Post by Northstars on Apr 24, 2010 2:05:59 GMT -5
1. D - Josh Gainey - 6'2" - 197 lbs - 20 years old
The only significant question marks with Gainey are his quickness and his puck handling. He's an elite talent with a devastating shot, a punishing hitter who can quarterback a powerplay with remarkable efficiency through his vision and shooting abilities. He's not a major penalty minute threat, and can log big minutes as a #1 defenseman. For many, it would be a shock to see Gainey go any lower than first overall, but he has some worthy competition.
NHL Comparable: Sergei Gonchar
2. G - Maximus Duncanson - 6'0" - 188 - 21 years old
Duncanson is a very talented young netminder, an effective puck mover who's quick, agile, and despite average size is great at cutting down the angles. There is little doubt that Duncanson will be the first goalie off the board as his supreme talent is rare for a 21-year-old netminder.
NHL Comparable: Tomas Vokoun
3. LW - Joshua Romanchych - 6'0" - 196 - 20 years old
A coach's dream player, Romanchych is responsible defensively while bringing plenty of offense to the table, too. He's got great vision and has deceptive quickness. He has no discipline issues to mitigate his effectiveness as a penalty killer, and potentially has more room to improve than Gainey as well. Young and skilled, this is a guy that should be off the board very early.
NHL Comparable: Jonathan Toews
4. D - Ryan Lilley - 6'3" - 189 - 20 years old
Lilley is more of a stay-home D-man than offensive threat, although he has a decent shot and is an effective puck mover if necessary. He's a very mobile guy with decent strength and doesn't take very many penalties, especially for a guy with his grit and physicality. He's also very durable. Lilley is the kind of player every team loves to have.
NHL Comparable: Stephane Robidas
5. LW - Rodolfo Feltrin - 6'2" - 209 - 23 years old
Somewhat limited offensively, Feltrin does have terrific hands and a decent scoring touch, and he couples that with near perfect play otherwise. Although Feltrin is injury prone, he is an electrifying skater with good strength, discipline and toughness.
NHL Comparable: Patrick Sharp
6. D - Francis Franson - 5'9" - 208 - 29 years old
As you may have guessed from his size, Franson is a pure offensive defenseman. He's solidly built but doesn't have elite range or strength, which has an impact on his defensive play. Still, he's got a lethal shot and is a great puck mover, with terrific vision and skating speed. His defensive play is not so poor that it will hold him back, so look for Franson to be a fairly high pick, even if he drops a bit due to age.
NHL Comparable: Brian Rafalski
7. C - Maverick Housley - 6'2" - 223 - 24 years old
Scouts question Housley's defensive play, but they'll never question his talent. What will make Housley drop? Well, he's selfish according to scouts - his thought process goes "shoot, shoot, shoot ... fine, pass"; he dislikes defensive play, and frequently takes selfish penalties. Yet he's a game-breaker with the puck on his stick and is both quick and very shifty and creative.
NHL Comparable: Alexei Kovalev
8. D - Devonte Mullen - 5'11" - 201 - 27 years old
There's not much that Devonte Mullen doesn't do well, despite his average size. One big concern is that he may not be able to log the minutes desired from a top-pairing defenseman, but he's definitely got the skill set. He's very strong despite his size, very quick, and an effective puck mover. Combine that with great discipline and sound defensive play, and Mullen should be an effective player wherever he lands on the depth chart.
NHL Comparable: Kimmo Timonen
9. G - Colin Swarbrick - 6'2" - 209 - 25 years old
Swarbrick's quickness is a bit of a problem, but he has great rebound control and aglity. He also uses his size very well and is capable of playing long stretches of games without much loss in effectiveness.
NHL Comparable: Dwayne Roloson
10. LW - Ezekiel Farrish - 6'3" - 218 - 19 years old
Farrish doesn't have much of a shot, but he grades out well in every other department, including excellent size, which when combined with the fact that he's only 19, pushes him up the rankings. He's got plenty of room to develop and very high potential. His defensive play is second to very few forwards, an incredibly rare attribute for a player of his age.
