Brian Lee going 9th?? A little to soon

[VHS15]

Brian Lee was drafted 9th in the NJL draft as you all know, but was he really 21 players better than Matt Niskannen? or 14 better than T.J oshie. Brian Lee and T.J Oshie r both tremendous athletes but Matt Niskannen is just as solid as those 2, he just played without the talent the other 2 kids did. <p></p><i></i>

[Jesrober]

You can make an argument how each player you listed is better in some way but it all comes down to what these teams think they are going to need in the future. These teams have been drafting people for many years and can probably judge talent way better than any of us can. If you talk to Ottawa they thought getting Lee at number 9 was a steal, it all comes down to what that team wants. To be drafted at all is quite an accomplishment and I'm sure most would agree that even though he was 21 players after Lee in no way means he is any less of a player. <p></p><i></i>

[slapshotbg]

yeah well guess what.. i can name a few kids who werent even drafted with talent comparable to any of those guys so why dont you just give them credit where credit is deserved and quit comparing them to others. nhl scouts do their homework <p></p><i></i>

[icedreamer11]

VHS is just looking to rattle some cages. It was a great draft all the way around for MN and comparisons at this point are moot. lets see when and if they play up there who does what. <p></p><i></i>

[HIGHoHOCKEY]

Well said icedreamer what a draft day for Minnesota High School hockey, especially considering countries like Russia didn't have any players go first round and the state of Minnesota had a handful! Congrats to all the players, the important thing is this opened the door for all these players to build hockey careers.<br><br>Obviously scouts look at a lot more than on-ice performance. Like work out ethics, endurance, size, potential and stuff like that, and from what I've heard Lee is up there with the best for off ice working, it was also said that he had an impressive NHL combine which I'm sure helped. Muckler (Ottawa's GM) said that Lee was actually ranked at #4 on there list so they believe that got a steal., but whether you go 9th, 24th, or 28th... you went in the first round and that's impressive.<br><br>Now it's in the hands of these players to work hard and fit in with the NHL's speed and size. You never know who's going to flop and who's going to be a steal. examples: <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.nhl.com/futures/firstround90_99.html" target="top">Here's a link</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--> to the 90's first round draft picks check out 1995 where Iginla went 11th and look at the names that went before him, some you may not recognize they where flops and he was a steal. It’s up to them to prove themselves. Also look at 1998 and then consider that Detroit’s All-Star Center Pavel Datsyuk went 171st in the 6th round you never know who's going to amount to what.<br><br>Bottom line is VHS is right you can not say Lee is going to be a better NHL player, its just an educated guess from the scouts thinking (hoping) he’ll amount to something great, best of luck to all these players and I hope to see them all in NHL all star jerseys someday.<br> <p></p><i></i>

[Mucker]

Not to rain on anyone's parade here, but, the reason no Russsians were taken in the first twenty-some picks were, 1) With the new CBA (collective bargaining agreement) in the N.H.L. the money is not there, as it was prior to 2005. 2) The professional hockey league in Russia is thriving, promoted and owned by the Russian mob. In the new capitalist society, money is more readily available, spurred by more tickets being sold. 3) It's their homeland. They can make more money there, and they don't have to leave town. Established Russian N.H.L. players here now are already making good money, and have roots established here. So, for as great as it is that American born players dominated the draft, the real truth is, that the Russians were all but removed from the draft, because of the almighty dollar. The N.H.L. powers that be know this, thus, why draft someone that isn't coming over, or, you can't afford. <p></p><i></i>

[icedreamer11]

Not buying that one mucker. Sounds like some logic to it, but I'd need a little more empirical evidence. <p></p><i></i>

[inthecorners]

Maybe this article will shed some light on the topic.<br><br>You can also go to google and do a search using 2005 NHL Russian hockey and you will find more info on this issue. <br><br><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/2 ... <!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--> <p></p><i></i>

[icedreamer11]

yup that link helped clarify things. Thanks inthecorners. <p></p><i></i>

[Cool Guy1]

This is the stupidest thread I have ever seen. Did vhs have a thread last year about what a waste it was to take Blake Wheeler with the #5 pick. They could have traded down a few times picked up some picks and picked wheeler at about 28. <p></p><i></i>

[wcha fan]

The nhl central scouting service had Lee at number15, Niskanen at number 31, and Oshie at 43. These are the so called experts so they know talent when they see it. When ever you draft kids at 18-20 years old you are taking a gamble on how they will develop both mentally and physically, but that is their job. Lets just be happy they got drafted and we will get the chance to see them play against each other for years to come. <p></p><i></i>