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With the Sixth Overall Pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, Anaheim Selects...

June 19, 2012, 2:04 PM ET [48 Comments]
Brian Huddle
CHL and NHL Prospects • RSSArchiveCONTACT



7. Teuvo Teravainen
8. Radek Faksa
9. Matthew Dumba
10. Morgan Rielly
11. Jacob Trouba
12. Cody Ceci
13. Brendan Gaunce
14. Zemgus Girgensons
15. Olli Määttä
16. Tom Wilson
17. Sebastian Collberg
18. Matt Finn
19. Andrei Vasilevski
20. Slater Koekkoek
21. Henrik Samuelsson
22. Derrick Pouliot
23. Tomas Hertl
24. Hampus Lindholm
25. Nicolas Kerdiles
26. Scott Laughton
27. Ludvig Bystrom
28. Cristoval 'Boo' Nieves
29. Oscar Dansk
30. Malcolm Subban

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Lucky enough to have the likes of Bobby Ryan, Corey Perry, Cam Fowler, Ryan Getzlaf and Jonas Hiller, some wonder how Anaheim could struggle as much as they did. A team who has some youthful players, along with some merging prospects, Anaheim is just waiting for their top end prospects to make the jump.

"With the sixth overall pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, Anaheim is proud to select, from the Edmonton Oil Kings of the Western Hockey League: Griffin Reinhart."



Standing at six-foot-four and a good 200 lbs, Reinhart is one of the biggest players available in the first round come Draft Day. For a big guy, he mixes his raw strength and physical attributes with a healthy amount of skill into a lethal two-way combination that has many scouts jumping on the hype train.

Although his feet looked quite heavy early on, as if he had regressed, Reinhart turned his season around, adding a good amount of mobility. He has good footwork and pivots, utilizing his reach to keep speedier forwards a bit more honest and to the outside. He uses his choppy strides to get around well. He'll need to continue to work on his first first strides and stance on his skates.

Defensively, Reinhart is quite strong. And I use the word strong for a reason. Using his raw man-like body, Reinhart brings a multitude of talents in his own zone. Whether he's steering his opponent to the boards and laying into them with a hard and well-timed check, or moving opponents from the front of the net with good discipline, he's a typical defender in that regard. He can out muscle almost anyone and come away with the puck.

Offensively, he uses good decision making to hit his forwards with crisp outlet passes that many others couldn't. He transitions the puck extremely well and can become an offensive catalyst in-zone. He brings a very heavy and accurate slapshot to open space for himself, or to reach the netting at the back.

At times, he can become a little too cute and try to rely on his stick and long reach, rather than laying into an opponent and making them pay the price.

A big man with skill is what every hockey fan wants on their team. Every NHL General Manager agrees. In time, Reinhart could be a premier NHL Defenseman. For now, he's a top prospect.
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