01 Chicago Blackhawks: Patrick Kane
Chicago takes the best offensive player available in this draft. They like Kane's upside and believe he'll be a major part of their offense for years to come. With Havlat, Ruutu, Skille and the likes, Chicago sure has a great future up front.
02 Philadelphia Flyers: James Van Riemsdyk
The Flyers like them nasty and big and with JVR's recent performance at the U18, he isn't a reach at all at this point. His combination of puck skills, hockey sense, size and strenght makes him one heck of a prospect. He'll mesh well with the rest of those young forwards they have.
03 Phoenix Coyotes: Jakub Voracek
Phoenix believes they get the best player available in this draft. He's the best two-way player in the draft and has a real nice offensive upside. The Coyotes arn't the best managed franchise but with Barnett off the train someone will come in and right this ship, starting with this selection. Mueller and Voracek will be a deadly duo in a couple of years for Gretzky and his squad.
04 Los Angeles Kings: Alexey Cherepanov
LA decides to go for the russian. Will he come over, and how trouble will it be if he does? That question is the main reason why Cherry won't be considered for the number one overall pick. His skills is undeniable though and should developp into a premiere 1st liner for the Kings. Imagine a Frolov-Kopitar-Cherepanov line!
05 Washington Capitals: Karl Alzner
With Semin, Backstrom and Ovechkin the Capitals decide they have enough firepower up front for now and can pass up on Turris. We all know defense wins championships and now the Caps have a plethora of great young dmen to go with their three bluechippers up front.
06 Edmonton Oilers: Kyle Turris
Edmonton are fortunate enough to pick the falling Turris. A playmaking version of Paul Kariya, Turris is going to college next year and will play against greater competition than in the BCHL. We should then get an idea of how good he really is. The Oilers think Turris has what it takes to make it, and be a part of their team for years to come.
07 Columbus Blue Jackets: Mikael Backlund
With a new GM on board, the Jackets attemp to right the ship. They decide to go with a boom or bust guy, and it could pay off. He's been great at the U18 and some are saying he still isn't back to 100%. Backlund has all the tools needed to be an impact first liner in the NHL, but the question is, does he have the toolbox?
08 Boston Bruins: Logan Couture
The Bruins doesn't have a lot of depth, except in goal, so they decide to pick an heart-and-soul two-way type of guy in Couture. He is also the best player available at this point. Couture has plenty of offensive upside and should be a mainstay on the Bruins' rosters in a couple of years. A Bergeron-Kessel-Couture 1-2-3 punch down the middle is SCARY.
09 St Louis Blues: Sam Gagner
The Blues have good depth all-around so they simply decide to take the best player available, the falling Gagner. He is your prototycal new-NHL forward, speedy and offensive minded. Strenght might be an issue with him but the Blues can take that risk with three 1st rounders. Oshie, Berglund, Soderberg, McClement and now Gagner? Wow, great depth down the middle for the Bluenote.
10 Florida Panthers: Kevin Shattenkirk
I think Shattenkirk is a great fit for the Cats' blueline. His upside is a solid first-pairing dman and he should be a great compliment to Jay-Bo down the road. Shatter always plays smarty and rarely makes any mistakes. He can be physical at times and skates very well. He's built for the new NHL. Great pick.
11 Carolina Hurricanes: Keaton Ellerby
Carolina has a lot of good young forwards so they decide to take Ellerby at 11th. He's a nasty guy with great size and considered a defensive blueliner. Every team needs a guy like him and his offensive game is underrated. Carolina did trade away Jack Johnson but Ellerby could be a nice surprise for them and might just make Carolina's fans forget about that trade. Or maybe not.
12 Montreal Canadiens: Ryan McDonagh
Third dmen selected in a row. It's well-known that the Habs need at least a defenceman in the first round, and they think McDonagh is the best player available at this point. His upside his through the roof and he might just be a top-pairing guy when he enters his prime. He's solid all-around and has a nice offensive touch. With Fischer, Carle, O'Byrne, Komisarek, McDonagh and both russians (Valentenko and Emelin), the Habs are building a nice defense to go along with Price/Halak and their plethora of good young forwards.
13 Toronto Maple Leafs: Zach Hamill
At this point Hamill is the best player available. The Leafs have some good defense prospect and 3 top guys already signed long-term, so Hamill will be just fine up front even though they have a lot of depth with Steen, Tlusty, Stajan, Kulemin and the others. Toronto are slowly but surely building a nice prospect pool. Hamill brings leadership as well as scoring ability to the Leafs' offense.
14 Colorado Avalanche: Lars Eller
Colorado have been known to draft very good forwards later on in the draft and they believe they are getting a steal with Eller. He's big and strong and skates very well. He has all the tools to become a premiere offensive guy for the Avalanche. With guys like Svatos, Stastny, Wolski, Hensick and now Eller, the Avalanche will be SCARY up front.
15 Edmonton Oilers (NYI): Billy Sweatt
16 Anaheim Ducks (TB): Oscar Moller
17 New York Rangers: Maxim Mayorov
18 Calgary Flames: Brandon Sutter
19 Minnesota Wild: Colton Gillies
20 Pittsburgh Penguins: Jonathan Blum
21 Ottawa Senators: Brett McLean
22 Phoenix Coyotes (DAL): Nick Petrecki
23 Montreal Canadiens (SJ): Angelo Esposito
24 Philadelphia Flyers (NSH): James O'Brien
25 St Louis Blues (ATL): TJ Brennan
26 Vancouver Canucks: Patrick White
27 St Louis Blues (NJ): Dana Tyrell
28 Edmonton Oilers (ANA): Thomas Hickey
29 Detroit Red Wings: Luca
i
30 Washington Capitals (BUF): Ian Cole
Chicago takes the best offensive player available in this draft. They like Kane's upside and believe he'll be a major part of their offense for years to come. With Havlat, Ruutu, Skille and the likes, Chicago sure has a great future up front.
