The Hockey News has been providing the most comprehensive coverage of the world of hockey since 1947. In each issue, you'll find news, features and opinions about the NHL and leagues across North America and the world.

Future Watch 2010

The Hockey News - Future Watch 2010

<div class="byline">BY BRUCE GARRIOCH</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-01663/9461311-1-eng-US/f0044-012.jpg" title="f0044-01" width="255" height="299"></div>The Ottawa Senators are trying to get their record at the draft table back on track.After taking over the Senators following a trip to the Stanley Cup final in 2007, GM Bryan Murray decided to rebuild the team&rsquo;s scouting staff because he thought the cupboard was virtually bare.Yes, there is still plenty of work to be done, but 2008 No. 1 pick Erik Karlsson has stepped into the lineup after spending a month with the American League affiliate in Binghamton and is looking comfortable at the NHL level with the playoffs approaching.<h2>1 JARED COWEN, D, 19, Spokane (WHL)</h2>OVERALL 386-5, 200, 39-6-13-19-48While he wasn&rsquo;t fully recovered from knee surgery, the Senators couldn&rsquo;t resist selecting the big blueliner last year and he didn&rsquo;t disappoint with a strong training camp.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s done everything we asked him to do and he made the (Canadian) junior team,&rdquo; said assistant GM Tim Murray.But Cowen didn&rsquo;t have a great experience at the WJC. He didn&rsquo;t play a shift in one game and was the seventh defenseman. That doesn&rsquo;t bother Murray.&ldquo;I still see good things happening for him,&rdquo; Murray said.Acquired 2009 draft, 9th overall.<h2>2 PATRICK WIERCIOCH, D, 19, Denver (WCHA)</h2>OVERALL 436-3, 178, 24-4-14-18-24It won&rsquo;t be long before Wiercioch is patrolling the Senators&rsquo; blueline. Playing with a knee injury, he didn&rsquo;t pass the physical for Team Canada at the world juniors, but the Senators are buoyed by his talent and upside. He moves the puck well and had an oustanding year as a freshman last season.&ldquo;He is the whole package of size and skill.&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;He just has to get stronger.&rdquo;A sophomore at Denver, Wiercioch will consider turning pro this summer and challenge for an NHL job.Acquired 2008 draft, 42nd overall.<h2>3 ROBIN LEHNER, G, 18, S.S. Marie (OHL)</h2>OVERALL 586-3, 220 17-9-3, 2.79, .916This guy could well be Ottawa&rsquo;s top prospect. He was one of the best goalies in training camp, came to North America to learn the style here and probably could have played in the American League this season. His father was Henrik Lundqvist&rsquo;s goalie coach so Lehner&rsquo;s had good schooling.&ldquo;We love his character, we love his compete and we love his size,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a tremendous talent.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re happy with the way he has developed. He is getting a lot of work in the Soo. It&rsquo;s less about technique with him and more about fighting to see every puck.&rdquo;Acquired 2008 draft, 46th overall.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-02416/9461304-1-eng-US/f0044-022.jpg" title="f0044-02" width="933" height="1120"><figcaption class="caption-body">JARED COWEN (GARY PETERSON/ACTION SPORTS IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h2>4 ANDRE PETERSSON, RW, 19, Jonkoping (Swe.)</h2>5-9, 169, 34-10-5-15-12No, Petersson isn&rsquo;t blessed with great size, but the kid has tremendous skills. He led the Swedes in goal-scoring at the world juniors with eight and plays for one of the top teams in the country.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know if anybody on our team has better hands,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;That doesn&rsquo;t make him an NHL player. He&rsquo;s not big, but he&rsquo;s big enough and has to get stronger (at the next level).&rdquo;The Senators envision the crafty Petersson spending another couple of seasons bulking up and refining his game in Sweden, then making his way to North America for some AHL seasoning in Binghamton.Acquired 2009 draft, 109th overall.<h2>5 MIKE HOFFMAN, C, 20, S. John (QMJHL)</h2>5-11, 175, 40-33-31-64-22Hoffman was passed over in the 2008 draft and he took it out on QMJHL goalies the next season, improving his goal total from 24 to 52.That was enough for the Senators to take him in the fifth round last year. Ottawa scouts are calling him a late-bloomer. His offensive skills are punctuated with a heavy shot and the Kitchener native is swift and mobile.&ldquo;We hope he&rsquo;s going to be someone who slipped through the cracks,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;He shoots the puck a lot and can really skate. He&rsquo;s got a dimension we can use on our team with speed and skill.&rdquo;Hoffman is bound for the AHL proving ground next year.Acquired 2009 draft, 130th overall.<h2>ON THE&nbsp;HORIZON</h2>THE NEXT FIVE<h3>6 DEREK GRANT</h3>C, 19, 6-3, 190Michigan State (CCHA)30-10-17-27-6He&rsquo;s a freshman playing on the first line, putting up points on a consistent basis.Acquired2008 draft, 119th overall<h3>7 ZACK SMITH</h3>C, 21, 6-2, 199Binghamton (AHL)40-7-11-18-74Plays a hard-nosed style and has looked confident in brief NHL stint this season.Acquired2005 draft, 79th overall<h3>8 BRIAN LEE</h3>D, 22, 6-3, 206Binghamton (AHL)24-2-6-8-33NHL regular last season regressed in camp and has battled with injuries.Acquired2005 draft, 9th overall<h3>9 JAKOB SILFVERBERG</h3>LW, 18, 6-1, 187Brynas (Swe.)38-8-4-12-4Played a solid two-way game for Sweden at the world juniors and excels in that role.Acquired2009 draft, 39th overall<h3>10 COLIN GREENING</h3>C, 23, 6-2, 210Cornell (ECAC)20-7-14-21-23He&rsquo;s had a strong college career and plays with character. Will turn pro next year.Acquired2005 draft, 205th overall &#9632;

f0044-01

TEAM REPORTS

BIG BLUELINERS KEY TO FUTURE SUCCESS

THE FUTURE WATCH TOP 50 ranking is a blend of ratings provided by a panel of 23 NHL scouts. Prospects are listed in order. Last year&rsquo;s rank is in parentheses. Unranked players in 2009 are denoted as (nr), while players listed as (new) are prospects drafted in 2009.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-011568/9460444-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="896" height="1060"><figcaption class="caption-body">JOHN CARLSON (CARLSON: MITCHELL LAYTON/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-021133/9460437-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="2330" height="1414"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-011268/9460430-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="2337" height="2151"></div> &#9632;

f0020-01

FEATURES

TOP 50

<div class="byline">BY KEN CAMPBELL</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0014-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-012165/9460361-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">(BILL WIPPERT/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>OVER THE PAST TWO SEASONS, Alex Pietrangelo has played 97 games for eight different teams, won gold and silver medals at the World Junior Championship, was named best defenseman and a tournament all-star at the WJC, spent some time on the injured list after enduring a vicious cheapshot from noted goon Ryan Hollweg, scored his first NHL goal, been traded in the Ontario League and earned a couple of mind-boggling paychecks.But somewhere along the line, something was lost in all that moving around. No, not Pietrangelo&rsquo;s sanity, or even his identity, although the young man has been something of a player without a real home for the past 20 months or so.Actually, what has been lost in all of this has been Pietrangelo&rsquo;s NHL rookie status. If Pietrangelo manages to make the St. Louis Blues roster for good next season, there will be no asterisk beside his name &ndash; indicating rookie. And even if he happens to put together the best first full season in NHL history, he won&rsquo;t be eligible for the Calder Trophy, despite being only 20, having just 17 games of NHL experience to his credit and being named the top prospect outside the NHL in THN&rsquo;s 2010 Future Watch.That&rsquo;s because of an arcane provision in the Calder requirements that stipulates in order to be eligible for rookie of the year, &ldquo;a player cannot have played more than 25 games in any single preceding season nor in six or more games in each of any two preceding seasons in any major professional league.&rdquo;Pietrangelo played eight games for the Blues last season and nine this season before being dispatched back to junior, so there goes his Calder status. The point may be moot given how infrequently defensemen win the Calder, but there&rsquo;s something not right when a player loses his rookie status with so little big-league experience.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011934/9460354-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="2274" height="1486"><figcaption class="caption-body">Alex Pietrangelo aims to lead the Barrie Colts to a Memorial Cup victory this spring. (TERRY WILSON PHOTOGRAPHY)</figcaption></div>Of course, when it comes to contract status, it&rsquo;s a different story. Because he didn&rsquo;t surpass the nine-game threshold in either of his seasons, neither of those years is counted as an accrued season for purposes of unrestricted free agency.<blockquote class="pullQuote">&lsquo;WE REALLY ARE COUNTING ON HIM, BIG TIME&rsquo;</blockquote>&ldquo;Gee, I didn&rsquo;t even know about that,&rdquo; Pietrangelo said.Moving around? Well, Pietrangelo knows an awful lot about that. In 2008-09, Pietrangelo started the season in St. Louis, was sent back to junior to play for the Niagara IceDogs, went to the WJC and then played for the Peoria Rivermen of the American League in the playoffs before spending the summer in St. Louis to work with the team&rsquo;s conditioning coaches. This year, he played nine NHL games before being sent to Canada&rsquo;s national junior team in December, then was returned to junior by the Blues, where he was promptly dealt from the IceDogs to the powerhouse Barrie Colts.The upside? His parents live in King City, Ont., which is a mere 15-minute drive south of Barrie. The downside? Well, it&rsquo;s been a little difficult for Pietrangelo to feel his feet under him because they&rsquo;re constantly on the move.&ldquo;I think I&rsquo;ve had five phone numbers in the past two years,&rdquo; Pietrangelo said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s been kind of a whirlwind in that sense. But it sounds a lot worse than it really is. And a lot of it is with guys I&rsquo;ve played with before. Here in Barrie, there are five guys I played minor hockey with and I know the coach (Marty Williamson) because he coached me in the under-17 program.&rdquo;The nomadic lifestyle clearly hasn&rsquo;t adversely affected Pietrangelo. Despite practicing with the Blues far more than he played, Pietrangelo was terrific in the WJC and had 13 points in his first 12 games for the Colts after being returned to junior. The captain of the Eastern Conference team for the OHL&rsquo;s All-Star Game despite having played only nine games in the league this season before the game, Pietrangelo is among the oldest non-overage players in the OHL this season.He feels the experience gained by being in St. Louis to start the past two seasons has benefitted his game and the Blues are hoping he will ultimately be a better developed player for having been around NHL players for an extended period of time. The Blues practices under former coach Andy Murray were chock full of teaching and intensity and the Blues are hoping Pietrangelo can step right into the lineup next season and know exactly what to expect.&ldquo;A lot of people saw Alex last year as a really young Alex, but I think people saw Alex this year carry himself like a man,&rdquo; said Blues president John Davidson. &ldquo;This kid is a good player and he has a great opportunity to become a really good player. It&rsquo;s all falling into place here as far as the proper maturation process goes. If he has the same summer this year and matures the way he did last summer, we really are counting on him, big time.&rdquo;The remarkable transformation of Pietrangelo from boy to man coincided with his decision to stay in St. Louis all last summer and train under the watchful eye of the team, something he intends to do this summer as well. And it wasn&rsquo;t the first summer Pietrangelo has had success as a member of the Blues.Until being drafted into the OHL, he spent each summer playing for a team called the Ontario Blues along with emerging Tampa Bay Lightning star Steven Stamkos, rookie defenseman Michael Del Zotto of the New York Rangers and Colorado Avalanche prospect Cameron Gaunce.&ldquo;We played together for five years and we lost only one game,&rdquo; Pietrangelo said, &ldquo;and that was in a shootout to a team from Ottawa. It was pretty devastating, believe it or not.&rdquo;The NHL Blues, meanwhile, are something of a work in progress. After years of futility, they had a furious second half last season to make the playoffs, but have taken a step backward again this season because a number of their younger talents could not repeat what they did last season. Pietrangelo is certainly a vital part of that youthful core of Blues players and an extended playoff run with the Colts and perhaps even a trip to the Memorial Cup will do nothing to hurt his long-term development.<blockquote class="pullQuote">&lsquo;MY GOAL IS TO MAKE THAT TEAM&hellip;AND MAKE AN IMPACT&rsquo;</blockquote>&ldquo;My goal is to make that team next year and make an impact,&rdquo; Pietrangelo said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m hoping my experiences of this year and last year and another summer of training under my belt can make the difference.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-011695/9460347-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="1496" height="1460"><figcaption class="caption-body">Pietrangelo was named top defenseman at the 2010 world juniors. (RICHARD WOLOWICZ/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h2>SCOUTS HONOR: VOTE BREAKDOWN</h2>Alex Pietrangelo became the No. 1 prospect in Future Watch 2010 based on four first-place votes and more volume of high-end votes from our panel of 23 NHL scouts.Panelists ranked NHL-affiliated prospects 1-50 based on long-term (five to 10 years) upside in the NHL. The voting system is weighted to give top 10 prospects sequentially more balloting points than those ranked 11-50. Here&rsquo;s a breakdown of the top 10.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-021299/9460340-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="775" height="733"></div> &#9632;

