NHL Draft '09 Late Reaction

Since I posted earlier, the Rangers drafted four more guys and made a pair of trades. Let's take a look:

Fifth Round
127th overall - Roman Horak - A Czech who played for HC České Budějovice last season, he saw some guest action with the men but primarily played junior. Hockey's Future makes him sound like the second coming of Nik Zherdev - good skills but unmotivated. Great.

140th overall - Scott Stajcer - A big goalie who managed a .500 record on a terrible Owen Sound squad in the OHL. Much like the second round pick Werek, Stajcer had to have a big CHL Top Prospects game to draw some heads and did. Being able to take advantage of big opportunities is a good skill and it is nice to see the Rangers recognize that. There is an interesting audio interview with him here.

Sixth Round
170th overall - Daniel Maggio - A decent-sized kid from Sudbury (6-3, 198), the defenseman is trying to get over knee problems and will definitely return to the OHL next season. I won't even begin to guess at skills and upside so make sure to head to Prospect Park later for a real evaluation as I am sure Jess actually saw him play.

Seventh Round
200th overall - Mikhail Pashnin - Pashnin was the first overall pick in the KHL draft so you have to imagine he won't be joining the Blueshirts. But, just in case, the Rangers added the rights to the slick-skating defenseman. Just in case.

Trades
*The Rangers dealt their third fifth-round pick, No. 151 overall, to Pittsburgh Penguins for a goalie: Chad Johnson, a 2006 fourth-round pick from the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. Just like Matt Zaba, this kid put up good numbers in college and received some accolades but still has a way to go before becoming a NHL goaltender. But, considering we were worried about organizational depth in net, getting Johnson and Stajcer in the same day was good work by the brass.

*The Rangers traded next year's third round pick to L.A. for former first round pick Brian Boyle. At 6'7, 250 Boyle is massive. He also isn't particularly good. For the Kings this is a steal as they get a return for someone who couldn't even make their terrible team despite a distinct hole up the middle. I had him in fantasy hockey and was all-too-often disappointed last season. For the Rangers, they get a big body to throw out on the ice to get pummeled in Colton Orr's place. Boyle will stand up for his teammates but isn't a enforcer. As a former defenseman, Boyle is more of a fourth line defensive center - essentially Blair Betts' replacement.

Zipay spoke to Sather, who said that Betts could be wooed by Edmonton. Yet again I get to watch my favourite player leave the team. And you guys wonder why I dislike this team so ... Sather also told Zip that he didn't qualify RFA Freddie Sjostrom so say goodbye to the NHL's top penalty kill. But considering that the team will be so much more disciplined - following the example set by the coach - we won't have to worry about killing penalties, right?