When the NHL holds its annual Entry Draft on June 22, 2012 in Pittsburgh, the Ottawa Senators will hold the 15th overall selection.
As we’ve seen from the Senators and their staff the last few seasons, anything is possible on draft day. We’ve seen them move up to grab a guy they liked (Karlsson), trade the pick for a proven prospect (Rundblad) and make a deal to add an additional first round pick (Puempel).
Last year there was a general consensus the Senators needed to take a forward, where as this time around fans fully support the “best player available” approach.
With the departure of David Rundblad last season, the Senators would obviously love to add to the defensive depth in the organization but will not go out of their way to do so. If the best guy available is a forward, they’ll take him. If it’s a goalie, they are prepared to make that selection too.
The name that seems to be coming up most in pre-draft speculation is Cody Ceci. The star defenceman for the Ottawa 67’s is coming off a big year in which he solidified his position as a first round pick. Trouble is some mock drafts and scouting lists have Ceci going in the top 10 meaning it's unlikely he’d fall all the way to 15.
The International Scouting Service released their updated prospect list earlier this week and intriguing names like Sebastian Collberg (a 5’11 winger out of Sweden), Alexander Galchenyuk ( a 6’0 winger from the Sarnia Sting) and Radek Faksa ( a 6’3 LW with Kitchener) are all in the neighborhood of the 15th overall selection.
Another name to keep an eye on is Slater Koekkoek. A tough as nails defenceman with a great all around game, Koekkoek is ranked 21st by the ISS but is a player that has turned heads in the OHL with Peterborough this season.
Unlike last season where I could recite the draft prospects and their bios drunk and blindfolded, I am only just now starting to look at and ask about the Sens plans for draft day. I’ll continue to update on the draft in the month ahead.
In the meantime, here is a link to the updated ISS Rankings, a mock draft, the Red Line report, the NHL Draft Centre Page and a hilarious clip of Bryan Murray tricking Brian Burke into taking Nazem Kadri instead of Jared Cowen.
- Daniel Alfredsson’s plans for next season are still very much up in the air after a disappointing loss at the World Championships. In an interview with local Swedish media after the game, Alfie said there is a chance this was his last competitive game. I wouldn’t read too much into that just yet. I honestly believe Alfredsson has not made up his mind yet and will take the next couple of weeks to reflect. Safe to say we’ll get his decision sometime in the next few weeks
- Forward Milan Michalek is the last Senator standing at the World Championships. It had been a fairly quiet tourney for Michalek until his last minute game winner against the Swedes. Michalek and the Czechs will take on Slovakia in the semi-finals.
