[GER] german players ranked by CSS [Archive]

zecke26

05-12-2004, 03:28 PM

European Skaters:

71 Frank Hordler (D), Selb (German 3rd-Tier)
72 Marcus Kink (W), Cologne (DEL)
124 Philippe Schlager (W), Mannheim (German Junior League)
133 Robert Dietrich (D), Peiting (German 3rd-Tier)
135 Anton Saal (W), Riessersee (German 2nd-Tier)
137 Nicolai Goc (D), Mannheim (German Junior League)

European Goalies:

4 Thomas Greiss (G), Cologne (German Junior League)
11 Yuri Ziffzer (G), Mannheim (German Junior League)

with a total of 8 players ranked, it seems that german hockey will have an ordinary draft. the earliest round where we could expect a german player drafted is the 5th, i guess. three players seem to have good chances while the others need to have some luck.

please do the german draft talk in this thread. :)

Tronador

05-12-2004, 03:36 PM

zecke26

05-12-2004, 03:40 PM

Only 8 players??? :cry:

8 players would be ok, if they wouldn't be listed so low. it's really not one of the better draft years.

I have read in an article, that some NHL-scouts are interested in drafting Martin Walter(Hamburg Freezers).....

could you tell me something about walter? he's a defender, right?

mkc2

05-12-2004, 05:12 PM

Philippe Schlager (W), Mannheim (German Junior League)
Robert Dietrich (D), Peiting (German 3rd-Tier)
Anton Saal (W), Riessersee (German 2nd-Tier)
Nicolai Goc (D), Mannheim (German Junior League)

Those four did not opt-in by the time the list was released! So there might only be 4 german player in this year's draft! I think the sharks will take Goc if he Opt-in, since his brother is playing for them!

Sanderson

05-13-2004, 12:11 AM

If you compare the list to the mid-season one, you can see that eveyone besides Ziffzer and Saal dropped. (Goc is new)
The first three lost about 30 positions each.

At least three of them should be drafted, and maybe some older players, too (Seidenberg, Walter,...)

MustangsGM

05-13-2004, 02:23 AM

The Sharks are allways a good bet for germans, since they have so much allready and that helps when you come over.

Also I would not be surpriced if they pick Kink in the later rounds. The watch Hospelt and Kink plays on the same team.

zecke26

05-13-2004, 03:39 AM

EHCler

05-13-2004, 01:15 PM

Not the most exiting group of german youngsters, I personally do not see any of them making the NHL at least they are very far shots. I am really looking forward to next years draft should be an exiting one for German prospects.

JoeLH

05-21-2004, 06:05 PM

The prospects for the next two years will be much better, Gawlik really is an outstanding player, and the U18-Team Germany was red hot, even against the top hockey nations ... Any team can draft Martin Walter or other undrafted German players, but he's not in the list because he's overaged.

go kim johnsson 514

05-29-2004, 06:30 AM

I've heard Nicolai Goc is supposed to be better than Marcel Goc, but why is he rated so low, and could be opt-out?

zecke26

05-29-2004, 06:43 AM

I've heard Nicolai Goc is supposed to be better than Marcel Goc, but why is he rated so low, and could be opt-out?

where did you hear that? i don't think nicolai is better than marcel, i think he's not even as good as marcel. i haven't seen nicolai play, but i think his chances of playing in the NHL someday are rather low. he could be a low-level NHLer like the older brother sascha, but nothing more.

go kim johnsson 514

05-29-2004, 07:05 AM

where did you hear that? i don't think nicolai is better than marcel, i think he's not even as good as marcel. i haven't seen nicolai play, but i think his chances of playing in the NHL someday are rather low. he could be a low-level NHLer like the older brother sascha, but nothing more.

