2003 NHL Draft. Impact 10 years later.

Let’s take a look at the draft, 10 years ago and how it’s effects are being felt a decade later.

First, I want to take a look at things from a larger perspective, from the NHL level of things. This was a deep first round, with 16 players in the first round becoming All Stars and impact players in the NHL for thier respoective teams. You could also argue that all but one player taken in the first round has played measureable time in the NHL, with the only exception being Shawn Belle to the Blues at #30. Looking at the first round draft class, the following players are the only ones still with thier original team at the time of this article:

• Marc-Andre Fluery, Pittsburgh Penguins #1 – One Stanley Cup Win
• Eric Staal, Carolina Hurricanes #2 – One Stanley Cup Win
• Thomas Vanek, Buffalo Sabres #5
• Dustin Brown, Los Angeles Kings #13 – One Stanley Cup Win
• Brent Seabrook, Chicago Blackhawks #14 – Two Stanley Cup Wins
• Ryan Getzlaf, Anahiem Ducks #19 – One Stanley Cup Win
• Ryan Kessler, Vancouver Canucks #23 – One Finals Trip
• Corey Perry, Anaheim Ducks #28 – One Stanley Cup

That is eight, out of 30 picks. Out of those eight, all but one has been to the Stanley Cup finals in those 10 years, and all but 2 have won a Stanley Cup. Thomas Vanek is the only player that has the distinction of both of those shortcomings. Staal, Brown, Seabrook, Getzlaf, Kessler and Perry all have long term deals in place with thier current teams. In the offseason to this point, there have been rumors of Vanek and Fleury both being dealt away from thier respective teams. There are a couple of things that this proves in regards to discussion of the NHL draft. One, is that impact players are taken in the first round. Second, is that even if those players are drafted by one team, does not mean that they cannot be had later in thier careers. Impact trades and free agency have reshaped the face of the 2003 NHL draft.

There are also players in the first round, that have won Stanley Cups with teams other then the one they were drafted by. Nathan Horton as won one with the Bruins (drafted by Florida #3), Jeff Carter with the Los Angeles Kings (drafted by Philidelphia #11), and Mike Richards with the Los Angeles Kings (drafted by Philidelphia #24).

The remaining impact players taken in the first round that have changed teams are:

• Milan Mihalek taken #6 by San Jose, now plays for Ottawa via trade
• Ryan Suter taken #7 by Nashville, now with Minnesota via free agency
• Dion Phaneuf taken #9 by Calgary, now with Toronto via trade
• Zach Parise taken #17 by New Jersey, now with Minnesota via free agency
• Brett Burns taken #20 by Mennesota, now with San Jose

In my mind, one of the more stacked drafts in recent years, also had its amount of later round gems. Some of them have also made huge impacts in the NHL in the last decade, including 2 winning a Cup.

• Louis Eriksson #33 by Dallas, is an Alternate Captain for the Stars, and a candiate for the Captaincy with departure of Morrow.
• Patrice Bergeron #45 by Boston, is an alternate Captain for the Bruins, has won a Stanley Cup, a Selke Award and a King Clancy Award.
• Shea Weber #49 by Nashville, is the Captain for the Predators and a perennial Norris cadidate and All Star
• David Backes #62 by St.Louis, is the Captain for the Blues. and a nominee for the Selke.
• Jimmy Howard #64 by Detroit, was runner up for the Calder Trophy in 2010
• Tobias Enstrom #239 by Atlanta, is a great young up and coming defenceman for the Winnipeg Jets
• Dustin Byfuglien #245 by Chicago, won a cup in 2010 with the Blackhawks, and is now an Alternate Captain for the Jets.

What does all this mean for us as Sabres fans you ask? What is shows us, is that It was one of the more uneventful and non impactful drafts ever for the Buffalo Sabres.

