Wij kunnen alle 20 van die eerste en tweede-rounders aan de afgelopen vijf ontwerpen dan goed merken. We will likely see all of the collegiate free agents the Caps have inked the past couple of springs. We will see some fresh faces from Europe. And most exciting, from my vantage, will be the appearance of late-round draft gems like Andrew Gordon, Travis Morin, Viktor Dovgan, Mathieu Perreault, and Andrew Joudrey, all of whom possess viable pro hockey aspirations.

A preview of this our-guys-on-the-ice aura arrives in two weeks’ time at Kettler, with the Caps’ July Rookie Development Camp. Fans understandably are preoccupied with the end-game results from early October through April, but the foundation for a durable rebuild requires reliably successful drafting and development. The drafting work appears to be working well; the development aspect is more in question, as the Caps, beginning this fall, need to see some Hershey Bears graduate and make a positive impact on the parent roster — guys like Dave Steckel, Mike Green, Klepis and or Flash.

The Caps left Columbus with more high-value assets — three from the first two rounds. One, though (Alzner), may step into the big league soon, and another (Ted Ruth) can be stashed on a university campus, if need be, for four years. It was a savvy and sage handling of his organization’s development blueprint by George McPhee.   

 

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Posted at 10:59 am. Filed under College Hockey, DraftGeek, Entry Draft, George McPhee, Hershey Bears, Prospects, Sami Lepisto, Washington Capitals.
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GMGM press meeting after the draft
Are You Qualified?

7 Comments

  1. usiel wrote:

    The flashier pick at the top of the caps draft would have been gagner or voracek (hey I like Offense!) but landing Alzner I’m really warming up to.

    Love the moves to land a couple of extra seconds…those could be used as potential trade value for moves this summer or if the caps are making a move to the playoffs next season and want to bring in some help at the deadline. Or lastly next June they could be used to move up in a high quality draft.

    Monday, June 25, 2007 at 11:09 am | Permalink
  2. Rage wrote:

    So, uh, you think they did pretty okay?

    Monday, June 25, 2007 at 11:28 am | Permalink
  3. Andrew wrote:

    I really like the stable of D prospects GMGM has amassed. If anything has been demonstrated, the time and committment it takes to develop the resources properly makes the quantity hard to dismiss.

    I also like the NCAA as a place to stash prospects for 2-4 years. Look at Joudrey…wore a C in his senior year, won an NCAA crown, and got four years under Coach Eaves. He contributed right away for Hershey down the stretch as well.

    I like.

    Monday, June 25, 2007 at 12:36 pm | Permalink
  4. pucksandbooks wrote:

    Andrew - you make an astute observation about Joudrey. Members of the Bears’ organization have told me they love him, and while he enjoyed only a handful of shifts late in the postseason, I saw him make stuff happen almost every time out. He had modest offensive numbers with the Badgers, but the more I see of him more I become convinced that his is very much an all-around game. And great leadership potential, too, as you pointed out.

    Monday, June 25, 2007 at 2:37 pm | Permalink
  5. exwhaler wrote:

    Andrew Gordon also had the NCAA experience, and didn’t McPhee make some noise about him getting a legit chance at a RW spot this year? Given his senior season, I can believe it.

    On a message board, somebody suggested the possiblity of McPhee amassing the 2008 second rounders because he may be shopping the Caps’ first round 2008 pick for a veteran trade. That could be interesting….

    Monday, June 25, 2007 at 2:53 pm | Permalink
  6. Shmee wrote:

    Its really exciting to know that we will get a chance to glimpse some of the talent that has been in development during the rebuilding phase. No doubt, good scouting, drafting (especially in later rounds, which have produced guys quality depth guys like Mike Fisher) and development are a cornerstone of building a solid club that is long term contender.

    Monday, June 25, 2007 at 4:05 pm | Permalink
  7. odessa steps wrote:

    Bill Simmons makes every obvious joke about the NHL Draft today.

    http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/070625

    Monday, June 25, 2007 at 5:13 pm | Permalink

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