Dudley keeps balance at draft by not losing arm and leg

The Atlanta Thrashers have now wrapped up their first entry draft with Rick Dudley as general manager. In the end, the grabbed up nine prospects…one each in the first, third and fourthrounds, then two in the fifth, three sixth-round picks and one in the seventh.

Atlanta had no pick in the second round as it was traded it away to Chicago Wednesday night in a multi-player trade. But Dudley made it known he was willing to make a deal to procure one.

Only the price wasn’t right for Mr. Dudley, and so they went without.

“We tried to move up, but teams were asking an arm and a leg”, He told Chris Vivlamore. “In some cases, the player they wanted was still available and they asked way too much”.

But as Dudley put it, it really didn’t matter because they wound up with the type of prospect they were looking for anyway. “Melchiori was one of the players we were trying to move up to take. We were pretty happy with how it worked out”.

Here is a quick recap of the players that were drafted into the Thrashers’ organization over the weekend:

Round One: Alexander Burmistrov selected with the 8th overall pick. He’s a 5’-11”, 157-pound center from Russia currently playing with the Barrie Colts of the OHL.

Round Three: Julian Melchiori selected with the 87th overall pick. He’s a 6’-3”, 186-pound Canadian defenseman who played last season for the Newmarket Hurricanes of the CCHL.

Round Four: The 101st pick had the Thrashers taking select Ivan Telegin, a 6’’-2:”,194-pound Russian left wing who plays with Saginaw of the OHL.

Round Five: With the 128th overall pick in the fifth round, the Thrashers picked up a goalie, Fredrik Pettersson-Wentzel. He’s a 6’-1”, 169-pound Swede who plays with Almtuna of the Sweden’s Junior League.

The 150th overall selection in the fifth round was used to take Canadian Yasin Casse, a 6’-3”, 210 lb. right wing who plays for Des Moines of the USHL. Casse missed the majority of last season with a torn tendon in his ankle.

Round Six: With the 158th overall pick in the sixth round, The Thrashers selected Kendal McFaull. He’s a 6’-2”, 187-pound Canadian defenseman currently with Moose Jaw of the WHL.

The Thrashers then dealt their way to another pair of sixth round picks…giving up next year’s fifth rounder. With 160th overall, they took Tanner Lane, 6’-2” high school center from Minnesota. With the 169th pick they chose Sebastian Owuya, 6’-3”, 194 lb. Swedish defender who plays with the Timra JR squad.

Round Seven: Atlanta had dealt away their seventh round choice earlier in the week as part of the trade with San Jose. However, Dudley was able to get one Saturday and with it he finished the weekend’s work by picking Canadian defenseman Peter Stoykewych…a 6’-2”, 188-pound who plays with Winnipeg South of the MJHL.

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To procure those late round picks, the Thrashers sent their fifth round selection in the 2011 draft to the Islanders for picks number 155 and 160. The sixth round selection will go to the Kings next year for the 169th and 199th pick this summer.

The Thrashers spread their nine draft picks all over the ice as they selected four forwards, four defenseman and one goaltender. Of the forwards, there are two centers, a left and right winger. Also, the Thrashers balanced out the picks in regards to European and North American players. Four of the picks came from across the pond…two Russian and two Swedish. The other five were from this side of the Atlantic, an American and four Canadians.

For me…if there can be one word that describes this 2010 Thrasherville draft class, the one that pops into mind is “balanced”. And they obtained this “balance” by not losing “an arm and a leg’ in a heat-of-the-moment type of trade.

As for my feelings about the quality of the picks…well, I’m one of those who thinks true analysis of a draft cannot really be made until the prospects have had time to develop and mature. Since this can take years, any such “snap judgement” should be viewed in that light.

That said, my initial thoughts are that Dudley and Co. seem to have done a decent job stocking the shelves this weekend and should get a solid grade for their efforts.