• Thomas Vanek LW, #5 overall in the first round: By far, Thomas has been the brightest bulb from the 2003 draft for the Buffalo Sabres. Prior to the draft, Vanek was part of the Minnesota Golden Gophers that won the 2003 NCAA National Championship. He was named MVP of that tournament, which was played in downtown Buffalo in front of the Sabres brass. It is hard to imagine an easier way to present in an interview. With that fifth pick, it really was an easy decision for Buffalo to take him. In one full season with the Rochester Americans, he made it known that he was ready for big things. In 2003-04, he scored 43 goals in 74 games, adding 26 assists in his first professional season. Vanek earned a spot with the big club at the start of the 2004-05 season, and has made an impact in the blue and gold ever since. As of the end of this season, Vaneks 250 career goals place him 6th overall, only 2 behind Craig Ramsey at 252. His assist total of 238 places him in the top ten, as well as his career point total of 488. Vanek has never lead the Sabres to a Cup Finals appearence, and is currently being rumored in trades this off season due to a pending rebuild.
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• Branislav Fabry RW, #65 overall in the second round: Was drafted by the Sabres, and ever saw the AHL or NHL for playing time.
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• Clarke MacArthur LW, #74 overall in the third round: MacArthur spent some time in the AHL playing in Rochester, for the first 2 plus years of his career. His time with Buffalo was shortlived, spending parts of 4 season with the Sabres. He had good back to back years in 2008-09 with 31 points, and 2009-10 with 26 points in 60 games before being traded to the Atlanta Thrashers. Buffalo received two picks for MacArthur, a third and fourth rounder, both in the 2010 NHL draft. The third round pick turned into defenceman Jerome Gauthier-Leduc who is now in Rochester playing in the AHL. The fourth round pick was used on Center Steven Shipley, who has not broken out of the OHL since being drafted.
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• Jan Hejda D, #106 overall in the 4th round: Hejda never saw a pro game for the Sabres franchise. He played three seasons in Russia after being drafted by the Sabres, and was traded by Buffalo to the Edmonton Oilers in 2006 for a seventh round pick in 2007. Buffalo used the pick #187 on Goaltender Nick Eno, who went back to college and is currently playing in the SPHL. Needless to say, he will have no impact for Buffalo at this point.
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• Denis Yezhov D #114 overall in 4th round, Thomas Morrow D #150 overall in 5th round, and Pavel Voroshnin D #172 overall in the 6th round, all had no impact with the franchise at all.
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• Nathan Paetsch D, #202 overall in 7th round: Paetsch played three productive seasons in the AHL for the Rochester Americans, and was recalled by the Sabres in the 2005-06 season to help them in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Carolina Hurricanes. If you remember, this was the year the Sabres lost thier top three d-men to injuries, and had to go with a group of second tier players at that point with little to no NHL experience. He played parts of four seasons with the Sabres, and was part of the trade in 2010 that brought the overweight and out of shape Raffi Torres to the Sabres for the playoff run.
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• Jeff Weber G, #235 overall in eighth round, and Louis-Phillipe Matin RW, #266 overall never made any impression in the Sabres Organization.

When looking back at this draft for the Sabres, they have 2 players currently making any kind of impact inside the organization. The fact is, that one or both of them could be part of a trade this week to help with the rebuilding of the Buffalo Sabres. Both Thomas Vanek and Jerome Gauthier-Leduc (from the MacArthur deal) have trade value. I would not be suprised to see them both go. If this comes to pass, that would leave the Sabres with zero players left to make an impact for them in the present or future.

Let’s start a new trend. Go Sabres.

The Future Is Now, Mr. Met.

I am a Mets Fan. Glutton for punishment would be an understatement. Thick and thin, I always end up back at the blue and orange.

It started when I was about 7 years old, and was able to see the World Series Champs, with the famous Mookie Wilson / Billy Buckner play at first base at the now late Shea Stadium. As a kid at a very impressionable age, it was easy to have the Mets grow on me.

I vaguely remember those days, or the few that followed immediately. I can clearly remember the big names, like Cone, Strawberry, Gooden, Hernandez, Darling, Carter, Dykstra, HoJo and Ojeda to name a few. Then you scatter in some other names like Ray Knight, Craig Jeffries, Roger McDowell, Elster and Magadan to the mix, and you have a pretty entertaining roster for a good 4-5 years in the mid to late 80's, and into the early 90's.

