Last Updated:  2009 Dec 29
Each player is projected on making it to
the NHA on a grading scale of 1-10.
PLAYER LEGEND - (HIGHLIGHT COLOUR DEFINES LEAGUE PLAYING IN)

Playing in the N.H.A.
Playing in the N.H.A. Farm League
Playing in N.A. Development League (Prospect)
Playing in the NCAA or other Amateur League (Prospect)
Playing in Europe (Prospect)
Houston
Rockhounds

Organization Ranking  (7)
              Change  (-2)
Top Prospects
Other Notables
Graduated
Summary Strength Even Weakness
       
Goaltending     X
Defense XX    
Centers   X  
Wingers X    
Drafting   X  
Draft Picks   X  
Left Wing Center Right Wing
1) Drayson Bowman  7.5 C 1)  Shawn Matthias  7.5 C 1)  Tyler Kennedy  6.5 A
2)  Jamie McGinn  7.0 C 2) T.J. Hensick  7.5 C 2)  Matt D'Agostini  6.5 B
3)  Benoit Pouliot  7.5 D 3) John Mitchell  6.5 B 3)  Matt Halischuk  6.5 B
4)  Daniel Winnik  5.5 B 4)  Evan Brophey  7.0 C 4)  Zach Stortini  5.5 A
5) Tom Fritsche  6.0 C 5) Corey Locke  7.0 D 5)  Chris Thorburn  6.0 B
6) Bryan Bickell  6.0 C 6)  Kyle Wilson  6.0 C 6)  Chris Conner  6.5 C
7)  Robbie Earl  6.5 D 7)  Darryl Boyce  6.0 C 7)  Colin McDonald  6.0 C
8)  Nicholas Blanchard  5.0 B 8)  Morten Madsen  6.5 D 8)  Troy Bodie  5.0 C
9) Adam Henrich  6.0 F 9)  Alexander Svitov  7.0 F 9)  Dmitri Chernykh  5.5 F
  10)  Billy Ryan  6.5 F  
  11) Travis Morin  6.5 F  
     
Defense (L) Defense (R) Goaltenders
1)  Josh Gorges  7.0 B 1)  Tom Gilbert  7.0 A 1)  James Reimer  7.0 C
2)  Kyle Cumiskey  6.0 B 2) Matthew Greene  7.0 A 2)  Billy Sauer  6.5 D
3)  Alexander Sulzer  6.5 C 3)  Peter Harrold  6.5 B 3)  Bobby Goepfert  6.5 D
4)  Michael Ratchuk  6.0 C 4)  Jeff Petry  7.0 C  
  5)  Mathieu Roy  5.0 A  
     
Edmonton
Roughnecks
Draft Review  -  Houston Rockhounds                                                                                                      by Robert Michaud

Transactions (leading up to and throughout the draft):

     OUT:  Andy Greene (D); 3rd Round Selection (73rd OV); 4th Round Selection (101st OV); 5th Round Selection (129th OV)

     IN:      Daniel Alfredsson (RW); Todd Marchant (C)

The Rockhounds were pretty quiet at the draft table but still managed to improve the team for the next few years. The biggest transaction they did was acquiring the rights to soon-to-be UFA Daniel Alfredsson for defenseman Andy Greene; after the trade they signed Daniel to a 4 year deal.

Organizational Weaknesses (prior to Draft):
     Goaltending prospects; Top 6 wingers

NHA Draft Preview Prediction:     Eric Tangradi to ROCKHOUNDS at #17 overall
Actual Result:                                 ROCKHOUNDS select Drayson Bowman at #17 overall

2007 NHA Entry Draft Selections
     Drayson Bowman, LW     (WHL)     [1st Round (17th Overall)]
     Matt Halischuk, RW        (OHL)       [2nd Round (45th Overall)]

Though GM Lonnee traded away all of his late-round picks in the draft, he did keep his two highest selections. In the first round the 'Hounds picked up sniping right winger Drayson Bowman, then in the second round they added right winger Matt Halischuk who has the makings of a third line heart-and-soul type of player. The biggest need of the organization was for high-end center talent and that has not been addressed yet.

