2011 National Hockey League Entry Drafts (Part 4)
New Jersey Devils: Sean Couturier
Devils is one team that seems to have solved its problems as the end of the regular season approaches. It was struggling with its offence at the start of the season but managed to get back onto the winning roads in the second half of the season.
It was at the bottom of the league at one stage but managed to get back into a fighting position in the final few stages which was absolutely phenomenal to watch.
However, still Devils needs to improve the offence and as it lands with the fourth pick it will have a number of players to choose from.
There are countless young and talented players in Devils’ squad who have the potential of being dangerous scorers. With the addition of Couturier in the squad, Devils’ offence will for sure be taken to new heights.
The main factor that hurts Devils was the underperforming Ilya Kovalchuk. He signed a $100 million contract with Devils but failed to live up to it and changed the outcome for Devils as he was looked upon to lead Devils in the season.
However, even though Devils didn’t finish last in the league but the weak offence that it had scored only 171 goals.
This puts it in the last position in the list of teams scoring goals during the course of the entire season which is about 20 goals less than that of Ottawa Senators, which was second last.
Couturier, if brought in by Devils, will surely give it an edge over the others as his 6’4” and 192 lbs weight will certainly be a presence felt by all.
The physical game that he has on offer is what Devils needs at the moment if it is looking to make its way into the playoffs next time.
Furthermore, this player performed very well while playing for his junior team that witnessed him scoring 96 points out of the 58 games he played.
If he doesn’t score then he provides his teammates with loads of chances which is what Devils will be looking at for now.
Florida Panthers: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
Panthers came up with a decent performance during the course of the regular season that saw it allowing not as many goals.
It was 14th in the list of teams allowing goals against them in the regular season which is pretty well.
Panthers has faced a major problem in its defence due to which it has finished in the bottom four for the last two seasons.
Its highest point getter this season was Stephan Weiss who bagged 49 points. What the Panthers need is the addition of goal scoring which exactly fits Hopkins’ role.
Though there are still reservations as to whether or not he will be the third pick or not, still he is certainly the man that could give Panthers an edge in offence.
He has outperformed many while playing for his junior team, Red Deer Rebels, where he has scored 31 goals and made 75 assist, piling a total of 105 points.
However, the only thing that would come as a concern to Panthers would be his size. He stands six feet tall and weighs 160 lbs, but the talent, skill and performances he bags certainly speak for themselves and Panthers is sure to benefit a lot if he joins
it.
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