The NHL Entry Draft is finally here. Christmas, for those of us who call ourselves 'Prospect Junkies.' A reset for franchises and fans who have felt disappointment. And a chance for young men to make their dreams come true. I'd like to think it's one of those days in the NHL Season where everyone feels good.
Speculation is rampant. Edmonton controls where the Top Five go, depending on whether they take Yakupov, Murray or trade down for Griffin Reinhart (as speculated). For all this talk that people have of "so-and-so won't be there at X", all I have to say is that this year is the most debated draft I can ever remember. There really is no real consensus as far as scouts see. So in that light, trust your team's scouts for all the hard work they put in this year. After all, this night is just as much about them, too.
Some thoughts:
- Bold Prediction: Radek Faksa will be the player that fans and teams alike watch go outside the lottery picks (1-5) and go "how the hell did we not take him?" If you haven't had a chance to see the TSN feature on him, do so here.
- I don't buy the "Mikhail Grigorenko is 21 years old" rumors. I've heard them for a while now. I have a hard time believing it. That being said, a lot of hockey people do. Won't be shocked if he slips far because of it.
- A lot of people argue over skill vs. character vs. whatever. I don't like the idea of just rolling the dice on boom/busts with high skill all the time. I prefer to use an asset (draft pick), and turn it into another asset (NHL player).
- Remember when last year at this time every media outlet was criticizing 2011 and saying how good 2012 was gonna be, yet now they're criticizing 2012. Grass is greener.
- I've heard that Buffalo has told Tom Wilson they'll take him if he's available at their pick (21). Take it with a grain of salt, as it's not confirmed.
- Whoever gets Alex Galchenyuk is going to get a star.
- Enjoy the night, whether your team is picking or not.
1 - Alex Galchenyuk, C
2 - Nail Yakupov, RW
3 - Mikhail Grigorenko, C
4 - Radek Faksa, C
5 - Jacob Trouba, D
6 - Ryan Murray, D
7 - Griffin Reinhart, D
8 - Filip Forsberg, LW
9 - RW Cody Ceci, D
10 - Matt Dumba, D
11 - Zemgus Girgensons, C
12 - Slater Koekkoek, D
13 - Brendan Gaunce, C
14 - Morgan Reilley, D
15 - Teuvo Teravainen, LW
16 - Sebastian Collberg, RW/LW
17 - Olli Maatta, D
18 - Matt Finn, D
19 - Tom Wilson, RW
20 - Derek Pouliot, D
21 - Oscar Dansk, G
22 - Stefan Matteau, LW
23 - Colton Sissons, RW
24 - Nicolas Kerdiles, C
25 - Scott Laughton, C
26 - Tomas Hertl, C
27 - Henrik Samuelsson, RW
28 - Martin Frk, RW
29 - Andrei Vasilevski, G
30 - Brady Skjei, D
31 - Dalton Thrower, D
32 - Patrick Siellof, D
33 - Daniil Zharkov, LW
34 - Scott Kosmachuk, RW
35 - Ludvig Bystrom, D
36 - Lukas Sutter, C
37 - Jordan Schmaltz, D
38 - Tim Bozon, LW
39 - Phillip Di Giuseppe, F
40 - Adam Pelech, D
41 - Hampus Lindholm, D
42 - Jarrod Maidens, C
43 - Pontus Aberg, LW
44 - Tanner Pearson, LW
45 - Cristoval 'Boo' Nieves, C/LW
46 - Malcolm Subban, G
47 - Troy Bourke, LW
48 - Ville Pokka, D
49 - Damon Severson, D
50 - Trevor Carrick, D
51 - Ryan Rupert, LW
52 - Brady Vail, C
53 - Miles Koules, RW
54 - Tanner Richard, LW
55 - Josh Anderson, LW
56 - Seth Griffith, F
57 - Gianluca Curcuruto, D
58 - Mark Jankowski, C
59 - Jake McCabe, D
60 - Daniel Altshuller, G
61 - Gemel Smith, C
62 - Brian Hart, RW
63 - Charles Hudon, LW
64 - Anton Slepyshev, LW
65 - Matia Marcantuoni, RW
66 - Matt Murray, G
67 - Dane Fox, C
68 - Brandon Troock, RW
69 - John Gillies, G
70 - Calle Anderson, D
71 - Thomas Hyka, RW
72 - Devin Shore, C
73 - Collin Olson, G
74 - Dillon Fournier, D
75 - Coda Gordon, LW
76 - Nick Ebert, D
77 - Zack Leslie, D
78 - Jake Paterson, G
79 - Anthony Stolarz, G
80 - Ben Johnson, C
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