Harpoons Spear Grigorenko in draft -- Great White Rumour Mill

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Subject: Harpoons Spear Grigorenko in draft

Author:
Rock Lobster

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Date Posted: 21:55:33 07/28/03 Mon

(HALIFAX)-There was a lot of backslapping going on in the Halifax Harpoons war room late Saturday night thanks to a draft that was characterized by Director of Player Personnel Barry Trapp as "outstanding". After having signed Sean Hill, Ken Klee, and Andy Sutton to 4 year deals during the regular season, the obvious place of need was the forward ranks. Halifax got the selection process rolling by taking Russian sniper Igor Grigorenko with the first pick.

"It's easy to get the player you want when you have the first pick of the draft," commented Trapp. "All credit goes to Stephen (GM Holodinsky) for the wheeling and dealing he did to secure that pick."

The Lada Togliatti product is expected to remain in Russia for another year before coming over and trying his luck with the Dartmouth Clippers. Down the road he is expected to line up across from fellow Russian Stanislav Chistov and form a dynamic duo.

After that, the Harpoons didn't have another pick until the second round where they had five of them. With picks 20 and 21 they selected scoring wingers Mattias Weinhandl and Tomas Surovy.

"We really like the upside of both of these players," stated the director of Player Personnel. "We have a long tradation of offensive fireworks in Halifax and these two will fit right in."

With the 26th pick of the draft the Tan and Navy selected hulking center Kiel McLeod. At 6'5", 225 pounds he is easily the biggest pivot in the 2004 draft class. "Kiel and Nik (recent acquisition Nik Antropov) have turned an organizational weakness into a strength," explained GM Stephen J. Holodinsky. "We like our centers big in Halifax as one can see with Ronnie (Ron Francis), Joe (Thornton), and Eric (Lindros). These two will carry on that legacy."

Finally the Harpoons had back to back picks at 30 and 31 and they selected defenseman Mark Popovic and power winger Martin Samuelsson. "Popovic is a good two way defenseman who we expect will, along with Jeff Jillson, eventually play with the big club," commented Holodinsky. "We like Samuelsson's offensive upside and speed a lot and we think he'll have a bit of an edge to his game."

Insiders say that Halifax got the top five forwards on their draft board which would explain the exuberance at the draft table. "All in al we are more than happy with the youngsters we chose today," said the GM. "We think we've set ourselves up for years to come."

Rock Lobster
HALIFAX HERALD

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