I've heard it a few places, a few years ago though. Marcel even said Nicolai is better

zecke26

05-29-2004, 07:10 AM

I've heard it a few places, a few years ago though. Marcel even said Nicolai is better

hmm...i'm not really the person who can judge players from mannheim, because i haven't seen their youth play. maybe someone else here can tell you a bit more about nicolai. but from what i heard, he's good, but not as good as marcel. but like sascha, who should play NHL, nicolai could do it as well in the future.

Sanderson

05-29-2004, 08:08 AM

Both of his brothers said Nikolai is the most talented of them, but that was a few years ago.
I think he would have been ranked higher, if it weren't for his accident/injury.

go kim johnsson 514

05-29-2004, 10:27 AM

Both of his brothers said Nikolai is the most talented of them, but that was a few years ago.
I think he would have been ranked higher, if it weren't for his accident/injury.

Ah, I didn't know about his injury. That changes everything.

dumpnchase

05-29-2004, 04:19 PM

Both of his brothers said Nikolai is the most talented of them, but that was a few years ago.
I think he would have been ranked higher, if it weren't for his accident/injury.

Having talent is one thing but applying it along with defense is another. I haven't seen him play but hopefully Marcel shows Ron Wilson the home tapes of Nikolai, the Sharks draft him, and we have a Sturm-Goc-Goc line in a couple of years. :)

Sanderson

05-30-2004, 02:16 AM

Nikolai is a defenseman.
But a lineup Sturm-M.Goc-Hospelt with Ehrhoff and N.Goc on D might be possible ;)
Or even better: Sturm-Goc-Gawlik

dumpnchase

05-30-2004, 05:58 PM

Nikolai is a defenseman.
But a lineup Sturm-M.Goc-Hospelt with Ehrhoff and N.Goc on D might be possible ;)
Or even better: Sturm-Goc-Gawlik

Then let's sign Sasha and go for a
Sturm-Goc-Hospelt
on D
Goc-Goc

:D

Tronador

05-31-2004, 04:27 AM

Could someone explain me please, why Raphael Kapzan is mentioned as a possible draft-pick this year???(at HFBoards) :dunno:

Greetings from Berlin

zecke26

05-31-2004, 05:44 AM

Could someone explain me please, why Raphael Kapzan is mentioned as a possible draft-pick this year???(at HFBoards) :dunno:

hahaha, i saw this some days ago and wondered myself too. there's no real reason to mention him. i don't even know who this guy is and where he is playing. maybe some insiders on hockeysfuture know more than ordinary people like us. :D

Tronador

05-31-2004, 07:51 AM

in my opinion he played for Landshut at the second level, but i knew nothing about his way of playing... :shakehead

zecke26

06-07-2004, 05:31 PM

does anyone know if they guys who were questionable did finally opt-in? i haven't found any information.

zecke26

06-17-2004, 05:29 PM

with ziffzer moving to berlin next season, it's time for some speculations. los angeles is in need of a goalie, maybe goalies? ziffzer is one. berlin is belonging to the anschuetz-groups as it's LA. so will ziffzer be drafted by the kings in a few days?
but did he opt-in? that's another question. or did he maybe move to berlin, because he opted-out and LA told him to do so and they will take a serious look at him for the 05 draft?

both is possible, though i could be wrong on both. :)

Hellström

06-18-2004, 04:42 AM

hahaha, i saw this some days ago and wondered myself too. there's no real reason to mention him. i don't even know who this guy is and where he is playing. maybe some insiders on hockeysfuture know more than ordinary people like us. :D

I do wonder about some things - especially some "rankings" or articles out of germany.
2 years nothing and now articles from more unknown sources and "weird" rankings..

zecke26

06-18-2004, 06:07 AM

I do wonder about some things - especially some "rankings" or articles out of germany.
2 years nothing and now articles from more unknown sources and "weird" rankings..

would be nice to have the writers here on board.

and yes, the ranking is weird.

Holly Gunning

06-18-2004, 08:59 AM

Having received a draft preview of Germany from Chapin Langvogt, I went through our database and pulled out the profiles of all the players mentioned in that preview. So there are about six or seven listed now.