Possible draft-day steals:     Too early to predict
   1)  Tom Gilbert, D
        Acquired:  NHA Dispersal Draft
   2)  Matthew Greene, D
        Acquired:  NHA Dispersal Draft
   3)  Tyler Kennedy, RW/C
        Acquired:  148th OV, '04 Draft
   4)  Josh Gorges, D
        Acquired:  NHA Dispersal Draft
   5)  Shawn Matthias, C/LW
        Acquired:  from Wildcats
   6)  Drayson Bowman, LW
        Acquired:  17th OV, '07 Draft
   7)  T.J. Hensick, C/RW
        Acquired:  from Vampyres
   8)  Matt D'Agostini, RW
        Acquired:  from Vampyres
   9)  Matt Halischuk, RW
        Acquired:  45th OV, '07 Draft
10)  John Mitchell, C/LW
        Acquired:  NHA Dispersal Draft
11)  Peter Harrold, D/RW
        Acquired:  Free Agent signing
12)  Jamie McGinn, LW/RW
        Acquired:  82nd OV, '06 Draft
13)  Jeff Petry, D
        Acquired:  26th OV, '06 Draft
14)  James Reimer, G
        Acquired:  110th OV, '06 Draft
15)  Evan Brophy, C
        Acquired:  107th OV, '05 Draft
16)  Benoit Pouliot, LW/C
        Acquired:  23rd OV, '05 Draft
17)  Zach Stortini, RW
        Acquired:  Free Agent signing
18)  Chris Thorburn, RW
        Acquired:  NHA Dispersal Draft
19)  Kyle Cumiskey, D
        Acquired:  27th OV, '05 Draft
20)  Alexander Sulzer, D
        Acquired:  Free Agent signing
     Bryan Bickell, LW
     Nicolas Blanchard, LW/C
     Troy Bodie, RW
     Darryl Boyce, C/LW
     Dmitri Chernykh, RW
     Chris Conner, RW/LW
     Robbie Earl, LW
     Tom Fritsche, LW
     Bobby Goepfert, G
     Adam Henrich, LW
     Corey Locke, C/LW
     Morten Madsen, C/W
     Colin McDonald, RW
     Travis Morin, C
     Michael Ratchuk, D
     Mathieu Roy, D
     Billy Ryan, C
     Billy Sauer, G
     Alexander Svitov, C
     Kyle Wilson, C
     Daniel Winnik, W/C
     Drew Stafford, RW
 
2009/06/01  Houston Rockhounds - Facing the Future
Although the Houston Rockhounds made the playoffs in each of their first three seasons, they have never played beyond the second round. With an aging line-up and some key players ready to test the free agent waters at the end of this season, now may be an appropriate time for General Manager Jeff Lonnee to consider taking a few steps back and retool for the future. The Rockhounds franchise has some good depth at most every position, which will be a blessing as the team moves forward. Most importantly however, is the strong development of Finnish netminder Niklas Backstrom who has the potential to be a dominant goalie at the NHA level; if the team can build out from their netminder, they will be better for it. The center position is a big concern for this franchise. With veterans Joe Sakic and Michael Peca set to hit the free agent market at the end of the season, the Rockhounds will essentially have only Mike Ribeiro and Mike Sillinger to center the top two lines, although the aging Sillinger may be better suited for third or fourth line duty.  The team does have a few quality prospects in the system such as Tyler Kennedy, Shawn Matthias and T.J. Hensick, but they are all a few years away from seeing regular NHA ice-time.

Left Wing - Houston will continue to rely heavily on Alex Tanguay, who has proven time and time again that he is first line material. The team has high hopes for Benoit Pouliot (drafted 23rd overall in '05); Pouliot has the makings of a first or second line winger, but will need to show more consistency and commitment to the game before seeing a regular spot on the Rockhounds roster.

Center - As was already mentioned, there are a few quality pivots working their way towards Houston. Within a few seasons, Matthias, Hensick and Kennedy should all be making contributions with the big club.

Right Wing - Although this is another position that will need to be addressed at some point down the road, there is currently some decent depth at this position to get the franchise through the next few years.  Most notable is 20-year old Drew Stafford, who has enough natural talent to make him a premier power forward; at 6'2" and 213 lbs, Stafford is a great combination of size and skill, and even more importantly, he has displayed an incredible work ethic since being drafted, which will should make a huge impression in the minds of both GM Lonnee and Houston's fans.

Defense - With one of the best young all-around defensemen in the game in Jay Bouwmeester, the Rockhounds are in great shape for the foreseeable future. Bouwmeester is an incredibly smooth skater with a keen sense of how the new game is played; unbelievably, Bouwmeester is only twenty-three years of age and still a few years away from his prime, at which point he may become one of the most dominant defensemen in the game.  Houston has also drafted many good blueliners over the last three seasons, which should start to pay dividends in the very near future; with the likes of Jeff Petry, Tom Gilbert, Josh Gorges and Matt Greene, the Rockhounds will have a very good defensive corps for years to come.

Goaltending - The future netminding duties stop with 28-year old Niklas Backstrom, who has the ability and composure to be a top five goaltender in the National Hockey Association. Backstrom is an extremely calm goaltender who has a ton of experience on the international stage.  Once Backstrom gets accustomed to the North American game, he should be a dominant player at his position for many years to come. There still remains the question of who the secondary goaltending duties would fall to should Backstrom fail in his attempt to become Houston's starter, a question which GM Lonnee will need to figure out before too long.
Rockhounds 2006 Draft Review

Rockhounds 2005 Draft Review

Rockhounds 2004 Draft Review