



This marks the third year my annual monster draft preview has been hosted here at The Hockey Writers (THW). This year also features integral contributions from Brian Huddle, Jeff Blay and Patrick Kearns.

Update: THW 2011 NHL Draft Final Rankings – Top 210 (released June 14, 2011)

For prior year’s detailed draft previews:

Consider this your live “home page” for information for the 2011 entry draft. Bookmark and check back often as it will be constantly updated. The 2011 NHL Entry Draft takes place on June 24-25th in St. Paul, Minnesota. Once again, you have to simply love the dates – the 24th and 25th representing hockey’s version of Christmas!

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Notes Up Front:

My draft rankings are based on my opinion of the BPA (Best Player Available). This is not an attempt at predicting who I think will be drafted at a certain position. I will be posting a 2 (possibly 3) round mock draft in the near future.

Check back to this article often. A series of prospect profiles, The Next Ones, will be released regularly, leading up to the June 24 th and 25 th NHL entry draft.

and 25 NHL entry draft. The rankings will be updated below simultaneously as the prospect profiles are released, with links to the respective profile. .

I am not a big fan of drafting a goalie in the first round unless the talent and potential are simply undeniable. In 2008, for instance, given the astronomical odds of actually being a NHL GM, I would have considered selecting Jacob Markstrom and Chet Pitkard in the first round. In 2009, I would not have selected a netminder at all in the first round. In 2010, Jack Campbell is one of those rare exceptions worthy of a 1 st round pick. Stay tuned to see what we think of this year goaltending crop.

round pick. Stay tuned to see what we think of this year goaltending crop. “One-Timer ” heading is meant to be a quick and concise synopsis of each prospect.

” heading is meant to be a quick and concise synopsis of each prospect. * Scout’s Honor highlights what the hockey scouting world (and occasionally coaches) have to say about the prospect.

highlights what the hockey scouting world (and occasionally coaches) have to say about the prospect. “NHL Player Comparisons” are simply to give the reader a feel for the player’s style and ultimately likely equal the player’s ceiling potential being reached. It is often an exercise in futility, but does offer up some value. If I add the suffix “-lite” or “Jr.” after a NHL player comparison, it simply refers to the fact the prospect likely has no chance to reach that high a potential, but rather resembles or plays a style reminiscent of the respective NHLer.

are simply to give the reader a feel for the player’s style and ultimately likely equal the player’s ceiling potential being reached. It is often an exercise in futility, but does offer up some value. If I add the suffix “-lite” or “Jr.” after a NHL player comparison, it simply refers to the fact the prospect likely has no chance to reach that high a potential, but rather resembles or plays a style reminiscent of the respective NHLer. “Scouting Combine Performance”: included where available to give the reader some insight on the prospects fitness levels. This is definitely not a sole basis for drafting a prospect, but might be a deciding factor when considering too closely rated players. It is also a good resource when a prospect is coming back from an injury as guidance to what his health level is.

included where available to give the reader some insight on the prospects fitness levels. This is definitely not a sole basis for drafting a prospect, but might be a deciding factor when considering too closely rated players. It is also a good resource when a prospect is coming back from an injury as guidance to what his health level is. “Risk/Reward Analysis”: Both “Risk” and “Reward” rated out of “5”. For the risk rating, the higher the rating out of five, the higher the risk of the prospect not turning out as projected. For the reward rating, also out of five, the higher the rating, the higher the potential the prospect has. For the latter, of course, the prospect has to still reach that potential.

Both “Risk” and “Reward” rated out of “5”. For the risk rating, the higher the rating out of five, the higher the risk of the prospect not turning out as projected. For the reward rating, also out of five, the higher the rating, the higher the potential the prospect has. For the latter, of course, the prospect has to still reach that potential. “Fantasy Hockey Potential”: Offensive and defensive ratings out of 10 are given for forwards and defenseman based on perceived potential in each area. Offensive potential is obviously the key factor in most fantasy hockey leagues, but defensive potential should prove useful for those armchair hockey simulator GMs.

