After some speculation by various publications, the Dallas Stars chose not to move up in the draft, but rather chose to once again trade down for multiple picks instead. This gave Dallas more flexibility, while still allowing them to draft reasonably high in the second round.
Also, prior to the draft the Stars traded for ex-Michigan University product Warren Luhning. In return, the New York Islanders received the Dallas Stars third round pick in 1999, which could result in a relative steal for the Stars. This is due to the fact that the 6-2 185lbs right-winger has good size and speed, and possesses decent skills to go with a solid defensive game. In addition, Luhning is ready for the pros, as he has spent two years in the minors, has had two call-ups, and is already mature at the age of 23. Good pickup by Bob Gainey.
Other moves included the trading of Swedish prospect Per Svartvadet to the Atlanta Thrashers for the 184th pick (6th round) in the 1999 draft, and the flipping of the Blues 2nd rounder for a Stars 3rd rounder in this year’s draft (terms of deal not known). Here is a break down the Dallas Stars 1999 Entry Draft pick by pick.
{All stats are from the ’98-’99 season}
#33 Michael Ryan-C 6-1 170lbs 5/16/80
Boston College High School (USHS) gp-21 g-20 a-24 pts-44 pim-44
Central Scouting Report Read more »
The 28-chapter book known as the 1999 NHL Entry Draft has been completed, with a possible title for the Buffalo Sabres’ chapter being “Good Things Come In Small Packages”. Certainly, Buffalo did not shy away from drafting players under 6′ tall, as they drafted six players (seven, if you count Mike Zigomanis, who is 6′ in his dreams only) under the six-foot benchmark. This trend toward smaller players seems to run counter to more recent Sabre drafts, and could signal a frightening return to the bad old days of the Gerry Meehan (former Sabre GM) era.
In an interview on the Empire Sports Network, current Sabre GM Darcy Regeir stated that the early part of the draft was used to acquire more skill, while the latter portion of the draft (rounds 4-9) would be used to acquire players with a little more size and toughness. Darcy was only partially correct in his assessment, however, which makes one wonder exactly whom was in charge of the Sabres’ draft table. In fairness to the Sabres, drafting 20th (or worse) in most rounds is a sure way to log a mediocre draft, so Buffalo’s recent success has its downside in lower draft picks. Still, the trend toward smaller players will likely be a little disconcerting to Sabre fans that have grown accustomed to Buffalo’s emphasis in recent drafts on choosing player’s with some size.
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Toronto is now on the clock. The 1999 first round selection of the Toronto Maple Leafs is center, Luca Cereda out of Switzerland, of all places. A place which is not exactly the Mecca of NHL prospects. Once you dive into Cereda’s potential, you see why coach Pat Quinn was smiling as he shook Luca’s hand just after his choice was announced. After a rough week in the management department of the Leafs, it was nice to see that familar smile on the coach’s face.
Luca has excellent size at 6-2, 200 lbs. with a thick, powerful lower body. He is very strong on the puck, almost impossible to knock off of it. He is a playmaking center first, but is not afraid to shoot the puck when it is available. He loves to lead the play, hold onto the puck until the last second, before dishing it off to a teammate in better position to score. He has demonstrated very good vision on the ice and excellent hockey instincts. He does have a wicked wrist shot and a nice, quick release. He has soft hands for work near the net. He is a quick skater, but not a burner. His lower body strength and balance should make him very strong along the boards. He has not shown a tendency to be a big physical presence, but he doesn’t shy away from physical play either as he battles for position. He is a responsible 2-way player who is a strong faceoff man.
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The Washington Capitals didn’t waste much time replenishing their rather depleted prospect pool. With five of the top thirty-seven picks on Saturday, Washington was virtually guaranteed to come away with a strong group of players. The Capitals did not disappoint.
