My senators draft wish list - 2010

I do not know why, but i am a great fan of draft day. It is one of the hockey days i most look forward to. I wanted to be more proactive and i wanted to setup a list of potential senators i would like to see in the future.

My ground rules:

1. I select players that we have a reasonable chance of picking up. I would like to have Taylor Hall, but there is no chance that he will be available at the 16th pick.
2. I go with organizational needs. Senators need young wingers first and defensemen last.
3. This is really just my personnal opinions, but i am put them out there and since these are prospects, we will only see the results in years.

My picksafter the jump.

It all depends if players are picked before the senator.

First round: in this order and who is left: Mikael Granlund, Kirill Kabanov, John McFarland

Later rounds: Joonas Donskoi, Teemu Pulkkinen, Brett Bulmer, Sondre Olden, Konrad Abeltshauser.

Ideally, I would love:

1st: Mikael Granlund - C

3rd: Joonas Donskoi - W

4th: Teemu Pulkkinen - W

5th: Sondre Olden - F

6th: Konrad Abeltsauser – D

Joonas Donskoï: Winger. I like him a lot. Might go in the 100 overall (senators have the 106 pick – 4th round). I LOVE his playoff stats and his penalty minutes (high and low). He seems like a player that buzzes around the net and picks up rebounds and deflections. I would pick him in the third - 76th pick, to be sure. Plus he is a versatile winger and we need them. I adore the fact that he seems a clutch player, look at his playoff stats.

http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?p=22301116

http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=16039

Teemu Pulkkinen: Winger. Another winger. He seems like a Kovalev type player, in a good way. He seems like a natural goal scorer and finisher. He can play the puck and he’s a fast skater. Probably not but if he is available in the 4th or 5th round. He seems to be ranked all over the place. Some have him in the top 10 and others much lower. Now it seems like a shame we do not have those two 2nd round picks.

http://thehockeywriters.com/prospect-profile-teemu-pulkkinen-jokerit-helsinki-sm-liiga/

Sondre Olden: Forward. A 6’4’’ player that can play every forward position. He might be a prospect. He doesn’t seems to have been tested that much but he might explode. These stats are what makes him interesting.

2007-2008 – Under 19 league -  19 games 20 goals 18 assists  12 PIM

2008-2009 – Under 19 league -   19 games 32 goals 35assists  18 PIM

Hopefully, he will grow into this kind of player, He would surely be worth a garbage 5-6-7th round pick.

http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=27945

Brett Bulmer: Right wing. A 6’2’’ right winger that seems like an energy working guy with some scoring upside. He seems to be a late second or early third round. If the senators can get him at the third round, then the choice could be between him and Joonas Donskoï.

http://nhldraftnotes.blogspot.com/2010/05/brett-bulmer-rw-kelowna-whl.html

Konrad Abeltshaüser: Defense. A 6’4’’ defensemen with little upside. Got injured. Might be a cheap pick up that would of gone higher if he wasn’t injured. Jared Cowen style pick. He might be a good pickup if our desired player is picked up right before us. Sort of when Toronto picked Nazem Kadri right before us and we picked Jared Cowen instead.

http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=670594

Kiril Kabanov: Right wing. One of the most gifted players in the draft, would be a top 5 pick, except that he has had contract problems for years. He seems to be NHL ready and to pick a NHL ready player at the 16th pick would be a good move, but that depends on the problems, if any, he brings. To have a 6’3’’ scoring winger with problems will make me think of Heatly, good and possibly bad. This player needs to play on the top two lines either in the NHL, AHL or Europe. Not the type of player you develop thru grinding on the third line or sit on the bench on the fourth line. If we have a place for him in the top 6 and he is available, I would pick him up.

http://thehockeywriters.com/prospect-profile-kirill-kabanov-moncton-wildcats-qmjhl/

Mikael Granlund: Center. A playmaker, as we have Jason Spezza, he would ideally help make a good one-two punch of good playmaker centers, like Crosby-Malkin, Gomez-Drury. We have a lot a centermen (Spezza, Fisher, Regin, Kelly, *Cullen*, Winchester, ect.), this is not a positional need but he is ranked as the best European skater and he has played with Pulkkinen. He would not be a slam dunk (no way we could get one at the 16th position), but him and Spezza would set us at the centre position for years. He is another pick that we should think of getting if he is still available and who else is still available in the first round. In the second round, he would be a steal.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/draftprospectdetail.htm?dpid=2460

John McFarland: Left wing. If we are looking at the general scouting reports – NHL scouting 15th NA, TSN – preseason: 6th - mid-season: 17th – lottery: off top 10 , he would be the winger most likely to be available at around the 16th position. A 6’1’’ almost 200 pounds winger with a scoring touch. His stock seems to fall but again if all other options are gone, might reverse a downward stock trend. A year ago, he was a top 10 pick. And he is a positional need for the Senators.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/draftprospectdetail.htm?dpid=2297