With the 13th Selection in the SB Nation Mock Draft, Die by the Blade Selects...
by David Oleksy on Jun 20, 2009 6:00 AM EDT
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The hockey wings of the SB Nation Megaverse are running a mock draft. Three picks are being made a day, with the master list running through James Mirtle's From the Rink. He'll update the list each day with the next picks and links to each blog's rationale. Today, it's our turn.
When I was informed that SB Nation was going to have a mock draft I was excited. I wanted to be prepared so I quickly started to research the potential picks and I quickly fell in love with one player in particular. Before I give you our pick I will remind you of the 12 players that have already been selected.
| # | Team | Pick | Blogger's notes | More analysis: |
| 1 | N.Y. Islanders | John Tavares, London (OHL) | The sexy pick, the consensus pick, the right pick. He's what this team and franchise needs most. Get ready for "Islanders goal scored by #91..." because they're coming in bunches. | Lighthouse Hockey |
| 2 | Tampa Bay | Victor Hedman, Modo (Swe) | A boy playing among men in the Swedish Elite League (and thriving) the past two seasons, Hedman starts immediately on the TB blueline and can contribute at both ends of the ice. | Raw Charge |
| 3 | Colorado | Matt Duchene, Brampton (OHL) | No big surprise here; we’ll take whichever of the big 3 is available and immediately offer them a position as GM & coach. | Mile High Hockey |
| 4 | Atlanta | Evander Kane, Vancouver (WHL) | Named after Atlanta boxing legend Evander Holyfield, Kane adds some scoring punch to Atlanta's top six — perhaps as early as this fall. | Bird Watchers Anonymous |
| 5 | Los Angeles | Braydon Schenn, Brandon (WHL) | Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson is the popular pick here, seeing as how the Kings need a left winger badly, but I'm counting on Dean Lombardi's love of grit and distaste for Swedes to influence his decision here. Plus, I really wanted to upset Toronto fans. |
Battle of California |
| 6 | Phoenix | Jared Cowen, Spokane (WHL) |
The Coyotes are deep on forward prospects and badly need young defensemen. Cowen is a beast who could play in the NHL very soon if his recently repaired knee doesn't hamper him. | Five For Howling |
| 7 | Toronto | Magnus Pääjärvi-Svensson, Timra IK (Swe) |
Most of Canada already hates him, so he'll fit in just fine. Plus he provides the high-end Swedish forward that the Leafs have been missing since last April. | Pension Plan Puppets |
| 8 | Dallas | Oliver Ekman-Larssen, Leksand IF (Swe-2) |
Dallas is fortunate to not only draft the best player available but also pick a defenseman that fills a glaring need in the Stars' system. |
Defending Big D |
| 9 | Ottawa | Nazem Kadri, London (OHL) |
With Ottawa's recent emphasis on drafting skilled defencemen, Kadri gives the Senators a good skilled forward to fill out the team's development systems — maybe even one of those ever-elusive top-six forwards. | Silver Seven |
| 10 | Edmonton | Ryan Ellis, Windsor (OHL) | No 17-year old defensemen has ever led the OHL in assists — not even Bobby Orr. That is, no one has done it until Ryan Ellis did this year. The only thing keeping him out of the top three is his height. | Copper & Blue |
| 11 | Nashville | Jordan Schroeder, University of Minnesota (NCAA) |
He may be short in stature, but he's long on talent and strength. Just as he played alongside Colin Wilson at the World Juniors, he projects to be the next top Predators prospect to come out of collegiate hockey. | On The Forecheck |
| 12 | Minnesota | Zach Budish, Edina Minnesota (USHS) |
After missing last season for the Hornets with a torn ACL from his football playing days, Budish has added size and strength during his rehab. Now at 6'3" and 229 pounds, Budish is the type of power forward the Wild have always lacked. | Hockey Wilderness |
To see the pick revealed just follow the jump.
It's finally time for the Buffalo Sabres selection in the SB Nation Mock Draft. There have been 12 players selected already but the guy we targeted since the beginning is still available. Die by the Blade selects Right Wing from the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey League Zack Kassian.
Kassian was the player we targeted because he is everything that the Sabres are not but need to be. He is a big, strong kid that plays with a mean streak. The Sabres have been on the hunt for a player like Kassian for years.
The Sabres have some tough players on the roster but they don't have many tough players among their prospects. Players like Gaustad, Mair and Kaleta play on the edge but their offensive potential is limited. Kassian may never become an offensive force in the league but he has the potential to be a top six forward if he develops the way some think he will. He scored 24 goals and was a point per game player in the OHL this season. He is still 18 years-old and has ample time to hone his offensive skills.
