THW Column: Kings draft analyzed & graded

[kingsfan]

No picks were made between 3rd and 30th overall where Futa and crew have busted out, so is almost a guarantee we hit it out of the park. And I'm only partly about that.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Thanks, Tony!

Boy howdy was this ever a terrific, well-informed read. Bravo.

Boy howdy, indeed. I'm glad you liked it. The Anaheim fans seem slightly less pleased with me. I went after San Jose's draft even more emphatically, but most of their fans seem to agree with me.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Excellent point, CowMix

We may not have had a first rounder but we drafted a first rounder, wheres our A

I thought about that, but it was difficult when comparing the Kings draft (though excellent) to Calgary (three first rounders), Vancouver (two first rounders) and Edmonton (7th overall + a second and two thirds). You did however get the same grade as Phoenix, who drafted far ahead of you and actually had a very good draft, so that's something to be proud of!

 

[Face Wash]

I thought about that, but it was difficult when comparing the Kings draft (though excellent) to Calgary (three first rounders), Vancouver (two first rounders) and Edmonton (7th overall + a second and two thirds). You did however get the same grade as Phoenix, who drafted far ahead of you and actually had a very good draft, so that's something to be proud of!

As I've said before, everything you do in the NHL is about winning the Cup. Draft, Free Agent signing, Trades, Waivers, Buyouts, every transaction you make is about the ultimate goal of winning it all.

The Kings won this draft on February 23, 2012 when they sent their 2013 1st rounder to Columbus. So far it's netted them a cup and a WC Finals appearance.

 

[Face Wash]

Before Lombardi came to LA 35% of the players the Kings drafted in the first 100 picks of each draft wound up playing 200 games or more in the NHL.

Between 2006 and 2009, with Lombardi at the helm, 4 of the 21 players picked in the first 100 picks have already played 200 games in the NHL with the strong possibility of 5 more players playing 200 games by 2014-15 (Martinez, Schenn, Voynov, Bernier & Hickey) . If they all do, that would be 9 of 21 picks making it in the NHL or 43%.

Even 3 of Lombardi's 17 bottom 101 picks (picks made after the 100th pick in each draft) from 2006 to 2009 have an excellent chance of playing 200 games in the NHL (Loktionov, King & Nolan). That's 17.6%.

Prior to Lombardi only 12 of 197 bottom 101 picks played 200 games in the NHL or 6.1%. Granted, the quality of those 12 players, which include Luc, Dave Taylor & Kimmo Timonen, is a lot better than Lokti, King & Nolan, but the bottom of the draft is a puzzle that the Kings are clearly doing a better job of solving year in and year out.

Things have definitely gotten better under Deano, Hextall, Futa & Yannetti

 

[Captain Mittens*]

This is why I love Face wash. He is the most thorough mofo on the planet.

 

[Face Wash]

This is why I love Face wash. He is the most thorough mofo on the planet.

that deserves 4

 

[Reclamation Project]

Boy howdy, indeed. I'm glad you liked it. The Anaheim fans seem slightly less pleased with me. I went after San Jose's draft even more emphatically, but most of their fans seem to agree with me.

Their jimmies are always ruffled.

 

[northernKing]

Before Lombardi came to LA 35% of the players the Kings drafted in the first 100 picks of each draft wound up playing 200 games or more in the NHL.

Between 2006 and 2009, with Lombardi at the helm, 4 of the 21 players picked in the first 100 picks have already played 200 games in the NHL with the strong possibility of 5 more players playing 200 games by 2014-15 (Martinez, Schenn, Voynov, Bernier & Hickey) . If they all do, that would be 9 of 21 picks making it in the NHL or 43%.

Even 3 of Lombardi's 17 bottom 101 picks (picks made after the 100th pick in each draft) from 2006 to 2009 have an excellent chance of playing 200 games in the NHL (Loktionov, King & Nolan). That's 17.6%.

Prior to Lombardi only 12 of 197 bottom 101 picks played 200 games in the NHL or 6.1%. Granted, the quality of those 12 players, which include Luc, Dave Taylor & Kimmo Timonen, is a lot better than Lokti, King & Nolan, but the bottom of the draft is a puzzle that the Kings are clearly doing a better job of solving year in and year out.

Things have definitely gotten better under Deano, Hextall, Futa & Yannetti

I agree drafting is a huge strength of LA now but I think it's unfair to hold DLs track record vs the rest if LAs drafts. Scouting has come a very long way in recent years due largely to the Internet and more teams putting an emphasis on it. LA is at the top of the NHL in finding and developing players but I would guess that most teams are better now than they were 7-10 yrs ago. Anyways good info!

 

[damacles1156]

I agree drafting is a huge strength of LA now but I think it's unfair to hold DLs track record vs the rest if LAs drafts. Scouting has come a very long way in recent years due largely to the Internet and more teams putting an emphasis on it. LA is at the top of the NHL in finding and developing players but I would guess that most teams are better now than they were 7-10 yrs ago. Anyways good info!

Not Calgary.....San Jose ?

There are still teams and GM's, that screw up the draft. I would argue that San Jose has not drafted well since Lombardi left.

 

[King'sPawn]

As I've said before, everything you do in the NHL is about winning the Cup. Draft, Free Agent signing, Trades, Waivers, Buyouts, every transaction you make is about the ultimate goal of winning it all.

The Kings won this draft on February 23, 2012 when they sent their 2013 1st rounder to Columbus. So far it's netted them a cup and a WC Finals appearance.

Except that's not the criteria the writer uses. He's basing this on the quality of the picks made. If the Kings traded picks 1-7 to Columbus for Jeff Carter, instead of trading away Jack Johnson, would you say the Kings had a good DRAFT if they didn't draft anyone?

A B+ is a fair grade for a team who, on June 29, had 10 picks but the first one was 57. Lombardi changed that to 7 with the first at 37. You could argue it's an A- because they got a player valued very highly... But seriously, nobody knows the quality of players drafted until much further down.

I'm just happy that good articles continue to compliment the Kings.

 

[CNS]

Except that's not the criteria the writer uses. He's basing this on the quality of the picks made. If the Kings traded picks 1-7 to Columbus for Jeff Carter, instead of trading away Jack Johnson, would you say the Kings had a good DRAFT if they didn't draft anyone?

A B+ is a fair grade for a team who, on June 29, had 10 picks but the first one was 57. Lombardi changed that to 7 with the first at 37. You could argue it's an A- because they got a player valued very highly... But seriously, nobody knows the quality of players drafted until much further down.

I'm just happy that good articles continue to compliment the Kings.

I 100% agree with the B+ draft. It's really hard to call any draft an A when you only have one pick in the first three rounds. Yes, it was a TREMENDOUS pick but we didn't have a first and we had to give up our 3rd, plus a 4th, to move up. I'm still extremely, extremely happy with our draft even after a few days of letting it all set in.