2006 Entry Draft
The Detroit Mustang’s rebuild continued at the 2006 draft,
with the selection of high-scoring winger Nathan Sibley. The son of former LA
Wizard Jason Sibley, Nathan was the first of several players with PHL
bloodlines drafted in 2006. After Calgary took 6’7” behemoth defenseman Jordan
Foster second, Swede Mats Ossler was the first goaltender selected, taken by
Vancouver at number three. Bryce Hawkins, son of former Milwaukee Chopper Terry
Hawkins, was selected sixth by the Washington Generals, while Devan Chadwick,
son of former Nuggets captain Alan Chadwick, was picked next by the Portland
Cascades. To cap off an interesting
first round, two identical twins were selected, Stingers’ pick Josh McBride at
number four, and his brother Dan, who went to Carolina at number 20.”It should
be interesting when we play the Raiders” said Stingers GM Craig Perry. “I hope
we can tell them apart.”
1.
DET – Nathan Sibley, F, CAN
2.
CGY – Jordan Foster, D, CAN
3.
VAN – Mats Ossler, G, SWE
4.
PIT – Josh McBride, F, CAN
5.
HOU – Ari Aaltonen, D, FIN
6.
WSH – Bryce Hawkins, D, USA
7.
POR – Devan Chadwick, D, USA
8.
MIA – Gavin Day, D, CAN
9.
MTL – Jakub Cermak, D, CZE
10.
DEN – Evgeni Egorov, F, RUS
11.
QUE – Mario Jacques, D, CAN
12.
STL – Garret Cain, F, USA
13.
WPG – Elias Edlund, F, SWE
14.
BOS(From MIN) – Taylor Gibbs, D, CAN
15.
ATL – Igor Vasiliev, F, RUS
16.
OAK – Cedric Fournier, F, CAN
17.
CHI – Antero Honka, F, FIN
18.
NYC – James Duckett, D, USA
19.
DET(From KC) – Aaron Bowman, F, CAN
20.
CAR – Dan McBride, F, CAN
21.
LA – Evan Cross, F, CAN
22.
DAL – Bryce Waters, F, USA
23.
BOS – Anders Sparre, F, SWE
24.
CLE – Darren Robertson, D, CAN
25.
TOR – Jordan McLean, D, CAN
26.
EDM – Radek Simek, F, CZE
27.
PHI – Luke Bowers, G, CAN
28.
LI – Bryan Yates, F, USA
29.
SEA – Ville Peltola, G, FIN
30.
MIL – Vaclav Kubik, D, SVK
Phenom Alert: He
won’t be eligible for the draft until 2008, but already Erik Camden is already
considered a lock for the 1st overall pick. After a record-breaking
2004-05 season in the Ontario Midget league, Already 6’3”, 212 pounds, Camden
was allowed to play major junior a year early at 15, where he scored 60 goals
playing for the Guelph Royals. “He’s already miles ahead of the rest of the
1990 draft class, he could play next season if he was allowed” said one scout.
Notable Retirements:
Pavel Vana, F, MIN,
1990-2006
Pavel Vana first arrived on the hockey scene when he wowed
everyone as a 17-year-old at the 1988 World Hockey Challenge. Just over a year
later, Vana was finally allowed to leave his native Czechoslovakia and join the
Minnesota Lumberjacks, a team on the rise. In only his first few months with
the team, he helped them all the way to the Lewis Cup Finals, where they
ultimately lost to Long Island. The deep run was a sign of things to come for
Vana and the Lumberjacks, as Minnesota would win two championships in 1996 and
1998 with Vana capping off a playoff MVP performance with the Cup-clinching OT
goal in ’98. Despite offers from other PHL teams, Vana decided to return to the
Czech Republic to finish his playing career.
Rob Wentzel, F, WSH,
SEA, 1988-2006
Drafted eighth overall by the Generals, Rob Wentzel came
with big expectations after leading the BCHL’s Chilliwack Night Flyers to a
national major junior championship in 1988. The Generals sent Wentzel back to
junior early in the 1988-89 season, where he led Chilliwack to a second
consecutive title. In 1989-90 Wentzel finally joined Washington for good.
Though he was not the flashiest player of his time, Wentzel’s leadership, grit,
and expert two-way play led the Generals to two Lewis Cup Finals appearances in
1998 and 2000. In the hopes of finally winning a championship, Wentzel left the
rebuilding Generals for the Seattle Grey Wolves in 2003. Unfortunately, that
opportunity never came for Wentzel, who admits that missing out on the Lewis
Cup is his biggest career regret.
Christian Grayson, G,
MIN, CGY, 1990-2006
At the conclusion of his first season as a number one
goaltender, newly crowned Lewis Cup Champion Christian Grayson received perhaps
the highest honour any goaltender could hope for, Bobby Sorel, regarded as the
greatest netminder in PHL history, said that Grayson’s performance in the 1996
playoffs was “the greatest goaltending I have ever seen”. Grayson’s cool head
and quick glove helped the Lumberjacks to a second title two years later, while
Grayson took home the Whyte Trophy as the league’s top goaltender. In 2004,
Grayson signed with Calgary, where he played his final two seasons.
