In the last of my series of looking back at previous entry drafts, today we take a look back at the 2002 draft.
Here are the players Ottawa selected.
1st rd.(16th) - Jakub Klepis(C) - Split last season with Washington and their AHL affiliate. Originally traded to Buffalo for Vaclav Varada, Klepis has 4 goals in 66 career NHL games. Klepis was part of the Mike Grier trade that saw Grier go to Buffalo.
2nd rd.(47th) - Alexei Kaigorodov(C) - He was traded this past January for Mike Comrie and Comrie went on to help out the Senators alot during his time here. Kaigorodov was annointed by John Muckler as being the Sens 2nd line center when training camp opened last year but eneded up being a complete bust. Who knows if he will ever suit up for the Phoenix Coyotes?
3rd rd.(75th) - Arttu Luttinen(LW) - Played last season with Binghamton after 4 years in Finland.
4th rd.(113th) - Scott Dobben(LW) - Career minor-leaguer.
4th rd.(125th) - Johan Bjork(D) - He has played his entire career in Europe.
5th rd.(150th) - Brock Hooton(RW) - Played last year in the ECHL after a 4 year career at St. Cloud St. in the NCAA.
8th rd.(246th) - Josef Vavra(LW) - Retired after the 2003-04 season.
9th rd.(276th) - Vitaly Atyushov(D) - He has played his entire career in Russia.
This was flat out an awful draft, it gets an F. This was John Muckler's first draft as Sens GM. I truly wonder why NHL teams drafted so many Russian players over the years when the transfer agreement was a huge problem for getting these drafted players over to the NHL. Why not just draft players so you don't have all these hoops to jump through to just to get a player to training camp?
A few names that were drafted in the early rounds include Jarret Stoll and Matt Stajan in the second round. Matthew Lombardi in the 3rd round. Cam Janssen in the 4th round. Paul Ranger and Ian White in the 6th round.
Some late gems selected include Maxime Talbot, Petr Prucha, Ryan Craig and Dennis Wideman in the 8th round. Staffan Kronwall was taken by the Leafs in the 9th round and could turn out to be a regular in the NHL.
Tomorrow I will be reviewing the Senators drafts from 1992-2003 and posting a fun blog that will get everyone involved in some great discussion.
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The Ottawa Senators will be having their rookie camp in early September prior to the main camp opening and it looks as though the Toronto Maple Leafs will be hosting the rookie tournament. Dates to be announced soon along with what teams will be participating in the rookie tournament.
Kevin
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