Pick #35: Patrick Kane
July 29th, 2009 | by Vance |The draft rolls on, and has found its way back to me at #35. I had almost always had planned to take a goalie with my 2nd pick, but some of the offensive talent still on the board drew essentially killed those plans. When Patrick Kane fell to me at 35, well I had found my 1st line RW, and I brought the prodigal son back to his hometown.
I may have just cost myself a high level goaltender, as Evgeni Nabokov and Cam Ward (who have both since been taken) and a couple other high end ‘tenders all remain on the board (but worry not, I have plans), but remember how weak the Right Wing position is depth wise, after 10 or so high level guys, the rest is not altogether stunning.
How Kane would fit into Lindy’s system? Well, I’m going to go with not well. Defensive responsibility isn’t exactly high on Mr. Kane’s priority list, but undersized forwards are right up the Sabres alley. While Kane doesn’t have the same flexibility as Zetterberg to play Center at times, he does have the on-ice vision to set up his teammates from the side wall. Right now I have him slated on all first lines, but mixing and matching Zetts and Kane may be a thought as more picks roll in.
Well now I won’t pick for what seems like will be an enternity, so I have some GM-ing to do. Things Darcy Regier could only ever dream of pulling off.
Tags: Armchair GM, Buffalo Sabres, Patrick Kane