NHL Comparable: Rod Brind'Amour
The only significant question marks with Gainey are his quickness and his puck handling. He's an elite talent with a devastating shot, a punishing hitter who can quarterback a powerplay with remarkable efficiency through his vision and shooting abilities. He's not a major penalty minute threat, and can log big minutes as a #1 defenseman. For many, it would be a shock to see Gainey go any lower than first overall, but he has some worthy competition.
NHL Comparable: Sergei Gonchar
2. G - Maximus Duncanson - 6'0" - 188 - 21 years old
Duncanson is a very talented young netminder, an effective puck mover who's quick, agile, and despite average size is great at cutting down the angles. There is little doubt that Duncanson will be the first goalie off the board as his supreme talent is rare for a 21-year-old netminder.
NHL Comparable: Tomas Vokoun
3. LW - Joshua Romanchych - 6'0" - 196 - 20 years old
A coach's dream player, Romanchych is responsible defensively while bringing plenty of offense to the table, too. He's got great vision and has deceptive quickness. He has no discipline issues to mitigate his effectiveness as a penalty killer, and potentially has more room to improve than Gainey as well. Young and skilled, this is a guy that should be off the board very early.
NHL Comparable: Jonathan Toews
4. D - Ryan Lilley - 6'3" - 189 - 20 years old
Lilley is more of a stay-home D-man than offensive threat, although he has a decent shot and is an effective puck mover if necessary. He's a very mobile guy with decent strength and doesn't take very many penalties, especially for a guy with his grit and physicality. He's also very durable. Lilley is the kind of player every team loves to have.
NHL Comparable: Stephane Robidas
5. LW - Rodolfo Feltrin - 6'2" - 209 - 23 years old
Somewhat limited offensively, Feltrin does have terrific hands and a decent scoring touch, and he couples that with near perfect play otherwise. Although Feltrin is injury prone, he is an electrifying skater with good strength, discipline and toughness.
NHL Comparable: Patrick Sharp
6. D - Francis Franson - 5'9" - 208 - 29 years old
As you may have guessed from his size, Franson is a pure offensive defenseman. He's solidly built but doesn't have elite range or strength, which has an impact on his defensive play. Still, he's got a lethal shot and is a great puck mover, with terrific vision and skating speed. His defensive play is not so poor that it will hold him back, so look for Franson to be a fairly high pick, even if he drops a bit due to age.
NHL Comparable: Brian Rafalski
7. C - Maverick Housley - 6'2" - 223 - 24 years old
Scouts question Housley's defensive play, but they'll never question his talent. What will make Housley drop? Well, he's selfish according to scouts - his thought process goes "shoot, shoot, shoot ... fine, pass"; he dislikes defensive play, and frequently takes selfish penalties. Yet he's a game-breaker with the puck on his stick and is both quick and very shifty and creative.
NHL Comparable: Alexei Kovalev
8. D - Devonte Mullen - 5'11" - 201 - 27 years old
There's not much that Devonte Mullen doesn't do well, despite his average size. One big concern is that he may not be able to log the minutes desired from a top-pairing defenseman, but he's definitely got the skill set. He's very strong despite his size, very quick, and an effective puck mover. Combine that with great discipline and sound defensive play, and Mullen should be an effective player wherever he lands on the depth chart.
NHL Comparable: Kimmo Timonen
9. G - Colin Swarbrick - 6'2" - 209 - 25 years old
Swarbrick's quickness is a bit of a problem, but he has great rebound control and aglity. He also uses his size very well and is capable of playing long stretches of games without much loss in effectiveness.
NHL Comparable: Dwayne Roloson
10. LW - Ezekiel Farrish - 6'3" - 218 - 19 years old
Farrish doesn't have much of a shot, but he grades out well in every other department, including excellent size, which when combined with the fact that he's only 19, pushes him up the rankings. He's got plenty of room to develop and very high potential. His defensive play is second to very few forwards, an incredibly rare attribute for a player of his age.
NHL Comparable: Rod Brind'Amour