02 Philadelphia Flyers: James Van Riemsdyk
The Flyers like them nasty and big and with JVR's recent performance at the U18, he isn't a reach at all at this point. His combination of puck skills, hockey sense, size and strenght makes him one heck of a prospect. He'll mesh well with the rest of those young forwards they have.
03 Phoenix Coyotes: Jakub Voracek
Phoenix believes they get the best player available in this draft. He's the best two-way player in the draft and has a real nice offensive upside. The Coyotes arn't the best managed franchise but with Barnett off the train someone will come in and right this ship, starting with this selection. Mueller and Voracek will be a deadly duo in a couple of years for Gretzky and his squad.
04 Los Angeles Kings: Alexey Cherepanov
LA decides to go for the russian. Will he come over, and how trouble will it be if he does? That question is the main reason why Cherry won't be considered for the number one overall pick. His skills is undeniable though and should developp into a premiere 1st liner for the Kings. Imagine a Frolov-Kopitar-Cherepanov line!
05 Washington Capitals: Karl Alzner
With Semin, Backstrom and Ovechkin the Capitals decide they have enough firepower up front for now and can pass up on Turris. We all know defense wins championships and now the Caps have a plethora of great young dmen to go with their three bluechippers up front.
06 Edmonton Oilers: Kyle Turris
Edmonton are fortunate enough to pick the falling Turris. A playmaking version of Paul Kariya, Turris is going to college next year and will play against greater competition than in the BCHL. We should then get an idea of how good he really is. The Oilers think Turris has what it takes to make it, and be a part of their team for years to come.
07 Columbus Blue Jackets: Mikael Backlund
With a new GM on board, the Jackets attemp to right the ship. They decide to go with a boom or bust guy, and it could pay off. He's been great at the U18 and some are saying he still isn't back to 100%. Backlund has all the tools needed to be an impact first liner in the NHL, but the question is, does he have the toolbox?
08 Boston Bruins: Logan Couture
The Bruins doesn't have a lot of depth, except in goal, so they decide to pick an heart-and-soul two-way type of guy in Couture. He is also the best player available at this point. Couture has plenty of offensive upside and should be a mainstay on the Bruins' rosters in a couple of years. A Bergeron-Kessel-Couture 1-2-3 punch down the middle is SCARY.
09 St Louis Blues: Sam Gagner
The Blues have good depth all-around so they simply decide to take the best player available, the falling Gagner. He is your prototycal new-NHL forward, speedy and offensive minded. Strenght might be an issue with him but the Blues can take that risk with three 1st rounders. Oshie, Berglund, Soderberg, McClement and now Gagner? Wow, great depth down the middle for the Bluenote.
10 Florida Panthers: Kevin Shattenkirk
I think Shattenkirk is a great fit for the Cats' blueline. His upside is a solid first-pairing dman and he should be a great compliment to Jay-Bo down the road. Shatter always plays smarty and rarely makes any mistakes. He can be physical at times and skates very well. He's built for the new NHL. Great pick.
11 Carolina Hurricanes: Keaton Ellerby
Carolina has a lot of good young forwards so they decide to take Ellerby at 11th. He's a nasty guy with great size and considered a defensive blueliner. Every team needs a guy like him and his offensive game is underrated. Carolina did trade away Jack Johnson but Ellerby could be a nice surprise for them and might just make Carolina's fans forget about that trade. Or maybe not.
12 Montreal Canadiens: Ryan McDonagh
Third dmen selected in a row. It's well-known that the Habs need at least a defenceman in the first round, and they think McDonagh is the best player available at this point. His upside his through the roof and he might just be a top-pairing guy when he enters his prime. He's solid all-around and has a nice offensive touch. With Fischer, Carle, O'Byrne, Komisarek, McDonagh and both russians (Valentenko and Emelin), the Habs are building a nice defense to go along with Price/Halak and their plethora of good young forwards.
13 Toronto Maple Leafs: Zach Hamill
At this point Hamill is the best player available. The Leafs have some good defense prospect and 3 top guys already signed long-term, so Hamill will be just fine up front even though they have a lot of depth with Steen, Tlusty, Stajan, Kulemin and the others. Toronto are slowly but surely building a nice prospect pool. Hamill brings leadership as well as scoring ability to the Leafs' offense.
14 Colorado Avalanche: Lars Eller
Colorado have been known to draft very good forwards later on in the draft and they believe they are getting a steal with Eller. He's big and strong and skates very well. He has all the tools to become a premiere offensive guy for the Avalanche. With guys like Svatos, Stastny, Wolski, Hensick and now Eller, the Avalanche will be SCARY up front.
15 Edmonton Oilers (NYI): Billy Sweatt
16 Anaheim Ducks (TB): Oscar Moller
17 New York Rangers: Maxim Mayorov
18 Calgary Flames: Brandon Sutter
19 Minnesota Wild: Colton Gillies
20 Pittsburgh Penguins: Jonathan Blum
21 Ottawa Senators: Brett McLean
22 Phoenix Coyotes (DAL): Nick Petrecki
23 Montreal Canadiens (SJ): Angelo Esposito
24 Philadelphia Flyers (NSH): James O'Brien
25 St Louis Blues (ATL): TJ Brennan
26 Vancouver Canucks: Patrick White
27 St Louis Blues (NJ): Dana Tyrell
28 Edmonton Oilers (ANA): Thomas Hickey
29 Detroit Red Wings: Luca
i30 Washington Capitals (BUF): Ian Cole