Unfortunately for me, when I was able to start watching and really understanding the game, was in the early to mid nineties. They were awful. WPIX in Buffalo provided me with a lot of Mets games to watch during those years. Starting in grammar school watching with my dad, up until high school when I had my own TV.

1991 through 1996, they didn't break the .500 mark, and were an embarrassment to Mets fans all over. There were some good to great players during those years, who wasted their prime talent and years on a team which was not even close to successful. Todd Hundley was a really good switch hitting catcher with some power and played most of his career (1990-98) on some terrible Mets teams. Thank goodness for Jeff Kent's sake, he was able to get out of New York when he did in 1996, and have a Hall of Fame career with San Francisco.

The thing that I forget sometimes, are the guys that came through and had a cup of coffee with the Mets in those years. Some of them were good to great players, albeit earlier in their careers. Mr. Firecracker, Vince Coleman played parts of 3 seasons. Hall of Famer Eddie Murray spent 2 seasons in the orange and blue. Brett Saberhagen spent some time in the NY rotation. Lance Johnson, Bernard Gilkey, Brett Butler, Carl Everett and Jeremy Burnitz all trolled the outfield, while names like Carlos Baerga, José Vizcaino, Willie Randolph and Tony Fernendez took the infield. These teams were bad, and bad for a long while.

Into the late 90's, the team started to turn things around. It started with (or should I say all Mets fans thought so) the young pitching arms that were dubbed "Generation-K". It could be said now, and even for the last 15 years, that the Mets rushed these kids, and none of them panned out as promised. All three of them struggled for the Mets. Bill Pulsipher and Paul Wilson never amounted to much with the Mets, or anyone else for that matter. Injuries and just overall disappointment ended their NY careers, and ultimately followed them throughout their careers. Isringhausen was the most successful, however not with the Mets. After an incredible start with the Mets in 1995 (9-2, had to look it up!!), he had injury problems as well with torn shoulder, broken wrist and reconstructive elbow surgery. As a Mets fan during this time, I was just floored with the amount of disappointment, and how quickly the ship went down.

The late nineties also provided me with a rejuvenation as a Mets fan. The Mets seemed like they decided to take a run at things, and made some bold moves both through trades and free agency. Mike Piazza was the most prominent, and became the face of the franchise through the late nineties and right through the mid 2000's. Al Leiter was near money on the mound every start, and the savvy veteran left hander was entertaining to watch. No hit man Kenny Rogers made an appearance in 1999, along with Orel Hershiser. Rickey Henderson and Robin Ventura were staples for the Mets in the late nineties, and provided offense for New York that made them competitive again. This team made it to the NLCS in 1999, loosing to the Braves, and then to the World Series in 2000, where then lost to the Yankees.

My 'fandom' took a hit after college. Graduating in 2001, I found solace with the Mets in college. They were there for me in spring during finals as a get away, and over the summers away from my friends to watch. To say that since that time I have been disappointed, would be an understatement.
In the mid to late 2000's, the Mets went from being REALLY bad, to being really good at collapses of monumental proportions. In 2006, they made it to the NLCS, where we all remember the Carlos Beltran "bat on the shoulders" strike out.

In 2007, I was able to finally make my trek to New York City, and see my first and only game at Shea Stadium. It was in the shadow of the then framework of Citi Field, that I watched a loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. This started a drop for the Mets from first place, to missing the playoffs. It was a remarkable choke job, which they again were able to allow to happen in 2008. Since these 2 years, they Mets have failed to make the playoffs, finish above .500, or really put an entertaining product on the field.

These short comings over the years, were not helped with the general managers that were chosen by the Wilpon family. Steve Phillips was the general manger from 1997 through 2003. See a correlation here? He was single handedly responsible for the gutting of, and destruction of everything holy in the Mets locker room. Where to start? Bringing Mo Vaughn back from bi-lateral torn biceps? Bringing back Bobby Bonilla and Jeremy Burnitz back to Flushing? Now granted, he did have his hay day with 2 moves in my opinion. Piazza and Glavine. But other then that, he placed the Mets in financial disarray with bad players and bad contracts. One of those contracts will be paid out for the next 40 years! (see Bobby Bonilla).

