ATD2025 Draft Thread Part II

[VanIslander]

Tazer has scored 51 playoff points in 77 postseason games (impressive for a blueliner), was impactful in a Stanley Cup championship, led NYI dmen in scoring in a Game 6 conference finals run.

Not bad for just a 7-year career.

Even if there are better undrafteds.

His career numbers mirror Brad Maxwell, the 1977 early 1st rounder who played 7 postseasons in the NHL by age 28, scoring 61 points in 79 playoff games, a similarly significant contributor to Toews in the postseason, Maxwell even going all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1981, though his team ran into the dynasty Isles.

 

[VanIslander]

There are several better...

 

[Dr John Carlson]

I'll make up my two skipped picks now for Hogsmeade, which I believe are the last in the draft for me. They're sentimental picks that I think make sense...

First, I need a spare centre, so I'll take who I think might be the best offensive player left on the board in Dick Irvin. I have a bio for him from the pre-WW2 draft that I'll repost in this year's bio thread for more visibility, along with the others I have.

Then for my second pick... I really like the idea of a specialized assistant coach. I took one last year with the very last pick, and I could take him again, but as was the logic in taking Gordie Howe over Bobby Orr with the first pick, I don't like running back the same gag twice. So I'll go with someone else with ties to the Capitals, in skating coach Wendy Marco.

As with my Tom Wilson bio, some of these quotes will be transcribed from audio clips.

Over the past 3 decades I’ve originated hundreds of creative drills and developed techniques that have been adopted by coaches throughout the world. I’ve published articles, produced a DVD, patented training equipment, and was a featured speaker at both International Hockey Skating Symposiums. Some of the thousands of skaters I’ve taught have won National Championships, the Frozen Four, the Stanley Cup and Olympic Gold. One of my long-time students, Mike Ansell, even became an NHL skating coach (Buffalo Sabres) before I did. For many years I have worked with Capitals players privately off-season and occasionally the team would hire me to skate with a player on IR, but it wasn’t until [2023], after three decades in the sport, that I was handed the blue and red track suit and finally made my “official” NHL debut as the skating coach for the Washington Capitals.

It’s my job to help Washington Capitals players and prospects improve their skating speed, power, agility, balance, and efficiency. Additionally, I run the skating portion of the Capitals development camps and serve as the skating coach for the Capitals AHL affiliate, Hershey Bears. When I’m not on the ice with the Capitals organization, I run a hockey instruction company in Northern Virginia, ColdRush, with hundreds of youth travel, junior, and college players.

I had never really had any skating coach in entire life, so it was great, very great relationship. I noticed right away when I got out on the ice with her that she was very, very good.

She’s able to dissect and break down a skater’s problem to their root. It’s not a small ‘put a Band-Aid on it.’ She’s able to dissect and find it to the core and fix that problem internally.

My ears and eyes are always open and I'm trying to get better no matter what I'm doing, whether it's by myself or getting instruction and practice. I believe in all her stuff... I think you take it like that to try and get better and try to work on things. You're gonna come out of it in a better spot.

I look at video of myself playing before 2010, when I started working with her, and it’s like I can’t watch it because it’s so bad. I wish I could go back [and start sooner]. It is like getting a superpower… I think if I saw that early in my career, it would have been a huge difference.

Kids growing up in that Ashburn ice rink and the kids that she touches, you know, in the D.C. area, they’re such good skaters... They’re so much better than other kids around them, and it’s a credit to her. I think it’s remarkable what she does.

She’s got a great mind for the mechanics of skating. It’s crazy how she’ll tell you to counter rotate your body and it doesn’t make sense as she’s talking about it, but you do it and it makes sense, you feel how it clicks. She’s got a great mind for skating and the mechanics of it for sure.

Wendy Marco is brilliant — that's the first thing. She can make a huge difference for players, and every single Capitals prospect [Caps reporter Sammi Silber] spoke to at camp sang her praises and stressed just how vital every single drill was.

