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Draft Preview 2015
The Hockey News has been providing the most comprehensive coverage of the world of hockey since 1947. In each issue, you'll find news, features and opinions about the NHL and leagues across North America and the world.
A LONG AND LONELY DRAFT DAY
REID GARDINER WAS wound full of nervous energy. Dressed in a navy blue suit he’d purchased for his high school graduation only days before, he picked away at some breakfast and sipped on some orange juice. He could only stomach half his muffin. Gardiner, a mid-tier right wing prospect, was in Philadelphia for the 2014 NHL draft. It was the second day, the one where he was hopeful he would receive from an NHL team a ball cap and sweater with his name on it. He had some concerns. Gardiner’s production plummeted the second half of the season. He produced just three goals and 10 points in his final 33 games with the Prince Albert Raiders, who were nationally ranked in the CHL heading into the season and needed to win…
WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
BRAIN GAMES Whether on the ice or in the classroom, McDavid has shown a thirst for knowledge. IN THE WORLD of teenage fiction, J.K. Rowling created the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and installed Harry Potter as The Chosen One. In the world of teenage onice wizardry, Neil Doctorow created the Hogwarts of Hockey and installed Connor McDavid as The Chosen One. If you marvel at McDavid’s skill level and wonder where it was nurtured, a good part of it can be traced to an airport hangar on an abandoned Canadian Air Force base in Toronto. That’s where the PEAC School for Elite Athletes is located and where McDavid spent three years honing his skills. For upwards of $30,000 a year, parents can send their aspiring hockey stars to an institution such…
CUTTING EDGE OF DEVELOPMENT
ANAHEIM DUCKS NO TEAM DOES A better job being competitive and well positioned for the future than the Ducks. They’ve been at or near the top of the NHL and Future Watch standings the past few seasons under the direction of GM Bob Murray and top talent assessor David McNab. The Ducks are parsimonious with picks and prospects, not willing to give up much in the way of future players just to get a playoff boost. SHORT-TERM NEEDS: Anaheim has a fine assortment of talented forwards in their early 20s who are regular contributors. They’d love for at least one of Kyle Palmieri, Rickard Rakell, Emerson Etem or Jakob Silfverberg to break through and become the 25- to 30-goal secondary scoring threat the team has lacked since Teemu Selanne moved on. LONG-TERM NEEDS:…
BLUE SKY FOR BLUE AND WHITE
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS IT WAS A GREAT indictment of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ drafting and developing when Brendan Shanahan fired the man who ran the hockey department, GM Dave Nonis, plus several key scouts two months before a pivotal draft. The scouting dismissals were on the advice of director of player personnel Mark Hunter, who has essentially been given the keys to the kingdom when it comes to picking and cultivating prospects. Hunter comes with an excellent track record of talent identification from his days with the London Knights, and the Leafs hired him to help find NHL-caliber players. SHORT-TERM NEEDS: The Leafs have lacked a true No. 1 center since Mats Sundin. Tyler Bozak has good chemistry with Phil Kessel, but their defensive acumen is so lacking that Toronto’s top line,…
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