Habs Draft Corey Locke , 4th round!

[puck7x]

We've all heard of this guy I'm sure... Leading CHL point scorer , but fell to round #3 because of his lack of size...

Reminds me of Ribeiro because of that (former CHL top scorer)

It also seems as though we've traded our #109 pick to the Caps... for what I am not sure.

Corey Locke

5'8 175 , born in Toronto ontario...

03-02 : 66gp , 63 goals , 88 assists , 151 points , 83 pims

113 MTL COREY LOCKE 5/8/1984 TORONTO, ON CA 5' 8.5" 175 OHL OTTAWA C L

Article on Locke : http://www.sportingnews.com/nhl/articles/2...617/478944.html

Locke is an intelligent playmaker with a great touch around the net, thanks in part to an extra long stick that extends his reach. And he has showed a strong desire to compete.

[Edited on 2003/6/22 by puck7x]

[Edited on 24-6-03 by Habs77]

[Habs77]

From ISS, 5'8.5 175 5-8-84 An average skater good mobility, has the ability to make opposing players miss him when he is carrying the puck. Locke is excellent at distributing the puck and is able to find open teamates in pressure situations. Seems to consistently find a way to get open deep in the offensive zone. Led the entire CHL is scoring, and proved he is a force and a threat every time he hits the ice.

19 goals and 19 assists in the playoffs.

[Habs77]

A 5-81/2 conundrum Corey Locke's size will turn off many

NHL teams on draft day, but it's hard to ignore the 67's star's stats, reports Allen Panzeri.

Allen Panzeri

The Ottawa Citizen

Thursday, June 19, 2003

CREDIT: Jean Levac, The Ottawa Citizen

Corey Locke topped Canadian junior hockey scoring last year, but is ranked 61st among North American skaters going into the draft.

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It's a familiar story, one that gets replayed at just about every NHL draft, and this year Corey Locke finds himself the central character in it.

It's the story of a great talent in a small package who's trying to break into the big man's world.

The Ottawa 67's star centre may have been named the Canadian Hockey League's player of the year. He may have led the country's three junior leagues in scoring, with 63 goals and 88 assists in 66 games, and he may have followed up with another 19 goals and 19 assists in 23 playoff games.

But the statistic that still carries the greater currency in today's NHL is just to the side of those gaudy scoring stats.

It's the one that lists Locke's height -- 5-81/2 -- and his weight -- 175 pounds.

To put this in perspective, that's along the lines of Canadian golfer Mike Weir, who is 5-9 and 155.

Which is why, more than anything else, Locke was ranked 61st among North American skaters in the final ranking by the NHL's Central Scouting.

That means he'll probably be lucky to be picked in Saturday's first three rounds and may have to suffer the agony of returning to the Nashville's Gaylord Entertainment Centre for the final six rounds on Sunday.

Players with lesser skills in a bigger package will go first. That's just the way it is, especially in a draft year that is as deep as this one, which has also conspired to push Locke back.

But in the end, believes Brian Kilrea, the 67's Hall of Fame coach, Locke is going to be tough to ignore and teams will be nervous about passing him by.

"A lot of guys can't match his talent, but obviously in the NHL today, size matters," said Kilrea. "Unless you're big and can hook and hold, you have to be an exceptional talent, and he'll have to work harder than the rest to make up for his size.

"But the main thing is, he has got great vision, great hand-eye co-ordination and great finishing ability. He has got everything and he does everything you want.

"Where he is (in the rankings), he'll be a great pick. Teams will know that he has another year (in junior) and that he'll get better and will be ready."

Frank Bonello, the director of the NHL's Central Scouting Bureau, agrees that teams will have to think carefully about Locke.

"(Size) is the only negative thing, and to some people that may not be a big deal," said Bonello. "You certainly have to respect his ability and the way he played this year, scoring almost a goal a game. And he's such an intelligent player at the same time.

"Yes, personally, size for the NHL is an issue. But having said that, I've seen other players make it, and I wouldn't be surprised one bit if Corey Locke does. You have to have a lot of respect for his talent."

For his part, Locke isn't worried about Central Scouting's ranking. Now 19, he could have opted for the draft last year, but he decided to wait for this year. That was a good move, since his rookie season was shortened by injury and he would probably have been a late pick.

"They see something at Central Scouting and that's where they think I will go in North America," he said from his home outside Toronto.

"I have no control over what they think. ... They have the right to their opinion."