Like my Hogsmeade Lunas, the Capitals are one of the biggest teams in the league up front. Big fellas aren't renowned for the skating ability, but with the help of Marco, they've managed to turn them into speedsters...

6'6, ~250lb monster Aliaksei Protas fell to the 3rd round in 2019 because of his skating, and has since developed into an elite skater and player. Courtesy of the NHL's puck and player tracking data:

Year	Top Skating Speed (mph)	>20mph Speed Bursts	Overall Skating Distance (miles)
2023	22.46 65th percentile)	83 (66th percentile)	104.25 (below 50th percentile)
2024	22.74 (76th percentile)	135 (83rd percentile)	171 (64th percentile)
2025	23.18 (92nd percentile)	123 (89th percentile)	153.89 (79th percentile)

[Lower-body strength] has always been my weakness because of height,” [Aliaksei] Protas said. “You have to focus on that and work basically every day to get better. It’s a lot harder for the tall guys to get more muscle. It takes more time, so you have to work like twice more than everybody else... Thanks to the strength coaches here. Thank you to the skating coach Wendy Marco. [She] did a really good job to help me with that. My skating coach back home helped a lot the past couple years. Hard work pays off, you know?

Another prime example is 6"4, ~230lb Tom Wilson. Wilson developed into a very strong skater while Wendy was essentially a part-time member of the Capitals staff. However, she came aboard full-time just as Wilson was recovering from a torn ACL at the very end of the 2021-2022 season, an injury that usually saps players of their quickness. Again courtesy of NHL's puck and player tracking data, we see how Tom came all the way back to his pre-injury skating form under Wendy's watch:

Year	Top Skating Speed (mph)	>20mph Speed Bursts	Overall Skating Distance (miles)
2022 (pre-injury)	23.23 (93rd percentile)	218 (96th percentile)	226.44 (92nd percentile)
2023 (first season back)	21.82 (below 50th percentile)	45 (below 50th percentile)	87.45 (below 50th percentile)
2024	23.10 (90th percentile)	187 (93rd percentile)	215.79 (82nd percentile)
2025	23.22 (93rd percentile)	130 (92nd percentile)	170.39 (89th percentile)

Further proof of the organization's faith in Marco is their drafting strategy, as they are increasingly tending towards picking highly-skilled players with poor skating. Just look at their most recent draft - three players selected who were 6'5 or taller, including Aliaksei's brother Ilya Protas.

Hogsmeade is thrilled to have one of the best in the business getting as much juice out of our skaters as possible!

 

[VanIslander]

Resume galore!

But to get it done.

 

[ImporterExporter]

433. tabness - Seattle Supersoakers - Mark Tinordi, D
434. GKJ - Philadelphia Firebirds - Jimmy Watson, D
435. BenchBrawl - Les Canadiens de Montréal - Don Luce, C
436. Boreal01 - HC Lugano - Jaccob Slavin, D
437. Dr Pepper - Dawson City Nuggets - Fleming Mackell, C
438. Hockey Stathead - Detroit Vipers - Bill Mosienko, RW
439. Leaf Lander - Toronto Maple Leafs - William Nylander, C
440. Dr John Carlson - Hogsmeade Lunas - Vic Stasiuk, LW

