newfy

haha what can I say? Sorry I'll rephrase it, this team played with more sandpaper and guts when May was in the lineup.

Seemed to make the team play with more balls. Had guys like Meech and Cleary fighting while he was here. Hopefully Abdelkader can fill this role as best as he can next season. May had an effect on this team, I don't care what anybody says, they played with balls when he was dressed.

I think Lombardi would be a good pick up. He's so god damn fast, one of the few that might give Helm a run for his money

Oh I was under the impression we picked 22nd. Thats good news, one less team to draft Mcilrath before we get to. I think if we pick up a scorer, this kid could be a good way to fill our need for a mean defenseman. You said you've seen him play so is he just a big hitter that fights because he has to or is he sticking up for his goalie and clearing the crease alot as well? And when he does fight how does he do? Is he more of a middleweight guy?

This is fairly true, but in the first round they wont go way off teh board. They'll take the for sure well known talent and take the guys we've never heard of in the 2nd and 3rd rounds.

It really seems like Holland is drafting bigger and grittier now then he used to. If they aren't big, they are fairly gritty. Like Ferraro and Callahan. Tatar isn't big but he was just too good to pass up on. And yeah if Lashoff started fighting more he would be talked about like crazy on here because he is really good and can fight. Maybe once he gets into the AHL he'll start fighting more trying to make his way to the NHL. Time will tell I guess. Wow. HUGE NO to this kid. You can't waste a high draft pick on a guy who is risky. Take the for sure guy that is going to be a good contributor in the NHL.

I think this is a good draft to address our need for a big, stay at home, mean defenseman. There seems to be a lot of eligible ones this year and if not anything else we could use a late pick to pick one up and hope he pans out. If we don't get Mcilrath theres: Tyler Stahl - seems to be ranked somewhere in the second round. 15 fights most of which were caused by his bone crushing hits. Radko Gudas - Big, big hitter that once again mostly fights answering for his huge hits. Ranked in the second round Alex Petrovic - 6'4, fights on occasion and is ranked as a second round guy Austin Levi - Hometown boy, 6 fights last year. Good size at 6'3. Late second early third Jake Cardwell - played for a fairly tough sudbury team this year. COuld be a late round pick. These are just a few guys theres a local guy RJ Mahalak that plays for plymouth that could get picked as well. I guess we'll see. If Detroit wants a mean defenseman, this draft is the year to pick one.

And at his size and strength already he would be NHL ready at least physically then most of our prospects. Would be nice having someone that could jump in right away or close to it.

Can anyone tell me where detroit picks? I know we have 22nd which should get us a solid player but where do we have picks the rest of the draft? The draft is my favourite time of year and I'm already excited for it.

Oh so no trades they just have the 22nd pick in each round? Thanks mindfly

I would say this about Eaves. He isn't far removed from a 20 goal season. Miller however has gotta go. He's not a physical guy, an offensive guy and is average defensively for a bottom 6 guy. There has to be upgrades frm him that provide something special. Whether its blistering speed, shut down defense, a huge hitter or a fighter. Theres just gotta be better options out there.

Mcilrath could be compared to a fighter like Carkner, Colton Orr and probably beat up on light heavies like Chris Neil or Cam Jansen. Reread your post and I was confused I thought it said who. Yeah he's voted the best fighter in the WHL this season.

Yeah really the talent pool seems pretty well the same anywhere from 12-25 and unless youre trading into the top 10 it seems fairly useless.

Price had better stats then Halak this yeahr but the Habs fans are against him. Its obviously in his head. Theyre gonna run him outta town just like they did to Roy because Habs fans are dumb. A young kid like that can't help but let it get to him when they boo him like that.

Yeah I was thinking Stuart is a good comparison except Mcilrath is a hell of a lot meaner. I think if you loook at what the wings are lacking in the farm this guy provides a lot. You throw everything you said in and add the fact that he will be one of the toughest guys in the league, on the level of like Carkner and Matt Walker and it seems like a no brainer. If you pick a skilled guy theres a chance that the skill doesnt translate to the bigger stronger NHL but picking this guy youre guaranteed pretty much a 6th defenseman that can hit, fight and clear the front of the net.

I'm not saying I would want to make that trade but there is no question Price is better then Howard. Montreal's Defense over the years has made ours look like we have god in our line up. Seriously their shut down guy was like Boullion, Montreal has no defense.

I actually do have faith in Smith, but one high end guy in the system isn't really enough for my liking. I've read he can make crisp breakout passes but he's not really an offensive guy from what I can tell. I don't see Detroit passing him up if they get the chance to pick him, he was listed as a guy they were scouting too. I hate the waiting game now .

