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THN.com Playoff Blog: Will Cup finalists have an influence on draft day?

Jordan Eberle took part in the CHL Top Prospects Game at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alta. (Photo by Dale MacMillan/Getty Images)

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Jordan Eberle took part in the CHL Top Prospects Game at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alta. (Photo by Dale MacMillan/Getty Images)

Jason Kay

Jason Kay
2008-05-24 10:13:02

We’re three years into the post-lockout era and the formula for ultimate Stanley Cup success is still being developed.

Here’s what we know so far:

Year 1, 2006: The Carolina Hurricanes raced their way to glory without the assistance of a designated enforcer. Team speed and skill were their hallmarks and they seemed to figure out the new NHL more quickly than most opponents.

Year 2, 2007: The Anaheim Ducks blended old-time, smash-mouth hockey with considerable portions of skill and defensive acumen. They gained a reputation as an intimidating foe, which spurred some GMs to play copycat and infuse more nastiness to their rosters.

Year 3, 2008: The Cup will be won by a team whose foundation is supreme skill, augmented by sound defensive play and varying degrees of team toughness. Detroit ranked last overall (or first, depending on your viewpoint) in fighting majors this season. Pittsburgh was middle-of-the-pack.

So where do we go from here? The entry draft next month in Ottawa should provide a bellwether for the current team-building trend, if one indeed exists. If scouting staffs buy into the notion skill is paramount, expect to see some of the smaller, nifty forwards go higher than anticipated.

Here are some diminutive players to monitor, accompanied by their ranking in The Hockey News Draft Preview magazine (which, coincidentally, is on newsstands now and available via this website).

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Zach Boychuk, C, Lethbridge (WHL), 5-foot-9, 175 pounds.
Draft Preview says: He has above average speed and skill, is supremely conditioned and reminds some of Martin Gelinas. DP Rank: 12th

Mattias Tedenby, LW, HV-71 (Swe), 5-foot-9, 165 pounds.
Draft Preview says: He’s a super-fast, dynamic player who has drawn comparisons to Saku Koivu, Martin St-Louis and Paul Kariya. DP Rank: 16th

Jordan Eberle, C, Regina (WHL), 5-foot-10, 174 pounds.
Draft Preview says: He’s a deft stickhandler with a wicked wrist shot and a natural goal-scorer’s sense. DP Rank: 22nd

Tyler Ennis, C, Medicine Hat (WHL), 5-foot-8, 153 pounds.
Draft Preview says: He has top-end skill and speed and isn’t intimidated by bigger opponents in the rugged Western League. DP Rank: 41st

Kruise Reddick, C, Tri-City (WHL), 5-foot-8, 165 pounds.
Draft Preview says: A tenacious two-way player, with strong play-making ability; emerged as a dandy penalty-killer this season. DP Rank: 56th

Jason Kay is the editor of The Hockey News and a regular contributor to THN.com. His blog appears every weekend.

For more great profiles, news and views from the world of hockey, Subscribe to The Hockey News magazine.

COMMENTS (4)

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Bill wizPlaczek Posted
(2009-04-30 06:21:35)



I also think you cannot underestimate the bigger quick jam players both teams uses interchangable with their skill guys. The biggest influence these teams have is they dispkay old and new NHL players, and the Staley Cup players, as the draft, will be little to influence except maybe teams who haven't dared pick solid 6 foot and under skilled defenseman will look at Letang and Kronwall and say, hey thsi guy amy be worths and early round pick.
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Steven Noble Posted
(2009-04-30 06:21:34)



All WHL guys. That was one intersting thing about the Dub this year. There were an unusually high number of relatively smaller guys doing well in a league known for its big, tough heart and soul guys. Boychuk is especially talented. I agree it'll be interesting to see where these guys get picked and how much of a chance their teams will give them.
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Steve Posted
(2009-04-30 06:21:28)



I think this article ignores the fact that Pittsburgh is a very large team. Staal (6'5), Malkin (6'4), Malone (6'4), Gill (6'7), Orpik (6'2), Gonchar (6'2), Whitney (6'4), Laraque (6'3), Fleury (6'3), Hall (6'3), Hossa (6'2). Most other guys are in the 6'0 or 6'1 range. The only players on Pittsburgh that can be considered small or small-ish are Crosby, Kennedy and Talbot. If teams try to copy Pittsburgh on draft day, you'll see big centers picked higher than their numbers indicate they should be. If teams try to copy Detroit, you'll see lots of off-the-map, hail-mary picks from Sweden in the late rounds. I have serious doubts about the viability of the second strategy for any organization without Haakan Andersson in its employ.
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Bill Carroll Posted
(2009-04-30 06:21:20)



I believe the understatement of the Penguins and Wings teams respectively is disipline. Disipline is what seperates the Wings from a team like the Flyers. Composure and bearing are the staple for the Red Wings as an organization ever since those Wings / Avs battle back in the mid-90's and its really held steady, if not gotten better since then. The Penguins disipline has been nothing but steller for them considering their core group of players are so young. They play both sides of the puck very well and level headed. Their coaching staff deserves a ton of credit for getting defense through to an offensive powerhouse team as they are and were building tward. The Rangers Brandon Dubinski is a great example of a solid pick come draft day. He's got the skill to play well, but his disipline serves him just as well as any practice drill ever could. He should be the poster child of marginal immeadate impact to future devloped superstar in the making. He could become the next Steve Yserman. Point is I think teams should consider the how well a player will pan out a few years down the road than wondering what sort of immeadiate impact a draft pick can have. That kind of thinking is exactly how the Wings have been able to make lower picked players like Datsyuk and Zetterburg into the cream of the NHL crop of players.
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