Round 23

441. Dr John Carlson - Hogsmeade Lunas - Miro Heiskanen, D
442. Leaf Lander - Toronto Maple Leafs - John Tavares, C
443. Hockey Stathead - Detroit Vipers - Moose Vasko, D
444. Dr Pepper - Dawson City Nuggets - Leo Boivin, D
445. Boreal01 - HC Lugano - Phil Watson, F
446. BenchBrawl - Les Canadiens de Montréal - Bobby Bauer, RW
447. GKJ - Philadelphia Firebirds - Vincent Lecavalier, C
448. tabness - Seattle Supersoakers - Ed Litzenberger, RW/C
449. tinyzombies - NDG Monarchs - Scotty Davidson, RW
450. Claude The Fraud - Ottawa 67's - Brad Richards, C
451. Hawkey Town 18 - Chicago Shamrocks - Bob Bourne, F
452. jigglysquishy - Regina Capitals - Nikolai Sologubov, D
453. nabby12 - Torpedo Ust-Kamenogorsk - Mark Scheifele, C
454. Hitru & Professor What - Gallifrey Tardis - Doug Jarvis, C
455. ImporterExporter - Three Rivers AC - Si Griffis, D/F
456. rmartin65 - Quebec HC - Paddy Moran, G
457. spitsfan24 - Windsor Spitfires - Harry Lumley, G
458. Habsfan18 - Baltimore Clippers - Jean Guy Talbot, D
459. Voight - Odessa Jackalopes - Rick Martin, LW
460. Voight - Odessa Jackalopes - Pekka Rinne, G

Round 24

461. Voight - Odessa Jackalopes - Brian Campbell, D
462. VanIslander - Savannah Ghost Pirates - Bob Nevin, RW
463. Habsfan18 - Baltimore Clippers - Sid Smith, LW
464. spitsfan24 - Windsor Spitfires - Arkady Chernyshev, coach
465. rmartin65 - Quebec HC - Billy Gilmour, RW/LW
466. ImporterExporter - Three Rivers AC - King Clancy, assistant coach
467. VanIslander - Savannah Ghost Pirates - Butch Goring, C
468. nabby12 - Torpedo Ust-Kamenogorsk - Johnny Gaudreau, LW
469. jigglysquishy - Regina Capitals - Mikko Rantanen, RW
470. Hawkey Town 18 - Chicago Shamrocks - Lloyd Cook, D
471. Claude The Fraud - Ottawa 67's - Brent Sutter, C
472. tinyzombies - NDG Monarchs - Pierre Turgeon, C
473. tabness - Seattle Supersoakers - John Vanbiesbrouck, G
474. GKJ - Philadelphia Firebirds - Pat Verbeek, RW
475. BenchBrawl - Les Canadiens de Montréal - skipped
476. Boreal01 - HC Lugano - Dustin Byfuglien, D/RW
477. Dr Pepper - Dawson City Nuggets - Eddie Oatman, F/D
478. Hockey Stathead - Detroit Vipers - Daniel Sedin, LW
479. Leaf Lander - Toronto Maple Leafs - Andrei Markov D
480. Dr John Carlson - Hogsmeade Lunas - Dick Irvin, C

Round 25

481. Dr John Carlson - Hogsmeade Lunas - Wendy Marco, skating coach
482. Leaf Lander - Toronto Maple Leafs - Barry Beck, D
483. Hockey Stathead - Detroit Vipers - Henrik Sedin, C
484. Dr Pepper - Dawson City Nuggets - Alexei Kovalev, RW
485. Boreal01 - HC Lugano - Devon Toews, D
486. BenchBrawl - Les Canadiens de Montréal - skipped
487. GKJ - Philadelphia Firebirds - Sandis Ozolinsh, D
488. tabness - Seattle Supersoakers - Connor Bedard, C
489. tinyzombies - NDG Monarchs - Bob Probert, LW
490. Claude The Fraud - Ottawa 67's
491. Hawkey Town 18 - Chicago Shamrocks
492. jigglysquishy - Regina Capitals
493. nabby12 - Torpedo Ust-Kamenogorsk
494. Hitru & Professor What - Gallifrey Tardis
495. ImporterExporter - Three Rivers AC
496. rmartin65 - Quebec HC
497. spitsfan24 - Windsor Spitfires
498. Habsfan18 - Baltimore Clippers
499. VanIslander - Savannah Ghost Pirates
500. VanIslander - Savannah Ghost Pirates

 

[GKJ]

Philadelphia taking a change of pace defenseman to the bottom of our depth chart: Sandis Ozolinsh

Resume speaks for itself.

