The Big Time Hockey League

BTHL Draft Thoughts Round 1: The Story Unfolds

With the much anticipated BTHL draft now in the books, teams now begin to focus on the transition to a new BTHL era. However, before we bury the draft results in the BTHL archives, there is a story that is rarely publicly shared in the BTHL. During the draft, general managers from around the league must endure the stress and excitement of using their coveted picks on players they feel will have the biggest impact on their respective clubs in the future. Deciding on a player to select is not like making decisions on what toothpaste to buy, or what color underwear you should wear today. These picks can have direct impacts on self-esteem and respect from the league down the road pending what the player ends up developing into. So what exactly does a GM have to deal with when their team is called to make their selection? First, they have a time pressure to make the selection. This can come in the form of a time limit or even pressure from other GMs to make the selection, the end result can be stress if the GM selecting is ambiguous on who to select. Second, this leads to the difficult decision of who to take. Not every GM has the luxury of making easy selections on players where there is no doubt in who to select. Some GM’s can be struggling with two, three, or even four players that all boast similar potential and all or none are team needs. The third is the option to trade the selection and if this route is the most logical option for both GMs involved. Trading on the spot can be difficult, especially if the team trading down does not get a particular player that they hope will fall to them. Finally, a fourth is the regret of picking a player after the selection has made. The second guessing can begin, as thoughts such as ‘Did I pick him too soon?’ or “should I have taken him at all?” can consume a GM. With all that being said this is what a BTHL GM lives and dies for, the chance to step up and make a selection for the laughter of the league or the admiration of the league. It is the destiny of every BTHL GM, and the privilege to participate in the most exciting event in the BTHL. Below is a collection of quotes from the first round of the draft highlighting areas of what was just discussed. Essentially it is the thoughts of every GM making a selection in the first round, and some of the drafting drama that can occur.

Pick #1: Taylor Hall – Chicago Marauders – GM Jason Rebelato

“This pick was essentially a no-brainer and winning the draft lottery ensured that Chicago would indeed be welcoming Taylor to the fold. This draft has been referred to as the "Taylor Hall draft" and for good reason, he is the full package with skill, hockey sense and leadership that are found in a select few stars of the league. Having drafted Brayden Schenn in the previous draft, we've been waiting patiently for the opportunity to acquire a suitable winger to complement his game and I don't think we could have done any better. Taylor has been a superstar thus far in his young career and we have no doubt he will bring that tremendous play to the next level.”

Pick #2: Tyler Seguin – Stockholm Pikes – GM Jeff Toussaint

“We had to think of the future with this pick. It was a hard to ignore what Jeff Skinner has done, as well as a few others, but we felt Tyler Seguin had a more rounded potential. We think he will eventually become a leader and a solid 2-way center that will help us on both special teams. As he grows stronger, we hope he will also be effective at faceoffs, helping us become a better puck-possession team. We realize it will take some time for him to find his game, but that is no different than our other 2nd overall picks, Kyle Turris and Victor Hedman. If things go our way, we now have two future scoring lines with impact players in the middle, and a beast on defense that can play for half the game. We're very excited to add Tyler Seguin to our organization.”

Pick #3: Jeff Skinner – Quabbin Legend – GM Jeff Grothier

“The Legend were very surprised that Skinner was still available 3rd overall, I could barely contain my excitement in being able to bring in such an electrifying talent to the organization. The team finally has a great young dynamic player that they can build around. “

Pick #4: Cam Fowler – Bonavista Bandits – GM Chris Roberts

"Quite frankly, Fowler was the guy we wanted all along. Sure, every team could use a Taylor Hall, but moving up was a bit unrealistic for us and to have Fowler available at four was a treat. After recently acquiring Luke Schenn, I honestly think we've got our number one defensive pairing of the future, and perhaps even sooner than later. I really think both of their playing styles really complement each other, and we now have a future on the blueline that looks brighter than any years prior."

Pick #5: Ryan Johansen – Portland Rage – GM Stephen Sweet

“When we dropped to the #5 pick after the lottery, we knew it was going to be a tough pick. It seemed like a foregone conclusion that Hall, Seguin, Skinner and Fowler would go in the top 4, and that left basically everyone else at a relatively similar level. We were hoping for a defenceman, but when Fowler was taken, we simply went for the best player available. Ultimately, it came down to Johansen and Erik Gudbranson, both of whom I'd seen personally earlier in the year and had impressed me. Still, Johansen's impressive rise this year and his skill set (size, scoring touch, playmaking abilities, two-way play) made him our choice. We tried to trade for another pick a few places down to get Gudbranson as well, but we weren't able to.”

