I believe the Stars have changed their draft strategy in the past few years.
Les Jackson and Tim Bernhardt have told me that you can't just draft only skilled players _ that an organization needs balance _ and I do agree to some extent. Mark Fistric and Nicklas Grossman are very good players, and the Stars needed to acquire them via the draft.
Goalies also provide a tricky question (although more and more they seem to be available via trades or waivers).
So I'm not saying you should draft only skilled players.
But I just think it makes sense to draft mostly skilled players.
As I pointed out today, you can find Brian Sutherby's all over the place. I look back now and think that even the loss of B.J. Crombeen wasn't that big a deal, because you could add a host of veteran checkers for the same money Crombeen was making.
Sutherby also provides insight into the trade value of a checker. The Ducks received a prospect (David mcIntyre) and a sixth round draft pick for him. And Sutherby was a first round pick of the Capitals back in 2000.
But what do you think the Stars could get right now for Loui Eriksson or Jamie Benn or James Neal? If they wanted to make a move for a No. 1 defenseman, they would have the firepower to do that.
And that's why drafting skill is so important.
This is a game of asset acquisition and asset management _ and skill is worth more in this game. It cost more to acquire it if you don't have it (in free agency and trades) and it's worth more if you are looking to make a trade.
So my draft strategy is take as much skill as you can and try to hit as many homeruns as you can. So what if you miss out on a checker in the fifth round, you can always fill that hole cheaply.
Am I too short-sighted here or do you agree with this strategy?
_Mike Heika
Comments