The 2013 NHL Entry Draft

This is my first attempt at writing a blog so all constructive criticism and opinions are welcome. Ill write with some depth on the top ten picks, and then just make the rest quick with little explanation and based on current standings because the playoffs are not finished yet.rnrnThis year in hockey has been full of ups and downs for Oilers fans, our season was over quickly. We were let down once again, but hey, this year the roster of under achieveing veterans and of course rising stars actually showed up to play some nights, putting the team in the playoff spotlight for a mere 24 hours before we were once again out of the picture. Im not here to whine about my team though, so ill stop before I lose you all to more important stuff like the playoffs. What are those anyways? rnrnIm going to talk about what I believe will happen at this years Entry Draft in June. This years class is full of future stars and a lot of people are saying its going to be one of the deepest classes of the past decade. However, I believe the 2014 and 2015 classes will have much more talent and im sure youll start hearing about William Nylander, Josh Ho-Sang, Aaron Ekblad, Sam Reinhart, and of course Connor Mcdavid pretty quickly once this years draft is complete. rnrnThe Colorado Avalanche have the number one overall pick this year, all because Tambellini had to be an awful general manager and got fired, shoulda been the Oil at number one. I can make an arguement for any of the top 4 players to be drafted by the Avs, but I cant see them passing up a chance to take a chance on Seth Jones. The kid is an absolute stud and the Avalanche need defense more than offense. Even though they were one of the worst teams in the league for goal scoring, you cant help but think that the goals will come with the forwards they already have. I expect Landeskog and Duchene to have big years in the upcoming season. As good as Mackinnon and Drouin are offensively, these two will probably be playing somewhat sheltered minutes on most NHL rosters, so they might not have a huge impact right away. Seth Jones to Colorado. rnrnThe second overall pick is held by the Florida Panthers, I see them taking either Barkov or Drouin at number two. If they want to take a Pittsburgh approach at rebuilding the team, itll be Barkov. A Huberdeau-Barkov 1-2 punch down the middle would be absolutely devastating to opposing defense in a few years. However, an arguement could be made for Jonathan Drouin. The two French Canadian players would tear the league up offensively as well. It doesnt really matter who they take out of the two players, but mackinnon would be a little unlikely because Huberdeau and Mackinnon are essentially the same player, theyre differences come in skating and a height.. thats about it. Im gonna go with Barkov to Florida at number two, as he could step into the league in one or two seasons, by then the Panthers will probably have drafted another high end forward most likely being a winger. Unless of course they take Drouin this year. rnrnAt number three we have the Tampa Bay Lightning. Oh, lets let this team add ANOTHER high end player. They have a bunch of players just waiting to crack the roster, and when they do look out for the Tampa Bay Lightning.. I believe this team pulls a Montreal Canadiens and surprises everyone. Back to business. At number 3, again, an arguement can be made for either player, I think this one is between Mackinnon and Drouin. Even though the Bolts are "interested in Nichushkin" hes not part of this one. If you are picking third and you have to choose between Drouin and Mackinnon, who ya gonna call? Probably not Nichushkin. Depending on the approach of Steve Yzerman and his scouts, either of these players can come into Tampa and mesh well with the team. Just think about Drouin and Stamkos playing on a line with Brett Connolly or Nikita Kucherov a few years from now, goals, goals, goals. If you take Mackinnon it could mean the end of Vincent Lecavalier in Tampa, unless of course you want to have him mentor Mackinnon for a season. Either way the Lightning will have plenty of offense in the upcoming years, Mackinnon goes third for me just because the team will eventually have to replace Lecavalier, and they have plenty of solid first and second line quality prospects waiting to take the next step. rnrnAt number 4 we have the Nashville Predators. This is a team that is starving for offense, they have everything else, Pekka Rinne is a world class goaltender and Shea Weber is one of the best defensemen in the league. Ryan Ellis or Roman Josi are solid players on the back end that can take Ryan Suters place on the back end soon. They need help at forward though, and what better players for the Preds to choose from than Nichushkin and Drouin. I dont really pay attention to the Predators, but Colin Wilson if probably your future number one center in the Music City. As an Oiler fan im extremely jealous of Nashville having the exact player needed in Edmonton. A big gritty center. For Nashville, you can take your pick between Drouin and Nichushkin, but for me there is no way Drouin slides past Nashville. Id probably have nightmares thinking of Colin Wilson and Drouin shredding the Oilers D apart in a few years if I thought about it enough. So obviously im gonna say Drouin goes to Nashville 4th overall. rnrnOn to Carolina. I have a serious hatred for this team for fairly obvious reasons. Its worse than my hatred for the Flames because.. Carolina is actually kind of good at hockey. Oh look I made a funny. This is a