Score one for the Mock Draft Nerds
My quick tour of the mock drafts suggested [in a very loose sense of the term “suggested”] the Red Wings were likely to draft Thomas McCollum with the #30 draft pick. Well three of the mock draft prognosticators, who were mocked by a baker’s couple of excellent bloggers, ended up making the correct call. Let’s give them their moment to bask in the sun shall we?
Allan Muir - Sports Illustrated
30. Detroit Red Wings:
Thomas McCollum, goaltender, Guelph Storm (OHL)Central Scouting says: “[His] number one attribute is his net position — it’s second to none. There are rarely any holes and he has a great butterfly. When he is challenging and at the top of his game, he is very tough to beat. He has good net coverage and he is very competitive. He handles the puck well. He is definitely one of those franchise-type of goalies in the future.”
Our take: There’s a chance the Wings could go for a high upside European like Swedish center Anton Gustafsson or Tier 2 center Zac Dalpe, but a lack of netminding depth in the system makes McCollum a value choice. The top-rated netminder by Central Scouting, he’s earned comparisons to Ed Belfour, thanks to his competitiveness and his dedication to his craft.
My take:
I was so prepared to be snarky after Muir wrote his love sonnet for Brian Burke. But I was willing to look past that and realized that the Red Wings could in fact use another netminder in their pipeline. TSN reported that goaltending coach Jim Bedard hosts a goaltending school not far from McCollum so you would presume the Red Wings had plenty of time to scout the goaltender.
They didn’t trade the pick so they either felt he was a good pick at #30 or they couldn’t find a trade partner. But they also didn’t have a jersey ready with his name embroidered on the back so there’s always that.
Scott Cruickshank - National Post
30. DETROIT: With nearly everything going forward, Stanley Cup champs nab G THOMAS McCOLLUM, a starter out of OHL Guelph (25-17-6, 2.50 GAA). Six foot one, 205 pounds. * CS - No. 1 North American goalie; ISS - No. 2 goalie; THN - No. 38
My take:
McCollum was the top ranked North American netminder. The defensemen were obviously completely picked over and this didn’t seem to be a draft that had a lot of forwards who were highly regarded. I get the sense that Nikita Filatov could be the best amongst the draft class. So with little to choose from amongst the defensemen and a thin class of forwards McCollum likely made the most sense at #30.
Faceoff.com [we’ll ignore the fact I didn’t catch that this is the exact same article from Scott Cruickshank] also had McCollum going to Detroit. Moving right along…
Here are McCollum’s stats:
| Year | GP | Wins | Losses | Ties | SOs | GAA | SV% |
|
2006-07 |
55 | 26 | 18 | 10 | 5 | 2.39 | 0.918 |
|
2007-08 |
45 | 25 | 17 | 6 | 4 | 2.50 | 0.914 |
He has a decent save percentage and his goals against average is decent. But he’s played in the OHL where a vast majority of the first round talent came from tonight. 11 of the first round picks played in the OHL this past season, including 7 out of the top 10 draft picks.
So he’s faced high quality talent and apparently did a pretty good job. Guelph finished 5th in the Western Conference in the OHL and 9th in the league, yet they allowed the 4th fewest goals [tied with Brampton]. That would indicate that McCollum played a big role in making his team competitive. Here’s what I said when I considered the prospect of Detroit selecting the Guelph netiminder with their #1 pick:
I don’t expect the Red Wings to draft a goaltender with their top pick, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they do. They need at least one prospect in the pipeline with Howard and Larsson matriculating up the NHL ladder.
With a log-jam of prospects on the blueline and apparently no clear favorites amongst the forwards left on the board, the Red Wings appeared content to fill a modest need with a high-end goaltending prospect.
2008 NHL draft Red WingsNo Comments
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