f0014-01

ALEX PIETRANGELO

<div class="byline">BY ADAM PROTEAU</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0068-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0068-01110/9461961-1-eng-US/f0068-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">The Oshawa Generals hope new ownership rekindles their winning tradition. (CLAUS ANDERSEN/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>VIRTUALLY EVERY HOCKEY player talented and fortunate enough to play in Canada&rsquo;s major junior system leaves the experience holding fond memories of the organizations with which they played and the cities in which they became young men.And though many of those players go on to the bright lights, boffo paydays and brass rails of the NHL, rarely do they lose touch with their junior teams and towns.That fact &ndash; coupled with the financial where-withal that five-and six-year contract extensions provide to the game&rsquo;s top talents these days &ndash; has led to an increase in the number of retired and current NHLers who are at least part owners of Canadian League junior franchises.The best known of this growing group, arguably, are Dale and Mark Hunter, former NHLers who now own the wildly successful (and profitable) London Knights of the Ontario League. But there are many other notable names who have bought back into the junior scene.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0068-0259/9461954-1-eng-US/f0068-022.jpg" title="f0068-02" width="347" height="440"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0068-0334/9461947-1-eng-US/f0068-032.jpg" title="f0068-03" width="344" height="442"><figcaption class="caption-body">OSHAWA GENERALS CO-OWNERS ADAM GRAVES & PETER DeBOER (GRAVES: CHRIS MCGRATH/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>Former Canadiens and North Stars great Bobby Smith is the majority owner of the Quebec League&rsquo;s Halifax Mooseheads. Fellow Habs legend Patrick Roy co-owns the QMJHL&rsquo;s Quebec Remparts. Retired blue-collar NHLers Warren Rychel and Bob Boughner help pay the bills for the OHL&rsquo;s Windsor Spitfires.It isn&rsquo;t just an Eastern seaboard phenomenon, either: In 2007, current Flames captain Jarome Iginla &ndash; along with Phoenix&rsquo;s Shane Doan, Boston&rsquo;s Mark Recchi and St. Louis&rsquo; Darryl Sydor &ndash; became minority owners of the Western League&rsquo;s Kamloops Blazers, the team all four men spent their junior career with. All-time legend Gordie Howe and Oilers coach Pat Quinn each hold a stake in the WHL&rsquo;s Vancouver Giants. The Red Deer Rebels naturally have a Sutter influence with No. 5 son Brent owning the franchise. Brent, of course, works a 90-minute drive to the south as bench boss of the Calgary Flames and previously coached the Rebels to the 2001 Memorial Cup.Most recently, the OHL&rsquo;s Oshawa Generals received a boost in name recognition and hockey acumen when majority stakeholder Rocco Tullio introduced former New York Rangers great Adam Graves and Florida Panthers coach Peter DeBoer as new members of the team&rsquo;s ownership group.According to a current NHL star who has enjoyed life as an OHL player and OHL team owner, they&rsquo;re likely to find the experience very rewarding.&ldquo;Owning a team was interesting and exciting from a hockey sense and a business sense,&rdquo; said Philadelphia Flyers star defenseman Chris Pronger, who owned the OHL&rsquo;s Mississauga IceDogs (a franchise that since has been sold and moved to Niagara Falls, Ont.) from 2003-2006. &ldquo;You go into it wanting to give back to the junior game and at the same time you hope to turn around a team that didn&rsquo;t have a lot of success to that point.&rdquo;<blockquote class="pullQuote">&lsquo;WE WANTED TO BRING BACK A WINNING TRADITION&rsquo;</blockquote>Pronger initially bought the team with southern Ontario businessman Mario Forgione for somewhere in the neighborhood of $4 million, then sold it to Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk, reportedly for twice that amount. But nice as it was for Pronger to turn a healthy profit on the financial investment, it was even better to reverse the on-ice fortunes of what had been a sad-sack organization from its inception.&ldquo;When we took over, that team finished dead last (in its division) for four straight years and the most they had won in a season was something like 20 games,&rdquo; Pronger said (although the actual number of wins was 23). &ldquo;But the first couple of years we owned the team, they finished second and first in the division in the regular season and they made it to the (OHL) final one year. So being part of that kind of change was great.&rdquo;Tullio is hoping to have a similar experience with the Generals now that DeBoer and Graves are on board.&ldquo;When you go into buying an OHL team, it&rsquo;s always prudent to surround yourself with people that have the contact and the reach to help you in that area of expertise,&rdquo; said Tullio, a real-estate developer and fitness center guru who knew Graves and DeBoer socially for years before extending them the invitation to join his business. &ldquo;Knowing Adam and Pete for many years in a social capacity, as well as knowing what they&rsquo;ve accomplished on the ice, the call was an easy one.&rdquo;Tullio&rsquo;s Generals haven&rsquo;t won an OHL championship since 1997 nor a Memorial Cup title since 1990 and haven&rsquo;t finished first in their division since 1991. But with a Stanley Cup champion in Graves and a Memorial Cup-winning coach in DeBoer, he expects that to change.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0069-0197/9461940-1-eng-US/f0069-012.jpg" title="f0069-01" width="1189" height="1467"><figcaption class="caption-body">Chris Pronger owned the OHL-based Mississauga IceDogs from 2003-2006 (SCOTT LEVY/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>&ldquo;We wanted to bring back a winning tradition to this organization and replicate what Pete did with the Kitchener Rangers franchise, in terms of always being a competitive team and making the playoffs year-in and year-out,&rdquo; Tullio said. &ldquo;If you look at what they&rsquo;ve done, the benefits of having them on board speak for themselves. I was always serious about surrounding myself with quality people who can help bring a championship to this city and make us the icon of the Canadian Hockey League again &ndash; and I believe these are the guys who can do it.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0069-0263/9461933-1-eng-US/f0069-022.jpg" title="f0069-02" width="343" height="441"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0069-0338/9461926-1-eng-US/f0069-032.jpg" title="f0069-03" width="343" height="447"><figcaption class="caption-body">KAMLOOPS BLAZERS CO-OWNERS JAROME IGINLA & SHANE DOAN</figcaption></div>Tullio understands the primary focus for both DeBoer and Graves (who works for the New York Rangers in a hockey and business operations capacity) is their respective NHL employers. But he is savvy enough to know that, come the off-season, Generals fans will be happy to see the two big names out in the community, cultivating future fans and maintaining the businesses&rsquo; current base.&ldquo;Pete&rsquo;s first priority is obviously the Panthers and if we need to speak to him on occasion to get his input on something, he is able to make himself available without compromising his duties with the Panthers; same with Adam and the Rangers,&rdquo; Tullio said. &ldquo;The reality is that, whenever we can, we&rsquo;re going to lean on them when they&rsquo;re here in the summer, maybe when they&rsquo;re on vacation or not working for their teams, to play a role in rebranding and public relations.&rdquo;Ultimately, Tullio said, the chance to own a junior team resonates with NHLers on emotional as well as financial levels.&ldquo;Adam and Pete got their opportunity here in the OHL as teammates with the Windsor Spitfires, forged a relationship and here we are 20 years later and they now own one of the most storied franchises in the Canadian Hockey League,&rdquo; Tullio said. &ldquo;For them, it&rsquo;s about giving back to this great league and because they were nurtured as players and people here, they want to give back.&ldquo;They&rsquo;re able to bring their NHL experiences to these kids and they lend a huge value to making this a better league as a whole.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0068-01

BUYING INTO THEIR ROOTS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-012133/9459992-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Coyotes prospect Oliver Ekman-Larsson comes in at No. 3 on the top-50 list. (COVER: ANDRE RINGUETTE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0003-01

IN THIS ISSUE

OPENING FACEOFF

<div class="byline">BY BRIAN COSTELLO</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-012157/9460037-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="420" height="786"><figcaption class="caption-body">(COSTELLO: MARK WILSON)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021832/9460030-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="977" height="842"><figcaption class="caption-body">(LARSON: TONY QUINN)</figcaption></div>NOT SINCE THE DAYS of the goaltending Blackburns have we seen anything like this.In assembling our top-10 prospect lists for the 30 teams in Future Watch 2010, we considered Nick Larson for the Calgary Flames. A fourth round pick in 2008, the 20-year-old left winger is in his freshman season at Notre Dame in the CCHA. What&rsquo;s remarkable is he&rsquo;s one of four, count it, four U.S.-born Nick Larsons who recently played or are playing at the collegiate level. Holy Blackburn!Calgary&rsquo;s Nick Larson hails from Apple Valley, Minn., which sounds as nice a place as Cranberry Township, Pa., which is where forward Nick Larson hails, the Nick Larson who played at American International College in 2005-06. I wonder if either of those Nick Larsons know the 21-year-old Nick Larson from Stillwater, Minn., who plays for Minnesota (WCHA) and is a Washington draft pick. Then there&rsquo;s the Nick Larson from Moorhead, Minn., who played at Denver (WCHA) for three seasons up until 2005.That reminded us of our encounter with the unrelated Blackburns many years ago. Phoenix draft pick Josh Blackburn (Choctaw, Okla.) was having a fabulous freshman season in goal for Michigan (CCHA) in 1998-99. And so was undrafted sophomore stopper Joe Blackburn (Livonia, Mich.) for Michigan State (CCHA). &ldquo;Wait till you see there&rsquo;s another Blackburn goalie,&rdquo; scouts told us. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s 15 and the best of the bunch.&rdquo; It turned out Dan Blackburn was the best, drafted 10th overall by the New York Rangers in 2001.No Blackburns or Nick Larsons made this year&rsquo;s Future Watch, but as always, we provide thorough information on each NHL team&rsquo;s need-to-know prospects, a listing of the top 75 prospects in NHL pipelines, grades and handicapping stats on how each team is doing in terms of drafting and developing, plus a glimpse at the names you&rsquo;ll be hearing more about at future NHL drafts. Enjoy.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-031474/9460023-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="680" height="162"></div> &#9632;

f0004-01

SIZING UP ALL PROSPECTS

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-012384/9460092-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">(AARON BELL/OHL IMAGES)</figcaption></div>THERE CAN ONLY be one No. 1 draft pick. But that doesn&rsquo;t mean the player who goes second is a slouch.Look at the 2008 draft: No way was Tampa Bay going to pass on center Steven Stamkos, but the L.A. Kings are sure happy they got the &lsquo;consolation prize&rsquo; in defenseman Drew Doughty &ndash; you know, Canadian Olympian Drew Doughty.So while there is already talk in Edmonton about the &ldquo;fall for (Taylor) Hall&rdquo; movement, don&rsquo;t sleep on Plymouth&rsquo;s Tyler Seguin.The second-year center for the Ontario League&rsquo;s Whalers has matched Hall point-for-point throughout the season, deviating only when Seguin missed a couple games due to injury early in the campaign, but making up ground when Hall was away at the world juniors.In fact, Seguin even wrested the No. 1 crown away from Hall early on and the word has been out on the slick pivot ever since.&ldquo;The media workload has been huge ever since Central Scouting put him No. 1,&rdquo; said Plymouth coach-GM Mike Vellucci. &ldquo;The way he handles the media is exemplary for a 17-year-old.&rdquo;Because of Seguin&rsquo;s age, the Whalers have been leery about dangling him in the public spotlight too much (Hall, thanks to a late birthday, is 10 months older), though the calls have definitely been coming in.&ldquo;Last week he had 10 interviews, an exam and a road game against Owen Sound,&rdquo; Vellucci noted. &ldquo;He is also still a kid going to high school.&rdquo;But on the ice, Seguin is a wizard. He first took off in the 2009 OHL playoffs, netting 16 points in 11 games for Plymouth and has been on a tear ever since.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s his overall game,&rdquo; Vellucci said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a really good skater, has that extra gear when he needs to go there&hellip;he&rsquo;s a great playmaker and this year he added scoring to that.&rdquo;But individual success means only so much when a certain team 20 minutes away knocked you out of the playoffs en route to the Memorial Cup title. With that in mind, Seguin seems to be on a mission to get even with Hall&rsquo;s Windsor Spitfires.This season, the Whalers have counted on Seguin to be their big man when the Spits are on the docket; in three Whalers victories over Windsor, Seguin had three points in each game. In three losses, he had one point, period.Nonetheless, Plymouth&rsquo;s young center knows his team can hang with the Windsor crew thanks to last year&rsquo;s playoff loss.&ldquo;We gave &rsquo;em a good run,&rdquo; Seguin recalled. &ldquo;We took them as far (six games) as any team took them.&rdquo;But buttressed by a stellar cast including goaltender Matt Hackett, defenseman Michal Jordan and forwards such as A.J. Jenks, Robbie Czarnik and trade deadline acquisition Phil McRae, the Whalers are one of the few teams in the OHL with the talent and track record to usurp the league champs.The unintended consequence of having two forwards &ndash; not to mention a very stellar No. 3 option in Spitfires defenseman Cam Fowler &ndash; up for the same top draft spot and also in competition for a league title will make for a very interesting post-season around the Great Lakes region.Will the No. 1 title be settled by the winner of what seems like an inevitable Windsor-Plymouth playoff showdown?For Seguin, speculation about his destination and draft slot is fun, but not something he agonizes over.&ldquo;Of course I&rsquo;ll go on the website to check it out,&rdquo; Seguin said. &ldquo;But you don&rsquo;t think about it when you&rsquo;re out on the ice.&ldquo;My goal is to take my game to the next level and play a more complete game.&rdquo;If Seguin and his Whalers encounter Windsor in the playoffs again, we&rsquo;ll all see just where that game is. &#9632;

f0006-01

UPFRONT

SECOND FIDDLE TYLER SEGUIN

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0007-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-012128/9460123-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">ERIK GUDBRANSON (AARON BELL/OHL IMAGES)</figcaption></div>1. TAYLOR HALL, RW, 6-0, 180, WINDSOR (OHL)Intimidates the opposition with his speed and skill&hellip;fantastic creativity and hand-eye coordination&hellip;led Windsor to Memorial Cup last season&hellip;physically built for the NHL already.SCOUT SAYS &ldquo;He attacks the net area and he&rsquo;s always moving. He&rsquo;s a difficult guy to defend because of that. Still needs to use teammates more. Very strong on his skates, great agility.&rdquo;2. TYLER SEGUIN, C, 6-1, 186, PLYMOUTH (OHL)3. CAM FOWLER, D, 6-2, 190, WINDSOR (OHL)Key member of Team USA&rsquo;s gold-medal WJC squad&hellip;premier playmaker&hellip;plays the game with a physical edge&hellip;fluid skating has drawn comparisons to Scott Niedermayer.SCOUT SAYS &ldquo;Good poise with the puck, makes smart reads on the ice, shows good anticipation, physical when he needs to be. Good point shot. Late birthday, so he&rsquo;s a bit older, too.&rdquo;4. BRANDON GORMLEY, D, 6-1, 175, MONCTON (QMJHL)All-around blueliner&hellip;great vision and poise with the puck&hellip; alumnus of Notre Dame Hounds program&hellip;babysat by Brad Richards&rsquo; family while growing up.SCOUT SAYS &ldquo;He&rsquo;s got good size, good positioning, competes and battles well. Can play a two-way game, but can also play shutdown. Smart accurate passes, moves the puck well.&rdquo;5. VLADIMIR TARASENKO, RW, 5-11, 202, SIBIR (KHL)A rare KHL teenager making an impact for his team&hellip;willing to fight through traffic to get his chances&hellip;great hands around the net&hellip;didn&rsquo;t give up during Russia&rsquo;s disappointing world juniors.SCOUT SAYS &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got him pretty high. Good strength along the boards, but could be more determined. Gets himself in goal-scoring positions Good quickness, hands, hard wrist shot.6. ALEX BURMISTROV, C, 6-0, 170, BARRIE (OHL)Learning North American game with powerhouse Colts&hellip;sublime playmaker, but showed scoring touch at world juniors.SCOUT SAYS &ldquo;Very dynamic, great speed, finds those little openings, shows confidence in goal-scoring areas. Needs to add weight to frame. Always in motion, doesn&rsquo;t panic with the puck.&rdquo;7. ERIK GUDBRANSON, D, 6-4, 195, KINGSTON (OHL)Has been a bright spot for Kingston since he was 16&hellip;good feet for a big blueliner&hellip;lost big chunk of season to mononucleosis, but was on pace for best offensive year by far.SCOUT SAYS &ldquo;Huge defender. Communicates on the ice well, supports his partner well, good shot, moves the puck with authority &ndash; crisp and hard passes. Has a long reach and uses it.&rdquo;8. KIRILL KABANOV, LW, 6-1, 172, MONCTON (QMJHL)Came out on fire before wrist surgery derailed his season&hellip; always puts up points internationally&hellip;has a fiery side to his game.SCOUT SAYS &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a pretty slick player, on the scene for awhile &ndash; lots of international play. Electrifying, explosive, gifted player, ability to score highlight-reel goals, needs to get stronger.&rdquo;9. BRETT CONNOLLY, LW, 6-1, 181, PRINCE GEORGE (WHL)Played at a point-per-game clip for the Cougars before hip flexor problems cut him down&hellip;team went into devastating tailspin without him&hellip;CHL rookie of the year in 2008-09.SCOUT SAYS &ldquo;Great frame, still filling out. Injury is killing him right now. Good puck control, finds open ice, good hand-eye coordination, smart and patient with the puck.&rdquo;10. MIKAEL GRANLUND, C, 5-10, 172, KARPAT (FIN.)Big-time scorer has carried on his success in Finland&rsquo;s top league&hellip;had a frustrating world juniors for low-scoring Finland, but effort was always there on the backcheck.SCOUT SAYS &ldquo;Little guy, not so sure he&rsquo;s really the 5-foot-10 he&rsquo;s listed as. Lots of skill, great 1-on-1, good patience down low. Really good on faceoffs, protects the puck well and plays hard every shift.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0007-01

