2006 NHL Draft Take Two: Thirteenth 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.
Our look back at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft is now in full swing as we poll the PHR community to see who would have been selected in the first round and in what order knowing what we know now. Through the first dozen picks, we’ve already seen potential Hall of Fame players switch teams, and multiple captains move up and down the draft board.
Here are the results of the redraft so far:
1st Overall: Jonathan Toews (St. Louis Blues)
2nd Overall: Claude Giroux (Pittsburgh Penguins)
3rd Overall: Nicklas Backstrom (Chicago Blackhawks)
4th Overall: Brad Marchand (Washington Capitals)
5th Overall: Phil Kessel (Boston Bruins)
6th Overall: Jordan Staal (Columbus Blue Jackets)
7th Overall: Milan Lucic (New York Islanders)
8th Overall: Kyle Okposo (Phoenix Coyotes)
9th Overall: Erik Johnson (Minnesota Wild)
10th Overall: Derick Brassard (Florida Panthers)
11th Overall: Bryan Little (Los Angeles Kings)
12th Overall: Nick Foligno (Atlanta Thrashers)
In a fairly close vote, Foligno is off to the Thrashers, who initially picked Little with this pick. While Little plays a more premium position as a full-time center, Foligno certainly isn’t a bad consolation prize and would have fit in well with a now-Winnipeg roster that features some size and grit on the wings. Meanwhile, it’s a nice bump up the draft board for Foligno who initially went 28th to Ottawa.
Now we’ll move on to the thirteenth overall pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, which was originally held by the Toronto Maple Leafs.
With their original pick, they selected winger Jiri Tlusty out of Kladno in the Czech Republic. While his offensive numbers weren’t anything to get too excited about, the fact that he was able to play a regular role in their top league as a draft-eligible player was certainly encouraging. He spent one year after that in junior hockey before making the full-time jump into Toronto’s system in 2007-08 where he spent the bulk of the season with the Maple Leafs. However, he spent most of the next two years in the minors and in the final year of his entry-level deal, he was dealt to Carolina for Phillipe Paradis, a 2009 first rounder that ultimately didn’t make the NHL.
While that was essentially the end of Toronto’s journey with that pick, Tlusty went on to carve out a respectable career. He spent parts of six seasons with the Hurricanes before being dealt as a rental to Winnipeg at the trade deadline in 2015. He then spent a year in New Jersey before heading to Finland in 2016. However, an injury with Karpat in December of that year ended his playing days. Tlusty wrapped up his career with 177 points in 446 games, a respectable career but not a great return on a lottery selection.
With that in mind, who should Toronto take with the thirteenth selection? Make your pick in the poll below:
Mobile users, click here to vote.
Minor Transactions: 09/20/18
Even while NHL clubs trim the fat off their training camp rosters, minor league teams are adding talent for the upcoming season. We’ll keep track of the minor moves right here.
- The San Jose Barracuda have signed Keaton Middleton to an AHL contract, meaning he’ll join his brother Jake Middleton in the organization. The younger of the two Middleton boys, Keaton was selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the fourth round of the 2016 draft but failed to sign a professional contract with them and became an unrestricted free agent this summer. The towering defenseman has served as the captain for the Saginaw Spirit for the past two seasons and can be an absolute physical force on the ice when on his game.
- The Binghamton Devils have also added an interesting player on an AHL contract, inking Brian Ward to a one-year deal. Ward was a dominant offensive player for the Adirondack Thunder of the ECHL the past two seasons, and could make the jump to the AHL this year if given a chance. A former standout at St. Lawrence University, he’s still quite a distance from ever challenging for an NHL job but should give the Devils some added depth in the minor leagues.
Poll: Who Will Win The Calder Trophy In 2018-19?
The Athletic’s NHL Draft and prospects guru Scott Wheeler has released the first definitive list of candidates for the Calder Trophy in 2018-19, and the order may surprise some people. Admittedly, the list is in the context of fantasy hockey, but Wheeler’s rankings are true to how he thinks Calder voting will unfold if each rookie hits their stat projections. As such, it’s not this year’s first overall pick, Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, at the top of the list, but presumptive top-six center for the Vancouver Canucks, Elias Pettersson. Pettersson will be put in a much better position to rack up points than will Dahlin, the next-best candidate, as potentially one of the three best scoring forwards for the Canucks and traditionally productive forwards have a better shot at the Calder than (relatively) equally productive defensemen.
