Blues deciding between Schenn & Pietrangelo

Saw this over on hockeybuzz.com -- not breaking news or anything but assuming the Doughty and Bogosian are off the board, Blues beat writer Andy Strickland says they will decide between Schenn or Pietrangelo:

Assuming Drew Doughty and Zach Bogosian are taken before the Blues are on the clock St. Louis will be selecting one of two D-men, either Kelowna’s Luke Schenn or Niagra’s Alex Pietrangelo.

The Blues love both players and without question value hockey sense over talent. With that being said it certainly helps if the player has a little bit of both. These two D-men bring enough of both to the table.

I’m a little confused why Schenn is being labeled by some as a stay at home defenseman. He may not put up eye popping offensive numbers, but he can definitely handle himself just fine in the offensive zone. He is more a shutdown defenseman, but sees the ice very well and has the ability to see the second and third option.

International Scouting Service has St. Louis taking Schenn with the fourth overall pick next week.

I know St. Louis is high on Schenn but they are also more than impressed with Pietrangelo’s offensive upside. It is a close call at this point and I wouldn’t be surprised if they took either guy.
I had a scout recently tell me Pietrangelo has incredible hockey sense, vision, and passing ability.
I don’t want to drive Blues fans nuts here because I know I recently said and wrote that I thought the Blues would be drafting Schenn. I also know for a fact that they love Pietrangelo and many in the organization feel his game may be best suited for today’s NHL game.

Of course that is assuming Bogosian and Doughty are off the board. I won't be surprised if Nikita Filatov is picked between #2 and #3 and then things will get real interesting.

If Stamkos, Doughty and Bogosian all fall off the board by pick #4 I suspsect that the Jackets will take whomever the Blues don't as I think its all but a lock that the Islanders will gobble up what many say is the 2nd best propsect in the draft in Filatov at #5.

My mock top 6 is still unchanged:

1. Tampa - Stamkos

2. LA - Bogosian

3. Atlanta - Doughty

4. St. Louis - Schenn

5. NYI - Filatov

6. Columbus - Pietrangelo

Honestly if we hold onto the pick I'll be happy with any of those guys.

-LTL

Could Filatov go #2 to LA?

According to this guy they are looking at him pretty hard:

Before we all get Filatov jerseys, Los Angeles, despite defensive needs, is looking hard at Nikita at the #2 spot. Moreover, the Ranger loom as some have been saying they might be interested in moving up to add him to their own Russian line of Cherepanov and Anisimov. With Prucha and some young kids still of value in their system, the NYR could churn Isles stomachs to a nauseous goo and sweep in. Also add to this mix, Toronto, who has been taking a long look and might also try to come in near the top of the draft from their 7th spot. Columbus is also purported to be interested, hoping to add someone to the Nash line.

Filatov is and continues to be the biggest question mark in this draft. It certainly looks like this kid will be off the board by 6, if not by LA then most certainly by the Islanders, but that's not all that bad because that just means one of the big 4 d-men will slide to us.

Alex Pietrangelo seems to be the guy whose stock is dropping at the last minute:

Luckily, this draft is heavy with something else MUCH NEEDED. Something the Isles lack. A TOP defensive prospect. This draft is ripe with them. Doughty. Bogosian. Schenn. Tyler Myers, who is a monster at 6"7'. Only questionmark is Alex Pietrangelo, who some scouts and fans wonder about his overall work ethic and are just not sold on as the very top dman. Of course, as an long-suffering Isles fan, I wonder like you, that somehow we'll then definitely hear "The NY Isles pick....Alex Pietrangelo". Anything is possible.

I tell ya what, if Pietrangelo slips to us at 6 and we retain that pick I think we take him and run like we stole somethin.

Here is CSS's breakdown of this player:

NHL Director of Central Scouting, E.J. McGuire
Strengths: "Alex is very poised out there on the ice. A tall player, who is still growing in to his body, Alex brings a keen ability to know when to pass the puck out of the zone, when to carry the puck out of the zone and he’s unflustered in the face of a hard forecheck."

Areas to improve: "Alex probably needs to get a little more assertive. There are times that he plays with that calm, cool and collective attitude and scouts might often question his assertiveness. But believe me that is there and he certainly doesn’t play with any kind of fear for what is coming at him."

Outlook: "He might have the best top-end (potential), and he might have the most under the cover that an 18-year-old could blossom into maybe the best player in the entire 2008 draft. He has (Chris) Pronger-like size and visibility attributes. A lot of scouts say that he might be playing better now than Pronger played when he was in his last year of junior."

I think its safe to say we could use a player like this in our system.

Baring trades (of which we seem the most likely to trade our pick out of this group) my top 6 hasn't changed from the last time I posted:

1. Tampa - Stamkos

2. LA - Bogosian

3. Atlanta - Doughty

4. St. Louis - Schenn

5. NYI - Filatov

6. Columbus - Pietrangelo

If you haven't seen this yet, watch some videos on Pietrangelo here.

-LTL

New draft ranking

Redline just released their final draft ranking.

For those just getting up to speed on this whole draft ranking business there are three key independent services; International Scouting Services (ISS), McKeens & Redline.

The NHL also has their own scouting service called Central Scouting Service. Their final rankings can be found here.

Its interesting to follow all the rankings including the independent services - especially when your Columbus and are always drafting so high in the first round.