tough one. Theres no way the Hurricanes take Sean Monahan because of the Super Staal Bros., so its gotta be a Defenceman or a winger. The three names that come to mind are Darnell Nurse, Rasmus Ristolainen, and of course Valeri Nichushkin. Nurse and Ristolainen are essentially the same player when it comes to size and playing ability. However they play different styles, as Ristolainen is a two way defender with more of an offensive upside, and Nurse is a two way defender with a more mean defensive style. The Hurricanes are ok on the back end, much like the Oilers a case can be made for them to trade the pick for an immediate player. Since Nichushkin has recently said hed like to come play in the NHL next season, its very likely that the Hurricanes take Nichushkin at this point. He could fit in well with either Jordan or Eric Staal and could be easily interchanged with Jeff Skinner and Alex Semin on the top lines. The only dangerous thing about taking nichushkin is of course, the dreaded "Russian Factor" and Alex Semins so called bad influence in the locker room. If remember correctly Semin recently signed a fairly large contract, so you could probably throw the bad influence rumors out the window. Nichushkin to Carolina at number 5. rnrnThe Calgary Flames, need I say more? If this team hasnt traded half the current roster for a chance at Nathan Mackinnon by the time they pick 6th overall, theyre probably gonna be ruining every Oilers fans dreams of drafting Sean Monahan. Anything can happen though, For the sake of keeping myself and other people happy, im going to suggest that the Flames take Elias Lindholm. I feel like either of these players fit in well with this team, and Calgary already has their own defensive center prospect with Max Reinhart, so Offensive center Elias Lindholm it is. rnrnAt number seven are the Edmonton Oilers. A team full of defensive prospects, and is reallllly starving for centers. We got Anton Lander, who hasnt exactly turned out to what he was supposed to, maybe in one or two more seasons he takes over the third or fourth line center role from Shawn Horcoff. A whole bunch of people are saying that Edmonton takes a defenseman.. But I really dont see it happening. We have plenty of prospects on the back end, and Craig MacTavish said it himself, "The focus at the draft will be on Centers", somethig like that anyways. If Sean Monahan isnt available at this point, its a likely scenario that the Oilers trade the pick either to move down in the draft, or in a package deal for an immediate player with Sam Gagner going back the other way. Were looking for centers here in Edmonton. Not Keith Yandle, not Nicklas Kronwall, even though id absolutely love to have both on the ice instead of Ryan Whitney or Theo Peckham. What will likely happen is drafting Sean Monahan, of course if he is available. rnrnWith the 8th overall pick, are the Buffalo Sabres. This team is a mess, and they need everything aside from centers and goaltending. I do not think Ryan Miller is traded out of Buffalo, even if he is the Sabres still have Jhonas Enroth to take over the starting job. A case can be made for a lot of players being drafted by the Sabres. Hunter Shinkaruk is pure offense, and would be a great addition when he is NHL ready, along with Darnell Nurse and Rasmus Ristolainen. For the sake of how many good forwards this team has, im gonna go with Darnell Nurse at number 8. I think he would fit in well next to Tyler Myers or Mark Pysyk in a few years, and both of those players are puck moving defensemen. rnrnThe New Jersey Devils have the 9th overall pick, and I cant see them passing up on Rasmus Ristolainen. They are a very defensive team so I dont think a player like Shinkaruk that bleeds offense would fit in very well. Maybe Bo Horvat or Max Domi make the jump, but I dont see it happening before Ristolainen. rnrn10th overall goes to Dallas. This team already has a number one center in Jamie Benn, so Domi and Horvat are out. Shinkaruk is a huge possibility and would fit in well with the team, but Nikita Zadorov and Jamie Oleksiak will be an extremely good shutdown pair in the future. Both players are atleast 6" 5', and Oleksiak has a fairly good puck moving ability. Add Zadorov to the mix in Dallas and you have one of the biggest and meanest looking D groups in the league with 6" 3' Brendan Dillon.rn rnPhiladelphia at 11th Overall, Hunter Shinkaruk. rnrnPhoenix at 12th Overall, Bo Horvat. rnrnWinnipeg at 13th Overall, Ryan Pulock. rnrnColumbus at 14th Overall, Max Domi. rnrnNew York Islanders at 15th Overall, Zachary Fucale. rnrnBuffalo (From Minnesota) at 16th Overall, Andre Burakovsky. rnrnToronto at 17th Overall, Frederik Gauthier. rnrnCalgary (From St. Louis) at 18th Overall, Josh Morrisey. rnrnOttawa at 19th Overall, Anthony Mantha. rnrnColumbus (From New York Rangers) at 20th Overall, Kerby Rychel. rnrnBecause the rest of the playoffs are incomplete im basing the rest of the order off of my own predictions for the playoffs, its more fun. rnrnSan Jose at 21st Overall, Alex Wennberg. rnrnDetroit at 22nd Overall, Steve Santini. rnrnWashington (Division Winner) at 23rd Overall, Robert Hagg. rnrnVancouver (Division Winner) at 24th Overall, Adam Erne. rnrnCalgary (From Pittsburgh) at 25th Overall, Pavel Buchnevich. rnrnChicago at 26th Overall, Nic Petan. rnrn Montreal (Division Winner) at 27th Overall, Samuel Morin. rnrnAnaheim (Division winner) at 28th Overall, Madison Bowey. rnrnColumbus (From LA) at 29th Overall, Tristan Jarry. rnrnDallas (From Boston) at 30th overall, JT Compher. rnrnThanks for reading!rn