Sunday, September 25, 2005

The Hockey News Mock Second Round

Okay, here's round two of what the Hockey News should project picks for the upcoming draft. Yes, there is a little modification as there are some guys who are still unsigned and/or injured.

Remember, 25 teams are picking in this mock draft... it seems to be a good average amount of pool teams in the draft, right?

Martin St. Louis shouldn't really be in the 2nd round list, he was sort of passed over in the first round accidentially. Who knew? C'mon guys, if you're reading this sort of thing you should point it out. HA! St. Louis is projected to be big again this year. Put him in your first round list.
Roberto Luongo should be a standout again this season. He's got lots of work ahead of him and could potentially put lots of points up for your pool team.
Dominik Hasek will be the pillar in net for the Sens. With the firepower up front and responsiblity on the blueline, Hasek will have points fall in his lap.
Mats Sundin looks to have another big year with the Leafs. A lot more support and depth will take defenders attention away for more room to shine.
Marc Savard is the number one centre in Atlanta... but he'll need one more big signing to make this pick viable. Knock him down a couple pegs if Kovalchuk doesn't sign soon.
Rick Nash could very well breakout this year... if you don't think his 41-goals last season was good enough to be it. He can be big... I mean, really big.
Bill Guerin isn't as young as he used to be (who is?)... but he's still on the big line in Dallas, which is worth points any time of the year.
Brendan Morrison has wingers to generate serious offense. Another player who will have lots of points gifted to him, regardless of his play.
Ladislav Nagy is a reliable scoring player... he must be if he's a second rounder. Nagy is a guy that can slip down a round or two, if you're drafting with a bunch of newbies.
Eric Lindros will be a second round pick if he stays healthy. He wants to be in Toronto, he wants to play the way he can... but it's all about the "if" in every statement.
Sergei Fedorov should provide the Ducks with the offense they so desperately need to keep up with the big teams in the West. With good wingers to support, it should be a run & gun game for the Ducks.
Andrew Raycroft is the number one guy in Boston. Calder trophy winner in the last season, will have the whole load on his shoulders and should benefit from it.
Martin Straka will be the centre for Jagr and company for the Rangers. That should make him a hot commodity on the draft list.
Robert Esche may be a little low on the projection list, in my opinion, but if you get him in the second round, consider yourself lucky. He should do really well with the Flyers.
Dan Cloutier is a great regular season goalie and that's what you want in this draft. He'll have his guys win games for him and he should steal a couple. Another low projection.
Marian Gaborik is a flashy winger who will thrive in the new rules. The Wild will need him to do what he does best to give the team a chance. Will he? Probably.
Shane Doan is one of the hardest working guys on this list... if not the hardest. He dig points out of nowhere for you and your team if you get him. I might look for him a little later though.
Mario Lemieux won't see a lot of time on the Crosby Show, except for special teams... otherwise, Lemieux will have his own brand of wingers to put points on the board.
Jeff O'Neill is another Leaf pickup to generate good Canadian offense. The Leafs will be a dangerous team going forward, but O'Neill could be considered to be a health-risk as well.
Robert Lang had himself a breakout year not long ago and finds himself as the number one centre in Detroit. He'll have to produce to keep that job and it isn't quite clear that he will.
Jose Theodore also wants that number two job in the Olympics for Canada and will do his best to shine his way on there... it'll reflect this season. A good second rounder.
Paul Kariya should be about this good. The Top 50 will be a good finish for Kariya and it will probably mean good things for the Predators... who should be a good team.
Martin Havlat may find himself on a line with Alfredsson or Spezza... boy, I would hate to be in that position, especially when I'm a quality guy like Havlat.
Tuomo Ruutu should break out as the main guy in Chicago. I would consider him to be a steal in the third round, if he's still there. Keep your eye on him too!

Well, that's the next 25 players that should go... I think that's a reasonable list between the first and second rounds. There are lots of steals to be had in this pool this year... you're gonna see a whole lot of points from new players that you hadn't realized played or played that well. They'll come later in the draft... get your steal list ready.

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