Penguins: Draft Trends

This article will review where the Penguins target their drafting and how successful the various avenues have been.

From 1998 through 2002 the Penguins have selected 51 players (28 forwards, 14 defenseman and 9 goalies). Of the 51 drafted players 36 have been from North America and 15 have been from Europe.

 
NORTH AMERICAN DRAFTING
The Penguins have favored college players over the past five years, drafting 12 from college and selecting six others who have gone on to play in the NCAA.

Of the three major junior leagues, the Penguins seem to prefer the WHL, drafting eight of 17 CHL players from that league.

“The Orpik Effect”. In the six seasons Darius Kasparaitis played for the Penguins, he was easily one of the most popular players. This was due largely to the bone-crushing checks he gave out. In 2000 when the Penguins drafted the hard-hitting Brooks Orpik, fans were excited because they had the heir apparent to Kasparaitis. Orpik was the first defenseman the Penguins had picked in the first round in nine years since they selected Stefan Bergkvist in 1993. During the following drafts in ’01 and ’02 the Penguins used eight of their 20 picks on defensemen, signaling the beginning of their metamorphosis from fire wagon hockey to a more structured and defensive style. Orpik was also the first American player the Penguins have ever chosen in the first round. In 2001 and 2002, for the first time Penguins American picks outnumbered their Canadian picks (4 to 3 and 5 to 3 respectively).

1998 to 2002

League	Players Drafted	Round/Pick	Year	Name	Team	Position
OHL	5	7/146       2/57   7/204       3/86 9/265	1998 1999 1999 2001 2002	Joel Scherban* Jeremy Van Hoof* Tom Kostopoulos Drew Fata Dwight Labrosse	London Ottawa London Toronto Guelph	C D RW D G
WHL	8	3/80 4/110 8/233 2/52 8/248 1/21 3/69 5/137	1998 1998 1999 2000 2000 2001 2002 2002	David Cameron* Scott Myers* Darcy Robinson Shane Endicott Steve Crampton Colby Armstrong Erik Christensen Cam Paddock	Prince Albert Prince George Saskatoon Seattle Moose Jaw Red Deer Kamloops Kelowna	C G D C RW RW C C
QMJHL	4	3/86 4/124 3/96 8/234	1999 2000 2001 2002	Sebastien Caron Michel Ouellet Alexandre Roleau Maxime Talbot	Rimouski Rimouski Val-d’Or Hull	G RW D C
NCAA	12	5/134 9/244 2/51 6/176 9/261 1/18 6/185 7/216 9/280 4/131 1/5 8/239	1998 1998 1999 1999 1999 2000 2000 2000 2000 2001 2002 2002	Robert Scuderi Toby Petersen Matt Murley Doug Meyer* Andrew McPherson Brooks Orpik Patrick Foley Jim Abbott Nick Boucher Ben Eaves Ryan Whitney Ryan Lannon	Boston College Colorado College R.P.I. Minnesota R.P.I. Boston College New Hampshire New Hampshire Dartmouth Boston College Boston University Harvard	D C LW LW LW D LW LW G C D D
USHL	3	4/115 5/156 6/171	1999 2001 2002	Ryan Malone Andy Schneider Robert Geopfert	Omaha Lincoln Cedar Rapids	LW D G
NAHL	1	8/250	2001	Brandon Crawford-West	Texas	G
USHSW	1	5/136	2002	Andy Sertich	Sioux-Falls	LW
High School	2	9/254 2/54	1998 2001	Matt Hussey Noah Welch	Avon Old Farms (Conn) St. Sebastien’s H.S. (Mass)	C D

* No longer with the Penguins organization.


EUROPEAN DRAFTING
Of the 15 Europeans who have been picked during the last five years, six hail from the Czech Republic. The Penguins have had good luck with Czechs in the past, drafting Jaromir Jagr, Martin Straka, Jan Hrdina, Michal Rozsival and Josef Melichar. Robert Lang and Jiri Slegr were also successful when they played in Pittsburgh.

If the Penguins do not draft a player from Russia or a player from Finland this weekend it will be the fourth consecutive year without a Russian and the fifth year consecutive year without a Finn.

1999 was the final year the Penguins went for “the homerun” by drafting an offensive-minded European player in the first round (Konstantin Koltsov). The earlier homerun attempts were 90-Jagr, 91-Markus Naslund, 92-Straka, 95-Morozov, 97-Robert Dome, 98-Milan Kraft.  

With a weak foreign class in 2003, look for the Penguins to select even fewer Europeans.

1998 to 2002

Country	Players Drafted	Round/Pick	Year	Name	Team	Position
Czech Republic	5	1/23 6/169 5/146 7/217 2/35	1998 1998 2000 2001 2002	Milan Kraft Jan Fadrny * David Koci Tomas Duba Ondrej Nemec	Plzen Jr. Slavia Praha Sparta Praha Sparta Praha Vsetin	C C D G D
Slovakia	3	5/144 3/84 4/120	1999 2000 2001	Tomas Skvaridlo* Peter Hamerlik* Tomas Surovy	Zvolen Skalica Poprad	F G LW
Russia	3	2/54 1/18 5/157	1998 1999 1999	Alexander Zevakhin* Konstantin Koltsov Vladimir Malenkykh	CSKA Moscow Cherepovets Seversal Tolyatti Lada	C LW D
Finland	2	8/224 9/273	1998 2000	Mika Lehto Roman Simicek* x	Assat Pori HPK Hameenlinna	G D
Sweden	1	4/101	2002	Daniel Fernholm	Djurgarden	D
Switzerland	1	7/202	2002	Patrick Bartschi	Kloten	C

* No longer with the Penguins organization.
x Czech player drafted from the Finnish League.



