What to expect from the Northeast Division during the 2012 NHL Entry Draft -NHL Special
The Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Hockey League (NHL) is definitely one of the most competitive, but Boston Bruins have been leading in every aspect for the past few seasons, something which the other teams hope to change with
the upcoming entry draft.
Boston Bruins have been leading the club and in a rare coincidence, have also had the top-10 picks as well, which is always a win-win situation for any club to select the diamonds out of the pool of players.
Things are changing this time as Montreal Canadiens have the top pick in the Northeast Division and will choose the third overall player while Toronto Maple Leafs closely follow with the fifth, Buffalo Sabres get into double digits at number 12 while Boston
will choose 24th.
Here is a detailed look at where the Northeast Divisional teams stand and what they should be focusing on for the upcoming draft:
Montreal Canadiens:
There is nothing new in hearing that the Montreal Canadiens are suffering big time and that showed as they ended at number 15 in the Eastern Conference last season, failing to get anywhere near the playoffs.
With a bunch of changes in the management this time around, Canadiens are doing everything in their power to prepare for another season and hopefully, it will be a lot different next time.
What Montreal Canadiens clearly need on the ice at the moment is a big player in terms of size. He can be young because they already have a number of experienced and mid-career players, but size is the key here to actually enforce their offence.
Prospects like Nail Yakupov, Mikhail Grigorenko and Filip Forsberg could be some ideal choices for them.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Maple Leafs are on the same list which Montreal is on and they need to get their act together because fans are just about to reach their boiling point. All h**l will break loose if Toronto has another failed season and making the right moves is the need
of the hour.
What Toronto Maple Leafs need is a player that will eventually becoming the face of their organisation and lead them for years to come. They do not need another player they will send off to the minors and continue playing there until needed some time in
the future. Toronto needs a Sidney Crosby or Steven Stamkos sort of player to make that difference.
Some prospects that can fit into this role might be Morgan Rielly, Filip Forsberg or Mikhail Grigorenko.
Buffalo Sabres
Buffalo Sabres had a strong start to the start of the 2011-2012 NHL regular season but failed to keep up the momentum to the point where they were ousted of the playoff race.
Some young talent should help them in staying active and energetic when the veterans burn out and having the 12th overall pick should get the job done.
Some prospects to help Buffalo out could be Radek Faksa, Thomas Wilson or Stefan Matteau.
Ottawa Senators
Ottawa had a huge season and they nearly knocked out New York Rangers during the playoffs in the opening round, but it certainly was a step forward for the once struggling Canadian franchise.
Captain Daniel Alfredsson is near retirement and needing to stock up on young talent to fill in those gaps on a long-term basis is what they need.
There are a lot of defensemen in the draft this time around and choosing a hot defender would work in their favour. Griffin Reinhart, Matthew Finn and Olli Maatta hold some great stats and could be potential players to choose from.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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