2nd round (48th): Mitch Wahl - C - Spokane Chiefs
07/08 - 67GP, 20G 53A 73PTS
Wahl placed second on his club in terms of points during the regular season. Only 4 of goals came on the PP and he was a very healthy +33. From his scouting report:
NHL Central Scouting's Blair MacDonald
"Mitch is a smaller, skilled player with a good skating and playmaking ability. He controls and dishes the puck well, but needs to show more desire to enter into traffic and to battle around the net. He has good puck awareness and is used effectively on the penalty kill."
Spokane Chiefs head coach Bill Peters
"Mitch is starting to round into a complete player. In his draft year, he is 20th in the WHL in scoring, but more impressive to me is he is seventh in the WHL in plus-minus. That means, as a 17-year-old centerman, he is playing against other team's number one lines night in, night out. He is a playmaking center who looks to get his wingers the puck and he has very good on-ice vision and creativity."
Sounds like a fairly well-rounded guy already.
3rd round (78th): Lance Bouma - C - Vancouver Giants
07/08 - 71GP, 12G 23A 35PTS
Another Alberta boy from WHL. And another center. Go figure. Bouma managed just 35 points, good for 8th on his team (two defenseman garnered more points than him). He looks more like a checking forward than anything. From his scouting report:
NHL Central Scouting's Blair MacDonald
"Lance has shown the ability to use his speed from the outside to drive to the net. He plays a strong positional game – up and down his wing and works well in the corners; he is at his best when he plays an aggressive style of game and is finishing his checks. He plays the type of game that can make him a good pro player – keeps it simple and works hard on the forecheck and backcheck. He needs to improve on his offensive game and consistency from game-to-game."
Sounds like a third-round Eric Nystrom. It'd be nice to know who he was playing against at even-strength.
4th Round (108th): Nick Larson - LW - Waterloo
07/08 - 57GP, 19G 19A 38PTS
Big, American winger will be heading to Notre Dame next year. Let's hope he develops into something because the organizations list of potential wingers is rather deplorable. from his scouting report:
"Nick plays an aggressive, physical game and he plays in all situations. He has excellent puck pursuit and he's hard to control in front of the net. He plays on Waterloo's top line and scored consistently down the stretch – he provided the physical game on his line. Overall, I see a lot of potential and upside in this kid."
4th Round (114th): TJ Brodie - D - Saginaw Spirit
07/08 - 68GP, 4G 26A 30PTS
Brodie is a 6', 170 pound defender from the OHL. He was the highest scoring defenseman for the Spirit during the regular season and added another 3 assists in 4 games during the play-offs. I couldn't track down a scouting report for him but judging from his numbers and size, he looks like one o' those "puck-moving" defenders.
5th round - Traded to Montreal in Tanguay deal.
6th round (168th): Ryley Grantham - C - Moose Jaw Warriors
07/08 - 66GP, 9G 10A 19PTS
Another center and, yes, another Western Canadian kid playing in the dub. Grantham looks like a throw-away pick by the Flames scouting staff. He's 2 years older than the majority of his draft cohort (born 1988), but only managed 19 points in the WHL last year. His only notable stat was his 163 PIM. Enforcer for the farm?
7th round (198th): Alexander Deilert - D - Djurgarden U20
The Flames lone international choice comes in the final round with Alex Deilert. The 5'11", 176 pound blueliner has played with Sweden's international U16-U19 teams. Reminds me of the Per Jonsson pick.
Seven choices in total. Mostly big forwards and mostly from the WHL. No surprises here, apart from the lack of wingers chosen.