2001 and 2002: Mid Round Luck

For much of the past decade, the Penguins weren’t having any luck with their top draft picks, let alone their mid-round and late picks. Perhaps their luck has changed over the past two years. In the fourth round of 2001 the Penguins selected Tomas Surovy, a pure sniper who scored 23 goals in 65 games in his first season in North America. He scored 19 goals last year in 39 games after being injured for the early part of the season. Surovy was impressive enough to get a call-up to Pittsburgh, where he became the first member of the Penguins 2001 class to do so. Eleven picks later in the fourth round the Penguins selected Ben Eaves from Boston College. He recorded the same number of points in 2002 as he did in 2001 despite missing 18 games. In 2002-03 he played in 36 games and recorded 57 points, won the Leonard Fowle Award (Best Collegiate Hockey Player in New England), was nominated for the Hobey Baker Award and was a First-Team All-American. In the fifth round the Penguins selected Andy Schneider. Schneider was tied for second in the WCHA for points by defenseman with 41 (11G, 30A).

This past season 2002 third round choice Erik Christensen won the WHL scoring title, almost doubling his point total from the previous year. Sixth round pick Robert Geopfert stole the show at the World Junior Championship this year with his 1.77 goals against average and tournament leading .937 save percentage. Seventh round pick Patrick Bartschi led the WJC’s in scoring with 10 points six games (6G, 4A). Bartschi also finished the season third in scoring on his team, despite being one of the youngest players on the team. Eighth round pick Maxime Talbot captained the Hull Olympiques to the Presidents Cup and the Memorial Cup Final. Talbot finished the season fifth overall in scoring and first overall in playoff scoring. So much for the 2002 draft being one of the worst of the past decade.


One Malone to Another: The Penguins 2nd Round Curse

In 1976 the Pittsburgh Penguins selected Greg Malone in the second round of the Amateur Draft. He played 495 games in Pittsburgh and scored 364 points before he went to Hartford and Quebec where he played in 209 more games and scored 137 more points. A very successful career.  Malone returned to the Penguins in 1988 and became their Head Scout shortly afterwards. Every year subsequent to Greg Malone being drafted (1977-2002) has produced just four second round picks that have suited up for more than 130 NHL games. These four players are Rick Tabaracci (2/26-1987), Paul Laus (2/37-1989), Richard Park (2/50-1994) and J.S. Aubin (2/76-1995). None of them have had a significant impact in the NHL.

The curse might be breaking. The Penguins last four second round choices have already shown promise. Pittsburgh used their second pick in 2002 on Ondrej Nemec, an offensive defenseman from the Czech Republic. In 2001, The Penguins selected Noah Welch with the 54th pick. He is already one of the best defense prospects in the NCAA. In 2000 Pittsburgh selected Shane Endicott with their second pick; he is expected to have a prominent role in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton next year. Pittsburgh took Matt Murley with the 51st pick in 1999. A sniper who played at R.P.I., Murley just completed his first pro season and finished third on the team in scoring.  

The Penguins second round picks from 96-98 are out of the organization already. What was so special about 1999 that it might have lifted a 22 year old curse? If one believed in superstitions, as many people in the hockey world do, they would notice that the Penguins 4th round choice in 1999 was Ryan Malone, son of Greg.

Was drafting another Malone all it took? If so, maybe they should have drafted Jim Malone back in 1980.

Dry period 

Over the last 10 Entry Drafts, the Pittsburgh Penguins have selected 101 players. Of the 50 selected from 1993-1997, only six players remain with the team or its AHL affiliate.

Year	Round	Pick	Name	Position	NHL Games	Expected Role for 2003-04
1993	11	286	Hans Jonsson	D	242	More than likely will not return.
1995	1	24	Aleksey Morozov	RW	376	1st line winger.  Looking to duplicate the success of last year.
1995	3	76	Jean-Sebastien Aubin	G	146	#1 goalie in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
1996	4	105	Michal Rozsival	D	237	1st/2nd pair defenseman.
1996	7	186	Eric Meloche	RW	36	3rd/4th line checker.
1997	3	71	Josef Melichar	D	86	1st/2nd pair defenseman.

2003 NHL Entry Draft

The Penguins have four draft picks in the top 70 and a total of 11 in a very deep draft year.  Their first selection is the third overall choice followed by picks 32, 55, 70, 121, 161, 169, 199, 229, 232 and 263.

The Penguins have a few goal scorers in their system in Murley and Bartschi and few more on the big club with Ramzi Abid and Surovy. They could stand to add a few more at the draft, and could get Nikolai Zherdev or Nathan Horton with their first pick.

Management believes in Caron as the goalie of the future, but Craig Patrick has talked about moving up to the no. 1 spot, where he would more than likely select M-A Fleury. Goaltending is one position that can never have too many prospects in one organization.