Pick #6: Nino Niederreiter – Chicago Marauders (From Crushers) – GM Jason Rebelato

“Truth be told, we've had our eyes on Nino for quite some time and it was part of the incentive of giving up our 2011 1st round pick to the Ice Hawks to obtain the Crushers' 1st with the hope that it would be the pick that could bring us this big, skilled forward. His tremendous play at the 2010 World Junior Championships put a great deal of focus on him and we knew he was the type of player we wanted in our organization. To have his kind of size as an 18 year old with the scoring touch and mental drive of a much more mature player is a rarity and we feel he will excel in the BTHL.”

Pick #7: Brett Connolly – Quebec Mustangs – GM Mckinlee Duggan

“We feel we added the best possible player available at 7. We're very excited about Brett playing for the Mustangs 2 or 3 years from now.

Pick #8: Vladimir Tarasenko – Chicago Marauders (From Comets) – GM Jason Rebelato

“With our 8th overall pick, we felt we could be a little more adventurous having already secured two world class talents. Though his talent cannot be denied, Vladimir has been labeled as a "boom or bust" type player stemming mostly from his perceived lack of desire to play the North American game. However, he has expressed his wish to play in North America and quite simply his level of goal scoring and skating made it impossible for us to overlook him as a future star in the BTHL. He has a solid frame and has been playing in the KHL for a few years of his young career, so his potential to adjust to the BTHL style of game is great and well worth selecting high in the draft. “

Pick #9: Eric Gudbranson – New York Comets (From Celtics) – GM Sean Gaffney

"Getting Gudbranson at the 9th pick in the draft is a steal in my opinion. A few trade offers were fielded to gauge the value of the pick when he fell to that spot, but we never had anything offered to us that we considered fair value for a player like Gudbranson. He, along with [2nd round pick] Faulk and some of the other guys we have in the system already like a David Rundblad or Nick Petrecki, should be key members of our defensive corps a few years down the line."

Pick #10: Alex Burmistrov – Vancouver IceHawks – GM Larenzo Jensen

“Basically, the addition of Burmistrov was a case of who we felt the best available player was. In a sense, you could call him a 'safe' pick, because he's already proven that he belongs in the League. Although we have excellent depth up the middle, we wanted to ensure that would stay the same for years to come. Particularly was this true because of moving Zach Boychuk to the Celtics in a recent deal. We didn't have anyone inquire about the pick, but I'm sure if we had shopped it, that there would be some interest. We love Alex's speed and creativity, - a culture we're trying to promote here in Vancouver. We're enamored with his ability to create plays out of essentially nothing, -the trademark of a talented prospect.”

Pick #11: Mikael Granlund – Edinburgh Synthesis – League Control

“The Synthesis acquired a player in Granlund that gives them even more depth at forward. With already players such as Matt Duchene, Eric Staal, Logan Couture, Loui Eriksson, and Josh Bailey, it would seem the Synthesis may have just landed another candidate to fill out their top six forwards, making them a very strong potential opponent in the future.”

Pick #12: Jaden Schwartz – Colorado Hornets – GM Jonathan Lau

“Jaden Schwartz is an excellent scorer with great vision, and we feel that he can play a pivotal role for us in the future. We briefly considered trading the first-round pick for more immediate help, but we've typically kept a solid base of prospects and we have dealt off a few in the last season, so we wanted to re-stock. We see Schwartz ultimately projecting as a top-6 forward, likely beside larger, power forwards. We're willing to wait a few years on that, as Schwartz is currently attending college and may not be going to training camp all that soon.”

Pick #13: Jack Campbell – Kelowna Storm (From Blizzard) – GM Ryan Archer

“The Storm were surprised that Campbell fell so far down the draft, especially after his performances in the World Juniors. The Storm needed a solid Goaltender prospect with both Varlamov and Khubodin graduating. We felt that Campbell would not fall to our spot and he was the one we wanted. Fellow American Ryan Miller spoke highly of him and it only made sense to have Miller be Campbell's mentor. We didn't want to see Aulie go but we feel that we will be able to pick up a solid defence later in the draft and with the acquisition of Hillen and Carkner he was pushed further down the depth chart.”

