Oilers among Canadian winners at NHL draft

Hockey Betting Lines

06/28/2010 - Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - This past Friday in Los Angeles, 30 general managers and their scouts got together for the NHL Entry Draft.

It was a head-scratching draft for those watching, and a hand-sitting affair for many involved.

The following is a Canadian roundup of the winners and losers of draft day.

EDMONTON OILERS

With the first overall pick, the Edmonton Oilers select ... a franchise player. And for those living under a rock this past year, his name is Taylor Hall.

While there was a lot of hype surrounding the battle between Taylor and Tyler [Seguin], the Oilers opted to go for the most accomplished and NHL-ready of the top two.

It was the first time the Oilers had the luxury of picking first overall, and they used the selection on a player with major offensive upside, plenty of grit and Alberta roots...how can you go wrong?

Barring any unforeseen catastrophes, Hall will be lacing up in Oil Country come the start of next season.

In total, the Oilers finished draft weekend in Los Angeles with 11 total picks, including highly-touted forwards Tyler Pitlick (2nd round) and Ryan Martindale (3rd round). NHL Central Scouting ranked them 18th and 27th respectively, among North American skaters.

Synopsis: Big-time winner; Oilers fans should be excited.

Draft list: Taylor Hall (1), Tyler Pitlick (31), Martin Marincin (46), Curtis Hamilton (48), Ryan Martindale (61), Jeremie Blain (91), Tyler Bunz (121), Brandon Davidson (162), Drew Czerwonka (166), Kristians Pelss (181), Kellen Jones (202).

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS

Phil Kessel is good, but it still must have hurt to see the Boston Bruins entourage slowly saunter to the stage to announce the second overall pick.

The pick, of course, ended up being Plymouth Whalers center and Ontario Hockey League MVP Tyler Seguin.

And to make matters worse, Brian Burke didn't put his scouts to work until Saturday, having reportedly turned down a first-round pick in an undisclosed deal on Friday.

After swinging a trade that sent prospect Jimmy Hayes to the Chicago Blackhawks for a second-round pick, the Leafs gobbled up Portland Winterhawks sparkplug Bradley Ross.

Ross is compared to former Leaf Darcy Tucker based on his chippy style of play and timely goal scoring, having put up 27 goals and 68 points playing on a line with first-round draft picks Nino Niederreiter and Ryan Johansen.

Synopsis: Good recovery; plenty of truculence.

Draft list: Bradley Ross (43), Greg McKegg (62), Sondre Olden (79), Petter Granberg (116), Sam Carrick (144), Daniel Brodin (146), Josh Nicholls (182).

VANCOUVER CANUCKS

After trading their first-round selection to the Florida Panthers in a deal centered around defenseman Keith Ballard, the Canucks had to sit tight until the fourth round to make their first pick.

With it they selected Patrick McNally, a 6'2" offensive defenseman out of Milton Academy high school in Massachusetts.

McNally was the 40th-ranked skater by Central Scouting and is said to possess great poise with the puck and the ability to use his skating ability to jump into the rush, a factor highlighted by his 14 goals and 35 points in only 28 games.

He has committed to Harvard next year so it should be a while before he becomes a household name in Vancouver.

Synopsis: Not bad, considering limited picks.

Draft list: Patrick McNally (115), Adam Polasek (145), Alex Friesen (172), Jonathan Ilahti (175), Sawyer Hannay (205).

MONTREAL CANADIENS

Although they only had five picks in total, the Canadiens made some shrewd decisions throughout the draft.

For starters, trading up to land American defenseman Jarred Tinordi with the 22nd pick was a great move by GM Pierre Gauthier.

Tinordi is a strapping shut-down blueliner with a cannon from the point. He also captained the U.S. National Development Program in 2009-10 and has hockey bloodlines (his father is longtime NHL defenseman Mark Tinordi).

While the younger Tinordi is committed to the University of Notre Dame for next season, there is speculation he could opt to hone his craft playing for the London Knights in the OHL.

Another interesting name to keep an eye on is Vancouver Giants forward Brendan Gallagher. Although he is on the small side (only 5'9", 163 lbs), he put up 41 goals and 111 PIM's as a 17 year-old.

Synopsis: Outside of Tinordi, not too much to get excited about.

Draft List: Jarred Tinordi (22), Mark MacMillan (113), Morgan Ellis (117), Brendan Gallagher (147), John Westin (207).

CALGARY FLAMES

The Flames came into Los Angeles with a dire need to replenish the prospect cupboard, despite not drafting until the third round.

With his first pick, GM Darryl Sutter took Maxwell Reinhart of the Kootenay Ice. Despite passing up some flashy names, Reinhart brings an all-around game and is the son of former Flame Paul Reinhart.

It should also be noted that Reinhart jumped from 157th to 79th between Central Scouting's midterm and final rankings for North American skaters.

Sutter stuck to the bloodlines in the next round as well, drafting physical defender John Ramage out of the University of Wisconsin. John is the son of former NHLer Rob Ramage.

Synopsis: Made the best of a bad situation.

Draft List: Maxwell Reinhart (64), Joey Leach (73), John Ramage (103), Bill Arnold (108), Michael Ferland (133), Patrick Holland (193).

OTTAWA SENATORS

Having found themselves in a favorable position in the first round (16th), the Senators opted instead to trade that pick to the St. Louis Blues for Swedish defenseman David Rundblad.

Rundblad was a first-rounder in 2009 (17th), with the potential to become a solid offensive puck mover. And despite the hype lost in trading a first round pick, the Sens must have felt he fit their needs better than any player left at 16.

The Sens didn't pick until the third round and ultimately settled with Czech winger Jakub Culek. Culek currently plays for Rimouski in the QMJHL and brings good size with great hands to complement his offensive vision.

Synopsis: Not a lot of action, not a lot of hype.

Draft List: Jakub Culek (76), Markus Sorensen (106), Mark Stone (178), Bryce Aneloski (196).

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2007 online football betting Preview

My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."

The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.

To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.

However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.

Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.

Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.

Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.

2007 College Football Betting Preview

There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.

The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.

So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.

USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.

USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.

Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.

That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.

The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"

The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.

Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.

Las Vegas Sports Lines

The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.

It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."

The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.

The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.

Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.

After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.

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