Niklas Kronwall
Rewind a year to Ottawa, when interim GM Cliff Fletcher was preparing to make his last great splash. Trading up to secure hard hitting blueliner Luke Schenn, a player unto which the Leafs hoped to bank their revival, set in motion a summer of upheaval paving the way for Brian Burke to step in mid-season. For many the draft of 2008 marked an era of realization, that change was required and perhaps finally the Leafs were going to commit to a full scale rebuild based on the youth model in Pittsburgh.
With the imposition of the salary cap taking some clout away from the financial Super Powers (or so they say), the "new" NHL focuses upon the importance of successful drafting and a constant flow of young players on cheap, entry-level contracts. With scouts now being dispatched to all corners of the globe, it's getting to be quite a small world. The boundaries of the Hockey Community are ever-growing, and we're starting to find ourselves with a neat little global village forming in the NHL. [more…]