Coming in at number three is Boston Bruins forward Ryan Donato, who led both the NCAA and Olympics in goals last season and will look to win a top-six role for Boston and continue to find the back of the net at an alarming rate. Playing alongside either Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron or David Krejci and Jake DeBrusk is an easy way for Donato to quickly become an elite scorer at the NHL level. The fourth-ranked candidate is second overall pick Andrei Svechnikov of the Carolina Hurricanes, who – like Pettersson – will be given an immense amount of responsibility right away as a top-six winger who is arguably already one of the three most skilled forwards on the team. However, Svechnikov is one of three Hurricanes rookies on Wheeler’s list, which could take away from his case. Rounding out the top five is Dahlin’s fellow rookie in Buffalo, center Casey Mittelstadt, who scored at nearly a point-per-game pace in the college ranks and in a brief stint with the Sabres to end the year. Mittelstadt should face favorable match-ups this season with the lines anchored by Jack Eichel and Patrik Berglund drawing considerable attention from the opposition.
Wheeler’s top twenty Calder Trophy candidates are as follows:
- C Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks
- D Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres
- RW Ryan Donato, Boston Bruins
- RW Andrei Svechnikov, Carolina Hurricanes
- C Casey Mittelstadt, Buffalo Sabres
- RW Filip Zadina, Detroit Red Wings
- C Dylan Strome, Arizona Coyotes
- C Henrik Borgstrom, Florida Panthers
- C Martin Necas, Carolina Hurricanes
- D Miro Heiskanen, Dallas Stars
- RW Dylan Sikura, Chicago Blackhawks
- RW Eeli Tolvanen, Nashville Predators
- C Filip Chytil, New York Rangers
- LW Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa Senators
- LW Valentin Zykov, Carolina Hurricanes
- RW Kailer Yamamoto, Edmonton Oilers
- C Anthony Cirelli, Tampa Bay Lightning
- LW Kristian Vesalainen, Winnipeg Jets
- C Sam Steel, Anaheim Ducks
- RW Vitaly Abramov, Columbus Blue Jackets
Honorable Mentions: C Vladislav Kamenev, Colorado Avalanche; LW Jordan Greenway, Minnesota Wild; C Robert Thomas, St. Louis Blues; LW Andreas Johnsson, Toronto Maple Leafs; C Michael Rasmussen, Detroit Red Wings; C Lias Andersson, New York Rangers; D Sami Niku, Winnipeg Jets; D Evan Bouchard, Edmonton Oilers; RW Daniel Sprong, Pittsburgh Penguins
What do you think? Who will be the NHL’s Rookie of the Year and take home the Calder Trophy at the end of the season? The favorite? The first overall pick? Another top candidate? Or a name not even mentioned here?
Atlantic Notes: Canadiens, Maple Leafs, Senators
If you were heading into the season believing that Jonathan Drouin will be the first-line center for the Montreal Canadiens, you may have to rethink that position. GM Marc Bergevin was on TSN radio today and told Tony Marinaro that he currently projects Max Domi, Phillip Danault, Tomas Plekanec and Matthew Peca as the four centers for the Canadiens to start the year. Drouin obviously still could end up at the position at some point given Domi’s lack of experience there, but it sounds like he’ll be starting on the wing.
The Canadiens have been searching for center help for quite some time, and though there is help on the way with prospects Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Ryan Poehling and Nick Suzuki—though the latter has played quite a bit of wing as well during his junior career—2018-19 doesn’t look like it will necessarily be any different. For Drouin at least the move might be beneficial, given that he struggled to score last season down the middle with just 13 goals in 77 games.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs meanwhile aren’t handing out roster spots at all to their young players, instead expecting them to earn a role in training camp. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet writes that Mike Babcock expects both Travis Dermott and Andreas Johnsson, who are expected to play big roles on the Maple Leafs going forward, to prove that they deserve spots instead of just acting like they’ve “arrived now.” Many Toronto fans are hoping that Dermott will be part of the solution to their perceived defensive woes this season, but he’ll have to convince his head coach that he’s ready before being handed a full-time job.
- Ottawa Senators GM Pierre Dorion was on CBC radio with Robyn Bresnahan today, speaking about the dilemma he faced with the recent Erik Karlsson situation. Dorion admitted that he knew he couldn’t “get nothing” for Karlsson by watching him walk away in free agency next offseason. Contract negotiations quickly broke down between the two sides this offseason, meaning Dorion felt he “owed it to our fans to tell them what the plan was and before the season started.” The team is quite openly in rebuild mode, and are expected to give plenty of opportunities to young players this season.