2010 NHL DRAFT PROJECTED TOP 10

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0008-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-012275/9460154-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">(IHA)</figcaption></div>AT THE 2009 World Junior Championship, Sweden drew a lot of interest thanks to a cadre of draft-eligible players that turned into seven first-rounders that summer, including the second overall pick, defenseman Victor Hedman.This year in Saskatoon, the Swedes had to soldier on without Hedman, who jumped straight to the NHL with Tampa Bay. And while the Tre Kronor had another beastly young blueliner patrolling the back end, NHL GMs will have to wait another year for Adam Larsson &ndash; he&rsquo;s still only 17.Despite being so young, Larsson has taken the Swedish Elite League by storm. Boasting size and skill, the 6-foot-2, 209-pound blueliner had 15 points through 38 games playing against competition sometimes twice his age. His story is very similar to that of Hedman, something not lost on Larsson when he made his Elite League debut last year with Skelleftea, while Hedman was still playing for Modo.&ldquo;I watched him every day,&rdquo; Larsson said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a good player.&rdquo;And Larsson can be the same. His advanced size enables him to play physical hockey, something he demonstrated at the world juniors when he would muck it up in the corners with top prospects such as Switzerland&rsquo;s similarly sized Nino Niederreiter. Larsson was also very adept at making strong outlet passes, sometimes finding lanes that didn&rsquo;t unfold until the last second, showing off his creativity.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a good one,&rdquo; said Team Sweden coach Par Marts. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s got all the skills you need, so (Larsson must) just be patient and work hard. He&rsquo;s going to be a top defender for sure.&rdquo;Playing mostly with top Phoenix Coyotes prospect Oliver Ekman-Larsson, the 17-year-old wunderkind put up a goal and four points for the Swedes in six games, registering a plus-3 rating in the process.Comfort on the Swedish WJC team likely wouldn&rsquo;t have been a problem for Larsson, regardless of performance, since two of his Skelleftea teammates, fellow defensemen Tim Erixon (drafted Calgary 23rd overall in &rsquo;09) and David Rundblad (selected by St. Louis 17th overall in &rsquo;09), were also on the squad.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s an incredible player, extremely talented, skilled offensively,&rdquo; Erixon said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a good skater even though he&rsquo;s a big-sized player.&rdquo;Getting the chance to strut his stuff on the big stage was also a great learning experience for Larsson, whose role at next year&rsquo;s tourney in Buffalo will greatly increase.&ldquo;This was a big tournament, everything was a little more exciting,&rdquo; Larsson said. &ldquo;I just enjoyed the whole tournament and played my game.&rdquo;For Rundblad, it was nice to see his younger mate enjoy a successful initial sojourn at the WJC, especially since Erixon, Larsson and Rundblad all hang out together back in Skelleftea.&ldquo;I think he did really good,&rdquo; Rundblad said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a really smart player, he hasn&rsquo;t got a weakness. As a teammate he&rsquo;s a really good guy, a little quiet. He&rsquo;s a very nice guy.&rdquo;And while Larsson&rsquo;s time in the Elite League has been successful so far, the youngster knows he has a long way to go thanks to the rigors of playing against much older competition.&ldquo;They are much stronger and mistakes can be worse in the Elitserien,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I must play safer, that is what I try to do.&rdquo;Based on his career trajectory, don&rsquo;t be surprised to see Larsson surpass Hedman on the draft podium. Assuming the team with the top pick doesn&rsquo;t have its heart set on a forward &ndash; such as Sean Couturier, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins or Seth Ambroz &ndash; Larsson offers the most tantalizing package of size, skill and top-level experience. Just one more year to wait&hellip; &#9632;

f0008-01

BIG SWEDE AHEAD OF THE CURVE

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0009-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-012045/9460185-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">BOONE JENNER (AARON BELL/OHL IMAGES)</figcaption></div>1. ADAM LARSSON, D, 6-2, 201, SKELLEFTEA (SWE.)2. SEAN COUTURIER, LW, 6-3, 185, D&rsquo;VILLE (QMJHL)Great size and offensively gifted&hellip;late birthday will make him a very mature draft pick&hellip;starred for the Notre Dame Hounds&hellip; plays a solid two-way game.SCOUT SAYS &ldquo;Tremendous size, dominates with Drummondville&hellip;can also play center. Smooth skater, skilled playmaker, plays with power, knows where teammates are, tremendous wrist shot.&rdquo;3. RYAN NUGENT-HOPKINS, C, 6-0, 155, RED DEER (WHL)Preternatural offensive skills and great acceleration&hellip;No. 1 pick in the WHL bantam draft&hellip;already a point-per-game producer in the WHL&hellip;still needs to bulk up.SCOUT SAYS &ldquo;Uses his body well, plays in all situations and has a knack for spinning off checks. Explosive skating stride and tenacious around the puck&hellip;some say he&rsquo;s a can&rsquo;t-miss prospect.&rdquo;4. SETH AMBROZ, LW, 6-3, 198, OMAHA (USHL)Big power forward already putting up numbers in America&rsquo;s top junior circuit&hellip;early commit to the University of Minnesota&hellip; doesn&rsquo;t mind dropping the gloves when necessary.SCOUT SAYS &ldquo;The USHL is a very good league and he didn&rsquo;t back down from anybody. Good strength, pretty good vision on the ice, tons of upside. Skating isn&rsquo;t his best attribute right now.&rdquo;5. BRANDON SAAD, RW, 6-2, 200, NTDP (USHL)Prototypical power forward was a star in the NAHL before joining Team USA&rsquo;s Ann Arbor program&hellip;had 17 points through 14 USHL games.SCOUT SAYS &ldquo;This guy is a monster, great size, very powerful, tremendous strength. Very good skater with an extra gear, which is unusual for a guy his size. Moves the puck through traffic.&rdquo;6. ROCCO GRIMALDI, C, 5-6, 160, NTDP (USHL)One of the smallest elite players ever, Grimaldi has succeeded at all levels&hellip;plays physical despite size&hellip;great on the power play.SCOUT SAYS &ldquo;He jumps out. He&rsquo;s dynamic, always on the move, but size is definitely not on his side. Plays with grit, finishes checks, good puck skills, always in the middle of the action.&rdquo;7. BOONE JENNER, C, 6-1, 193, OSHAWA (OHL)Fierce competitor made immediate impact with Generals&hellip; strong on the puck and on the forecheck&hellip;blocks shots and jumps on loose pucks.SCOUT SAYS &ldquo;Simply does not like losing&hellip;not a real high-end skater&hellip;good size, very strong on his skates, plays in all situations, takes a hit to make a play, competes in all three zones.&rdquo;8. VICTOR RASK, C, 6-1, 194, LEKSAND (SWE.)Has a very mature frame for his age&hellip;excels on the international stage for Team Sweden&hellip;already has experience with Leksand&rsquo;s top team in Sweden&rsquo;s second-best league.SCOUT SAYS &ldquo;Talented playmaker with high hockey IQ. He&rsquo;s a scoring threat, good on faceoffs, knows where his teammates are. Excellent skater with quick feet, definitely a hard worker.&rdquo;9. RYAN MURPHY, D, 5-11, 160, KITCHENER (OHL)Undersized defenseman can really light it up offensively, much like Nashville pick Ryan Ellis&hellip;great skater and playmaker, also known for his anticipation.SCOUT SAYS &ldquo;Tremendous skater, great feet, but lacks size. Great offensive instincts, can skate and move the puck up the ice, defensive play will be concern in future.&rdquo;10. GABRIEL LANDESKOG, RW, 6-0, 201, KITCHENER (OHL)Swedish import learning the ropes in North America&hellip;has already played in the Swedish Elite League with Djurgarden&hellip;plays a gritty, grinding game.SCOUT SAYS &ldquo;Very smooth skater, it jumps out right away. Good size and hand-eye coordination, lots of offensive smarts and good vision. Not afraid to take a hit to make a play.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0009-01

2011 NHL DRAFT PROJECTED TOP 10

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0010-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-012246/9460216-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">(USHL IMAGES)</figcaption></div>FOR DRAFT AFICIONADOS, the rise of the United States League as a breeding ground for top prospects has been an intriguing development in recent years.First-rounders such as John Carlson, Louis Leblanc and John Moore all plied their trade on the circuit, ostensibly to maintain college eligibility, but the competition has made the USHL a destination anyway.So when a 15-year-old cracks a USHL roster, it&rsquo;s the furthest thing from a phenom making headlines for a light league.Waterloo Black Hawks defenseman Nick Ebert is that phenom. At 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds, the New Jersey native has advanced to the point that one prominent junior scout proposed the young American could have played in the Ontario League this year.&ldquo;He certainly doesn&rsquo;t play like he&rsquo;s 15,&rdquo; said Waterloo coach P.K. O&rsquo;Handley. &ldquo;His size and ability are at such a high level, I would compare him to an 18-year-old. He can really skate, he can get up the ice.&rdquo;Of course, there are adjustments to be made. Ebert lit up the New Jersey high school circuit with the Livingston Lancers last year, once scoring two shorthanded goals on the same penalty kill. He was also nearly a point-per-game player for the Atlantic Youth League&rsquo;s North Jersey Avalanche. The teen was discovered at a USHL tryout in Philadelphia and when the chance to play at a high level in Waterloo came up, he went for it.&ldquo;This is a great opportunity,&rdquo; Ebert said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve learned so much out here, it&rsquo;s pretty much changed my game.&rdquo;And it&rsquo;s the two-way game Ebert at which excels, citing young Los Angeles Kings Jack Johnson and Drew Doughty as his NHL models. Right now, the rookie is still learning the USHL game, but his coach likes what he sees.&ldquo;The thinking process has to come along,&rdquo; O&rsquo;Handley said. &ldquo;But defensively, he&rsquo;s sound. It&rsquo;s the offense where he can grow.&rdquo;The fact Ebert is already contributing in the USHL &ndash; he had 12 points through 33 games &ndash; is pretty remarkable. Ebert, for his part, wants to stay in Waterloo for a couple of seasons, so talk of another move to, say, the OHL, isn&rsquo;t even on the radar right now.And while O&rsquo;Handley noted Ebert is largely quiet and unassuming in the dressing room, even the coach knows the kid from Jersey has some mischief in him.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a bit of a joker,&rdquo; O&rsquo;Handley said. &ldquo;But he picks his spots, so no one knows it was him.&rdquo;Of course it&rsquo;s fair to say Ebert, with his combination of size and skill, won&rsquo;t be able to go unnoticed for much longer. &#9632;

f0010-01

THUMBS UP FOR EBERT

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div><h2>NICK EBERT</h2><h3>D, 6-1, 185, WATERLOO (USHL)</h3>Already has the size and skill to be a defenseman in America&rsquo;s top junior league&hellip;plans on growing his game in Waterloo&hellip;one of the rare 15-year-olds playing regularly in the USHL.SCOUT SAYS &ldquo;A great two-way defender&hellip;all the physical tools. Excellent mobility, he has the potential to control a game.&rdquo;<h2>CRISTOVAL &lsquo;BOO&rsquo; NIEVES</h2><h3>C, 6-2, 175, SYRACUSE NATIONALS (AAA)</h3>Tantalizing playmaker boasts great hands, feet and acceleration&hellip;is expected to top out at 6-foot-4 before he&rsquo;s done growing&hellip;has his sights set on the U.S. NTDP program and NCAA hockey after that.SCOUT SAYS &ldquo;A very explosive and dynamic center&hellip;slight frame, very elusive when he has the puck&hellip; soft hands, he can both finish and distribute the puck.&rdquo;<h2>SLATER KOEKKOEK</h2><h3>D, 6-2, 190, NOTRE DAME (SASK.)</h3>Physical blueliner also comes at you with his shot&hellip;cites Nicklas Lidstrom as a role model&hellip;last name pronounced &lsquo;koo-kook&rsquo;&hellip;posted 30 points through his first 35 games this season with Notre Dame.SCOUT SAYS &ldquo;Very physically mature&hellip;man-sized now, very strong, physical and good feet to boot&hellip; should really improve in the structured system Notre Dame plays.&rdquo;<h2>LUCA CIAMPINI</h2><h3>LW, 5-11, 186, CHATEAUGUAY (QUE. AAA)</h3>Has led Chateauguay in assists for almost the entire season, despite being one of the team&rsquo;s youngest players&hellip;goes strong to the net and isn&rsquo;t afraid to fight through traffic to get there&hellip;admires Evgeni Malkin&rsquo;s game&hellip;tallied 40 points through 33 contests.SCOUT SAYS &ldquo;Ciampini is a pure goal-scorer and average skater with good hockey sense offensively&hellip; doesn&rsquo;t mind the rough play&hellip;needs to improve in defensive commitment and his jump.&rdquo; &#9632;

