As day two of the NHL 2007 draft opens, I cannot help but look around the Nationwide Arena and see all of the kids that still sitting here waiting to be picked. While some of them know that they will be selected in the later rounds, there are still some whose hopes have fallen, and they have to be worried that their NHL dream may be shattered or at least on hold for the moment. I remember the occasion when Don Cherry was telling the parents and their kids to not go to the draft unless they were certain they were going to be chosen. Not many make it into the NHL of the thousands of young men who have dreamed of hockey as their adult future. My heart goes out to the young hopefuls who are still here, most with their families, waiting anxiously and hoping that their names will be called.

The turnout of fans today in Columbus is not in the numbers it was yesterday. While many diehard fans still attended, it is obvious that the early round picks were the draw for those who did not come out for the second day. Still, I am somewhat in awe of the number of fans that have come to Columbus from other places to see this year’s draft. I was very pleased to hear the number of people that have commented on what a nice time they have had while here in Columbus. While I know this is a great place to live, it is refreshing to hear so many others comment on how personable the people are here and how welcome they feel here. While Columbus is still new to the NHL, the turnout for day one has proven that Columbus would be a great place to host the All-Star game.

I am dumbfounded by the number of deals that didn’t happen. While teams continue to swap picks back and forth, it appears that some of the blockbuster trades that could have happened did not occur. This has caused many in the media to complain that this year’s draft has been a bit of a snoozer. Teams are waiting for their picks and shuffling the picks when they feel that a player they want might be in danger of being taken. Still, the majority of the picks made in these two days are a few years away from playing in the NHL. Teams will bring them along slowly, which means more time spent in junior hockey, college, and in a few cases, finishing high school. Most of these youngsters need development and maturity and who knows which of these picks will pan out.

Many seem to feel that this year’s draft has not been as deep as in previous years, and we might look back at some of the hidden “gems” and the strange selection order and question how some of the players received the ranking that they had. There is no question that the salary cap has had an influence. Many teams are still looking at free agency opening on July 2nd and they are trying to balance that along with the salary cap and their future picks. It seems that most deals have multiple draft picks included, which makes completing a deal more complicated.

Since all of the picks from rounds two through seven takes place at the tables rather than the stage, this helps the process move faster. There is a more rapid-fire pace and due to the lack of the stage presence, this part of the draft lacks the fanfare of the first round. You can empathize for the young hopefuls that were supposed to be selected in the first round that got bumped down to the later rounds, as they certainly don’t get the attention they probably deserve.

Just because they are picked later does not mean they aren’t as qualified as the earlier picks. They still get to put on the jersey and go to the interview room to answer a few questions from the media. If every round was like the first one, the draft would last many days and the teams are just too busy for that. In addition, the media could not handle seven days of the draft and the process would be too drawn out to hold reader interest.

The biggest story of the 2007 draft has to be that so many players from the U.S. were taken. The improvements in the U.S. youth hockey program are very evident. With ten players picked in the first round and the number one and two picks coming from the U.S., hockey loving Canadians are sitting up and taking notice.

The U.S. hockey development program is paying dividends, and the U.S. should be pleased with the progress made. The biggest thing that might be overlooked is that many of these draft picks from the U.S. hockey program are from non-traditional hockey markets. Fans can criticize Gary Bettman, but the NHL’s efforts to cultivate hockey at the grass roots level are paying off.

In the past, the NHL would have been hard pressed to select a high draft pick from California, but it happened this year! Youth hockey programs are the NHL’s future. Columbus has a great hockey program, thanks in part to the influence and popularity of the Columbus Blue Jackets and its organization. It’s so exciting for very young players to begin learning hockey fundamentals, grow their interest in the sport, and have an opportunity to play competitively in high school, and perhaps even have an opportunity to one day be drafted into the NHL.

At pick 198 in the seventh round, the New York Rangers selected Danny Hobbs from the Ohio Junior Blue Jackets; the first player to ever be drafted from them. Former Blue Jackets GM Doug MacLean has to feel good about this pick, as he was the driving force in establishing the Ohio Junior Blue Jackets.

Ohio hockey fans have to also be excited to see C.J. Severyn of Beaver Creek, Pennsylvania, who will be playing college hockey at Ohio State University, taken by the Calgary Flames as 186th pick in the seventh round. There is good buzz on this kid and he should do well in the fine hockey program at Ohio State.

With the 211th and last pick of the 2007 draft, the Blue Jackets selected Trent Vogelhuber, in what has to be the biggest surprise for Blue Jackets fans. The pick of a local player from Columbus (Dublin), Ohio is the lightning bolt of local interest that the Jackets have needed for some time. Vogelhuber is headed to Miami University (in Ohio) to play college hockey in the CCHA. If he is able to make the CBJ team in the future, he is certain to become a huge fan favorite.

Much of the buzz today around the Nationwide Arena seems to center around the fact that many of the GMs are anxious to leave Columbus and get back to their base of operations where they can mount a full court press effort into figuring out their free agent situations. It looks like there are going to be more buyers than sellers with the number and quality of available free agents. To that end, a few things have become quite clear during my many discussions with colleagues over the past two days.

Look for the Philadelphia Flyers to spend all the way up their cap to restock and reload, as they intend to make a run this year at the Stanley Cup by following what is now being called the “Anaheim Formula” for success. While this formula worked well in the West, it’s unknown how well it will work in the East. They are off to a good start with their pick ups from the Nashville Predators.

Will the Predators “fire sale” in Nashville continue? With all of the unknowns about the current ownership in Nashville, it is obvious that they are going to make a serious effort to get their payroll down to a more manageable level. This does two things for them: it makes the team easier to sell and it reduces the amount of loss the Predators might have this season. Still, with all of the efforts going on in Nashville at the moment to try to get a new local ownership and increase fan support, one has to wonder if the “Pred Heads” will still support the Predators as fervently if the team is not going to contend for the Stanley Cup as they did last season. I did a lot of asking around about the future of Paul Kariya, and sadly the word is that he will not be back next season. It does appear that the Montréal Canadiens might have the inside track on signing him.

Who is going to win the Ryan Smith sweepstakes? Well, it seems that the team that really wants to get a deal done with him at the moment is Calgary. While he would be a good fit for the Flames and he could help get them to the next level, don’t count the Islanders out: Ted Nolan knows that Smith is the kind of player he could build the team around. The Islanders will continue to counter, but in the end Smith will have to decide which team is going to offer him the best opportunity to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup.

Kevin Lowe, Edmonton’s GM, indicated that he wished many of the “pitches” he previously made to various teams would have come together. He stated several times that in many instances, the asking price was just too high and he could not justify the price. Still, he says that the Oilers will continue to be active and intend to get some things done. Look for Edmonton to make some noise in the free agency market in the next few days.

More goalies will be on the move soon. Fernandez of the Minnesota Wild was said to be close to a deal with the Boston Bruins, but it never happened. Anaheim was shopping Ilya Bryzgalov, but couldn’t find a taker. Goaltending continues to be at a premium, so many teams will have to take a hard look at their situation to determine whether they need a new number one netminder to get to the next level.

The 2007 draft in Columbus was unusual, to say the least. While the first three picks were pretty clear cut, the rest were mostly a jumble, and teams really had no choice but to wait around to try to get the player they were after. I was surprised at how far down some of the leading players were selected. As always, some fans are not going to be happy with the pick or the direction that their team opted for on draft day. However, in most cases, it will take several years to determine whether the decisions made today were in fact the right ones.

Welcome to the NHL, draftees, and best of luck on your future hockey careers!