How many potential #1 D-men are in the 2011 draft?

Stealth JD

Don't condescend me, man.
Sponsor
Jan 16, 2006
16,678
7,944
Bonita Springs, FL
Obviously Larsson has potential to be a franchise #1...but are there any other guys in the upcoming draft that have that potential? Or are guys like Murphy, Hamilton, Siemens, etc. not quite on the level of recent draftees like Doughty or Pietrangelo, who obviously have shown their club that they can be the #1 guy moving forward?

Curious as to how the top, say 10, defensive prospects project and what their likelyhood of reaching their potential is.
 

Hurt

Registered User
Apr 6, 2009
28,303
799
Murphy. I love his game. Once he matures a bit more as a player, he's going to be a #1 guy on what ever team.
 

R S

Registered User
Sep 18, 2006
25,468
10
I would say that Larsson is the only one.

I see Murphy as a top 4 guy that is an elite PP QB. I also think that Siemens and Hamilton are both borderline top pairing guys. Neither will be #1's though. And that's not a knock on them at all.
 

AwesomePanthers

Maybe next season
Aug 20, 2009
10,292
123
One (Larsson), maybe Murphy and Hamilton MAYBE if they develop right. But most likely only Larsson imo.
 

KlattNazty

Registered User
Feb 3, 2011
3,425
5
Its unlikely that he reaches it, but IMO i think that Oleksiak has potential number 1 markings.
 

Bjorn Le

Hobocop
May 17, 2010
19,592
609
Martinaise, Revachol
Potential wise Larsson yes and Murphy and Oleksiak have the potential but if they get there is the debatable part Hamilton I don't see becoming a #1, solid top pairing evetually maybe. Siemens is great but he doesn't have #1 potential, same with Musil.
 

Dave Karp

Registered User
Jul 11, 2007
3,129
240
Nova Scotia
I would say that Larsson is the only one.

I see Murphy as a top 4 guy that is an elite PP QB. I also think that Siemens and Hamilton are both borderline top pairing guys. Neither will be #1's though. And that's not a knock on them at all.

Exactly how I see it. We're talking about true #1s, the league wide type, and I see Larsson as the only one so far that could possibly fit that bill.
 

R S

Registered User
Sep 18, 2006
25,468
10
If the claims are true that at 6'7 245 Oleksiak skates better than Myers at the same age than ya....I'd say he has a pretty high end potential.

Just because a big guy like that can skate, doesn't mean he will turn out like Myers, or better.

To be that big you need to be a pretty smart player or else you will look pretty silly flailing around if you aren't positioned well.
 

Minister of Offence

Registered User
Oct 2, 2009
24,407
0
www.chadhargrove.com
Just because a big guy like that can skate, doesn't mean he will turn out like Myers, or better.

To be that big you need to be a pretty smart player or else you will look pretty silly flailing around if you aren't positioned well.

I know. And the guy that may have said Chara could be a Norris winner someday back in days in Prince George would have been very wrong as well at the time. Any player that can skate at Myers' level while being that big probably has a ton of potential...there may be hurdles in the way like you mention. But we're talking about 18 year olds.
 

asmodeanreborn

Registered User
Jun 14, 2010
549
0
Longmont, CO
Based on history, it's entirely possible that there are kids that we haven't even considered who have #1 potential. Just look at somebody like Shea Weber who was drafted #49 overall just 6 years ago.

Sure it's not likely that a team finds a guy like that, but it happens.
 

TheStranger

Registered User
Jan 21, 2010
18,400
0
Ottawa, Ontario
We could probably list 10 people we could fathom seeing becoming a #1, including Larsson, and it's possible none of them ever keep a steady job in a top 6 in the NHL, meanwhile 10 other guys from the draft end up being elite defemsmen. You just never know and can never predict things like this, especially BEFORE the draft even takes place.
 

biturbo19

Registered User
Jul 13, 2010
25,156
10,136
Based on history, it's entirely possible that there are kids that we haven't even considered who have #1 potential. Just look at somebody like Shea Weber who was drafted #49 overall just 6 years ago.

Sure it's not likely that a team finds a guy like that, but it happens.


this.

i'd say Larsson is the only one really projected with that 'surefire potential #1' label at the moment, but it's not at all unheard of for a guy to jump out of the 2nd round or late 1st or whatever and become a stud. sure it's a bit unlikely, but it can definitely happen. it's pretty much impossible to predict who that guy might be though...

d-men generally develop more slowly than forwards, and even among various d-men, their progressions can be so wildly different as well. it's a bit of a crapshoot in some ways.

which is why i sort of subscribe to Rutherford's philosophy that shies away from drafting d-men high in the 1st round. it sounds a bit stubborn, but i think there's certainly some merit to it...
 

monkeywrench

Registered User
May 11, 2010
977
22
Edmonton
I think Dougie Hamilton will be this years Alex Pietrangelo so I think him and Larsson will be #1's for sure.
I also think Murphy has the talent to become one but who knows how he will do in the NHL
 

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Ad

-->