2012 NHL DRAFT WATCH LIST

<div class="byline">BY JOHN GRIGG</div><h2>OHL DRAFT 2010 FIVE TO WATCH</h2>HERE&rsquo;S WHAT SCOUTS HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THE UPCOMING CHL DRAFTS:<h3>NICK EBERT, D, 6-1, 185</h3>Playing in the USHL and getting a ton of minutes. Used in all situations; poised and composed with an all-around game.<h3>MATIA MARCANTUONI, C, 6-0, 170</h3>Another in the recent line of high-end, dynamic talent from Ontario. Blinding speed, lots of offense.<h3>JACOB TROUBA, D, 6-1, 180</h3>Defenseman from the Detroit Compuware program. Excellent mobility, great skills and a real nasty streak.<h3>GIANLUCA CURCURUTO, D, 6-0, 180</h3>Offensively skilled with a ton of tools. Great skater who can rush the puck and create offensively; solid in his own zone.<h3>JARROD MAIDENS, C, 6-2, 185</h3>Big-bodied with plenty of upside. Great stick and shot; has had moments this season where he&rsquo;s dominated.<h2>QMJHL DRAFT 2010 FIVE TO WATCH</h2><h3>JEREMIE FRASER, D, 6-1, 199</h3>The best D-man available; he&rsquo;s a horse and can do a little bit of everything. A good, solid, complete blueliner.<h3>LUCA CIAMPINI, LW, 5-11, 186</h3>Pure goal-scorer, a real sniper. Must work on his skating and improve his commitment level, but has all the talent.<h3>ANDREW RYAN, C, 6-2, 173</h3>Big frame, big-boned with puck skills, vision and good compete level. Hardnosed and can score.<h3>STEFAN MATTEAU, LW, 6-0, 185</h3>Son of NHLer by the same name. Solid skater who&rsquo;s as good at scoring as he is setting up; NCAA is a possibility.<h3>FREDERICK GAMELIN, LW, 5-7, 148</h3>Skilled with vision. Will be a great junior player. Could lead the league in scoring in a couple of years.<h2>WHL DRAFT 2010 FIVE TO WATCH</h2><h3>ALEX FORSBERG, C, 5-8, 155</h3>A dominant offensive talent with a tremendously quick release and elite intelligence with and without the puck.<h3>MATTHEW NEEDHAM, C, 5-9, 156</h3>Great offensive skill set. His team isn&rsquo;t strong, but they win games and tournaments on his back a lot of the time.<h3>BRIAN WILLIAMS, C, 5-8, 145</h3>Explosive and exciting offensive threat with great hands and quick reactions around the puck.<h3>MADISON BOWEY, D, 5-10, 160</h3>All the tools. Powerful and aggressive, offense-minded blueliner has a heavy shot from the point.<h3>CURTIS LAZAR, RW 5-9, 150</h3>Stock rose at St. Albert bantam tourney, Lazar was dynamite scoring goals and doing it all. Tournament MVP. &#9632;

Major junior drafts

<div class="byline">BY COREY JOHNSON</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0012-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-021720/9460309-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">JIMMY HOWARD (HOWARD: JAMIE SABAU/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>DEVELOPING A GOALIE requires patience. While it&rsquo;s not uncommon for a skater to go straight from the draft to the NHL, it&rsquo;s very rare for a goalie to make the jump. Here&rsquo;s a look at 14 NHL starters who made at least three Future Watch appearances before earning full-time NHL employment. Number of years in FW are in parentheses.<h2>JIMMY HOWARD, DET (6)</h2>Debuted at No. 8 on Detroit&rsquo;s top 10 in 2004, peaking at No. 47 overall in 2006. He was also in the top 75 in 2007 (71st) and 2008 (55th). Now he&rsquo;s in the running for the Calder Trophy.<h2>MIIKKA KIPRUSOFF, CGY (6)</h2>First appeared in 1996 and remained an annual inclusion on SJ&rsquo;s top 10 list until 2001. His only top-75 spot was at No. 15 in 2001.<h2>PASCAL LECLAIRE, OTT (5)</h2>Placed in top 75 all five appearances; he was No. 25 in 2002, No. 41 in 2003, No. 56 in 2004, No. 62 in 2005 and No. 51 in 2006.<h2>JEAN-SEBASTIEN GIGUERE, TOR (5)</h2>Kept Hartford and Calgary waiting five straight years: No. 14 in 1996, No. 9 in 1997, No. 5 in 1998 and &rsquo;99 and No. 19 in 2000.<h2>ILYA BRYZGALOV, PHX (5)</h2>Bryzgalov&rsquo;s highest top-75 rank was 48th in 2001. He followed that up with No. 49 in 2002, No. 59 in 2004 and No. 64 in 2005.<h2>RYAN MILLER, BUF (4)</h2>Debuted in FW in 2001 at No. 22 and reached No. 2 overall the next year. NHL backup action in &rsquo;02-03 kept him out of FW in &rsquo;03, but he returned in 2004 (3rd) and 2005 (5th) before making it big.<h2>RAY EMERY, PHI (4)</h2>Was a regular in FW from 2002-05, ranking 35th in 2003 and 16th in 2004 before falling to 50th in 2005.<h2>SEMYON VARLAMOV, WSH (3)</h2>Debuted at No. 36 in 2007, but stumbled to No. 67 in 2008. A strong &rsquo;08-09 AHL season vaulted him to No. 12 in 2009.<h2>KARI LEHTONEN, ATL (3)</h2>Other than Roberto Luongo, Lehtonen is the only goalie to take the No. 1 FW ranking in back-to-back years, achieving that in 2003 and 2004. He also ranked third overall in 2005.<h2>CAM WARD, CAR (3)</h2>Conn Smythe Trophy winner in &rsquo;06 appeared in FW from 2003 to 2005, only cracking the top 75 once (40th overall in 2005.)<h2>MARTY TURCO, DAL (3)</h2>Entered FW as Dallas&rsquo; sixth-best prospect in 1998, he shot up the charts in 1999, ranking first on the Stars and 25th in the league. He slipped to 36th in 2000, but made the NHL later in the year.<h2>CAREY PRICE, MTL (3)</h2>Montreal&rsquo;s top-ranked prospect three straight years, placing No. 12 overall in 2006, No. 7 in 2007 and topping out at No. 1 in 2008.<h2>PEKKA RINNE, NSH (3)</h2>Entered FW in 2006 as Nashville&rsquo;s 10th-ranked prospect, rose to fifth in 2007, then third (and No. 52 overall) in 2008.<h2>HENRIK LUNDQVIST, NYR (3)</h2>First cracked the top 75 in 2004 at No. 74, it&rsquo;s surprising Lundqvist spent three years in FW and never ranked higher than 67th overall in 2005. He was sixth on the Rangers&rsquo; list in 2003.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-012193/9460302-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="623" height="775"><figcaption class="caption-body">(SCHNEIDER: GLENN JAMES/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h2>ARE YOU EVER GOING TO MAKE IT? CORY SCHNEIDER</h2>This is the fifth straight year Vancouver prospect goalie Cory Schneider has been among the top 75 prospects in Future Watch. The Canucks would rather see him get game experience in the AHL than sit on the Canucks bench for 70-plus games. But eventually Schneider will force Vancouver&rsquo;s hand. Trade?<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-031104/9460295-1-eng-US/f0012-032.jpg" title="f0012-03" width="1139" height="702"></div> &#9632;

f0012-02

EARNING THEIR KEEP

<div class="byline">BY KEN CAMPBELL</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0018-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011814/9460399-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">KYLE TURRIS (NORM HALL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>SOMETIMES ALL IT TAKES is a different set of eyes to provide the proper perspective. And amid the rubble that was the Phoenix Coyotes in training camp, those eyes belonged to Dave Tippett.Tippett, you&rsquo;ll recall, was summoned to take the Phoenix coaching job in the last week of training camp when the Coyotes bankruptcy debacle prompted Wayne Gretzky to resign. The Coyotes were at about 29 roster players and having a hard time getting that number down. So Tippett evaluated the roster, saw the way youngsters Kyle Turris, Viktor Tikhonov and Mikkel Boedker were playing and posed a question to his boss, Coyotes GM Don Maloney.Tippett basically asked why the Coyotes were so reticent about sending the then 19-year-old Boedker, the 20-year-old Turris and the 21-year-old Tikhonov to the minors if they were not playing as well as others in camp and weren&rsquo;t proving to be NHLers?It turned into what they call an &lsquo;Aha Moment&rsquo; for Maloney, who, until then had been sticking to conventional hockey wisdom that you don&rsquo;t put first round picks in the minors after they&rsquo;ve already played a full season in the NHL.&ldquo;And it was like, &lsquo;Yeah, you&rsquo;re right,&rsquo;&rdquo; Maloney said. &ldquo;&lsquo;Let&rsquo;s just do what&rsquo;s right for the player and right for the team.&rsquo; And it really cleared things up for me.&rdquo;The three players might have been grumbling about Tippett &ndash; not to mention the big haircut they&rsquo;re taking on payday &ndash; but they&rsquo;ll probably learn to thank him when they get to the NHL for good as better-prepared players. The Coyotes swallowed hard before they made the decision, but realized in the end the only thing that&rsquo;s worse than making a mistake is to stubbornly refuse to acknowledge you&rsquo;ve made a mistake.So now instead of struggling with the Coyotes and making NHL-money, the three took their combined age of 60 and their combined NHL point totals of 64 to the American League and the San Antonio Rampage. Tikhonov played 18 games in San Antonio before returning home to play for Severstal the Kontinental League. None of the three is tearing his league up, but all are playing large roles at crucial times during the game and learning their craft properly.Admittedly, the whole thing can be an enormous come-down for the player and an admission of error by the team, but there are things that are a whole lot worse than going from NHL player to NHL prospect. Nobody seems to have ever done it on such a dramatic scale as the Coyotes, but that&rsquo;s only because all three players were rushed into the NHL in the first place. Consider that before coming to the NHL, Turris had one year of college hockey to his credit, Tikhonov one full season in the Russian League and Boedker one season in the Ontario League.The Coyotes have ample experience with the trials and tribulations of young players. Kevin Porter played 34 games with Phoenix last season, but has spent the vast majority of this season with the Rampage. Peter Mueller had 54 points as a 19-year-old rookie two years ago, but dropped to 36 last year and has struggled mightily to find his game this season. Martin Hanzal and Daniel Winnik, though, found serviceable roles in Phoenix as young players.<blockquote class="pullQuote">&lsquo;AS THE GAMES GOT TIGHTER, THEY HAD MORE TROUBLE&rsquo;</blockquote>The Minnesota Wild did the same thing with Colton Gillies this season, sending him to the minors after a full campaign in Minnesota last year. The St. Louis Blues this season returned No. 1 prospect Alex Pietrangelo back to junior for the second time after giving him some action with the big team. And the Columbus Blue Jackets realized Nikita Filatov, last year&rsquo;s No. 1 Future Watch prospect, was not physically prepared to play in the league and loaned him to CSKA of the KHL.In an era when elite young players are arriving at the NHL better prepared than ever to play in the best league in the world, the vast majority of them still need to be developed in situations where they&rsquo;re more comfortable and where they can experience some success.There is little doubt all three of Turris, Tikhonov and Boedker have eye-popping skills. And sometimes those skills are even displayed in the NHL. But over the course of 82 games facing the best checking and most physically developed players on the planet, it simply wasn&rsquo;t happening enough. It just took a combined 205 NHL games and most of training camp to come to that conclusion.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-011610/9460392-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="1633" height="1010"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mikkel Boedker will be better, thanks to an AHL apprenticeship. (HARRY HOW/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>The path of less resistance might have been to keep all three players and allow them to find themselves in the NHL. It would have spared some hurt feelings with the players and, in the short term, saved face for Maloney. His regime drafted and signed all three players and putting them back in the minors was tantamount to admitting it was a mistake to have them in the NHL in the first place.And so what? It was a mistake. Last season, the Coyotes needed cheap players because that&rsquo;s all they could afford. This season they couldn&rsquo;t afford to have players who weren&rsquo;t ready to play in the league.&ldquo;What we found over time was that it just didn&rsquo;t work,&rdquo; Maloney said. &ldquo;As the games got tighter, they had more trouble. And we need to win here now. We don&rsquo;t have the luxury of waiting if we expect to survive in Phoenix and secondly, we need Kyle Turris to be a top-two line player. And we need Mike Boedker to be a top-two line player as well.&rdquo;The fact the three were sent down does not affect the Coyotes grade in this year&rsquo;s Future Watch because all three would have been part of the Coyotes group of under-22 players whether they were playing in the NHL or not. That group finished sixth this season in voting among 23 scouts and directors of player personnel.But it will almost certainly have an effect on how they ultimately perform as NHL players. Boedker has been up and down between the Coyotes and Rampage several times this season, Turris is having a solid, but unspectacular season in the AHL and Tikhonov had eight points in the AHL before scoring 13 goals in his first 22 games in Russia.&ldquo;I think at the end of the day, we went at it backwards,&rdquo; Maloney said. &ldquo;Hopefully, when they get here, they&rsquo;re ready to play and helping us win for a long time. I still believe in all of them.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0018-01

ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT

<div class="byline">BY BRIAN COSTELLO</div>THE CHART ON THE RIGHT indicates how teams have been performing at the draft table the past four seasons.The plus-minus figure you see in the right column is the amount of spots above or below the norm for that particular team in comparison to its NHL peers.For example, the Colorado Avalanche has gone to the draft table 18th overall, on average, the past four seasons. Yet its report card grade (bottom chart) is third overall for a difference of plus-15. That&rsquo;s a credit to a scouting department that has unearthed some pretty good selections (NHLers Matt Duchene, Ryan O&rsquo;Reilly and T.J. Galiardi, plus top prospects Kevin Shattenkirk, Ryan Sota, Colby Cohen and Cameron Gaunce.)The idea behind this handicapping system is to provide context to team grades. Teams such as Detroit, New Jersey or Dallas rarely draft in the first 10 or 15 picks of the first round; Detroit hasn&rsquo;t had a top-15 pick since Martin Lapointe in 1991.So we take each team&rsquo;s average drafting order since 2006 &ndash; we&rsquo;ve picked this time frame because top prospects are mostly through the system or no longer up-and-comers in this four-year window &ndash; and compare it to the ranking of each team&rsquo;s report card grade. The report card grade shows the strength of a team&rsquo;s list of top 10 prospects and 21-and-under NHLers, the mission statement behind Future Watch. A panel of 23 scouts &ndash; one scout from each team was invited to participate &ndash; did the grading.The strength of the handicapping system is it provides an indication of which teams are drafting well in recent years, regardless of where they pick. It offers justification for teams with low report card grades.The San Jose Sharks, for example, have drafted 27th-earliest since 2006 (16th, 9th, 62nd and 43rd). It would be understandable if their report card grade was among the lowest. They&rsquo;re 27th, which is flat in plus-minus.Similarly, the Los Angeles Kings have the earliest average draft position of the 30 teams since 2006 (11th, 4th, 2nd and 5th). By all rights, they should have the best team report card grade &ndash; and they do. So they&rsquo;re flat on the plus-minus as well.At the bottom end, the Minnesota Wild is minus-21. The Wild has the eighth-earliest draft position since 2006 (9th, 16th, 23rd and 16th), but the 29th-highest report card grade. Its prospects haven&rsquo;t had the projected success at the NHL level or are not held in high esteem by the judging panel. Contributing factors? It didn&rsquo;t help that the Wild didn&rsquo;t have a second round pick in 2009, had just four picks in 2008 and no second or third round picks in 2007.<h2>HANDICAPPING SYSTEM</h2>This chart orders teams on their draft performance in comparison to other clubs. Average Draft Rank (ADR) is the prorated order in which teams have drafted since 2006. Rank (Rk.) is the team&rsquo;s placement in Future Watch grades (bottom). See story for explanation on +/&ndash;.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-011455/9460482-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="702" height="1497"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-021072/9460475-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg" title="f0022-02" width="2290" height="1032"></div> &#9632;

