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GREAT draft for Neil Smith!

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Keith D. Goldberg

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Jun 26, 1999, 3:00:00 AM6/26/99
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I was at the Draft Day Party today, and had a blast, especially with all
the wheeling and dealing done by Neil Smith. He really put his job on the
line with these deals, but I think he did a great job. He got a big-time
goal-scorer in Brendl, who might be able to jump to the NHL next season,
and Jamie Lundmark, a speedy, aggressive, offensive-minded center. Losing
Sundstrom, Cloutier, and Savard hurts, but ther Rangers got two of the top
five rated players according to the Hockey News, and MAJORLY upgraded their
organizational depth at forward.
In addition, the Rangers also got LW Jan Hlavac in the Calgary deal, who
many say is the best player in the Czech Republic. Neil Smith said that he
thinks two out of those three players can make the club next season, and
mny guess thyat Brendl and Hlavac are the two players.
Again, Smith took a big chance today with these trades, but IMHO, he has
helped the Rangers tremendously in the long run. Full marks to him.

--
KDG
kdg...@nyu.edu

"Goddamn it, when is somebody gonna go on the record in this story?"

-Jason Robards as Ben Bradlee, "All the President's Men"

lonewoelff

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Jun 26, 1999, 3:00:00 AM6/26/99
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What kind of reaction did the deals and picks get at the Draft Day Party?

Keith D. Goldberg <kdg...@nyu.edu> wrote in message
news:kdg201-ya02408000...@enews.newsguy.com...

Keith D. Goldberg

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Jun 27, 1999, 3:00:00 AM6/27/99
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In article <7l3hhk$a0n$1...@bgtnsc02.worldnet.att.net>, "lonewoelff"
<voodoo...@worldnet.att.net> wrote:

> What kind of reaction did the deals and picks get at the Draft Day Party?

There really was a sense of shock when the first trade was announced, we
were surprised that Neil Smith was able to move up, although JD had hinted
strongly that the Rangers were looking to trade up before the draft
started. There were a lot of cheers when the Rangers selected Brendl, but
there were quite a few boos when the Calgary trade was announced, which I
didn't agree with. I thought trading up to get Lundmark was a good move. I
knew that the Rangers were REALLY high on him, and if they can get Hlavac
over to North America, that could soften the blow of the loss of Savard.
-KDG

Katie Baker

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Jun 27, 1999, 3:00:00 AM6/27/99
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In article <kdg201-ya02408000...@enews.newsguy.com>,

kdg...@nyu.edu (Keith D. Goldberg) wrote:

> In article <7l3hhk$a0n$1...@bgtnsc02.worldnet.att.net>, "lonewoelff"
> <voodoo...@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
>
> > What kind of reaction did the deals and picks get at the Draft Day Party?
>
> There really was a sense of shock when the first trade was announced, we
> were surprised that Neil Smith was able to move up, although JD had hinted
> strongly that the Rangers were looking to trade up before the draft
> started. There were a lot of cheers when the Rangers selected Brendl, but
> there were quite a few boos when the Calgary trade was announced, which I
> didn't agree with. I thought trading up to get Lundmark was a good move. I
> knew that the Rangers were REALLY high on him, and if they can get Hlavac
> over to North America, that could soften the blow of the loss of Savard.

Keith, I was at the Draft Party as well and I was surprised by the boos
also. I talked to a guy next to me who had been booing and he said he was
booing because all he knew about Lundmark was that he wasn't big enough
yet and because Savard had such a good year last year. I think a lot of
people didn't really know much about Lundmark. A lot of people also don't
think we'll be able to coax Hlavac to North America.

Katie

--
Katie Baker - the chick with the hockey stick ;-)
http://home.talkcity.com/gardenway/katieccc

"It looks like someone sat on it."
-Phil Pritchard, Hall of Fame spokesman, on dents in
the Stanley Cup after the Rangers won it.

NPC Capt99

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Jun 27, 1999, 3:00:00 AM6/27/99
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Right on with your analysis.

John Bradley

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Jun 27, 1999, 3:00:00 AM6/27/99
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kdg...@nyu.edu (Keith D. Goldberg) writes:

> I was at the Draft Day Party today, and had a blast, especially with all

Can you answer an important question that remains unaddressed from 1998?

Was beer sold at the Draft Day Party ?

--

John Bradley
jjbr...@erols.com

Joe-B

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Jun 27, 1999, 3:00:00 AM6/27/99
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On Sat, 26 Jun 1999 16:47:39 -0500, kdg...@nyu.edu (Keith D. Goldberg)
wrote:

> Again, Smith took a big chance today with these trades, but IMHO, he has


>helped the Rangers tremendously in the long run. Full marks to him.

I love the moves the Rangers made, but the big question is whether
Smith will be around to see it when these guys develop. I know there's
a lot of speculation that some of these guys will be with the Rangers
next season, but I have serious doubts as to whether any will make a
significant contribution as a rookie. So in the short run, these moves
could make the Rangers worse. Smith had better be very active in the
free agent market to replace Sundstrom and Savard. And he had better
find a competent backup for Richter. In the long term, these moves
look great, but failure in the short run may cost Smith his job.

Joe

Bonitadeo

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Jun 27, 1999, 3:00:00 AM6/27/99
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out of curiosity, did cloutier host the draft party at the garden as was
expected? somehow i get the feeling he was scratched that day...sad to him go,
anyway. hope he does well in tampa, but more importantly, i hope brendl makes
smith look like a genius.

Keith D. Goldberg

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Jun 27, 1999, 3:00:00 AM6/27/99
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In article <uu2rtsa48.fsf@_NO_SPAM_erols.com>, John Bradley
<jjbradley@_NO_SPAM_erols.com> wrote:

> kdg...@nyu.edu (Keith D. Goldberg) writes:
>
> > I was at the Draft Day Party today, and had a blast, especially with all
>
> Can you answer an important question that remains unaddressed from 1998?
>
> Was beer sold at the Draft Day Party ?

Yes...at full price, no less.

Keith D. Goldberg

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Jun 27, 1999, 3:00:00 AM6/27/99
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I agree, but if Smith's job is on the line, I'd prefer to see him make a
bold move like this instead of being tentative. In a Ranger draft preview I
wrote, I said that this could be Smith's last draft. Well, if it is, I'm
glad he went for the home run in it.
And rest assured, Smith will be very active in the FA market. When asked
about that by JD at the Draft Day party yesterday, Smith replied: "Don't
try and call me on July 1st, because you won't get through."

Katie Baker

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Jun 28, 1999, 3:00:00 AM6/28/99
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In article <kdg201-ya02408000...@enews.newsguy.com>,

kdg...@nyu.edu (Keith D. Goldberg) wrote:

> > Was beer sold at the Draft Day Party ?
>
> Yes...at full price, no less.

Hahahah .. out of all the things one could wonder about draft day, it's
beer. I must say, this year's Draft Party seemed livelier to me than last
year's...

John Bradley

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Jun 28, 1999, 3:00:00 AM6/28/99
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boni...@aol.com (Bonitadeo) writes:

Cloutier did host the pre-draft portion with Malhotra. He was informed
privately about the trade, pondered the situation for a while and went home.

Reportedly, he is excited because Demers is making him the #1 goalie.

--

John Bradley
jjbr...@erols.com

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