Live blogging the NHL draft

Welcome, everyone...Just minutes away and we already have our first deal. Defenseman Chris Pronger is apparently on his way to the Philadelphia Flyers (assuming, of course, that his wife approves!) which gives Philly one more cheap-shot artist who's afraid to fight. Just what they need.

Also a possible surprise at #1. Late rumors have the Islanders passing on BOTH John Tavares and Victor Hedman to take Brampton's Matt Duchene. We'll know in a few minutes.

6:11 pm. - Islanders are on the clock, and it would be a real shock for Tavares if he isn't taken #1, which has been the expectation ever since his great performance at the World Juniors last Christmas. Personally, I like "building block" defensemen a lot, and Hedman seems to be that kind of d-man.

6:14 - 20,000 Islander fans in the Nassau Coliseum, most of whom want Tavares.

6:16 - Early Wild news: Petr Kalus is coming back. He's the Czech player we got in the Manny Fernandez deal. He was upset when he didn't make the roster last year, and left Houston for Europe after a couple weeks. Apparently that didn't work out well, and now he's coming back. I was very high on him, and hope it works this time.

6:17 - Here's Garth Snow....and the pick is.....John Tavares! Islander fans love it, and it seems like the safe pick. What strikes me about Tavares is how mature he seems for an 18-year-old. Great players in Canada start getting media attention early on, and so he's already comfortable in front of the microphones. Very poised.

Tampa on the clock. Hedman seems like a no-brainer.

6:26 - It's Hedman. This is a guy you can build a franchise around. Avalanche on the clock.

6:37 - Avalanche take Matt Duchene, so Wild fans will get a good look at him the next few years. Thrashers on the clock.

It's ironic that Chris Pronger got traded today. The Tavares/Hedman discussion mirrored the 1993 draft, when forward Alexander Daigle and defenseman Chris Pronger were the clear top two. After much debate, the Ottawa Senators chose Daigle, who turned out to be a big bust. (He did a little time with the Wild at the end of his career.) Pronger turned into a big jerk, but a pretty effective player, and Hartford was happy to take him at #2. It could turn out that Hedman is the better player.

TSN just showed a cute picture of Duchene is his room as a 15-year-old, wearing an Avalanche jersey, with framed Roy and Sakic jerseys on the wall. Now he's a grown-up Avalanche.

6:45 - Evander Kane goes to Atlanta....Big, strong player. He was named after Evander Holyfield.

6:50 LA Kings are on the clock. Brayden Schenn is next, a player Toronto is known to covet (they pick #7)...Possible deal?

6:55 - This draft is ticking me off because everyone feels obligated to pass along everything in both French and English, in deference to the ridiculous Quebicois. Enough of the Pepe LePew show, just pick the players!

The Kings, who have good young players AND available cap space, coiuld be scary next year. Now they added Brayden Schenn. His brother went #5 last year to Toronto.

The Phoenix/Hamilton/Mars Coyotes are on the clock.

7:03 - The Desert Dogs take Oliver Eckman-Larson, a talented Swedish forward who probably won't be here until the 2010-2011 season. Now come the Maple Leafs.

There are a number of talented Europeans available, but Toronto GM Brian Burke isn't always very high on Europeans. He has said - and I admire this - that he wants "kids who grew up dreaming about the Stanley Cup," which of course means Canadian kids. Burke is a former Edina guy, and has a reputation as a bit of a pompous ass, but he has won wherever he goes.

7:10 - Nazem Kadri to the Leafs...TSN had good audio of Burke talking to Ottawa's Brian Murray, and Murray looks unhappy now that Kadri is gone.

I have a good friend, Gary Harker, who is a scout for Toronto and is sitting at the draft table. He was with the Kings when they drafted a Japanese goalie a few years ago, and now he's there for the Kadri pick. I think that makes him the first scout in NHL history to have the Japanese/Lebanese Daily Double on his resume.

7:20 - Dallas takes Scott Glennie, meaning there's some European offensive talent available. If the Wild are going to make a deal to move down, it should happen pretty soon.

7:27 - The Euros are falling. Senators take Jared Cowen, a big physical d-man, and yet another Canadian.

Now we're moving into the territory where Gopher Jordan Schroeder could be chosen. He's a talented player, but there are questions about his size, (5-foot-8, 175) even though he was one of the strongest players at the combine. I wouldn't mind seeing the Wild take him, although he's similar to Pierre-Marc Bouchard, and most teams only need one small playmaking-type player. I would hate to see P-Marc go - he's maybe my favorite Wild player - but if we could make a deal for him, I could live with it.