Director of NHL Central Scouting, E.J. McGuire “Big and mean, old-time typical NHL defenseman. He scares people not only with some frequent fights he might get in, but with 6-4, 212 lbs. straight ahead speed and offensive ability to match. Often, and in a very complimentary sense, makes puck carriers cut to the other side of the ice with his intimidating size.” Moose Jaw Warriors head coach Dave Hunchak “An old school defensemen who plays hard and very physical. A great deal of untapped potential that can be used in shut down situations as well as on the offensive side of the puck.” Moose Jaw Warriors radio broadcaster James Gallo “17-year-old Dylan Mcilrath’s large frame casts a shadow that many NHL scouts and opposing teams have taken notice of. His strong defense and punishing physical play has turned him into a fan favourite at the Civic Center.” Sounds to me like he can move the puck sufficiently. He might not be a brian rafalski puck skills wise but he's mean and can play. With Lidstrom going this could be the guy to replace his defense. Shut down potential as well as being on the same level of other NHL heavy weights. He seriously has Pronger written all over him.

22 is good spot to pick Dylan Mcilrath. A real solid defender that could be a huge shut down guy for us. Think like Hatcher or a less offensive Pronger but as tough as nails. I've actually seen some mock drafts having detroit pick him and we know Kenny is interested from that list on TV earlier this year. He was voted the toughest guy in the WHL and can play. This guy would be unreal. We don't really have top end defensive prospects and I'm really sick of gettnig my hopes up just for someone to bolt back to Europe which has been a pattern lately. I really doubt Kenny goes Russian in the first round especially if Mcilrath is still on the board.

When Ericcson is pushed the right way he can be very, very mean. He just needs to show it more consistently. It might be his only way to stick in the league. He's beat up Perry and had a good fight against Clowe earlier this year. The same Clowe that made mince meat out of legit heavy weight enforcer George Parros. Babcock needs to do to Ericcson what he did to Abdelkader and tell him he needs to punish guys and fight more. If he does this he would be a very solid number 6 defenseman. Then just add a hard hitter to back up Abdelkader and a 3rd or 2nd line scorer and we're set.

Haha its official youre a troll. Go back to your chicago board and talk about how your team has never won anything and currently has the longest stanley cup drought in the league. And if we still had Kopecky he would be a scratch for ABdelkader so no we don't miss him.

Throw Jared Boll on that list and Armstrong as well. I wouldn't want Ethan Moreau because I think this team needs to try to get a bit more youthful. I think signing Chipchura would be unreal because he's so young and can still get into his scoring potential that he came into the league with as well as be a really physical guy. I remember he was sick when he captained canada's world junior team. I can't see Jersey letting Clarkson go or else I would take him and Chipchura ffor sure. I think signing Ladd or Torres for the third line and Chipchura for the 4th would be the best route to go. If we could get our hands on Chipchura Holland would be stupid not too

Exactly. Having grinders that can't really grind is pointless and thats what we've had the last few years. The bottom 6 are supposed to wear down the defense and make it easier on the skilled guys instead of having the skilled guys do everything. The role players also gotta kill the penalties to save the skilled guys energy. We've had old washed up Maltby and Draper, Hudler,and Miller as our bottom line players the last few years. These guys aren't going to wear down anything they just eat up minutes basically. Throw someone whose 6'4 with a mean streak out there on the bottom lines like Brad Winchester and those lines would be much more effective. Eaves is a fast, solid hitter who will actually scrum it up and fight a bit so keep him but get rid of Miller

I thought that he said he would not play in the AHL, but if it was NHL duty he would stay? Thats how I took it anyways. We really only need one of Eaves and Miller and I say take Eaves. Eaves is more physical, faster and I think has more potential to score. Miller is an average bottom 6 player who doesn't really do much. He's good on the PK but we can find a bigger more physical guy who can play it just as well. Most bottom 6 forwards in the NHL can kill penalties well. I think it was GMR who said we need some big bodies to wear down teh opposition? THIS IS FOR SURE WHAT WE NEED. Add another guy who can play just as physical as Abdelkader to our bottom 6 and the face of our team could change very easily. We would have our skilled game as always but would still have guys keeping the opponents heads up and honest. A little feisty guy like Scott Nichol would really help this team or a huge hitter. Abs will make up all the lost scoring in Miller and Draper combined probably(assuming drapes is the 13th) then we throw a huge hitter on the 4th line and our team is suddenly mean to go with our skill. Maybe let meech and Lebda go and sign Janik as our number 7 could be a good move as well. Janik is just a steady guy. Either way, this team does seem a bit stale and complacent and inserting a bit of energy producers iin the line up could be a good thing.

I know this is old news but doesn't anyone else here think this team is a joke? Lemieux was probably a better player then Gretzkey but somehow didn't get on the list, Salming and Fetisov over Bobby Orr? I wouldn't even rank Salming above Lidstrom all time. And really no Gordie Howe? The most well rounded player of all time. The IIHF is a joke. At a gala evening at the Quebec City Convention Centre on Saturday, the IIHF announced its Centennial All-Star Team, featuring the six most successful players in the history of international ice hockey as voted by an expert panel. The six members of the All-Star Team are: Goaltender: Vladislav Tretiak (Russia) First Defenceman: Vyacheslav Fetisov (Russia) Second Defenceman: Borje Salming (Sweden) First Winger: Valeri Kharlamov (Russia) Second Winger: Sergei Makarov (Russia) Centre: Wayne Gretzky (Canada)