 

[tabness]

Let's go wayyyy of the board and pop this guy's draft cherry: Connor Bedard, C lol

Hasn't come close to realizing his potential yet but will get to soak it in with a bunch of guys on the Super Soakers and realize spending so much time on your cocky white tape job isn't good enough for the big leagues.



Thanks for the draft all, special thanks to @BenchBrawl for running and @ImporterExporter for stepping in as usual to keep it going smoothly till the end

 

[tinyzombies]

Bob Probert

 

[VanIslander]

BEDARD?

Shit the bed.

BEDARD. The 2nd worst ATD pick ever.

Two year career, zero top 10 scoring, zero playoff games.

This piick in no way honors hockey history.

At least that beastly attempt to draft a building was in the spirit of the exercise. In fact, @BenchBrawl , i apologize: drafting a building is not the worst pick ever.

We have had 20 years of responsible play here, in a world elsewhere of quitters, jerks, yahoos and rebels.

It is remarkable how long, how we have all, taken the ATD seriously.

Some mod moved us off the History board to a Fantasy subboard. I was one of those who lobbied for years to get back to the History board, us being about honoring the HISTORY of the game. Eventually a subboard of the History board was created.

Longtime ATDer JohnnyEngine started a Ninja Turtle thread on the History board that is excellent! Check it out.

 

[tabness]

BEDARD?

Shit the bed.

BEDARD. The 2nd worst ATD pick ever.

Two year career, zero top 10 scoring, zero playoff games.

This piick in no way honors hockey history.

At least that beastly attempt to draft a building was in the spirit of the exercise. In fact, @BenchBrawl , i apologize: drafting a building is not the worst pick ever.

We have had 20 years of responsible play here, in a world elsewhere of quitters, jerks, yahoos and rebels.

It is remarkable how long, how we have all, taken the ATD seriously.

Some mod moved us off the History board to a Fantasy subboard. I was one of those who lobbied for years to get back to the History board, us being about honoring the HISTORY of the game. Eventually a subboard of the History board was created.

Longtime ATDer JohnnyEngine started a Ninja Turtle thread on the History board that is excellent! Check it out.

Brother I picked Brett Lindros before lol

 

[jigglysquishy]

Picking Bedard is like my in-law's cooking. Spicy, but ultimately not very good.

 

[tabness]

Picking Bedard is like my in-law's cooking. Spicy, but ultimately not very good.

eh unlike any bad home cooking, this pick gonna age real nicely

 

[VanIslander]

Michel de Nostredame ain't us.

Picks expecting more nutrients die on the vine.

 

[rmartin65]

The board issues really killed the momentum. Hopefully we can finish this draft up here and get the playoffs going.

 

[Claude The Fraud]

The Ottawa 67's are pleased to welcome, from Viking, Alberta, a heart-and-soul type of player, the most penalyzed player of one of hockey's most famous family, Brian Sutter.

 

[Boreal01]

@Claude The Fraud was technically skipped @ 2:39 AM EST (later picked Brian Sutter)

@Hawkey Town 18 would have then been skipped @ 6:39 AM EST

@jigglysquishy would have then been skipped @ 10:39 AM EST

@nabby12 would have then been skipped @ 2:39 PM EST

Which would then leave @Professor What and Hitru on the clock until 6:39 PM EST with @ImporterExporter and @rmartin65 up next

Assuming this is correct, then any of @Hawkey Town 18, @jigglysquishy, @nabby12 or @Professor What can pick whenever

With any luck we should probably have the actual draft portion finished by tomorrow or Tuesday at the absolute latest

Any longer and someone might take a page out of Punch's book to select Taro Tsujimoto

 

[rmartin65]

Go ahead and skip me tonight, I’ll make my pick tomorrow.

 

[jigglysquishy]

Let's add some real punching power. Not a bad roster spot in a 25 man draft.

