Hockeywiztalks Hockey Blog

The 2005 Draft was headlined by Sidney Crosby but there many other great players taken as well such as Carey Price, Anze Kopitar, Jonathan Quick, Kris Letang, Ben Bishop. If the 2005 NHL draft were to be redrafted, the landscape of the league would be very different. *Check out my previous two NHL Redrafts before continuing with this one* 1. Pittsburgh Penguins-(C) Sidney Crosby Original pick: Sidney Crosby The Pittsburgh Penguins still select Sidney Crosby because he is widely reguarded as one of the best players of the decade. Crosby won the Hart, Art Ross and Maurice Rocket Richard Trophy twice and led the Penguins to 3 Stanley Cups, winning two Conn Smythes in the process. Sidney Crosby turned the franchise around from his first game in the league and is a first ballot hall of famer. 2. Mighty Ducks of Anaheim-(G) Carey Price Original pick: Bobby Ryan Its rare to pick a goaltender this high in the draft, but Carey Price is an exception because he is a goalie that

Yaroslav Askarov SKA-Neva St.Petersburg VHL 6'3"/ 176 lb G Size/Frame                 Excellent Net Coverage            Excellent Quickness                  Excellent Rebound Control    Great Tracking               Excellent Poise/Consistency     Excellent Hockey Sense            Excellent Competitiveness        Excellent Strengths 1. Big Goalie with great poise, atleticism and a quick glove 2. Remarkable power, quickness and precision on lateral movement 3. Tremendous size, hockey sense and agressiveness to steal a match Cause for Concern 1. Subpar World Junior Performance by his standard 2. The position he plays may cause him to fall in the draft, as we saw in Andrei Vasilevskiy Skill: Franchise Changing goalie, with all the tools to be the best goalie in the league Scouting Report: The 17 year Yaroslav Askarov already is an intimidating presence in net with great poise, athleticism and a quick glove. Askarov is a techn

In this Blog i will be assembling teams based on were they were selected in the NHL entry or Amateur draft. The first round will be divided into 4 teams: #1 pick. picks 2-10, picks 11-20, picks 21-30. The 2nd round picks will be form a 5th team, 3rd + 4th round picks will form a 6th team and 5th + 6th round picks will be the 7th team and players picks in the 7th round or later will form the 8th team. There will also be an additional team formed with undrafted players.   #1 picks 1st round picks (2-10) G.Perreault-M.Lemieux-G.Lafleur M.Dionne-R.Francis-J.Jagr A.Ovechkin-S.Crosby-P.Kane B.Shanahan-S.Yzerman-T.Selanne M.Sundin-J.Thornton-S.Stamkos B.Federko-D.Savard-M.Gartner C.McDavid-M.Modano-E.Lindros D.Sittler-P.Lafontaine-L.McDonald D.Potvin-A.Ekblad R.Bourque-P.Coffey E.Jovanovski-R.Hamrlik B.Leetch-P.Housley R.Dahlin-R.Ramage S.Stevens-L.Murphy M-A.Fleury-R.DiPietro G.Fuhr-C.Price

The 2004 NHL Draft was highlighted by two superstars in Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin but there plenty of other stars drafted as well, such as Blake Wheeler, Pekka Rinne and Alex Radulov. If the 2004 NHL Draft was to be redrafted, the landscape of the NHL would be very different. *Be sure to read my 2003 Redraft before continuing with this one* 1. Washington Capitals-Alex Ovechkin Original pick: Alex Ovechkin Washington Capitals still select Alex Ovechkin, as he is still clearly the best player in the draft. Ovechkin should a first ballot hall of famer, he has won 8 Rocket Richard Trophies, scoring 50 or more goals 7 times. He is already considered one of the greatest goal scorers of all-time, with 706 career NHL goals. 2. Pittsburgh Penguins-(C) Evgeni Malkin Original pick: Evgeni Malkin Evgeni Malkin is a superstar player in his own right but his always in the shadow of Sidney Crosby. With Crosby sidelined, Malkin's had one of the best campaigns in his care

Jake Sanderson USNTDP Juniors USHL 6'1"/ 186 lb D Size/Strength          Excellent Skating          Great Shot/Scoring          Average Puckhandling           Great Physical Play          Excellent Offensive Play  Average Defensive Play  Excellent Hockey Sense          Excellent Competitiveness      Excellent Strengths 1. Mobile defenseman with untappped offensive potential 2. Tremendous leader and has poise beyond his years 3. Elite hockey sense and uses his size effectively on both sides of the puck Cause for Concern 1. Offensive upside isn't elite 2. Needs to improve on defensive zone coverage 3. Not a point producer Skill: Two Way Defenseman, with high Hockey IQ, with a dominant defensive mindset and untapped offensive potential Scouting Report: Jake Sanderson, the son of former NHL forward Geoff Sanderson, a mobile puck-mover with a dominant defensive mindset and an improving offensive game.  There's