f0022-01

TEAM GRADES WITH MEANING

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0023-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-011271/9460513-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg"></div>1 YEAR&nbsp;of The Hockey News including the Yearbook and Future WatchDaily email newsletter FREEFull digital edition FREENHL&reg; team swivel key chain of your choice FREE<a href="http://THN.com">THN.com</a> in now available as a FREE download on mobile devicesDownload the application today at <a href="http://thn.mobi">thn.mobi</a>Visit <a href="http://thehockeynews.com">thehockeynews.com</a> to subscribe now! &#9632;

f0023-01

Your Inside Edge

<div class="byline">BY ERIC STEPHENS</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-011401/9460551-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="338" height="219"></div>Now into his first full season as the Ducks GM, Bob Murray and his lieutenants have worked to restock a farm system that had become barren under predecessor Brian Burke once one-time top prospects Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan graduated to the NHL and became young stars.Burke loaded up on defensemen and gritty, hard-working forwards, but Murray has sought to infuse more high-end skill through trades and the NHL draft. Peter Holland and Kyle Palmieri, the Ducks&rsquo; two 2009 first-round picks, addressed a glaring need for skilled forwards.<h2>1 LUCA SBISA, D, 20, Portland (WHL)</h2>OVERALL 96-2, 204, 20-2-13-15-23Hopes were high for the 2008 Flyers first-round pick when he made the Anaheim roster out of camp, but Sbisa struggled in his own end and coach Randy Carlyle thought it better he log a full season of heavy minutes at the junior level opposed to limited ice time in the NHL.Sbisa&rsquo;s skills are undeniable and he got off to a good start with Lethbridge until he suffered an abdominal injury at the world juniors for Switzerland. Lethbridge traded him to Portland Jan. 10 and he got off to a good start with the Winterhawks before heading to the Olympics.Acquired Trade with Philadelphia, June 26, 2009.<h2>2 KYLE PALMIERI, RW, 18, Notre Dame (CCHA)</h2>OVERALL 705-10, 191, 25-6-7-13-32There was some concern about Palmieri after his tenure with the U.S. under-18 team ended with him being kicked off following a hotel room incident. But there&rsquo;s a reason why the Ducks made him the second Fighting Irish player to ever to be taken in the first round.Palmieri is a competitor in the truest sense and plays a sound game at both ends of the ice. Some scouts have compared him to Chris Drury in terms of his all-around game, but Palmieri may be more of an agitating type. He&rsquo;s making an impact with Notre Dame as a freshman.Acquired 2009 draft, 26th overall.<h2>3 PETER HOLLAND, C, 18, Guelph (OHL)</h2>6-2, 195, 40-19-29-48-32Holland is the kind of high-end talent the Ducks wanted to start getting into their system. The season started off slowly for the Toronto native as he battled a shoulder sprain, but Holland picked up his output once he got healthy.He hasn&rsquo;t been dominating in his third season of major junior as Taylor Beck has become the undisputed offensive leader for the Storm. But there&rsquo;s a lot to like about his size and skill up the middle along with his ability to get to the net.Some questions persist about Holland&rsquo;s willingness to bring his best to the arena every night.Acquired 2009 draft, 15th overall.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-021006/9460544-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg" title="f0024-02" width="823" height="1147"><figcaption class="caption-body">LUCA SBISA (BRYAN HEIM/PORTLAND WINTERHAWKS)</figcaption></div><h2>4 GARDINER, D, 19, Wis&rsquo;sin (WCHA)</h2>6-2, 191, 24-2-3-5-6Gardiner appeared to be right on track after an impressive freshman season at prestigious Wisconsin in which he had three goals and 21 points in 39 games.But he&rsquo;s not racking up the points as a sophomore as the power play minutes have largely been given to junior Brendan Smith, a 2007 first-rounder for Detroit.It&rsquo;s forced Gardiner to take on more of a defensive role, which will help in the long run. He&rsquo;s still a recent convert to the blueline after mostly playing forward as a Minnesota high schooler. But there&rsquo;s no rushing Gardiner as the Ducks still see him as a future power play quarterback.Acquired 2008 draft, 17th overall.<h2>5 NIC DESCHAMPS, LW, 20, Moncton (QMJHL)</h2>6-2, 186, 46-31-39-70-32Deschamps has continued to put up points with the Moncton Wildcats after being acquired in late December from the Chicoutimi Sagueneens, where he starred for nearly three full seasons.There is no question Deschamps is skilled as he has soft hands and a quick release. He also makes plays at high speed. But he&rsquo;ll need to develop more grit on a consistent basis.The move to the high-powered Wildcats may give Deschamps a chance to showcase his wares in the Memorial Cup if Moncton qualifies. In his first 17 games with the Wildcats, he racked up 13 goals and 30 points.Acquired 2008 draft, 35th overall.<h2>ON THE&nbsp;HORIZON</h2>THE NEXT FIVE<h3>6 NICK BONINO</h3>C, 21, 6-1, 190Boston University (HE)18-6-15-21-8Stock continues to rise as junior is at a point-per-game pace again with Terriers.AcquiredFrom SJ, March 4, 2009<h3>7 BRANDON MCMILLAN</h3>C, 19, 5-11, 188Kelowna (WHL)39-13-31-44-49Offense has really taken off in fourth WHL season; on pace to nearly double his point total.Acquired2008 draft, 85th overall<h3>8 IGOR BOBKOV</h3>G, 19, 6-4, 192Magnitogorsk (Rus.) 3-2-0, 2.45, .930Was rock solid in goal for Russia at the WJC (stats above). Big goalie needs glove work.Acquired2009 draft, 76th overall<h3>9 JUSTIN SCHULTZ</h3>D, 19, 6-2, 170Wisconsin (WCHA)26-2-9-11-6Playing key role as a freshman, Schultz can skate and is displaying offensive ability.Acquired2008 draft, 43rd overall<h3>10 SAMI VATANEN</h3>D, 18, 5-9, 163Jyvaskyla (Fin.)37-4-19-23-36Flashed offensive skills at the WJC for Finland and knows how to run a power play.Acquired2009 draft, 106th overall &#9632;

f0024-01

DUCKS REBUILDING THE SYSTEM

<div class="byline">BY GUY CURTRIGHT</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-011242/9460589-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg" title="f0025-01" width="303" height="242"></div>Angelo Esposito played just 12 games before tearing the ACL in his right knee for the second straight season, but everything isn&rsquo;t gloomy on the Thrashers&rsquo; prospect front. They did, after all, pick up a new top prospect, Patrice Cormier, in the Ilya Kovalchuk deal.Moreover, forward prospects Jeremy Morin and Carl Klingberg &ndash; the team&rsquo;s two second-round draft picks last June &ndash; won medals in the World Junior Championship, with Morin taking gold with the United States and Klingberg claiming a bronze with Sweden. Morin has also had a highly productive first season in the Ontario League.<h2>1 PATRICE CORMIER, C, 19, R-Noranda (QMJHL)</h2>OVERALL 346-2, 205, 31-11-20-31-64His feisty, aggressive style got him into trouble and became a major story when, on Jan. 17, he elbowed Mikael Tam of Quebec in the head. Cormier was suspended for the remainder of the season and playoffs.A strong, physical player who will some day be matched against the NHL&rsquo;s top scorers, the only concern is the incident in the junior game could make him fearful of playing with an edge. He needs to refine his game by using his size and taking the elbow out of his repertoire because he can also be something of an offensive threat.Acquired Trade with New Jersey, Feb. 4, 2010.<h2>2 JEREMY MORIN, RW, 18, Kitchener (OHL)</h2>OVERALL 496-1, 190, 44-35-30-65-63The native of Auburn, N.Y., needs another season in junior, but the Thrashers think they got a steal.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a pure goal-scorer with a great touch around the net,&rdquo; said GM Don Waddell. &ldquo;When he gets into the area near the paint, no one wants to score a goal more than him.&rdquo;Morin, who had seven points in seven games with Team USA at the WJC, has been one of the top scorers during his first OHL season, but he isn&rsquo;t a finished product yet.&ldquo;He needs to work on his skating,&rdquo; Waddell said. &ldquo;He has a short stride and he tends to tire quickly during a shift.&rdquo;Acquired 2009 draft, 45th overall.<h2>3 CARL KLINGBERG, RW, 19, Frolunda (Swe.)</h2>6-3, 205, 35-4-4-8-10The Thrashers would like to see Klingberg come to North America next season and feel he has a chance to play in the NHL that quickly.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s kind of a Colby Armstrong-type guy,&rdquo; Waddell said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a very physical player. He&rsquo;s not going to score like Morin, although he does have decent hands. He&rsquo;s going to be that energy guy who can create things on the forecheck.&rdquo;The urgency in trying to get Klingberg to leave the Swedish Elite League before next season may depend on whether the Thrashers can retain Armstrong, who is a pending unrestricted free agent.Acquired 2009 draft, 34th overall.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-02875/9460582-1-eng-US/f0025-022.jpg" title="f0025-02" width="1001" height="1107"><figcaption class="caption-body">PATRICE CORMIER (JEAN LAPOINTEA)</figcaption></div><h2>4 PAUL POSTMA, D, 20, Chicago (AHL)</h2>6-3, 190, 34-4-6-10-12Postma still has to improve his overall game, but he has continued to show his offensive potential in his first AHL season.&ldquo;He has to work on his defense,&rdquo; Waddell said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s going to get his points wherever he plays. He&rsquo;s got a great shot and he can run a power play for you. He&rsquo;s already a very good offensive player. He should compete for a spot with us next year, but he still needs to get better defensively.&rdquo;A seventh-round draft pick, Postma had a breakout final season with Calgary (WHL), setting team records for a defenseman with 23 goals and a plus-67 ratingAcquired 2007 draft, 205th overall.<h2>5 ARTURS KULDA, D, 21, Chicago (AHL)</h2>6-2, 195, 39-3-12-15-34Kulda made more strides this season than any other Thrashers prospect, elevating his game while becoming one of the better defensemen in the AHL.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s really come on,&rdquo; Waddell said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s definitely NHL-ready. We&rsquo;re very high on him. Everything he&rsquo;s got, he&rsquo;s earned. He&rsquo;s not a fun guy to play against. He&rsquo;s a defensive defenseman who is rugged and is going to finish every check. He competes very hard.&rdquo;The native of Latvia played two seasons in the OHL before joining Chicago for its AHL championship run in 2008. He missed time with a knee injury last season.Acquired 2006 draft, 200th overall.<h2>ON THE&nbsp;HORIZON</h2>THE NEXT FIVE<h3>6 DAULTON LEVEILLE</h3>C, 19, 5-11, 165Michigan State (CCHA) 30-5-16-21-14Skilled player has two more college seasons to gain needed weight and strength.Acquired2008 draft, 29th overall<h3>7 ANGELO ESPOSITO</h3>C, 20, 6-1, 185Chicago (AHL)12-0-4-4-1Another knee injury a real setback for a prospect who at 16 was a can&rsquo;t-miss future star.AcquiredFrom Pit, Feb. 26, 2008<h3>8 SPENCER MACHACEK</h3>RW, 21, 6-1, 195Chicago (AHL) 48-11-16-27-43Versatile player who is ready to step into a spot on the third or fourth line with the Thrashers.Acquired2007 draft, 67th overall<h3>9 ALEX KANGAS</h3>G, 22, 6-1, 175Minnesota (WCHA)11-10-1, 2.65, .907Having a solid season and has another year of college eligibility remaining.Acquired2006 draft, 135th overall<h3>10 ERIC O&rsquo;DELL</h3>C, 19, 6-0, 175Sudbury (OHL)51-25-30-55-53Very good vision dishing the puck and will need some seasoning in AHL.AcquiredFrom Ana, March 4, 2009 &#9632;

