Thank you to everyone who has been participating in the discussions in the comments over the last week or two. It's great to see so much interest and passion from fans even when games aren't being played.

Now I want to tap into that interest and passion by asking for your help.

I'll be heading to Ottawa the middle of next week for the NHL Entry Draft where I'll be talking to some of the top prospects at a luncheon on Thursday and then talking to the draftees on Friday and Saturday. In the interest of being well-prepared I'm getting my research done now and compiling a list of questions to ask the newest Thrashers. That's where you come in. What do you want to know about these guys? We obviously don't know who is going to get taken at each spot so the questions can't be tailored to specific players yet (save those ones for prospect camp in July) so they have to be relatively generic. So what would you like me to ask them about? List your questions below and I'll do my best to get them in. If you're fairly confident we're going to take Player A with the third pick feel free to post questions for him too if you so desire. Trying to do that for the later rounds probably isn't worth the effort though given how unpredictable those rounds are.

Here are some online player evaluations of the Thrashers draft picks. Keep in mind that any players taken in rounds 3-7 are going to have some flaws- otherwise they'd be taken earlier.

Spencer Machacek F (3rd rd, 67th overall)

• NHL Draft Buzz
• Hockey's Future Profile
• McKeen's (updated Nov., 2006)

Niclas Lucenius, C (4th rd, 115th overall)

• Hockey's Future

John Albert, C (6th rd, 175th overall)

• Hockey's Future

Time to update the rest of the site and start adding these kids to the roster page. It'll be interesting to see if all of these guys are invite to Prospect Camp in two weeks. If so I look forward to watching them and getting a chance to talk to them.

The Thrashers' second selection in the draft, 115th overall:

Niklas Lucenius
Tappara Jr. • Finland Jr.
6'0", 189 lbs. Center, shoots left
Born: May 3, 1989 in Turku, Finland
Final Ranking: 13 • Mid-Term Ranking: 14 • European Skater

Central Scouting Report: A playmaking forward… sees the ice wellmakes good decisions with the puck… has good passing ability and is the face-off circle… works hard every shift… needs to improve his overall skating… needs to increase his strength to be more effective along the boards… competed for Finland at the 2007 Under-18 World Championships.

And we've drafted a player folks. Here's what Central Scouting has to say about Spencer Machacek from the Vancouver Giants. The kid is 6-1, 182 lbs, and a right-wing from Lethbridge, Alberta. He was a solid playoff player for the Giants in their Memorial Cup run.

Central Scouting Report: A skilled forward with a good work ethic… has solid positional play and is a two-way player… drives to the net hard and finishes his checks… has good puck control and puck protection… effective on the penalty kill… needs to improve his effectiveness around the net.

Hockey Profile: His plus-26 rating in 2006-07 was ranked 12th in the WHL… his 45 points (21-24-45) in 2006-07 equaled his point production of his rookie year (23-22-45)… had 14 points (6-8-14) in the 2006 playoffs helping the Giants win the WHL Championship… named as the Vancouver Giants Rookie-of-the-Year as well as their Scholastic Player-of-the-Year in 2005-06… selected to the CHL Top Prospects Game in 2007, but was unable to participate due to injury.

Personal Profile: Nicknames are Spence and Mac… if he could invite any three people to dinner they would be: Wayne Gretzky – “best hockey player to ever play", Doug Gilmour – “favorite player” and Carrie Underwood – “great
singer”… most memorable hockey game watched: Game #6 of the 1999 Stanley Cup Final – Brett Hull scored in the third overtime period to help Dallas defeat Buffalo 2-1 and to capture the Stanley Cup… most memorable hockey game played: Game #4 of the WHL finals in 2006 – “because the championship was on the line”… credits his parents and Giants head coach, Don Hay, for having the
most influence on his career and always pushing him to be his best… patterns his game after former NHL player Doug Gilmour because he played two-way hockey… visualizing on the bench about plays that might happen in the game is part of his pre-game routine… admires Tiger Woods because “he is a great competitor and also a great athlete”… favorites include: Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL team), “shot top glove” (shootout move), NHL (video game), Deal or No Deal (TV show), Dumb & Dumber (movie), Ben Affleck (actor), Rachel McAdams (actress) and Tim McGraw (country singer).

Welcome to Day Two of the NHL Draft. I hope everyone that made it up to Jillian's had a good time.

Not much news on the drafting front for the Thrashers so far, though Don did deal a pick last night, cutting the Thrashers total number of picks down to four. Our second third-round pick went to Pittsburgh in exchange for Chris Thorburn. He was originally a second-round choice, so it could be seen as an upgrade. Thorburn is a rugged, tough forward who isn't afraid to get his nose dirty. He had trouble sticking with the Sabres and Penguins just because both teams have ridiculous depth at center, but he could crack the Thrashers lineup as a fourth-line forward. I haven't seen him play much at all, but when it comes down to it Waddell was able to trade a pick that probably wouldn't turn into a roster player for 2-3 years into a guy that could make the lineup this year. Most importantly, the 24-year-old brings some more youth to the team. I like the deal.

In other news, AOL's NHL Fanhouse crew is doing a great job blogging the draft. They're posting plenty of opinions and interviews, so if you want general draft news make sure you check them out.

My two favorite candid moments from the draft so far- Pierre McGuire calling out Doug MacLean last night for saying Alexei Cherepanov doesn't have the work ethic to play in the NHL, and Chicago's second-round pick William Sweatt (out of Colorado College) explaining that NCAA players can't say they have agents. They have family advisors. Note he didn't say they can't have agents- they just can't say they have agents.

Here's a question for the college sports nuts out there- why can drafted college hockey players go back to school without losing their eligibility but football and basketball players can't? Brett Sterling went back to school after the Thrashers took him in the draft in 2003 but there's no way Greg Oden could go back to Ohio State after getting picked this coming Thursday in the NBA draft. Why not? I know there would be no reason for him to go back, but why isn't it allowed if it is in hockey? Anyone?