What Will the Draft Tell Us??

With the NAHL entry draft taking place tomorrow, we should find out a little bit about what is going on with the Express roster. While we won't get anything concrete regarding this fall's 25 man roster, the draft will give us some topics to discuss as we move through the off-season.

Going into the draft, each team has a protected list of players. This list is comprised of returning veteran players (that have been protected by the team), and any players that have signed a tender with the organization. The total of those two numbers is subtracted from the number 30, and that is the amount of players that each team can draft. For example, if the Express have 15 returning players from last year, and have signed 10 tenders for this season, they will draft 5 players on Wednesday (15+10+5=30). Last year the Express were an expansion team with no returning veteran players. This lead to a large draft class, which you will see from the Texas and Janesville teams in this year's draft.

So what will the amount of Express draft picks tell us about the 2009/10 roster?? Basically, a small draft class will tell us that there is a large amount of last year's team coming back to Owatonna this fall. By my last count, there is 16 players from 2008/09 that could potentially return this season. While I would love to have all 16 back in Express sweaters this fall, it probably isn't a realistic expectation. It's possible that some might choose not to return, and it's equally possible that some were not placed on the protected list. That's the nature of junior hockey. I put my faith in Coach Cullen and Coach Fink, that the absolute best 25 guys (veteran, tendered, drafted, or through tryout camp) will make the final roster.

Another way we can glean some information from the draft, is by looking at what positions were drafted. For argument's sake, say the Express spend all of their draft picks on defensemen. Could that clue us in on which veterans might not be coming back?? Say the Express have 12 draft picks, and none of them is a goalie. Could that tell us that maybe Bergman and Horstman are returning?? The short answer to both of those questions is maybe. The long answer is we will probably not know until the Express take the ice in Blaine at the Showcase tournament.

Anyway you slice it, the draft gets us one step closer to hockey season, and another year of rooting for our favorite junior hockey team. Check back tomorrow for my analysis of the 2009 NAHL Entry Draft.

See you at the rink.

--BK