Another team with a solid influx of talent within the prospect system, Buffalo has maintained any level of success it has had through the draft. The likes of Jason Pominville, Derek Roy and Ryan Miller all bred from the same Sabre clothe, and refined into NHL players.
With top prospects, Zack Kassian, Marcus Foligno, Luke Adam and Mark Pysyk, Buffalo has no real pressing need amongst it's skaters, not to mention Jhonas Enroth ready to take the reigns from Miller in the coming years, should he need to.
With new ownership in place, and a new mantra to spend more money than normal, Buffalo has a good core to build upon going forward, and look to continue to add to that talent through the draft, as they have successfully done in recent years with players like Tyler Myers.
"With the Sixteenth Pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, Buffalo is proud to select, from the Peterborough Petes - Matt Puempel."
Pure scorers like Puempel are hard to come by. No stranger to the limelight, Puempel was taken 6th Overall in the OHL Draft and came into the Petes lineup with high expectations. He did not disappoint. In 59 games with the Petes, Pumepel scored 33 goals and 31 assists, being named OHL Rookie of the Year and CHL Rookie of the Year.
Some have looked back at the 2010 Draft, and in hindsight, many wonder how Jeff Skinner was rated so low and has come out as a top scorer in the NHL at such a young age. Pumepel could bring that 'Skinner' factor, as well.
Not overly large at 6'0, 190 lbs, Puempel makes up for that with terrific skating. He has a polished stride, and the ability to pull away from defenders. When with the puck, Puempel shows good core strength and can be hard to break down.
For offensive weapons, Puempel displays soft hands, adept passing and one heck of a shot. It is not only on the mark but brings a lot of power behind it when he lets it go. Basically, it's a heavy, but accurate shot.
The best part about Puempel's game is his outstanding hockey IQ. A guy who anticipates the play as it happens, Matt has an uncanny ability to get to scoring areas with relative ease. While he's not overly big, Puempel also displays the willingness to go to dirty areas of the ice as it calls for it.
The biggest knock on Puempel comes from his inconsistency from shift to shift. One moment displaying all the right tools to be a game breaker, then moments later looking uninterested and in a floating mode of play. Defensively he needs a lot of work, and when lazy this problem is really magnified.
While displaying high-end offensive skills and a nose for the net, Puempel has been banged up in recent days. A season ending hip surgery limited him to just 55 games this season, though the word is that he's back to skating. Had he been able to return to a playoff lineup, we could be talking about a guy who could go higher.
Rated 29th, yes 29th, by Central Scouting, I totally expect to hear Puempel's name called much earlier than that. There's too much to love about a kid who knows how to light the lamp.
Taken Previously...
1. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
2. Gabriel Landeskog
3. Jonathan Huberdeau
4. Dougie Hamilton
5. Adam Larsson
6. Sean Couturier
7. Ryan Strome
8. Ryan Murphy
9. Duncan Siemens
10. Mark McNeill
11. Nathan Beaulieu
12. Jamie Oleksiak
13. Mika Zibanejad
14. Joel Armia
15. Mark Scheifele
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