Avalanche looking for another bountiful draft

Hockey Betting Lines

06/21/2010 -

DENVER (AP) -After hitting the jackpot with two high picks in the draft last June, the Colorado Avalanche feel the pressure to replicate that this summer.

Hardly easy.

Those two players they selected weren't your typical teenagers.

From now on, every Colorado draft pick will be measured against Matt Duchene (third overall) and Ryan O'Reilly (No. 33).

Hardly fair.

The performances Colorado received last season from Duchene and O'Reilly were far from the standard. The talented twosome became a crucial component in the team's turnaround, lifting the organization back into the playoffs a year after finishing in the basement.

``That instant success tells us we're on the right path,'' said Avalanche director of scouting Rick Pracey, whose team has seven total picks - including the 17th overall - during the two-day draft that begins Friday night. ``But I think the hockey fan base is knowledgeable enough to realize it's more of a wait and see thing.''

Wait and see didn't really apply to these two.

Duchene and O'Reilly made the team out of camp as the Avalanche became the first NHL squad to boast two 18-year-olds in the season opener since the Winnipeg Jets suited up Shane Doan and Jason Doig in 1995.

The youngsters held their ground quite nicely, too, the ever-elusive Duchene leading all NHL rookies with 55 points and O'Reilly contributing in less glamorous areas such as faceoffs and blocked shots.

And to think these two were almost sent to their major-junior squads for one more year of maturing.

Instead, Duchene moved into captain Adam Foote's basement to help advance his hockey education while O'Reilly took up residence with veteran Darcy Tucker.

With the duo's rapid rise, expectations have gone up.

``There is pressure on us,'' Pracey said of uncovering that next draft gem. ``But I think it's more that there is pressure for us to find a player than it is that plays next year.''

Going into this summer's draft, the Avalanche aren't really targeting a certain position.

Rather, they're taking a similar approach as last time - scouring for the best player available. That's how O'Reilly wound up in Colorado.

The team had him pegged as a top-15 prospect. So when O'Reilly began to tumble down the board, the Avalanche attempted to move up to snare him.

A trade partner couldn't be found, yet O'Reilly still fell to Colorado.

``We're confident that depending on how the board shakes out, we're looking at a group of players in our area that we'd be happy to get our hands on,'' Pracey said. ``But I would like to hit it out (of the park) every year.''

Colorado has actually had a string of bountiful drafts in recent years.

In fact, the 2010 playoff roster against the veteran-laden San Jose Sharks contained 16 players who were drafted by the franchise. That included another first-rounder in Chris Stewart (2006) and second-rounders such as T.J. Galiardi (2007), Paul Stastny (2005) and Ryan Stoa (2005).

Buoyed by a group of fledglings, no one really expected Colorado to accomplish much of anything last season.

Clearly, the prognosticators concluded, another last-place finish awaited.

The young players developed an us-against-the-hockey-world mindset, serving them well all season long. Colorado regrouped from a late-season slide to make the postseason for a 12th time in 14 seasons in Denver.

In the playoffs, Colorado had 12 different members make their debut in a loss to the Sharks, including coach Joe Sacco, who was hired soon after last season's meltdown and groomed this core of kids into a cohesive unit.

He relied heavily on the leadership of Foote, who recently signed on for one more season of mentoring despite turning 39 in July.

``Having a young group like we did last year come together and compete at a high level was very special,'' Foote recently said. ``We're looking to carry that momentum into next season.''

Another draft class like last season certainly would help. But striking gold twice is a difficult proposition.

``We are obviously very pleased with the way things worked out last year,'' Pracey said. ``But I think it's important to keep in mind that having two 18-year-olds play in the National Hockey League certainly isn't the norm. So we have to remind ourselves that this is a process.

``The best way to stay the course is to stay with the plan and not get ahead of ourselves - keep in mind what has been successful in the past.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

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Betting Football

NFL Football Betting Online

Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.

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