Training Camp Cuts: 9/16/18
With training camp fully underway, teams area already making cuts as they send players to juniors or back overseas. Here’s a rundown of today’s moves:
- The Carolina Hurricanes announce they have assigned three players back to their junior teams, including forwards Stelio Mattheos, Luke Henman and defenseman Brendan De Jong. Mattheos, the team’s third-round pick in 2018 will return to the Brandon Wheat Kings where he scored 43 goals last year in the WHL. Henman was the team’s fourth-round pick in this year’s draft and will return to the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada of the QMJHL. De Jong was a 2017 sixth-round pick, who will return to the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs have trimmed their training camp roster from 77 to 46 as they have sent eight players back to their junior teams, loaned one to Europe and sent another 17 to the Toronto Marlies’ training camp today, according to Postmedia’s Lance Hornby. That leaves 46 players in the Maple Leafs’ camp. The team sent Zachary Bouthillier, Filip Kral, Owen Lalonde, Ryan McGregor, Roman Pucek, Ian Scott, Riley Stotts, and Eli Zummack. The team also loaned Jesper Lindgren back to HPK of Finland’s Liiga. The team also sent Matthew Bradley, Sean Durzi, Hudson Elynuik, Giorgio Estephan, Brady Ferguson, Alex Gudbranson, Mac Hollowell, Sam Jardine, Kasimir Kaskisuo, Stefan LeBlanc, Eamon McAdam, Griffen Molino, Ryan Moore, Zach O’Brien, JJ Piccinich, Scott Pooley, Kristians Rubins to the Marlies training camp.
- The Detroit Red Wings announced they cut 10 players from camp today as they now stand at 61 players. The team assigned forwards Zach Gallant and Brady Gilmour as well as defensemen Cole Fraser, Jared McIsaac, Alec Regula and Reilly Webb to their respective junior teams. The team also released forwards Pavel Gogolev, Maxim Golod and Nicolas Guay as well as goaltender Justin Fazio from their amateur tryouts.
- The Edmonton Oilers announced they have cut three players from the training camp roster today and returned them to their junior teams, including forward Kirill Maksimov, defenseman Dmitri Samorukov and goaltender Olivier Rodrigue. Samorukov and Maksimov were the team’s third-round and fifth-round picks, respectively in 2017, while Rodrigue was their second-rounder this year.
Atlantic Notes: Krug, Zaitsev, Formenton
Throughout the offseason, there have been lots of rumors surrounding the Boston Bruins, including many names that had been bandied about, including their top defenseman Torey Krug, whose name came up on several occasions while Boston was looking for a top-six winger. It wasn’t that they wanted to get rid of him, but logically, Krug would have made the most sense to move with the emergence of Charlie McAvoy. The crowded defense probably could survive without him and with his cap hit of $5.25MM AAV, the team could use the cap relief. Not to mention the fact that he’s posted 110 points over the course of the last two seasons.
In the end, the team never moved Krug or even came that close to moving him. Regardless, Krug laughed off the trade rumors, according to Joe Haggerty of NBC Sports.
“I don’t really see anybody doing my job here. I just have to make sure I show up every day and do the job the best that I can,” said Krug, who remained behind in Boston while rehabbing a fractured ankle as the bulk of the team trains in China. “You can’t really worry about too many things that people are saying. You go back to that famous line that it’s the nature of the business. So I’m still here and ready to do my job.”
- Kristen Shilton of TSN writes that Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Nikita Zaitsev took it hard last season when he struggled after returning from injury last season. The 26-year-old was coming off an impressive rookie season in which he four goals and 36 points, but after breaking his foot, while blocking a shot on Dec. 15, his season took a turn for the worse. He came back after missing 17 games, but never was the same. “[You’re] not confident in yourself,” Zaitsev said on Saturday, reflecting on his return during Toronto’s training camp session at Gale Centre Arena. “Missing six weeks, it was [really hard]. It’s not an excuse, though. I started the season really good and I was confident in every minute what I did on the ice. After [getting hurt] I just couldn’t keep myself on the same level.” He hopes that now, finally healthy, he should be able to bounce back next season.
- The Ottawa Senators might be heading for a full-blown rebuild, but that’s just fine for 19-year-old Alex Formenton, who has impressed the coaching staff after a couple days of training camp, according to Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen. The 2017 second-rounder made the team as an 18-year-old out of training camp last season, but was sent back after playing just two games before being sent back to his junior team. However, it’s his speed that has really impressed the staff this year as he has been already teamed with Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel in practice. “He makes a few guys look like cones out there,” Ottawa Senators coach Guy Boucher said of Formenton, who scored during Saturday’s intrasquad scrimmage. “It’s not the guys’ fault. It’s just that he’s so impressive. If you give this guy a bit of room and you didn’t gap up well, goodbye. A few of our older guys are finding that out.”
