Stars 03 Jul : 17:59
Follow the transactions link under "League information"
Leafs 03 Jul : 17:45
Leafs are currently trying to follow the draft via Blackberry from lakeside cottage. What link do I use to find out deal with Habs for 2nd overall. Offseasons transactions link isn't working for this bb. Can trades such as this be posted on forum before picks (which I am able to follow)
Avalanche 03 Jul : 17:31
looking for picks for my players.... anyone?
Thrashers 03 Jul : 16:17
i'm going to hold on to my 4 picks in the top 45...thanks
MONTREAL -- Los Angeles Kings, perhaps to no one's surprise, opened the 2009 NAIHL Entry Draft by selecting big-time Junior scoring sensation John Tavares number one overall. The 6', 190 pound center lit it up in the Junior ranks for Oshawa and London, including a 72-goal campaign in 2006-07. He has also starred on the world stage, leading Canada to the World Junior Championship last year.
"There may have been some question about who the number one overall may have been in terms of talent, but in terms of putting fans in the seats, there was no question about who it was going to be," said NAIHL analyst Bill Clement. "The guy is a pure goal scorer, and thats what the fans want to see. He's going to be a star in the NAIHL for a long time."
The host Montreal Canadiens hold the second pick in the draft, although a source inside the Habs' front office reports that the Canadiens are trying to deal the pick.
Teams have 24 hours to make a selection, which must be posted on the NAIHL 2009 Entry Draft Forum.
Going into this off-season for the Atlanta Thrashers the plan was simple. Get some rest, re-sign a couple of team UFAs, prepare for the 11 hole in the draft and perhaps spend a little bit of money during free agency.
That was until having dealings with Stars President and General Manager Steve Schwartz. Schwartz made it clear that his intention was to land Thrasher star centre Eric Staal and that he was prepared to go all out for the selection. Thrashers GM Stephen Stoneman has been heard saying that his new captain was not available.
Towards the trading deadline Staal was acquired from the Philadelphia Flyers along with goaltender Marek Schwartz, prospects Taylor Chorney and Andre Petersson, 2 Million Dollars in Cash and Philly's 4th rounder in this years NAIHL Entry Draft. Going the other way was young superstar Ryan Getzlaf. It was quite the price for Philadelphia GM Jeff Childs to pay for this young gun but he'll tell you it was worth every penny. In the end, Getzlaf led the Flyers in scoring during the playoffs even though they didn't make it out of the first round. You decide.
So turn to this off-season and change the names but we're looking at a deal where one GM is willing to pay an immense price to get one player. Is it worth it? You decide.
To Dallas: Eric Staal, ATL 3rd Pick 2009, ATL 4th Pick 2009. To Atlanta: Mikko Koivu, Milan Hejduk, Chris Phillips and 3 Million Dollars.
Stoneman had this comment about the trade: "We obviously liked Eric Staal, but we're very excited about some senior leadership that we have coming back the other way in this deal. We have just signed UFAs Mike Ribeiro and Rob Blake and adding Hejduk, Phillips and Koivu will only make us stronger. This will likely leave us out of the running for Free Agency but we'll look to add a couple of less expensive pieces to make our team stronger.
"We bid Eric Staal and Steve Schwartz the best of luck in their own respective division". So there you have it. Another big blockbuster in a league stock full of them. How will this one go down? Who is the winner? Or is it still far too early to tell?
NAIHL Central Scouting has done a pre-draft ranking of the strength of each organization's prospect pool. Players included were prospect and minor league players that were ranked by Hockey's Future as a top 20 prospect for their organization. Points were then awarded with 20 points for a #1 prospect, 19 for a #2, etc. Below are the rankings, points, and best line a team could put onto the ice with liberties taken among each prospects forward position.
The San Jose Sharks, in another GM Rob Paul pre-draft trade has dealt one of the First Rounders and a young Goalie Prospect he gained last season via trades to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for starting Goalie Chris Mason and a 5th Rounder.
Mason, 33, who has Two more seasons left on his contract at $1.875 million, might not be the Sharks goalie of the future. But he could be their goalie of the present. "He's the guy right now," Sharks General Manager Rob Paul said. "I want him to have the mind-set that he could be the guy. Chris is a very well-respected player, and that's important. We expect Chris to get the job done."
"Maybe it helped make their decisions easier," Mason said. "But the bottom line is I have a lot to give and a lot left in the tank. It doesn't matter what I did last year. ... I have to perform."
Skeptics question whether Mason can be a No. 1 goalie for a full season. He had played in only 21 of the Sabres games before being replaced by stalwart Nicklas Backstrom in Buffalo. "Chris has proven that he could handle the workload, and do it in pressure games," Paul said.
After getting bounced by the Stars this past playoffs, the Sharks knew the well was drying up and after picking up young prospects Lacosta, and Jon Quick the stable would be full next season, but Paul wanted someone to push Jean Sebastien Giguere, who quite possibly as some insiders state could be out of San Jose by the time the Draft starts.
"It all depended on what's out there and what the price was," Paul said. "We were not going to go out and sign a $6 million goaltender. What we have to do is see if a trade makes sense, or if free agency makes sense. There's lots of guys (in free agency) that are backup goalies. You can't get caught without one, thats why with Mason in the fold we could have a 1A or 1B System, or Mason could outright be given the reins and see what he does with it, Jon Quick will be in the fold as well and could be a surprise."
When asked about his situation as veteran Goaltender who is being pushed, Giguere stated "I've been through that my whole career," "I was never a major prospect, and teams always had the young kids coming up. But I have had the opportunity to hold down the fort here in San Jose and if the team felt they needed another guy to push me then thats what it is!"
Here is the current offseason timetable, as announced by the NAIHL Board of Directors on Tuesday:
Wednesday, June 24 - Re-signing period begins. Trading permitted.
IMPORTANT: Unsigned UFAs cannot be traded, and UFAs that are re-signed and then traded count against the signing team's 8-year contract re-signing cap, and counts against their free agency priority list (i.e., if a team re-signs 2 pending UFAs, then the highest priority they can assign to any free agent they bid on is 3). Trades will NOT be updated on team rosters, although a page with trades will be regularly maintained as a point of reference.
Friday, June 26 - NHL Entry Draft begins
Friday, July 3 - NAIHL Entry Draft begins
Wednesday, July 15 - NAIHL Re-signing deadline
*Monday, August 3 - New player re-rates available (subject to availability; this could be sooner or later) .
1 Los Angeles - John Tavares 2 Washington - Victor Hedman 3 Nashville 4 Montreal 5 Florida 6 Phoenix 7 Tampa 8 Vancouver 9 Washington 10 Toronto 11 Atlanta 12 San Jose 13 Philadelphia 14 Philadelphia 15 Los Angeles 16 Phoenix 17 Colorado 18 Anaheim 19 Devils 20 New Jersey 21 Montreal 22 Philadelphia 23 St. Louis 24 Florida 25 Detroit 26 NY Islanders 27 Colorado 28 NY Islanders