If German players are selected in the draft, the profiles will be moved to the NHL pages or created if they weren't made before. Yes we wish there had been more written about Germany in the past, but right now there are four people who all claim they intend to contribute going forward. So I think we are in good shape.

zecke26

06-18-2004, 09:31 AM

CIsle

06-21-2004, 08:32 AM

holly, is chapin landvogt at hfboards? it would be nice to have the german writers on this board to discuss the articles and german hockey in general.

Hi there Zecke26, eller skulle jag skriva 'Hejsan',

Actually, I have started looking around here from time to time, but have found myself to be too busy in other areas of life to have yet added comments here. I do enjoy seeing what you all have to say, but I'm not quite sure if I'd be able to answer some of your questions, such as what the opt-in status is of several of the players ranked by CSS scouting or if Nikolai Goc has indeed been injured for a greater part of the season. As far as I know, Nikolai Goc will lace up his skates for Freiburg next season, but I'm not sure if he opted into this draft. I 'assume' he has as his chances would be much greater with that name of his this year in a draft considered less deep than next, which is believed to be a good draft year in general. Then again, Yannic Seidenberg opted out of last year's draft, where he most likely would have been taken and then went and had a so-so season in the CHL. It doesn't even appear he'll be considered this summer.

In any case, I will try to pop up here now and again and see if I can't shed some light on some subjects.

Also, bis bald allerseits,
CL :yo:

Hellström

06-21-2004, 10:13 AM

In any case, I will try to pop up here now and again and see if I can't shed some light on some subjects.

:handclap:

Good to "know" the guys who´re writing the articles.

Tronador

06-23-2004, 05:45 AM

I was very surprised that Florian Busch wasn't ranked in the last drafting-lists by CSS, but Pierre Page thinks he will be picked at the following weekend.
He mentioned also Oliver Jonas....!!??

Here are my nominations:

Frank Hördler
Markus Kink
Thomas Greiss
Florian Busch
Martin Walter
Nicolai Goc(if he opt in)
Daniel Kreutzer

possible candidates:

Philippe Schlager
Felix Petermann
Robert Dietrich
Fabio Carciola

What do you think???

Hellström

06-23-2004, 08:01 AM

Here are my nominations:

Frank Hördler
Markus Kink
Thomas Greiss
Florian Busch
Martin Walter
Nicolai Goc(if he opt in)
Daniel Kreutzer

possible candidates:

Philippe Schlager
Felix Petermann
Robert Dietrich
Fabio Carciola

What do you think???

No Ullmann ?
Big impact this year, good work ethic, great defensive play and a solid contributor - in my opinion he has to be ranked.

Hellström

06-23-2004, 08:04 AM

He mentioned also Oliver Jonas....!!??

I think that Jonas is a Free Agent in the north-american market...maybe i´m wrong, but it was discussed a lot and up to everybody thought that Jonas was a FA, because of his stay in the NCAA....wasn´t he already signed by the Kings to play for one of their farmteams and then shipped to Berlin as an emergency back-up (in the start) ???

I don´t think that he´s available in the draft.

CIsle

06-23-2004, 11:11 AM

I was very surprised that Florian Busch wasn't ranked in the last drafting-lists by CSS, but Pierre Page thinks he will be picked at the following weekend.

What do you think???

I *believe* Kink, Hördler and maybe Greiss are fairly sure things as late rounders. Busch, Yannic Seidenberg, Ullman, etc. are all interesting thoughts, but NHL scouts tend to ignore German born players who are past their draft year UNLESS they do something big on the international level. I don't really know what a guy like Pagé might be telling folks in relation to Rankel, Baxmann and maybe a few others.

I also believe that a team or two may very well take a chance on Felix Petermann and Martin Walter. Although overagers, they took gigantic steps this season and many North Americans - especially at the collegiate level - opted out of the draft, creating more rounds for these types of guys to go in.