Toronto’s Dubas Isn’t Budging On Contract Standoff With William Nylander
With still a number of restricted free agents around the league opting not to attend training camp, many people find themselves looking at the most prominent of them in Toronto Maple Leafs’ William Nylander, who still hasn’t come to an agreement with Toronto and rumor have the two sides being far apart. The 22-year-old winger, who was the eighth-overall selection back in 2014, has put up two solid 20-goal, 60-point campaigns and could be ready for a breakout season.
Regardless, negotiations seem to be at a standstill. Maple Leafs’ general manager Kyle Dubas did a Q&A with students from his alma mater, Brock University this morning and had an interesting response when asked when the team was going to sign Nylander.
“As soon as possible,” said Dubas. “If we want to sustain success here we can’t be setting any marketplace records.”
According to Kevin McGran of the Star, Dubas made it clear that the team wasn’t budging on its offer to Nylander, who is rumored to be seeking $8MM per season, while the Maple Leafs are offering around $6.5MM. Dubas also said he isn’t worried if Nylander misses some of training camp. Due to all its salary cap issues over the next several years, Dubas has to make sure not to overpay any one player, considering he still has to sign Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner to extensions as well.
While there is no confirmation of the $8MM salary demand from Nylander, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, in his most recent 31 Thoughts column, writes that he believes that Nylander is asking for Leon Draisaitl money at $8.5MM per season and is likely accurate for several reasons. He writes that agents are always high, but they are using the Draisaitl comparison since Draisaitl posted 129 points in his first two seasons, while Nylander has posted 122. Throw in the fact that Connor McDavid new contract last season pushed Draisaitl’s pricetag up, the same is likely to happen as Nylander will want to be near the salaries that Matthews and Marner will eventually get (not to mention the money that Tavares got this offseason).
Dubas and the Maple Leafs are hoping that Nylander will take a little less money being on a deep, dominant playoff team, something that other players have already done such as Tavares, Nazem Kadri and Morgan Rielly already have.
Snapshots: Orpik, Ennis, Bruins-Flames
While the irony of the situation was clear all along, the assumption was that there was no issue with the Washington Capitals’ trade of Brooks Orpik to Colorado earlier this off-season, the Avalanche’s subsequent buyout of Orpik’s contract, and then the veteran defenseman re-signing with the Caps. However, GM Brian MacLellan told The Associated Press’ Stephen Whyno that the team actually underwent a thorough investigation from the NHL. The league questioned Washington executives about the team’s trade and later signing of Orpik to a lesser salary than the one bought out. It is illegal for a team to re-sign any player they themselves initially bought out, but Orpik was bought out by Colorado. As such, the investigation did not uncover any conspiracy; the league found that the Capitals conducted themselves “above board”, as MacLellan put it. He stated that there would be no further repercussions from what seems to just be an honest coincidence. Whyno reached out to NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly, who confirmed that the Capitals were cleared of any alleged wrongdoing. The Capitals are now set to save significant cap space on the same services. Had they held on to Orpik this summer, he would be making $5.5MM against the cap. Instead, they were able to sign him to a $1MM deal with incentives that is much kinder to their salary cap crunch. It’s fair to be skeptical of that circumvention, but MacLellan affirms that the team “did everything by the book”, making it simply shrewd business management on their part.
- One player who wasn’t as fortunate as Orpik following his buyout is forward Tyler Ennis. After injuries forced Ennis out of Buffalo last summer, with the Sabres trading him to the Wild, Minnesota also couldn’t get the former rising star going and bought out the remainder of his contract earlier this summer. Ennis’ value has plummeted so far over the past three seasons that it completely overshadowed the fact that he recorded 212 points in 345 games in the five seasons prior. Ennis could only manage to land a one-year deal worth the minimum salary, a $650K pact with the Toronto Maple Leafs, and that only came after a series of meetings with GM Kyle Dubas in which he had to sell himself to the young Toronto executive. Yet, TSN’s Kristen Shilton writes that this has done nothing but motivate Ennis. Speaking with determined veteran at the start of Leafs training camp, Ennis said “Absolutely, I have something to prove. There are a lot of people that doubt me, there are a lot of people that have written me off and I’m just here to show them I have a lot left to give… My goal is to show people that I can play, that I have a lot of talent still and I’m ready to work.” With William Nylander still unsigned and not in camp, Ennis has had the good fortune of filling his spot on a line with Matthews and Patrick Marleau thus far in camp, which is a good way for him to impress the Maple Leafs’ brass. Shilton notes that he has already impressed teammates and coaches alike thus far and could be well on his way to a key role in Toronto this season. It would be quite the rebound story for a player who is correct in his opinion that many people have counted him out, but those same people could soon be forced to change their minds.
