Hey Monsters fans, it’s another great week straight ahead with the upcoming edition of our new radio show “Between the Pipes,” as Monsters General Manager Dave Oliver will be joining us from the AHL Meetings in Hilton Head. Dave will discuss the recent draft and its effect on your Lake Erie Monsters, as well as the Monsters inaugural season. “Between the Pipes” airs weekly right here at LakeErieMonsters.com. And don’t forget, if you have any questions that you’d like to have answered on the show – including questions for Dave – just submit them to the Monsters Mailbag. 

ODDS AND ENDS FROM THE DRAFT 

Avalanche 2008 NHL Entry Draft Selections (with last season’s stats)
FIRST ROUND
None. Trade with Columbus for D Adam Foote.

SECOND ROUND
D Cameron Gaunce (50th overall), Mississauga St. Michael’s, OHL. 10-30-40 in 63 gms.
G Peter Delmas (61st overall, from Draft day trade with LA for F Brad Richardson), Lewiston, QMJHL. 17-13-4, 2.84, .903.

THIRD ROUND
None. Trade with Florida for D Ruslan Salei.

FOURTH ROUND
C Kelsey Tessier (110th overall), Quebec, QMJHL. 36-45-81 in 68 gms.

FIFTH ROUND
C Mark Olver (140th overall), Northern Michigan, CCHA. 21-17-38 in 39 gms.

SIXTH ROUND
D Joel Chouinard (167th overall, from BOS), Victoriaville, QMJHL. 7-28-35 in 69 gms.
D Jonas Holos (170th overall), Sparta Sarpsborg, Norway Elite League. 3-20-23 in 49 gms.

SEVENTH ROUND
C Nathan Condan, Wassau High School, Wisconsin. 33-26-59 in 23 gms.

Comments
Note that Colorado devoted three of its seven selections to sizable defensemen – Cameron Gaunce (6-1, 203, 18 yrs old), Joel Chouinard (6-1, 186, 18 yrs old), Jonas Holos (6-0, 205, 20 yrs old). This follows a 2007 Draft in which the Avs took defensemen with their top two picks in Kevin Shattenkirk and Colby Cohen. See a trend? This is a good sign, Monster fans. It’s no secret that the Monsters were thin on defense last season and that the organization is a touch lacking in blueline depth. While the Monsters won’t see most of these draft picks for a number of years, it’s what you like to see out of a parent club – recognizing a need, then going out and doing something about it.

Richardson Traded to LA
On day two of the Draft, Colorado GM Francois Giguere saw an opportunity and jumped on it. With goaltender Peter Delmas still on the board late in the second round, in a position where the Avs thought he would no longer be available, Giguere acted quickly by trading with the Kings for the 61st pick, which the Avs used to select Delmas. The player sacrificed in the deal was Brad Richardson.

Last season, Richardson played at over a point per game for Lake Erie with 14-24-40 in 38 contests, while putting up two goals and five points in 22 games with Colorado. Coming into 2008 camp, Richardson has a good chance to make a Kings team that struggled last season. Best of luck to Brad in his new silver, purple and black digs.

Columbus Active on Draft Weekend - Buckeye Returning Home
The Blue Jackets made a splash on Friday by selecting the first European taken in the draft as they nabbed Russian winger Nikita Filatov with the #6 pick. GM Scott Howson then dealt Columbus’ second first-round pick, the #19 selection, to the Flyers for Ohio State product R.J. Umberger. The Flyers also got the Jackets third round pick for Philly’s fourth round selection.

I was convinced that the Penguins would make a bid for the Pittsburgh-born Umberger, perhaps to replace another Pittsburgher who may very well depart via free agency in Ryan Malone. It just seemed to be the right fit for the Penguins. However, the deal makes equally as much sense for the Jackets, as Umberger returns to the state capital and joins a fairly young team up front. Umberger’s a hard-working player with a nose for the net, and he has been a good soldier for a number of years in the Flyer system. The former Buckeye is young, still has a lot of upside, and should be a nice addition in Columbus.

2007-2008 MONSTERS BY DRAFT ROUND
Don’t think the NHL Draft is important? Take a look at how the Monsters in their inaugural season broke down by draft round. Also check out Colorado’s late round gems in Kyle Cumiskey and David Jones.

FIRST:
Jason Bacashihua, DAL 2001 (26th overall).
Jeff Jillson, SJ 1999 (14th overall).
Jamie Lundmark, NYR 1999 (9th overall).
Chris Stewart, COL 2006 (18th overall).

SECOND:
Johnny Boychuk, COL 2002.
Codey Burki, COL 2006.
Tom Fritsche, COL 2005.

THIRD:
TJ Hensick, COL 2005.
Kenny Roche, NYR 2003.

FOURTH:
Phillipe Dupuis, CLMBS 2003.
Ray Macias, COL 2005.
Kevin Montgomery, COL 2006.
Wes O’Neill, NYI 2004.

FIFTH:
Cody McCormick, COL 2001.
Mark McCutcheon, COL 2003.
Dale Purinton, NYR 1995.
Brad Richardson, COL 2003 (the Avs had 2 fifth round picks in 2003).
Tyler Weiman, COL 2002.

SIXTH:
Derek Peltier, COL 2006.

SEVENTH:
Kyle Cumiskey, COL 2005.
Mike Vernace, SJ 2004.

EIGHTH:
J.D. Corbin, COL 2004.

NINTH:
David Jones, COL 2003.
Wyatt Smith, PHX 1997.

*As to the title of this column, my thanks to the incomparable Joe Tait of the Cleveland Cavaliers for allowing me to “rent” his perch for the Monsters’ 40 home games this season. Joe has been the “Voice of the Cavs” for 36 seasons, and he called his 3,000th game on March 26, 2008. On that night, Joe’s permanent broadcast location in section C126 of Quicken Loans Arena was officially dedicated as the “Joe Tait Perch.” It is from this section that the Monsters’ games are broadcast, so thanks again to Joe for leasing out the space.