Besides, as with Pagé, it's hard to say what type of weight Greg Poss or Dave King might have on the ears of several old buddies in the scouting business!

C

zecke26

06-26-2004, 03:59 AM

possibly no germans today in the first three rounds, but maybe there'll be a surprise. what do you guys think? a german 3rd rounder maybe with hospelt or kink or even ullmann?

Hellström

06-26-2004, 05:15 AM

Okay, let´s make a little game out of it:

I say:

no germans till round 5
4 germans picked in the whole draft

Sanderson

06-26-2004, 05:24 AM

Hospelt was drafted last year ;)

I think Kink will go around the same time as Hospelt went last year, maybe a bit earlier. Ullmann is over aged, so I doubt he will be drafted before Kink.

If there is one German who could be drafted today, I think it would be Greiss, he is ranked 4th of European goalies.
On the other hand, Pätzold and Ehelechner were ranked higher, if I remeber correctly, and they both were drafted on the second day.

I doubt a German will be drafted before the 5th round, maybe at the end of round 4.

Mhm, that was a coincidence ;)
I think it will be more than four. Hördler, Kink and Greiss followed by Petermann, Busch and Walter (maybe only two of the last three)

zecke26

06-26-2004, 06:47 AM

Hospelt was drafted last year ;)

uhm yea...i meant hoerdler. :blush:

I think Kink will go around the same time as Hospelt went last year, maybe a bit earlier. Ullmann is over aged, so I doubt he will be drafted before Kink.

yes, but generally germans don't impress scouts unless they play for the national team and ullmann did. and he's just one year older, not much time lost on development in the eyes of a scout.

If there is one German who could be drafted today, I think it would be Greiss, he is ranked 4th of European goalies.

unless he opted out, i'm not sure about his status.

On the other hand, Pätzold and Ehelechner were ranked higher, if I remeber correctly, and they both were drafted on the second day.

and the goalies have a strong year. with maybe six 1st round goalies it's tough for others.

I doubt a German will be drafted before the 5th round, maybe at the end of round 4.

sounds realistic.

i think 6 or 7 germany will be taken, 4 of them in the 8th and 9th round.

Sanderson

06-26-2004, 10:36 AM

I forgot Seidenberg, he coul be drafted too...

What I want to know is, if a player plays in one of the three Junior-leagues and isn't drafted by the age of 20, he becomes a free agent.
Would Seidenberg become a free agent, too?

I mean, he opted out in his first possible Draft year, then wasn't drafted in the next (playing in Europe). He played in North America this season, but does that count for his status as a player?

Sanderson

06-26-2004, 03:34 PM

EHCler

06-26-2004, 04:46 PM

Well, two Germans on the first day... ;)

Clayton Barthel to Washington with #88
Played in the WHL for Seattle. Was born in Lahr.

and

Thomas Greiss to San Jose ( :D ) with #94
The third German goalie for the Sharks :D

Is that Barthel guy actually German or was he just like Heatly just born in Germany?

Nice to see Greiss drafted that eraly. I would expect him now to do the same as Ehelechner and go to NA to play junior hockey.

Sanderson

06-27-2004, 02:48 AM

I think he was just born here, because Lahr has an US-army base. I don't know why an US-citizen would go to Canada, but it's the only thing I could think of.

From the official site of his team:

Hometown: Kelowna, BC

Q&A with Clayton Barthel:
1. Hometown and size of hometown:
Kelowna. Approximately 100,00

Doesn't really change anything, considering Dany Heatley was sometimes listed as being born in Calgary.
Centralscouting has him as German ( CSB (http://centralscouting.nhl.com/amplayprofs.nsf/0/c9b2ed0a353e2a5b85256c350064aa80?OpenDocument&ExpandSection=2#_Section2) ) , so maybe he went to Kelowna shortly afterwards.

About Greiss from HF:
HF: Could you imagine playing in North America this coming year, or do you have other plans?

