[Ishtylish cricketer]

The 2008 NHL entry draft has been concluded in Ottawa. As expected, with their first overall draft pick Tampa Lightenings selected Steven Stampkos. He's a speedy, skilled centre with great defensive awareness who has drawn comparision to the great Steve Yzerman. His puck handling skills are just as great as Spezza and his skills were featured on TSN last season where he showed the kinds of goals we could expect in the NHL's "free style, marked shootout" event. None of the NHL player matched what he was able to do. This guy will be a stud and in Tampa he has a great mentor in V. Lecavalier to lead him through the grinds of a NHL season. Tampa's d is still shakey and the goaltending is still a big concern although the trade with Dallas brought them a decent goalie. At #5, leafs drafted Luke Schenn aka the human eraser. A great stay at home d, smart player, who is NHL ready right now and leafs could use him, IMO. Canucks selected Hodgson, a diminitive offensive centre from the Brampton Batallion who captained the canadian under 18. He has huge upsights and could possibly replace the Sedins if he reaches his full potential. Senators selected the Sweedish Erik Karlsson, who is very light and is probably going to fill in a checking role if he makes the team. It seems unlikely because Sens recently signed Kris Kelly to a long term deal. Flames traded their #17 pick in a 3 way deal acquire Mike Cammalleri, sent Alex Tanguay to the habs in exchange for their #25th pick. Oilers drafted Eberle from the Regina Pats who is a pure goal scorer. He will be a good addition to the oilers' pp if he makes the cut. As I mentioned earlier my beloved habs traded for Tanguay meaning we're finally looking to be a contender again. Detroit picked a goalie with their draft pick, that part is not surprising, but who they picked is. Their choice of McCollum is surprising because his stats are seen by some a product of good team defense. What works in his favour is his maturity and calm demenour however, he's not the most athletic goalie they could have gotten and his stick handling is average. If they were to pick a goalie, they could have went with Chet Pickard or Peter Delmas. But then again, wings have great scouts and often manage to find what evades others. We'll have to wait and see how he turns out.


1. Tampa Bay Lightning - Steven Stamkos, center
(Sarnia, OHL)
2. Los Angeles Kings - Drew Doughty, defenseman
(Guelph, OHL)
3. Atlanta Thrashers - Zach Bogosian, defenseman
(Peterborough, OHL)
4. St. Louis Blues - Alex Pietrangelo, defenseman
(Niagara, OHL)
5. Toronto Maple Leafs (from NY Islanders) - Luke Schenn, defenseman
(Kelowna, WHL)
6. Columbus Blue Jackets - Nikita Filatov, left wing
(Moscow CSKA, Russia Div. 2)
7. Nashville Predators (from NY Islanders/Toronto) - Colin Wilson, center
(Boston Univ, NCAA)
8. Phoenix Coyotes - Mikkel Boedker, left wing
(Kitchener, OHL)
9. New York Islanders (from Nashville/Florida) - Joshua Bailey, center
(Windsor, OHL)
10. Vancouver Canucks - Cody Hodgson, center
(Brampton, OHL)
11. Chicago Blackhawks - Kyle Beach, center
(Everett, WHL)
12. Buffalo Sabres (from Los Angeles/Anaheim/Edmonton) - Tyler Myers, defenseman
(Kelowna, WHL)
13. Los Angeles Kings (from Buffalo) - Colten Teubert, defenseman
(Regina, WHL)
14. Carolina Hurricanes - Zach Boychuk, center
(Lethbridge, WHL)
15. Ottawa Senators (from Nashville) - Erik Karlsson, defenseman
(Frolunda, Sweden Jnr)
16. Boston Bruins - Joe Colborne, left wing
(Camrose, Alberta Jnr)
17. Anaheim Ducks (from Calgary) - Jake Gardiner, defenseman
(Minnetonka, U.S. high school)
18. Nashville Predators (from Ottawa) - Chet Pickard, goaltender
(Tri City, WHL)
19. Philadelphia Flyers (from Columbus/Colorado) - Luca Sbisa, defenseman
(Lethbridge, WHL)
20. NY Rangers - Michael del Zotto, defenseman
(Oshawa, OHL)
21. Washington Capitals (from New Jersey) - Anton Gustafsson, center
(Frolunda, Swe Jr)
22. Edmonton Oilers (from Anaheim) - Jordan Eberle
(Regina, WHL)
23. Minnesota Wild (from New Jersey/Washington) - Tyler Cuma, defenseman
(Ottawa, OHL)
24. New Jersey Devils (from Minnesota) - Mattias Tedenby, left wing
(HV-71, Sweden Jnr)
25. Calgary Flames (from Montreal) - Greg Nemisz, center
(Windsor, OHL)
26. Buffalo (from San Jose) - Tyler Ennis, center
(Medecine Hat, WHL)
27: Washington Capitals (from Philadelphia) - John Carlson, defenseman
(Indiana, USHL)
28: Phoenix Coyotes (from Anaheim) - Viktor Tokhonov, right wing
(Severstal, Russia Superliga)
29. Atlanta Thrashers (from Pittsburgh) - Daulton Leveille, center
(St. Catharines, Ontario Jnr B) 30. Detroit Red Wings - Thomas McCollum, goaltender
(Guelph, OHL)