Deadline to sign 2003 picks is today
Jul 28, 2005 5:08:16 GMT -5
Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Jul 28, 2005 5:08:16 GMT -5
Jul. 28, 2005. 01:00 AM
NHL teams continue to stockpile youth
Deadline to sign 2003 picks is today
Philadelphia's Jeff Carter and Mike Richards were the headliners in a flurry of signings of young players by NHL clubs yesterday as teams rush to get their 2003 draft picks under contract.
Teams have until 5 p.m. EDT today to sign their 2003 draft picks or those players go back in the draft Saturday in Ottawa.
Carter, who spent four seasons with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, was the 11th and Kitchener Rangers captain Richards, the 24th overall pick. They were impact players for Canada in a gold medal effort at the world junior championship last January and both helped the Flyers' AHL affiliate win the Calder Cup title in the spring after their OHL seasons ended.
Flyers general manager Bob Clarke said recently the two players deserved to sign contracts for the maximum salary they could earn under the new collective bargaining agreement. For 2003 draft picks, that is $942,400 (U.S.) a year, and up to 30 per cent of that can be negotiated as a signing bonus.
The new CBA gave financial incentive to those players to sign with the clubs that drafted them with better financial terms than those for 2005 draft picks.
"It's nice to get it out of the way," Richards said. "I think everything that happened with the CBA and stuff like that, it's just nice to be a Philadelphia Flyer."
The Pittsburgh Penguins signed four draft picks from 2003: Lethbridge Hurricanes forward Jonathan Filewich, Mississauga IceDogs forward Daniel Carcillo, Owen Sound Attack defenceman Paul Bissonnette and Cape Breton Screaming Eagles forward Stephen Dixon.
Filewich and Carcillo were third-round picks, Bissonnette was a fourth-round pick, and Dixon, who also played for the Canadian juniors the last two years, was a seventh-round selection.
The New York Rangers signed goalie Alvaro Montoya, the sixth overall pick in the 2004 draft. Montoya was named the top goaltender at the 2004 world junior championship. He had a 30-7-3 record, a 2.52 goals-against average and a .895 save percentage for the University of Michigan last season.
The Rangers also signed Prince Albert Raiders forward Rick Kozak, whose rights were traded by Flyers last year.
Another goaltender, Gerald Coleman of the Memorial Cup-champion London Knights, has agreed to terms with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Coleman, a seventh-round pick of the Lightning in 2003, had a record of 32-2-2, a GAA of 1.70 and a save percentage of .941 with the Knights last season.
The Atlanta Thrashers now have Halifax Mooseheads defenceman Jim Sharrow and Rouyn-Noranda Huskies forward Guillaume Desbiens, both fourth-round draft picks in 2003, under contract.
Canadian Press
NHL teams continue to stockpile youth
Deadline to sign 2003 picks is today
Philadelphia's Jeff Carter and Mike Richards were the headliners in a flurry of signings of young players by NHL clubs yesterday as teams rush to get their 2003 draft picks under contract.
Teams have until 5 p.m. EDT today to sign their 2003 draft picks or those players go back in the draft Saturday in Ottawa.
Carter, who spent four seasons with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, was the 11th and Kitchener Rangers captain Richards, the 24th overall pick. They were impact players for Canada in a gold medal effort at the world junior championship last January and both helped the Flyers' AHL affiliate win the Calder Cup title in the spring after their OHL seasons ended.
Flyers general manager Bob Clarke said recently the two players deserved to sign contracts for the maximum salary they could earn under the new collective bargaining agreement. For 2003 draft picks, that is $942,400 (U.S.) a year, and up to 30 per cent of that can be negotiated as a signing bonus.
The new CBA gave financial incentive to those players to sign with the clubs that drafted them with better financial terms than those for 2005 draft picks.
"It's nice to get it out of the way," Richards said. "I think everything that happened with the CBA and stuff like that, it's just nice to be a Philadelphia Flyer."
The Pittsburgh Penguins signed four draft picks from 2003: Lethbridge Hurricanes forward Jonathan Filewich, Mississauga IceDogs forward Daniel Carcillo, Owen Sound Attack defenceman Paul Bissonnette and Cape Breton Screaming Eagles forward Stephen Dixon.
Filewich and Carcillo were third-round picks, Bissonnette was a fourth-round pick, and Dixon, who also played for the Canadian juniors the last two years, was a seventh-round selection.
The New York Rangers signed goalie Alvaro Montoya, the sixth overall pick in the 2004 draft. Montoya was named the top goaltender at the 2004 world junior championship. He had a 30-7-3 record, a 2.52 goals-against average and a .895 save percentage for the University of Michigan last season.
The Rangers also signed Prince Albert Raiders forward Rick Kozak, whose rights were traded by Flyers last year.
Another goaltender, Gerald Coleman of the Memorial Cup-champion London Knights, has agreed to terms with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Coleman, a seventh-round pick of the Lightning in 2003, had a record of 32-2-2, a GAA of 1.70 and a save percentage of .941 with the Knights last season.
The Atlanta Thrashers now have Halifax Mooseheads defenceman Jim Sharrow and Rouyn-Noranda Huskies forward Guillaume Desbiens, both fourth-round draft picks in 2003, under contract.
Canadian Press
