Bender's Top 30 - NHL 2013

[Bender]

Hey gang, every year it seems it's the same story, I get completely swamped around this time of year and can't post my Top 30 until right before the draft. Anyways, here goes:

Bender's Top 30 - NHL Entry Draft 2013
1 Seth Jones, RD Portland (WHL)
2 Nathan MacKinnon, C Halifax (QMJHL)
3 Jonathan Drouin, LW Halifax (QMJHL)
4 Hunter Shinkaruk, LW Medicine Hat (WHL)
5 Valeri Nichushkin, LW Chelijabinsk 2 (RUS)
6 Nikita Zadorov, LD London (OHL)
7 Bo Horvat, LW London (OHL)
8 Shea Theodore, LD Seattle (WHL)
9 Robert Hagg, LD Modo (SWE)
10 Rasmus Ristolainen, RD TPS Turku (FIN)
11 Madison Bowey, RD Kelowna (WHL)
12 Morgan Klimchuk, LW Regina (WHL)
13 Aleksander Barkov, C Tappara (FIN)
14 Nicolas Petan, C Portland (WHL)
15 Adam Erne, LW Quebec (QMJHL)
16 Darnell Nurse, LD S. Ste. Marie (OHL)
17 Valentin Zykov, RW B. Comeau (QMJHL)
18 Elias Lindholm, C Brynas (SWE)
19 Sean Monahan, C Ottawa (OHL)
20 Ryan Pulock, RD Brandon (WHL)
21 Anthony Duclair, LW Quebec (QMJHL)
22 Kerby Rychel, LW Windsor (OHL)
23 Max Domi, C London (OHL)
24 Laurent Dauphin, C Chicoutimi (QMJHL)
25 Ryan Hartman, RW Plymouth (OHL)
26 Zachary Fucale, G Halifax (QMJHL)
27 Samuel Morin, LD Rimouski (QMJHL)
28 Zach Nastasiuk, RW Owen Sound (OHL)
29 Frederik Gauthier, C Rimouski (QMJHL)
30 Josh Morrissey, LD Prince Albert (WHL)

31 Alexander Wennberg, C Djurgardens (SWE)
32 Artturi Lehkonen, LW Kalpa (FIN)
33 Philippe Desrosiers, G Rimouski (QMJHL)
34 Curtis Lazar, RW Edmonton (WHL)
35 Anthony Mantha, LW Val d'Or

BOLD = Darkhorse/Favourite

Anyone wanting more info, including my take on these prospects, it's on my website.
Enjoy!

Bender

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[Freudian]

Hägg is hard to pin down. He has periods where he looks like a can't miss stud and then periods where he looks like he doesn't care.

Terrific upside, but I'm not sure if the consistency is there. Hard to know with defenders through.

Bowey is one of those guys I have that might be available at #32 and be a good pick if Avs go with a forward in the first round.

 

[Duchene2MacKinnon]

As usually a pleasure to read thx bendy.

Nice to petan so high. I like wennberg too but I think he goes in the 1st round.

I'm not high on lindholm as well, interesting yiu have him that low. I jusy don't see what's so special about. Didn't impresse me in the wjc as he did with a lot of people

 

[Bender]

Hägg is hard to pin down. He has periods where he looks like a can't miss stud and then periods where he looks like he doesn't care.

Terrific upside, but I'm not sure if the consistency is there. Hard to know with defenders through.

Bowey is one of those guys I have that might be available at #32 and be a good pick if Avs go with a forward in the first round.

You're bang-on about Hagg, it's basically the same thing I said in my scouting report. He's a wildcard but there's a good chance he's a homerun pick.

I desperately want Theodore at #32 but I doubt he'll still be there.

 

[The Shermanator]

Barkov at 13?

 

[Bender]

Barkov at 13?

Yup. I really, REALLY hope that Sakic and Roy are just punking Tallon and Yzerman here. I'd hate it if they traded down to #2 and drafted Barkov as Bob MacKenzie suggested this morning.

The only way it's a good idea to trade down to #3, is if you're somehow getting Hedman out of the deal and still in a position to pick Drouin or Jones. I personally believe that the Barkov interest is fabricated but now BOTH Florida and Tampa probably want to draft centers since TB bought out LeCavalier. Earlier in the week we heard that the Avs liked the 3 forwards, MacK, Drouin and Barkov in that order and now supposedly that's changed? I don't buy it but it's the right way to try and manipulate the situation though.

 

[MikeC]

I always restected your opinion and still does but ... It take guts to go againsr thw majority. Bowney is in my list for the 2 nd round and since me and you share a strond opinion of trouba. With this list, i want bowney badly.... By the way ... Whwn i say that i want him i talking hockey here!!!!

 

[Bender]

I always restected your opinion and still does but ... It take guts to go againsr thw majority. Bowney is in my list for the 2 nd round and since me and you share a strond opinion of trouba. With this list, i want bowney badly.... By the way ... Whwn i say that i want him i talking hockey here!!!!

Sure you are...



Hey it's all good, I'm not trying to say OMG all the scouts are wrong and I am right, only time will tell....all I can say is, whenever I've watched these guys (Barkov, Monahan and Lindholm most notably) they just don't do anything for me. In the past and earlier on when I first started doing this, I'd give the scouts the benefit of the doubt and go along with what they were saying about a particular player even though in my gut I didn't agree and I'd end up getting burned. Now, it's more of a 'scouts be damned' and I go with what I feel makes sense for me.

 

[AslanRH]

Mirco Mueller? Seems high in a lot of lists, wondering what you think makes him slide?

 

[Jeff_Dyck_#1]

Hägg is bound to bust.