Omar Minaya did no better. It seemed to me that Minaya was focused on making the Mets the Latin American landing spot of the Northeast. There were some great acquisitions there by Omar, including Carlos Delgado, Pedro Martinez, and Johan Santana, but There was never the focus on building around that core, and the Mets squandered the Beltran contract, Pedro's great pitching as a Met, and Santana in his prime.

Now granted, Sandy Alderson's start to the Mets with the signing of Jason Bay turned out to be a bust and a half, arguably the worst in Franchise history. The Mets have not had a single big time free agency signing since that day. Most of that is due to the Wilpon's investing with Bernie Madoff, but I digress.

We are again at rock bottom, but the future is bright. I do not say that often, especially with being a Bills, Sabres, and Mets fan. In the last 18 months, I have watched Alderson pluck prospects from San Francisco and Toronto, for aging veterans. Now please, do not make the mistake that I do not appreciate what Beltran and R.A. Dickey did for me as a fan, including a Cy Young award. However, the previous Mets general managers would never have pulled those triggers.

 For Beltran, Alderson was able to get a top tier pitching prospect in Zack Wheeler. We all watched with baited breath as he climbed the ranks through the minors over the last 2 seasons. His debut last night in Atlanta was electric to say the least.

For Dickey, the reigning Cy Young holder, Alderson acquired a veteran Catcher in John Buck. More importantly, was the other pieces. Wuilmer Becerra was a throw in, and some think if he continues to improve could be in the majors in 2016 and has a very high ceiling. Travis d'Arnaud was rated the second best prospect in the East Coast League, behind...wait for it...Bryce Harper. He could be the catcher of the future in Flushing. Lastly, the pitching prospect Noah Syndergaard, who was recently rated number 29 on MLB's Top 100 Prospects list. That is quite the haul for an aging knuckleballer.

Matt Harvey was a draft pick, the last one made by Minaya's regime. What a pick. This guys is magic, and I cannot say anything else. He is miles ahead of most pitchers at his age with his experience. I have tried to watch all of his starts, which is something I cannot say I have done since Pedro was in a Mets uni.

Between Harvey and Wheeler, I have hope. Combine this with the recent comments from Alderson that the Mets will finally be able to get back into the free agent market soon, means hopefully they can build with some bats around this highly talented starting pitching. With Jonathon Neise and Dillon Gee finally pitching well and becoming somewhat stable and consistent, the starting rotation could be set for a while. Plugging in 4/5 starters for a couple of years, it is feasible to see that the Mets have built a pitcher strong minor league system. I could see in 2 seasons, the Mets rotation being Harvey, Wheeler, Niese, Rafael Montero (in Las Vegas AAA), and Gee. Noah Syndergaard could be ready then, or sooner, depending on his development.

What the Mets need to do, and what Alderson needs to do, is work on putting the package together at one time. They are entering another 5-10 year window with this pitching coming up right now. In that window, Alderson MUST make sure to get the offensive and defensive support to make sure that these talented pitchers stay with the Mets, and make them a respected franchise once again. If they want to build from the rotation back, he has succeeded in starting that. Lets hope that Harvey/Wheeler/Montero do not fall the way of Pulsipher/Wilson/Isringhausen.

This is a long rant, but I feel the future is now. As long as Alderson knows how to put the puzzle together. Go Mets.

My Hockey Exposure as a Kid.

I have been a hockey fan for a lot of years. Just turning 34, I feel that it would be a disservice to say I have been a fan since birth, as my comprehension of the game didn't take shape until I was at least close to 10 years old.

It starts in a blue collar family household, where the parents struggle to get by, but are willing and able to make the sacrifices to give their children the things to make life comfortable. As a kid, I remember watching the Buffalo Sabres games on local television, and wanting so badly to play the sport.

