Draft Player News (Oct. 19)

It was a return to the press box for defenseman Anton Babchuk, who has not impressed many people in Calgary, as he was made into a healthy scratch again this season. Babchuk was able to return to the line-up over the weekend, but has yet to make a push to be a regular in the Flames line-up going forward.  Babchuk has 1 assist in two games with the Flames this year, but I would imagine his overall game is what is keeping him from making a regular impact.

Babchuk belongs to Scott G. in the draft, who has the best blueline through Tuesday night's action, carrying 16 points into Wednesday's action.  Scott would obviously want to see a bit more from Babchuk. but he can likely handle a healthy scratch here and there, as long as everyone else is doing the business.

Despite playing the night before, Edmonton Oilers forward Taylor Hall came down with a bit of a flu bug between Monday and Tuesday and he was deemed unable to play against the Flames in Calgary on Tuesday night. Hall is considered to be day-to-day and will likely be probable for the team's next game, Thursday night at home to the Wild.

This will count as a game missed out on for Clayton C. in the draft, but since it is only the flu, it probably won't linger on as a continuing problem.  Clayton's team is currently running in the middle of the pack among games played thus far in the season, having 57 skater games to his team's name.  The leader in the pool has 63, while the bottom has 45.

A bruised ankle was the cause of Sergei Gonchar's absence from the Ottawa Senators' line-up on Tuesday night against the Flyers, although, it wouldn't have been terribly surprising if he was deemed a healthy scratch.  Gonchar has not been terribly impressive with the Sens this season, but maybe some time away from the line-up could possibly help himself out.

Gonchar has not only been unimpressive for the Senators, but he has also been unimpressive for Dale C. in the draft, having only 2 points in five games.  On the bright side, Gonchar is not really holding Dale's defensive numbers back, as he ranks among the top teams in the pool to this point with 12 points.