TSN Ranks Riley Nash #33 for the upcoming draft

[CowbellGuy]

Edmonton just traded up to take Riley 21st

[scoop85]

Impressive that Edmonton traded up for Riley.  I'm also heartened that Lowe said his team's picks (3 out of the top 21) were geared toward the future.

Also rather interesting how much divergence there was among the various scouting organizations regarding many of the players, including Riley.  Just goes to show how imperfect a science all this is.

[RichH]

I'll be safety-Trotsky tonight...

Riley becomes the 2nd first-round draftee in CU history and the 4th highest overall pick.

http://www.tbrw.info/players/cornellNHLDraft.html

[Trotsky]

Safety Trotsky...

[Josh '99]

For those who might be curious what the Oilers tend to do with college players they draft...

Last year they drafted defenseman Cody Wild, who plays for Providence, in the 5th round.  He returned for his sophomore year last season, and appears to be staying at PC again this coming season.

In 2005 they drafted four college players.  In the first round (#25 overall) the Oilers took Andrew Cogliano, a center who was headed to Michigan.  He played two seasons there so far (28 points as a freshman, 50 as a sophomore) and signed a pro contract in May.  In the second round they took Taylor Chorney, a defenseman who was headed to UND.  Chorney had 18 points as a freshman, 31 as a sophomore, and seems to be going back for another year.  In the fourth round was Chris Vande Velde, a center who played another year in junior after being drafted and started at UND this year.  He had just 9 points as a freshman and will return to the Sioux.  Finally, in the seventh round they drafted winger Matthew Glasser, who also played another year in juniors and then enrolled at Denver.  Glasser only played 12 games as a freshman, had no points, and presumably doesn't have the Oil beating down his door quite yet.

The Oilers picked one college player in 2004, incoming Denver wing Geoff Paukovich.  He's a big guy, lots of penalty minutes and not too many points type, and will be an assistant captain as a senior for the Pios this coming season.

Both of the college players the Oilers drafted in 2003 (Providence wing Colin McDonald in the second round and Michigan defenseman David Rohlfs in the fifth) stayed in college all four years.

There were a decent number of collegians drafted by Edmonton in 2002.  In the second round they picked physical defenseman Matt Greene, who was headed to UND.  Greene had 337 PIM in 3 seasons with the Sioux before signing a contract; he played 78 games for the Oilers this past season.  In the next round was wing Brock Radunske, who had just finished his freshman year at Michigan State.  Radunske played two more years in East Lansing before signing; he's bounced back and forth between the A and the ECHL since then.  Then in the fifth round they picked goalie Glenn Fisher, who played another season in juniors before enrolling at Denver.  He stayed all four years, mainly as a platoon goalie, and is projected to play in the ECHL next year.  In the seventh round the Oil picked Patrick Murphy, who was headed to Northern Michigan.  He stayed for all four years, never putting up more than 8 points in a season, and played a few games in the CHL this past season.  Finally, in the (now non-existent) eighth round, they picked center Dwight Helminen, who had just finished his freshman year at Michigan.  He stayed at Michigan for another two years, but since his rights were dealt to the Rangers in the meantime, it's not really relevant.

So in total that's 13 college players in the last five drafts.  Of the players who are old enough to have been in college for all four years, four out of seven did so; the other three stayed for three years.  Cogliano (a first-round pick who put up good numbers) was the only one to leave after two years.

I don't feel like looking back any further, but if anyone is curious, here's their draft history on HockeyDB.  A preview of their 2001 draft:  the craziness of Eddie Caron.

[RichH]

First of all, I'm horrified to see the asterisk next to Brendon Nash's name, but I'm hoping against hope that it's just a USCHO mistake:

http://www.uscho.com/agate/item,draft07.html


http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=211595&hubname=nhl
[q]"I was mostly Canucks growing up but the Oilers are a good fit," said Nash.

Nash will play college hockey at Cornell in the autumn and has some areas he wants to improve in his game.

"I got to get a better stride," he said. "I'm not quick enough. And I need a better shot, all NHL players have great shots."[/q]

http://www.sbrforum.com/Headlines/NHL/45972.aspx
[q]"I thought maybe I might go sometime in the middle of the second round, but when I saw them trade up, I had a good feeling," Nash said. "It feels great and I am looking forward to joining the Edmonton Oilers. I am planning on taking it year by year, and sometime soon I will hopefully be able to make an impact in the NHL."[/q]


http://www.insidecollegehockey.com/7Archives/Draft/2007/draftnotes_0541.htm
[q]The Big Red set their sights on championships every year. Nash is excited about the challenge.

"I think that's a good thing, having to go out there and perform every night is something I look forward to and having the pressure put on me, I really don't mind that at all. I think it'll make me get better and better each practice and each game. Hopefully we can bring a championship back there," Nash said.[/q]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070622.WBhockeyblog20070622213512/WBStory/WBhockeyblog/
[q]Duhatschek: What are the Oilers thinking?[/q]

http://sports.espn.go.com/fantasy/hockey/fhl/story?id=2913904
[q]21. Riley Nash, C, Oilers: Nash is a bit of a long-term project, like Turris. He needs to put in a couple years against better competition after dominating the British Columbia Hockey League. Edmonton has the luxury of waiting on a player like Nash because of their strong system. Nash is not someone fantasy owners have to worry about for a long time.[/q]

[DILLIGAF]

[quote evilnaturedrobot][What is so disturbing about the recent two defections is that neither Milo or Romano was offered a pro contract, but instead left to join teams on the junior level.  It's hard to blame a kid when he inks a deal with an NHL team, but when they leave to join other youth teams it's a vote of no confidence in the Cornell program.  [/quote]

Signing with a OHL team is hardly "joining a youth team".  The CHL is the premier development league for the NHL.  Those teams run budgets much larger than Cornell does and the players are paid.  It is professional hockey.