TG: Basically I could imagine to play there, but for the new season I signed a contract in Cologne and I will stick to it.

zecke26

06-27-2004, 04:59 AM

greiss in the 3rd round is a big surprise to me because of a goalie-loaded draft. but the sharks are always a nice surprise.
with paetzold, ehelechner and greiss, they should develep at least one german starter and would be good for german hockey.
i'm pretty sure the sharks will draft at least one more german.

and clayton bathel is really a funny surprise. we should e-mail the DEB, just incase they don't know it yet. maybe he can play for german national teams in the future, if he wants to. :)

EHCler

06-27-2004, 06:55 AM

and clayton bathel is really a funny surprise. we should e-mail the DEB, just incase they don't know it yet. maybe he can play for german national teams in the future, if he wants to. :)

Mike Egener picked by Tampa last year with the 34 th pick was also born in Germany. Actually they were both born in Lahr (never heard of the place), must have been some military base there. :amazed:

Tronador

06-27-2004, 07:02 AM

Mike Egener picked by Tampa last year with the 34 th pick was also born in Germany. Actually they were both born in Lahr (never heard of the place), must have been some military base there. :amazed:Yes, it's defenitely a military base...

I think, the Sharks will trade some goaltenders the near future....wow, so much talented and possible NHL-starter-goalies in this organisation: Nobokov, Vesa Toskola, Nolan Schaefer,Kotyk,Pätzold,Ehelechner and Thomas Greiss!!

EHCler

06-27-2004, 07:36 AM

4th round over now.

No new German drafted. :cry:

Sanderson

06-27-2004, 08:00 AM

No German up to No.200...

Sanderson

06-27-2004, 09:05 AM

Damn, LA took Fukufuji at 238, but still no German in sight ;)

EHCler

06-27-2004, 09:07 AM

LA drafts a japanese goalie at position 238. :eek:

Can not believe it even San jose stoped picking Germans. :(

Another 51 picks to go, at least another couple of Germans drafted would be nice.

Kink must be kicking himself for not opting in last year. He definatly would have been drafted. :shakehead

Entering last round now

EHCler

06-27-2004, 09:59 AM

No Germans drafted on day 2, what a disappointment :mad:

Sanderson

06-27-2004, 10:03 AM

In wonder why Hördler und Kink dropped so much.

They were ranked around 35 in the mideason reports, than dropped to no.70. But even that should rank them in the top 200 and now they weren't drafted at all.

Tronador

06-27-2004, 10:32 AM

Ugh...they didn't draft Kink,Hördler,Martin Walter and Kreutzer????

Sanderson

06-27-2004, 11:13 AM

Yup. I don't know why the teams rather draft a high school kid (who isn't exactly a phenom), than the top ranked German, who is playing in one of the best leagues of the world at the age of 18.

mkc2

06-27-2004, 01:35 PM

The only team that is willing to pick a German is the SJ Sharks. For some reason, others teams are not willing to take a German, I think sooner or later, they will have to pay for it!

zecke26

06-27-2004, 05:09 PM

disappointing draft for german hockey, but nothing unexpected. there was no really talented guy available besides maybe greiss. kink had not the season he needed and hoerdler is not well-known.

german hockey needs better talents to make some noise and then the scouts will finally come here. gawlik could be the player needed, but he needs a great season.

tronador, i don't know why you expect kreutzer to be drafted. he's not top 6 talent and too small to be a grinder. he won't fit into the NHL and i'm very thankful, because he can play WC every year. :)

Go-SENS-Go

06-27-2004, 11:00 PM

kink is no NHL quality. hoerdler might get his chance in LA's rookie camp.
greiss was expected to go in round 3 or 4. SJ is crazy about young germans, look at their depth at the most important position in hockey. For Nicolei Goc the name was not enough.

next year with gawlik german hockey will be a little more in the spotlight than at this year's draft. he will make the players around him better maybe players like goc, kink or hoerdler can take their profit out of this situation.

