2007 NHL Entry Draft: June 22-23

[CTDucksFan]

NHL Entry Draft hits prime time this year

NEW YORK - The 2007 NHL Entry Draft will be held Friday, June 22 and Saturday, June 23, at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, the National Hockey League announced today.

The first round will be conducted Friday night and broadcast live on VERSUS in the United States and TSN and RDS in Canada, beginning at 7 p.m., ET. Rounds two through seven will take place Saturday and start at 10 a.m., ET.

[John F]

So an absolutely horrid event -- misdirected, uninformative and filled with bogus pomp and circumstance for front offices -- moves into prime time...?

Unless they change the format and decide to start holding the draft in one location (or a non arena location) it's a moot point that the league will have the draft in prime time. The entire event, while usually broadcast by TSN and picked up by American TV, is usually covered by people who don't seem to know anything about the guys they are talking about.

[CTDucksFan]

Well, hopefully they'll try to get it right this time. I mean, ESPN had years to hone their skills in presenting a Draft (NFL). Maybe Vs/NBC will do something cool this year.

Or they'll fall on their face. Either way, I'll probably watch for a bit!

[leafspring]

tsn knows the players very well. especially bob Mackenzie.you have to be a die hard to watch the draft i think.

[John F]

You have to be a CANADIAN to watch the draft if you want to follow everything.

Mackenzie isn't the only one covering the draft though. Like I told everyone, they come off oblivious about the players being drafted. You see an extreme amount of hype about the first player and then everyone else just becomes "Well, this guy is... uh... eh?"

CT made a good point about the ESPN NFL entry draft in comparison. The difference between the NHL and NFL drafts (besides impact of the player selected in the first round) is the amount of Archival footage on hand for each player and the amount of time by ESPN and other college football analysts ranking players.

With the NHL Draft? Central Scouting Bureau is the end-all-be-all of the player rankings. Not enough film is devoted to player skills, not enough discussion is devoted to the players as-so-much team-by-team front offices.

[all4phillysportsfan]

I will be paying attention to what the Flyers do with the 2nd overall pick.

[John F]

It's a very shallow draft, All4... So it is probably a big pick but it's a long-term move. Philly may expect dividends from the guy right away but it may not happen.

[all4phillysportsfan]

Hey John there is talk that they may move that pick for a young impact player. Could we get 1 of the Tampa Bay Stars either Richards or St. Louis for the #2 pick and Pitkanen?

[John F]

Not likely. Though I ahve to tell you that asking for St. Louis and offering both that pick and Joni in exchange may be a good deal for both teams. Marty's contract isn't as expensive as Richards (league max when it was signed)... But Joni is just coming into his own.

Yet I don't see TB trading Marty for anything at all. We're also not in a rebuilding mode to want a top draft pick that may not pay dividends for years.

[all4phillysportsfan]

Joni took a step back last year. I personally want the Flyers to trade the pick for an impact scorer. I think the Flyers can get a defenseman via free agency.

[John F]

The thing is, draft picks don't hold the same value in the NHL that they do in the NFL. It changes very dramatically (value) from year to year.

If this was a deep draft and a team was desperately trying to rebuild their franchise and had a big name player to dangle -- it'd be something. Instead this is a shallow draft and the teams that need to rebuild are already in the top 10.

The Flyers need to retool the franchise into a different mold. Bobby Clarke failed at building the team post-lockout for the new rules and now the Flyers need to accomplish this. A Martin St. Louis or Jason Blake or Jerome Ignila or Alex Tanguay isn't going to put them over the top or in a better position. There need to be many moves to make the team younger as well as improve the skill level.

But hey, if you think the team should go after a veteran wing with the pick -- I'm sure the Isles will be willing to talk about Alexi Yashin :P

[all4phillysportsfan]

I think the Flyers have too many young players. I think they can afford to trade Umberger or Poultny or Pitkanen. I think the Flyers are 2 scorers, and 2 defenseman away from contending big time. They have the goaltender to take them far into the playoffs. I want the Flyers to win now, and not 5 years from now when that 2nd overall pick will be in his prime. If this draft had a Crosby or Ovechkin, then I would want the Flyers to hold onto the pick, but there is no clear cut number 1 prospect in this year's draft.

[John F]

But the Flyers only have young players now because the older players failed them miserably.

Catch-22. Age doesn't really matter in the end. It's skill and coaching fo the players in the system. The Flyers system was a relic from before the lockout and both they and the Maple Leafs employed the system and failed under it.

[all4phillysportsfan]

I think the Flyers need a new coach. I am not a John Stevens fan, except he's a tough guy, but you need someone who knows alot about playing the game the right way in the post lockout era.

[Drury77]

Well it looks like Kyle Turris has moved up in the final draft rankings.

I'm gonna pay attention to what the b's and preds do, but not sure what either team really needs to address through the draft.