Mock Draft 2010

With the NHL Draft tonight, here is my annual mock draft:

1. EDMONTON OILERS- Taylor Hall, LW, Windsor (OHL)
2. BOSTON BRUINS- Tyler Seguin, C, Plymouth (OHL)
3. FLORIDA PANTHERS- Brett Connolly, RW, Prince George (WHL)
4. COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS- Erik Gudbranson, D, Kingston (OHL)
5. NEW YORK ISLANDERS- Brandon Gormley, D, Moncton (QMJHL)
6. TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING- Cam Fowler, D, Windsor (OHL)
7. CAROLINA HURRICANES- Derek Forbort, D, USA U-18
8. ATLANTA THRASHERS- Ryan Johansen, C, Portland (WHL)
9. MINNESOTA WILD- Nino Niederreiter, RW, Portland (WHL)
10. NEW YORK RANGERS- Austin Watson, LW, Peterborough (OHL)
11. DALLAS STARS- Nick Bjugstad, C, Blaine (HIGH-MN)
12. ANAHEIM DUCKS- Jeff Skinner, RW, Kitchener (OHL)
13. PHOENIX COYOTES- Jonathon Merrill, D, USA U-18
14. ST. LOUIS BLUES- Alexander Burmistrov, C, Barrie (OHL)
15. FLORIDA PANTHERS- Dylan McIlrath, D, Moose Jaw (WHL)
16. OTTAWA SENATORS- Jack Campbell, USA U-18
17. COLORADO AVALANCHE- Emerson Etem, RW, Medicine Hat (WHL)
18. NASHVILLE PREDATORS- Mikael Granlund, C/W, HIFK (Finland)
19. LOS ANGELES KINGS- Riley Sheahan, C, U. of Notre Dame (CCHA)
20. PITTSBURGH PENGUINS- Vladimir Tarasenko, RW, Novosibirsk (Russia)
21. DETROIT RED WINGS- John McFarland, LW, Sudbury (OHL)
22. PHOENIX COYOTES- Mark Pysyk, D, Edmonton (WHL)
23. BUFFALO SABRES- Jarred Tinordi, D, USA U-18
24. CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS- Quinton Howden, C, Moose Jaw (WHL)
25. VANCOUVER CANUCKS- Tyler Pitlick, C, Minnesota State (WCHA)
26. WASHINGTON CAPITALS- Jordan Weal, C, Regina (WHL)
27. MONTREAL CANADIENS- Jaden Schwartz, C, Tri-City (USHL)
28. SAN JOSE SHARKS- Evgeny Kuznetsov, C, Chelyabinsk (Russia)
29. ANAHEIM DUCKS- Alexander Petrovic, D, Red Deer (WHL)
30. CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS- Brock Nelson, C, Warroad (HIGH-MN)

NHL PLAYOFFS: 1st round picks

WEST

1 San Jose Sharks vs. Colorado Avalanche
SHARKS IN 6

2 Chicago Blackhawks vs. 7 Nashville Predators
HAWKS IN 5

3 Vancouver Canucks vs. 6 Los Angeles Kings
KING IN 7

4 Phoenix Coyotes vs. 5 Detroit Red Wings
WINGS IN 6

EAST

1 Washington Capitals vs. 8 Montreal Canadiens
CAPS IN 5

2 New Jersey Devils vs. 7 Philadelphia Flyers
FLYERS IN 7

3 Buffalo Sabres vs. 6 Boston Bruins
SABRES IN 4

4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. 5 Ottawa Senators
PENS IN 5

Flame Out

After 7 straight seasons of post-season action the streak will end this year for the Flames. After losing to the San Jose Sharks 2-1 last night along with the Colorado Avalanche beating the Vancouver Canucks 4-3 in a shootout, the Flames were officially eliminated from the playoffs.

The Flames have been plagued by inconsistency for the past couple of seasons and it turned out to be their downfall this season. The offense dried up after losing leading goal scorer Mike Cammalleri in the off-season. Flames management and fans hoped now departed Olli Jokinen would fill in but it never panned out. The Flames lost 22 one goal games this season. including last night. The defense was the focus in the off-season as goals against needed to come down. With key addition of Jay Bouwmeester, the departure of Dion Phaneuf and the amazing season from Mark Giordano along with Vezina-type play from Miikka Kiprusoff, the Flames played the type of defensive hockey needed to win in the playoffs. Coach Brent Sutter along with brother and GM Darryl Sutter ride themselves on defensive style of hockey and the Flames definitely played that way.

All in all, it was a disappointing season for the Flames especially after a 17-6-4 start. December was an average month, with the Flames going .500 but January was the Flames down-fall and an ultimate season-low. The Flames lost 9 straight games including a 9-1 sch-lacking to the San Jose Sharks. The Flames never recovered from the losing streak and GM Darryl Sutter went crazy. He made 5 separate deals which saw 6 players go and 8 new faces come in. Mikael Backlund was also recalled during the trades so in total, 9 new faces were inserted in and out during the rest of the season. Bringing in that many new faces at that time of the year obviously spells panic but it will never spell success. In came Matt Stajan, Niklas Hagman, Ian White, Jamal Mayers, Chris Higgins, Ales Kotalik, Steve Staios and Vesa Toskala out went Dion Phaneuf, prospect Keith Aulie, Olli Jokinen, Brandon Prust, Aaron Johnson and Curtis McElhinney.

