Draft Update

My apologies to the league for doubting the accuracy of their Twittering. I thought for sure that they had messed up and not posted all of the picks made by the Express. It turns out that the Express only made 3 total picks in the draft. Here they are:

Round 1/#18 overall - Joseph Graveline - D - 1991 Birth Year - St Thomas Academy
Round 2/#43 overall - Thomas Burke - G - 6'1"/170 - Holy Angels
Round 3/#65 overall - Mike Shibrowski - G - Colorado College (WCHA)

Before the draft today, each team in the NAHL submitted their protected list to the league. This list is made up of protected veteran players, and each team's tendered players (8 plus or minus trades). Each team then drafts as many players as necessary to get their protected list to 30 players. For example, if a team has 8 protected veterans, and signed 8 tendered players, they would then need to draft 14 players.

My take: With the assumption that Coach Cullen made the decisions on the protected list and the draft picks because the new coach hasn't been hired yet, the Express only drafting 3 guys makes sense. Protect all of your veteran players from last season, and let the new coach, when he gets here, make the decision to keep those guys or not. Hypothetically, let's say Coach Cullen was not leaving. There are probably a few veteran guys towards the bottom of the roster that Cullen wouldn't have put on the protected list. He knows what those guys are capable of, and decides they are not a good fit for this season. It happens every year. However, maybe the new coach would see things differently, and keep that guy around. So it's actually a smart move to protect all of your veterans in this situation.

The Numbers Game -

So we know the Express drafted 3 players, and tendered 8 players (Coach Cullen confirmed this at the annual meeting). That's 11 out of 30 players on the preliminary roster, which means there were 19 veteran guys on the protected list. The 2009-2010 Express playoff roster had 26 players listed. Subtract the guys that aged out: Carson, Porter, McGinty, Darnell, Cecka. Subtract the guys that are moving on to college: Sloat, Thorson. That gives you 19 guys right??

That's just a theory, but it certainly appears plausible.


Albert Lea & North Iowa -

It looks as though both Albert Lea and Mason City will not be fielding teams in the NAHL this season, as neither team participated in the draft.

With their departures, it looks as though the Central Division will shape up like this: Bismarck Bobcats, Alexandria Blizzard, Owatonna Express, Aberdeen Wings, Austin Bruins, and Coulee Region Chill.


See you at the rink.

--BK

Cullen Resignation, Draft Day 2010, & Shibrowski Returns??

Just when you thought I was out, they pull me back in.

So I'm back on the interwebs after a couple of months away. The way last season ended still stings, but with every summer comes a new beginning. A new beginning which will include a new head coach as the boys in blue gear up for the 2010-2011 season. Coach Cullen announced last week at the annual meeting that he was leaving the Express to take a job at St Olaf. You can read the article on the official Express website here: http://expressjrhockey.pointstreaksites.com/view/expressjrhockey . Cullen has been an integral part of the Express dating back to the start of the franchise in 2005. Winning seasons, Robertson Cup trips, and lots of players heading off to Division 1 colleges happened routinely during his tenure. We always new the team would be competitive on the ice and a benefit to the community off the ice under his leadership.

However, sometimes change is a good thing. Things seemed to be getting stale last season, and a new coach should breath some new life into our proud franchise. There will be plenty more on the coaching situation as news becomes available.


The other big news for today is the 2010 NAHL Entry Draft. First of all, I would assume that Coach Cullen probably made the draft picks for the Express today, as to my knowledge, a new head coach has not been hired. The NAHL was covering the draft live on their Twitter page. I tried valiantly to follow along, but I don't think the accuracy was up to par. As of the writing of this post, the Express draft consisted of 3 players. In the 1st round (I think), the Express drafted Joseph Graveline, a defenseman from St Thomas Academy. In the 2nd round (I think), the Express drafted goalie Thomas Burke from Holy Angels HS. In the 3rd round (I think), the Express drafted another goalie in Mike Shibrowski from Colorado College of the WCHA. Wait....what???......Shibrowski??? For those who might be new fans of our favorite junior hockey team, Shibrowski spent the first half of last season with the Express, going 14-5-3 in net before heading out to Colorado College at the Christmas break.

It was an intriguing pick, and the thought of having Shibby back with the team makes me smile. Word out of Colorado College earlier this spring was that the Tigers were looking to maybe bring in another goalie in the off-season, and if that happened, that Shibrowski would be asked to play another year of juniors.

My take: While draft picks aren't as coveted as tenders, I can't see the Express wasting a high draft pick on a guy with no chance of ever showing up in Owatonna. I will keep my hopes up that Shibby will be making a triumphant return to the 4 Seasons Centre this fall.


I will get more in depth with the draft picks when the final draft list is released later tonight. Stay tuned for more information as we approach the Open Tryout Camp in a little less than a month. I will probably post profiles of the draft picks and maybe even fill you in on some of the tendered players.

See you at the rink.

--BK