CIsle

06-28-2004, 10:03 AM

Indeed, the draft was a disappointing one for Germany. In fact, it was surprising in several ways. Judging from names and the bios, there were guys taken in the 8th and 9th rounds that had more going for them than guys in rounds 4 and 5 (for example, Brian Brown, Brian Ihnacak and Martin Vagner). There were also many overage North Americans taken, which is probably a direct result of the overall concensus that this draft was weak.

Still, that begs to question, how can it be that even Denmark has more players taken than Germany???

Now, granted, players such as Daniel Kreutzer, Martin Walter, Felix Petermann, etc. don't need to be drafted. At this point, they can simply be offered contracts by NHL teams, and we'd have to think this may have ran through the minds of interested GMs. Now, the guys like Hördler, Busch, Goc, Kink, etc. have also gone their draft year without being drafted, so they too can be offered a contract, or perhaps be drafted next season.

Now, if a kid like Kink goes to, say, Mannheim and has 35 point season, chances are he's gonna drafted next year.

Also, if there's a player involved with an Anschutz team, like once Lewandowski, who goes overseas to a Kings' summer camp, like Hördler, Busch, Baxmann all could do, then there is a very viable chance they'll be drafted or offered a contract at some point.

Then again, there were once again several more Swiss kids taken although that country has failed to ever really produce a bonafide NHLer who isn't a goalie, so go figure on what the NHL scouts see there that they don't see here. In addition, no team tried to take the 5' 9" 179 lbs. Mathis Olimb, a Norwegian magician with the puck who is supposedly exactly like Düsseldorf's Magnussen, but a faster skater. If he had been Swedish or Czech for example, that size wouldn't have played any more of a role than did Jiri Hudler's.

Overall disappointing, but we'll see what happens. I have a feeling that a few of the guys who were eligible but weren't drafted now may still wind up in the NHL one day!

Kopf hoch allerseits!

zecke26

06-28-2004, 03:48 PM

Still, that begs to question, how can it be that even Denmark has more players taken than Germany???

every nation has some good and some bad years. denmark's hockey is on the rise as i expect more danes to be drafted in 05.

Now, granted, players such as Daniel Kreutzer, Martin Walter, Felix Petermann, etc. don't need to be drafted. At this point, they can simply be offered contracts by NHL teams, and we'd have to think this may have ran through the minds of interested GMs. Now, the guys like Hördler, Busch, Goc, Kink, etc. have also gone their draft year without being drafted, so they too can be offered a contract, or perhaps be drafted next season.

hell NO. you're absolutely wrong. europeans always need to be drafted. if you want a prove for that, look at all the overage euros who were drafted the last years. this year swiss mark streit for example.
only a european player who played in north america while becoming 18y old and won't be drafted can become UFA. all other euros needs to be drafted, no matter how old they are.

Now, if a kid like Kink goes to, say, Mannheim and has 35 point season, chances are he's gonna drafted next year.

15 points and a strong season is enough. but generally he should play at least one game for the national team. somehow those players are recognized more.

Also, if there's a player involved with an Anschutz team, like once Lewandowski, who goes overseas to a Kings' summer camp, like Hördler, Busch, Baxmann all could do, then there is a very viable chance they'll be drafted or offered a contract at some point.

only drafted, like i mentioned above. and yes, playing for hamburg and berlin is definately a good chance for young players.