Kassian is not only a big strong kid that has a good offensive upside but he will drop the gloves as well. The Sabres have been criticized for not being tough enough. The biggest example was Ryan Miller getting hit by Scott Gomez while his teammates stood and watched. Kassian is the type of player that will take on all comers. Check out his fight card at hockeyfights.com.
The Sabres have not been known as a team that plays their rookies right away but this year could be different. With the signing of Tyler Myers he could be in the lineup. If they draft Kassian he could be ready to play immediately in the NHL.
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sabre's draft pick
how many of you are curious to see how the sabres screw this up?? if he’s available,the only pick is KASSIAN!! do not pick the finesse player,or a too many years to develop defenseman. we have enough of them. we need manhood on this team.men that take no crap,men that will defend your goalie if he’s run,men that will let other teams know you can’t and won’t be allowed to push us around.we have so-called tough guys,fairy mair(?) we need some REAL toughness,not the fake variety(see peters,mair). team needs an overhaul,get rid of the pansies,add MEN,get rid of the unnecessary weight(ifhesnotgoodenuff,fairmair) and others.
Kassian is far from the only pick. Scott Glennie and Dmitry Kulikov are both available in this situation and I wouldn’t mind either. Glennie would probably be my pick.
From what I’ve seen in mock drafts thus far, even though Kassian is quote unquote “falling” in some ranks, most mocks have him going to the Sens at #9. If that’s the case, I’m all for Ellis (if he’s there). Just don’t think Darcy will make a run at Beauchemin to get that transition D-man.
But if Glennie is the best available, I’ve got no qualms.
Vance
BanginPanger.com
DoubleEdgedSabres.com
by BanginPanger on Jun 21, 2009 12:23 PM EDT up reply actions
Kulikov ideally should not be available this far out. However I would have gone for Kulikov. In 4 years Sabres top 2 pairing would be
Myers -Kulikov
Butler-Sekera
Now wouldnt that be sweet
Kulikov
I agree that Kulikov will not be there when the Sabres make their selection. There is also the KHL factor to think about. I agree that he will try the NHL first but it’s hard to ignore the name players that have chosen the KHL. In addition, the Sabres are stocked on Defense among their prosects, they need to add some offensive depth.
D.O.
www.diebytheblade.com - An SB nation destination for Sabres fans everywhere
by David Oleksy on Jun 21, 2009 9:30 AM EDT up reply actions
Toughness can come via FA
The Sabres cannot afford to risk that Kassian is another Erik Rasmussen. Rasmussen’s reviews were very similar to Kassian’s going into the draft. I fell for all the power forward BS that was posted about Rasumussen (BUST) in the media prior to the draft. The Sabres need an impact player, even if he’s a year away from playing… not another 3rd or 4th line checking forward. The Sabres definitely need toughness added to their lineup, but a young kid who barely scored a point per game in Juniors probably isn’t the solution to that problem (in the 1st round). Not to mention, he’s going to run into much tougher opponents in the NHL than he squared up against in the OHL.
In your scenario, both Glennie (potential 35-45 goal scorer with blazing speed) and Kulikov (possibly most ready D-man behind Hedman in the draft) would both be better picks. Kulikov came to North America last year to prepare himself for the smaller ice surface and style of play that he will experience in the NHL… that doesn’t sound to me like a kid who wants to go back home to the KHL when he could have simply stayed there in the first place. Glennie is being compared to Mike Gartner… for those who don’t know who he is, check out the Hall of Fame. It’s unfair to compare him to a HOFer, but the point is he has potential to be great (better than Vanek). The Sabres miss having two effective lines. The teams with Briere and Drury had Dumont and Grier, neither of whom were true “bangers” but they did okay in the hitting department. The Sabres do need guys like that, but they were veterans when they arrived… Dumont spend several years after the time he got drafted in the minors and Grier was already an established NHLer.
I, for one, would rather see a veteran guy or two (1 forward, 1 defense) join the Sabres as Free Agents (no superstars) who have been on winning teams in the past… they could hopefully bring a little more leadership in terms of showing the Sabres’ young players what price must be paid over the course of the season to win in the NHL.
Who would you take?
Kassian (Potential Upside: Bertuzzi / Downside: Rasmussen)
Kulikov (Potential Upside: Zubov / Downside: Zhitnik)
Glennie (Potential Upside: Gartner / Downside: Sanderson)
DC Chocolate City!
This is a great analysis but I still say that Kassian is the pick. The Sabres have goal scorers with Roy, Vanek, Stafford (if he is re-signed), Connolly and potentially Gerbe. They need to add some toughness to this team and if he is close to the player that Bertuzzi was he will be a great pick up.
Kulikov is definitely a talented player but the Sabres are deep on the blue line.
D.O.
www.diebytheblade.com - An SB nation destination for Sabres fans everywhere
by David Oleksy on Jun 22, 2009 11:15 PM EDT up reply actions
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