Some answers

i-74edfd599b2ff37f04a5ff8c1db5d106-nhldraft.GIF

I will be able to start posting some of the quotes from the extensive interviews with Mike Futa and Mark Yannetti later today — stuff I really think you’ll enjoy — but I wanted to take a few minutes to answer some questions people had about the Saturday meeting.

Q: Does this mean the Kings have the final draft list done already?

A: No, it’s still very much a work in progress. As Yannetti said, they’ll be looking at guys up until draft day, and they always have to be prepared for possible changes.

Q: Did the Q word come up by chance?

A: Assuming you’re referring to the first name of a recently-let-go coach, no.

Q: I agreed to not reveal certain details, such as specifics about how players are evaluated and which players are being discussed. Don’t think of me as ungrateful, but isn’t that really the only part of this that interests us?

A: That’s for you to decide, but I think you’ll enjoy the quotes that came out of it, if you didn’t particularly enjoy hearing about the generalities of the day.

Q: When you say “later round prospects”, do you mean late-first round guys or potential 3-4-5 guys?

A: More like sixth- or seventh-round guys, it seemed.

Q: Did you get the impression the Kings staff are in agreement on whom they will pick at #2, whomever that may be?

A: Yes, I do get that impression. I asked Futa and Yannetti about this specifically, so you’ll see the full answer a bit later. But the short answer is, yes.

Q: Did the question of whether to trade down ever come up?

A: Not specifically. But if you’re talking about the No. 2 pick, I don’t think it will happen.

Q: Has DL ever made any comments about the various published rankings? Does the org use them in their own evals? I guess, does DL think that they are an accurate and useful tool at all? If they are useful, to what extent are they used?

A: No, he hasn’t made any comments, but given what we know about Lombardi, I seriously doubt he takes scouting-service rankings into serious consideration. If he did, I don’t think Thomas Hickey would have pulled on a Kings sweater last June.

Q: You say they talked about latter rounds. Was that intentional on their/your part?

A: Not on my part, and I don’t believe on their part. I was initially supposed to come in on Friday but it got changed to Saturday. I think that’s just who they happened to be discussing.

Q: What I am really curious to know, is that after all the reporting you’ve done since the DL era began, and especially after this recent meeting you attended (very jealous:), in your opinion, do you think the Kings are headed in the right direction?

A: This is a good question, one for everyone to discuss, and it deserves a better, longer answer so I will address it in the near future.

Q: What kind of food did they serve there Rich? Did they offer you coffee or anything?

A: They’re always very gracious hosts, and there’s plenty of food in the room to sustain the scouts, but I didn’t have anything.

Facebook Twitter Plusone Digg Reddit Stumbleupon Tumblr Email