TSN's Mock Draft

[bogeygolfer 4]

they need forwards

[Production Line 1]

they need forwards

and not little ones...

[Majsheppard 203]

I can see people putting their two cents in on who we sign and trade for, but not who we draft.

They always draft people in their manner, and not according to rankings or mock drafts. With crappy picks never the less they fill the farm system every year.

I have no worries, and don't feel you should even bother investing energy in predraft stuff. Let me know when the draft is on, and after I will assess. Still knowing that it will be years before we say, wow the wings did it again.

[mrhockey2k 2]

when was the last time the red wings traded at the draft???

[RyanBarnes! 293]

Gillies would be your pick then, if he lasts that long (highly unlikely). He can skate and if (a big if) he is as tough as his uncle, then anyone drafting him would be very lucky. The players that might be available at 27th in my very "non-expert" opinion is Petrecki, Maclean, Sweatt, and Cross. 3 of these are defenseman. Now if you are willing to take a chance Pacioretty has a great chance to be a very good power forward. But he is very raw in his development.

I wouldn't mind any of the players you mentioned. Petrecki would be sweet.

[wingslogo19 281]

Is this the worst draft year? does anyone know this

[LeftWinger 4,961]

Considering Detroit's last four 1st and 2nd round picks have been Jakub Kindl(CZE), Justin Abdlekader(US)Shawn Mattais(CAN), and Cory Emmerton(CAN), I'd say your logic of drafting a small skilled SWEDE is leaning a little towards the old cliche.

yeah, I know, it was a joke. But, seeing that more times than not, Holland used his FIRST round pick on a someone that nobody projected him to take, maybe it's not so cliche'.

[Mighty Wings 0]

I'd love to see the TSN mock come to fruition.

Here's what NHL central scouting says about Tommy Cross:

A stay-at-home defenseman with good lateral mobility and quicknessâ€Â¦ skates the puck quickly into open areas to expand his passing optionsâ€Â¦ has a strong shot from the point and is effective running a power-playâ€Â¦ can be physical in the defensive zone and in front-net coverageâ€Â¦very focused on his defensive game, but needs to realize his offensive skill and contribute moreâ€Â¦ needs to increase his tempo and play with more urgency.

patterns his game after Nicklas Lidstrom – “he is solid defensively and makes plays every time he touches the puck”

Edited June 20, 2007 by Mighty Wings

[Guest DetroitIan]

they need forwards

Not as much as their gonna need some solid D-men after Cheli, Schneids and Nick retire. Its imperative that we get some future talent to bolster our defensive core.

[J-Swift 0]

they need forwards

We're not exactly set when it comes to defencemen, either. McGuire points out how old some of the key contributors on our blueline are getting. And aside from Kindl and Quincey, I'm not totally sold on the rest of our defensive prospects to be able to step into the lineup anytime soon.

If we did draft a forward, however, I'd like it to be a big centerman to replace what we lost in Shawn Matthias.

[LeftWinger 4,961]

...does anyone like this Will Weber kid out of Gaylord?

[Tommie2 0]

they need forwards

I agree.They already have young d-men . I think they'll draft another goalie before they draft a d-man

[Production Line 1]

That cat Akim from Nigeria os Sutter would please me...

[skacore 2]

Is this the worst draft year? does anyone know this

lol I don't know how you could statistically say it's the worst draft year ever, but it is a bad year for sure

I'd be pumped if the Wings took Akim Aliu, but I don't see that happening.. with the high risk involved I don't see us taking him with our 1st rounder and he won't be available in the 3rd, but I have faith in our scouting team that we can grab the same kind of player in a later round, with the same kind of long shot chance that Aliu can develop into a great physical player

[Production Line 1]

lol I don't know how you could statistically say it's the worst draft year ever, but it is a bad year for sure

I'd be pumped if the Wings took Akim Aliu, but I don't see that happening.. with the high risk involved I don't see us taking him with our 1st rounder and he won't be available in the 3rd, but I have faith in our scouting team that we can grab the same kind of player in a later round, with the same kind of long shot chance that Aliu can develop into a great physical player

I say go for it... we need a little Probert back on the team...

[Kp-Wings 3]

Is this the worst draft year? does anyone know this

The worst draft on record was the 1996 Draft. Only 4 of the 26 first round draft picks have scored more then 100 NHL goals so far (J.P. Dumont, Dainius Zubrus, Marco Sturm, Daniel Briere). Only 5 have reached 200 career points (Previous 4 mentioned plue Derek Morris).

The most disturbing stat of that draft? At least 11 of the 26 first round draft picks have failed to play at least 100 NHL games so far (Alexandre Volchkov, Johnathan Aitken, Dan Focht, Josh Holden, Mario Larocque, Matt Higgens, Matthieu Descoteaux, Jeff Brown, Craig Hillier, Peter Ratchuk, Jesse Wallin). Many of these guys have either retired, or playing in Europe or the minors, so don't expect them to do it soon either.

