A number of the Illegal Curve contributors partake in the same pool year after year and this season I am going to live blog the draft to serve as a mock draft for our readers.
Rules: We draft based simply on points. Goals are worth 1 and assists are worth 1. We draft 12 players and the worst two at season’s end don’t count. You cannot pick up players during the year or trade. Finally, the order snakes so the first pick in the first round drafts last in the second.
Note: The draft will be updated on the site after every round.
Teams:
1. Neil/Richard (Illegal Curve)
2. Shaun
3. Ohad
4. Cole/Dan
5. Aaron B.
6. Dave/Sam
7. Blake
8. Payton/Sam
9. Roma and Aaron M.
10. Ezra (Illegal Curve)/Hart
11. Drew (Illegal Curve)/Seth
12. Ryan/Aaron I.
13. Gill/Eric
First Round:
1. Neil/Richard (IC): Sidney Crosby
2. Shaun: Alexander Ovechkin
3. Ohad: Vincent Lecavalier
4. Cole/Dan: Pavel Datsyuk
5. Aaron B.: Evgeni Malkin
6. Dave/Sam: Jarome Iginla
7. Blake: Henrik Zetterberg
8. Payton/Sam: Joe Thornton
9. Roma/Aaron M.: Marian Hossa
10. Ezra (IC)/Hart: Jason Spezza
11. Drew (IC)/Seth: Dany Heatley
12: Ryan/Ingram: Ilya Kovalchuk
13. Gill/Eric: Ryan Getzlaf
End of First Round
Review: I am surprised Joe Thornton fell all the way to eight; the guy is basically a shoe-in for 95+ points. Otherwise, not too many surprises in the first round.
Second Round:
15. Gill/Eric: Eric Staal
16. Ryan/Ingram: Daniel Alfredsson
17. Drew (IC)/Seth: Martin St. Louis
18. Ezra(IC)/Hart: Mike Ribeiro
19. Roma/Aaron M.: Anze Kopitar
20. Payton/Sam: Marian Gaborik
21. Blake: Rick Nash
22. Dave/Sam: Marc Savard
23. Aaron B: Olli Jokinen
24. Cole/Dan: Mike Richards
25: Ohad: Scott Gomez
26: Shaun: Jonathan Toews
27: Neil/Richard (IC): Paul Stastny
End of 2nd Round
Review: I like the Toews pick by Shaun. He wasn’t going to get him on the way back and he has big upside. To me, the biggest reach in that round was Rick Nash. He’s a great goal-scorer, but in a points pool, he doesn’t merit a second round selection.
Third Round:
28. Neil/Richard (IC): Derek Roy
29. Shaun: Patrick Kane
30. Ohad: Daniel Briere
31. Cole/Dan: Mike Cammalleri
32. Aaron B: Nicklas Backstrom
33. Dave/Sam: Henrik Sedin
34. Blake: Alexei Kovalev
35. Payton/Sam: Jason Pominville
36. Roma/Aaron M: Thomas Vanek
37. Ezra (IC)/Hart: Vinny Prospal
38. Drew (IC)/Seth: Joe Sakic
39. Ryan/Aaron I: Teemu Selanne
40. Gill/Eric: Daniel Sedin
End of 3rd Round
Review: Good pick by Aaron by selecting Backstrom. With a full year of seasoning and a linemate named Ovechkin, he could be 90+ points. I couldn’t be the one to take the Kovalev risk. Taking him is like fooling around with the hot dirty girl. It could be worth it, or you could get an std (55 pts). As for the two older players at the end of the round, both Sakic and Selanne could be worth it but they are both getting close to 40 and it is a risk.