- Believe it or not, the NHL preseason kicks off in just over six hours. The Boston Bruins and Calgary Flames are set to square off in Shenzen, China at the Universiade Sports Center in the first of two match-ups of the 2018 O.R.G. NHL China Games. Despite the odd timing for fans in North America, both the NHL Network and Sportsnet will air the contest, which begins at 2:30 AM Boston time and 12:30 AM Calgary time. For those staying up for the first game of the 2018-19 season, both the Bruins and Flames have released their split squad rosters who have made the trip and will compete in the series. Tonight’s game marks the beginning of Boston’s evaluation of several young forwards fighting for a top-six right wing spot and third-line center spot, while Calgary must determine both who their primary backup goaltender and how the bottom-six will work out.
Early Notes: Lehner, Matthews, Nylander
Last season went down as the worst statistical season Robin Lehner had during his time as a Buffalo Sabres goaltender, registering just a .908 save percentage while putting together a 14-26-9 record. His struggles weren’t just localized in the crease though, as the 27-year old explained in an incredibly open and honest piece for The Athletic today. Lehner revealed struggles with mental health and alcoholism that he has dealt with for some time, and only just started getting help for.
Though his departure from the Sabres at the end of the year may have been surprising given the team invested a first-round pick in him a few years earlier when they acquired him from the Ottawa Senators, Lehner explains it was anything but contentious. Sabres GM Jason Botterill has apparently stayed in touch with Lehner all offseason to make sure things were trending in the right direction for him, and the New York Islanders have embraced him as part of their squad for this season.
- Auston Matthews doesn’t have a long-term extension with the Toronto Maple Leafs yet, but that doesn’t mean he’s not committed to being with the team for a long time. Newcomer John Tavares confirmed as much in an interview alongside Matthews, telling Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman that the young forward’s commitment was part of the selling process on Toronto. The two star centers seem comfortable with each other already and easily deflected any questions about the Maple Leafs captaincy going forward.
- Matthews’ teammate William Nylander on the other hand is still not under contract and won’t be at the start of training camp as he continues his negotiations. Head coach Mike Babcock and GM Kyle Dubas both downplayed the situation by indicating that there are many players who go through this process around the league, but wouldn’t give an update as to when the Maple Leafs can expect Nylander on the ice. The young forward is looking for a long-term contract to secure his future in Toronto but there have been reports of a substantial gap between the two sides.
Latest On William Nylander Negotiations
The Toronto Maple Leafs announced their training camp roster today and young forward William Nylander was not on it as he continues to negotiate his next contract. Though both sides seemed very confident that a deal would be done before the season, nothing has been announced yet as the team prepares for camp to open. Darren Dreger was on TSN radio earlier today discussing the situation, and suggested that other sources around the league believe that Nylander’s ask could have been around $8MM per season. The Maple Leafs meanwhile, according to Dreger, are looking at other comparables that sit somewhere in the $6-7MM range.
Nylander, 22, is coming out of his entry-level contract and has made it clear that he would rather sign a long-term deal with the Maple Leafs. The team meanwhile has to carefully consider their options, given that big extensions are coming down the pipe for Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner at some point. After handing out a $77MM contract to John Tavares this summer, the team could be trying to get Nylander on a bridge contract for now and deal with the cap problems up front later. Nylander’s teammates meanwhile have said that they expect him in camp, though unless something is announced in the next few hours it doesn’t seem likely that he’ll be there for day one.
The Maple Leafs are a rising pick to contend for the Stanley Cup this season after their big free agent acquisition, but there is more than just Nylander’s deal to be done before they find themselves in the playoffs. The team’s defense still has several question marks given Travis Dermott‘s relative inexperience and the lackluster right side, while there isn’t a ton of depth after their big three centers. At camp there will be a battle for the backup goaltender position as well, but the biggest distraction will easily be Nylander’s contract situation if it drags out. Though the report of $8MM could have just been an initial ask when the negotiations started, the two sides obviously haven’t yet come together on a number that suits both the long-term financial structure of the Maple Leafs and Nylander’s self perceived worth as an up and coming star.
After two consecutive seasons with 61 points, Nylander has already established himself as one of the better players from the 2014 draft. When we examined a group of players from that class and asked the PHR community which they’d rather have, the young Maple Leafs forward came in second behind David Pastrnak and ahead of both Nikolaj Ehlers and Dylan Larkin. If that’s his value going forward, he’d have to settle for a deal somewhere between Ehlers’ $6.0MM and Pastrnak’s $6.67MM cap hits.