As it stands, most would say the 1996 Draft is the worst ever. The Draft did produce some decent talent though, like the ones I already mentioned in the beginning. In the later rounds, guys like Matt Cullen, Tomas Kaberle, Mark Parrish, Pavel Kubina, Zdeno Chara, Tom Poti, Oleg Kvasha, Sami Salo, Eric Belanger, Trevor Letowski, Andreas Dackell, Sami Pahlsson, Dan Hinote, Michal Rozsival, Aaron Asham, Jan Bulis, Toni Lydman, and a few others have all went on to have decent NHL careers.

The later rounds of the 1996 Draft were pretty good when you think about, since most all of those guys I've mentioned are still in the NHL (with the exception of Kvasha and Dackell). In addition, many of them have scored at least or over 200 points in their career. So the draft wasn't a total wash, as it did produce some decent talent. But it did not produce any true star players, and it's very surprising to see that many 1st round picks go under.

[Opie 308]

That may be the most informative post I have ever read on this board, and I have read some good ones!!

Well written KP

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

That cat Akim from Nigeria os Sutter would please me...

ESPN's mock draft has Cross going to Montreal and the Wings picking Akim Aliu.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/draft2007/ne...tory?id=2908675

Akim Aliu, RW, Sudbury; OHL

Much has been written about Aliu from his days in Windsor, where he had very public fights with Flyers prospect Steve Downie. While there is much debate about his character, there is no doubt about his skill set on the ice. He is big and strong and powerful and was clearly the top player at this year's CHL Prospects Game. Despite all of that, there are some teams who wouldn't draft him. But Detroit won't be scared away by rumors and innuendo. The potential of this young phenom will be more than enough.

â€Â¢ HT: 6-2; WT: 200; Shot: Right; Born: 4/24/1989 (Okene, Nigeria); Final ranking: 41.

Hmm, I'm a little nervous about this kid though. He's had some weird happenings in his very young career.

A tumultuous three months with the Windsor Spitfires is over for Akim Aliu.

The club's first-round pick in May, Aliu was a healthy scratch and left back for Friday's game in Kitchener. Aliu's agent, Mark Guy, said he and Spitfires owner Steve Riolo had talks Friday and Saturday, when the decision was made to allow Aliu to leave the team.

"Things that have happened this year have made it difficult for (Aliu) and the other players," Guy said. "It was hard being in a situation he didn't want to be in."

An on-ice fight between Aliu and teammate Steve Downie during practice in late September eventually led to an investigation by the Ontario Hockey League and to Downie's trade to Peterborough. Aliu was also involved in a league investigation into a hazing incident on the team bus. Those two situations resulted in a one-year suspension for Moe Mantha as general manager. Mantha also was hit with a 40-game suspension as coach and the team was fined $35,000.

http://www.canada.com/windsor/windsorstar/...89-1aa670695469

Edited June 21, 2007 by haroldsnepsts

[Opie 308]

I think the confrontation with Downie makes Akim Aliu look like a character, stand up guy, while it makes Downie look like a low class punk bully.

If you have a chance to read some of the articles posted in this thread you will see that he was standing up for himself and Downie being a bully didn't like that, and then Aliu had the audacity to touch some one else's stick to compare setups. Holy crap, what an ass!

Can you imagine if Shanny had started cross checking and beating the piss out of Zetterberg because he wanted to see how Shanny set his stick up.

Would we be calling Zetterberg an attitude problem?, I think not!

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

I think the confrontation with Downie makes Akim Aliu look like a character, stand up guy, while it makes Downie look like a low class punk bully.

If you have a chance to read some of the articles posted in this thread you will see that he was standing up for himself and Downie being a bully didn't like that, and then Aliu had the audacity to touch some one else's stick to compare setups. Holy crap, what an ass!

Can you imagine if Shanny had started cross checking and beating the piss out of Zetterberg because he wanted to see how Shanny set his stick up.

Would we be calling Zetterberg an attitude problem?, I think not!

you're right.

I did look into it a little more, and Downie crosschecked Aliu in the face at practice, knocking out two of his teeth. After geting his mouth fixed up, Aliu came back out on the ice and fought Downie. The more I read about it, the more Downie sounds like the punk. He apparently didn't like Aliu because Aliu wouldn't get hazed with all the other newcomers.

It's also worth noting that Aliu was 16 at the time and Downie 18.

But it sounds like the kid's got size, great skating ability, and will drop the gloves. Plus in a couple years I'm guessing he'll even pack on a few more pounds. One of the reviews of him called Aliu "the prototypical power forward."

I definitely like the sound of that.

[Packer487 3]

ESPN's mock draft has Cross going to Montreal and the Wings picking Akim Aliu.

He edited that from yesterday. The draft order he had yesterday wasn't even close (No Wings pick in the first round, Florida picking 26th, etc.). Note to self: Before making mock draft, check draft order first.

-Tim