First off, I guess I blew the Finals - right number of games, wrong team. Hossa and Conklin get shut out again. Crosby missed shaking Lidstrom's hand? Not a big deal. He should have, but it's hardly damning, and I'm sure he doesn't care what Draper thinks: gee Drapes, I can hardly hear you under the weight of these scoring titles and Stanley Cup rings. Funny I called Crosby missing a handshake, even if it didn't quite play out as I expected. Leaves me short of last year's mark.
Draft: not too many surprises, but I was a bit curious about the moves the Oilers made. Sure, Brodziak was hardly a sterling player last year, but who was? Trading him and a 6th for a pair of low-round picks? Crazy. Scott at Gospel of Hockey says they could have done better losing him to an offer sheet, or just taken their time signing him to a reasonable contract. I guess this means Pouliot and Brule move up the depth chart a bit, and leaves #78 as the only guy on the team who can take regular faceoffs. Dustin Penner is curiously good at them as well, but I doubt he'll be lining up at C again, unless Pat Quinn has a MacTavish-level brainfart to open the season. Rob Schremp may have an outside shot at 4th line spot duties next season as a result too, although Potulny should get first shot there. It really is time to fish or cut bait for two young men, a quiet francophone from Quebec and a brash fellow with poor fashion sense from New York. Will Schremp be the next Dan Tessier, or will he regain some of whatever he lost in the transition from junior to pro? Yeah, Tessier wasn't drafted, but at this point, does it matter if Schremp went 25th or 250th?
Call me a bad fan, but I don't even really follow prospects any more, much less speculate about them post-draft. Jason Bonsignore had chops, Jani Rita couldn't score even on Sidney Crosby's wing, and Curtis Joseph was undrafted. Like others, I'm starting to think it's not how the team does at the drafting table that matters, it's how they groom their prospects post-draft. Think of it this way: if you'd been scouted for your current career at 18, do you think you'd have had a chance?
I'm working on a long post regarding psychology versus statistics, predictors, and such. It's taking me uncommonly long to work up, especially since I'm busy with other writing projects, but hopefully it will shed at least some marginal light and no heat. At the least, I hope it'll make somebody think.