Top NHL Draft Prospects for 2011
Although the selections from the 2010 National Hockey League Entry Draft have yet to officially set foot on the ice, there is plenty of talk already about the 2011 Draft class. Here are the top five young players who may be entering the NHL ranks next June:
Adam Larsson - Skelleftea (Sweden): Scouts say that the Swedish defenceman is well ahead of countryman Victor Hedman at the same career stage. Hedman was the second overall pick in the 2009 Draft, and played 74 games for the Tampa Bay Lightning last season. Hedman provided solid offensive support with his 20 points.
With a height just over 6ft 2in and a weight of around 200 pounds, Larsson is not as physically imposing as the 6ft Hedman, but more than makes up for it with his puck skills.
Larsson is expected to have a serious showing at the U20 competition that is being held in Buffalo this winter and his draft stock will be heavily influenced by his performance at the event.
Sean Couturier - Drummondville (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League): The young left winger absolutely dominated the QMJHL last season. Couturier tied the League lead with his 96 points and had a total of 41 goals. That number would have most likely made the seventeen-year-old a first-rounder in this year’s draft.
Couturier has already tasted success as a part of the 2009 U18-winning Canadian national team. He is also in line to make the Canadian team for the 2011 U20 competition as long as he shows similar ability to perform at Hockey Canada’s summer evaluation camp being held in August.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Red Deer (Western Hockey League): By NHL standards, Hopkins is a relatively undersized centre who measures around 6ft, 160 pounds. Hopkins’ small size has forced him to hone non-physical aspects of his game, and he is a phenomenal finesse player with great vision and puck handling.
Last season, Hopkins had 24 goals and 41 assists in the WHL and that should just be a glimpse of his potential. Hopkins is primed for a Tyler Seguin-esque improvement in points before his draft year even though he is already a fairly high-ranked prospect.
Matt Puempel, Peterborough (Ontario Hockey League): Simply put, Matt Puempel is a scorer. The right winger led all OHL rookies with 33 goals. His most impressive achievement was winning the Canadian Hockey League player of the week award after scoring four goals and dishing out four assists in just two games.
Puempel has patterned his game after Jarome Iginla, but right now is only useful on the offensive end. He still has time to develop his defence and if the winger happens to remain a one direction player, he has at least chosen the right direction.
Teams love physically capable forwards and if the 190 pound six-footer can bulk up his physique his stock will increase even more.
Gabriel Landeskog, Kitchener (OHL): Landeskog is an anomaly in that he is a Scandinavian-born player who already has two years of North American hockey experience. The Kitchener Rangers right winger quickly has quickly adjusted to the smaller rinks of North America and earned himself a lot of playing time as a rookie for Kitchener.
Landeskog was one of the main leaders in the Rangers’ surprising three victory lead over defending champion Windsor Spitfires in the conference finals. Kitchener then ran out of steam and gave up the next four to the Taylor Hall-led Spitfires to lose the series. Kitchener has retained its other top players and Landeskog should be a big part of another deep playoff run.
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