Hockeywiztalks Hockey Blog

  The New York Rangers struggled to draft during the mid 2000s and into the 2010s, which might be a reason why they never were thought of as a legit contender at the time. If the Rangers had drafted correctly, they might have been able to build a championship caliber team. In this blog, I will be redrafting the New York Rangers for a decade in hopes of turning them into a contending team. 2003: 12-Brent Burns over Hugh Jessiman 50-Corey Crawford over Ivan Baranka 209-Dustin Byfuglien over Dylan Reese 243-Matt Moulson over Jan Marek In the 2003 redraft, the Rangers fare much better than they did originally; they get two star players in Brent Burns and Dustin Byfuglien, they also get a good goalie in Corey Crawford and decent complementary goal scorer in Matt Moulson. 2004: 19-Travis Zajac over Loui Korpikoski 36-Brandon Dubinsky over Darin Olver 48-Alex Goligoski over Dane Byers 73-Alexander Edler over Zdenek Bahensky The Rangers add two very good defenseman in Alex Goligoski and Alex E

 Ryan O'Rourke Soo Greyhounds OHL D 6'2"/181 Size/Strength       Excellent Skating       Good Shot/Scoring       Average Puckhandling          Average Physical Play       Excellent Offensive Play       Average Defensive Play       Excellent Hockey Sense         Good Competitiveness      Excellent Strengths 1. Terrific Defensive awareness and leadership ability 2. excels shutting down oppositions top players and thrives under pressure 3. Very mobile and makes smart decisions with the puck Cause for Concern 1. Offensive production 2. Offensive game is still a bit raw  Skill: A mature all around defenseman that is a pain to play against and excels in pressure situations and as a leader. Scouting Report: Ryan O'Rourke is a very mature defender, that playing well above his age. He’s able to be used in all situations, whether its shutting down opponents top lines or chipping in offensively. O'Rourke has great self awareness will allow him to adapt. At his wors

  The New York Islanders are doing great right now but there was letting John Tavares walk for nothing was absolutely on the Islanders not Tavares. Even though Tavares said he wanted to stay with the team, the Islanders should have made a smart business decision and that is to trade him at the deadline. Since John Tavares was going to sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs anyways, the Islanders should trade him there at the deadline. New York Islanders trade John Tavares to the Toronto Maple Leafs for William Nylander, James Van Riemsdyk, 1st round pick 2018. If John Tavares re-signs with the Maple Leafs, the Islanders get an additional 2020 1st round pick. This big blockbuster trade sees the Toronto Maple Leafs land John Tavares, while the Islanders get William Nylander and James Van Riemdsyk a 2 future 1st round picks. Without John Tavares, the Islanders finish with 7th worst record in the league. Before the 2018 draft, the New York Islanders make a few trades: New York Islanders trade J

 The Columbus Blue Jackets drafted terribly from when they entered the NHL to 2013, they have many chances to draft franchise changing talent but they opted instead to draft players that would turn into the biggest bust in recent memory. In this blog, i redraft the Columbus Blue Jackets for a decade and try to turn them into a contending team. 2003: 4-Ryan Suter over Nikolay Zherdev 49-David Backes over Dan Fritsche 103-Joe Pavelski over Kevin Jarman 168-Dustin Byfuglien over Marc Methot The Columbus Blue Jackets draft 2 stud defenseman in Ryan Suter and Dustin Byfuglien as well as an elite scorer in Joe Pavelski and a very solid top 6 forward in David Backes. 2004: 8-Cory Schneider over Alexandre Picard 46-Brandon Dubinsky over Adam Pineault 59-Alex Goligoski over Kyle Wharton 133-Kris Versteeg over Petr Pohl Columbus drafts a very good starting goalie in Cory Schneider along with a solid two way defenseman in Alex Goligoski, a solid two way center in Brandon Dubinsky and a nice role

Jacob Perreault Sarnia Sting OHL C 5'11"/198 Size/Strength         Average Skating         Above Average Shot/Scoring         Excellent Puckhandling          Excellent Physical Play         Average Offensive Play Excellent Defensive Play Below Average Hockey Sense        Good Competitiveness     Excellent Strengths 1. Owns one of the best shots in the draft and is easily one of the most lethal bad-angle scorers 2. Can snipe it from anywhere and has silky-smooth hands with a soft touch, which allows him to roof pucks from in close 3. Has tremendous puck control and also is a very good passer around the net Cause for Concern 1. Defensive zone coverage 2. Needs to improve his skating speed 3. Needs to add more strength  Skill: One of the best pure scorers in the draft, has one of the best shots in the draft and very good puck control. Scouting Report: Jacob Perreault is the son of former NHL center Yannic Perreault but plays an entirely different way than his fathe

  Coming off a successful run in the 2017 playoffs, the Ottawa Senators thought they were legit contenders in the Eastern Conference, so instead of rebuilding like they should have, they traded for Matt Duchene, which is now in hindsight one of the worst trades in recent memory. The rebuild starts at the 2017 draft, where a few trades take place: Ottawa Senators trade Erik Karlsson, Kyle Turris to the Carolina Hurricanes for Justin Faulk, Elias Lindholm, 1st round pick 2017, 1st round pick 2018. The Carolina Hurricanes wanted to add that true number 1 defenseman and their aren't much better than Erik Karlsson. Kyle Turris will be a solid 3rd line center for them behind Sebastian Aho and Jordan Staal. On the Flip side, the Senators get Justin Faulk, a top 4 defenseman who can step in and fill the void offensively and Elias Lindholm a very talented young player; the Sens also get 2 first round picks, which can be used to pick a core player.  The Senators also trade Mike Hoffman, Deri

