DRAFT 2004
Round 1
1. Alexander Ovechkin: Best available player in the draft and a cant miss player. The total package, an explosive offensive talent .. an excellent skater with a dynamite first step and explosive acceleration .. has strong legs, it'd take a bulldozer to knock him down .. elite puck skills, a smooth puck handler with soft hands and impressive hand-eye coordination .. lethal, deadly shooting game is one of his true strengths
2. Evgeni Malkin: Some people say Malkin is the best player in the draft but we can not go wrong with this pick. Mature, crafty centerman is always one of the more visible players out on the ice .. a smooth, well-balanced skater with sound top speed and effortless acceleration
3. Cam Barker: Another rough-nosed defenseman for buffalo to go with Phaneuf. He leads very well on and off the ice and is a great guy in the dressing room.
4. Rostislav Olesz: Combative Czech center Rostislav Olesz plays a rugged style of game. He is a solid skater with good balance and deceptive quickness thanks to his superior leg strength. Olesz has superb vision which enables him to control the play of the whole line.
5. Lauri Tukonen: highly skilled, he is a shifty puckhandler with a lethal shot and solid passing skills. One of his main assets is his good hockey sense and vision. Lauri is a very smart player who possesses natural goal-scorer instincts. Despite his terrific offensive arsenal, Tukonen is not one-dimensional as he does come back to help out the defense as well
6. Marek Schwarz: Decent-sized goalie, not small though a bit light .. covers the net surprisingly well and is very tough to beat down low .. resilient, very quick with a terrific glove hand. likes to leave the crease to leave the shooter with little room to work with remarkable poise; very composed and mature for his age
7. Andrew Ladd: Crisp passer, puts the puck right on the tape, explosive wrist shot and can pick the corner started on a line with Ryan Getzlaf and Shaun Landolt .. dished out a stiff check along the boards which led to a bit of a fisticuffs between a number of players .. exceptional speed and mobility to go along with elite acceleration , tremendous passer and playmaker due to NHL-like vision.
8. A.J. Thelen: Rangy rearguard with terrific forward and side-to-side mobility long galloping stride, a very powerful skater with excellent first-step pickup speed and agility for a big man
9. Alexander Radulov: deceptively mobil .. surprised as a gifted playmaker, in a way like Zherdev who was a better passer than originally advertised .. elite vision and mind-boggling stickhandling skills .. too pretty sometimes, like a ballerina and that hurts him .. needs to simplify his game and drive the net more.
10. Alvaro Montoya: His stock soared after backstopping the United States to a under-20 gold medal, posting a 1.33 goals-against average and a .94 save percentage (allowed only eight goals in six games). With his rock-solid performance, Montoya solidified his worth coming off a somewhat inconsistent, although highly successful first half of the season.
11. Rob Schremp: A dynamic, skilled and mature player ... Quick, shifty with good reaction time ... A wizard with the puck, a spectacular stickhandler, crafty and creative ... Willing to fight for the puck along the boards, relentless and strong ... Sees the ice well, keeps head up and aware of the play ... Accelerates well and solid positionally ... Smart with the puck, quick thinker and anticipates the play well, but needs to shoot more ... Strong on the puck, good lower body strength
12. To Be Announced - UFHL Playoff Champ Drew Stafford: Great size, strong on his skates, smooth laterally with excellent top-end speed .. has a strong hold on the puck at full speed .. drove to the net consistently and created scoring chances .. gets involved physically, fights for pucks and reacts well to shifts in possession
13. Aleaxandre Picard: A dedicated sniper with an explosive first step and a hunched-over stride who zeroes in on the net and gets into prime scoring positions at opportune times. A tenacious force on the ice, though not a physical presence, Picard wins puck battles and uses his size well as a goal-scorer
14. Mike Green: A rare specimen of a defenseman - mobile, skilled and one tough s.o.b. physically. The only thing that really works against him is the fact that he doesn't have imposing size to complement his meanness. Strong legs, very dangerous on the rush, comfortable playing the point with a confident playmaking game. A player who seems to have an answer for every question.