But I do agree with you that you can consider it a vote of no confidence in Cornell.

[DILLIGAF]

Nice breakdown of that.  That edmonton has kept their top prospects in college as much as they have surprises me.  I would have expected much more of a CHL influence.  

That being said, I do think you will see a lot of pressure for Nash to sign with a whl team and stay in western canada and develop in the Major Junior system.

Player development at top programs in the WCHA is much different than at cornell.  You just don't see the same level of player development which is why players here leave early.

[redhair34]

[quote DILLIGAF]  
That being said, I do think you will see a lot of pressure for Nash to sign with a whl team and stay in western canada and develop in the Major Junior system.
[/quote]

That could be the case, but I like hearing this...

Oilers Vice President of Hockey Operations Kevin Prendergast: "He's got great hockey sense ... and he shows up to play every night. He's all over the ice. He's going to a good hockey school. He's a kid, in our estimation, who will play for sure and he's got all the skills to develop into a solid NHL player."
http://insidecollegehockey.com/7Archives/Draft/2007/draftround1_0541.htm

[redhair34]

I wonder how Ari feels about Nash going to Edmonton.

[The Rancor]

The Oilers moved up, dealing their 30th and 36th selections, to grab Nash, a rangy centre who was the BCHL's rookie of the year after collecting 83 points in 55 games. He's off to Cornell university, but expects to be on the professional tracks before long.

"I think I'll take it year by year," Nash said. "I probably won't stay the four years, but if I have to, I will."

Although Nash was ranked 64th among North American skaters by Central Scouting, Prendergast wanted to move up to get their man.

"He shows up to play every night and he plays all over the ice. He's not intimidated," he said of Nash.

"He's at his pace as far as turning pro, but here's a kid that, in our estimation is gonna play, for sure. He's got all the tools to be a solid NHL player."


GRR!!!

[redice]

[quote RichH]First of all, I'm horrified to see the asterisk next to Brendon Nash's name, but I'm hoping against hope that it's just a USCHO mistake:

http://www.uscho.com/agate/item,draft07.html[/quote]

I wonder if this is somehow tied to Brendon's knee injury.    Is the injury bad enough that they would have already decided that he's not part of the 2007-08 team?   I hope the answer is:  "no".   I'd prefer it to be a USCHO mistake.

[DILLIGAF]

[quote redice
I wonder if this is somehow tied to Brendon's knee injury.    Is the injury bad enough that they would have already decided that he's not part of the 2007-08 team?   I hope the answer is:  "no".   I'd prefer it to be a USCHO mistake.[/quote]

He knee injury is comparable to the injury that Duante Culpepper suffered a couple of years ago.  It would surprise me greatly that the elder Nash is able to play this season.  Hopefully he will just be able to come back from it at some point, but this season is very unrealistic.

Wouldn't the notation be "medical redshirt" if he was still with the team?  This doesn't bode well for the team.  

What link does Riley have if his brother isn't playing?

[The Rancor]

[quote DILLIGAF][quote redice
I wonder if this is somehow tied to Brendon's knee injury.    Is the injury bad enough that they would have already decided that he's not part of the 2007-08 team?   I hope the answer is:  "no".   I'd prefer it to be a USCHO mistake.[/quote]

He knee injury is comparable to the injury that Duante Culpepper suffered a couple of years ago.  It would surprise me greatly that the elder Nash is able to play this season.  Hopefully he will just be able to come back from it at some point, but this season is very unrealistic.

Wouldn't the notation be "medical redshirt" if he was still with the team?  This doesn't bode well for the team.  

What link does Riley have if his brother isn't playing?[/quote]

will some one please PM me with details?

[evilnaturedrobot]

[quote DILLIGAF][quote evilnaturedrobot][What is so disturbing about the recent two defections is that neither Milo or Romano was offered a pro contract, but instead left to join teams on the junior level.  It's hard to blame a kid when he inks a deal with an NHL team, but when they leave to join other youth teams it's a vote of no confidence in the Cornell program.  [/quote]

Signing with a OHL team is hardly "joining a youth team".  The CHL is the premier development league for the NHL.  Those teams run budgets much larger than Cornell does and the players are paid.  It is professional hockey.

But I do agree with you that you can consider it a vote of no confidence in Cornell.[/quote]

By youth team I meen Junior level hockey.  I don't want to get into the NCAA/CHL level of competition debate, but I think we can safely say that college hockey (due to the drasticaly older age of the players) is atleast comparable to the CHL, and probably a bit tougher.  Leaving for the CHL is a lateral move in terms of competition, it's not like signing a pro contract and going to the NHL or AHL.  What this says is that Romano and Milo didn't feel that they where going to develop at Cornell, and that is disconcerting.