puck7x Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 Yes your hearing me right... with their last pick in the 2003 entry draft the Florida Panthers picked Alexander Ovechkin .... Ovechkin as you know is the early favourite for #1 in 2004 (and is one hell of a player) ... The Panthers drafted him this year but the pick was overturned by the NHL , the Panthers are going to protest the ruling because 2 leap years have occured since Ovechkins birthday... <a href="http://sportsnet.ca/nhl/story/10563252151787.shtml?sport=hockey&association=nhl&STORY_OID=10563252151787">Panthers Draft Ovechkin</a> No way the Panthers get him. ... At least this year. lol --------------EDIT------------- Tsn says : http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?id=45234 Witnesses told TSN that Panthers owner Alan Cohen wanted to select Russian phenom Alexander Ovechkin in the ninth round but general manager Rick Dudley refused the request. So I guess he wasnt drafted afterall? phew... [Edited on 2003/6/23 by puck7x] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habs77 Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 I can appreciate someone trying to take advantage of unclear rules... shows me they're trying hard to improve their team by all means necessary. That said... I don't care how "unclear" the rule was, there is no way the league can allow this to happen. Can you imagine the uproar if this goes through?? Last thing the owners need is a division between teams as they enter CBA negotiations and a potential strike/lockout. Even without this "trick pick"... the Panthers are THE team of the future IMO, more so than the much talked about Altanta Thrashers. P.S. The late Roger Nielson would have appreciated such an underhanded tactic, as he was the king of finding loopholes to take advantage of the rules: - he'd tell his goalie to leave his stick on the ice, hence blocking the net, when he was pulled for an extra attacker late in a game... once it saved them a goal and they ended tying then winning that game. The rule was then changed. - on penalty shots, he'd pull his goalie and put his fastest player in the net instead. When the whistle was blown the player would skate fast to meet the player before he even got to the blue line... the poor guys on a penalty shot never had a chance to shoot, or shot on the player. The rule was then changed. - He'd have friends in the stands, when he'd need a timeout he gave them a signal and one of them threw an egg on the ice... taking a few minutes to clean up. There are a million of them... I'm sure he would have enjoyed this last one by Dudley. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CerebusClones Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 I hope too that the league wont allow this, but to be fair, if the Panthers can somehow find a legal loophole in the CBA, then the league should approve their selection. A contract is a contract. But I agree that the Panthers, even without Ovechkin, will be a top force in the NHL. They already have plenty of great youngsters, and some more are coming (including Horton and Krajicek). Anthony Stewart could be a major steal at #25. And if they can pull their little last round stunt, wow... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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