Beagle, I wasn't particularly surprised at the selection of Suvanto -- I saw him going to the Caps with one of their two picks in some mock drafts.


What I thought was interesting was when the Caps gave away one of their draft picks to move up 11 spots to get Tyus Sparks in round 4.  I always picture the middle and lower rounds of the draft as teams selecting from a bunch of mostly-indistinguishable, lesser-appreciated prospects, hoping to catch the guy who develops beyond what anyone can envision (or he would have been picked higher).  That the Caps would relinquish a pick in a draft where they didn't have many to begin with in order to get this guy says to me that they consider him some kind of outlier at that point.  For that reason, I'll be interested in seeing what he does next year and beyond.  Can we hope for another IPro - where he blows up in Juniors the year after he is drafted, and in Hershey the year after that?   


I can understand teams moving up in the first round to get a player they covet among what is considered to be the top talent.  But in round 4? 

BlackIce - good analysis. I agree. I really thought they would end up with the big forward from BC - seemed like that was meant to be.


Seems like we have had better luck with 2nd and third round picks lately. Hutson, Lil Pro and hopefully Cristal will be great.

And Big Pro was selected at the end of the 3rd round as well.


It's amazing, with the way he has turned out, that IPro also lasted until the 3rd round.

Beagle, I don't know that we really got fouled up in the draft.  From what I saw of pre-draft speculation, the Caps' real need in their prospect pipeline at this point is centers, and Suvanto was the next logical choice at that position.


At this point, we already have a huge stable of big forwards, especially if Ovie returns:  him, AProtas, IProtas, Wilson, Tuch, PLDuBois.  In today's game, you really need smaller, shifty forwards to balance that out.  For that matter, Suvanto is the biggest of the top center candidates.


I personally like the selection of Suvanto, because he fills a glaring need for the organization:  A strong defensive center who is good at face-offs and puck possession.  Plus, a guy like that, who already has the defensive chops, is less likely to flame out before he gets to the NHL, or never really fulfill the role he is intended for.  [Look at the number of players, even in Round 1, who are described as having offensive chops, but need to pick up the defensive side of the game.]  He probably will be no more than a 3C or 4C, but it is very likely that he will make it in that role.  And, assuming he can fulfill those duties at the NHL level, he is the kind of guy you want on the ice at the end of the game to protect a lead.  That has VALUE in a league where the competition and the scores are so close.   


He is NOT a glamorous first round selection.  But he is important.

We have the comfort of knowing that, as long as Ovie's future is up in the air, Carlson CAN'T sign here.  The cap room isn't there, given what Carlson is expecting.  Unless Ovie is willing to settle for $3 million or something, which I don't think is happening.

As long as the Caps don’t resign Carlson I’m fine.