Pick #14: Brandon Gormley – Calgary Colts – GM Andrew Meadwell

“It was actually thought for a while that Vladimir Tarasenko would be the player to pick if he fell to 14, because I never thought that Gormley would fall to 14. Going into the draft, a number three defenceman was at the top of the Colts’ list. I tried to convince myself to take Justin Faulk with number 14, but couldn’t bring myself to it because of the forward talent that would still be on the board. This pick was even pondered to trade down late in the first round and select Faulk (or Merrill) because we felt he was the next best bet for a number 3 style defenceman. However, when Gormley and Campbell were still around at the Blizzard’s pick at 13, I knew that it was going to be either one of them. Gormley was actually number one on my list for defenceman that would fill our need. Before I made the selection, just to be sure, I watched a clip of him intercepting a pass in a junior game while he was killing a 5 on 3 in his own zone, he turn it into a breakaway by splitting the D at his defensive blueline, faked the goalie to his right with a shoulder shake and then went to his back hand on the left side flipping the puck over the sliding goalie. At that point I was like ‘Done! Put him in a Colt uniform right away’. He’s still a few years away and that was the only clip I saw of him that was jaw dropping, but I really feel we got exactly what we needed in a defensive defenceman with some offensive punch.”

Pick #15: Sergei Bobrovsky – Chicago Marauders (From Knights) – GM Jason Rebelato

“We knew coming into the draft that a goal-tender was on the list of "must haves", and with both Campbell and Bobrovsky looking like coveted 'tenders, we took a gamble that one would still be around for our 15th overall pick. Indeed one was and we were thrilled to pick up a goalie that we feel can challenge Cory Schneider for a spot in training camp. Both Sergei and Cory are expected to split the duties between the pipes this season and getting a talented goalie ready for BTHL action was a major upside with this pick.”

Pick #16: Evgeny Kuznetsov – Chicago Marauders (From Phantoms) – GM Jason Rebelato

“The previous 4 picks were chosen because of their huge skill set and potential, but also due to their ability to challenge for a spot on the roster as early as this season. We knew going into the draft that getting players ready sooner rather than later was getting more and more necessary to try and make the Marauders competitive as soon as possible. With the 16th overall pick, we broke that mold and for very good reason. There were other players available who probably could have been BTHL ready sooner, but there simply was no denying the talent Evgeny possesses and we could not pass that up. We realize he is young and will be a 2-3 year project for us, but we feel that the pay off in the end will be more than worth the wait.“

Pick #17: Charlie Coyle – Beirut Bombers (From Aces) – GM Fouad Zarifeh

“I had tried to make a deal to acquire the first overall pick and thereby get Taylor Hall and had offer 3 1st rounders and Filatov but that deal fell through. Later on in the draft I was in talks to acquire the 9th overall pick but a few complaints on the time delay forced the deal to fall through. In another trade talk that almost guaranteed that I move up and down at the time had a 1st and Filatov leaving with a higher 1st and a 2nd coming back and when that did not work out I thought about it and decided to take my players no matter where they are ranked. With the 17th pick I picked Charlie Coyle because even at such a young age he has shown that he can score and at the same time play defence. You can't teach forwards to play defence and great two way players are hard to come by. Coyle has been compared to Backes (but with a more scoring touch) and to Bolland. Coyle can play any position. He has great hockey pedigree with Tony Amonte and Bobby Sheehan as his cousins.”

Pick #18: Nick Bjugstad – Penticton Jackals – GM Brain Barclay

“With the 18th overall pick the Jackals chose winger Nick Bjugstad, a likely long term project but one with a potentially high upside as a power forward. "We like his versatility, his size, his vision, work ethic, we're extremely happy to add him to our organization. We're going to be patient with him, he'll set his own pace, he's a smart kid and we'll offer guidance but trust he knows what is best for his own development." His upside is somewhere between Ryan Getzlaf and David Backes, which would be a welcome mix to any team in the league. He tries to model his game after Joe Thornton, lacking size up the middle he would certainly help fill that need for the Jackals, but his vision would certainly make for a dangerous winger as well.”

Pick #19: Tyler Toffoli – Beirut Bombers – GM Fouad Zarifeh

“With the 19th pick I made a very risky move passing over players I really like like Forbort, Etem, Merrill, Bennett and Thomas and picked Tyler Toffoli. A lot of people will say why did I take him that high and the answer is why not. He has a great shot and great hand eye coordination. Major drawback is his skating. I figured he is worth the risk since my team's defence is pretty much set with the like of OEL, De Haan, Franson, Wiercioch, and Demers waiting in the wings so I decided to take a risk on him. My only question remains whether he is a product of a great line or does he compliment that line to make it better. Only time will tell.”