D/RW Marty McSorely

 

[ImporterExporter]

Three Rivers will select Dubbie Kerr LW, to round out their roster.

I'm starting my new job tomorrow, so it's doubtful I'll be around much, if any, during the typical business hours 8am-5pm but will be logging on in the evenings, at the very least while I get up to speed at the new digs. Hoping @BenchBrawl is alright and will re-join the post draft process!

 

[ImporterExporter]

433. tabness - Seattle Supersoakers - Mark Tinordi, D
434. GKJ - Philadelphia Firebirds - Jimmy Watson, D
435. BenchBrawl - Les Canadiens de Montréal - Don Luce, C
436. Boreal01 - HC Lugano - Jaccob Slavin, D
437. Dr Pepper - Dawson City Nuggets - Fleming Mackell, C
438. Hockey Stathead - Detroit Vipers - Bill Mosienko, RW
439. Leaf Lander - Toronto Maple Leafs - William Nylander, C
440. Dr John Carlson - Hogsmeade Lunas - Vic Stasiuk, LW

Round 23

441. Dr John Carlson - Hogsmeade Lunas - Miro Heiskanen, D
442. Leaf Lander - Toronto Maple Leafs - John Tavares, C
443. Hockey Stathead - Detroit Vipers - Moose Vasko, D
444. Dr Pepper - Dawson City Nuggets - Leo Boivin, D
445. Boreal01 - HC Lugano - Phil Watson, F
446. BenchBrawl - Les Canadiens de Montréal - Bobby Bauer, RW
447. GKJ - Philadelphia Firebirds - Vincent Lecavalier, C
448. tabness - Seattle Supersoakers - Ed Litzenberger, RW/C
449. tinyzombies - NDG Monarchs - Scotty Davidson, RW
450. Claude The Fraud - Ottawa 67's - Brad Richards, C
451. Hawkey Town 18 - Chicago Shamrocks - Bob Bourne, F
452. jigglysquishy - Regina Capitals - Nikolai Sologubov, D
453. nabby12 - Torpedo Ust-Kamenogorsk - Mark Scheifele, C
454. Hitru & Professor What - Gallifrey Tardis - Doug Jarvis, C
455. ImporterExporter - Three Rivers AC - Si Griffis, D/F
456. rmartin65 - Quebec HC - Paddy Moran, G
457. spitsfan24 - Windsor Spitfires - Harry Lumley, G
458. Habsfan18 - Baltimore Clippers - Jean Guy Talbot, D
459. Voight - Odessa Jackalopes - Rick Martin, LW
460. Voight - Odessa Jackalopes - Pekka Rinne, G

Round 24

461. Voight - Odessa Jackalopes - Brian Campbell, D
462. VanIslander - Savannah Ghost Pirates - Bob Nevin, RW
463. Habsfan18 - Baltimore Clippers - Sid Smith, LW
464. spitsfan24 - Windsor Spitfires - Arkady Chernyshev, coach
465. rmartin65 - Quebec HC - Billy Gilmour, RW/LW
466. ImporterExporter - Three Rivers AC - King Clancy, assistant coach
467. VanIslander - Savannah Ghost Pirates - Butch Goring, C
468. nabby12 - Torpedo Ust-Kamenogorsk - Johnny Gaudreau, LW
469. jigglysquishy - Regina Capitals - Mikko Rantanen, RW
470. Hawkey Town 18 - Chicago Shamrocks - Lloyd Cook, D
471. Claude The Fraud - Ottawa 67's - Brent Sutter, C
472. tinyzombies - NDG Monarchs - Pierre Turgeon, C
473. tabness - Seattle Supersoakers - John Vanbiesbrouck, G
474. GKJ - Philadelphia Firebirds - Pat Verbeek, RW
475. BenchBrawl - Les Canadiens de Montréal - skipped
476. Boreal01 - HC Lugano - Dustin Byfuglien, D/RW
477. Dr Pepper - Dawson City Nuggets - Eddie Oatman, F/D
478. Hockey Stathead - Detroit Vipers - Daniel Sedin, LW
479. Leaf Lander - Toronto Maple Leafs - Andrei Markov D
480. Dr John Carlson - Hogsmeade Lunas - Dick Irvin, C

