NHL draft

from USCHO

"On a separate ranking is one more notable college player; Cornell's David Leneveu is the top-rated college goaltender, checking in at No. 6 on the CSS list of North American goaltenders. Likely, his stock value won't break him into the first round, but a second- or third-round prospect isn't too far off."

And the second-highest-ranked college goaltender is that well-known sieve, Dov--at #12 overall.

SLU's McKenna is third at #17.

The Hockey News projects that Dave LeNeveu will be drafted in the third round (THN has ranked him #78 overall). This is the Central Scouting Service's evaluation of him: "Possesses strong skating ability with good balance, quickness and athleticism … has very quick lateral movement and uses a controlled butterfly style … has a fast glove hand … plays a sound positional game, effectively staying square to the shooter … is very alert and aware of what is happening around him … effectively uses the paddle-down technique in scramble situations … effectively sets up for the defensemen to breakout … has good overall instincts … plays with a lot of intensity with a confident attitude … is a strong individual who effectively holds his ground when forwards crash the net … refuses to get intimidated."

I'm selfishly hoping that the team that drafts Dave does not have a short-term goaltending need. A team that wants to rush his development would throw oodles of money at Dave and encourage him to play in the WHL. I doubt a team like the Sharks or Devils, on the other hand, would pressure him to leave Cornell early.

On another draft note, none of the incoming freshmen are draft eligible. They were all born after the September 15, 1983 cutoff date.

Maybe the NHL GM's have learned something about pulling college goalies out early. To wit: it doesn't work. Goalies mature late and can learn a lot more by being the #1 in the NCAA than a #3 pine-rider in the I or A.

Greg wrote:
[Q]the I[/Q]

The what now? don't know of any such league?

Higgins goes to Montreal with the 14th pick.

I/A, you know what I mean...

Higgins went way high. Who knows, maybe the Canadians will move him up.

Lenny drafted in 2nd round to Phoenix.

46 PHX DAVID LENEVEU 5/23/1983 FERNIE, BC CA 6' 1" 170 ECAC CORNELL UNIV. G L

Bah! The Isles were supposed to trade DiPietro and take Lenny

But congratulations to David on the selection. But don't go anywhere just yet, please!

Jordan wrote:

Bah! The Isles were supposed to trade DiPietro and take Lenny

But thank god they didn't, because if they had I could never root for him. It's tough enough that I'm going to have to root for DMooron.

Thank goodness the Coyotes recently acquired Brian Boucher to be their #1 goaltender of the future. According to faceoff.com's draft preview, Coyote management feels that Boucher and Patrick DesRoschers will adequately man the pipes after Sean Burke skates off into the sunset. Hopefully, Phoenix will be more patient with Dave LeNeveu's development than with former first-round pick Krys Kolanos's.

Dave was the seventh goalie taken in the draft.

I don't know hockey draft history very well, but 7 goalies in 42 picks sounds like a lot. True?

(Oh, and congratulaions to LeNeveu. I hope you have better luck beating out Boucher than JMP did.)

Sounds like a lot to me. Wasn't there some insane number of goalies taken in the first round a few drafts ago, like 6 in the first 30 picks?

Let's just hope LeNeveu stays to finish out his college career. I don't think leaving early has really helped JMP any, so hopefully Dave will realize that and decide to stick around.

Jordan

[Q]I don't think leaving early has really helped JMP any...[/Q]
Depends how you figure it. JMP did get the money, and he has had at least a "cup of coffee" in the majors, so he may not be too unhappy with his choice. Who knows what would have happened if he had stayed at Cornell.

And Cornell's not going anywhere, so he can always come back and get the degree if he wants to. I am not, of course, suggesting that players should leave early, but there are a lot of factors involved and the "best" choice isn't always clear.

Also, Jean-Marc Pelletier played many more games in the Q in 1997-98 than he would have if he had stayed at Cornell and shared goaltending duties with Jason Elliott. Because Dave LeNeveu has the chance to be the #1 goaltender at Cornell for the next three years, staying in school is a more attractive option for him than it was for Jean-Marc.

Changing the topic away from goalies, the Devils drafted class of 2007 recruit Dan Glover in the 8th round (250 overall) today. Glover is a defenseman for the Camrose Kodiaks. His teammate and fellow class of 2007 recruit Kevin McLeod won't be eligible for the draft until 2004.

The class of 2006 recruits will be eligible for next year's draft. Shane Hynes and Matt Moulson earned spots on the Central Scouting Service's midseason rankings this year. (I'm pretty sure they got dropped from the CSS rankings because they did not opt into this year's draft. Opting into the draft as an 18 year old forfeits one's college eligibility.)

[q]Higgins went way high. Who knows, maybe the Canadians will move him up[/q]

In today's Newsday, Higgins says that he'll most likely stay at Yale for now.

ECAC Draftees in this draft:

1 014 MTL Chris Higgins, Yale
2 046 PHX David LeNeveu, Cornell
3 070 PHX Joe Callahan, Yale
5 161 PHA Dov Grumet-Morris, Harvard
6 172 NSH Mike McKenna, St. Lawrence
6 193 PHA Joey Mormina, Colgate
7 227 COL Ryan Steeves, Yale
8 239 PGH Ryan Lannon, Harvard
9 270 NYR Rob Flynn, Harvard

There may be incoming players as well.

Clarkson recruit Jeff Genovy was drafted in the third round I believe.

and there was another st lawrence player picked - by phoenix - they seem to like ECAC players (picked 3)

OK. I'll bite. Am I missing something?

Is that a philosophical question, Age?