I would play in the street outside my home on Heward St in Buffalo, NY, which by all sorts of awesome, was on a dead end street. I played with a bunch of fellow neighborhood riff raff. No families on this street had any real money per sea, so equipment was at a premium to be able to play.

My hockey stick was a wooden shaft, with a plastic blade purchased at Gold Circle and screwed into the shaft to play with. It would wear over time mind you, and you would put a curve on that thing that wouldn't be legal even in most beer leagues.

Our hockey net was so worn down, that you needed rope, twist ties, plastic, duct tape, and anything else we could find to keep it together. It was also important to make sure you had the net sealed up, so there was no dispute if the puck when into the net.

We had community goalie equipment, which we all fought over to play with. Goalie was the popular position back then, and everyone wanted to be the 'official goalie', and then the rest of us would play with a take out line. The pads were so worn, that the foam on the back of the Mylec pads was breaking off in chunks, causing us to reach for dad's duct tape more often then not. One person had the pads, one person had the glove and blocker, someone had the stick, and we had a couple of masks. We could not play with a goalie unless everyone was in town, or someone trusted someone else to hold onto the other items. And chest protectors? We didn't need them. Mine was an old Starter jacket my mom found at the Niagara Outlets at the Starter Store, on sale.

My mask was one with some character, as it was the mask my father wore for Halloween nights to frighten the neighborhood children. It has knife holes in it, fake blood in some spots, and really was not made for use in such an atmosphere other then the soft warm weather ball we used in the street.

We always wanted to BE the NHL. BE the Sabres. BE that hero in game 7. It was always Hasek, Barasso or Belfour in net, with Lemieux, Jagr, Gretzky, Mogilny or Lafontaine out playing. We had our own verbal Rick Jeanneret calls we would yell out with any goal or save. It was fun.

As I grew up and entered my teen years, my parents were fortunate to be able to award my sister and I with televisions to watch in our rooms. The televisions were not flat screens, or plasma, or LCD Hi Def. These TVs were hand me downs, with squiggly lines and big antennas. This was a reward for good work in school, and at this time I discovered CBC's Hockey Night in Canada.

Saturday nights were the best. I would do my chores, eat dinner, and if we were out doing a family function, would beg to get home in time for the start of the Hockey Night in Canada double header. It was always Canadian teams, but who cares? It was hockey. Good Hockey. Don MacLean and Don Cherry taught me a lot about the game of hockey. They taught me the rules, the codes, and the superstitions. The most important superstition that I learned from them, was not touching the Stanley Cup unless you win it.

I know, I know. Adam would never have a chance to win the cup, so why does it matter? I watched my entire teenage years, and 14 years into my adult life, grown men and some young boys beat themselves up for the right to push that superstition aside and kiss the cup. As a fan, there is nothing that I respect more in team sports.

I have been to the Hockey Hall of Fame only once, and the Stanley Cup was not there. It was a relief in a way to me, as I did not have to wrestle with the choice of wrapping my arms around it, or grabbing it. Some of you who will read this will think I am crazy, but that doesn't concern me. Putting into perspective for the average fan, take the most impressive, amazing, and recognized achievement you have ever received. Now, let's say I come along and want to take that, rub my hands on it, and take it for a ride in my 4 door sedan. That would make me feel a little uncomfortable.

Now, this is multiplied by 40 plus years as a Sabres fan. I feel that as a Sabres fan, I shouldn't be touching the Cup. The cup is the closest to the Holy Grail that anyone will come to touching. I know some religious nuts would cut me down for this, but it's true. I feel that until the Sabres win that Cup, the Holy Grail to me is nothing more then another bowl sitting on that three tiered shelf in the scene in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Once the Sabres become Stanley Cup Champs, I can grab that cup and take my picture with it, even wrapping my hands around it in joyous celebration.

To this day, there is no picture of me with the Stanley Cup, and I will still be a tad uncomfortable if the day comes again when I have the opportunity to have it taken. As an average fan, this is what the Cup means to me.