Then again, there were once again several more Swiss kids taken although that country has failed to ever really produce a bonafide NHLer who isn't a goalie, so go figure on what the NHL scouts see there that they don't see here. In addition, no team tried to take the 5' 9" 179 lbs. Mathis Olimb, a Norwegian magician with the puck who is supposedly exactly like Düsseldorf's Magnussen, but a faster skater. If he had been Swedish or Czech for example, that size wouldn't have played any more of a role than did Jiri Hudler's.

the swiss only have 3 draftees plus one overager. not that much if you compare it to last drafts.
i agree on olimb though. he's a fine player and should have been drafted instead of some canadians from the outback or whereever some played. :)

Overall disappointing, but we'll see what happens. I have a feeling that a few of the guys who were eligible but weren't drafted now may still wind up in the NHL one day!

hmm...dunno who's good enough for the NHL. i even doubt that greiss won't play NHL one day, but we still can hope. :)

CIsle

06-30-2004, 11:10 AM

hell NO. you're absolutely wrong. europeans always need to be drafted. if you want a prove for that, look at all the overage euros who were drafted the last years. this year swiss mark streit for example.
only a european player who played in north america while becoming 18y old and won't be drafted can become UFA. all other euros needs to be drafted, no matter how old they are.

I was just informed the other day that all players not drafted when they are 18 (granted they opt for the draft) can then be offered free agent contracts. That information could be incorrect. I honestly don't know for sure. I always assumed that overagers who were then drafted were simply drafted so that the team that drafted them would always have their NHL rights in the system.

Then again, it is more logical that all European players need to be drafted in order to play here.... I can't recall one example of any European who wasn't already drafted getting an NHL contract.

15 points and a strong season is enough. but generally he should play at least one game for the national team. somehow those players are recognized more.

Actually, I'm not sure how much that helps. It sure hasn't helped Lüdemann or Kreutzer, who are among the most important players in the team and who are widely considered the two best Germans not already in the NHL. However, Goc and Müller each got drafted after Germany hosted a wonderful WC.

Who knows for sure with the scouting community???

Hellström

06-30-2004, 05:55 PM

I was just informed the other day that all players not drafted when they are 18 (granted they opt for the draft) can then be offered free agent contracts. That information could be incorrect. I honestly don't know for sure. I always assumed that overagers who were then drafted were simply drafted so that the team that drafted them would always have their NHL rights in the system.

Then again, it is more logical that all European players need to be drafted in order to play here.... I can't recall one example of any European who wasn't already drafted getting an NHL contract.

It´s like Zecke said.

Teams don´t have the rights of Euro-Guys forever.
If you do draft an European at the age of 18, you do have hold the rights until he´s 31. If you don´t offer him a contract until he´s 31, then he´s a free agent at the north-american market.
The rule with 31 years has one exemption: the teams has to hold the rights for atleast 4 years...if a player is drafted at the age of 29 he´ll become a UFA at 33..(Dopita´s a good example, he would have been a RFA, although he was 32 years old, but he was drafted too late).
Dopita is a good example for another thing. Teams can drop rights of players and the Islanders (i think it was the Islanders - too lazy to look it up) dropped the rights and Dopita has had to be re-drafted.

Another point with European players is there "match status".
If you do draft a european at the age of 18, you do have his rights until he´s 31. He´s a RFA at this time, but when he become´s 25, then he´s available for other teams.
The team holding his rights is still able to match offers, but other teams can step in and sign the guy. Martin Strbak is an example for this -> drafted by the Kings in the early 90s, not old enough to be a UFA, but the Minnesota Wild tried to sign him, but the Kings matched the offer and signed Strbak themselves.

Hopefully it´s understanable :)

zecke26

07-01-2004, 04:43 PM

It´s like Zecke said.

of course it is. i can't remember the last time i was wrong. :lol ;)

CIsle

07-15-2004, 05:49 AM

Another point with European players is there "match status".
If you do draft a european at the age of 18, you do have his rights until he´s 31. He´s a RFA at this time, but when he become´s 25, then he´s available for other teams.
The team holding his rights is still able to match offers, but other teams can step in and sign the guy. Martin Strbak is an example for this -> drafted by the Kings in the early 90s, not old enough to be a UFA, but the Minnesota Wild tried to sign him, but the Kings matched the offer and signed Strbak themselves.

Hopefully it´s understanable :)

Good Job Bakos, thanks for the info!