From: New England Hockey Journal(left) Shawn Dineen played for DU from 1978-81 and is now a scout for the Nashville PredatorsYounger, cheaper, better.
So reads the ongoing agenda of the Nashville Predators as they prepare for the upcoming NHL Entry Draft.
Last year, they bid adieu to high-scoring (and big-ticket) forwards such as Paul Kariya and Peter Forsberg and still managed to make the playoffs this year.
But as a small-market team with new ownership and some tough decisions concerning the re-signing of its Restricted Free Agents coming up, Nashville is hoping to play the ends of production against the fiscal middle.
And with two draft selections in the top 15 (Florida’s at No. 9 and their own at 15), the Preds have a chance to gain two impact players – although that impact likely won’t be felt immediately.
At the top of Nashville’s wish list is a scoring forward, although whether they Predators would risk taking one (or two) of the highly ranked Russians with such premium choices is debatable.
“If you take a look at our NHL club,” said Predators’ pro scout & DU Hockey Alumnus Shawn Dineen (brother of DU alum Kevin Dineen), who operates out his Connecticut home base, “and take a look at what would be our best prospects, it’s all at the back end. Defensively, we’ve done a fabulous job of drafting. There’s actually an imbalance there. We really have some incredible young defensemen who are on the upswing. I would think going into the draft that either we’re going to make a move with one of those young defensemen and make room for some of those new guys and keep the salaries down, (or) get a top six forward. That’s where our situation is.”
The Preds hit the blue line mother lode in 2003, when they grabbed Ryan Suter (7th overall), Kevin Klein (37th), and Shea Weber (49th). Suter and Weber have both emerged as top-six stalwarts, and Klein is on the verge of getting there.
All three, however, are RFAs – with Suter and Weber in particular likely to command steep pay raises. Defenseman Jonathon Blum (Vancouver/WHL, 23rd) was Nashville’s top choice last year.
“Our philosophy,” said Dineen, “has been to draft the best player available. It just so happens that they’ve been on the back end.”
In any event, Preds General Manager David Poile (a Northeastern grad), and Director of Amateur Scouting Jeff Kealty (the former Boston University standout), will have some interesting options open to them, including trading down to acquire even more draft picks.
As for their recent drafts, there’s both good news and bad news. The good news is that Poile and Co. have made a string of excellent picks in the first round since 2000. Each of the Preds’ top selections from 2000-04 can be considered NHL impact players. The bad news is that three of them are blossoming as Philadelphia Flyers.
Scott Hartnell (2000, 6th), Scottie Upshall (2002, 6th) and Ryan Parent (2005) were all dispatched to Philly in 2007 – the steep cost of bringing in Forsberg in at the trade deadline.
On the other hand, Suter, defenseman Dan Hamhuis (2001, 7th) and right winger Alexander Radulov (2004, 15th) all remain.
“Radulov is still finding his way,” said Dineen. “He’s got deficiencies, but he does things that are special.”
More problematic for Nashville has been its failure to get value out of picks beyond the first round.
Of the sub-first rounders taken since 2000, only Weber and winger Jordin Tootoo (2001, 98th) have played a full season in Tunetown.
That trend could reverse if one or more of their recent mid-to-late choices can make the jump from the Preds’ AHL farm club in Milwaukee.
It’s possible that center Cal O’Reilly (2005, 150), who led the Admirals in scoring (16-63-79) or defensemen Cody Franson (2005, 79) or Janne Niskala (2004, 147th) could challenge for big league jobs.
All three showed marked improvement in the latter months of the season, with Franson (11 goals) and Niskala (19 goals) both displaying some power-play pop. But it may be that hard-hitting young German blueliner Alexander Sulzer (2003, 92nd) winds up in Nashville ahead of the others.
“He (Sulzer) was capable of playing this year (in Nashville),” said Dineen, “but we didn’t have room, so he never got a call up.”
Further down the road, Nashville can look forward to delivery of collegians such as left wing Blake Geoffrion (Wisconsin, 2006, 56th), Ryan Flynn (Minnesota, 2006, 176th), and left wing Ryan Thang (Notre Dame, 2007, 81st), and OHL products such as goalie Jeremy Smith (Plymouth, 2007, 54th) and center Nick Spaling (Kitchener, 2007 58th).
All of them have the potential to make the Predators younger and cheaper.
And who knows, maybe even better.
(above) Connor James goes "top shelf" to record the game winning goal as Wilkes Barre won 5-1 on Sunday night
