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2008 NHL Draft

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ottawasun.com - Senators 05-06 - Sens want Top 10 pick
the sens want a top 10 pick.
The Senators are looking to make a big splash at next weekend's draft.
Assistant GM Tim Murray confirmed the club, slated to pick 18th in the first round, will try to trade up to get a Top 10 selection.
Murray admitted the club will likely have to wait until the draft gets under way around 7 p.m. Friday at Scotiabank Place before securing a higher pick.
Senators brass will spend the days leading up to the draft talking with other clubs, inquiring about the price for a Top 10 selection.
The Senators wouldn't just be moving up to please the hometown crowd. Murray, after meeting with the club's top scouts -- including player personnel director Brent Flahr and chief scout Pierre Dorion -- is convinced a player drafted in the Top 10 could help the Senators next season.
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Scouting the draft's top forwards - USATODAY.com
FORWARDS
Red Line Report chief scout Kyle Woodlief will be providing position-by-position analysis of the top prospects leading up to the NHL Entry Draft June 20 in Ottawa. This installment covers the forwards, next week he'll take a look at the defensemen and he will finish up with the goalies. Red Line Report will provide a mock draft with one week to go. Red Line also produces a full service Draft Guide.
The forward group has some marquee value this year with three of the top offensive talents among Red Line's top five spots overall. But there is a pretty steep drop off after that top tier, so teams who want to grab one of the premium forwards had better be prepared to make a bold move to trade up in the draft.
The top two forwards, and the top two talents overall, are Steven Stamkos and Nikita Filatov. Both are dynamic, explosive game breakers who put a lot of points on the board and make players around them better. Stamkos is on top of our chart, but the gap between the two is not as wide as some would have you believe. We give Stamkos the edge because of his tremendous character and history of producing at every level. Stamkos is just a natural born sniper – any time he steps on the ice it's automatically a scoring opportunity. Plus he sees the ice beautifully and really opens things up for his linemates by drawing so much checking attention.

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i will note that alexander svitov plays for ak bars, red line has kirill petrov as the #4 forward though dropping to the second round. it should be noted that scott howson spent part of the late spring/early summer talking to svitov and checking out ak bars along with cska (zherdevs old team)

DMEN
This year's blue line brigade boasts both high-end talent and tremendous depth. In fact, Red Line Report projects that perhaps as many as 15 rearguards will be selected in the first round, with a strong likelihood that at least five will be taken among the top 10 picks. With those kinds of numbers, it's clear that defense is the strength of this year's crop.
While the talent and depth are obvious, what is less clear in our crystal ball is which of these top defensemen will be the first one off the board, and how high he go? The three main challengers for the title of first defender chosen should be Drew Doughty, Zach Bogosian and Luke Schenn.
Doughty is the most offensively skilled blue-liner in the draft, with superb hockey sense and instincts and wherever he winds up, he'll be one of the top power play quarterbacks in the NHL in a few years. He also logs tons of minutes as a workhorse and should be a top pairing defender.
Bogosian is the most complete package in the bunch. He brings size, speed, toughness, and the ability to take the puck end-to-end at any moment. He may also have the most longterm upside if he maxes out his potential.


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NETMINDERS
At Red Line Report we consider this to be a mediocre year for goaltenders, unlike last year's group – which was downright awful. This class is lacking in true high-end quality with no super blue-chippers, but there is pretty fair depth and one or two netminders should legitimately slip comfortably into the back end of the first round.
There is no consensus "chalk" pick at the top, but Chet Pickard's strong WHL playoff run and top-notch size might make him the first goalie off the board. He tutored under Carey Price last year and has adopted the same style as a big goalie who plays big — meaning he comes out to challenge shooters and cut down angles and tries to stay on his feet and not go down into the butterfly too early.
For Red Line's money, Jake Allen was the fastest moving late riser on the draft charts at any position. He didn't see much action with St. John's in the Quebec League this year playing behind a solid starter in Timo Pielmeier, so it was tough to get viewings on him. But his terrific play in leading Team Canada to a gold medal at the World Under-18 Championships went a long way toward cementing his status as one of the top goalies in this year's crop. His natural athleticism and flexibility, along with a knack for coming up with big saves at key times, stamps Allen as at least a legitimate contender for the back end of the first round.
Huge Jacob Markstrom from Sweden rounds out Red Line's top three. At 6-4/176 pounds, Markstrom has the prototypical size NHL clubs are looking for nowadays. He's calm and quiet in net and, despite looking awkward at times between the pipes, actually has good athleticism for his size.
The second tier of netminders features Thomas McCollum, and American playing in the OHL, and Finland's Harri Sateri. Both should find their way solidly into the second round.


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U-18s
This year, for the first time we can remember, there were no big European surprises. There was, however, one big surprise from – of all places – Canada! Yes, right under our noses all year long (well, if Newfoundland can be considered right under anyone's nose), Jake Allen was patiently plying his trade in practice and waiting for his opportunity to show that he rightfully belonged to be in the discussion when talk of top goaltending prospects came up.
Stuck behind talented German import Timo Pielmeier in St. John's, Allen was tough to get viewings on all season. Indeed, he did not even enter Red Line's rankings until we finally got our first look at him in person in early March.
While we liked him then, it wasn't until we saw him under pressure against top talent in Kazan that we fully believed he was the real deal. His play throughout the championships, particularly in the medal round — where he gave up three goals in three games and shut out the Russians in the gold medal tilt — was clear evidence that he's got the ability to be selected among the top 3-4 netminders this June.

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