Drafting Henrik Lundqvist
from Emily Kaplan of ESPN,
"Back then, the drafts were nine rounds, and by the sixth or seventh, you're just looking for a player that someone semi-likes," explained then-assistant general manager Don Maloney. "You're just trying to stay awake more than anything else."
The Rangers had already drafted a goalie, American-born Brandon Snee, in the fifth round. "But we didn't have anyone in our system we were really high on," Maloney said. "So by the seventh round, we said, 'We really should think about another goalie here.'"
Sitting to Maloney's right was Martin Madden, the head of amateur scouting. On Maloney's left was Christer Rockstrom, the team's head European scout. Maloney glanced over at Rockstrom's notebook, and noticed a bunch of names crossed out except for one at the top: Henrik Lundqvist's.
"Christer," Maloney whispered. "Is that your top goaltender in Europe that hasn't been selected?"
"Yes," Rockstrom responded. "But Martin saw him and didn't like him, so don't bring his name up."
Maloney was incredulous.
"It was so illogical -- Christer has a great track record, why wouldn't we take this Lundqvist guy?" Maloney said.
So Maloney brought his concerns to Madden. "In Martin's defense -- and why I think Henrik fell in that draft -- Henrik wasn't very good in the last tournament that all the scouts see," Maloney said. "But Martin basically said, 'Fine, we'll take him.' Christer looked at me and was like, 'I can't believe it. Don -- why are you trying to get me in trouble with my boss?'"
read on...
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