Well, we're closing in on draft day (now only 10 days away) and the mock drafts are in high gear.
The two most recent mock drafts released today left me a little surprised, however, with what they see OTT doing with its first round pick. They both have the Ottawa Senators, with the 9th pick overall, selecting....
Nazem Kadri.
TSN's Shane Malloy: http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=281920
Dobber's Prospect Report: [not available, must purchase the document to view it -- or win the Dobber Entry League, like me, and get it for free!]
Dobber's take on Kadri to the Sens:
9. Ottawa Senators
Who: C/LW Nazem Kadri (OHL)
Why: No matter where Dany Heatley ends up, his departure still leaves a significant hole in Ottawa. While the Sens should be able to return at least one blue-chip forward prospect in any deal, adding another at the draft table would assure the Sens don't suffer in the future from a lack of depth - their current Achilles Heal. Nazem Kadri is a (sort of) hometown boy, born 'only' six hours away in London, Ontario. His mix of decent size and dazzling skill is a captivating package for a team looking to build a second line.
In five years... Foligno and Kadri aren't anything like Heatley and Spezza. For one, the former duo boast work ethic and a passion to play in traffic the latter only dream about.
Malloy's top 30 you can see for yourself, and then compare against Dobber's projected order, which looks something like this:
Tavaras
Hedman
Duchene }consensus top 5
Kane
Schenn
Kulikov
Cowen
MPS
Kadri
Glennie
Schroeder
Kassian
Ellis
OEL <really low...
Moore
Despres
Josefson
Leblanc
Kreider
Runblad
De Haan
Erixon
Ashton
Palmieri
Olsen
Holland
Werek
Shore
Tatar
Ferraro
Some things to take out of these reports:
1) Both agree that PHO (picking at #6) will take take a D (either OEL or Kulikov).
2) Both see Cowen going at 7, to the Leafs, no less.
3) Both see MPS going off the board right before we pick, to DAL, leaving us to pick Kadri.
4) After the top 15 or so players, there's all kinds of disagreement about what order the players will go in, and indeed who even ought to be in the top 30 (I count three guys who don't make it onto the other guy's list).
Also, because who doesn't like speculating about this stuff?, here are Dobber's guesses at the guys OTT will draft rounds 1-4 (given their current picks, of course):
#9: Nazem Kadri (C/LW)
#39: Erik Haula (LW)
#46: Mike Lee (G) -- yeah, I'm surprised, too
#100: Roman Horak (C)
So.... thoughts? comments? speculations? As a former prof of mine would put at the end of a 3-paragraph so-called "question,".... Discuss!
The two most recent mock drafts released today left me a little surprised, however, with what they see OTT doing with its first round pick. They both have the Ottawa Senators, with the 9th pick overall, selecting....
Nazem Kadri.
TSN's Shane Malloy: http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=281920
Dobber's Prospect Report: [not available, must purchase the document to view it -- or win the Dobber Entry League, like me, and get it for free!]
Dobber's take on Kadri to the Sens:
9. Ottawa Senators
Who: C/LW Nazem Kadri (OHL)
Why: No matter where Dany Heatley ends up, his departure still leaves a significant hole in Ottawa. While the Sens should be able to return at least one blue-chip forward prospect in any deal, adding another at the draft table would assure the Sens don't suffer in the future from a lack of depth - their current Achilles Heal. Nazem Kadri is a (sort of) hometown boy, born 'only' six hours away in London, Ontario. His mix of decent size and dazzling skill is a captivating package for a team looking to build a second line.
In five years... Foligno and Kadri aren't anything like Heatley and Spezza. For one, the former duo boast work ethic and a passion to play in traffic the latter only dream about.
Malloy's top 30 you can see for yourself, and then compare against Dobber's projected order, which looks something like this:
Tavaras
Hedman
Duchene }consensus top 5
Kane
Schenn
Kulikov
Cowen
MPS
Kadri
Glennie
Schroeder
Kassian
Ellis
OEL <really low...
Moore
Despres
Josefson
Leblanc
Kreider
Runblad
De Haan
Erixon
Ashton
Palmieri
Olsen
Holland
Werek
Shore
Tatar
Ferraro
Some things to take out of these reports:
1) Both agree that PHO (picking at #6) will take take a D (either OEL or Kulikov).
2) Both see Cowen going at 7, to the Leafs, no less.
3) Both see MPS going off the board right before we pick, to DAL, leaving us to pick Kadri.
4) After the top 15 or so players, there's all kinds of disagreement about what order the players will go in, and indeed who even ought to be in the top 30 (I count three guys who don't make it onto the other guy's list).
Also, because who doesn't like speculating about this stuff?, here are Dobber's guesses at the guys OTT will draft rounds 1-4 (given their current picks, of course):
#9: Nazem Kadri (C/LW)
#39: Erik Haula (LW)
#46: Mike Lee (G) -- yeah, I'm surprised, too
#100: Roman Horak (C)
So.... thoughts? comments? speculations? As a former prof of mine would put at the end of a 3-paragraph so-called "question,".... Discuss!