Senators Grab Four First Rounders at Draft

If the Senators' 2011 draft behaviour had a theme song, it would be Fleetwood Mac's Go Your Own Way. The Sens paid little attention to Central Scouting's advice, pocketing 4 first rounders in Minnesota at the NHL amateur entry draft.

Zibanejad was ranked 2nd among European skaters

Their first was at 6, taking Swedish forward Mika Zibanejad.  Zibanejad was rated number two among European skaters, behind only Adam Larsson.  The Sens now have a heavy Swedish content - clearly buying into my Stockholm West theory.  Daniel Alfredsson, Erik Karlsson, Robin Lehner, David Rundblad, Zibanejad, Jakob Silfverberg, Andre Petersson and Marcus Sorensen.

As Don Brennan in the Sun put it today, with all those Swedes, "don’t you wish you could get the image of Brad Marchand using Daniel Sedin as a speed bag out of your head?"  It's a valid concern.  Swedes do generally turn the other cheek.  So long as they compete with ferocity, I'm good.  Watching video of him blowing up an opponent, sending him flying over the boards into his own bench, I think Zibanejad does.

In this interview, Noesen said the opposing goalie folded like a tent

There's no questioning the edge of Plymouth forward Stefan Noesen, who the Sens picked at 21.  TSN analysts compared him to both Maxim Lapierre and Corey Perry.  Both are loathesome to play against but that's a bit of a disparity in talent assessment, no?  Bubble player vs Hart trophy winner.  Hmmm.  Noesen is a Texan who went from 8 points last year - playing behind the likes of Tyler Seguin - to blowing up to 77 points this season.

Here's where NHL Central Scouting must have been scratching their heads.  They had Noesen at 35th - among North American skaters.  Noesen plays with heart and edge and doesn't lack for confidence.  “I would say a little bit like Johan Franzen, with a bit of Brenden Morrow — big in the corners, a known presence on the ice, always trying to make the key play.”  Now if he can marry Taylor Swift or something, it sounds like he'd more than fill Mike Fisher's skates.

Puempel's goal scoring touch unquestioned

The Sens then dealt the 36th and 48th overall picks to Detroit for the Wings 26th overall selection.  They wanted to be sure no one else plucked Peterborough sniper Matt Puempel.  The Hockey News called him the best pure goal scorer in the draft.  Last year - not even draft eligible - Puempel had 33 goals and led all OHL rookies with 64 points.  He garnered both OHL and CHL Rookie of the Year honors in 2009-10.

However, Puempel is the Brett Connolly of this draft.  Connolly had hip problems and played only 16 games in 2009-10.  Tampa still drafted him 5th overall last season.  Puempel was hampered with a back injury just before the season and a bone chip on his hip that required surgery and ended his season prematurely.  The good news is, while there are still lingering doubts about the nature of  Connolly's injury, Puempel is fully recovered.

The injury was diagnosed Feb. 18, but he played through pain most of the season and it affected his game.  Scouts noticed an uneven compete level some nights.  The hip surgery happened in March.  It’s pretty common,” Puempel said. “I had a bone spur on the hip, I fell on (the) labrum and tore it. The chip bone they found when they went in.” 

In an interesting twist, the surgery was performed by Dr. Marc Philippon, who performed surgery Marian Gaborik of the Rangers.  Rumours continue to swirl that the Sens are making a hard push to acquire Gaborik this weekend, using their considerable cap room.

Filatov for the 66th overall pick?  No brainer.

The Sens also made headlines on Day two of the draft, picking up former first rounder Nikita Filatov from the Columbus Blue Jackets for a third-rounder in this year’s NHL draft.

Filatov is just 21 and was drafted sixth overall by Columbus in 2008.  He had seven assists in 23 games played with Columbus last season and has a total of six goals and 13 points in 44 NHL games overall.  The flashy forward also spent time in the Kontinental Hockey League after a falling out with then-Columbus coach Ken Hitchcock in 2009-10.

Guys who mess around with the KHL aren't exactly Bryan Murray's cup of tea.  He's also off to a shaky start as an NHL'er.  But a former Columbus first rounder is hardly something to sneeze at.  Unless you're Pascal Leclaire.  I'm prepared to sneeze at him.  The difference is the cost - Antoine Vermette versus a third rounder.  It barely qualifies as a risk and could pay huge dividends if Filatov returns to form as a blue chipper.

The Sens also made the loss of Chris Kelly easier for Sens fans to swallow.  They used the final pick of the 2nd round, the one they got from Boston for Kelly, to select 67's star Shane Prince.  Prince had 88 points this season.

They then stayed local in round four, scooping up Gatineau star forward Jean Gabriel Pageau of Ottawa, who led the Olympiques to the league final this year, where they lost a 6 game heartbreaker to Saint John, the eventual Memorial cup champs.  Pageau led the team in scoring with 79 points this season.

Here is the Senators entire list of draft picks this year.

Round	Pick	Overall	Team	Player	Pos	Country	Ht	Wt	Amateur League	Amateur Team
1	6	6	OTT	MIKA ZIBANEJAD	C	SE	6' 2"	195	SWEDEN	DJURGARDEN
1	21	21	OTT (From NSH)	STEFAN NOESEN	R	US	6' 0"	187	OHL	PLYMOUTH
1	24	24	OTT (From DET)	MATT PUEMPEL	L	CA	6' 0"	198	OHL	PETERBOROUGH
2	31	61	OTT (From BOS)	SHANE PRINCE	C	US	5' 10"	181	OHL	OTTAWA
4	5	96	OTT	JEAN-GABRIEL PAGEAU	C	CA	5' 9"	163	QMJHL	GATINEAU
5	5	126	OTT	FREDRIK CLAESSON	D	SE	6' 0"	198	SWEDEN	DJURGARDEN
6	5	156	OTT	DARREN KRAMER	C	CA	6' 1"	202	WHL	SPOKANE
6	20	171	OTT (From PHX)	MAX MCCORMICK	L	US	5' 11"	174	USHL	SIOUX CITY
7	5	186	OTT	JORDAN FRANSOO	D	CA	6' 2"	178	WHL	BRANDON
7	23	204	OTT (From PIT)	RYAN DZINGEL	C	US	6' 0"	185	USHL	LINCOLN