Note: NHL.com will take a look back at the NHL drafts from five, 10 and 15 years ago this week leading up to the 2012 NHL Draft in Pittsburgh. How would a redux of those drafts look today?

The 2007 draft was the beginning of an American revolution of sorts -- U.S. kids went 1-2 in the draft for the first time and a record 10 went in the first round, a number that was matched the following year.

Another storyline on draft day was the fall of two prominent prospects. Angelo Esposito was considered the top player in this draft class as a 16-year-old, but his stock fell and he ended up at No. 20 to Pittsburgh. Alexei Cherepanov was the top-rated European prospect and another contender for the No. 1 spot, and he dropped to the New York Rangers at No. 17.

NHL DRAFT REDUX Nash, Keith highlight 2002 draft class

Five years later, Patrick Kane is the undisputed top player from the Class of 2007. Choosing the guy who would go No. 2 could be an interesting discussion, but San Jose's Logan Couture has a pretty strong case.

This draft has not produced a lot of impact players to this point, and there are tiered drop-offs right around the Nos. 10 and 20 picks.

Another theme from this draft -- it was a black hole at goaltender. Granted, it is only five years out and it is a position that takes a long time to develop, but the goalies from the 2007 NHL Draft have combined to play in 12 NHL games -- Allen York had 11 for Columbus this past season and Timo Pielmeier played one for Anaheim in 2010-11.

As a reminder after completing this exercise last June, this draft re-do does involve a fair amount of projection. A lot of these players are not fully developed yet, and this list could look dramatically different two years or five years from now. Looking back at the 2002 and 1997 drafts in the coming days will involve a lot less projection.

So, here's what the 2007 NHL Draft might look like if there was a do-over in June 2012: