SBN Mock Draft: With the 5th Pick...
by RudyKelly on Jun 17, 2009 3:30 AM PDT
20 comments
I'm drafting Brayden Schenn.
Sorry I don't have some big build-up for you, but I figured I'd save you the suspense and just let you know right now. Now, I'm not saying Brayden is the best pick, or the one the Kings should necessarily make, just that he's the one that Dean would likely make. Yesterday's poll decided that Evander Kane was the choice for most LA fans, but he's gone because The Falconer from Birdwatchers Anonymous is a bastard. Kane is a great pick for Atlanta for 2 reasons: one, he has the highest upside of any available prospect, and two, you'd be foolish to argue that drafting a young black man is not a good thing for Atlanta. So the Kings are really left with a decision between Brayden Schenn and Magnus Paajarvi-Svennson, and if you consider Dean Lombardi's history then it's really a no-brainer.
There are two trends you can easily decipher from Dean Lombardi's draft history with the Kings: he loves kids from Western Canada, and he doesn't really like Swedes. Brayden Schenn is a WHL product, and Magnus is a Swede. Lombardi is a big fan of drafting and signing what he believes are underutilized areas in scouting and exploit those deficiencies when you're drafting. Western Canada is traditionally lower scoring and is generally not as well-publicized as the OHL and QMJHL, so it makes sense they would be underrepresented. Schenn is a great player, solid defensively, and a good kid to boot, so he seems custom-built to be a Dean Lombardi draft pick. Of course, Lombardi will draft Wang Xiu Ping with the pick and then rationalize with some half-assed explanation about boxes, so who the hell knows.
Welcome aboard, Wang
Schenn, of course, is the brother of Luke Schenn, fine hockey player (and not Drew Doughty) who plays for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Despite his girly name and pudgy face, Brayden is similar to his brother in that he hits and fights and leads men into battle. Schenn led his team with 32 goals and 56 assists in 70 games this season, to go along with 88 penalty minutes. Those penalty minutes were buoyed by 5 fighting majors, including 2 against guys named "Mitch." (Good call.) Schenn is a leader, a scorer and an all-round solid hockey player. Of course, so is Jarret Stoll, so there's that. The biggest reason the Kings should take Brayden Schenn? It'll piss off Toronto fans, which is always hilarious. Something else that pisses off Toronto fans? Bring up Gretzky's high stick.
Of course, the real winner of yesterday's poll was trading the pick. For who, though? I've read thousands of rationalizations and opinions, and at this point all I can say is: Fuck, dude, I don't know. Who the fuck cares, trade for Sheldon Souray, trade for Daniel Briere, just give me peace. My personal draft day wish? Trade the 5th and Jack Johnson for Tomas Kaberle, Alexei Ponikarovsky and the 7th overall and then draft Magnus Paajarvi-Svennson (who I personally like more than Schenn). I don't know, we'll see in the next few days. I just want to have a good night's sleep for once.
What do you think? Who would you like to see the Kings draft, or trade the pick for at least? Explain how retarded I am in the comments.
(Here's Hockey's Future's take, wherein they posit that the Kings will trade for an elite forward and then draft Jared Cowen. OK.)
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It’ll piss off Toronto fans, which is always hilarious. Something else that pisses off Toronto fans? Bring up Gretzky’s high stick.
At least you’re consistent!
Trade the 5th and Jack Johnson for Tomas Kaberle, Alexei Ponikarovsky and the 7th overall and then draft Magnus Paajarvi-Svennson
I would like to subscribe to your newsletter. Schenn would be a good pick. You guys already have some pretty skilled forwards and Schenn brings (from what I’ve read) great two-way play and, as you noted, some edge. The only thing is that Brandon is hosting the Memorial Cup next year so he might want to stay to play in that.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Actually, the WHL isn’t underrepresented at the NHL draft at all; in fact, it’s a close second behind the OHL in terms of all-time representation, and most years, the two leagues are neck and neck. [Source] Furthermore, the WHL has been massively overrepresented the last few years on Canadian World Junior teams. So the Rodney Dangerfield theory of drafting doesn’t fly with the Dub, not in the slightest.
