Day
1 Recap >>
After a first day that met with mixed reviews from the
fans and perhaps an overly optimistic spin from the mainstream media, the
Rangers went back to the table Sunday morning to exercise their final five
selections in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. Having taken seven forwards and a
goaltender in the first day, some observers could be forgiven for thinking that
Sather had finished with adding forwards to the line-up.
Using the 127th pick, obtained from San Jose in the June
30th, 2003 trade of Mark Messier to the Sharks, the Rangers selected another
smallish forward with offensive upside. Ryan Callahan put up 36 goals and
68 points in 68 games for Guelph of the OHL in 2003-04, but at 5'!0" and
175lbs, it's easy to see why he slipped down the draft ranks. Once again
the Rangers looked to bolster their forward corps with their 135th pick, taking
Czech winger Roman Psurny. Psurny, who has a twin brother that also plays,
looks to be a useful selection with reasonable size and some offensive talent.
The 169th pick was used to draft 6'3", 195lb Jordan
Foote out of the BCHL where he was reported to be a fast skating winger who
plays with plenty of energy, yet has little offensive upside. Rounding out
the day were defenseman Jonathan Paiement from the Lewiston Maineacs (QMJHL) and
the slight Jakub Petruzalek, who played on the Czech World Junior team, but was
largely ineffective due to his size.
All in all the Rangers look to have gone about addressing
two needs within their system, improvement in team speed and skating and
offensive potential at the forward position. Many of the players drafted
will have to add some pounds and strength if they hope to make the NHL, and the
Rangers scouting team may have overlooked better players, particularly on
defense, as they elected to go with their focus on forwards.
It will likely be sometime before the Rangers and their
fans will know exactly what they have from the 2004 draft. Montoya has two
more years of NCAA eligibility remaining, while Olver (3), Ryan (4) and Foote
(4) have additional years. Korpikoski will likely remain in Europe for
next year at least, although there's a chance he, Bahensky, Psurny and
Petruzalek could make the move to the CHL this fall. The remaining
selections have two years of junior eligibility remaining, with the exception of
the defenseman Paiement who has one year remaining.
The selection of goaltender Al Montoya with the 6th
overall pick, along with Darin Olver in the second round will continue to
generate questions, even as the Rangers organization and media try to spin the
selections with a positive slant. And while there are some reports that
suggest Sather and his staff did a fair or even good job during the draft, the
questions will continue to remain until the Rangers organization prove that they
can select, develop and ultimately play young talented players.
New York Rangers Draft Day Trades
·Traded the 24th and 46th picks to Calgary for the 19th and 247th picks
·Traded the 37th pick to Florida for the 50th and 73rd picks
·Traded the 50th pick to Phoenix for the 60th and 80th picks
Outside The Garden Draft Day Coverage
 |
RBC
Center - Raleigh, NC
June 26-27, 2004
Rounds 1-3 June 26th
Rounds 4-9 June 27th
Television: ESPN2 June 26th 12pm (EDT) |
The Fish Bowl