Once the calm had hit the Fleet Center, following the wild opening to the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, Washington just sat back and waited to see who the Islanders and Nashville would take. I’m pretty sure that, Capitals, General Manager, George McPhee was thrilled to see the player who many felt was the fifth best player (outside the universal elite four) still on the board.
Kris Beach must have been an easy choice for Washington. Though Kris is a bit on the thin side weighting only 178 pounds, but at 6-foot-2 he has room to grow. I’m sure the Capitals will find a way of beefing up this Western Hockey League star.
Beech is described as an explosive skater with a quick first step and a fluid stride. He is very agile and pivots either way equally well making it hard for opponents to hit him in open-ice. His play making skills are considered top end and his puckhandling may have been the best in the draft. Although he is on the thin side, Kris has shown a willingness to play along the wall and he gets into scoring position well. Though his offensive game is impressive, Beech is also a willing back- checker. He understands that the defensive end is important and he does what has to be done to stop an opponent.
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The 1999 NHL Entry Draft has come and gone and the Washington Capitals did a very good job resupplying their prospects ranks. The Capitals had 5 of the top 37 picks in the draft, and all five of those were added to the new ranking.
I decided to include several players who finished the season with Washington, because none are guaranteed a roster spot next season. Those players are: Alexei Tezikov, Nolan Baumgartner, Matt Herr, Beniot Gratton and Patrick Bolieau.
Team Strength Team Weaknesses
- Strong goaltending depth – Little raw skill
- Lots of solid two-way defensemen – Little pure scoring depth
- Plenty of size and toughness – Lack of a pure #1
defensemen or goalie – Good speed
Prospect News:
June 21, 1999
Washington has acquired the rights to center Jeff Nelson from the Nashville Predators in exchange for future considerations. The club also announced it has signed Nelson to a two-year NHL contract. Nelson spent last season with Nashville and Milwaukee (IHL)
June 1, 1999
Washington was unable to work out a contract with 1997 draft pick Nick Boynton, he re-enter the 1999 draft and Boston picked him at #21 overall.
Jean-Luc Thieren (G) was not offered a contract, he also re-enters the draft, but goes unselected.
May 27, 1999
Curtis Cruickshank (G) is signed to a three year contract. Washington picks up the option year on Trevor Halverson’s (LW) contract.
May 19,1999 Read more »
While other teams, mainly the Canucks, Islanders, and Rangers, were stealing the show with blockbuster deals, the Florida Panthers had an active day of their own, completing 2 trades and drafting a solid group of prospects.
Unlike past drafts, the Florida Panthers managed to draft a bit of everything, including 3 goaltenders. The only position that wasn’t cared for was the center position. The Panthers did take more skilled players than in previous drafts, and also picked up a few project players.
A recap of the Panthers draft picks and trades:
1: Denis Shvidki, RW/LW – (1st Round, 12th overall)
Vitals: 6’0″ 195lbs 18 years old.
Stats: Barrie (OHL) 61 Games, 35G-59A-94PTS 8PIM.
This kid out of the Ukraine was projected to be Top 8, but luckily dropped to #12 for the Panthers to grab. After playing 2 years in the Russian Junior League, Denis lit up the OHL, Racking up 94 points and a +57 rating in his rookie OHL season. Amazingly, some saw Shvidki’s season in the OHL as a dissapointment. They thought a young man like him, with his experiences, would do even more damage.
He could likely make the NHL right away, but with the Panthers getting their own AHL team next season, Shvidki could and should be developing one year in the AHL with super-sniper Ivan Novoseltsev.
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Archived June 26, 1999
The Calgary Flames have the best group of prospects of any orginization in the HNL according to Hockeysfuture’s latest Orginizational Rankings. However Calgary’s time on top of the ratings could be short lived.
