1. Crosby
2. Kopitar - True #1 C. Could break out and get 90 points this season.
3. Ryan - Breakout year last season.
4. Price - Not convinced that he is a franchise goalie.
5. Stastny - Great player, does everything well
6. Johnson - Looks like it could be a breakout season for Jack.
7. Setoguchi - Sick shot and could easily get 40 goals this season
8. Staal
9. Vlasic
10. Letang
Great list. I'd swap Price with Stastny; he's a real gamer. As a matter of fact, while I'm discussing it, I might as well take a minute to make my own.
Although I wasn't sure whether "Redo the 1st 2 rounds" restricts us to just players from those two rounds or if we are selecting what a Top-60 would look like today. I went with the latter.
1. Sidney Crosby - Duhhh.
2. Anze Kopitar - One of my favorite players in the league, so I'm biased, but I watch him a lot and he's an amazing center. I'm hoping he'll keep his pace and establish himself as one of the better centers in the game.
3. Bobby Ryan - Huge talent; patience paid off for Anaheim. Will continue to progress into a top forward.
4. Paul Stastny - Was sort of forgotten after the injuries, but he's back and looking great. Looking forward to watching Duchene and him grow together.
5. Carey Price - While I'm not the biggest fan of his mental makeup, it takes a tough competitor to play in front of those fans up there, so I'll cut him some slack. He can be a top 5-10 goalie in this league, but it's gonna take some moxie and true focus on his part.
6. Devin Setoguchi - While I think his numbers are
slightly inflated playing with a high-octane offense, he's got a hell of a shot that he uses. All-around offensive talent; can't put down the fact that he's been great since stepping in.
7. Jack Johnson - Went more with current success, in placing Setoguchi ahead of him, but it's gonna require some patience watching Johnson; the all-around talent is still there, and may be awakening as we speak. I put him tentatively at 7, perhaps ready to rise.
8. Marc Staal - I question his offensive abilities down the road, but there's nothing wrong with a responsible defender who can log huge minutes, while chipping in at least a little bit. Still young of course.
9. Marc-Eduard Vlasic - Not underrated, but perhaps overlooked sometimes. Very reliable and has recently-tapped offensive ability.
10. Kris Letang - I personally believe Letang will turn into a stud very soon, but has some work to do. Within a two-year period, he's actually gone from making very risky plays to over-simplifying at times and not using his skills enough. Finding the happy medium will put him over the top, into a #2 d-man.
11. TJ Oshie - Will be an absolute force. Nothing more really to say, but he's very, very good already. Could emerge as a leader for St. Louis very soon.
12. Tuukka Rask - This kid is very exciting... and goalies typically don't 'do it for me'. He could be a top-10 re-position in this draft, if he weren't toiling behind a recently-locked up Tim Thomas and had a chance to prove himself full time. Thomas' Vezina run came at the wrong time for Rask and I look forward to when he gets a full-on shot.
13. James Neal - What a find for Dallas. He's been AWESOME for them in the early going here; not afraid to shoot the puck and has the talent to put up big numbers. Love this kid's game.
14. Matt Niskanen - Cooled a little bit, since his rookie season, where he really put himself on the map, but I love his reliability on the ice. Smart, smart player.
15. Jonathan Quick - Been awesome for LA and has done more than allow Bernier to marinate. Surprisingly to some, but could be the one to push them on into the playoffs.
16. Andrew Cogliano - Still has yet to bring the consistency required to turn into a top offensive player for some team, but he's showing what he has, and it's good.
17. Ondrej Pavelec - Another kid with a lot of talent hidden behind a starter. If the time comes that Atlanta gives up on Lehtonen and his lack of health, you have to wonder if Pavelec will still be there to accept his chance.
18. Martin Hanzal - Off to a slow start, picking up where he seemed to leave off last season, but he's got potential to be a #2 center and has shown a lot of heart.
19. Keith Yandle - Overlooked offensive talent from the blueline. He'll keep getting better and better.
20. Gilbert Brule - While I'm happy Brule seems to have turned a corner in his career, it's a small sample, and he still has his past few years working against him. Hopefully he continues to improve and emerge as a nice young talent.
21. Guillaume Latendresse - I'm not an avid fan of Latendresse (Habs fans are probably getting the wrong idea about me now), but he's shown to be an NHL regular at this point, which is more than a lot of players in this draft can say, as of now. Might even have a breakout year ahead of him.
22. TJ Hensick - Should be a good player in the long haul for Colorado. Very skilled, but needs to work on the defensive end to be relied on for more time.
23. Mason Raymond - Speed to burn should make him some sort of asset to Vancouver. I think he's got the ability to be a 2nd line scorer.
24. Niklas Hjalmarsson - Stepped in and proven to be a mainstay in the Chicago lineup. New-age defenseman who possesses offensive tools and skating, with a defensive mindset to complement.
25. Benoit Pouliot - Perhaps ready for full time but I still question his ability to produce a breakout campaign in the future.
26. Steve Downie - Proven he's beyond the AHL, and may even find his scoring ability at the NHL level, if given a longer look.
27. Brian Lee - Outgrown the AHL and is an NHL defenseman.
28. Jack Skille - I personally think he's got 3rd liner upside, but he's a safe bet to be there, IMO. He's young and has time to show another dimension, of course.
29. Darren Helm - You might see players with the abilities that Helm has get drafted earlier. He hasn't even become the player he'll settle in as yet.
30. Matt D'Agostini - I like his game a lot and had he more to show for it, he'd probably be higher on my list, but IMO he needs to be a top-6 player, though he's feisty.
Top-30 is plenty, but others considered (in no order):
Anton Stralman, Sergei Kostitsyn, Kyle Cumiskey, Patric Hornqvist, Ryan Stoa, Matt Lashoff, Jakub Kindl, Ryan Parent, Nicklas Bergfors, Kris Russell, Chris Butler, Cody Franson, Marc-Andre Gragnani, Phil Oreskovic, Danny Syvret, Brendan Mikkelseon, Justin Abdelkader, Matt Pelech, Vlad Sobotka, Taylor Chorney, Nate Gerbe, Tim Kennedy
