3 Questions with Anthony Berube - NHL Scout

Anthony Berube was kind enough to take my questions ! Here we go

Q - The word this year among GM's is that the 2007 draft isn't as deep as previous years, what are your thoughts on that ?

A - Perception and necessity is everything in the world of Pro-sports, Is this a Mario Lemieux draft ? definitly no, but is this a draft that will produce solid NHLers, no once can say, it's definitly a draft with some talent and character players.

Q - How much influence do the players these kids grew up watching have on them ?

A - I recently spoke to Brian Burke about the biggest difference between these new kids we've been getting and veteran guys when they got here their rookie year.
One thing people forget is that these new kids grew up watching hockey, older guys came into the league and most of them had never seen their stars play, when you speak to guys like Patrick Roy, and you hear him talk about gathering around a Radio with his brothers to listen to the games, you knew these kids had to use all their imagination to play the game in their heads, heck some of these kids back then didn't know what the opposing Jersey looked like .
You can't help but wonder how much a kid's imagination plays a part in the way he develops, I think alot of kids nowadays lack imagination in their play, scoring a reel goal isn't everything, is it ?

Q - Any solid Mid-First Rounder this year ?

A - It's hard to say.
Alot of kids in the top 10 would be bottom first rounders in an excellent draft, the first round this year is more of a good second round. I think guys like Turris and Azner can definitly help a team, but are they sure-fire NHLers ? There isn't any certainty any of these kids can be good NHLers.
Someone recently said that the potential for a '' Scott Gomez '' type player out of this first round is the most you can expect, I agree with that.