NHL DRAFT CONCLUDES

They were teammates with the U.S. NTDP Under-17 Team and Under-18
Team. They will remain teammates in college, and perhaps their pro
careers as well.

Incoming freshman recruit Kevin Porter has been selected by the
Phoenix Coyotes in the 4th round (119th overall), while his teammate
Chad Kolarik was selected in the 7th round (199th overall) by the
Coyotes.

Sophomore Mike Brown has been selected by the Vancouver Canucks in
the 5th round (159th overall).

Sophomore defenseman Matt Hunwick has been selected by the Boston
Bruins in the 7th round (224th overall).

Sophomore defenseman Jason Dest was the only other available
Wolverine and he went undrafted.

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MONTOYA'S FUTURE

I've been reading through many, many Montoya articles this morning
and right now the only thing I'm sure of is that Montoya is on Cloud
9.

The Rangers are his favorite team and it's a dream come true for him
to be drafted by them.

One article states that Montoya feels he'll be NHL ready in 2-3
years. If that's the case, it sounds like possibly one more year at
Michigan then bolting to the AHL, or bolting to the AHL this fall.
It also said that he hasn't committed to returning to play at
Michigan for his "sophomore" year. That would be a pretty neat
trick. It would also contradict a statement he made in a pre-draft
interview on MGoBlue.com in which he said, "Right now, I am coming
back."

The NY Post article is the only one I've seen that says Monty is
likely to return to Michigan for his junior year, but the Rangers
have some interest in signing him and sending him to their AHL
affiliate.

Montoya did say in one of them that he will meet with the
organization to see what's best for him. Hopefully Monty will use
his own head to figure out what's best for him. Afterall, this is
the friggin' Rangers we're talking about...a team that can dump a
truckload of money to every top player in the league and still not
make the playoffs.

Look at how they threw Dan Blackburn in there as an 18 year old
(10th pick overall in 2001 draft whom they considered the next Grant
Fuhr). He's 21 now and has had flashes here and there, but hasn't
proved much at all yet. Neither have many other Ranger prospects for
that matter. In fact, according to the Newsday article, Rangers fans
still high on Blackburn booed the pick of Montoya and started
chanting "Blackburn!"

They also have a goalie named Henrik Lundqvist, who they drafted in
2000 that assistant GM Don Maloney labeled a "gem." Maloney also
said that Montoya is "physically ready to turn pro." So where does
that put him in the scheme of things? Who knows.

Then there's history not on his side. As antsy as he is to play in
the league, look at all the Wolverines that have left early for the
pros and how they've faired. Only three have played a full season in
the NHL. Mike Comrie's had the most success, Mike Van Ryn is finally
coming around after several years of struggling to make it, and Jeff
Jillson has seen a lot of split time between playing, being a
healthy scratch, and being traded. Several others have been called
up briefly or played the role of bench warmer for the parent club.

Personally, to me, there's just always been something about players
who stay four years in college that sees them come out more mature
as a player and individual that allows them to succeed more at the
next level than those who leave early. Look at the success former
Michigan State defenseman John-Michael Liles had with Colorado this
past year in his rookie season.

Fellow Spartan Jim Slater, another top calibre player, is doing the
rarity of returning for his senior season, and even though he plays
for the enemy, bless him for doing so. It's great to see any top
player stick around. In fact, he told coach Rick Comley that he was
coming back without ever talking to Atlanta about turning pro,
that's how committed he is to finishing what he began.

Hopefully Montoya will see that there's two routes to the NHL--the
quick route that got Dan Blackburn thrown to the wolves, and the
long route which allows a player to fully develop and successfully
play in the league for many years to come. And hopefully it won't
take him all summer and waiting for a potential NHL strike to make
his decision.

-----------------

As you can imagine, several articles on Al Montoya today. I have
links to them at http://michiganhockey.net/news/draft2004.html

-----------------

That's all for now...

Go Blue!

Jason
Michigan Hockey Net
http://MichiganHockey.net/