Unconfirmed, but I am hearing that Pokuluk is 30th among North American skaters. The full, published rankings are due out today, so more to follow.
Pokulok #30, Greening #61, Connors #103.
you can see these by going to centralscouting.nhl.com
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pass: hockey 2004
Mike Kennedy #235
Good draft year coming up it looks like. Too bad there won't be a draft.
It looks like Sasha is highest ranked player currently playing in the NCAA's. B-]
OK, maybe this is a stupid question, but why does the lock-out affect the draft at all? There is still an NHL. Old players are still aging. New players are coming of age. The ownership should want a draft, since it forestalls bidding. If there is no general agreement, then the owners can do whatever they want. How can the players' association have any effect on a group of prospects who aren't members yet?
I wouldn't think the lock-out would affect the draft either. Heck, the apparently still afloat WHA had a draft last year, and they've never even played a game. I'm not sure how they'd decide what order to pick in, though.
They cannot fairly depict a draft order because there was no season. It would be totally unfair if they went with last year's order and with Crosby in the fold, things have to be totally fair for all the teams.
Even if Crosby's all that (and every year somebody's allegedly all that), there are still many different ways of constructing a reasonable draft order. Water down last season's order with a regression of lottery odds towards the mean. Or draw a completely random order and then reverse it round by round. Or give him to the Rangers to ensure he doesn't develop.
Determining the top ten picks is what is most important. Once you reach the third round, the order doesn't really matter much because the teams have their picks in mind. All the statistical analysis in the world does not compensate for there being no standings and ensuing lottery to base the draft on.
Also, facets of CBA directly relate to contracts for drafted players, draft re-entry, etc. and with no CBA in place, there are far too many gray areas to fairly dictate a draft.
[Q]Greg Berge Wrote:
Or give him [Crosby] to the Rangers to ensure he doesn't develop.[/q]
Meow. Very nicely put.
no draft
here is the article on yahoo
http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news?slug=knight-nhlsdraftnotontap&prov=knight&type=lgns
[Q]jy3 Wrote:
no draft
here is the article on yahoo[/q]LOL... "Rangers make playoffs!", that's a good one! :-D
Draft rules and rules about rookie contracts are part of the collective bargaining agreement. If they held a draft before the work stoppage gets settled then the owners might be bound by the current rules for this years draft class. Makes sense for the owners to wait until things are settled or they implement new rules.
Even aside from that, what's the point of having a draft when the teams won't be playing for an indefinite time? There's no pressure to get new players into the system. The AHL is playing, but there's plenty of talent there with young NHL'ers playing. The longer you wait before drafting someone the more information you have to make an informed decision. So if the strike lasts another year it makes sense to hold the '05 draft when it gets settled.
[Q]jmh30 Wrote:
[Q2]jy3 Wrote:
no draft
here is the article on yahoo[/Q]
LOL... "Rangers make playoffs!", that's a good one! [/q]
LOL, I agree. nothing like the most expensive team not making the playoffs. :) Lets go devils! ;)
[Q]jmh30 Wrote:
[Q2]jy3 Wrote:
no draft
here is the article on yahoo[/Q]
LOL... "Rangers make playoffs!", that's a good one! [/q]
In fact, Age told me that the Rangers were tied for first place.
[Q]jeh25 Wrote:
In fact, Age told me that the Rangers were tied for first place.[/q]
Yeah, but nobody has won more games this season than the Hartford Whalers!