Fourth Round:
41. Gill/Eric: Zach Parise
42. Ryan/Aaron I: Brad Richards
43. Drew(IC)/Seth: Alex Tanguay
44. Ezra(IC)/Hart: Brenden Morrow
45. Roma/Aaron M: Corey Perry
46. Payton/Sam: Shane Doan
47. Blake: Simon Gagne
48. Dave/Sam: Patrice Bergeron
49. Aaron B: Ales Hemsky
50. Cole/Dan: Brad Boyes
51. Ohad: Alexander Semin
52. Shaun: Nicklas Lidstrom
53. Neil/Richard (IC): Alexander Frolov
End of 4th Round
Review: I really like the Brenden Morrow pick by Ezra. He is big, reliable and plays alongside a great passer in Ribeiro. Also, I really like Aaron B.’s Hemsky pick; I thought he fell a little too far.
Fifth Round
54. Neil/Richard(IC): J.P. Dumont
55. Shaun: Daymond Langkow
56: Ohad: Patrick Marleau
57. Cole/Dan: Johan Franzen
58. Aaron B: Patrik Elias
59. Dave/Sam: Tomas Plekanec
60. Blake: Dion Phaneuf
61. Payton/Sam: Chris Drury
62. Roma/Aaron M: Jeff Carter
63. Ezra (IC)/Hart: Steve Stamkos
64: Drew (IC)/Seth: Rod Brind’Amour
65. Ryan/Aaron I: Dustin Brown
66. Gill/Eric: Petr Sykora
End of the 5th round
Review: Ohad is banking on Marleau returning to old form, while Cole is hoping Franzen can continue his end of season and playoff success into this season. Both picks are a bit risky, but it is the 5th round. Aaron B. says he was between Elias and Plekanec for his pick and he chose Elias. I’m not gonna lie, I think he made the wrong decision between the two. Payton is banking on points for character; although he may have gotten a steal as Drury has looked good riding shotgun with Gomez. I really like the Dustin Brown pick by Ryan/Aaron. He is going to be a horse for the Kings.
Sixth Round:
67. Gill/Eric: Andy McDonald
68. Ryan/Ingram: Nikolai Zherdev
69. Drew (IC)/Seth: Nathan Horton
70. Ezra(IC)/Hart: Brian Campbell
71. Roma/Aaron M: Milan Michalek
72. Payton/Sam: Andrew Brunette
73. Blake: Paul Kariya
74. Dave/Sam: Pierre-Marc Bouchard
75. Aaron B: Ray Whitney
76. Cole/Dan: Markus Naslund
77. Ohad: Shawn Horcoff
78. Shaun: Peter Mueller
79. Neil/Richard (IC): Mikko Koivu
End of 6th round.
Review: Zherdev is huge risk/reward but I can understand the pick. I really like the Andy McDonald pick as he has developed great chemistry with Brad Boyes. I also really like the Ray Whitney pick. If he plays 70 games or more, he is a real bargain here. Shaun’s Peter Mueller pick is great as well.
Seventh Round:
80. Neil/Richard (IC): Jason Arnott
81. Shaun: Brian Rolston
82. Ohad: Pavol Demitra
83. Cole/Dan: Martin Erat
84. Aaron B: Mike Green
85. Dave/Sam: RJ Umberger
86. Blake: Saku Koivu
87. Payton/Sam: Martin Havlat
88. Roma: Sam Gagner
89. Ezra(IC)/Hart: Jiri Hudler
90. Drew (IC)/Seth: Michael Nylander
91. Ryan/Aaron I: A. Kostitsyn
92. Gill/Eric: Brian Rafalski
End of Round 7
Review: Pavol Demitra flies under the radar but I think Ohad gets a steal in Round 7. Havlat is the ultimate risk/reward and with the two lowest points being dropped from the total, that risk was worth it here in Round 7. Havlat could get 85+ if he plays 70 games. Surprised Rafalski was taken before a couple of other prominent defensemen who I won’t name because I may take them…
93. Gill/Eric: Ryan “Ho” Malone
94. Ryan/Aaron I: Patrick O’Sullivan
95. Drew(IC)/Seth: Dan Boyle
96. Ezra (IC)/Hart: Ryan Smyth
97. Roma/Aaron: Jonathan Cheechoo
98. Payton/Sam: Antoine Vermette
99. Blake: Kristian Huselius
100. Dave/Sam: Kyle Turris
101. Cole/Dan: Patrick Sharp
102. Ohad: Jason Williams
103. Shaun: Milan Hejduk
104: Neil/Richard (IC): Miroslav Satan
End of 8th Round
Review: O’Sullivan hasn’t signed so not sure why he went here. Boyle qbing the SJ power play means he could be 60+. Smyth slid far and playing alongside Stastny could mean a boat load of goals for the former 40 goal scorer. Too early for Turris here. There are too many very productive veteran players to pass over for the talented rookie.
