Round 5:
126 Kevin Poulin, G,
129 Joel
133 Philippe Cornet, LW,
134 Jacob Lagace, LW,
141 Chris Doyle, C, P.E.I -
Round 6:
152 Mark Barberio, D,
167 Joel Chouinard, D,
Round 7:
186 Jason Demers, D,
195 Samuel Morneau, LW, Baie-Comeau -
205 Jean-Sebastien Berube, LW, Rouyn-Noranda - NEW
Undrafted prospects from the QMJHL include:
Matthieu Tousignant
Alexandre Neron - Rimouski Oceanic – projected 107
Antoine Roussel - Chicoutimi Sagueneens – projected 120
Luc-Olivier Blain -
Pierre A Vandall - Shawinigan Cataractes – projected 164
Pascal Amoyt - Saint John Sea Dogs – projected 169
Mike Hoffman -
Tomas Knotek - Halifax Mooseheads –projected 180
Eric Louis-Seize - Halifax Moseheads – projected 182
Travis Stacey - Gatineau Olympiques – projected 197
Jonathan Bonneau - Victoriaville Tigres – projected 200
Ashton Bernard
Rant Alert:
OK admittedly, I am by no means a hockey expert, but it blows my mind that our rookie import (from the Czech Republic) Tomas Knotek got passed over in the draft. The biggest complaints against Tomas are that he is too lithe (he is 6'1, 171 lbs - as of Sept 2007) , he is not the best skater, and he is easily knocked off the puck (lacks strength). His assets are that he has good 'hockey sense', he has good hands, and he knows where he has to be on the ice at all times. During the regular season Tomas played 69 games with a total of 66 points: 22 goals, 44 assists, a +17 (the second highest +/- on the team) and the lowest number of penalty minutes at 18.
At the end of the regular season Tomas was named to the QMJHL all star rookie team, and was third amongst rookies in points, lead only by Nicholas Deschamps and Mikhail Stefanovich at 67 and 66 points respectively. Deschamps was drafted 35th overall, Stefanovich 98th overall.
Knotek gets very little credit for his regular season play because he was given first line ice time, centering a line with (2007 7th overall Columbus Draft pick) Jakub Voracek and (2007 19th overall Anaheim draft pick) Logan MacMillan. His production was presumed to be solely due to 'the Voracek effect' - fuck the Voracek effect.
Speaking of Voracek - I suspect that Voracek (who is currently training in Columbus) recommended Tomas Knotek to his GM , but they made a mistake and accidentally drafted fellow Czech Tomas Kabulik at 135. Oopsie.
Over a 9 game streak in December and January, when Voracek was off at the World Jr tournament and MacMillan was off with post-concussion related exhaustion, Knotek still managed to rack up 7 points (3G, 4A). During the playoffs Knotek had 3 goals and 4 assists in 13 games (while playing on the third line). This is a big fuck you to the 'Voracek effect' theorists. This kid works hard, gets into corners, and does what he has to do to get the puck and get the goals. He has had a number of speedy breakaways as well as a number of excellent break away goals (and assists).There is no substitute for heart (unless we are talking about getting token drafted because you have a bum heart - stupid noobs), hard work, and good hockey sense. Knotek can get bigger and he can learn to skate better. I thought this draft was about potential, so to pass over a kid with awesome potential just because he is a touch weak seems silly.
Also, he is spriggin. Look at his picture. Soooo cute - give him a cookie now!!! Better yet, give him 73 cookies, one for each point he tallied in 2007-2008. Maybe it will make him feel better about not getting drafted.
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Knotek montage from the Mooseheads website
Also of note
:<[) was not re -drafted. Oh surprise, surprise (that was a sarcastic surprise...if you cannot tell). This should make him go :<[o and then punch his agent in the face.
For other local NHL draft coverage (and Delmas info) check out this article by Q-reporter Willie Palov at the Chronicle Herald, and a brief draft day review, or this Delmas article by Wuest from the Metro.
1 comment:
I will bake him 73 cookies. Or even cupcakes.
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