November 25, 2011
Pucks From The Past
Saskatoon Westerns, 1992-93

by Iain Fyffe

Displaying pretext

As we've discussed before, our fictional GM Ardal Ekrub does not set out to draft from a particular group of players. That he tends to end up with smaller players and Europeans is the result of other teams undervaluing these groups. Going into the 1992 Entry Draft, though, Ekrub would be quite pleased to draft another raft of players from across the Atlantic. Of the top nine players available (according to his Project-a-Tron objective draft rating system), seven are from Europe, including the top four (Robert Petrovicky, Sergei Krivokrasov, Alexei Yashin, and Roman Hamrlik). Landing of few of these players would make it a very good draft indeed for our beloved Saskatoon Westerns. Although his team has won Stanley Cups in both 1990 and 1992, Ekrub is constantly looking for top prospects, believing that a model of consistent success through drafting is a realistic one.

Top 30 Players Available at 1992 Entry Draft

Rank	Player			Pos	League	PGVT+	Drafted
1	Petrovicky, Robert	F	Cze	14.5	9
2	Krivokrasov, Sergei	F	Rus	13.3	12
3	Yashin, Alexei		F	Rus	10.8	2
4	Hamrlik, Roman		D	Cze	10.0	1
5	Brousseau, Paul		F	QMJHL	9.4	28
6	Cooper, David		D	WHL	8.7	11
7	Brylin, Sergei		F	Rus	8.7	42
8	Kapanen, Sami		F	Fin	8.4	-
9	Luovi, Mikko		F	Fin	8.1	-
10	Gendron, Martin		F	QMJHL	7.3	71
11	Rathje, Mike		D	WHL	7.0	3
12	Warriner, Todd		F	OHL	6.7	4
13	Suk, Steve		F	CCHA	6.7	-
14	Stillman, Cory		F	OHL	6.5	6
15	Wilkinson, Derek	G	OHL	6.1	145
16	Convery, Brandon	F	OHL	5.6	8
17	Wilkie, David		D	WHL	5.5	20
18	Klimt, Tomas		F	Cze	5.5	104
19	Hussey, Marc		D	WHL	5.4	43
20	Smith, Jason		D	WHL	5.3	18
21	Lamothe, Marc		G	OHL	5.3	92
22	DeRouville, Philippe	G	QMJHL	5.3	115
23	Murray, Rem		F	CCHA	5.3	135
24	Dackell, Andreas	F	Swe	5.3	-
25	Intranuovo, Ralph	F	OHL	5.2	96
26	Smith, Ryan		D	WHL	5.0	171
27	Corpse, Keli		F	OHL	4.9	44
28	Bannister, Drew		D	OHL	4.8	26
29	Marchant, Todd		F	ECAC	4.8	-
30	Peca, Mike		F	OHL	4.6	40

Ekrub continues to use a 15% upward PGVT+ adjustment for defensemen, in order to build up his team's relative paucity of blueliners drafted each year. He still has no reason to believe this reflects a flaw in his Project-a-Tron system, but rather that other NHL teams do a better job of drafting the best defensive prospects, while often leaving quality young forwards undrafted. In order to avoid having to trade for defensemen, Ekrub needs to massage his ratings to ensure he is able to draft enough players for this position.

This adjustment does not help Ekrub much this year, as the top four defensemen available (and five of the top six) have already been drafted by the time he gets his first pick at number 23. He does select three blueliners, though later in the draft, and he does manage to nab several of the top-rated Euros in Sergei Brylin, Sami Kapanen, and Mikko Luovi, in addition to Andreas Dackell and Frantisek Kaberle in the later rounds.

Saskatoon Westerns 1992 Entry Draft Picks

Pick	Player			Pos	League	PGVT+
23	Brousseau, Paul		RW	QMJHL	9.4
30	Brylin, Sergei		C	Rus	8.7
46	Kapanen, Sami		RW	Fin	8.4
48	Luovi, Mikko		LW	Fin	8.1
71	Gendron, Martin		RW	QMJHL	7.3
95	Suk, Steve		C	CCHA	6.7
119	Wilkinson, Derek	G	OHL	6.1
143	Smith, Ryan		D	WHL	5.0
167	Dackell, Andreas	RW	Swe	5.3
191	Kaberle, Frantisek	D	Cze	4.4
215	Marchant, Todd		C	ECAC	4.8
239	Julien, Stephane	D	QMJHL	4.2
263	Ducharme, Dom		C	ECAC	4.2

Ekurb uses a variety of means to purge his roster during the 1992 offseason. First of all, Brian Propp announces his retirement, and like Bernie Federko before him joins the management team. His number 26 is retired in a ceremony celebrating the team's second Stanley Cup win.