Hockey’s Future Staff Mock Draft 2008…..and the Habs select Jake Gardiner

Draft

Hockey’s Future Staff Mock Draft 2008…..and the Habs select Jake Gardiner

Rick Stephens

June 17, 2008

Habster:

Hockey’s Future mock draft is the best and most realistic one I’ve seen yet. It takes into account the needs of each organization yet also adheres to the theory that you take the best prospect available when your number is called to the podium.

Hockey’s Future has the Canadiens taking another Minnesota high school product, defenseman Jake Gardiner at the #25 position. I know other mock drafts seem to think the Habs will select Chicoutimi Sagueneens’ left winger Nicolas Deschamps, I guess we’ll find out on Friday night.

I have posted Hockey’s Future and NHLenrtydraft2008.com talent analysis of Jake Gardiner below. The kid can outright fly by all accounts and is considered one of the best skaters in this year’s draft. Some scouts have compared Gardiner’s skating style to Hall of Famer Paul Coffey…..a huge compliment!!!

Gardiner doesn’t have Coffey’s incredible hockey sense and some scouts feel that aspect of his game, along with his less polished defensive game, has kept him from being mentioned in the same breath as Schenn, Bogosian, Doughty, Pietrangelo and even Myers.

Regardless, Jake Gardiner will be a solid selection for any team that takes him. He is the type of defenseman who will thrive at the NHL level: good size, great skater, good shot and moves the puck very quick to the forwards.

Hockey’s Future :

Jake Gardiner

Profile Contributed By: HF Staff

History

2007-08: Gardiner completed an excellent career at Minnetonka High School, where he served as one of the team’s captains. He helped guide the Skippers to a Section 6AA Championship game appearance and a gold division Schwan Cup tournament title. Gardiner led Minnetonka with 48 points (20 goals, 28 assists), averaging 1.92 points per game. Gardiner was a finalist for the prestigious Mr. Hockey award. In the summer of 2007, Gardiner was a member of Team USA’s U-18 Select team that participated in the Memorial of Ivan Hlinka Tournament in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Talent Analysis

Gardiner is a versatile offensive defenseman with size, quick feet and great hands. He was quickly able to adjust and adapt to playing on the blueline after having played much of his career as a forward. Gardiner has demonstrated remarkably sound and smart positional play. He utilizes his speed and hockey instincts to play the defensive position effectively. It is further enhanced by his tremendous on-ice awareness, and his ability to read and react to developing plays accordingly. Depending upon how well his development progresses at the collegiate level, Gardiner could eventually blossom into a complete defenseman who is equally adept on both sides of the puck. Gardiner’s skating is one of his best attributes. He is very agile and has tremendously quick feet that can be seen particularly in his transitioning. He combines long, fluid strides with good pivots and explosive speed.

Not only does he have great poise and patience with the puck, but he has shown that he can be quite creative with it too. His outstanding puck distribution skills also make him a very good quarterback on the power play. Another standout feature about Gardiner is his shot. He possesses a very hard shot with a quick release, and has no trouble getting pucks to the net. He’ll also shoot as often as the opportunity presents itself.At 6’2/178 lbs, Gardiner has good size and strength that he also uses to his advantage, both offensively and defensively. He can finish his checks very well. Where Gardiner is particularly dangerous are in the areas in front of the net and along the boards. He is strong on his skates and is a difficult player to move off of the puck. And coupled with his size, speed and long reach, he can also be just as tough to beat. As his body matures, Gardiner will become an even more dominant and effective force on the blueline.

NHLenrtydraft2008.com:

NHL Central Scouting’s Jack Barzee

“Jake’s biggest attribute is that he might be one of the best skaters in the draft – he is just a pure skater. He used to be a forward and they made him a defensemen a few years ago and he loves being a defenseman. He is smart with the puck, unselfish and he’s careful. He is another one that has grown all year, I had him measured at 6’0″ – he might be almost 6’2″ and that’s been not even a year. He’s a greyhound right now, wiry, but he’ll fill out. He is dynamic when he grabs the puck and goes. He has a very quick dangerous wrist shot – he gets it away like Joe Sakic does. The dimension of his quickness fools goalies. I liken him to Brett Hedican when he was in high school but maybe a little more polished. He’s an easy player to like.”

Minnetonka head coach Brian Urick

“Making the switch from playing forward to defenseman really helped Jake improve as a player. He makes a better defenseman because of his experience playing as a forward. Jake has an uncanny ability to read plays and this helps him see the ice in a different way.”