15. Wojtek Wolski: A quick, shifty left-winger with short, constant skating strides Possesses impressive lateral speed, which he uses to his advantage on the forecheck and backcheck Terrific take-off speed and vision, along with advanced puck skills Smart, hard-working and has shown an increased willingness to use his body in traffic
16. Ladislav Smid: Slick Czech defensemen strongest assets are arguably his exceptional puckhandling ability and a special knack for weaving his way through heavy traffic. A terrific stickhandler, he is also very adept at making accurate, precisely-timed outlet passes. However, Ladislav Smid does tend to overhandle the puck at times, which can get into hot water
17. Wes O'Neill: Heavy defender is a rock in his own end .. strong on the puck and distributes it accurately .. accelerates well, but has to develop a quicker burst in the first few strides .. a fixture on the powerplay throughout the tournament .. positionally solid and played his body well physically
18. Kyle Chipchura: An all-around player, Chipchura doesn't dominate at any specific aspect, but does everything well regardless. More orientated as a playmaking center, Chipchura's real strength lies in his assets that also impact the team off the ice, most notably his leadership and desire to win.
19. Jakub Sindel: Excellent skater; has a very smooth stride .. slips through opposing defenses due to his mobility and quickness .. agile with a nice first step .. very soft hands; handles the puck flawlessly .. very crafty; has elite-level offensive instincts .. a natural goal scorer thus far at every level who thrives in one-on-one situations .. a strong PP threat .. excellent vision and a crafty playmaker.
20. Andrej Meszaros: An offensively-skilled defenseman a smooth puckhandler and above-average passer a strong and fluid forwards skater, Meszaros has deceptive straight-ahead speed due to a long, casual-looking stride still, he would benefit from adding more explosiveness to his first few steps displays excellent poise when moving the puck strong leadership qualities possesses a solid, accurate shot, but could use more velocity.
21. Enver Lisin: Possibly the finest skater in his draft class .. terrific top speed, quick first step with good balance .. primarily a shooter and must learn to share the puck better .. puck control skills are solid, but not elite .. must work on his strength on the puck, especially in traffic areas .. has a quick stick, finds loose pucks effectively and knocks pucks out from opposing sticks with a big reach .. has a crisp, accurate wrister he can unleash from anywhere with exceptional release
22. Cory Schneider: Economical, poised netminder with an impressive frame he uses well to take up much of the net .. does not lunge after pucks, rather calculating his movements in conjunction with the direction of the shot .. athletic, with a solid positional game .. really takes away the angles by challenging shooters .. has a calm aura, provides his team with a certain confidence and on-ice leadership
23. Johan Fransson: A skilled, smooth-skating rearguard who plays a strong transition game has solid stickhandling abilities and identifies playmaking opportunities easily although he does concentrate on defense first, he also likes to join the rush quite frequently and show off his smart passing and shooting skills possesses a dangerous point shot thanks to a quick, accurate release doesn't have a hulking frame, but plays a solid physical game for his age
24. David Bolland: Has explosive acceleration .. top speed isn't gap creating .. seems a little off balance at times but at top speed he will make a set of extraordinary moves and turn a defender inside out .. shows good agility in top fight, stopping or turning in a different direction .. wrist shot is very hard and possesses a quick release .. shows excellent patience and smarts with the puck, natural goal scoring instincts .. creates a great number of opportunities due to his work ethic and aggressive fore checking style
25. Lukas Kasper: Big guy who skates remarkably well for his size .. explodes quickly to pounce on pucks .. has soft hands and a nose for the net .. has a good slapper and a sneaky wrister at his disposal to finish off plays .. likes to shoot; prefers to fire the puck in favour of passing .. an inventive sniper; lethal in one-on-one situations
26. Roman Voloshenko: A physical forward with pretty good finish .. an involved participant along the boards, likes to take the body and plays strong on the puck .. good puck mover along the boards and doesn't avoid crowds .. not the smoothest skater, struggles with his first step and falls behind in rushes .. straight-away speed is okay
27. Devan Dubnyk: A big goalie who isnt flashy but gets the job done. Dubnyk is exceptional at taking away the lower part of the net while still taking away the upper half of the net even when he goes down. He squares himself to the shooter and is always in position for the save. He is very good at reading the play and reacting to it. Appears very calm and confident in his play, seems to thrive on the pressure. Handles the puck well.
28. Travis Zajac: A bit more of a perimeter player compared to his linemate Kris Chucko .. wears the A .. battles on the draw .. fluid skater and proved it by going end to end for a scoring chance .. has a superb burst to get up to full speed within a few steps .. dazzling skater with elite top end speed .. displays striking leaderships skills, a real student of the game .. finds the holes with seeing eye passes .. tremendous playmaker. Regular Season Champion
29. Adam Pineault: throws his body around, fights for pucks and creates good scoring chances. He is a good skater for a player of his size, although he still could use a bigger burst of speed. Well-balanced and strong, Pineault really knows how to use his size to protect the puck. Blessed with sharp instincts, he is not only a creative playmaker, but also has considerable finishing skills. Pineault has a heavy slap shot and a quick wrister, both of which he releases in a hurry.