f0025-01

A NEW ERA IN ATLANTA

<div class="byline">BY MIKE LOFTUS</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-011416/9460627-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="279" height="276"></div>The gang&rsquo;s almost all here, so there may be no better time for Boston to be armed with nine choices in the first two rounds of the next two drafts.That&rsquo;s not to say the Bruins won&rsquo;t trade some of those picks, or that Boston doesn&rsquo;t like many of the prospects already in its pipeline. But with so many early-20s types who&rsquo;ve already matured into full-time NHLers in the past couple of seasons (forwards Milan Lucic, David Krejci, Blake Wheeler and Vladimir Sobotka, defenseman Matt Hunwick, goalie Tuukka Rask), some restocking is in order. Special attention will be paid to the blueline in upcoming drafts.<h2>1 JOE COLBORNE, C, 20, Denver (WCHA)</h2>OVERALL 236-5, 205, 24-11-15-26-18The 20-year-old center has cracked two significant plateaus this season: He now has 205 pounds on his 6-foot-5 frame and has become a point-per-game scorer as a Denver sophomore.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s growing into his body,&rdquo; said assistant GM Jim Benning, who thinks Colborne will be a 215-220 pound pro. &ldquo;His skating has gotten better as he&rsquo;s gotten stronger.&rdquo;Colborne needs work on &ldquo;protecting the puck better, competing and playing a good two-way game,&rdquo; said Benning, but he&rsquo;s already adept at using his size and reach.Acquired 2008 draft, 16th overall.<h2>2 JORDAN CARON, RW, 19, R-Noranda (QMJHL)</h2>OVERALL 626-2, 205, 28-13-16-29-16It&rsquo;s been a busy year for the 19-year-old right winger: Caron fractured his collarbone during Canada&rsquo;s national junior team camp, healed in time to start the season with Rimouski, went 0-4-4 and plus-8 in the WJC, and was then traded to Rouyn-Noranda.At 6-foot-2, 205 pounds, Caron &ldquo;has the type of things we look for,&rdquo; Benning said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s heavy on the puck, he&rsquo;s a big body and has good hands.&rdquo; Benning sees Caron developing into a &ldquo;big, strong power forward&hellip;that rugged type of player who can chip in 20 goals or so&rdquo; in the NHL.Acquired 2009 draft, 25th overall.<h2>3 BRAD MARCHAND, RW, 21, P&rsquo;dence (AHL)</h2>OVERALL 735-9, 183 21-10-12-22-20A strong start at Providence, coupled with injuries in Boston, resulted in the right winger earning a month-long stint in the NHL earlier this season. The Bruins didn&rsquo;t get much production (one assist in 12 games), but did see everything else they expected from the feisty Marchand.&ldquo;We like his courage to get to the net, to battle for pucks despite his size,&rdquo; Benning said. &ldquo;He has that will to get to those dirty areas. Once he&rsquo;s up for good and gets his confidence, we feel he&rsquo;s going to chip in offensively.&rdquo;A mid-December foot injury sidelined Marchand for more than a month.Acquired 2006 draft, 71st overall.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-021015/9460620-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="923" height="1110"><figcaption class="caption-body">JOE COLBORNE (RICH CLARKSON & ASSOCIATES/NCAA PHOTOS)</figcaption></div><h2>4 ZACH HAMILL, C, 21, P&rsquo;dence (AHL)</h2>5-11, 180, 46-9-15-24-16The Bruins&rsquo; expectations that the slight center would need time to mature into a consistent, productive pro have proved accurate. Hamill had 13 goals and 26 points as an AHL rookie last year, and was closer to a 40-plus points rate with a somewhat weak offensive group in Providence this season.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s made strides in his strength and conditioning,&rdquo; said Benning of Hamill, who spent parts of the past two off-seasons training in Boston and has worked hard to improve his play away from the puck. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s got the hands and vision to be a good NHL player, once he gets that added strength.&rdquo;Acquired 2007 draft, 8th overall.<h2>5 CARL SODERBERG, C, 24, Malmo (Swe.)</h2>6-3, 198, 37-16-21-37-39He&rsquo;s the Bruins&rsquo; ultimate wait-and-see prospect. Soderberg, a 24-year-old center enjoying another big season with Malmo in his native Sweden&rsquo;s Allsvenskan, hasn&rsquo;t been to Boston since the B&rsquo;s obtained the second-round pick (St. Louis, 2004) in a trade in the summer of 2007.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s big, strong, heavy on the puck and he has a lot of skill,&rdquo; Benning said. &ldquo;He hurt his eye (in 2006-07, while property of the Blues) and wanted to stay over there until he feels he&rsquo;s 100-percent healthy. Then he told us he&rsquo;ll come over and play, so we&rsquo;re just kind of waiting for that.&rdquo;Look for him to play on the farm next season.Acquired Trade with St. Louis, July 23, 2007.<h2>ON THE&nbsp;HORIZON</h2>THE NEXT FIVE<h3>6 ADAM MCQUAID</h3>D, 23, 6-4, 197Providence (AHL)31-3-7-10-66Stay-at-home defenseman stays within himself; exhibited toughness in several call-ups.AcquiredTrade with Car, May, &rsquo;07<h3>7 JAMIE ARNIEL</h3>C, 20, 5-11, 183Providence (AHL)49-10-13-23-14AHL rookie of the month for November is overcoming size disadvantage at pro level.Acquired2008 draft, 97th overall<h3>8 MAXIME SAUVE</h3>C, 20, 6-0, 170Val d&rsquo;Or (QMJHL)23-12-21-33-22The speedy, skillful scorer&rsquo;s career year was interrupted by a broken foot.Acquired2008 draft, 47th overall<h3>9 RYAN BUTTON</h3>D, 18, 6-1, 190Prince Albert (WHL)49-3-22-25-35Has skill set to develop into a transition/puck-moving defenseman.Acquired2009 draft, 86th overall<h3>10 TOMMY CROSS</h3>D, 20, 6-3, 215Boston College (HE)20-4-4-8-16Big, smart defenseman&rsquo;s development interrupted by his third knee injury.Acquired2007 draft, 35th overall &#9632;

f0026-01

STOCKPILING FOR THE FUTURE

<div class="byline">BY JOHN VOGL</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-011323/9460665-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="311" height="209"></div>The Sabres believe their Old Mother Hubbard syndrome is a thing of the past.Buffalo had a quality run of prospects in the early 2000s, with Ryan Miller, Derek Roy, Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville among the bountiful feast. But after they became the core of the squad, the kitchen was only slightly less bare than the one belonging to the fairy tale matron.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve refilled the cupboard,&rdquo; said Jon Christiano, Buffalo&rsquo;s long-time head of pro scouting. &ldquo;Compared to where we were a couple years ago, we have more prospects that are capable of playing in the NHL.&rdquo;<h2>1 TYLER ENNIS, C, 20, Portland (AHL)</h2>OVERALL 295-9, 163, 47-13-29-42-10Ennis may be just 5-foot-9 and 163 pounds, but the praise for the center is much bigger.&ldquo;His top-end skill is the best in the AHL,&rdquo; Christiano said. &ldquo;He has quick hands, quick feet. He makes more NHL plays than any player at that level.&rdquo;Ennis had led Portland in scoring most of the season. His wizardry carried over to his NHL debut. The 20-year-old scored in his only game as an emergency call-up despite not getting to the rink until just before the skate. He is still learning the middle after being converted from wing.Acquired 2008 draft, 26th overall.<h2>2 ZACK KASSIAN, RW, 19, Windsor (OHL)</h2>OVERALL 536-3, 210, 34-9-19-28-68Kassian made headlines for the wrong reasons, earning a 20-game Ontario League suspension for steamrolling an unsuspecting opponent. Sabres GM Darcy Regier, while not condoning the hit, says part of it was the 19-year-old is a full-framed man playing among boys.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re not dealing with someone who has character flaws,&rdquo; Regier said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a good-character kid. But he is a man in that league. Strength and conditioning coach Doug McKenney said to me at training camp: &lsquo;Body-wise, he&rsquo;s NHL ready.&rsquo; He&rsquo;s a tough kid, too and he&rsquo;s aggressive.&rdquo;Acquired 2009 draft, 13th overall.<h2>3 JHONAS ENROTH, G, 21, Portland (AHL)</h2>5-10, 166, 18-14-1, 2.45, .915The victory totals aren&rsquo;t as high this season for Enroth. His workload has lessened with a healthy Portland backup, which he didn&rsquo;t have last season. Nonetheless, the 21-year-old is stopping the same number of pucks and allowing fewer goals.The buzz isn&rsquo;t as jolting about Enroth, who entered his first pro season known as the technically perfect goalie who shined at the world juniors. Christiano says the Swede is following the same timeline as goalies such as Tuukka Rask.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s going through the normal growing stages to the NHL,&rdquo; said Christiano, before adding netminders have a steep learning curve.Acquired 2006 draft, 46th overall.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02926/9460658-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="931" height="1199"><figcaption class="caption-body">TYLER ENNIS (SPORTS ACTION PHOTOGRAPHY)</figcaption></div><h2>4 NATHAN GERBE, RW, 22, Portland (AHL)</h2>5-5, 173, 30-8-20-28-30Gerbe was fitting in well with the Sabres. Called up to provide an offensive spark, he did so in his two games with a goal and assist. The third game never came.The 22-year-old right winger suffered a groin strain, which took weeks to heal. The Sabres were rolling by the time it did and Gerbe was rolling back to Portland. Injuries have side-tracked two seasons for the 5-foot-5, 173-pounder, who sustained a concussion last year.Gerbe, last season&rsquo;s AHL rookie of the year, is trying to prove he isn&rsquo;t one-dimensional, though his attention to defense has significantly affected his scoring.Acquired 2005 draft, 142nd overall.<h2>5 BRAYDEN McNABB, D, 19, Kootenay (WHL)</h2>6-4, 200, 44-15-34-49-91When the Sabres drafted McNabb, they saw a big kid who had the potential to play that way. And the towering defenseman has made center ice an unpleasant place.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s an all-purpose D-man,&rdquo; Christiano said of the 19-year-old. &ldquo;But it&rsquo;s his style as an aggressive person that&rsquo;s turned some heads.&rdquo;&ldquo;One of the best defensemen in the league,&rdquo; Oil Kings announcer A.J. Jakubec told the Edmonton Sun of McNabb, who&rsquo;s on pace to double his numbers with Kootenay of the WHL.&ldquo;You have to know when he&rsquo;s on the ice because if you don&rsquo;t and you&rsquo;re going up the middle, you pay for it.&rdquo;Acquired 2009 draft, 66th overall.<h2>ON THE&nbsp;HORIZON</h2>THE NEXT FIVE<h3>6 LUKE ADAM</h3>LW, 19, 6-1, 219Cape Breton (QMJHL)41-35-29-64-63Showed strength and some scoring pop for Canada at world juniors.Acquired2008 draft, 44th overall<h3>7 M-A GRAGNANI</h3>D, 22, 6-1, 201Portland (AHL)33-4-16-20-14Offensive thinker still learning power play quarterback skills, which Sabres could use.Acquired2005 draft, 87th overall<h3>8 MIKE WEBER</h3>D, 22, 6-2, 211Portland (AHL)47-1-11-12-86Log jam has the stay-at-homer ninth on depth chart after last season&rsquo;s stay in NHL.Acquired2006 draft, 57th overall<h3>9 DENNIS PERSSON</h3>D, 21, 6-1, 192Portland (AHL)36-1-4-5-12First full year in North America hasn&rsquo;t been easy, with numbers failing to materialize.Acquired2006 draft, 24th overall<h3>10 DREW SCHIESTEL</h3>D, 20, 6-2, 193Portland (AHL)33-1-7-8-8Offensive blueliner learning both ends of the ice in first pro season.Acquired2007 draft, 59th overall &#9632;

f0027-01

SIZE IS RELATIVE FOR SABRES

<div class="byline">BY RANDY SPORTAK</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-011396/9460703-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="291" height="258"></div>On the surface, it appears no stars in the making are working their way through the Calgary pipeline, which is why the club hopes quantity prevails.The Flames haven&rsquo;t been drafting in the top portion of the draft for the past five years and haven&rsquo;t found that later-round diamond to be an impact standout.What they have gathered is a sprinkling of potential top-six forwards, to go with a few two-way skaters up front, a decent stable of defensemen and a couple of solid goalies.Calgary has some prospects on the cusp of becoming full-time NHLers whom they need to make the jump.<h2>1 MIKAEL BACKLUND, C, 20, Abbotsford (AHL)</h2>OVERALL 256-1, 195, 47-10-12-22-26As much as the fans want to push the player considered the team&rsquo;s most promising offensive forward, Backlund is going through a slow &ndash; and much-needed &mdash; apprenticeship at the pro level. His first full season on this side of the Atlantic, after spending a year-and-a-half in the pro ranks in Sweden, has been filled with development.Backlund has not yet provided the offensive punch to elicit hopes he&rsquo;ll be a first-line center and has plenty to work on regarding his consistency and defensive game, but the potential remains he&rsquo;ll be ready soon.Acquired 2007 draft, 24th overall.<h2>2 TIM ERIXON, D, 18, Skelleftea (Swe)</h2>OVERALL 316-2, 205, 35-6-2-8-36A broken wrist prevented him from playing in the bronze medal game at the world juniors, which Sweden won, and put him out of action for a spell after.In his second full season in Sweden&rsquo;s top league, Erixon is not seen as an offensive blueliner, but can have an impact at both ends of the rink. He&rsquo;s playing 18 minutes per game, taking a regular shift and playing in all situations.Smart and steady &mdash; much like his father Jan, who had a 10-year NHL career &mdash; Erixon won&rsquo;t wow in any area, but is consistent. He skates well enough to join the rush.Acquired 2009 draft, 23rd overall.<h2>3 GREG NEMISZ, C, 19, Windsor (OHL)</h2>OVERALL 696-4, 200 42-28-27-55-42The numbers he&rsquo;s compiled for Windsor are enticing enough to make you believe the Flames have the big, strong, No. 2 center they&rsquo;ll need in a few years. His performance at the world juniors may suggest otherwise.Although used more in a checking role during the tournament, Nemisz was skating with plenty of talent and collected only one goal en route to a silver medal. Although the tournament ended in disappointment, Nemisz continues to develop his game for the pro ranks. He&rsquo;s accepted a second-line role for much of the season, which bodes well for being a team player.Acquired 2008 draft, 25th overall.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-02981/9460696-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="933" height="1056"><figcaption class="caption-body">MIKAEL BACKLUND (W2 PHOTO)</figcaption></div><h2>4 RYAN HOWSE, LW, 18, Chilliwack (WHL)</h2>5-11, 185, 54-35-21-56-19The Flames need to find a pure goal-scorer from the wing and Howse may fit that bill. He&rsquo;s among the WHL leaders in goals in what has become a breakout season, but that&rsquo;s just one reason the Flames have become very excited about the third round draft choice.Howse has made excellent strides, as witnessed by going from minus-24 last season to double-digits in the plus category this year.His scoring touch will give him a shot to make the NHL, but if Howse can further develop his abilities at the defensive end, that may keep him there. Howse still has another year of junior left.Acquired 2009 draft, 74th overall.<h2>5 LELAND IRVING, G, 21, Abb&rsquo;ford (AHL)</h2>6-1, 176, 11-15-2, 2.68, .909After a very strong start to his second pro season, Irving&rsquo;s play tailed off through December and January to the point he was supplanted by Matt Keetley as the No. 1 goalie for Abbotsford for a spell.Calgary&rsquo;s top farm team has a young defense corps, so the goaltenders can bear the brunt of the mistakes that come from that scenario. Still, more consistency is needed from the goalie seen as a future No. 1 netminder in Calgary.A third year in the minors is expected, but after the 2010-11 season, Irving has to prove he&rsquo;s ready for NHL action on a regular basis.Acquired 2006 draft, 26th overall.<h2>ON THE&nbsp;HORIZON</h2>THE NEXT FIVE<h3>6 JOHN NEGRIN</h3>D, 20, 6-2, 195Abbotsford (AHL)45-5-10-15-28Strong skater and passer learning the ropes and developing his skills as rookie pro.Acquired2007 draft, 70th overall<h3>7 MITCH WAHL</h3>C, 20, 6-0, 200Spokane (WHL)52-24-39-63-73Not scoring goals at the same pace as last season, but still a point-per-game player.Acquired2008 draft, 48th overall<h3>8 T.J. BRODIE</h3>D, 19, 6-1, 180Barrie (OHL)48-5-43-48-44Offensively gifted defenseman is among the top scoring blueliners in the OHL.Acquired2008 draft, 114th overall<h3>9 JONI ORTIO</h3>G, 18, 6-1, 181TuTo (Fin.2)8-6-0, 2.66, .924Was workhorse in net (three wins, three losses) for a weak Finnish team at WJC.Acquired2009 draft, 171st overall<h3>10 MATT PELECH</h3>D, 22, 6-5, 220Abbotsford (AHL)40-2-8-10-121Physical player in the Robyn Regehr mould patrols zone with a nasty edge.Acquired2005 draft, 26th overall &#9632;