Offensive and defensive ratings out of 10 are given for forwards and defenseman based on perceived potential in each area. Offensive potential is obviously the key factor in most fantasy hockey leagues, but defensive potential should prove useful for those armchair hockey simulator GMs. Legend: ETA = Estimated Time of Arrival to NHL

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Rankings:

THW 2011 NHL Draft Final Rankings – Top 210 (released June 14, 2011)

2011 NHL Draft – Top 100 – March Madness Edition

The Next Ones website: E-Mac’s NHL 2011 Draft Top 120 (clever and unique spin on prospect analysis)

2011 NHL Entry Draft Fantasy-Based Top 100 Rankings (June 20/11)



The Top 10 (as of June, 2011):

THW CSS Player Team League Height Weight Pos. 1 1 NUGENT-HOPKINS, RYAN

RED DEER

WHL

6' 0.5"

164 lbs *

C

2 3 HUBERDEAU, JONATHAN

SAINT JOHN

QMJHL

6' 1.25"

170 lbs *

C

3 1 LARSSON, ADAM

SKELLEFTEA

SWEDEN

6' 3.0"

200 lbs

D

4 6 COUTURIER, SEAN

DRUMMONDVILLE

QMJHL

6' 4.0"

197 lbs *

C

5 8 STROME, RYAN

NIAGARA

OHL

6' 0.0"

175 lbs *

C

6 9 MURPHY, RYAN

KITCHENER

OHL

5' 10.5"

166 lbs *

D

7 2 LANDESKOG, GABRIEL

KITCHENER

OHL

6' 0.5"

207 lbs *

LW

8 4 HAMILTON, DOUGIE

NIAGARA

OHL

6' 4.25"

187 lbs *

D

9 14 MCNEILL, MARK

PRINCE ALBERT

WHL

6' 1.5"

201 lbs *

C

10 18 JENNER, BOONE

OSHAWA

OHL

6' 1.25"

204 lbs *

C



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Mock Drafts:

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Prospect Profiles: (click on name/link for detailed prospect profiles)

The Next Ones series by Chris Ralph, Brian Huddle, Patrick Kearns and Brendan Ross.



(*THW Ranking in brackets – from final rankings)

(1) The Next Ones – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: RNH NHL Destined

(2) The Next Ones – Jonathan Huberdeau – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: The Q Does it Again

(3) The Next Ones- Adam Larsson – 2011 Draft Prospect Profile – From Larsson to Lidstrom

(4) The Next Ones – Sean Couturier – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile – Ten Tool Prospect

(5) The Next Ones – Ryan Strome – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: Strome Wasn’t Built in a Day

(6) The Next Ones – Ryan Murphy – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: Murphy’s Law on the Blueline

(7) The Next Ones – Gabriel Landeskog – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: The New Mike Richards?

(8) The Next Ones – Dougie Hamilton – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: The Next Big Blueliner

(9) The Next Ones – Mark McNeill – 2011 NHL Draft Prospect Profile: The Forward You Can Count On

(10) The Next Ones – Boone Jenner – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: Jenner-ating Old Time Hockey Flashbacks

(11) The Next Ones – Mika Zibanajed – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: The Next Great Swede?

(12) The Next Ones – Nathan Beaulieu – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: From Saint John to Minnesota

(13) The Next Ones – Mark Scheifele – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: Schiefele the ‘Safe’ Pick*

(14) The Next Ones – Joel Armia – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: Seven Nation Armia

(15) The Next Ones – Sven Bartschi – 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: Swiss Rising

(16) The Next Ones – Matt Puempel – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: 2011′s Pure Goal Scorer

(17) The Next Ones – Rocco Grimaldi – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: The Most Skilled Draft Eligible Player

(18) The Next Ones – Duncan Siemens – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: When a Kid Likes Scott Stevens…

(19) The Next Ones – Jonas Brodin – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: The Zen Master Cometh to the NHL

(20) The Next Ones – Joe Morrow – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: Joe No Longer A Best Kept Secret

