabres selected forward Marek Zagrapan, a high scoring forward out of Chicoutimi of the QMJHL.  Suffice it to say, this is a selection that didn’t pan out.  After turning pro, he spent three seasons in Buffalo’s farm system, never getting past the AHL level.  After that time, he departed back overseas and has not yet returned.  He spent the last two seasons in Austria but has moved on to Slovakia for the 2016-17 season.

With the 13th pick of the 2005 NHL Redraft, who should the Buffalo Sabres select?  Cast your vote below!

Mobile users, click here to vote.

Poll: 2005 NHL Draft Take Two: Twelfth Overall Pick

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

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)

Now we move forward to the twelfth pick, which was held by the New York Rangers.

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 Rangers picked blueliner Marc Staal.  While the team was hopeful his two-way game from the junior level to the pros, that hasn’t been the case although Staal has been a core player in New York for quite some time as a shutdown defender.  He has played in 618 career NHL games – all with the Rangers – which ranks ninth highest among all players drafted in 2005.  Of those in front of him in that regard, only three others have played that many games with the team that drafted them.  Staal is likely to remain with the team for several more years as he still has five years left on his current contract (including this season) with a cap hit of $5.7MM with some form of no-trade protection in every year of the deal.

With the twelfth pick of the 2005 NHL Redraft, who should the New York Rangers select?  Cast your vote below!

Mobile users, click here to vote.

Poll: 2005 NHL Draft Take Two: Eleventh Overall Pick

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

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)

Now we move forward to the eleventh pick, which was held by the Los Angeles Kings.

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 Kings selected Slovenian center Anze Kopitar.  While it’s uncommon for someone from a ’non-hockey’ nation to make it big in the NHL, it’s safe to say that Kopitar has done more than anyone could have hoped for.  He has played in 765 games so far in his career – all with Los Angeles – and has 685 points, making him the second highest scorer of this draft class only behind Sidney Crosby and now serves as their team captain as well.  Back in January, the Kings handed him the richest deal in franchise history, an eight year pact worth $80MM.

With the eleventh pick of the 2005 NHL Redraft and Kopitar now off the board (having gone third overall), who should the Los Angeles Kings select? Cast your vote below!

Mobile users, click here to vote.

Poll: 2005 NHL Draft Take Two: Tenth Overall Pick

at CDT | by 3 Comments

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)

Now we move forward to the tenth pick, which was held by the Vancouver Canucks.

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 Canucks selected defenseman Luc Bourdon.  He made his NHL debut just one year later, getting into nine games before going back to junior and it appeared he was ready to become a regular a few years later after he split 2007-08 between the AHL and NHL.  Tragically, he was killed the following offseason after his motorcycle collided with a tractor trailer.

With the tenth pick of the 2005 NHL Draft, who should the Vancouver Canucks select? Cast your vote below!

Mobile users, click here to vote.

Poll: 2005 NHL Draft Take Two: Ninth Overall Pick

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

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)

Now we move forward to the ninth pick, which was held by the Ottawa Senators.

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 Senators selected blueliner Brian Lee with their top pick.  He was coming off an injury-marred season with Lincoln of the USHL which had him under the radar but the Sens were hoping that he’d become a solid two-way blueliner.  While he has over 200 NHL games under his belt, Lee never really became more than a depth defender and five years later, Ottawa dealt him to Tampa Bay for Matt Gilroy, who came to the NHL as a coveted NCAA free agent signing but he too never panned out.  Lee last played in 2012-13, splitting the season between the Lightning and their AHL affiliate.

With the ninth pick of the 2005 NHL Draft, who should the Ottawa Senators select? Cast your vote below!

Mobile users click here to vote.

Poll: 2005 NHL Draft Take Two: Seventh Overall Pick

at CDT | by 2 Comments

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)

Now we move forward to the seventh pick, which was held by the Chicago Blackhawks.

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, Chicago selected college-bound winger Jack Skille out of the US National Development Team Program.  However, he failed to live up to his draft billing with the Hawks, as he played in just 79 games with the team over four seasons before being dealt to Florida in a package that netted them Michael Frolik.  Over the past several years, he has spent time with the Panthers, Blue Jackets, and Avalanche and is currently on a tryout deal with Vancouver.  For his career, Skille has 75 points in 313 NHL games, which is far from good production from a top ten selection.

With the seventh pick of the 2005 NHL Draft, who should the Chicago Blackhawks select? Cast your vote below!


For Trade Rumors app users on iOS, click here to vote.

Poll: 2005 NHL Draft Take Two: Sixth Overall Pick

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

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)

Now we move forward to the sixth pick, which was held by the Columbus Blue Jackets.

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 Blue Jackets selected Vancouver Giants center Gilbert Brule.  Suffice it to say, that pick did not work out well.  He spent three seasons with Columbus before being dealt to the Oilers for rugged winger Raffi Torres.  After a couple of years there, it was off to Phoenix for a cup of coffee with the Coyotes.  He is currently playing in this third straight KHL season after collecting just 95 points in 299 NHL games.

With the sixth pick of the 2005 NHL Draft, who should the Columbus Blue Jackets select? Cast your vote below!


For Trade Rumors app users on iOS, click here to vote.

Poll: 2005 NHL Draft Take Two: Fifth Overall Pick

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

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)

Now we move forward to the fifth pick, which was held by the Montreal Canadiens.

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 Canadiens chose goaltender Carey Price.  The pick was a surprise to many and came under criticism since the team already had Jose Theodore between the pipes and Jaroslav Halak in their system.  Many figured they would have been better off with a forward like Gilbert Brule or a defenseman like Marc Staal.  Of course, the selection has turned out quite well for Montreal as Price has become their franchise player (while Theodore wound up being traded near the 2006 trade deadline).

With the fifth pick of the 2005 NHL Draft, who should the Montreal Canadiens select? Cast your vote below!


For Trade Rumors app users on iOS, click here to vote.

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