who are the top 10 D men in the draft?

[lace-em'-up]

im not sure exactly whos better than who
from what i hear

barker
theren
smid
morzov
valerbik
green
oneill
i dont know the rest

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[Ajacied]

Lysin and Fransson should round out your top 10..

 

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Morzov? You must mean Meszaros.

Barker
Thelen
Meszaros
Smid
Green
Schultz
Valabik
Fransson
Lyamin
O'Neill

Those are probably the top 10 consensus guys IMO.

 

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Lysin and Fransson should round out your top 10..

Don't forget Jeff Schultz. I'm starting to think he won't last into the 2nd.

 

[markov`]

01. Cameron Barker
02. Andrej Meszaros
03. AJ Thelen
04. Mike Green
05. Boris Valabik
06. Ladislav Smid
07. Johan Fransson
08. Wes O'Neill
09. Oscar Hedman
10. Jeff Schultz

Keep in mind that's it's only my opinion. I only have seen Barker, Meszaros and Valabik out of all these kids, but I've read a lot on them. That's my ranking, and if we were talking about upside, Meszaros would be #1 on my list. And I have this Lyamin kid ranked #11.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Morzov? You must mean Meszaros.

Barker
Thelen
Meszaros
Smid
Green
Schultz
Valabik
Fransson
Lyamin
O'Neill

Those are probably the top 10 consensus guys IMO.

Agreed, although I think a case could be made for Grant Lewis from Dartmouth.

 

[lace-em'-up]

why is valabik highly rated, it seems that guys who are just mean and like to chase hits would go lower. whats the big difference between him and last years big mean guy Nickerson?

 

[Kritty]

Am I alone in thinking that Mike Green is going to be one of the top 2 or 3 dmen taken? He's growing on me more and more. I think he is more complete than alot of the dmen in this year's draft. In terms of potential, I think he's right at the top. Roughly, my top 10 would be:

Barker
Meszaros
Thelen
Green
O'Neill
Smid
Schultz
Fransson
Lyamin
Valabik - although I'm not overly sold on him

 

[monster_bertuzzi]

The consensus from THN, Redline, and CS:

1)Barker
2)Thelen
3)Smid
4)Meszaros
5)Valabik
6)Green
7)Fransson
8)O'Neill
9)Schultz
10)Lyamin

 

[Guig]

1. Cameron Barker
2. A.J. Thelen
3. Andrej Meszaros
4. Mike Green
5. Ladislav Smid
6. Boris Valabik
7. Johan Fransson
8. Wes O'Neill
9. Kirill Lyamin
10. Oscar Hedman

 

[degroat*]

01. Cameron Barker
02. AJ Thelen
03. Mike Green
04. Andrej Meszaros
05. Ladislav Smid
06. Boris Valabik
07. Oscar Hedman
08. Johan Fransson
09. Wes O'Neill
10. Jeff Schultz

 

[Prucha73]

1. Barker
2. Meszaros
3. Thelen
4. Lyamin
5. Valabik
6. Green
7. Smid
8. Schultz
9. Fransson
10. O'Neill

 

[Meat Wave]

1 Cameron Barker
2 Andrej Meszaros
3 A.J. Thelen
4 Mike Green
5 Ladislav Smid
6 Johan Fransson
7 Kirill Lyamin
8 Boris Valabik
9 Wes O'Neill
10 Jeff Schultz

 

[Spitfire11]

Just how I'd take them:
1. Barker
2. Thelen
3. Lepisto
4. Mezsaros
5. Green
6. Fransson
7. Valabik
8. Smid
9. Lyamin
10. Schultz

 

[lecherous]

1. Barker
2. Thelen
3. Lyamin
4. Mezsaros
5. Smid
6. Green
7. Lepisto
8. Fransson
9. Karetin
10. Fistric

Wild Card : Felix Petermann

 

[Flames Draft Watcher]

You guys do realize that Lepisto is around two years older than most of the rest of them? He isn't particular big?

There's certainly guys who appear to have much, much larger upsides. IMO anyways.

 

[thrashers=cup05]

why is valabik highly rated, it seems that guys who are just mean and like to chase hits would go lower. whats the big difference between him and last years big mean guy Nickerson?

Cause you can teach a player willing to learn how to be a real player. But you cannot teach a player who is good to be 6'7". The minor leagues were invented for this reason. The only players who are guarenteed to play next year in the NHL are the russians and Barker.

 

[SeLaine]

Not how they will go in the draft but the order I would take them based on long term potential and who is going to have the biggest impact.

1. Barker
2. Meszaros
3. Thelen
4. Green
5. Valabik
6. Smid
7. Lewis
8. O'Neil
9. Schultz
10. Lyamin

 

[Brain Hemorrhage]

Am I alone in thinking that Mike Green is going to be one of the top 2 or 3 dmen taken? He's growing on me more and more. I think he is more complete than alot of the dmen in this year's draft. In terms of potential, I think he's right at the top.

I said at the start of the thread that I felt Mike Green's right-handed shot would make him one of the sexier picks in this draft. I made a brief point of discussing this on the Isles HFBoard. Right-handed defensemen are a valuable commodity in the NHL if they can score goals or even play the power-play. Examples of right-handed defensemen who would seem to benefit from that asset: Mike Van Ryn, Joe Corvo (He moved from Center to Defense and had a great year).

Van Ryn is a very obvious example... his right-handed shot has meant quite a bit for Florida.