The rest of the draft

So woo hoo, we got Evander Kane! I had been hoping we would get him all along. After Evander, the Thrashers did some more picking and got some more talent that hopefully will pay off for us. Lower round draft picks are nothing to sneeze at these days. If you could choose going first round 12th over all in 2004 or go 237th over all in the 8th round of 2002, what would it be? Seems an easy choice.


If you wanted to go in the first round of 2002, congrats you are AJ Thelen, first round draft pick of the Minnesota Wild. You are now playing for the Florida Everblades in the ECHL. Nothing wrong with that, you still get paid to play your game. You might be able to make it back to the NHL, it's just a bit harder of a climb than first round draft picks usually envision.




If you chose to go 237th, congrats! You are Maxime Talbot and you hoisted the Stanley Cup this season.

Of course there are many other examples including Henrik Zetterberg who went 210th over all, wonder what that guy is doing now?? I don't have pictures of the others though so we will leave it with Max. And, any excuse to see another picture of Maxime Talbot is A-okay with me.



So let's meet our other new Draft Picks. (All of these pictures are ripped off from Getty Images or other websites. If anyone has a problem, let me know and I'll be happy to credit you or remove the pic)


Carl Klingberg(LW)
6'3'' 205lbs
2nd Round, 34th overall

This is my new boyfriend, I'm totally in love with him...in strictly a hockey sense. I love the Swedes, so the prospect of having a new baby Swede on the team in the future is exciting.





What is also exciting is the thought of having a large Swede who is explosive on his skates and likes to hit.






Scouting reports for Carl say:

“He has explosive acceleration and is strong on his skates – he is hard to hold off when he’s driving the net. He works hard down low in the zone and is courageous enough to go into tight battles.”


An extremely hardworking player with top notch skating skills. Klingberg has very good size and accelerates incredibly well. He likes to drive to the net and although technical skills and hockey sense are slightly above average, at best, he creates a lot of scoring chances simply by using his quick feet.

Ben from the Blueland Blog reported that:


Klingberg has two years left on his Swedish contract and he’s hoping to earn a spot on the top Frolunda team in the top tier of the Swedish Elite League but if that doesn’t work he’ll be in the second division with Boras.


My favorite thing Ben reported:


Carl oozes personality, has really strong English, and cracks jokes constantly. He’s also incredibly confident. He says he’s famous in Sweden for playing like a North American and he thinks he’ll end up being a Thomas Holstrom type player.


I love a personality! A funny Holmstrom like player?? Draft day really is like Christmas morning!

You can see my new love, Carl, as well as some of the other new Thrashers on this video










Jeremy Morin(LW)
6' 1'' 189lbs
2nd Round, 45th overall
See, he is already buddies with Carl! Another good thing about Jeremy's friendships...he's been friends with Zach Bogosian since they were children and played hockey together while growing up. They are both excited at the possibility of playing together one day. Chemistry with our budding superstar...NICE!





Jeremy describes himself as a pure goal scorer. Central Scouting says that he's faster with the puck than without it and is a shoot first, ask questions later player. He'll shoot from anywhere. Jeremy is expected to play for the OHL's Kitchener Rangers next season.


Good info on Jeremy here: http://www.andrewsstarspage.com/index.php/site/comments/nhl_draft_jeremy_morin_profile/1700-2008-09



Now on to a subject very near and dear to my heart....we drafted a goalie!!!


Edward Pasquale(G)
6'2'' 218lbs
4th round, 117th overall

Woot Woot, a new netminder for me to watch. Edward is a three year veteran of the OHL's Saginaw Spirit. What a cutie! Lots of stats and more pics here: http://www.saginawspirit.com/Team/CurrentRoster/EdwardPasquale.aspx



Well this is good...he'll fit right in with the Thrashers:

Pasquale saw a lot of rubber this season, consistently at the top of the OHL in terms of shots faced. And his resolve in the face of nightly barrages has improved his draft standing. He finished the year with a 3.11 GAA and .911 save percentage, earning third-team OHL All-star honors this season.

Hopefully by the time he would see Blueland, our team will be good enough that he doesn't have to see so much rubber.

Ben Chiarot (D)
6'2'' 211lbs
4th round, 120th overall

Ben Chiarot is a nasty, physical defenseman who Dan Marr says is almost unbeatable one-on-one. Do I really need to say anymore?


Last season for the Guelph Storm, Ben played in 67 games, had 2 goals, 10 assists and racked up 111 penalty minutes. Hockey's Future says that he has the size and is willing to throw it around. He has some offensive game, but will never be considered an offensive weapon. His hallmarks are defensive play and physicality. They project him as a bottom-pairing stay at home defenseman.





Cody Sol (D)
6'5'' 215 lbs
5th round, 125th overall

Another Saginaw Spirit! At 6'5'' Cody is the tallest member of the roster on the Saginaw Spirt. He idolizes Chris Pronger and models his game after him. He likes his style of play because it makes other teams fear playing his team. Cody, you have the size, I look forward to watching you!

You can find out other info on Cody here: http://www.saginawspirit.com/Team/CurrentRoster/CodySol.aspx

A fun Q&A with Cody:
http://www.saginawspirit.com/News/NHLDraftPreviewCodySol.aspx




Here is a video with Pasquale, Sol and Chiarot







Jimmy Bubnick(C)
6'2'', 194lbs
6th Round, 155th overall


Last season with the Kamloops Blazers, Jimmy played both right wing and center. He scored 57 points in 72 games. He managed to rack up 41 penalty minutes as well. Through 13 games of the season, Bubnick lead the Blazers in scoring with nine goals and 5 assists.

Hockey's Future did a feature on Jimmy, you can read it here:
http://www.hockeysfuture.com/articles/10632/2009_prospects_jimmy_bubnick/


Jimmy can fight, too. I wish I could say I was posting the video simply for Jimmy's fight...but imagine my delight to discover that the goalies fought in this game, too! Woot woot, goalie fight.










Levko Koper(LW)
6'0'' 180lbs
7th round, 185th overall

Levko appeared in 71 games for the Chiefs last season, picking up 23 goals and 36 assists to go along with 57 penalty minutes. He was a +31 for the season. (NICE!) Koper scored two goals in the Memorial Cup, including the overtime game winner in Spokane’s first game of the tournament against the Belleville Bulls.

He is said to be a versatile forward with good speed whose offensive contribution increase each year.







Last but not least we have....


Jordan Samuels-Thomas(LW)
6'3'' 198lbs
7th round, 203rd overall

We were excited about this because he is from Connecticut like my husband. Jordan played the last two season for the Waterloo Black Hawks. In the 2008-09 season, Jordan played in 59 games and scored a total of 54 points. Jordan will be heading to Bowling Green to play college hockey. (Who knew the had college hockey there??)

Here is a fantastic article on how Jordan got into hockey:

http://www.hockeyjournal.com/Article.php?ArtID=702086






So there are our draft picks. Congratulations, guys!



Now for other draft news that is making me happy....
The Anaheim Ducks chose in 2nd round, 37th over all Matthew Clark.http://ducks.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=431949

Why do I give two shits about this? Matthew has a sister who is on a soccer scholarship at...THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA!!!

http://www.usajaguars.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=38434&SPID=3252&DB_OEM_ID=8300&ATCLID=1151452&Q_SEASON=2008



USA is my alma mater. GO JAGS!