Other than his size, another drawback is his quickness. His lack of it put him among the first cuts from the Canadian junior team last December, and Locke knows he has to pick up the pace if he hopes to keep up in the NHL.

"I want to improve on my skating and get a more powerful stride and quickness," he said. "Usually when you're really small, you're really quick, and that's not me, either. Hopefully, teams see past that and will give me a chance to work on it and become a player in the NHL."

Kilrea said that when Locke gets drafted is not as important as by whom, and that's what Locke is looking at, too.

If he's drafted by a team that already has a string of established centres, he'll probably find himself forever on the fringes. But if he gets drafted by a team that needs centres and can give him a chance - as the Senators did when they signed 5-10 Todd White three years ago -- he'll have a good chance to prove himself.

Locke talked to about half of the 30 teams during an NHL testing and interview session in Toronto two weeks ago, but didn't get any hints that one team or another was interested.

Like everyone else, he'll just have to wait.

"Obviously, you want to go as high as possible," he said. "But for me, it's not when I go, it's where I go. I'd like to go to a team that sees me in their future."

[Habs77]

Monday, June 23, 2003

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The Canadiens opened the final day of the National Hockey League draft by selecting the highest scorer in Canadian junior hockey.

The question is whether Corey Locke will ever make it in the National Hockey League.

Locke, a centre with the Ottawa 67s, had 63 goals and 88 assists in 66 games and his 151 points topped the Canadian Hockey League. But there were some reasons he was available to the Canadiens in the fourth round (113th overall).

For starters, Locke is small. He's listed at 5-foot-81/2 and 175 pounds, but he appears smaller. And he is, by his own admission, not a strong skater. But Locke and the Canadiens both believe he can play in the NHL.

"The size is something I've had to deal with all my life and it hasn't been a big problem," said Locke, who was disappointed that he wasn't selected in one of the first three rounds Saturday. "But I don't think I'm done growing and I'm working on improving my strength, working on being a more explosive skater."

"When you get a chance to get the Canadian player of the year in the fourth round, you have to take it," said Trevor Timmins, the Canadiens' director of player personnel. "I've seen a lot of him in Ottawa and we're impressed with his character."

While Timmins conceded that Locke has to work on his speed, he said: "He has quickness and an ability to get to the right spot to make the play. He's small, but Pierre Marc Bouchard played this year, so we'll see."

We'll see indeed.

[puck7x]

Corey Locke - 4th Round – 113th

Forward, 5’9’’ – 175 lbs (Ottawa – OHL)

2002-2003: 66, 63-88-151

With the 113th overall pick, the Canadiens laid claim to veritable scoring machince by drafting Corey Locke. During his time with the Ottawa 67's last season, Locke averaged over two points per game, ending the campaign with a ridiculous 151 points off of 63 goals and 88 assists in just 66 contests. The effort landed him the title of Player of the Year in the Canadian Hockey League. An exciting player to watch develop, Locke has lightning-quick reflexes on the ice and an arsenal of deceptive moves that can both make defenders look foolish and stir a crowd to its feet. A compact player at just 5-foot-9 and 175 pounds, Locke plays bigger than his size and is motivated to excel in spite of diminutive stature. Though the current NHL is a big man's game, talent and finesse will still find a way to succeed, as is evidenced by the success of Daniel Briere, Theoren Fleury, Sergei Samsonov, and others. Listed as the 61st North American skater by the Central Scouting Bureau, Locke is loaded with potential and a strong pick for the Canadiens in the fourth round.

[un_habitant]

"It also seems as though we've traded our #109 pick to the Caps... for what I am not sure. "

does anyone know what was the reason for doing this???

:hlogo:

[dlbalr]

We traded the 109th overall pick (Andreas Valdix) to Washington for the 113th overall pick (Corey Locke) and the 217th overall pick (Oskari Korpikari).

All we did is get an extra pick for sliding down 4 spots in the 4th round, and it sounds like we still got the guy we wanted.

[montreal]

Originally posted by dlbalr

We traded the 109th overall pick (Andreas Valdix) to Washington for the 113th overall pick (Corey Locke) and the 217th overall pick (Oskari Korpikari).

All we did is get an extra pick for sliding down 4 spots in the 4th round, and it sounds like we still got the guy we wanted.

No, the 113th was our pick. The 109th we got from Nashville for Petrov (good move IMO). We traded the 109th for the 123rd, and 217th, taking Danny Stewart at 123rd, and Oskari Korpikari at 217th. The Korpikari pick could be a real good one. Some of the Finnish posters at HF had some very good things to say about him. :/):hlogo: