Jessiman to the ECHL?

[calgARI '07]

[Q]ursaminor Wrote:

 Note to self. Check this thread a month after Pokulok has turned pro.  [/q]

I'm glad someone said it.  I didn't wanna be the one to do it.

[ursusminor]

[Q]calgARI '07 Wrote:

 [Q2]ursaminor Wrote:

 Note to self. Check this thread a month after Pokulok has turned pro.  [/Q]
I'm glad someone said it.  I didn't wanna be the one to do it.[/q]

I am an RPI fan. I can say it :-D, and since RPI hasn't had an NHL draft choices at all since 2001 and has never had a #1 selection, there is nothing comparable in our history. (We have had our share of players who were drafted only because of their size. Here's RPI's complete list   http://www.augenblick.org/rpi/h_nhl.html.)

[Drew]

Ursaminor,

Interesting,  Adam Oates wasn't drafted ?  I believe he signed a 1 million dollar rookie contract, which was a ton of money back then, didn't realize it went to an undrafted free agent.

[ursusminor]

[Q]Drew Wrote:

 

Ursaminor,

Interesting,  Adam Oates wasn't drafted ?  I believe he signed a 1 million dollar rookie contract, which was a ton of money back then, didn't realize it went to an undrafted free agent.[/q]

That's correct -- he wasn't drafted. I think that he got on the order of  0.5 million dollars but I could be wrong. Detroit signed at least four college free agents in 1985. Besides for Oates, they were Tim Friday (his teammate at RPI), Chris Cichocki of MTU, and Ray Staszak of UIC. Staszuk was supposed to be the best of the lot but was a complete bust.

Oates' draft year was a year when the draft age was lowered, so effectively two years worth of players were drafted at the same time. That and his lack of speed and size caused him not to be drafted. His ability at faceoffs and passing were apparently regarded as less important.

[mjh89]

D. Brown is gonna turn out to be the steal of the draft!

[RichS]

Clarkson's Dave Taylor was "barely" drafted, having been the last choice in '74 (IIRC).  In that same year, Tom Glavine was also drafted by the Kings in a much higher round.

He and Oates had many characteristics in common.

[calgARI '07]

The 2003 draft will probably turn out to be the best draft ever.  Tons of great players in the first two rounds.  Dion Phaneuf for Calgary may just be the best one.  Think Scott Stevens with offensive ability.  He is the best rookie in the NHL right now but you'll never hear about him because he plays in Calgary and his name isn't Crosby or Ovechkin.  He is averaging 24 minutes a night (like 5 minutes more than any other rookie), and has been Calgary's best player so far this season.  He was picked second to Crosby for CHL player of the year last year, getting a lot closer than many would have thought.  Named top defenesman at the WJC the last two years.

[CowbellGuy]

Sasha will get to the NHL. How you can even mention him on the same website as Jessiman is beyond me.

[calgARI '07]

[Q]CowbellGuy Wrote:

 Sasha will get to the NHL. How you can even mention him on the same website as Jessiman is beyond me.[/q]

Easily.  If Pokuluk were 6'2, he would have been a mid-round pick.  Same goes for Jessiman.  I agree that Pokuluk will go to the NHL and I don't think Jessiman will make it but the point is that their draft positions were heavily inflated because of their respecitve sizes.  

[CowbellGuy]

[Q]calgARI '07 Wrote:
If Pokuluk were 6'2, he would have been a mid-round pick.[/q]
I don't buy that for a minute. His size helped, but that's not what got him drafted high.

[Will]

[Q]CowbellGuy Wrote:

 Sasha will get to the NHL. How you can even mention him on the same website as Jessiman is beyond me.[/q]

Well, we seem to do that here all the time, though mostly to praise Pokulok and blast Jessiman. :-D

[Tub(a)]

[Q]CowbellGuy Wrote:

 [Q2]calgARI '07 Wrote:
If Pokuluk were 6'2, he would have been a mid-round pick.[/Q]
I don't buy that for a minute. His size helped, but that's not what got him drafted high.[/q]

I dunno, I think a lot of teams would have ignored him if he was a whole 3 inches shorter.

The hard shot, power play vision, and great positioning are moot if you are a poor 6'2" midget.

[ursusminor]

[Q]CowbellGuy Wrote:

 Sasha will get to the NHL. How you can even mention him on the same website as Jessiman is beyond me.[/q]

I would think that this was tongue-in-cheek, but I don't see any smilies. While I hope that  Pokulok has a successful NHL career if that is what he wants; as has been said, he would not have been a first-round draft choice if he were a few inches shorter. Even then, it was the Capitals who drafted him, and they are notorious for drafting poorly (almost as poorly as the Rangers :-D ).