Calgary has failed to come to terms with two highly rated prospects from the 1997 Entry Draft. 6th rated goaltender (see the new updated top 25 players in the left hand column.) Evan Lindsey failed to come to terms with Calgary and will re-enter the 1999 draft along with OHL stand-out forward Ryan Ready. Ready, who helped guide the Bellville Bulls to the Memorial Cup, joined Lindsay in asking Calgary for what GM Al Coates termed ‘first round money’. With the signings of centre Daniel Tkazcuk and defenceman Chris St. Croix, Coates said that there was not enough money available in the Flames budget to sign Lindsay and Ready, an OHL All-Star, for the amounts they were asking. Both of these players now re-enter the draft.
Of the 1997 draftees, the Flames have only signed Tkazcuk, St. Croix, John Tripp and Erik Andersson. Andersson has since been traded to Chicago, and Tripp spent much of 1998/99 in the ECHL.
The signing of Daniel Tkazcuk came down to the wire. The Flames and Tkazcuk had agreed on the basic terms of Tkazcuks’ first professional contract, but disagreed over the bonus structure. The Flames finally conceded to Tkazcuks wishes and the contract was signed just five minutes before the deadline.
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Big players and big unknowns. Must be Colorado at it again. Going into the draft, Colorado had two things on its mind, get big and get Euro. That’s what they did as the majority of their picks where big and European with a few being both. The Avs came in with the ability to take chances and they did. With McCarthy and Jackman both being lost just a few picks before Colorado’s, the Avs were faced with some talented Europeans to choose from or a few middle of the pile Ds. Colorado is not one for being middle of the pile, and so the draft went as follows:
(1/25) Mikhail Kuleshov LW 6-2 200
(2/45) Martin Grenier D 6-5 231
(3/93) Branko Radivojevic RW 6-0 183
(4/112) Sanny Lindstrom D 6-2 194
(4/122) Kristian Kovac RW 6-3 213
(5/142) William Magnuson D 6-5 232
(5/152) Jordan Krestanovich LW 6-0 168
(6/158) Anders Lovdahl C 6-3 189
(6/183) Riku Hahl C 6-0 187
(7/212) Radim Vrbata RW 6-0 175
(8/240) Jeff Finger D 6-1 194
A few names stick out while others remain a blur or unknown and that’s probably how they will remain. Mikhail brings a high skill level to an already talented team. He is still at least two years away from the big club, but of any of the players drafted, he could put on the biggest show at camp. When he comes to play, he will dominate, and if he relies on skill only… he will only flicker and then fade out. He is likely the Avs replacement to Kamensky, they hope.
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June 26th, 1999 could go down in the annals of Nuck history as the greatest moment in franchise history with the selection of the Sedin twins.
Needs:
The Canucks made out all right here…
-goaltending…since have signed Michaud and drafted Swanson…so it is markedly better than before. Don’t confuse that with “good” or even “solid” however.
-offensive defenseman…Darrell Hay isn’t about to fill this hole.
-a top 2 center who doesn’t receive old-age benefits…Henrik Sedin.
-offensive forwards…again the Sedins.
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This draft, the Sharks took a very interesting approach to the draft. Normally, you’ll see teams going after a mix of players. There are the players from the CHL who are generally closer to the NHL than college players. These players may be ready to join their team in 1-3 years. They may account for 75% or more of teams’ picks. Then the college players who may not play for your team for four or five years. A team will usually only pick one or two of these players in one draft. And of course you have the European influence. These players may play for you the next year, or not until five years.
Of the Sharks’ seven picks, the Sharks chose only one player out of the CHL. The other six picks were from Finland (1), high school (2), and college (3). One fear that some had was that the Sharks were having a repeat of the 1995 draft where they had a European “theme” to nearly all their picks. I admit that I was one of these people who feared that. However, as I looked back on the picks, I noticed another theme, which makes far more sense.
It would seem as though Sharks picks centered around two characteristics.
1) Players who need time to develop their skills, not play 60 or more games a season. Often, players in the CHL are good at lasting during the long NHL season, but need to develop their skills. The college players may have the NHL skills once they graduate, but the course of an 82 game schedule wears them down. Read more »
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