rb4u

Would be nicer if we can dump the 2014-2015 season and join the McJesus sweepstakes... http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noureen_DeWulf Woof! Woof!

One would suspect that there is already an agreement in place with a tier one UFAs. 2 players traded. Tampa's clearing a roster spot for Drouhin. Must be nice having organizational depth in the forward position... Not so in the case of the back end as their top 2 defensive prospects are at least a couple of years away.

Took a peek at Virtanen's highlight reel, and he looks to have a great shot with a quick release, an outstanding backhand, decent speed and size (vs his age group) and isn't afraid of physical contact. My only concern is how this skill set translates into the NHL where his size and speed won't necessary translate into any tangible advantage (ie. goalies and defensemen are just as big and quick... don't see all those wraparounds happening at the Pros). Take away the ability to bully his way to the net to release that shot, are we still looking at the same player (his passing ability doesn't particularly stand out to me)? Draisati on the other hand looks to rely on his excellent on ice vision to make others better. Not as physical, doesn't have close to the same shot and breakaway speed though. How does that translate into the NHL? Will he be outmuscled and thus stop being an impact player? Will defenders take away his passing lanes making him less effective? On another note, I took a look at Central Scouting Lists from 2004-2012, and noticed that they are pretty bang on in their assessment from No 1-5 picks. Teams who follow their list almost always drafted a NHL player (some having a bigger impact than others obviously). After the 5th pick is where the order on the Central Scouting List isn't as big a determinant on the probabitly of success of a prospect. At this point we are at the cutoff, and our best hope is that one of the teams ahead of us goes off the board and allows a top 5 player to drop down to us. Else, our chances of drafting a player is just as good 6-12 (stacked draft years like 2003 being the obviously exception). Personally I would hope that anyone from the Top 5 list drops down to us. Else I would probably pick Virtanen based on his elite level shot and willingness to be physical. Fingers crossed that he will still grow and fill out (he is 18 after all) to allow him to bully his way to the scoring areas. Skating wise, he is NHL ready with the potential to get quicker if he keeps on working at it. Bonus will be that he is a local kid. I won't even hold it against him that he seems to be a little selfish with the puck (aren't all the snipers like that to some degree?).

Holy old thread Batman! Dude. Make sure you check through the thread before posting...

Anyone see Sestito chuck the gloves at the trainer's face, while they were going back to the dressing room during the second intermission? Hey buddy.... HAVE SOME BLOODY RESPECT!!!!