Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Draft Schmafft - Senators 2008 Draft Options


Just looking over the top rated prospects for this years draft in Ottawa and only came across one North American player in the top 30 who lists the Ottawa Senators as his favourite team.

But that guy just happens to be Zach Bogosian, now ranked 2nd overall for North American skaters.

The current Peterborough Pete unfortunately lists "Harry Potter" as his favourite book and "Europe - Final Countdown Techno" as his favourite song. Those are some strikes against I think. I don't know what Final Countdown sounds like as a techno song but the original makes doves cry.

He won't be around for the Senators to pick (he'll likely go to L.A. or Atlanta) but there are some decent hockey players at or around number 18 where Bryan Murray is slotted to pick, save a dramatic move upwards or downwards in a trade.

Tyler Cuma has been playing in the Senators backyard with the 67's and he is ranked 19th in North America. Here's a quick scouting report from former Senators assistant and current NHL draft guru E.J. McGuire:

"Tyler is an offensive defenseman, really adept at knowing when to pass the puck out of the zone or to put the wheels on and carry the puck out of the zone. He helps the Ottawa 67’s power-play from the point and is really reliable. I find him to be equally adept at the defensive game as well as the offensive game, yet I find him to be more closely aligned with an offensive defenseman-type player."

Regina Pats defenseman Colten Teubert is ranked 18th in North America and is "big, strong, mean" at 6'4" and 185 pounds.

Actually there are a plethora of D-men ranked right around where the Senators are expected to pick and that's good news for a team that is woefully thin in defense prospects outside of Brian Lee.

Big defenseman John Carlson is ranked 17th and is headed to college hockey after a year in the USHL. He might actually have a brain because he lists The Great Gatsby as his favourite book but goes the conventional route and lists the Shawshank Redemption as his favourite movie. If you look at NHL team's websites and go through their rosters, I swear that over 50% of NHL'ers list Shawshank Redemption as their favourite movie. It's unbelievable. That sappy little flick must have replaced Slapshot on the planes and buses as movie of choice.

Zac Dalpe is a forward ranked 16th and is the spitting image of a young Brian Burke (and his favourite team is even the Canucks).

Of course, these picks don't include the Europeans and there's a complete list of their rankings right here.

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