Notable Trades
Seattle trades F
Randy McAllen to Long Island in exchange for F Patrick Murphy.
Two underachieving forwards are swapped in the hopes that new
scenery could motivate them.
Winnipeg trades F Dan
Crow to Cleveland in exchange for F Tyler Petrie.
The Pioneers trade their captain to a Cosmos team that hopes
to contend again. 19-year-old Petrie hopes to turn pro with Winnipeg after
spending 2005-06 with the Cosmos’ farm team in Columbus.
Long Island trades F Nikolai
Nazakov to Los Angeles in exchange for F Owen Betts.
The Concordes deal Nazakov to get under the salary cap,
while also adding some toughness. LA gets more skilled up front as they
continue to transition from rebuilder to contender.
Key Free Agents
RFAs:
F Kris Lukowich signs
new deal with Portland worth $8 Million/year.
D Thomas Sandberg
signs new deal with Pittsburgh worth $8 Million/year.
D Noah Brewer signs
new deal with Cleveland worth $6 Million/year.
F Evan Long signs new
deal with Quebec worth $6 Million/year.
F Ilya Zhinovjev
signs new deal with Oakland worth $5 Million/year.
G Jussi Miettinen
signs new deal with St. Louis worth $4 Million/year.
F Jordan Goode signs
new deal with Calgary worth $3 Million/year.
UFA Signings:
F Dominik Musil (CGY)
signs 6-year deal with Detroit worth $10 Million/year.
Detroit’s new management sends a message to their fans that
they’re serious about winning, signing the Czech star to a huge, $80 Million
deal after bonuses and incentives.
F Darren Reid signs
new 10-year deal with Toronto worth $8 Million/year.
Reid earned big money after helping deliver another cup to
TO, but there are now concerns about signing franchise player Murdock in 2007.
D Scott Drayton (KC)
signs 3-year deal with Long Island worth $5 Million/year.
Though Drayton is well past his prime, he is seasoned and
has a ring. He will bring valuable experience to an already solid Concorde
blueline.
F Jason Crowley (DAL)
signs 1-year deal with Boston worth $1 Million/year.
After considering retirement, the future hall-of-famer was
convinced by former teammate and Boston captain Brendan Marlo to give it one
more shot at a third title.
News
It didn’t take long for the first coaching change of 2006 to
come about. Just days after losing the Western Conference Finals, the Dallas
Desperados fired head coach Willy Rowe. In June, the Desperados replaced Rowe
with former St. Louis enforcer Ryan McCarthy. McCarthy had retired as a player
in 2002 and invested in a major junior franchise along with Grant Millen and
Shannon Michaels, the Brampton Rink Rats. Known as a popular player’s coach, McCarthy
coached the Rats to a Dominion Cup appearance in only their second season in
2004. Rowe found a new job by summer’s end with Seattle, after the retirement
of Wolves’ coach Bruce Dickenson.
Big news came out of Toronto in July, as the Racers
announced plans for a new arena, set to open in time for the 2009-10 season.
The team had played in the Queen Elizabeth Arena since 1956 and the building
was considered a Canadian landmark. In other news, Ottawa was named host of the
2008 World Hockey Challenge. The city will be the first non-PHL city in North
America to host the tournament and was selected largely due to the brand new
arena.
After a year of speculation and suspicion, the hockey world
seemed to be forgetting about the FBI investigation of commissioner Darryl Byrd
and his involvement with mobster Eddie Garofalo amidst an exciting 2005-06
season followed by a flurry of off-season moves. On July 29, PHL fans
everywhere woke up to stunning news, Byrd had been arrested after the
interrogation of one of Garofalo’s associates. The man named Byrd as one of
several business lawyers Garofalo had paid off while orchestrating a variety of
white-collar crimes through the ‘80s and ‘90s.
Byrd would stand trial in 2007 but the league could not wait
for a verdict. In an emergency meeting of the PHL owners, Byrd was removed as
PHL commissioner on July 31, 2006. After being cleared of any involvement in
the mess, deputy commissioner Neil McCormick was named interim commissioner.
But the 76-year-old’s tenure would not be a long one. On August 25, the league
presented its new commissioner, Greg Nolan. A native of Ottawa, Nolan was a
former junior hockey star and was even drafted by the LA Wizards in 1982. After
failing to stick with the Wizards, Nolan quit hockey to study law at Dalhousie
University in Halifax. At 42, Nolan became the youngest man ever to lead the
PHL, and he faced a multitude of challenges. Between the Byrd scandal, the
recent New Orleans situation, and a once-again broken economy, the league’s
image was in tatters. Just two decades after failing to make the PHL as a
player, Greg Nolan was now tasked with saving the league as its new
commissioner.