 The Los Angeles Kings had some miserable drafts from in the 2000s and because of that they missed out on building a potential dynasty. If the LA Kings were redrafted for a decade, they could have potentially won more than 2 stanley cups. 2002: 18-Cam Ward over Denis Grebeshkov 50-Johnny Boychuk over Sergei Anshakov 66-Frans Nielsen over Petr Kanko 152-James Wisniewski over Gregory Hogeboom The LA Kings draft a franchise goalie in Cam Ward, two solid defenseman in Johnny Boychuk and James Wisniewski and a good two way center in Frans Nielsen. 2003: 13-Zach Parise over Dustin Brown 26-Corey Perry over Brian Boyle 27-Patrice Bergeron over Jeff Tambellini 44-Shea Weber over Konstantin Pushkaryov LA Kings strike gold this time around, drafting 4 future all stars which include a perennial selke Candidate in Patrice Bergeron, a Norris candidate in Shea Weber, a future MVP in Corey Perry and a clutch goal scorer in Zach Parise. 2004: 11-Travis Zajac over Lauri Tukonen 94-Johan Franzen over Pa

 Mavrik Bourque Shawinigan Cataractes QMJHL C 5'10"/165  Size/Strength       Below Average Skating       Average Shot/Scoring       Excellent Puckhandling          Good Physical Play       Good Offensive Play Excellent Defensive Play       Average Hockey Sense       Excellent Competitiveness       Excellent Strengths 1. Possesses high end skill with tremendous Hockey IQ 2. Tremendous playmaker with great hands, vision and passing ability and also has a quick and accurate shot as well 3. Can raise his level of play in big games and big moments Cause for Concern 1. Doesn't have elite speed 2. Needs to add more strength  3. Defensive consistency Skill: Highly skilled playmaker that excels as a point producing forward and has tremendous hockey IQ. Scouting Report: Mavrik Bourque has been Shawinigan's go to scorer since he entered the QMJHL as he was a 16 year old. Bourque is an exceptional playmaker that has fantastic vision, great hands and very high hockey

The 2016-17 Detroit Red Wings missed the Playoffs for the first time in 25 years but they should have started to rebuild then because it was already the beginning of the end. If the Red Wings had started to rebuild in 2016 perhaps they would have already become a playoff team by now instead of being the worst team in the league. The Rebuild will start at the 2016 draft, where the Red Wings make two major trades: Detroit Red Wings trade Pavel Datsyuk, Darren Helm to the San Jose Sharks for Chris Tierney, Joonas Donskoi, 1st round pick 2017. The San Jose Sharks get a Star player in Pavel Datsyuk to add to their already stacked roster, this would make them a serious contender to win a cup; on the flip side, the Red Wings get a 3rd line center in Chris Tierney, a top 9 winger in Joonas Donskoi and a 1st round pick. Henrik Zetterberg, Gustav Nyquist, Justin Abdelkader are traded to Minnesota Wild for Charlie Coyle, Nino Niederreiter, Marco Scandella, 1st round pick 2016. This is a huge bloc

The Edmonton Oilers had a drafted horribly during the 2000s and into the early 2010s, which was a major reason for their struggles. In this blog, i redraft the Edmonton Oilers from 2002 to 2012 and see just how much better the team would be if they drafted correctly. 2002: 15-Alex Steen over Jesse Niinimaki 31-Trevor Daley over Jeff Droun-Deslauriers 36-Jarret Stoll 54-Duncan Keith over Matt Greene The Edmonton Oilers land a Stud defenseman in Duncan Keith and a really good top 4 defenseman in Trevor Daley; Alex Steen will be a great Top 6 forward for the Oilers and Jarret Stoll could be a great 3rd line center. 2003: 22-Patrice Bergeron over Marc-Antoine Pouliot 51-Corey Crawford over Colin McDonald 184-Dustin Byfuglien over Dragan Umicevic 284-Jaroslav Halak over Josef Hrabal The Oilers get a top line center in Patrice Bergeron, who will turn into one of the premier two way centers in the league; they will also get Dustin Byfuglien, a player who has the poten

William Wallinder MODO Hockey Allsvenskan D 6'4"/192 Size/Strength       Excellent Skating       Excellent Shot/Scoring       Good Puckhandling          Good Physical Play       Excellent Offensive Play       Good Defensive Play      Excellent Hockey Sense       Excellent Competitiveness       Excellent Strengths 1. Great two way defender, with exceptional mobility and puck skills 2. Lots of upside, quick feet, quick outlets and not afraid to jump into the rush 3. Is reliable in his own zone and has shown flashes of offensive brilliance Cause for Concern 1. Possesses the high end skills to be an elite player but is still a bit raw 2. Needs to show more offensive consistency if he is to be a top prospect Skill: A big two way defenseman that has unlimited offensive upside Scouting Report: William Wallinder is a heady two-way defender with top-pairing potential, Wallinder combines physical play with excellent mobility an

The 2015-16 Vancouver Cancuks were an aging team that need to rebuild desperately in hopes of becoming a contending once again in the future. With that in mind, my objective with this rebuild is to rebuild the Vancouver Canucks and turn them back into a contender in the shortest amount of time. Before the 2016 draft, a few trades are made: Vancouver Canucks trade Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin to the Ottawa Senators for Mika Zibanejad, Ryan Dzingel, 1st round pick 2016, 1st round pick 2017. The Ottawa Senators get the Sedin twins to play on a line with Mark Stone, which makes them an instant contender in the Eastern Conference, On the flip side, the Vancouver Canucks get Mika Zibanajed, a very talented young center, Ryan Dzingel, and two first round picks. Ryan Miller is traded to the Calgary Flames for 2nd round pick 2016, 3rd round pick 2016. The Calgary Flames really needed a proven veteran goalie, a Ryan Miller is exactly that, on the flip side of the trade, the Canucks