ONTARIO (CANADA) QUEBEC (CANADA) D.Hawerchuk-W.Gretzky-Bo.Hull L.Robitaille-M.Lemieux-M.Dionne B.Shanahan-P.Esposito-M.Gartner P.Turgeon-J.Beliveau-G.Lafleur D.Gilmour-R.Francis-RW M.Goulet-G.Perreault-M.Bossy D.Sittler-J.Thornton-D.Ciccarelli J.Ratelle-D.Savard-M.Richard L.Robinson-B.Orr R.Bourque-S.Savard D.Potvin-P.Coffey G.Lapointe-D.Harvey L.Murphy-B.Park S.Duchesne-I.Turnbull T.Esposito-C.Joseph M.Brodeur-P.Roy SASKATCHEWAN/MANITOBA (CANADA) ALBERTA (CANADA) P.Marleau-B.Trottier-G.Howe J.Bucyk-M.Messier-J.Iginla B.Federko-J.Toews-T.Fleury R.Whitney-N.Ullman-L.McDonald B.Propp-B.Clarke-A.Bathgate R.Smyth-T.Linden-S.Doan C.Gillies-R.Getzlaf-B.Goring G.Unger-Brent Sutter-Brian Sutter B.Pratt-E.Shore S.Niedermayer-D.Sydor D.Keith-W.Redden G.Wesley-B.Gadsby R.Greschner-J.Patrick D.Phaneuf-M.Green T.Sawchuk-G.H

The 2003 NHL Draft is perhaps the best draft of all time, 17 players picked in the first round went on to be all stars. Players such as Patrice Bergeron, Shea Weber, Loui Eriksson, Corey Crawford, David Backes and Jimmy Howard were all picked in the 2nd round. Joe Pavelski was taken in the 7th round and Dustin Byfuglien was taken in the 8th round of the draft. If the 2003 draft was redrafted, the whole landscape of the league would be very different. 1. Pittsburgh Penguins-(G) Marc Andre Fleury Original pick: Marc-Andre Fleury Even though there were many great skaters available, the biggest need the Penguins had at the time was goaltending. Fleury has put together a legendary career, with a 439-250-77 record a 2.56 GAA and .913 SV% and 56 SO. Marc-Andre Fleury was an important part of the Penguins core, its safe to say that without him they don't win 3 stanley cups. 2. Carolina Hurricanes-(C) Patrice Bergeron Original pick: Eric Staal While Eric Staal was a very

Anton Lundell HIFK LIIGA 6'1"/ 183 lb C Size/Strength        Excellent Skating        Average Shot/Scoring        Great Puckhandling        Excellent Physical Play         Excellent Offensive Play Excellent Defensive Play  Excellent Hockey Sense          Excellent Competitiveness     Excellent Strengths 1. Two-way centre, with an elite Brain 2. Poise and Patience with the puck; tough to knock off the puck on the cycle 3. tremendous playmaker with great hands and quick release on his shot  Cause for Concern 1. not the best skater but has impoved 2. Limited offensive Ceiling 3. lacks that dynamic skill element in his game Skill: Two Way Center, with high Hockey IQ, is a great playmaker and tough to knock off the puck on the cycle Scouting Report: Anton Lundell is a polished, two-way centre who already brings the full package. Lundell is tough to knock off his skates on the cycle, can protect the puck extremely well

ASSEMBLING BEST ALL-TIME TEAMS Here are the Rosters of the best players to player for each team. Notes: I placed the players that have played for more than one team on the team they had more Points per game on. I Merged the Florida Panthers and Nashville Predators as well as the Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets because they don't have enough Talent. Anaheim Ducks/Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Arizona/Phoenix Coyotes/Winnipeg Jets P.Kariya-S.Rucchin-T.Selanne T.Steen-D.Hawerchuk-S.Doan B.Ryan-R.Getzlaf-C.Perry K.Tkachuk-J.Roenick-R.Vrbata R.Rakell-A.Henrique-J.Silfverberg D.Smail-R.Wilson-B.Mullen A.Cogliano-A.McDonald-S.Pahlsson L.Bochmann-P.MacLean-M.Boedker C.Fowler-S.Vatanen O.Ekman-Larsson-D.Ellett H.Lindholm-F.Beauchimen K.Yandle-T.Numminen R.Salei-S.Vatanen F.Olausson-A.Goligoski J-S.Giguere-G.Hebert M.Smith-I.Bryzgalov Atlanta Thrashers/Winnipeg Jets Bo