Last month the 3 services were pretty tightly ranked in the top 10. They each had Stamkos #1 and then Filatov #2 and then Doughty/Bogosian mixed and matched at 3 and 4. That hasn't changed with Redline's new ranking but there is a lot of differences after the top 4:

NO. PLAYER POS HT/WT S DOB TEAM

1 Steven Stamkos C 6-1/180 R 7-Feb-90 Sarnia

2 Nikita Filatov LW 6-0/172 R 25-May-90 CSKA

3 Drew Doughty D 6-0/213 R 8-Dec-89 Guelph

4 Zach Bogosian D 6-2/199 R 15-Jul-90 Peterborough

5 Mikkel Bodker RW 5-11/201 L 16-Dec-89 Kitchener

6 Alex Pietrangelo D 6-3/198 R 18-Jan-90 Niagara

7 Luke Schenn D 6-2/210 R 2-Nov-89 Kelowna

8 Kirill Petrov RW 6-3/218 L 13-Apr-90 Ak Bars Kazan

9 Cody Hodgson C 5-11/182 R 18-Feb-90 Brampton

10 Tyler Myers D 6-7/210 R 1-Feb-90 Kelowna

Interesting that there is no Wilson or no Hodgson in the top 10. Also Mikkel Bodker is really climbing at #5. From there are two defensemen sitting pretty (potentially for us) at 6 and 7 in Pietrangelo and Schenn.

So what does this all tell us?

Perhaps the top 6 isn't quite as set as we/I thought. A month ago Pietrangelo was thought to be a sure fire top 4 pick but he seems to be slipping. Bodker was more in that 8-10 range and now he's managed to climb into the top 5 at Redline of an impressive playoff performance. For those that have the NHL Network you can actually catch Bodker playing for Kitchner in the Memorial Cup.

..and how about Filatov? This kid is consistantly getting ranked the 2nd best prospect in this draft behind Stamkos. Of course there is that nasty lack of transfer agreement with Russia that is hanging over team's heads as they put their own draft lists together. Will he drop? He says he wants to come over which may be enough for a team in the top 5 to grab this offensive dynamo.

For Columbus, a team that could really use a defensive stud in their system, this is all good news. The question for me will be if both Pietrangelo and Schenn are indeed available at 6, which I still think is unlikely, who does Columbus choose? That would be a nice problem to have.

I am certainly liking Columbus' chances to land one of Doughty, Bogosian, Pietrangelo or Schenn though the more and more I read these rankings. Especially with Bodker really climbing and Filatov staying locked at #2.

Stay tuned for more draft coverage on lightthelamp!

-LTL

Blues eyeing Schenn at 4?

That is what Andy Stickland is reporting on Hockeybuzz.com. Check it out:

Sources say the LA Kings will select Guelph D-man Drew Doughty with the 2nd overall pick.

I’m told the Thrashers will also take a D-man with the 3rd selection and they are leaning towards Peterborough stud Zach Bogosian.

Don’t be surprised if St.Louis takes Kelowna D-man Luke Schenn at number 4. He may not be as offensive as the other top D-men in the draft, but anybody who paid attention to the World Junior Championships last spring knows he was a stalwart and was a huge part of Canada’s success. One scout recently told me he’s the total package who can control the pace of the game. He’s calm with the puck, makes a terrific first pass, and is being compared to Hall of Famer Scott Stevens.

There is a lot of hype for Russian star Nikita Filatov, but the combination of his lack of size and speed is scaring a few teams away. Small players without explosiveness don’t normally turn into superstars in the NHL. One person recently told me that people need to understand that this
isn’t Ovechkin or Malkin. Scouts have told me Nikolai Zherdev is a stronger comparison.

According to Stickland it would be:

Tampa - Stamkos
LA - Doughty
Atlanta - Bogosian
St. Louis - Schenn
NYI - ?
Columbus ?

One thing about Andy Strickland is that he is usually bang on with his info on the Blues considering he is their beat guy.

So if Schenn is gone at 4 then that leaves two of the big 6 remaining - Russian forward Nikita Filatov and Canadian defensemen Alex Pietrangelo.

If the Jackets were to hold onto this pick you would have to think they would be crossing every finger and toe that the Islanders go with the dynamic forward and that Pietrangelo slides to them. It has been rumored heavily that the Islanders are very high on Filatov. I think the Jackets would be thrilled to get any one of the big four in Doughty, Bogosian, Pietrangelo or Schenn. Until now most thought it would Schenn who slides.

If the Islanders opt for Pietrangelo and Filatov is the guy left standing what do the Jackets do? I would think they'd have to trade down or out of the pick all together. I just don't think they have an interest in anyone who is comparable to Nik Zherdev at thus point. If they did stay in that slot I really hope they'd draft Colin Wilson but they may opt for the 6'7" tower defensemen Tyler Myers.

Pietrangelo Profile:
Pietrangelo is showing why most 'experts' think he is a lock to be a top 5 pick in the 2008 NHL Draft in Ottawa.

The only knock on him was that he was not physical enough. We agreed with that and it's clear to us that Alex heard the talk.

He has stepped up his physical game a bit but it's his smarts and poise that we love so much. It almost seems like he's not trying at times because he makes it all look so easy. Alex is so smart with and without the puck. He is one of those players that seems to slow the game down, his vision on the ice is outstanding. He makes great reads on when to hold the blueline and has a knack for keeping the puck in.

He consistantly sports a great plus/minus and averages almost a point per game. He makes great reads on the powerplay and like all great players, he makes players around him better. Petro's top end potential ceiling is very high, we expect him to be a top end NHL'er for many years.

Through all hype Alex just keeps everything under control and puts the team first. He is the most mature 17 year old I have ever met, I swear he's 27.

Season Team GP G A PTS +/- PIM
2006-07 Regular Season Mississauga IceDogs 59 7 45 52 40 45
2007-08 Regular Season Niagara IceDogs 60 13 40 53 29 94

Yeah, I think I'd be pretty happy with that at 6. No question.

Still over 40 days until we'll find out.

-LTL