f0028-01

A LITTLE TASTE OF SWEDEN

<div class="byline">BY LUKE DECOCK</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-011232/9460741-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="321" height="214"></div>When Brandon Sutter played his way out of the AHL three weeks into the season, Carolina&rsquo;s youth movement began &ndash; 11 months early.With the franchise&rsquo;s best crop of prospects since relocating to North Carolina moving through the system, the plan was to go through this season with a veteran team designed to capitalize on last season&rsquo;s run to the conference final, then turn the page over next summer.But Carolina&rsquo;s dismal season opened a permanent spot for Sutter and offered cameos to top prospects such as Zach Boychuk and Drayson Bowman.<h2>1 ZACH BOYCHUK, LW, 20, Albany (AHL)</h2>OVERALL 245-10, 185, 40-12-14-26-16Sometime very soon Boychuk is going to score his first NHL goal and the Hurricanes expect it to be the first of many. The skilled center-turned-winger has soft hands and showed off a goal-scorer&rsquo;s touch from his very first training camp practice with the team.In two brief NHL auditions of 12 games over two seasons, Boychuk has yet to score, but look for him to get a shot with Eric Staal on Carolina&rsquo;s top line next season. He isn&rsquo;t the biggest player, but he moves well enough to get away with it and doesn&rsquo;t shy away from contact.Acquired 2008 draft, 14th overall.<h2>2 DRAYSON BOWMAN, LW, 20, Albany (AHL)</h2>OVERALL 596-1, 190, 31-9-8-17-10A Littleton, Colo., native who went north of the border to play bantam and junior, Bowman is really a product of the NHL&rsquo;s expansion to non-traditional markets, so it&rsquo;s fitting he ended up with the Hurricanes.Bowman has shown steady progression at every level throughout his career, first missing the U.S. national junior team before making it on his second try. He&rsquo;s a little bigger than Boychuk, but isn&rsquo;t far behind in the skill department and, like his AHL teammate, is penciled in for a top-nine spot in the NHL next season.Acquired 2007 draft, 72nd overall.<h2>3 JAMIE McBAIN, D, 21, Albany (AHL)</h2>6-2, 200, 47-4-15-19-4He made his reputation as an offensive specialist on a blueline loaded with NHL prospects at Wisconsin, but McBain has showed the defensive side of his game isn&rsquo;t far off in his first AHL season. He may not be as ready to make the jump to the NHL as some of his River Rats teammates, but remains Carolina&rsquo;s top defensive prospect.Other AHLers &ndash; Bryan Rodney and Brett Carson &ndash; have so far filled the Hurricanes&rsquo; short-term needs at the NHL level, allowing McBain to concentrate on his development in Albany.In this case, that&rsquo;s a sign of Carolina&rsquo;s long-term faith in McBain.Acquired 2006 draft, 63rd overall.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-02845/9460734-1-eng-US/f0029-022.jpg" title="f0029-02" width="974" height="1110"><figcaption class="caption-body">ZACH BOYCHUK (HARVEST ACTION PHOTO)</figcaption></div><h2>4 ZAC DALPE, C, 21, Ohio St. (CCHA)</h2>6-1, 195, 26-15-12-27-19Dalpe turned down the Hurricanes&rsquo; entreaties to sign with Plymouth (OHL) two summers ago, which turned out to be good news for the Buckeyes.Now a sophomore playing on Ohio State&rsquo;s top line, Dalpe leads the Buckeyes in scoring and is among the top 10 in the CCHA. He has added size and taken on a leadership role, both of which will bode well for his future at the next levels.A late developer who was passed over by the OHL before a growth spurt made him a potential first round NHL pick, Dalpe has the talent to make the jump to the pro level next season.Acquired 2008 draft, 45th overall.<h2>5 JUSTIN PETERS, G, 23, Albany (AHL)</h2>6-1, 205, 18-12-2, 2.47, .918The Hurricanes drafted Peters in part because he was as good an athlete as they saw in the 2004 draft class. They were patient as the rest of his game came around and now they&rsquo;re starting to see dividends.After a few up-and-down seasons in the ECHL and AHL, Peters locked down the No. 1 job in Albany this year and was picked to play in the AHL All-Star Game.His stats rank among the top 10 in the league in almost every goaltending category. At this point, it looks like Peters will have a shot to win the job as Cam Ward&rsquo;s backup next fall, but for now playing time is crucial for him.Acquired 2004 draft, 38th overall.<h2>ON THE&nbsp;HORIZON</h2>THE NEXT FIVE<h3>6 BRIAN DUMOULIN</h3>D, 18, 6-3, 205Boston College (HE)23-0-9-9-10Canes willing to wait three more college seasons for this big man&rsquo;s upside potential.Acquired2009 draft, 51st overall<h3>7 MIKE MURPHY</h3>G, 21, 5-11, 165Albany (AHL)8-8-0, 2.59, .923Easing his way into pro hockey as River Rats&rsquo; backup, but making most of opportunity.Acquired2008 draft, 165th overall<h3>8 CHRIS TERRY</h3>LW, 20, 5-10, 190Albany (AHL)48-10-12-22-16His OHL scoring touch is gradually coming around at the AHL level.Acquired2007 draft, 132nd overall<h3>9 MATT KENNEDY</h3>RW, 20, 6-2, 202Barrie (OHL)24-11-8-19-25Burly forward turned down pro camp contract offer before struggling with injuries.Acquired2009 draft, 131st overall<h3>10 MICHAL JORDAN</h3>D, 19, 6-1, 184Plymouth (OHL)38-11-19-30-18Captained Czech Republic at world juniors, leads Whalers in power play goals.Acquired2008 draft, 105th overall &#9632;

f0029-01

WINDS OF CHANGE BLOWING IN CAROLINA

<div class="byline">BY TIM SASSONE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-011405/9460779-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="294" height="261"></div>The salary cap issues facing the Blackhawks after the season are well documented, which will open the door for several prospects to play in Chicago as soon as next season. Filling those slots at the bottom of the payroll will be key for the Hawks going forward in what we now know as the salary cap era.&ldquo;The decisions we have to make will be based on a lot of factors, one of them would be how the guys play to finish off the season,&rdquo; said Chicago GM Stan Bowman.Depending on how crafty Bowman is this summer, only one or two players might be needed to make the jump.<h2>1 JACK SKILLE, RW, 22, Rockford (AHL)</h2>OVERALL 476-1, 215, 41-16-19-35-29A strong, straight-ahead skater with a quick release, Skille surely would have played more in Chicago this season had it not been for his $1.2 million cap hit.Skille is quick and plays hard, but the Hawks don&rsquo;t project him to be a top-two line impact player despite being the seventh selection in the 2005 draft. He simply hasn&rsquo;t shown consistent enough skill to be considered a top-six forward, especially on a team dripping with it up front.This is Skille&rsquo;s fifth consecutive year among the Future Watch top 50; from 13 to 33 to 18 to 36 to now 47.Acquired 2005 draft, 7th overall.<h2>2 COREY CRAWFORD, G, 25, Rockford (AHL)</h2>6-2, 200, 11-9-2, 2.64, .912The Hawks are confident Crawford has the ability to play in the NHL, but the timing never has been right for him. And it might never be in Chicago.Just when Crawford appeared poised to be Nikolai Khabibulin&rsquo;s backup in 2008, the Hawks signed Cristobal Huet as a free agent. Crawford was edged out by Antti Niemi in a camp battle to be Huet&rsquo;s backup this season.Crawford&rsquo;s size is good and the technical part of his game is strong. The Hawks like the fact he never has given up despite the various curveballs thrown his way.Acquired 2003 draft, 52nd overall.<h2>3 KYLE BEACH, LW, 20, Spokane (WHL)</h2>6-3, 202, 49-34-21-55-153While Beach continues to wage a battle to prove he is not a hothead and a bad teammate, the Blackhawks see a guy who is tough to play against with good hands around the net as well.&ldquo;He can fight and he can hit,&rdquo; said Chicago&rsquo;s director of amateur scouting Mark Kelley. &ldquo;Everyone kind of forgets that when you put a puck in his hands, he has a great release and can score.&rdquo;Beach is on pace for almost 50 goals this season after years of 29, 27 and 24 in the WHL.Beach might have the best chance of any Hawks prospect to be playing at the United Center next season.Acquired 2008 draft, 11th overall.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-02963/9460772-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="954" height="1091"><figcaption class="caption-body">JACK SKILLE (JIM ORLANDO)</figcaption></div><h2>4 BICKELL, LW, 23, Rockford (AHL)</h2>6-4, 223, 41-9-6-15-52Bickell is a rugged winger who has improved in each of his four seasons in the AHL.He stepped into the Chicago lineup several times this season and made a difference with his play on the fourth line, earning coach Joel Quenneville&rsquo;s trust. The left winger scored the only goal against Roberto Luongo in a 1-0 Hawks win at Vancouver in November.&ldquo;Whenever he comes up he has played very well for us,&rdquo; Quenneville said.Don&rsquo;t expect Bickell to ever light it up at any level. Another redeeming quality is he&rsquo;s a low maintenance, cheap ($500,000) alternative for the energy or fourth line.Acquired 2004 draft, 41st overall.<h2>5 AKIM ALIU, RW, 20, Rockford (AHL)</h2>6-3, 224, 37-10-4-14-53Aliu has terrific size, speed and a ton of raw ability. The trick has been to have him use it all in the correct way.The Hawks took a chance on Aliu when others wouldn&rsquo;t and still see potential in him to be a top-nine forward at some point down the road.Even in the AHL, however, Aliu has struggled with his consistency, which means he&rsquo;s still a work in progress.Because of the cap, Aliu and other top prospects like him will eventually get an opportunity; they offer a cost-effective alternative for the time being. But Aliu, who picked up his game in January, needs at least another season apprenticing in Rockford.Acquired 2007 draft, 56th overall.<h2>ON THE&nbsp;HORIZON</h2>THE NEXT FIVE<h3>6 MARCUS KRUGER</h3>C, 19, 5-11,172Djurgarden (Swe.)31-9-18-27-10Quick playmaker has been in the top 10 in scoring in Sweden&rsquo;s top league.Acquired2009 draft, 149th overall<h3>7 DYLAN OLSEN</h3>D, 19, 6-2, 206Minn-Duluth (WCHA)25-1-10-11-41College freshman is playing with good size, mobility and understanding of the game.Acquired2009 draft, 28th overall<h3>8 SHAWN LALONDE</h3>D, 19, 6-1, 192Belleville (OHL)41-9-27-36-71A strong skater with better than average skill, a definite NHL shot awaits him at camp.Acquired2008 draft, 68th overall<h3>9 BILL SWEATT</h3>LW, 21, 6-0, 190Colorado College (WCHA)28-14-14-28-16Exceptionally quick skater who has learned to harness his speed and create offense.Acquired2007 draft, 38th overall<h3>10 BRANDON PIRRI</h3>C, 18, 6-0, 160RPI (ECAC)28-8-25-33-45Scouts call his skill and instincts exceptional; more of a playmaker than finisher.Acquired2009 draft, 59th overall &#9632;

f0030-01

CAP CRUNCH GIVES KIDS A CHANCE

<div class="byline">BY ADRIAN DATER</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-011286/9460817-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="292" height="238"></div>In a 2009-10 season that exceeded most experts&rsquo; opinions, defense was still the main area of concern. Looking at Colorado&rsquo;s top 10 prospect list going forward makes one thing clear: help is on the way. Three of the Avs&rsquo; top four prospects are defensemen.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re very, very excited about our blueline,&rdquo; said Avalanche chiefs cout Rick Pracey.That&rsquo;s good, because on the big club, there were three D-men 30 or older playing major minutes. There may not be blue-chip forwards in the pipeline, but lots of what Pracey says are &ldquo;good character guys who do the little things.&rdquo;<h2>1 KEVIN SHATTENKIRK, D, 21, Boston U. (HE)</h2>OVERALL 335-11, 193, 23-3-16-19-29While some question his play in his own end, few have anything bad to say about Shattenkirk&rsquo;s offensive upside and overall character.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s going to be a very good player at the NHL level,&rdquo; said legendary BU coach Jack Parker. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a really smart kid, who will graduate in just three years. He&rsquo;s almost like a forward as a D-man. He&rsquo;s not a big guy, but can play through guys and keep developing his defensive skills.&rdquo;Shattenkirk, BU&rsquo;s first junior captain ever, is expected to leave school after this year and sign with Colorado.Acquired 2007 draft, 14th overall.<h2>2 RYAN STOA, LW, 22, Lake Erie (AHL)</h2>OVERALL 526-3, 213, 41-18-9-27-31Stoa&rsquo;s first year of pro hockey has seen some ups and downs. He was cut in training camp earlier than he&rsquo;d hoped, with concerns about his foot speed and compete level surfacing.But Stoa went down to Lake Erie and worked harder, turning into the team&rsquo;s leading goal-scorer at one point and earning call-ups from the Avalanche.Stoa has realized his best chances of being a good NHLer will involve using his size around the net. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s where most goals are scored anyway,&rdquo; he said.Acquired 2005 draft, 34th overall.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02861/9460810-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="1243" height="1196"><figcaption class="caption-body">KEVIN SHATTENKIRK (BEN SOLOMON/BU ATHLETICS)</figcaption></div><h2>3 COLBY COHEN, D, 20, Boston U (HE)</h2>6-2, 200, 22-9-8-17-44After being benched by Parker one game early on in BU&rsquo;s season, Cohen got the message and has since been one of the Terriers&rsquo; best players.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s an unbelievable power play guy,&rdquo; Parker said. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t like the way he was playing, but he&rsquo;s really responded. He can really shoot the puck.&rdquo;Added Pracey: &ldquo;He&rsquo;s got an NHL shot already. You hate to make comparisons, but he&rsquo;s got a shot that reminds me a little of Rob Blake.&rdquo;There&rsquo;s temptation for Cohen to turn pro after his junior season, but he&rsquo;d surely still require adjustment time in the American League.Acquired 2007 draft, 45th overall.<h2>4 CAMERON GAUNCE, D, 19, Miss&rsquo;auga (OHL)</h2>6-1, 203, 50-6-30-36-98Everybody seems to like the grit and leadership traits of the St. Mike&rsquo;s blueliner. But he showed again this year he can be more than just a heart-and-soul type. He can put up numbers, too.Gaunce has been one of the Ontario League&rsquo;s top offensive D-men, but he draws good marks for his rock-solid approach in his own end.&ldquo;The thing you like about him is just his overall compete level and willingness to do the hard things out there,&rdquo; Pracey said.Gaunce isn&rsquo;t quite putting up the point-per-game stats he did last year, but his overall game has refined. Look for him in Lake Erie next year.Acquired 2008 draft, 50th overall.<h2>5 MIKE CARMAN, C, 21, Minnesota (WCHA)</h2>6-0, 185, 28-6-5-11-23Big scoring numbers probably will never come off the Minnesota native&rsquo;s stick, but you can be sure effort will never lack.&ldquo;When you drop the puck, you know what you&rsquo;re going to get from him,&rdquo; Pracey said. &ldquo;A lot of times, it might not show up on the stat sheet, but the things he can do are valuable commodities.&rdquo;Carman is an abrasive forward with pretty good speed. A forechecking, penalty-kill type of specialist role will be his niche in a possible future NHL career.He&rsquo;s wrapping up his college career this spring, so he&rsquo;s a candidate for the energy line in Lake Erie afterwards.Acquired 2006 draft, 81st overall.<h2>ON THE&nbsp;HORIZON</h2>THE NEXT FIVE<h3>6 MARK OLVER</h3>C, 22, 5-10, 155Northern Michigan (CCHA)27-13-18-31-34Not big, but plays game with fire; needs to bulk up in senior season next year.Acquired2008 draft, 140th overall<h3>7 STEFAN ELLIOTT</h3>D, 19, 6-1, 191Saskatoon (WHL)51-18-28-46-20Had a great first half at both ends. Pracey had him pegged as first round pick on his list.Acquired2009 draft, 49th overall<h3>8 TYSON BARRIE</h3>D, 18, 5-10, 190Kelowna (WHL)45-13-45-58-27Quick, instinctive blueliner with good PP upside. Has good hockey sense.Acquired2009 draft, 64th overall<h3>9 BRANDON MAXWELL</h3>G, 18, 6-0, 190Kitchener (OHL)16-12-3, 3.67, .905Florida native passed up NCAA for junior. Still learning, but is very competitive, athletic.Acquired2009 draft, 154th overall<h3>10 JUSTIN MERCIER</h3>LW, 22, 5-11, 190Lake Erie (AHL)40-7-5-12-32Had slow start to first pro year, but was better in second half and got a call-up from Avs.Acquired2005 draft, 168th overall &#9632;

