On Frozen Blog

On the evening of June 22nd the Washington Capitals will join their fellow NHL clubs as the hockey world’s attention will focus on the NHL’s annual time of renewal: The 2007 Entry Draft being held in Columbus, Ohio. Following suit, DraftGeeks everywhere will hole up in their HQ of choice, surrounded by print-outs, draft guides, and libations, intently focused on both the Versus broadcast and the Internet, living and dying with each pick.
This year’s draft class is said to be good through two rounds, with some very good, but maybe not great, players at the top. Thanks to the Zubrus and Zednik deadline deals, the Caps have an advantage of numbers, with 4 picks in the first two rounds: #5, #28, #34 and #46 overall. (You can find a full list of the Caps’ picks at Mike Vogel’s blog.)
With no consensus top pick, talented forwards Pat Kane of Dale Hunter’s London Knights and Kyle Turris of Burnaby of the BCHL are the names most often mentioned when it comes to the draft’s top spot. (TSN’s video profiles of Kane can be found here and Turris here.) Other youngsters who will be crowding the top of the charts will likely be Jakub Voracek, a Czech winger playing in Halifax of the QMJHL, James Van Riemsdyk of the USNTDP (profile), and Kyle Alzner, a solid defenseman for the Calgary Hitmen (profile). Enigmatic Russian winger Alexei Cherepanov rounds out what is commonly thought to be the top group of players available this year, though it should be noted that Caps’ general manager George McPhee recently stated that the Caps feel there is a group of five players that are a cut above the rest.

Names that may be available around the 28th pick include Thomas Hickey, a defenseman out of Seattle; Brandon Sutter, son of Brent Sutter; and winger Dana Tyrell of Prince George.
With the 34th pick, Russian winger Maxim Mayorov of Leninogorsk, Golden Gophers center James O’Brien, and Michal Repik (a winger with Vancouver) may still be on the board.
At the 46th spot the Caps’ options may include Sudbury’s power winger Akim Aliu, big left wing Mike Hoeffel of the USNTDP, and the pro-framed defenseman Alex Plante of the Calgary Hitmen.
Reports say that in such a varied draft, a club may rank player at #35 while another may rank that player at #15 — it’s thought that the possibility of multiple trades exists as teams notice a player they have ranked highly falling and try to work out a deal. The additional variable of teams holding multiple first round picks (the Caps are one of five clubs that hold two, and two of those, St. Louis and Edmonton, hold three first round picks) may further spice up the mix.
The 5th overall pick probably doesn’t carry that much value on its own, and would have to be part of a package to secure a solid return. Though there are 5 or so very good players at the top of the draft, it would be difficult to base a deal primarily around the pick. Rumors of both Chicago and Philadelphia possibly shopping their higher picks may further depresses the value.
An interesting bit of speculation has the Caps trading up in the draft, in order to secure one of the top two players. With the top two pick owners allegedly willing to deal, it may not take a king’s ransom to move up three or four spots. McPhee has countered this recently, revealing that the Caps don’t feel a strong need to move up as they like the position they are in. The guess here is the Caps do make at least one move on draft weekend, maybe acquiring the first-line center that’s high on their list.
Whether or not my vague and not exactly bold prediction comes through, it promises to be a weekend full of bustle and chaos, and OFB will be on scene, trying to make sense of it all.