Round 25

481. Dr John Carlson - Hogsmeade Lunas - Wendy Marco, skating coach
482. Leaf Lander - Toronto Maple Leafs - Barry Beck, D
483. Hockey Stathead - Detroit Vipers - Henrik Sedin, C
484. Dr Pepper - Dawson City Nuggets - Alexei Kovalev, RW
485. Boreal01 - HC Lugano - Devon Toews, D
486. BenchBrawl - Les Canadiens de Montréal - skipped, pick anytime
487. GKJ - Philadelphia Firebirds - Sandis Ozolinsh, D
488. tabness - Seattle Supersoakers - Connor Bedard, C
489. tinyzombies - NDG Monarchs - Bob Probert, LW
490. Claude The Fraud - Ottawa 67's - Brian Sutter, LW
491. Hawkey Town 18 - Chicago Shamrocks - skipped, pick anytime
492. jigglysquishy - Regina Capitals - Marty McSorely, D/RW
493. nabby12 - Torpedo Ust-Kamenogorsk - skipped, pick anytime
494. Hitru & Professor What - Gallifrey Tardis - skipped, pick anytime
495. ImporterExporter - Three Rivers AC - Dubbie Kerr, LW
496. rmartin65 - Quebec HC - will pick 3/24 AM
497. spitsfan24 - Windsor Spitfires - OTC - Lennart Svedberg, D
498. Habsfan18 - Baltimore Clippers - Ron Ellis, RW
499. VanIslander - Savannah Ghost Pirates
500. VanIslander - Savannah Ghost Pirates

 

[spitsfan24]

Well, none of the guys I considered with my last pick were taken, so I guess I'll have to make a difficult decision after all.

Ultimately, I want to ensure continuity by bringing in an archetype that we already have quite a bit of on the left side of our blueline. This ensures a smooth transition in the event Niedermayer or Grant go down with an injury, and will allow Tarasov and Chernyshev to continue to implement their desired system seamlessly.

With that being said, the Windsor Spitfires are proud to make Lennart Svedberg, D, their last selection.

Aside from the obvious skating and offensive prowess, I really like his aggressiveness when breaking up plays in the neutral zone. It's one of his strongest assets as a defender, and one that I think will pay dividends when he sees his name called into action.

Will PM next.

 

[Habsfan18]

Baltimore completes their draft with the selection of Ron Ellis, RW who brings solid even strength scoring and two-way play. He can slot into the lineup in a pinch.

Great job, guys. It's a shame that the forum outage wrecked the momentum we had, but drafting and chatting hockey history is always a blast. I, like many, always suffer from some winter blues and the ATD is always a huge help in lifting my spirits. I genuinely look forward to this every year and honestly get a bit sad when it's over. We still have playoffs of course, but the most activity tends to be during the team building portion and it's always bittersweet when it's over.

Side note..I say this every year I think, but I'd totally be down for an MLD during the summer if there's enough interest. It seems like it's been awhile since we've had a proper Minor League Draft that didn't fizzle out before the end.

Cheers, fellas. Hope to see you all soon for the assassinations/regular season voting/playoff matchups portion of the draft.

 

[ImporterExporter]

@VanIslander with final 2 picks for ATD 2025!

@BenchBrawl has 2 picks to make up. Then @Professor What @nabby12 @Hawkey Town 18 with 1 each.

Cheers everyone! Fantastic draft once again. Monday evening I can set up the lineup advise thread and assassination one as well, if nobody beats me to it.

 

[Hawkey Town 18]

Chicago selects Percy LeSueur, G

 

[nabby12]

Torpedo Ust-Kamenogrosk selects Josh Morrissey, D.