2011 NHL Draft Results

Gopher Blog · Post by **Gopher Blog** » Mon Jun 27, 2011 11:03 am

BBB wrote:i bet that when the other 29 GMs (who manage teams that do not play in St. Paul) heard Lucia's name called at 60, they thought to themselves, "damn! why didn't we think of that."
Looking at McKenzies rankings, I see he had a kid who tore up the OHL a few spots ahead of Lucia and CSB had the same player 8 spots ahead of Lucia. He went 61st after the Wild took Lucia at 60. Do you think Fletcher and the gang thought about taking a higher ranked, more experienced, kid from Ontario and/or even trading up to do so?

1. Teams are looking at how they believe a player projects in five years. The "experience" stuff is not much of a factor with 18 year olds.

2. Every team is going to have a different draft board. Maybe the Wild had Lucia much higher than the player you mentioned. It is hard to say. Look how much higher Kyle Rau was selected compared to where Central Scouting had him. It isn't all that clear cut and every team is different.

I don't really see how it is much of an advantage to the Wild to trade a few picks in order to land a guy simply because of where he comes from. It's not like that is going to matter a hell of a lot to fans next year or the year after that if the Wild stink.

"God! The Wild suck! But I'm OK with it because they have Mario Lucia in their system." Umm, yeah. I'm sure that will help a lot.

My point in using McKenzie's list (or where Central Scouting had him in North America rankings) is that a lot of scouts liked him at a higher spot than 60 and they could care less about what state he comes from.

observer · Post by **observer** » Mon Jun 27, 2011 11:35 am

I'm not seeing "older" players drafted out of colleges or the USHL. All seem to be younger ones (92-93). Are the older players just signed as free agents? Another draft? Do teams feel they need to draft the younger, ranked, players now or they won't be available when the time is right for them to make an impact? Seems like that leaves a lot of NCAA and USHL players maybe better equiped to play in the league sooner than those just drafted.

O-townClown · Post by **O-townClown** » Mon Jun 27, 2011 3:35 pm

observer wrote:I'm not seeing "older" players drafted out of colleges or the USHL. All seem to be younger ones (92-93). Are the older players just signed as free agents? Another draft? Do teams feel they need to draft the younger, ranked, players now or they won't be available when the time is right for them to make an impact? Seems like that leaves a lot of NCAA and USHL players maybe better equiped to play in the league sooner than those just drafted.

Players are eligible for the NHL Draft at age 18. There are some examples of a player going undrafted and getting selected the following year. This year Brian Ferlin is one.

Undrafted players are Free Agents. Matt Gilroy of the Rangers is an example.

BBB · Post by **BBB** » Mon Jun 27, 2011 4:05 pm

I should have used proven rather than experienced. If you read McKenzies cons against Lucia I think he listed that he hasn't proven himself other than against weak competition.

2. Every team is going to have a different draft board. Maybe the Wild had Lucia much higher than the player you mentioned. It is hard to say. Look how much higher Kyle Rau was selected compared to where Central Scouting had him. It isn't all that clear cut and every team is different.

Rau is a huge risk too especially being a small hs player. If you notice he was floridas 3rd pick in that round alone. On top of that they had already selected 6 junior players before him and went 91st! So why not take a chance on an unproven player who could be the next Martin St. Louis or Danny Briere? Good for him though. He is probably as skilled and as good a hockey player if not better than the other 5-6 kid florida took at 33...but that kid excelled in the USHL, not high school. Heck he might be as skilled as Patrick Kane was at that age. Bottom feeders like florida stock up on draft picks just like the islanders did when they selected our other 165 lb phenom, Aaron Ness. I think they had like 10 picks or so early in the draft. Any GM would take a few swings at high skilled players like that.
I think that when teams have extra picks they do something risky or out of the ordinary.
Last year two teams had top 5 picks and a bonus first rd choice. NYI and Florida. Guess which two selected a major jr player with their first pick and Brock Nelson and Nick Bjugstad with there second pick. the wild got a bonus pick at 28 and grabbed a major jr player with their pick ahead of lucia. I would say this more than a coincidence.
Cam Fowler who everyone thought was a can't miss pick and a definite top 5 slipped to 12 and lands in Anahiems lap. They then used there 2nd first round choice on the hometown Emerson Etem. A good player but an even better choice in the fans eyes.