(21)The Next Ones – Zack Phillips – 2011 NHL Draft Prospect Profile: Lucky Number Seven

(22) The Next Ones – Jamie Oleksiak – 2011 NHL Draft Prospect Profile: Big Man on Campus

(23) The Next Ones – Tomas Jurco – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: Human Highlight Reel

(24) The Next Ones – Oscar Klefbom – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: The Other Swedish Defenseman

(25)The Next Ones – Daniel Catenacci – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: The Flash

(26) The Next Ones – JT Miller – 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: The American Project Pick

(27) The Next Ones – Ty Rattie – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: ‘Rattie’ to Go

(28) The Next Ones – Ryan Sproul – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: Rising Fast

(29) The Next Ones – Scott Mayfield – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: Ready to Take That Next Step

(30) The Next Ones – Brett Ritchie – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: Power Forward looking to Sting

(31) The Next Ones – Nicklas Jensen – 2011 NHL Draft Prospect Profile: The Great Dane

(32) The Next Ones – Vladislav Namestnikov – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: A ‘Name’-stnikov to Remember

(33) The Next Ones – Connor Murphy – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: The Other Puck Moving Murphy

(34) The Next Ones – Alexander Khokhlachev – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: The Skilled Russian

(37) The Next Ones – Reid Boucher – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: Reid Knows Scoring

(38) The Next Ones – Brandon Saad – NHL Draft Prospect Profile: Leaving the Saad Season Behind

(40)The Next Ones – Rickard Rakell – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: Swedes Swedes Swedes

(43) The Next Ones – Victor Rask – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: The Head Case

(47) The Next Ones – John Gibson – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: The Strongest in a Weak Class

(51) The Next Ones – Stuart Percy – 2011 NHL Draft Prospect Profile: The Hearty ‘Stu’

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THW Prospect Features:

(featuring articles from THW prospect writers Cam Charron, Shawn Reznik, Jeff Blay and Patrick Kearns):

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Interviews: from The Next Ones’ Shawn Reznik



Prospect Profile: Sahir Gill – Don’t Wake A Sleeping Terrier

Prospect Pursuit – Max Friberg – How Swede It Is

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Team Specific Prospect Articles:

Boston Bruins:

Bruins’ GM Peter Chiarelli’s Draft History: An Analysis

Bruins Top-Five 2011 Draft Options

Buffalo Sabres:

The Sabres Have Options on Draft Day by Brandon Schlager

Calgary Flames:

Calgary Flames 2011 NHL Entry Draft Primer

Calgary Flames top prospects, spring edition by Ryan Pike

Colorado Avalanche:

Who The Avs Should Draft

Edmonton Oilers:

Oilers Friday Draft: Preview

NHL Entry Draft 2011: Assessing the Edmonton Oilers Biggest Needs in Minnesota by Salim Valji

NHL Entry Draft 2011: Players the Edmonton Oilers Should Consider with Los Angeles’s First Round Pick by Salim Valji

New Jersey Devils:

Deviling the Details: Parise, the Draft, and Minor Moves

New York Rangers:

New York Rangers Draft Preview

San Jose Sharks:

San Jose Sharks’ Left and Right Wing Leanings in the 2011 Draft

San Jose Sharks: Prospects Report by Jeff Blay

Toronto Maple Leafs:

What Should the Toronto Maple Leafs Do With Their First Round Draft Picks? (June 21st)

Draft Schmaft: The Toronto Maple Leafs in the NHL Entry Draft First Round (I) by Mark Ascione

Draft Schmaft – The Maple Leafs First Round Draft 1968-70: Part II Selwood and Sittler

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The Next, Next Ones – Beyond the 2011 Draft:

Tie Domi’s Son Max Turning Heads In Future Watch by Jeff Blay

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Extra Reading:

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Resource(s):

The Next Ones website is your online hockey prospect eNewspaper featuring the greatest prospect resources on the web. If there’s a website covering hockey prospects, it’s linked on The Next Ones (TN1).

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*THW’s The Next Ones prospect profile template design architect: Chris Ralph