Although Brian Burke had indicated that he wasn't interested in regaining a 1st round pick, indications are that he was trying but the asking price was Tomas Kaberle. Burke is interested in more than a draft pick for Kaberle. He eventually landed a 2nd round pick. With Chicago having five of them, Burke was able to pull a deal that sent unsigned prospect Jimmy Hayes (60th overall in 2008) to the Hawks (who had just drafted Jimmy's brother Kevin) for the 43rd overall pick.
With the 43rd overall, the Leafs took agitator Brad Ross who played 71 games for Portland Winterhawks scoring 27 goals, 41 assists and 68 points. But what interested Burke was the 203 penalty minutes which was tops in the WHL. The 6'1, 167 lbs left winger played along side of 1st round draft picks Nino Niederreiter and Ryan Johansen for Portland and is considered one of the most hated players in the WHL.
You may have heard that he is being compared to Darcy Tucker who at the same age had 31 goals and 89 points for Kamloops Blazers. But Ross is not just a player who mouths off to opponents and gets into fights. He is not Dan Carcillo or Steve Ott or Matt Cooke. Ross plays the game in both ends of the rink and works hard in every game. The plus side about Ross is that not only is he expected to get into the other team's heads, he also carries an offensive upside that deserves more credit than he gets. He is a few years away from wearing a Maple Leaf.
No comments:
Post a Comment