7:33 - Oilers on the clock, and Magnus Pajaarvi-Svennson is still there. Fast, big player, and Edmonton has a history of Europeans.

7:35 - Yes, they take him. Predators up next, Wild after that.

7:44 - Ryan Ellis to the Preds, good defenseman. Wild are on the clock, and the two local boys - Schroeder and Nick Leddy - are available. I'm not one of those people who thinks we need to have Minnesotans - I'd be happy to win the Cup with 20 Lithuanians - but here's a chance to take a good one. (Unlike Parise, Okposo, Kessel and others who were chosen before we drafted.)

7:51 - Looks like the Wild are trading the pick...Less than a minute to go.

It's a trade...We move down to the 16th spot and give the Islanders the 12 pick...we also get the 77th and 182nd pick. Islanders take Calvin DeHann, which means the Wild could have their pick of Zach Kassian, John Moore or Schroeder.

8:04 - Oops, Kassian goes to Buffalo. Would have been nice to have.

The Wild trade now gives them nine total picks in this draft. New GM Cliff Fletcher is trying to restock the cupboard after the previous regime traded away draft picks like popcorn.

8:08 - Florida takes Dimitri Kulokov, the 1st Russian taken, and a kid who fell from an expected top-10 position. Hard shot, good size and he's already been playing Canadian juniors, instead of staying home among all the intrigue that seems to go along with Russian players and potential problems with the Kontinental Hockey League.

Ducks up next, then Wild. Mike Russo of the Star-Tribune thinks the Wild are hot for Nick Leddy of Eden Prairie. If that's true, they could keep trading down several more picks, because he'll still be available.

8:18 - Ducks take Peter Holland, who was the 24-th ranked player on Bob McKenzie's draft board. (McKenzie is the Canadian Mel Kiper, Jr. and a broadcaster for TSN.) The ever-provincial TSN reports that 11 of the first 15 players taken are Canadians.

Wild brass moving towards the podium, holding a jersey...no trade of this pick. TSN thinks Wild are feeling pressure to take Schroeder.

8:21 - Nick Leddy!! Last year's Mr. Hockey from Eden Prarie. Won't be a Wild for a couple of years, or at least one...Headed for the Gophers.

He's also the first player taken from the Upper Midwest High School Elite League, one of my clients.

Last time the Wild chose a Minnesotan in the 1st round, he became the biggest bust of all our first-round picks, A.J. Thelen. I hope this works out, but I'm not excited about it. John Moore is still out there, Louis LeBlanc as well...some pretty good talent on the board.

Jordan Schroeder is also now in position to be the biggest "fall" of the 1st round. Again, it could be his size. I don't think ANYONE thought Leddy would be the 1st American chosen.

Blues take David Runblad, the 4th Swede to go in the 1st round. Home-town Canadiens are on the clock.

8:35 - Canadiens made their local folks happy by taking Louis LeBlanc, a Montreal-born player and the first Frenchie taken in the draft. He's been playing in Omaha of the USHL, and is headed for Harvard next year.

8:45 - Rangers take Chris Kreider, another college-bound player (Boston College). He's the first Massachusetts player in six years to go in the first round. Great skater. Schroeder still waiting.....

8:53 - New Jersey trades up to take Calgary's pick....Lou Lamoriello likes college kids, and has as many American players as anyone...

Nope...Jacob Josefson, another Swede, goes to the Devils.

9:00 - Columbus takes John Moore, who has signed with Colorado College. Three hours and counting for Schroeder.

9:08 - Satan's Team is on the clock, and they roll out Roberto Luongo (Montreal native) to make the pick. Luongo mispronounces Schroeder's last name, but it's the end of Jordan's nightmare..He's finally selected, even if he now will have to play in front of toothless, illiterate fans every night.

9:14 - Calgary takes Tim Erixon...ANOTHER Swede. Big night for the Three Crowns.

9:20 - ANOTHER Swede, Marcus Johanson becomes the 7th Swede in the 1st round. And the one I really like, Carl Klingberg (see the post from earlier this week) is still on the board.

9:28 - Peter Chiarelli, GM of Boston, just took a nice shot at the Montreal fans, saying that the entire organization was "excited to return to Montreal." The last time they were there was in April, when they completed a four-game sweep of the Canadiens. The Bruins then took Jordan Caron from one of the best-named junior teams anywhere, Rimouski Oceanic. (Sidney Crosby played there as a junior.)

