Round 1 (17)-Carlo Colaiacovo-D-Erie-OHL
While your columnist would have preferred to see the Toronto club grab a sniper in the first round all of the forward prospects that would have warranted the 17th pick overall went off the board one by one shortly before Pat Quinn and Mike Penny went up to the podium. The Erie blueliner is a solid value here and should develop into a top 4 rearguard in the mold of Bryan McCabe in a few years. That he shoots right-handed is another bonus on a blueline that only has three of those on the pro roster compared to eight lefties. Grade: A
Round 2 (39)-Karel Pilar-D-Litvinov-Czech Rep.
An overaged player at 23, Pilar played with recent Leaf acquisition Robert Reichel last year in Litvinov. Another righty, he has good size ( 6’3″, 210 pounds) but needs to learn how to use it a bit more. His transition skills are not in question. The pick has the feel of panic mode in it to some extent. Two other players the Buds had their eyes on Mark Popovic and Kyle Wanwig went 35 and 36 respectively. Finnish power forward Tuomas Pihlman was taken at 48 by the New Jersey Devils and might prove to be the better value. Still, if Pilar can help the Leafs fill the hole on the blueline created by the departure of Danny Markov, the selection is salvageable. Grade: D
Round 3 (65)-Brendan Bell-D-Ottawa-OHL
A very solid pick here. Bell was the best talent on the board at this point and many had him going in the second round. Again, like Pilar, the transition game is all there and the Ottawa defenseman possesses a good shot from the point. However, like his second round counterpart, he also needs to work on his physical game. Had a sub-par campaign this season, but that could just as easily be a sophomore slump as anything else. Was outstanding in his rookie year. Grade: A+
Round 3 (82)-Jay Harrison-Brampton-OHL
Harrison, a lefty, is Brendan Bell’s alter ego. Everything the Ottawa blueliner is, Harrison is not. Big, mean, and nasty, the Brampton rearguard was another one who fell in the draft due to a poor season in 2000/2001. At 6’3″ and 200 pounds he’ll be expected to gain another inch and 15 pounds by the time he gets to the pros. The only question is whether his lack of puck skills now will translate into a turnover-prone defenseman later. Grade: B-
Round 3 (88)-Nicolas Corbeil-C-Sherbrooke-QMJHL
A small, but extremely quick offensive dynamo, Corbeil could easily be this year’s version of Simon Gamache, the late round selection last year by the Atlanta Thrashers that went on to have a monster campaign in 2000/2001. The jury is split on his physical play but the feeling here is that he is more Theo Fluery than Yanic Perreault. Keep an eye on this one, he could surprise. Grade: B+
Round 5 (138)-Kyle Wellwood-C-Belleville-OHL
Possibly the steal of the draft, many had Wellwood pegged to go much earlier in the selection process. Another undersized pivot with incredible creativity, he has above average speed and topped the OHL in scoring this season. While some might chalk that up partially to his linemates, it should be noted that one of his wingers Branko Radivojevic was cut loose by the Colorado Avalanche before the draft and the other Randy Rowe is as of yet undrafted as a 4th year junior. Grade: A+
Round 6 (168)-Max Kondratiev-D Togliatti-Russia Jr.;
Round 7 (183)-Jaroslav Sklenar-Brno-Czech Jr;
Round 7 (198)-Ivan Kolozvary-RW-Trencin-Slovakia Jr
These three picks represent what looks to be the beginnings of a trend in the Toronto draft strategy. Take the players you know best early (ie the myriad of picks from North America) and then take some European flyers in the later rounds of the draft. It has been successful for the club in the past (Sergei Berezin 1994/256, Danny Markov 1995/223, Tomas Kaberle 1996/204, Vadim Sozinov 2000/179), there is no reason to believe that at least one of these players will turn out to be a diamond in the rough for Toronto. The smart money is on Brno flanker Jaroslav Sklenar, who had 21 points in 26 games with his club this past campaign. One thing to note is that all of the abovementioned players competed in their countries junior leagues last year. As such the most one could expect from any of them this year would be to get drafted in the CHL’s various import drafts. Grade: B
Round 7 (213)-Jan Chovan-Belleville-OHL
A pick clearly aimed at the very long term, the Slovakian goaltender split time this season with Paulo Colaiacovo in Belleville and came out on top. Still a 17 year old (at least until the 7th of September) Chovan can only get better and his .903 save percentage in 39 games puts him at a pretty high starting point to begin with. Even though Czech Tomas Duba was selected only moments later by the Pittsburgh Penguins and Kootenay’s Marek Svatos by the Colorado Avalanche, there is a lot to like about this choice. Grade: B-
Round 8 (246)-Tomas Mojzis-D-Moose Jaw WHL
Another supersleeper, Mojzis, a Czech, played for Moose Jaw in the WHL this season and showed he could handle the rough going of that league and still excel in the transition game. He is going to need to put on a few more pounds and work somewhat at his skating, but at this point in the draft, getting Mojzis is nothing short of grand larceny. Grade: A+
Round 9 (276)-Michael Knoepfli-C-Georgetown-OPJHL
Knoepfli was the Georgetown Raiders’ sniper du jour last season and has parlayed that into a scholarship to play for the ECAC’s Cornell University in the NCAA. Strictly a long term project, the 18 year old already has NHL size (6′ 1″ 195 pounds), and with 45 goals in 47 games, three or four years from now he could be a revelation much like Jeff Farkas (Boston College) was or Regan Kelly (Providence) is right now. Grade: B