Pick #20: Derek Forbort – Winnipeg Blizzard (From Storm) – GM Todd Semonick

“Heading into the draft we identified several players we would be very pleased to select in the first round, one of them being Derek Forbort. When our original pick (13th overall) arrived we were essentially at a coin toss between Forbort and Evgeny Kuznetsov. Having extensively shopped the pick we had a deal in place to land the 20th selection, as well as a very solid prospect in Keith Aulie in exchange for our pick. The thinking was that while we would likely lose Forbort, we would have the opportunity to take the other player we coveted at 20. Oddly enough we were delighted to find that it was Forbort still on the board at 20, and quickly snapped him up with the pick. With the pick swap we feel we added two huge pieces to our blueline for the future. Looking at our young defenceman, it was apparent that almost all of our top end prospects, save for Simon Despres, were smallish offensive minded defenceman (Karlsson, Smith, Mcbain). In Aulie we believe we have added a shutdown defenceman who is already NHL ready. He should pair very well with one of our offensive puck movers in the near future. Forbort, while likely 2-3 years away from contributing, has almost limitless upside on the blueline. He is the rare 6'5 blueliner who also has tremendous skating and puck moving ability. It remains to be seen whether he will develop a top end offensive game, however he has the puckhandling skills to contribute in that area. We believe when all is said and done that Forbort could be the best blueliner to come out of this draft class, we see a Jay Bouwmeester type upside in him, a huge fluid skating shutdown dman who can also chip in with a bit of offence.”

Pick# 21: Quinton Howden – Stockholm Pikes (From Meteors) – GM Jeff Toussaint

“Quinton Howden is a winger with tremendous upside. He's been an offensive leader on his junior team, and has a tantalizing combination of size, speed and grit. We think he can develop into a 2-wa top 6 forward for us, with regular PP/PK duties. It may take a while for him to fill out and realize his full potential, but we feel it'll be well worth the wait.”

Pick #22: Beau Bennett – Utopia Decepticons – GM Dan O’Flaherty

“Beau Bennett is an elite talent and very offensively gifted. We saw him as risky pick, given his injuries and limited track record, but his upside potential gives him the chance to ultimately crack the Decepticons top 6 forwards, which is rare among teenage prospects. There was a lot of confusion in the Decepticons War Room given the mix-up with the last few picks. After 22 picks, and thinking we were picking next, we were happy that both of our choices Derek Forbort and Beau Bennett were available. However, it turns out that Derek Forbort had already been taken (he had not been posted to the message board and simply been added to the online Google do*****ent that we don’t have access to) and there was still another pick before us that we weren’t aware of. There was a lot of worry that the Wildcats would snap up Bennett, leaving us without either of the players we wanted. We had the opportunity to trade the pick for a 1st in next year’s draft, and had Bennett been taken we likely would have snapped up that offer. At the end of the day, it turned out as good as we could have hoped. Bennett will not be expected to contribute immediately so he will have plenty of time to develop at the University of Denver.”

Pick #23: Calvin Pickard – Treviso Mercenaries (From Sting) – GM Francois Malo

‘’Before the draft we established our priorities and at the top was a future number one goaltender. Thats what we hope to have acquire in Pickard. This young goaltender has been facing a heavy workload of shots, the most in all the CHL. We believe his chance are good in coming soon into the BTHL. Our scouts were really big on him and personally I was pretty big on the other guy Mark Visentin. At the end of the day I listened to my scouting team. I’m pretty good with that decision and thats why we select Calvin sooner than he was expected’’

Pick #24: Emerson Etem – Treviso Mercenaries – GM Francois Malo

‘’Looking at our prospects group, it was not a good time to select a defenseman as we have a lot in the system already. So we decide to select a guy that was gonna be someday a key to success for our team. We believe that Emerson Etem is that kind of player. He’s a good two-way forward(C/W) that is responsible defensively and more importantly this guy can score lots of goal. Since we can’t teach how to score goals, Etem is already ahead in his development. We expect him to be a top 6 forward and we’re gonna give him the time he needs but at 6 feet 200lbs Emerson Etem will surely be a BTHLer sooner than later’’

- For the Calgary Sun and BTHL Insider, I’m Brian Andrews