9:35 - Kyle Pamlieri goes to the Ducks, 4th American chosen. He was kicked off the US Junior team last year, allegedly for having a girl in his room. Imagine that: An 18-year-old kid trying to spend time with a girl! He's off to Notre Dame, where he may have a girl or two in his room.

9:40 - Hurricanes on the clock. Philippe Paradis, perhaps the hardest shot in the draft, goes down to NASCAR land. He wasn't ranked that high (40th) and looks very surprised as he walks on stage.

This thing has now taken nearly four hours, and we could all have been off drinking Molsons now if it wasn't for the time wasted pandering to the Frenchies in the crowd.

Chicago is up next. It's not so easy picking a Kane or Toews when you're drafting in the 28th spot, is it?

9:46 - Dylan Olsen, a UMD signee, goes to Chicago. Two picks left, and Simon Despres, Carter Ashton and Landon Ferraro (Ray's kid) are all still on the board. At least one of them will have to wait for tomorrow.

9:48 - Tampa has someone they want, and just switched their 2nd round pick (#32) for Detroit's #29. I think Detroit is going to take my boy Klingberg, and they know they can get him tomorrow.

9:54 - It's Carter Ashton, a big 6-2 forward that a lot of people thought would go much earlier. The Penguins will pick next, and the evening will be over.

9:58 - Simon Despres goes to Pittsburgh, ending the first round. It all starts again at 9 a.m. tomorrow.

There was a lot of talk this week about the Wild making a deal, moving Harding, trying to get Heatly, etc. So I guess right now I feel a little let down, but there's always tomorrow. We've obtained a couple draft picks, and maybe the boys in the front office can leverage that into something. Good night for now.

All the money in the world can't buy class

The Los Angeles Times reports (see story here) that John Kerry - you remember him, the guy that lost to George W. Bush even worse than Al Gore did - made a little attempt at humor the other night.

The talk at a Capitol Hill party was about South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, whose whereabouts at the time were unknown. (Though it later turned out that he'd been in South America with his mistress....another day, another story.)

Trying to be funny, Kerry said "Too bad if a governor had to go missing, it couldn't have been the governor of Alaska. You know, Sarah Palin."

Yes, John, we know who the governor of Alaska is. First of all, if you have to explain the joke, it's not funny. Secondly, what a tasteless joke for a U.S. Senator to make about another public official.

Since I am not a senator, or any other public official, I feel free to make a parallel "joke," which is this:

"Too bad if a senator from Massachusetts had to get brain cancer, it had to be Ted Kennedy."

UPDATE: I was alerted by my good friend and former Gopher hockey great Brian Zins that Palin had already responded. At the end of this video she says she heard the joke, saw John Kerry on TV and thought, "John, why the long face?" Great line! The lady can take care of herself!

Just so I can say "I told you so"......

Because it's 90 degrees and muggy outside, my thoughts naturally turn to hockey. Actually, it's because the NHL Draft is this weekend, with the first round Friday night and the final six rounds on Saturday.


It promises to be an exciting weekend for our Minnesota Wild. With new GM Cliff Fletcher and new Coach Todd Richards in place, the team is reportedly looking to make some deals, which may or may not include trading down from our #12 draft position in the first round.


Ottawa sniper Dany Heatly is reportedly available, and there's still the melodrama around Marian Gaborik (see April 9 post...I still want him back), but it seems likely that the Wild roster will look much different by Monday morning.


It's easy to pick out the first two or three players in the draft, but the main reason for this post is that I wanted to be on record in saying that the steal of this draft will be a Swedish winger named Carl Klingberg.


Most projections have him going late in the first round, or maybe even early in the second, but I have it on good authority that this kid is the real deal. He's huge: 6-foot-3, 205 pounds, skates well and has a hard shot. He started the year playing in juniors, and by the end of the season played 10 games with the Frolunda Indians of the Swedish Elite League. He won't be a big name this weekend, but when he scores 35 goals for someone in 2012 and everyone says "where'd he come from?", then I want to be able to point back to this post and say "I told you so."



Here's a picture of young Mr. Klingberg. How is it that a socialist society like Sweden has been able to resist the political correctness fascists and can still call a team the "Indians" and have this logo?

