I’m working on some posts (A few interviews, a feature article on Scott Glennie) for tomorrow and Monday, but in the meantime I wanted to hear what your thoughts were on how the Stars drafted this weekend.
My initial thoughts:
Overall I think it was a good draft for the Stars and for Joe Nieuwendyk. It’s obvious they held speed and skill at a premium in this draft and they wanted to bolster the depth in the system at right wing. I’m surprised they didn’t go after a defenseman, especially since there were some decent ones available in the second round but Alex Chiasson was a good value pick at #3. The Stars really liked him and payed him a lot of attention during scouting and they were intent on getting a player they wanted. I’d rather have that than have them settle on a guy they’re unsure of. They know exactly what they’re getting with Chiasson and they have to be excited about his potential.
I know that the selection of Scott Glennie at #8 is going to be one of much frustration and anger for some Stars fans until he proves them otherwise. With Jared Cowen and Magnus Paajarvi on the board it’s tough to see Dallas pass them up and get a player not as popular. Yet the more I talked to scouts today and the more I heard from people around the Bell Centre, the more I was convinced this was a good pick for the Stars.
I was hearing that there were concerns about Cowen by teams in the top ten, and that these concerns were not related to his injury. And I kept hearing that MPS has some attitude issues and worth ethic issues that led to him falling past where most thought he would go. The Stars came into the draft with Nazem Kadri and Glennie ranked higher than Cowen and MPS, and they picked the player they thought was the best.
The most encouraging stuff I heard about Scott Glennie (and I’ll have more on this on Monday) is just how great a player he is, independently from linemate Brayden Schenn. There were some who thought that perhaps Schenn helped Glennie appear to be better than he actually is; according to the scouts who watched him day in and day out Glennie is a special player in his own right. He’s extremely fast, has great skill and projects to be a damn good player in a few years at the NHL level.
And for those of you that scoffed when I picked Oliver Ekman-Larsson at #8 in the mock draft: Phoenix drafted him at #6, and everyone I talked to this weekend is convinced the kid will be a superstar.
What did you guys think?