The Flames now face some big questions going into the off-season. People's opinions range from firing GM Sutter, firing GM Sutter and Coach Sutter, trading captain Jarome Iginla and trading Miikka Kiprusoff.The Flames have prospects but other than Mikael Backlund and last years first round draft pick, Tim Erixon, many questions surround on whether or not they will become legitimate NHLers. The Flames don't have a 1st round draft pick this year after trading it to the Coyotes in the Jokinen trade and wont pick until the 3rd round. If GM Sutter doesn't get fired he has some big time decisions to make and will have to do something amazing to win back the fans confidence. I will have another post on what I think of the Flames trades they made this season and what I think they should do in the off-season.

Team Canada: My Thoughts

With Team Canada being named a little less than a week ago, I thought I would write about my thoughts about the team and how I did with my predictions. I have talked and listened to as many people as I could about their thoughts and I think that everyone has a pretty similar opinion. This is just my opinion, in no way am I stating that Steve Yzerman and the team Canada group made the wrong decision. They watched many games in the process and picked each player for a reason.

FORWARDS(13)

Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins, C
Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins, C (A)
Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim Ducks, C
Dany Heatley, San Jose Sharks, LW
Jarome Iginla, Calgary Flames, RW (A)
Patrick Marleau, San Jose Sharks, RW
Brenden Morrow, Dallas Stars, LW
Rick Nash, Columbus Blue Jackets, LW
Corey Perry, Anaheim Ducks, RW
Mike Richards, Philadelphia Flyers, C
Eric Staal, Carolina Hurricanes, C
Joe Thornton, San Jose Sharks, C
Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks, C

Overall this is a very talented group of forwards and I definitely dont have any issues with it. I dont understand the selecteion of Patrice Bergeron. Im not saying he is a bad player or anything like that, because he is a very good and talented player. Before the selection, the final couple of spots were considered to be between Bergeron, Mike Richards and Jeff Carter. With Bergeron and Richards being very similar players who at the end of the day would probably play a similar role on the team, it seemed like there would only be one or the other picked. With both of them being selected i dont understand how team Canada has room for both of them but at the same time, Richards should be a lock on the team. Personally I would have liked to see Jeff Carter who could add some scoring touch or a guy like Shane Doan who has represented Canada in almost every competition possible. Other than Bergeron, I don't have any complaints. The Canadians, have a very talented top 6 with the likes of Sidney Crosby, Jarome Iginla, Dany Heatley, Joe Thornton, Rick Nash and Patrick Marleau. There is a good mix of youth and experience while having some chemistry with the Sharks trio and Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry. I am ecstatic that Jonathan Toews cracked the roster, he is my pick to be the dark horse of the tournament. From my predicted picks, I correctly picked 10 of 13 picks, with Doan, Carter and Martin St. Louis being the blemishes.

DEFENSE(7)

Dan Boyle, San Jose Sharks
Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings
Duncan Keith, Chicago Blackhawks
Scott Niedermayer, Anaheim Ducks (C)
Chris Pronger, Philadelphia Flyers (A)
Brent Seabrook, Chicago Blackhawks
Shea Weber, Nashville Predators

NO JAY BOUWMEESTER?!?!? This is the biggest surprise of them all and in my opinion Bouwmeester should be on this team. Bergeron could be on the team any day, if Bouwmeester is on it, in my mind this is unbelievable that Jay-Bo isn't on the team. Drew Doughty is a great player and if the NHL goes to the Olympics in 2014, unless something out of anyone's control happens, Doughty is a lock to go there. My issue is he is only 20 years old and I don't think a player his age will be able to handle the pressure this team is going to have on it when February comes along. In my mind, when Mike Babcock looks down his bench in a crucial point of the game, I cant see Doughty being on the ice, so why not have Bouwmeester there so then you have 7 guys who you could close your eyes and pick to go on the ice. If there is any injury from now to February, whether it is a defensemen or a forward, I would say Bouwmeester is the next guy to go. The other 6 guys are outstanding, from Scott Niedermayer to Brent Seabrook, the group has a good mix of youth and experience. From my picks, I correctly picked 4 of 7. I picked Mike Green over Boyle but have no issue seeing Seabrook over Robyn Regehr.

GOALIES(3)

Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils
Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh Penguins
Roberto Luongo, Vancouver Canucks

All I have to say Martin Brodeur is the starter and I surprisingly got 3 out of 3 picks correct here. I hope everyone else did as well.

My Projected Lines:

1- NASH-CROSBY-IGINLA
2- HEATLEY-THORNTON-MARLEAU
3- TOEWS-GETZLAF-PERRY
4- MORROW-RICHARDS-STAAL
E- BERGERON

1- NIEDERMAYER-BOYLE
2- PRONGER-WEBER
3- SEABROOK-KEITH
E- DOUGHTY

1- BRODEUR
2- LUONGO
3- FLEURY

Overall, this team is a favourite for the gold medal and fans in Canada will only be happy with the gold. Everyone has their own opinion but if Canada wins the gold, everyone will say I knew they would be ok and in love with Steve Yzerman. At the end of the day there will be injuries to 1 or 2 players by the tournaments start up so the team is not yet official. Now that the team has been assembled, I think the Canadians greatest strength and even as much as I wonder about Bergeron and Doughty, we have the best coach in the world with Babcock and I think he will be our greatest advantage in winning a gold medal. I am extremely excited for this team and cannot wait for the Olympics to start.

GO CANADA GO!!