The Morning Skate: 6/29/13
By Mark Huss
The day before the Stanley Cup Final started felt like Christmas eve, it felt like an eternity and I was ready for it to just be here. Now that it has past, I find myself excited again, so I guess you could say today is like the day before new years eve. Tomorrow will be a lot like a new years eve day, excited all day for the ball to drop aka the #1 pick. It will also fly by before our eyes, and we will have to wake up tomorrow and try to remember all the crazy things that happened aka trades, rumors, and all the picks.
Alright, so that might not be the best analogy. I hope that I got my point across though. Today will culminate the last draft day predictions from the staff here at Union and Blue. Here is a quick look back at the first two predictions:
"If there is one team that I think will make a trade, it would be the Buffalo Sabres, and I wouldn’t mind Columbus striking a deal with them. I have one player in mind and one player only. Thomas Vanek.Players that I think could fit the bill as best available players for the Blue Jackets; Anthony Mantha, Ryan Pulock, Bo Horvat, Ryan Hartman, Max Domi, Curtis Lazar, Nikita Zadorov,Alexander Wennberg, and Andre Burakovsky. See what I am saying, there are so many talented players in this draft."
Jan 20, 2012; London, ON, Canada; London Knights center Max Domi (16) in action against the Owen Sound Attack at the John Labatt Centre. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
"If Jarmo Kekalainen fell in love with a player during this arduous process leading up to the draft there is definitely a possibility he could package one of their first round picks with a prospect or another pick to move up a couple of spots and nab his guy. A few players I think he should take a look at in this situation is Max Domi, Hunter Shinkaruk, or Elias Lindholm.The second option is keeping every pick they currently own and stick to Jarmo’s draft philosophy of taking the best available player at that time. If this is the tactic that the Blue Jackets want to use they could end up with a haul of 50 goal scorer Anthony Mantha at 14, Bo Horvat at 19 and a familiar face to the Blue Jackets second overall selection in the 2012 draft Ryan Murray, his line mate in the WHL Mirco Mueller at 27."
Make sure to check out yesterday’s morning skate, I reviewed four mock drafts, including our own 2013 NHL Fansided Mock Draft.
Charging Through The Headlines:
- NHL.com’s NHL Dream Draft continues with #3 overall.
- Martin Brodeur will have the honor of being on the cover of NHL 14. Well, at least Bobrovsky won the Vezina. Check out the video and article on NHL.com.
- Yahoo Sports! Puck Daddy Blog gives their opinion on long-term deals and the buyout.
Apr 10, 2013; Newark, NJ, USA; New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur (30) makes a pad save on Boston Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk