AP Dateline, somewhere on a beach in Bridgeport, Barbados.

What does the owner of a GLHL team do doing the off-season, over see work on the facility, bicker in contract negotiations with over paid prima donnas, hand hold their draft picks? Not exactly, what they do is sit on the beach evaluate their draft, critique other teams drafts, in between many rum flavored drinks that’s what they do.

So before I have to answer another phone call about what about so and so and before my drink becomes empty and I need a refill (make that refills) let’s see if I can throw in my two cents (because that’s all we’re going to have left after my draft picks sign and contract get resigned.)

I could easily talk about Colorado and Philadelphia taking Ovechkin and Crosby obviously excellent picks and possibly just as much no brainers both will add immediate talent to both teams, but let’s just take a look at a few teams and see what an insider sees. (While they are still sober and not too sunburned)

While just about everyone expected Dion Phanuef to go no later that 3 he took a slight tumble to Calgary at 6, of course that made the Flames extremely happy but to this owner the steal may have been at 4 with the Rangers Marek Stavos. Now you’re saying a steal a 4? Yeah, we had our scouts out and Phanuef is surely a talent no question there but Staves has what we saw as huge upside potential and at some point may so for the Rangers what Phanuef will do for the Flames.

The other nice pick we saw was from the Stars at 16. Tomas Vanek maybe the fit in Dallas. He quietly slid into 16 pick and without fanfare the Stars’ quickly grabbed him up a very nice choice. Another good pick late in the draft was with Senators at 24 and Jason Pominville. We had some questions marks about him even being a first round selection, but scouting reports came back on him and we were surprised at what we saw, Pominville was a nice pick at 24.

One team that didn’t seem to get much kudos in this draft was the Oilers we thought that they made solid picks with Seabrook and Leclaire. They got the picks they needed and will quickly fit into the Edmonton lineup. Also in that vein the Los Angeles Kings made some excellent picks we thought moving thru the draft looking for solid role players that will make a good addition in Los Angeles. The team though that filled the holes they had thru some shrewd trade were the Boston Bruins. With 8 picks the Bruins were ever where and right away showed why they are always a contender.

A lot of teams had solid drafts and of course some did not as is the way but as they say hope springs eternal and so with each draft every team think that they have found the one gem in the rough, the one player who will take them to the cup, did they find it? Is he the one? Only time will tell, but since it will be a few more weeks before the boys lace them up and since the battery on my cell phone has gratefully died so my subordinates can deal with the problems, I think I’ll enjoy another rum drink from a barely clothed tanned young lady and the only ice I’ll worry about is the one in my drink…