SI.com's Allan Muir has his 2008 NHL mock draft* up, and while he has the Caps taking a two-way defenseman named Tyler Cuma with the 23rd pick overall, this line stuck out to me:
"A goaltender wouldn't be a surprise at this spot, considering the disappointing development of 2006 first-rounder Semen Varlamov..."
Huh?
Is he talking about the same Varlamov that made Russia's gold medal-winning World Championship team this past spring?
Is he talking about the same Varlamov that one of the world's foremost goalie coaches recently called "the most talented young goalie [he has] seen in many years" who "has potential to be a real NHL star in the future"?
Is he talking about the same Varlamov that at the 2007 World Junior Championship "was the second best goalie in the entire tournament, giving up only nine goals on 136 shots, with a 1.51 goals against average"?
Is he talking about the same Varlamov that was first in games played and shutouts, 12th in goals against average and 13th in save percentage in Russia's Super League this past season at the age of 19? [Update: And, as B19 points out in the comments, "Varlamov lead his team to the RSL finals. In 16 playoff contests, Varlamov had a 1.62 GAA."]
Nah. He must be talking about the Varlamov that had one bad series last summer that just happened to be televised in Canada.
Quality stuff, Allan.
* On a mostly unrelated note, if mock drafts are your thing, DC Pro Sports Report is your site - they've got the web's best collection of 'em, as far as I can tell.
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