My point in using McKenzie's list (or where Central Scouting had him in North America rankings) is that a lot of scouts liked him at a higher spot than 60 and they could care less about what state he comes from.

Not any scouts that had a say at the table

Gopher Blog · Post by **Gopher Blog** » Mon Jun 27, 2011 5:17 pm

mulefarm wrote:This will be Guentzel's 4th job in 4 years, red flag?

Do you think Blais would really hire a guy that was a problem behind the bench and isn't a very good coach? I don't think so.

mulefarm · Post by **mulefarm** » Mon Jun 27, 2011 7:54 pm

Gopher Blog wrote:
mulefarm wrote:This will be Guentzel's 4th job in 4 years, red flag?
Do you think Blais would really hire a guy that was a problem behind the bench and isn't a very good coach? I don't think so.

I agree with you, but why did Lucia let him go? Also 4 jobs in 4 yrs seems quite odd. Maybe Mike and Don kissed and made up?

Gopher Blog · Post by **Gopher Blog** » Mon Jun 27, 2011 8:58 pm

Mainly Hill and Guentzel didn't get along. Lucia made a mistake on which one to keep. Guess better late than never.

mulefarm · Post by **mulefarm** » Mon Jun 27, 2011 9:33 pm

Gopher Blog wrote:Mainly Hill and Guentzel didn't get along. Lucia made a mistake on which one to keep. Guess better late than never.

I really don't see how they could work together. I can't believe Guentzel could trust Lucia and it is known that Guentzel wants to be the head coach of the gophers. Extremely odd situation, could only happen with Maturi in charge. Not something an elite program should be doing. Just fire Lucia and let Guentzel run it!

Tigers33 · Post by **Tigers33** » Mon Jun 27, 2011 9:50 pm

Lucia and Guentzel will be great together again. The word on the street is that Hill has been the problem of this program. This news is great for the Gophers!

BBB · Post by **BBB** » Mon Jun 27, 2011 9:59 pm

Take away the last name and have the Wild make the same move and some people would just say the Wild got good value compared to where the player had been ranked by scouts.

I didn't know the name Lucia was held in such high regard right now among MN hockey fans. What if the last name was Ambroz? A player that no one was willing to take in the top 125 picks, including the Wild. What about the player taken 61 who was ranked higher than Lucia?

"God! The Wild suck! But I'm OK with it because they have Mario Lucia in their system." Umm, yeah. I'm sure that will help a lot.

I thought I read the crowd was deafening when the wild selected a MN player? how was it with the Swedish player we took first or how did the crowd react to the first overall? The first american? etc. Isn't a huge trademark of the Wilds marketing efforts based on the state of hockey and the team of 18000 an so on. They have always tried to sign guys like Cullen, Darby, Parrish, and drafted MN's at a much higher rate...its a great business move and it sells jerseys and tickets.

Each team has its preferences and you can see the Wild like MN high school kids. There is nothing wrong with that but it does influence their picks. Detroit drafts Swedish players by the boatloads...it works for them. They might draft a MN kid in the late rounds ever decade or so, Ben Marshall being a good example. Brian Burke almost exclusively took americans with his first pick at Anaheim. Toronto hasn't used their first pick on an american since goalies went without masks, and Burke takes a kid from Ann Arbor this year. Any canadian jr players were from Ontario, suprising, and Section 6AA had two kids go to the Leafs (Burkes from Edina) while they didn't have a single selection from the WHL or QMJHL. I bet you could find a preference towards a certain area with any GM or scouting staff in the NHL.[/quote]

Slap Shot · Post by **Slap Shot** » Wed Jun 29, 2011 8:06 pm

MNHockeyFan wrote:
BBB wrote:There are 30 teams in the NHL and with the 30th pick in the 2nd round MN makes a move up? 29 teams pass on him with their 2nd rd pick but MN who had the luxury of 2 1st round picks takes a chance on him. Good move a risk they could take. I am not saying he is not deserving of it at all but had he been the same player from the QMJHL and no ties to MN I doubt that trade would have happened.
Some commentary on this very subject:

Minnesotans Only Want Candy, Kisses, and More Minnesotans... Right?

http://www.hockeywilderness.com/2011/6/ ... tans-right

Right, because the Wild have really gone out of their way to take MN kids the past decade.