2011 Ottawa Senators draft recap
Maybe you missed the drama of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft this weekend, or maybe you just want to relive it. If you're wondering what kind of madness Bryan Murray and staff got themselves into, you've clicked on the right article. Welcome to the Silver Seven Draft recap!
None of our stupid idiot fantasies about trading up came true. In fact, Florida Panthers GM Dale Tallon called me personally to tell me that my plan to acquire the the third overall was "the single stupidest thing" he'd ever heard in his life, and that "Every GM on the floor has been forwarding it to each other whenever they need a laugh all morning long." He then told me "The world would be a better place" if I stopped writing about hockey, screamed "BEOTCH!" and hung up laughing hysterically. I thought that was a little mean, but the point is that the Senators selected 6th overall, where they were slated to all along.
1st round (6th overall): With that pick, the team selected center Mika Zibanejad over Sean Couturier, to the dismay of armchair GMs everywhere. Professional scouts such as Don Brennan are already pointing that Couturier was once ranked number one on the Internet, which automatically makes him better than anyone who wasn't ranked number one by the magic series of tubes. Be sure to lock up your Zibanejad hate cliche ("He's got a lot to prove", "He's just another Mike Fisher", and blatant racsim I will not repeat are already taken) early even though you've never even seen a SEL game--you won't have any street cred at the Sens fans' cynicism parties if you can't say "I told you so" before everyone else!
Watch Zibanejad embarrass Adam Larsson on the way to scoring a goal here. Then read more about the selection including the crucial nickname debate here.
(read on for the rest of the picks...)
1st round (21st overall): Here the Senators made a selection that had a lot of people asking, "Who?" in Stefan Noesen. He's a big kid with an ultra-high compete level who Murray compared to 50-goal scorer and current league MVP Corey Perry. Considering Murray is the one who drafted Perry, this is a slightly more credible comparison than most of the draft hype names we hear.
Check out Noesen's first career OHL goal here. Then read more about him and who he compares himself to (not Corey Perry) here.
1st round (24th overall): That's right, Murray was not done drafting in the first round. Continuing his tradition of giving away second round picks like AOL CD's, he traded the 35th and 48th overall picks to Detroit for the right to choose again in the first round, this time following new head coach Paul MacLean's suggestion to "try this scoring thing out" and selecting sniper Matt Puempel.
Check out some of Puempel's highlights here. Then read more about him and his hip here.
2nd round (61st overall): Murray then performed a magic trick turning "bad guy" Chris Kelly into local good guy Shane Prince. Eugene Melnyk must be thrilled. Local Ottawans might be more familiar with Prince than I am, but he seems like a good investment at this selection.
Shane Prince highlights set to an overplayed Guns 'n Roses song can be seen here. Sorry. You can read about his oodles of potential here.
3rd round (66th overall): Traded for Nikita Filatov, the 6th overall pick in 2008, and perennial headache of former Blue Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock.
He is very talented. Click here to talk about how this could be a huge steal for Ottawa or to make the required Alex Kovalev comparison.
4th round (96th overall): In the fourth, Ottawa selected Jean-Gabriel Pageau, a decsion that would have been booed if Minnesota fans in attendance had been paying attention and realized he spoke French.
You can read about his claim to fame here. Then check out his highlight reel here.
5th round (126th overall): Defenseman Fredrik Claesson of the Swedish Elite League. Yes, Sweden is Ottawa's farm team. You're hilarious.
Here's an interview with him. My Swedish is a little rusty, but I do believe they're discussing meatball recipes. Read more about the team's Volchenkovian hopes for him here.
6th round (156th overall): Center and favorite of dentists everywhere Darren Kramer.
Here's Kramer having a gentleman's disagreement. Read about his love of peanut butter here.
6th round (171st overall): The pick acquired for Jarrko Ruutu was used on Max McCormick, a player I don't have any jokes for.
Watch this uninspiring interview here, then comment on it here.
7th round (186th overall): Jordan Fransoo, defenseman from the Brandon Wheat Kings. You don't have to pretend you read this far. We both know you stopped after Filatov.
Here's our profile of Fransoo.
7th round (204th overall): Ryan Dzingel, who I already used my best jokes on in the writeup.
Overall, not a bad haul for the Senators. It's clear their emphasis this year was on forwards with a high level of competitiveness, and Filatov. What are your thoughts on the draft overall?
