agentfouser
Playoffs?!?!
I don't think I'd trade our "spine"--top line center, top pair defenseman, starting goalie--for any other team's.
It's interesting that as an assemblage, they are not the result of simply tanking and drafting high to accumulate top-level talent (like Pittsburgh and arguably Chicago). We took Kopitar at 11th in 2005, and although he had been identified as the top European skater by (nearly?) all the major scouting services going into the draft, it was also clear that teams were unwilling to take a chance on him because he came from Slovenia.
Doughty we obviously got second overall in 2008, but that's a bit of luck as well. Stamkos is a great player, no doubt, but as far as team impact of the top players drafted that year, there's no question I'd want Doughty. We're a bit lucky that we dropped to 2nd, since Stamkos was the consensus #1 pick.
And Quick was a third-round pick (72nd overall) in 2005. His rise to this point is, I think, down to slow development and Bill Ranford. At some point, I might write a long piece on Ranford, and how important he's been to our franchise. (Fun fact, I remember seeing Ranford play for the Oilers against the Gretzky Kings at the Forum. He absolutely shut us down.)
Also interesting is that aside from those three picks, the first round picks we took from 2005-2008 have not been that important. Notable names are Jonathan Bernier--a capable goalie and the guy people thought Quick would ultimately give way to, but in the end he couldn't displace Quick and was traded for a fairly disappointing return--and Trevor Lewis--a solid servant of the club but hardly an elite player. We also took Thomas Hickey and Colten Teubert, neither of whom have solidified their status as NHL players, nevermind really high quality impact players. You can see in those two picks plus the acquisition of Jack Johnson the way that Lombardi was trying to build a young defensive core. Things would be even better for us now if one of those three had really worked out.
Unfortunately, that's the risk you run when you draft on need and not best player available. Both Teubert and Hickey were reaches at their draft positions, #13 in 2008 and #4 in 2007 respectively. It's hindsight, but it would be pretty nice if we'd taken Erik Karlsson in 2008, who went a few picks after Teubert. Lombardi wanted a big, mean defenseman, I guess.
Second round picks in that time include Danny Roussin, T. J. Fast, Joey Ryan, and Oscar Moller, none of whom was able to become a full-time NHL player; we also got Wayne Simmonds (miss you, man) and Slava Voynov, both of whom could be seen as playing important roles (though indirectly, in Simmonds's case) in our franchise's development.
So, what can we learn from this? First, the Kings have not become an elite team because they tanked. In fact, our draft record is a bit underwhelming. Second, however, is the importance of development after the player is drafted. Indeed, some important players have been undrafted--like Jake Muzzin (I know there are others, but I can't think of who else right now). EDIT: KopitarFAN rightly points that Muzzin was in fact drafted, but not by us; he was taken by Pittsburgh 141st overall in 2007. He didn't sign with them, however, and we picked him up as a free agent. I suppose that the main point--that we've been able to acquire and develop players outside the top rounds of the draft--remains.
Thoughts?
It's interesting that as an assemblage, they are not the result of simply tanking and drafting high to accumulate top-level talent (like Pittsburgh and arguably Chicago). We took Kopitar at 11th in 2005, and although he had been identified as the top European skater by (nearly?) all the major scouting services going into the draft, it was also clear that teams were unwilling to take a chance on him because he came from Slovenia.
Doughty we obviously got second overall in 2008, but that's a bit of luck as well. Stamkos is a great player, no doubt, but as far as team impact of the top players drafted that year, there's no question I'd want Doughty. We're a bit lucky that we dropped to 2nd, since Stamkos was the consensus #1 pick.
And Quick was a third-round pick (72nd overall) in 2005. His rise to this point is, I think, down to slow development and Bill Ranford. At some point, I might write a long piece on Ranford, and how important he's been to our franchise. (Fun fact, I remember seeing Ranford play for the Oilers against the Gretzky Kings at the Forum. He absolutely shut us down.)
Also interesting is that aside from those three picks, the first round picks we took from 2005-2008 have not been that important. Notable names are Jonathan Bernier--a capable goalie and the guy people thought Quick would ultimately give way to, but in the end he couldn't displace Quick and was traded for a fairly disappointing return--and Trevor Lewis--a solid servant of the club but hardly an elite player. We also took Thomas Hickey and Colten Teubert, neither of whom have solidified their status as NHL players, nevermind really high quality impact players. You can see in those two picks plus the acquisition of Jack Johnson the way that Lombardi was trying to build a young defensive core. Things would be even better for us now if one of those three had really worked out.
Unfortunately, that's the risk you run when you draft on need and not best player available. Both Teubert and Hickey were reaches at their draft positions, #13 in 2008 and #4 in 2007 respectively. It's hindsight, but it would be pretty nice if we'd taken Erik Karlsson in 2008, who went a few picks after Teubert. Lombardi wanted a big, mean defenseman, I guess.
Second round picks in that time include Danny Roussin, T. J. Fast, Joey Ryan, and Oscar Moller, none of whom was able to become a full-time NHL player; we also got Wayne Simmonds (miss you, man) and Slava Voynov, both of whom could be seen as playing important roles (though indirectly, in Simmonds's case) in our franchise's development.
So, what can we learn from this? First, the Kings have not become an elite team because they tanked. In fact, our draft record is a bit underwhelming. Second, however, is the importance of development after the player is drafted. Indeed, some important players have been undrafted--like Jake Muzzin (I know there are others, but I can't think of who else right now). EDIT: KopitarFAN rightly points that Muzzin was in fact drafted, but not by us; he was taken by Pittsburgh 141st overall in 2007. He didn't sign with them, however, and we picked him up as a free agent. I suppose that the main point--that we've been able to acquire and develop players outside the top rounds of the draft--remains.
Thoughts?
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