SNN Sports - A theoretical Oilers blog (i.e. theoretically, I write stuff there)
And speaking of all that, and one of the few places where our interests intersect, Hitmen goalie and Kings prospect Martin Jones was invited to World Junior camp yesterday.
SNN Sports - A theoretical Oilers blog (i.e. theoretically, I write stuff there)
Have you seen Martin Jones play? I haven’t seen him play but his numbers are incredible. I guess the Hitmen are the best defensive team on the planet?
The West Coast is the Best Coast.
I’m a season-ticket holder to the Calgary Hitmen (see my avatar), so I’ve seen him play a couple of times. ;)
The Hitmen have traditionally made their name as a defensive squad, at least since I’ve been following them, so that’s certainly helped Jones’s numbers (a Leafs fan might tell you that the Hitmen D helped create the Legend of Justin Pogge, but I thought he was solid on his own as a junior). That being said, there were some nights this year where the Hitmen fell asleep for stretches and Jones saved their bacon. Of course, like most young goalies, he’s given up the odd softie, particularly when there hasn’t been much work on the night, but I don’t know if that’s worth getting worked up about just yet. I don’t know if he’s the best goaltending prospect you’ve got, because I don’t know your pipeline too well, but he’s certainly capable; he convinced the Kings to sign him out of rookie camp after going undrafted, and after going to a goalie camp this summer, he got that WJHC invite. Certainly, he’s a better goalie than Calgary’s previous starter, Dan Spence, who had a lot of trouble with puckhandling; Jones is much better at that, and while I’d have to think on it for a minute, I think his rebound control was pretty good too. Certainly, I don’t remember a lot of cases where he kicked or dropped a rebound into the slot and gave me a heart attack.
And yes, Saskhab, we are evil. It’s part of our charm. ;) I expect we’ll be returning to Earth this coming year, though: there’s too many guys who will be graduating to the pros for them not to take a step or five back.
SNN Sports - A theoretical Oilers blog (i.e. theoretically, I write stuff there)
Cool, looks like he’ll be able to take over in Ontario next year then. Thanks.
The West Coast is the Best Coast.
That confused me until I remembered that Ontario was a city in California. I was thinking, “Did Rudy somehow know that Spence went to the OHL last year, and guess that Jones might do the same?”
So yeah, that seems like a totally plausible thing: goalies seem to be the one class of player that doesn’t suffer as much of a stigma from playing in the ECHL.
SNN Sports - A theoretical Oilers blog (i.e. theoretically, I write stuff there)
Unrelated, but how awesome is it that Moller, Simmonds and Quincey all shared a house together over the season? It sounds like a great sitcom.
The West Coast is the Best Coast.
I think you see a lot of that these days with the kids, instead of them living with a vet, they live three or four to a house like college roomies. Tom Gilbert, Andrew Cogliano, and Sam Gagner have had that arrangement the last two years in Edmonton, and it’s worked out alright.
SNN Sports - A theoretical Oilers blog (i.e. theoretically, I write stuff there)
Yeah, but Simmonds, Quincey and Moller aren’t fucking each other, so there’s a little bit of a difference.
The West Coast is the Best Coast.
by RudyKelly on Jun 17, 2009 4:03 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Best. Photo. Caption. Ever.
2009 LA Kings Hockey: thanks to Joe Sakic's snowblower, WE'RE BETTER THAN THE AV'S!!!!
by DodgerBlueBalls on Jun 17, 2009 9:47 AM PDT reply actions
Schenn will be good, no doubt about it, but don’t you think Magnus Paajarvi-Svennson would be the best fit for the Kings? Aren’t you kids looking for a sniper of some type? Imagine MSP and Kopitar together. It’d be like whoa.
by MortimerPeacock on Jun 17, 2009 12:33 PM PDT reply actions
I don’t think you should pick Magnus Paajarvi-Svennson.
I want him. Heh.
by Patty (in Dallas) on Jun 17, 2009 7:14 PM PDT reply actions
Fine, fine we’ll “settle” for MPS.
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