NHL Draft Day 2011

Well the time has come again for the NHL Entry Draft. This year the Edmonton Oilers have the #1 pick for the 2nd year in a row. As the Oilers are my favorite team it is pretty exciting to be able to select any player you want.

Last year there was the big storyline between Taylor Hall and Tyler Segin. Edmonton ended up picking Taylor as the #1 pick, and he has already shown that he will do great things for our team.

This year the draft is a little bit more open. Not only will Edmonton pick #1, but we also have the #19 pick. My hope is that we trade the #19 pick and  player or other pick to try and move up higher in the first round. We are in a big rebuilding phase and there is a lot of great talent in the draft this year.

The two players that the Oilers will pick from are Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Adam Larsson. I am really hoping they take Larsson as we need some strong defense on our team, but I guess we will find out what is going to happen later tonight!

1. RYAN NUGENT-HOPKINS

2010-11 Team: Red Deer Rebels	League: WHL
Position: Centre	Height: 6-1
2010-11 Stats: 69 GP, 31 G, 106 PTS	Weight: 170 lbs.
NHL Central Scouting: 1 NAS, International Scouting Services: No. 1, The Hockey News: No. 1

TSN Scout Grant McCagg:

Had a slow start in terms of goal production, including going goalless in 13 games in October, but ended the 2010-11 season with 17 goals in his final 20 games after being cut from Canada's U-20 team. Strengths - high end skills, including amazing vision and agility. Quick elusive skater with superb edges. Soft hands and creative puck handler. Solid work ethic and character. Weaknesses - Needs to add some muscle to compete with NHL defencemen in tight quarters. More of a playmaker than a goal scorer, although he began showing more finish at season's end. NHL Upside - first-line center who draws comparisons to Pavel Datsyuk in terms of style.

2. ADAM LARSSON

2010-11 Team: Skelleftea HC	League: SEL
Position: Defence	Height: 6-3
2010-11 Stats: 37 GP, 1 G, 9 PTS	Weight: 200 lbs.
NHL Central Scouting: 1 ES, International Scouting Services: No. 2, The Hockey News: No. 2

TSN Scout Grant McCagg:

He's already a solid contributor in the Swedish Elite League. Tried to do too much in U-18 competitions last fall and was prone to mistakes, but simplified his game at the WJC and dominated physically and defensively despite playing with a knee injury. Strengths - Thick, physical kid with some jam, poised puck mover, has some power play ability, hard shot, can contribute at both ends of the rink, keen hockey sense, solid positionally. Weaknesses - he's a clunky forward skater. Not most fleet of foot. Loses concentration at times, not fast enough to be a frequent puck carrier. NHL Upside - Has been compared to Victor Hedman, but with more offensive upside. Projects to be a workhorse, a top two defenceman that can do it all.