More great moments in government spending

As reported here, the New York City school system is spending about $65 million a year to pay a few hundred teachers NOT TO TEACH.

Turns out that union rules make it very, very difficult to fire a teacher accused of misconduct, so instead, the teachers simply report to what is known as the "rubber room" and do what they want for eight hours a day. Play games, surf the web, chat on their cell phones...whatever gets them through the day.

The story says stints of "two to three years are common," and that some teachers have been pulling down their paychecks for five or six years, at a rate of $70,000 a year or more. Of course, as teachers, they get to go home for the summer.

According to the story, Los Angeles does the same thing for a couple hundred teachers, and it's not unheard of in other cities as well.

Just another something to keep in mind the next time a politician tells you taxes have to be raised because the budgets have been "cut to the bone."








Your tax dollars at "work."

Father's Day, 2009

The day began with the start of the second round of the 2009 Red Wing Invitational Golf tournament. I played poorly on Saturday, and only slightly better on Sunday, and finished in a tie for 5th, which frustrates me to no end.

The day got much better, however, as I got phone calls or visits from all four of the kids, who looked like this in about 1990:






and now look like this today:











There was also a visit from the Smartest Little Girl in the Universe. Anne is now 21 months, and hard at work on her piano skills.






















Just a good day all around.

Rhymes with "witch"

Sen. Barbara Boxer of California has always had a reputation as an arrogant diva, and she enhanced that reputation yesterday during a committee hearing, when she instructed a Brigadier General to stop calling here "Ma'am" and instead address her as "Senator."



It's especially noteworthy that she doesn't have the common courtesy to address the General as "General." She simply interrupts him to demand the title that she "worked so hard" for.

It reminded me of the first day I went to work for Sen. Rudy Boschwitz. I had spent the previous six months working in the Minnesota State Senate, and all of us on staff were under strict orders to address all of the senators - a collection of farmers, insurance agents, grocers, etc. - as "Senator."

So, on my first day with Rudy, I addressed him several times as "Senator." After the third or fourth time, he pulled me aside and said "You can do what you want, but I really prefer to be called 'Rudy.'"

When you have genuine class, you don't really need a title, which is a lesson lost on Ms. Boxer.

That was then, this is now.

At this moment, Iran is experiencing its "Tiananman Square" moment as millions of its citizens take to the streets, enraged by the recent fraudulent election that left President Ahmadinejad in office.

To most Americans, the face of Iran is that of the Ayatollahs and other hard-line Islamic clerics that enforce a thuggish, repressive rule over its people. But beneath that facade is a citizenry that would like to see the country step out of the 19th century and embrace western values like democracy and human rights. The ruling Mullahs - and their puppet, Ahmadinejad - want no part of that, and they are responding to the street protests in the same way the Chinese did to the students at Tiananan, with brutality, bullets and death. (Below is the picture of the "Goddess of Democracy" statue built by the students at Tiananman Square.)

In the past, people who found the courage to rise up against dictators have usually experienced support from the United States. But sadly, the Obama administration seems determined to sit this one out.

When the Communist Polish government imposed martial law in 1981, trying to crush the Solidarity movement, here's what President Reagan had to say:

"As I speak to you tonight, the fate of a proud and ancient nation hangs in the balance. For a thousand years, Christmas has been celebrated in Poland, a land of deep religious faith, but this Christmas brings little joy to the courageous Polish people. They have been betrayed by their own government.

The men who rule them and their totalitarian allies fear the very freedom that the Polish people cherish. They have answered the stirrings of liberty with brute force, killings, mass arrests, and the setting up of concentration camps....By persecuting Solidarity the Polish Government wages war against its own people.

I urge the Polish Government and its allies to consider the consequences of their actions. How can they possibly justify using naked force to crush a people who ask for nothing more than the right to lead their own lives in freedom and dignity? Brute force may intimidate, but it cannot form the basis of an enduring society, and the ailing Polish economy cannot be rebuilt with terror tactics."


In his 2nd innaugural, President Bush again stated our commitment to those fighting tyranny:

"And so, to all the other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born, know that America is a friend of each nation, and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity. And we are ready to lead once more."

From the current White House, however, we only get things like "My understanding is, is that the Iranian government says that they are going to look into irregularities that have taken place."

Oh, well then...as long as the dictators are going to look into things, I guess it's okay for the United States to just look the other way.

For an even better take on this whole matter, take a moment to read Jonah Golberg here.