Draft Recap...Trades Coming?

Hello hockey fans, Blues fans, and FORF fans looking to view Marty Winkler’s latest Cards analysis. After an intense forty-eight hours and another day for recovery the news surrounding the draft is starting to slow.  However before we get down to business, I would like to invite a round of applause from all you FORF fans.  Yes, we are congratulating yours truly.  If anyone questioned my credibility, I’m sure those questions were answered when I successfully picked the top four picks in last Friday’s NHL Draft.  I’ll pause to let the cheers from my parents in the back row die down a bit. 

                         

  Now to the matter at hand.  Following the draft and the recent buyout of Jay McKee’s contract. I believe there is big news on the horizon for Blues fans. 

The 2009 draft choices have left me slightly baffled.  The Blues need an elite goal scorer, and soon.  Keith Tkachuk is on limited time before he retires, as is Paul Kariya, and neither are goal scorers anymore.  Brad Boyes is streaky at best and needs a quality setup guy to be effective.  After a 40-goal binge in 2008, it seems he will grow into a 25-35-goal scorer.  David Perron, Andy McDonald and T.J. Oshie are all solid players but not one of them will probably hit the fifty-goal mark.  Finally Patrik Berglund will probably take a couple of years before he becomes the goal scorer the Blues believe he will be.  So the Blues face a problem, too many setup guys, not enough scorers.  Dany Heately is available for trade, but he comes with a price tag and baggage.  The two Marians, Hossa and Gaborik are available via free agency; it’ll take more than a student loan to Harvard Law to sign one of them.  But finally, there’s Phil Kessel.  Rumor has it that the Blues had actually traded for Kessel in 2009, but the paperwork hadn’t made it to the NHL before the deadline.

 

Both sides deny this rumor, but regardless the rumor suggests interest between both parties in dealing.  But I won’t waste your time with rumors, lets check out the facts.

            Jarmo Kekalainen is known around hockey as a guy who will often go off the board on draft day to get a player he wants. Jarmo has said time and time again that he refuses to draft for team needs and instead will always take the best available player at the time.  This is where I become confused.  

                                                      

  I believe when the Blues selected David Rundblad as the 17^th overall pick, there were two players available not only better, but also better suited for the Blues.  Let’s start with 5^th ranked North American skater and my personal pick, Jordan Schroeder.  Most mock drafts including my own, had him taken by the 12^th pick.  He did however fall to 22^nd overall.  At 5’8 size may have played a role, so I’ll let that one slide. But Jacob Josefson?  He’s a Swedish dynamo that could play with Patrik Berglund or Brad Boyes and make them both 30-40-goal scorers, while scoring 30 himself.  He’s the third best European skater in the draft.  I know the rule of thumb is, “build your team from the net out,” but frankly the Blues have already done so.  This team is stacked on the blue line for years to come with Eric Johnson (1^st overall in 2006), Alex Pietrangelo (4^th overall 2008), and Ian Cole (18^th overall 2007).  Not to mention the already established youngsters Carlo Colaiacovo (17^th overall 2001) and Roman Polak (a Jarmo steal at 180^th overall in 2004).  Fill in vets Barret Jackman, Eric Brewer, and Mike Weaver and the team already struggles to trim the list down to the seven D needed for a game.  Then there’s Jonas Junland, Cade Fairchild, and David Warsofsky, all players who will have solid NHL careers.            

            So why draft three more defensemen when the team lacks an elite lamp lighter?  Here’s where the excitement comes in.  I believe the trade winds are blowing in St. Louis.  Buying out the final year of Jay McKee’s four million dollar deal opens up salary cap room for the Blues.  Trading from the wealth of team defense may free up even more room.  I won’t stake my reputation on it just yet, but I will however gloat in my next column if Bruins star forward Phil Kessel wears the Blue Note soon.  

NHL Draft Day '09

            Ladies and gents, the day is finally here!  It’s been a long wait, but fear not, the anticipation will be well worth it.  The NHL draft is upon us at last, and with the 2009 draft comes not just one of the deepest draft classes in recent memory, but also one of the most variable in terms of selection predictions.  Simply put the talent pool is so deep that close to any player could be selected at any position in the first round. 

This is most evident at the top where for the first time since 2003 there is no true consensus first pick.  Naturally the favorite to go number 1 is the remarkably skilled John Tavares whose highlight reel goals dazzled even the casual ESPN hockey fan during the World Junior Championship last Winter.   

However a strong argument can be made for Victor Hedman, Sweden’s own version of Ivan Drago on skates.  At 6’6 and 220lbs this 18 year old man-boy has already inspired comparisons to Chris Pronger, and would be a great choice for a team looking to rebuild its team from the net out (Islander fans your prayers have been answered).  If Hedman goes first overall, look for teams to try to deal with Tampa for the second pick and a shot at Tavares. 

Long shots for the number one pick include Evander Kane, and Matt Duchene, two dynamic centers guaranteed to round out the top four and make a General Manager giddy with excitement. 

Normally the Blues’ front office would be salivating for either Duchene or Kane, or both, but Blues fans instead watched the team make a playoff run and drop into the lower half of the first round.  Fortunately for Jarmo, and CO, the talent flows like wine.  The Blues find themselves at a crossroads for JD’s rebuilding agenda.  With the 17^th pick anyone from Jordan Schroeder, (an exciting American forward from Minnesota) to Jacob Josefson (an explosive two-way playmaker from Sweden whom Patrik Berglund could benfit from) could be in play.  But with the 17^th pick and a previously successful season (ahead of schedule mind you) comes the temptation to deal for the quick fix.  Over the short offseason, multiple sources and bloggers have mentioned Dan Heatley, Chris Pronger, and even Phil Kessel as players the Blues may take a run at.  Andy Strickland of www.Hockeybuzz.com wrote recently that the Blues are looking to make a splash on draft day.  With a wealth of prospects, could some blockbuster deals be on the horizon?  As the best and only hockey expert employed by From Out of…Right Field, I can confidently say a big deal involving T.J. Oshie, Patrik Berglund, David Perron, or Alex Pietrangelo is a huge mistake at this stage in the rebuilding process.  Everyone knows you don’t open a fine bottle of wine in the first two years.  You let it age into something you can truly savor.  Mark my words, those four players are perennial all stars within three years from now, and probably sooner.

            As for my predictions, John Tavares will go number one, and the Blues will select Jacob Josefson with the 17^th pick, or will possibly trade up for a shot at Jordan Schroeder.  Since it’s my blog, I don’t have to decide for sure. 

            Finally.  I know most of you have torn the last page off of your draft day countdown calendars and have already settled in with your twelve pack of Labatt Blue on ice waiting for Six p.m.  But for the rest of you I have developed a checklist of 6 questions to answer before you can enjoy the draft. 

1.     Do I have Versus?

2.     What channel is Versus? 

3.     Have I seen John Tavares’ brilliance? (see above video)

4.     Why would the Blues want Chris Pronger again?

5.     How do I actually pronounce Jarmo Kekalainen?  Do I know who he is?

6.     Why do they boo Gary Bettman so much?

The answers are available online…Enjoy the draft people!