This will be a look back at the top 15 picks (and some other notable picks) from last season's draft, how they performed last season and what their current outlook is. 1 Optehic (17-6-1 40P 12G 28A +28) Optic definitely lived up to his number on pick (at least in the regular season) and performed well for both Chicago and his end season team in Nashville. He did fall a little flat in the playoffs, but that was also against a top Winnipeg team. Still on a 2 million draftee contract for next season, he will be expected to step up even more in a defense oriented NHL 18 game. 2 Deusyuk (7-4-5 34P 17G 17A -8) This was one of the most hyped players to come up since Gilleh. The "Undefeated Seattle Line" was supposed to come up and immediately fit into the NHL and shine. Although he did get drafted to a horrendous Dallas team, he was moved to Chicago (who was a Wild Card team) and lasted two weeks with only 3 games played. Moved to Columbus to be united with his teammate Taeezster, he only managed to go 3-2 in the final three weeks. I think it shows that CHL stats are somewhat irrelevant, and the style of play is more important to success. Next season will be a full season with his pal Taeezster (EDIT: Oh, he's been removed). 3 Der Panda71 (19-5-3 79P 35G 44A +39) Another fantastic pickup for Chicago, which ended up being another player moved to Nashville. He quietly was one of the better forwards last season with 79 total points. Sadly he retired this season, hopefully he will come back in the future. 4 MasterAmerica (12-14-0 48P 18G 30A 0) Top 5 picks are generally expected to perform a bit better than .500 and sub 50 points, so you could call this a (below average) season. A let down compared to his other Chicago teammates drafted around him. He did tally a 58.8FO%, which is always good to see. Next season A1 will want to see an improvement in some facet of his game, likely maintaining the point totals with improved defense. 5 goonderk (11-8-2 23P 3G 20A +5) Another letdown in the Top 5, goonderk was expected to be a reliable top 4 defenseman that would be able to hold his own in a tough division. Only 20 assists and a +5 does not bode well for him, especially on his 2 million draft contract. He was sent down briefly in the middle of the season, signifying A1's lack of confidence in his new defenseman. This offseason he was traded to Columbus for a decent haul, and will be expected to improve over his showing last season. 6 CaLL Me Jakoo (19-9-0 80P 37G 43A +20) He was one of the best forwards on a good Columbus squad that got jobbed out of a playoff spot last season. Unlike Panda, who had a bit more to work with in Nashville, Jakoo was the leader of whichever line he was on and carried the load for the team. This next season will probably be his last at such a cheap contract. Rumor has it he wants our of Columbus, and there definitely is a market for a player like him. 7 l JLP l (17-5-1 59P 28G 31A +26) JLP was in the same boat as Jakoo, drafted to a team that has a questionable owner in the mind of those with egos. He did voice his displeasure and wanted out from nearly the beginning. Even at 6-1 through three weeks, Columbus still traded him to a divisional rival. After the trade he had a slump followed by a solid winning streak, as he was often put with the bottom line to carry them in harder games. Florida is expected to be good again this season, and it should be interesting to see how he performs on a team he likes all season. 8 Taeezster 85 I can't get his stats, as he has been removed from the LGHL. Taeezster wasn't drafted to a fantastic team in NYI. He performed about average as he was moved around from team to team, and ultimately was on Columbus before his removal. This was another example that your CHL record means very little. Although some people are going to be drafted to crap teams, but your style of play will be the ultimate determination of your value to a team. 9 lRl Bure 10 (1-0-0 3P 2G 1A +4) It's odd to see a top 10 pick not even get a sniff at the NHL level. Ultimately he was traded at the AHL level to the PIT affiliate and performed well down there with a 19-5-2 season at 50PTS. It is likely that he will again be in the AHL at 2 million unless a weaker NHL team has interest and the cap space. 10 Kazpor (15-6-2 18P 3G 15A +1) Kazpor started out on a weaker Colorado team, but was traded to Florida after the first week. From there he performed rather poorly, accumulating most of his losses for the season with the Panthers. Near the deadline he was moved once again to the Flames, and there he flourished, even doing exceptionally well against San Jose in the playoffs. Although the point total is a bit low, he has held his own on the backend. Expect Kazpor to do much better season in a more stable environment. 11 F R i K S x 9 9 (25-15-3 78.1 SV% 2.52 GAA) A goalie drafted in the top 15 is expected to be the immediate starter and perform as a top 10 goalie in the NHL. 2 Million is a lot for any goalie let alone a draftee. Friks performed as expected, notching solid stats across the board for his stints in both Chicago and Nashville. It comes as a surprise to me to see him retire from season 28. I also hope to see him back soon. 12 rjm214 (4-4-1 23P 12G 11A -5) Rjm started out in the AHL and played miserably, then was traded to the Arizona affiliate and was called up where he went 4-3-1. At that point something must've happened that destroyed his avail as he was waived all the way to the CHL where he played the first playoff week there after several weeks away. It is hard to expect what he will do next season, but hopefully it is something worthwhile. What a wasted pick by Colorado. 13 iAMoee (14-7-2 59P 32G 27A +13) Moe was drafted to a rather unstable Tampa organization. He was one of the few that managed to get off of the sinking ship (RIP Green Salt) before the deadline, making it to Florida in July. From there he performed very well with his teammate JLP. Florida will expect that duo to perform well for them on the 2nd or 3rd line next season. 14 KrOnWaLL ll55ll (1-0-1 0P 0G 0A -2) Another top 15 pick that went to waste, although many would say that the NHL talent has dried up in this draft pool by this point. He performed very well in the AHL with an 18-4-1 record with 22 assists and a +30. No goals, but it appears he is a very defensive oriented defenseman. To see him in the NHL, he's going to need to help more offensively especially with NHL18 relying a lot more on puck movement from all skaters. 15 MeisterEXPLODER (0-9-0 9P 4G 5A -30) Meister played a mix of AHL and NHL over the course of the season, but man were the NHL starts pretty atrocious. Granted it was starts for a horrific NYI team, but you'd expect a little bit more from him. Not to mention his AHL stats weren't that stellar either. This was a 12-1 player in the CHL getting killed at the NHL level. We are likely to see him stay in Bridgeport next season unless traded. Other Notable picks: 19 Basful 21 booondock88 50 bgoldy020 54 Pont40 117 nranieri29
I missed you, I only glossed over it and I can also only do 20 images in a post so I picked 5 names I recognized. Sorry!
