THN's Caps 2008 Draft Grade: B+

Mark Seidel of The Hockey News has finally gotten around to posting the rest of his 2008 NHL Entry Draft grades, and he's got good things to say about the Caps' effort (then again, he's got good things to say about nearly everyone - only San Jose got lower than a C). Particularly noteworthy is his assessment of our guy Delly.

Anyway, here's Seidel's Caps capsule:

B+, Washington Capitals – The Caps started things off with Anton Gustafsson, a guy who caused as much internal divide at NACS as any player in this year’s draft. Some of our staff loved him, while others thought he was completely overrated. While there was no consensus on Gustafsson, we liked the Caps’ selection of John Carlson from Indiana of the USHL. It’s no secret we are critical of players selected out of the USHL, but there’s no doubt Carlson will become a very good player as his career progresses. Their next pick, Eric Mestery, is a purely defensive defenseman who has to improve his puck skills if he is to play at a high level. In the middle rounds, the Caps’ picks were underwhelming with the exception of their last pick, Stefan Della Rovere, who we think has a chance to make a lot of teams look silly for passing on him. If Gustafsson and Carlson turn out the way we think they can, the 2008 draft will be remembered as a successful foray for Washington.

H/t Canes Country on the link

Of Apples And The Proximity To The Trees From Which They Fall

A longtime Caps fan can't help but feel a bit nostalgic after the Caps made Anton Gustafsson their first pick, twenty-first overall, in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, nearly thirty years to the day after the Caps selected Anton's father Bengt.

Personally, such nostalgia tends to send me straight for the white, corrugated cardboard boxes that house my hockey card collection (and to my old VHS tapes - that's Bengt at the 1:23 mark). Rooting through, I found the 1981 O-Pee-Chee gem below that included a brief description of the elder Gustafsson.


"A brilliant puckhandler for the Capitals. Bengt exhibits a graceful and fluid skating style. He's an opportunist with great finesse and uncanny hockey sense. Bengt works hard at both ends of the ice for the Capitals." [Emphasis added]

With that in mind, recall how Central Scouting's Director of European Scouting, Goran Stubb, described Anton pre-draft:

"Anton is a highly skilled player with strong puckhandling skills and playmaking ability. He is an effective passer through traffic who also has a good selection of shots. He's a tall, strong and talented two-way center with good vision and a fine understanding of the game. He plays a mature game even when playing against opponents who were two or three years older." [Emphasis added]

It's like déjà vu all over again, eh?

Anton's old man played 629 games in a Caps sweater and racked up 555 points along the way (good for fifth most in team history). If Gus II can produce anywhere near those numbers, it would be a most welcomed father-son similarity indeed.

2008 Entry Draft Day Two Open Thread

Update: Here are your second round Caps picks: The Caps two second round picks: Eric Mestery and Dmitri Kugryshev. More on Mestery here and here, more on Kugryshev here (hat tip to the diligent folks on the Caps Message Board on those last links) and here.

As far as rankings go, Mestery was the CSB's 59th North American Skater and Kugryshev the CSB's 10th European skater. I'll provide more info as it comes in.

Also, Sombrero Guy writes in with the following:

1. Scotiabank Center is to Ottawa as FedEX field is to Washington DC, only you don't have to worry about dodging bullets near Scotiabank. It really makes me appreciate the downtown location of Verizon Center.
2. Canadians are very friendly, and Canadian chicks seem to be more likely to be hot and date a guy who looks like a computer programer than not.
3. Ushers allow you to scream taunts and heckles at Pierre McGuire as long as you replace actual curse words with "f-ing"....up to 8 heckles.
4. Greg "Puck Daddy" Wyshynski (who had the misfortune of agreeing to go out with us on a wild goose chase for open bars) is nowhere near the blackjack player recent HOF'er Glen Anderson is, who split threes three times and won on all three hands.

I look forward to hearing the story on that last point.

Update: The Caps took Braden Holtby, CSB's fourth-rated North American goalie, with the second pick of the fourth round. Here's his (sparse) HF Profile and an article on his WHL debut, as well as TSN's capsule:


Update: Joel Broda is the Caps 5th round pick, 144th overall. Broda - the Caps' second pick today who started the 2007-08 season with Olie Kolzig's Tri-City WHL club, was traded from Tri-City to Moose Jaw back in September.

Update: Greg Burke in the sixth. Read more about him here and a snippet here.

Update: The Caps used their last pick (7th round, 204th overall) on Stefan Della Rovere, a kid who, despite being smallish, got in 14 fights in the OHL this past season and whose handiwork you can see plenty of here.

Caps Nab Pair In First Round

The Caps left the first round of what is widely regarded as the deepest draft in some time having made two drafts pick. The team traded up from 23rd to draft Anton Gustafsson with the 21st pick and traded Steve Eminger and a pick to Philly for the 27th pick, which they used to draft John Carlson.

Both draftees have ties to the Caps - Gustafsson, of course, as the son of a Caps legend, and Carlson as a player headed to London, Ontario to be coached by Dale Hunter as a member of the OHL Knights.

Anyway, here's a pre-draft info dump on the pair, with more to follow (profiles courtesy TSN.ca):

Gustafsson

Click to enlarge

• Hockey's Future Profile
  

Carlson

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• Hockey's Future Profile
• John Carlson is Moving Up on the Draft Board
• Colonia's Carlson likely a high draft pick
• USHL Players Ready For NHL Draft
• Waiting for his (slap)shot