Comments on: How Have the George McPhee-era Caps Performed in the Draft? http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2011/05/22/how-have-the-george-mcphee-era-caps-performed-in-the-draft/ A cheerfully demented Washington Capitals site with a healthy fixation on Alex Ovechkin and his Russian bros. CRASH THE NET! Wed, 22 May 2013 07:17:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 By: Carl http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2011/05/22/how-have-the-george-mcphee-era-caps-performed-in-the-draft/#comment-20680 Carl Sat, 28 May 2011 14:17:30 +0000 http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/?p=18409#comment-20680 No surprise who is last on that chart. I still have Mike Barnett nightmares.

]]> By: Rick http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2011/05/22/how-have-the-george-mcphee-era-caps-performed-in-the-draft/#comment-20619 Rick Wed, 25 May 2011 21:53:51 +0000 http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/?p=18409#comment-20619 Does anyone else remember GMGM punching out the GM of the Blackhawks (I think it was), after a pre-season game? That should count for some bonus points, and maybe Neil should watch his back too….

]]> By: Bill http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2011/05/22/how-have-the-george-mcphee-era-caps-performed-in-the-draft/#comment-20617 Bill Wed, 25 May 2011 21:02:07 +0000 http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/?p=18409#comment-20617 Solid post…

On a different subject how’s it gonna look if Atlanta goes to Winnepeg?

Winnepeg to Northwest
Nashville to Southeast
Minnesota to Central

any other combos?

]]> By: Sean http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2011/05/22/how-have-the-george-mcphee-era-caps-performed-in-the-draft/#comment-20592 Sean Tue, 24 May 2011 20:48:31 +0000 http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/?p=18409#comment-20592 @Will

Since they started piling up first round picks (2004 and onwards with the firesale), how many of those “darts” have missed?

Pokulok
Finley
Gustafsson

Too early to call with Kuznetsov. So we “hit” with 8/11 first round picks from 2004-2009. That’s a terrific batting average to have, even with first round picks. Especially when you factor in that only 3 of those were early picks. Meaning 5/8 of our later 1st picks have worked out. I’ll take that.

]]> By: Will http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2011/05/22/how-have-the-george-mcphee-era-caps-performed-in-the-draft/#comment-20586 Will Tue, 24 May 2011 15:09:46 +0000 http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/?p=18409#comment-20586 I don’t think anyone here is going to argue that GMGM and the Caps haven’t improved at drafting over the last few years, but Neil’s analysis is spot on: the Caps were pretty terrible at drafting over the first 8 years or so of GMGM’s tenure so they didn’t have anywhere to go but up. Over the second part of that time frame, they mitigated the fact that they aren’t great at drafting by accumulating a ton of first round picks. Throw enough darts at the wall and some are going to hit the target I suppose.

]]> By: Dave B http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2011/05/22/how-have-the-george-mcphee-era-caps-performed-in-the-draft/#comment-20580 Dave B Tue, 24 May 2011 12:47:48 +0000 http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/?p=18409#comment-20580 This is purely a quantity measure. How do we rank in terms of quality? We have four excellent/star players in that list. Ovie, Semin, Backstrom, Green.Not many teams have four players of that caliber, especially that have been drafted by that team

]]> By: @jacobware95 http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2011/05/22/how-have-the-george-mcphee-era-caps-performed-in-the-draft/#comment-20559 @jacobware95 Tue, 24 May 2011 01:46:05 +0000 http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/?p=18409#comment-20559 I dont really like this though. McPhee has clearly gotten better as the years have gone on. This list doesn’t include Marcus, Carlzner, Orlov, Eakin, Neuvy, Varly, Holtby, Fehr and now Evgeny (Perreault too?). The listing would be totally different. + add on the fact that Johnny Oduya is obviously full time NHLer. Then you have Andrew Joudrey, Patrick McNeill and Francois Bouchard who were drafted in the mid to late rounds and who have developped into solid AHL players. You have Finley, Godfrey, DeSimone, Kugryshev, Lacroix still developping as solid prospects, not to mention the 09 and 10 guys. Then there is Oskar Osala as well…..

]]> By: Sean http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2011/05/22/how-have-the-george-mcphee-era-caps-performed-in-the-draft/#comment-20551 Sean Mon, 23 May 2011 21:29:11 +0000 http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/?p=18409#comment-20551 @Chris
For as much as Schultz is a whipping boy by Capitals fans, he’s definitely been a successful draft pick (especially when you factor in how late in the 1st he was drafted). He’s been an NHL regular for the last 4.5 seasons and has over 300 GP. He was picked 27th, but is 13th among the 2004 draft class in NHL GP.

Similar applies to Gordon. Not everyone drafted in the 1st round is drafted to be a Top 6 player. Manny Malhotra was picked 7th overall, for example, and was never really anticipated to be a huge scoring threat (though his potential was higher than the end result).

Fehr has been derailed by injuries, but the strength of the 2003 class is really the biggest case against him. There was simply so much talent in that draft to “only” come away with Eric Fehr does seem very disappointing.

Eminger I think was more a product of butchered player development than being a draft bust. He was rushed to the NHL only to end up being sent back to junior hockey. Afterwards he spent a lot of time in the press box and getting small minutes in the NHL rather than building experience in the AHL. The fact that teams keep trading for him/signing him shows that people can see his potential, but he’s been derailed by awful player development and being forced into roles that don’t necessarily suit him very well.

As for trades:
Cristobal Huet
Matt Cooke (as much as we hate him, getting him for only Pettinger is a steal)
Scott Hannan
Tikkanen was a big part of the cup run in 98.
Almost all of the “firesale” trades resulted in good returns (aside of Jagr).
ETC.

McPhee is really good at “winning” his trades. Even the Corvo disaster is starting to look better now that Osala is going to play in the KHL.

]]> By: exwhaler http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2011/05/22/how-have-the-george-mcphee-era-caps-performed-in-the-draft/#comment-20548 exwhaler Mon, 23 May 2011 19:28:31 +0000 http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/?p=18409#comment-20548 The problem with this kind of review is that it ignores the fact the Capitals’ approach to player development changed drastically with the firesale in 2004. Nobody is denying that McPhee’s pre-lockout drafts were awful, but in 2004, they invested heavily in their scouting department. Apparently, it was one of the smallest ones before then and is now one of the biggest ones in the NHL. The Capitals drafts have notability improved from 2004 onward, with high-end talent found in the back end of the first round (something most teams do not do, since only about half to two-thirds of picks 11 to 30 actually become NHL regulars) and are starting to find players and good prospects in the later rounds (Neuvirth, Holtby, Orlov, Eakin, Wey, Perreault).

Any analysis of McPhee’s draft history has to consider that change in approach, because how a GM picks at the draft is greatly determined by the work of his scouting staff. If the scouting department does not receive the support from ownership, then there’s a question about who is responsible for the bad years of drafting.

]]> By: Evan http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2011/05/22/how-have-the-george-mcphee-era-caps-performed-in-the-draft/#comment-20540 Evan Mon, 23 May 2011 16:55:43 +0000 http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/?p=18409#comment-20540 If the ultimate goal is to win Stanley Cups, it looks like there is actually an inverse correlation between this measure of Draft Success and Stanley Cup Championships. Teams listed below the Caps on this list account for more than half of the Championships won during the time period despite only accounting for a quarter of the number of teams (Tampa Bay, Carolina, New Jersey, Detroit) And could be joined by Vancouver after this year (another team below the Caps in successes)

]]>