With the 2011 Draft in the books, the eyes of the scouting world now focus onto 2012. And no... not the end of the world, but a Draft Class which boasts some of the best high end prospects in recent years. Not only top heavy, but 2012 looks incredibly deep; if there's any year to hold onto a first round pick, 2012 could be it.
Let's look at three guys who might all be in the running for first overall.
Nail Yakupov
In a campaign that fans have dubbed "Fail for Nail", Yakupov looks like the front-runner to go first overall a year from now. A rookie season in the Ontario Hockey League this past year, produced an outstanding 49 goals and 101 points, capping off a 'Rookie of the Year' campaign. Known for his high end offensive skills, Yakupov has blazing speed with agility in all directions. His explosive nature and shifty hands have him making defensemen look foolish almost regularly, and in timely fashion. He's a big game player, and has the skills to back it up with a bullet of a shot; both from the wrist and a one-timed slap shot. He can make plays off the wing, but is more of a finisher. The term
"generational talent" isn't floated too often, but there are whispers of it with Yakupov. At only 5'10, he's not big, but he plays with a real edge to his game and loves to get in on a big hit.
Ryan Murray
The Captain of Canada's Under-18 team, Murray has NHL Captain written all over his Everett sweater, and more. The possibility for Murray to pan out as a number one defender are there, with an array of smarts and skills to back up his passion-induced game. His game is based off his puck moving skills and calm nature with the puck. A mobile skater, who sees the ice better than most, Murray knows his options and hits those around him with tape to tape passes without much of a sweat. More of a passing type blueliner on the PP, Murray has the ability to be both with a low trajectory shot from the point. He shows a lot of maturity to his game, and is generally mistake free all game. He shows outstanding understanding for the game and strong positioning on all three zones. At six feet, he doesn't have the large size you'd want, but there's time, and skill to get to that level.
Nick Ebert
Another guy who teams will look at when looking for a potential number one defender, Ebert shows two-way abilities and excellent skills for a young rearguard. He's more a puckrusher, than a mover, and has the skating and east-west agility to take the puck end to end, making the opponent pay. His hockey sense is quite high and really knows where to be and when to take risks in the offensive zone. He possesses a hard point shot, as well as crisp passing. He's another mature kid who can get back defensively and contribute on that side of the puck. Ebert has shown some abilities to play a rough and tough game, but that doesn't seem to be his game. Even so, he's a high end two-way defender who will contribute offensively, and on the powerplay. Hard to turn up that kind of promise.
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Quick Note: Will be compiling detailed blogs on each team's draft over the summer, so those will come in spurts. So do look for those, in the future.
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