Ninth Round:
105. Neil/Richard (IC): Erik Cole
106. Shaun: Wojtek Wolski
107. Ohad: Brian Gionta
108. Cole/Dan: Marco Sturm
109. Aaron B: Todd Bertuzzi
110. Blake: Mike Modano
111. Payton/Sam: Sergei Fedorov
112. Roma/Aaron M: Jordan Staal
113. Ezra (IC)/Hart: Joffrey Lupul
114. Drew(IC)/Seth: Michael Ryder
115. Ryan/Aaron I: Scott Niedermayer
116: Gill/Eric: Andrei Markov
End of 9th Round
Review: Shaun takes Wolski, so he keeps his team really young. It is a young team but it is good and Wolski was a nice pick here as he should see his numbers increase in 08/09. The Bertuzzi pick is risky but with Keenan coaching, Bertuzzi will get loads of minutes and a chance to re-establish himself. Fedorov would be a good pick…if this was 1995. Great Jordan Staal pick by Roma. He has major, major upside and should play wing beside Malkin/Crosby.
Tenth Round
117. Gill/Eric: Eric Perrin
118. Ryan/Aaron I: Erik Cristensen
119. Drew(IC)/Seth: Chris Kunitz
120. Ezra(IC)/Hart: Phil Kessel
121. Roma/Aaron M: Chris Pronger
122. Payton/Sam: Chris Higgins
123. Blake: Radim Vrbata
124. Dave/Sam: Brandon Dubinsky
125. Aaron B: Andrew Cogliano
126. Cole/Dan: Jochen Hecht
127. Shaun: Tomas Holmstrom
128. Neil/Richard (IC): Maxim Afinogenov
End of 10th Round
Review: Love the Brandon Dubinsky pick here. He is going to earn consistent top six minutes and is capable of putting up 60 points. Perrin was a major reach. Perrin over David Perron? Don’t get it.
Eleventh Round
129. Neil/Richard (IC): David Perron
130. Shaun: Mike Fisher
131. Ohad: Nik Antropov
132. Cole/Dan: Valtteri Filppula
133: Aaron B: Lubomir Visnovsky
134. Dave/Sam: Alex Steen
135. Blake: Dustin Penner
136. Payton/Sam: Mark Streit
137. Roma: Travis Zajac
138. Ezra(IC)/Hart: Robert Lang
139. Drew(IC)/Seth: Tim Connolly
140. Ryan/Aaron I: Drew Stafford
141. Gill/Eric: Mike Comrie
End of 11th Round
Twelfth Round
142. Gill/Eric: Tomas Kaberle
143. Ryan/Aaron I: Kyle Okposo
143. Drew(IC)/Seth: Kimmo Timonen
144. Ezra(IC)/Hart: Mike Knuble
145. Roma: Brendan Morrison
146: Payton/Sam: Jamie Langenbrunner
147. Blake: Mikael Samuelsson
148. Dave/Sam: Joni Pitkanen
149. Aaron B: David Legwand
150. Cole/Dan: Mats Sundin
151. Ohad: Joe Pavelski
152: Shaun: Keith Tkachuk
153. Neil/Richard (IC): David Booth (Writer’s note: We flipped a coin for that pick. I wanted Booth, Neil wanted Corvo.)
End of 12th Round and Draft
See you for the morning papers.
