Comments on Five Hole Fanatics: The Best Player Available myth

Great stuff, Kent!

2009-06-23T09:27:53.894-06:00

Great stuff, Kent!

I got the chance to ask the Predators' Chief A...

2009-06-22T17:19:09.897-06:00

I got the chance to ask the Predators' Chief Amateur Scout this exact question, and the (quite sensible) answer he gave is that basically any of these guys is realistically 4-5 years away from being a significant contributor at the NHL level, and you don't know what your team is going to look like at that time.

Besides, even if you don't have a roster spot for a guy based on a backlog of talent in that area, you can utilize that value in trade. Focusing on the players you think can develop the best (in your system) therefore makes a certain amount of sense.

http://www.ontheforecheck.com/2009/6/22/921257/nashville-predators-chief-amateur

Thought-provoking article Kent. I read it a few d...

2009-06-22T11:18:35.578-06:00

Thought-provoking article Kent. I read it a few days ago and let things ruminate for a while. The talents really are often pretty close together and you're probably right that most often teams don't really need to decide between drafting the BPA and drafting to fill a need. I think that goaltenders may be an exception here since there are many fewer goaltenders drafted each year than players at other positions. Still, your point would seem to be that it's unlikely for there to be a discernible difference between the winger and the defender available at #48 (or whatever) the vast majority of the time. In cases when there is a difference, of course the team should draft the standout regardless of position.

I think I've mostly just restated what you threw out there already but this has helped me to think it through. Thanks for the article Kent.

Remember what Sutter's public proclamations ar...

2009-06-21T09:11:13.564-06:00

Remember what Sutter's public proclamations are worth, though...

He was also talking in terms of where you spend your cap dollars, rather than where you necessarily concentrate your drafting every year.

James: sure thing.

sutter has already proclaimed that his money posit...

2009-06-20T16:00:59.500-06:00

sutter has already proclaimed that his money positions are goal, defense and centre. ie: don't hold your breath, here. our depth at D seems to premeditate a big trade in that position, IMO. better effin not be gio....

Fantastic post. Great read. I might ask you if yo...

2009-06-20T13:32:11.764-06:00

Fantastic post. Great read.

I might ask you if you'd like to share your Flames-related entry draft thoughts, BTW ...