f0031-01

AVS ‘D’ PREPARES FOR YOUTH INJECTION

<div class="byline">BY AARON PORTZLINE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-011379/9460855-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="296" height="252"></div>Nothing has gone right for the Blue Jackets this season and that includes the expected upward trajectory of their top prospects.Nikita Filatov, expected to hold down a top-six job with the Blue Jackets this season, barely made it a month into the season before he fled back to Mother Russia. Then, at the World Junior Championship, he had his captain&rsquo;s &lsquo;C&rsquo; stripped during a poor showing by Team Russia.Look up and down this list: One year after holding some of the sweetest cards in the NHL, the Jackets now have a handful of question marks.<h2>1 NIKITA FILATOV, LW, 19, CSKA (Rus.)</h2>OVERALL 76-0, 185, 21-7-13-20-14There was a Cold War between Filatov and since-deposed coach Ken Hitchcock. Clearly, Hitchcock never warmed to the idea of Filatov being an NHL regular in 2009-10 and didn&rsquo;t cut him any slack or feed him legitimate ice time.In Hitchcock&rsquo;s defense, Filatov rarely flashed any hint of elite offensive talent. It&rsquo;s as if he didn&rsquo;t want the puck.Only 19 games into the season &ndash; Filatov played in 13 games and was scratched in six others &ndash; he headed back to Russia. Hitchcock&rsquo;s firing opens the door, however.Acquired 2008 draft, 6th overall.<h2>2 JOHN MOORE, D, 19, Kitchener (OHL)</h2>OVERALL 326-2, 197, 46-7-28-35-49Moore was one of the final cuts last fall at the end of training camp and was one of the best defensemen in camp. It was a shock, then, to see the blueliner cut by Team USA before it went on to win the World Junior Championship in Saskatchewan.Moore is exactly what the Blue Jackets need on the back end &ndash; a terrific skater who uses his mobility to defuse situations before they turn into scoring chances.The plan right now is for Moore to open next season in the AHL. But don&rsquo;t be surprise if he alters those plans.Acquired 2009 draft, 21st overall.<h2>3 TOM SESTITO, LW, 22, Syracuse (AHL)</h2>6-5, 228, 19-7-3-10-69The early part of Sestito&rsquo;s pro career has been side-tracked by two major injuries.A torn hip labrum in late November put Sestito out of duty for up to three months. Last season, he missed 30 games with a shoulder injury that required surgery.Sestito, when healthy, is seen as a fourth-line player with heavy fists and surprisingly soft hands.He doesn&rsquo;t move well, however, and missing so much duty the past two years will only delay him getting acclimated to the pro game.With the Blue Jackets hopelessly out of the playoffs, he&rsquo;s in line for a late-season call-up.Acquired 2006 draft, 85th overall.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-02926/9460848-1-eng-US/f0032-022.jpg" title="f0032-02" width="982" height="1095"><figcaption class="caption-body">NIKITA FILATOV (IGOR KRITSKIY/JANSONS MEDIA)</figcaption></div><h2>4 NICK HOLDEN, D, 22, Syracuse (AHL)</h2>6-4, 200, 37-3-10-13-30Holden lost a good part of his off-season conditioning, all of NHL training camp and some early regular season games in the American League due to a bout of mononucleosis.He&rsquo;s no longer sleeping 17 hours a day, but 2009-10 &ndash; his second pro season &ndash; has been spent in catch-up mode.The Blue Jackets see Holden as a polished all-around defenseman, one who can play on the power play and penalty kill. He&rsquo;s picked up 25-plus minutes a night on occasion in Syracuse.Holden was viewed as a potential No. 7 defenseman in Columbus this season before mono struck.Acquired Signed as a free agent, March 28, 2008.<h2>5 GRANT CLITSOME, D, 24, Syracuse (AHL)</h2>6-0, 210, 42-3-8-11-32Give Clitsome credit. To be a (very) late draft pick and rise among the organization&rsquo;s top five prospects is no small feat.But, at 24 and two seasons into his pro career, one would have expected Clitsome to push his way through to the NHL by now in an organization with one of the league&rsquo;s least impressive bluelines.When the Blue Jackets were beset by injuries early this season, they traded for Milan Jurcina from Washington &ndash; hardly a vote of confidence for Clitsome.Clitsome will likely get a look late this season, but will he ever be more than a depth player?Acquired 2004 draft, 271st overall.<h2>ON THE&nbsp;HORIZON</h2>THE NEXT FIVE<h3>6 TED RUTH</h3>D, 19, 6-0, 201Notre Dame (CCHA)14-0-1-1-43A leg injury cost the shutdown defender the first five weeks of the season.Acquired2007 draft, 46th overall<h3>7 CODY GOLOUBEF</h3>D, 20, 6-0, 195Wisconsin (WCHA)26-3-9-12-43In his third college season, he&rsquo;s shored up his defensive zone play.Acquired2008 draft, 37th overall<h3>8 MAKSIM MAYOROV</h3>RW, 20, 6-2, 213Syracuse (AHL)45-8-10-18-6Was expected to deliver a big season offensively, but has not lived up to expectations.Acquired2007 draft, 94th overall<h3>9 MATTHEW CALVERT</h3>LW, 20, 5-9, 175Brandon (WHL)50-34-35-69-54Returned to junior for overage season and has been lighting it up. Ready for pro test.Acquired2008 draft, 128th overall<h3>10 DAVID SAVARD</h3>D, 19, 6-1, 209Moncton (QMJHL)48-9-48-57-24Putting up more than a point a game during a breakout campaign in major junior.Acquired2009 draft, 94th overall &#9632;

f0032-01

JACKETS BUZZING FOR ANSWERS

<div class="byline">BY MIKE HEIKA</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-011228/9460893-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="359" height="223"></div>About four years ago, the Dallas Stars decided to concentrate heavily on skill in the draft. The results so far have been pretty solid.A team that tried for a decade to put character and defensive play above all things, the Stars have found a few gems in recent drafts and are hoping to move them into the lineup over the next few years. Jamie Benn is the obvious shining star, taken 129th overall in 2007. But there are other picks with tons of potential. New GM Joe Nieuwendyk has to decide which skilled players to move up and which to continue to let develop on the farm.<h2>1 SCOTT GLENNIE, RW, 18, Brandon (WHL)</h2>OVERALL 276-1, 177, 49-22-38-60-24Glennie missed camp because of injuries and was cut from Canada&rsquo;s world junior team, but he is coming on strong. The Stars want him to play on the right wing, but he might fill a real need as a right-handed center. Brandon is hosting the Memorial Cup, so the Stars are anxious to watch his performance at the end of the season.&ldquo;Sometimes injuries are hard to take and sometimes they can actually help you,&rdquo; said Les Jackson, director of scouting and player development. &ldquo;Scott was disappointed about the world juniors, but he has really applied himself.&rdquo;Acquired 2009 draft, 8th overall.<h2>2 IVAN VISHNEVSKIY, D, 21, Texas (AHL)</h2>OVERALL 515-11, 176, 48-7-17-24-14A great skater with a big shot, Vishnevskiy has blossomed this year as the No. 1 skilled defenseman for the AHL Texas Stars. His game has actually taken off since partner Brad Lukowich was recalled by Vancouver.Vishnevskiy is ready for the jump to the NHL.&ldquo;When you have an offensive player, he usually needs the most work on the defensive side of the game and we have seen progress with that with Ivan this year,&rdquo; Jackson said. &ldquo;He better understands the position and how difficult it is to defend under the new rules&rdquo;.Acquired 2006 draft, 27th overall.<h2>3 TYLER BESKOROWANY, G, 19, Kingston (OHL)</h2>6-4, 203, 19-20-3, 3.60, .901Moved to Kingston in the off-season, Beskorowany is getting a chance to be a No. 1 goalie in major junior.He&rsquo;s playing for a Kingston team that has struggled and his numbers aren&rsquo;t great, but he is definitely earning marks for fighting through adversity.&ldquo;He needed this,&rdquo; Jackson said of the move from Owen Sound, where he was battling for starting time. &ldquo;Developmentally, you couldn&rsquo;t ask for a better year.&rdquo;Beskorowany could return for an overage season in the OHL, but the Stars plan to make him a pro next season and play him with Texas of the AHL or perhaps Idaho of the ECHL.Acquired 2008 draft, 59th overall.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-02842/9460886-1-eng-US/f0033-022.jpg" title="f0033-02" width="1073" height="1140"><figcaption class="caption-body">SCOTT GLENNIE (BRANDON WHEAT KINGSA)</figcaption></div><h2>4 PHILIP LARSEN, D, 20, Frolunda (Swe.)</h2>5-11, 185, 32-1-8-9-14Larsen amazed the Stars at training camp with his skill in drills, his hockey sense and with his absolute calm on the ice.His numbers are down from last season, but the Stars would like to move him to North America next year and really accelerate his development.If Vishnevskiy makes the jump to the NHL, Larsen will get key minutes in all situations with the Texas Stars.&ldquo;I just saw him and he&rsquo;s playing great,&rdquo; Jackson said after a trip to Sweden. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s either in Cedar Park (Tex.) or with the big club, so we&rsquo;re excited to see how he does in (training) camp.&rdquo;Acquired 2008 draft, 149th overall.<h2>5 ALEX CHIASSON, RW, 19, Boston U. (HE)</h2>6-4, 187, 20-5-5-10-20The big winger is just starting to get his feet wet as a freshman on a competitive college team and is a long way off as far as the Stars are concerned.Chiasson can go to the net hard and is also responsible defensively, which is the kind of combination the Stars will use to fill in a lineup that appears to have plenty of top-six forwards moving ahead.&ldquo;We like his start and his potential, but obviously the college path is a little slower,&rdquo; Jackson said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s in a great place and he&rsquo;s moving forward and that&rsquo;s what we like to see.&rdquo;Expect Chiasson to spend three more years at BU.Acquired 2009 draft, 38th overall.<h2>ON THE&nbsp;HORIZON</h2>THE NEXT FIVE<h3>6 COLTON SCEVIOUR</h3>RW, 20, 6-0, 201Texas (AHL)48-5-14-19-4Solid start, but slowing down in AHL debut. Grinding winger a good fit for energy line.Acquired2007 draft, 112th overall<h3>7 REILLY SMITH</h3>RW, 18, 6-0, 170Miami (CCHA)28-5-6-11-16Slight-framed freshman sniper is putting on much-needed weight on a very good team.Acquired2009 draft, 69th overall<h3>8 TOMAS VINCOUR</h3>RW, 19, 6-2, 203Vancouver (WHL)41-22-12-34-38Czech forward had great NHL pre-season and is really scoring since trade from Edmonton.Acquired2009 draft, 129th overall<h3>9 CURTIS MCKENZIE</h3>LW, 18, 6-2, 192Miami (CCHA)28-4-13-17-58Solid passing winger with a lot of moxie has made a nice splash in freshman season.Acquired2009 draft, 159th overall<h3>10 RICHARD BACHMAN</h3>G, 22, 5-11, 170Idaho (ECHL)13-5-1, 2.33, .909Getting battle-tested in mid-minors. Small goalie has won everywhere he&rsquo;s been.Acquired2006 draft, 120th overall &#9632;

f0033-01

HIGH-END KIDS PRIORITY IN BIG ‘D’

<div class="byline">BY ANSAR KHAN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-011395/9460931-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="328" height="251"></div>Despite their low draft position year in and year out, the Red Wings have assembled a collection of skilled players who project to be a natural fit for the team&rsquo;s high-tempo, puck-possession style.Detroit&rsquo;s top five prospects include two offense-minded defensemen and small, but quick offensive forwards.&ldquo;We feel we have good depth at all positions, good variation,&rdquo; said Wings assistant GM Jim Nill.What remains to be seen is whether any of these players can become a top-line forward or first-pair defenseman.&ldquo;Who&rsquo;s going to take it to another level?&rsquo;&rsquo; Nill said.<h2>1 BRENDAN SMITH, D, 20, Wisconsin (WCHA)</h2>OVERALL 396-2, 190, 25-10-21-31-36An outstanding skater who loves to rush the puck, Smith is as gifted offensively as any player in college hockey right now, the Wings believe.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s got all the offensive skills,&rdquo; Nill said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a great skater, competes hard, plays with a chip on his shoulder, loves to jump up into the play.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s solid, just needs to do it consistently. Can&rsquo;t take those risks in pro hockey. He&rsquo;s got to tighten up.&rdquo;The Wings will sit down with the Wisconsin junior&rsquo;s family after the season to determine if he should turn pro.Acquired 2007 draft, 27th overall.<h2>2 TOMAS TATAR, LW, 19, Grand Rapids (AHL)</h2>OVERALL 555-10, 179, 32-10-11-21-6Tatar made a huge splash at the 2009 WJC for Slovakia. He is on the fast track after bypassing the junior ranks and flourishing in the American League at age 19.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s got a passion for the game and good offensive instincts,&rdquo; Nill said. &ldquo;He thinks the game well. There&rsquo;s an energy to his game. He&rsquo;s the first guy in the corner getting the puck. He goes to the net.&rdquo;Tatar has good speed, can beat a defenseman 1-on-1 and has a nice finishing touch. He&rsquo;ll surely spend another season in the AHL to become a better defensive player.Acquired 2009 draft, 60th overall.<h2>3 JAKUB KINDL, D, 22, G. Rapids (AHL)</h2>OVERALL 636-3, 210 41-3-16-19-32The Wings&rsquo; highest pick since 1991, Kindl is gifted, but needed three years in Grand Rapids to improve defensively and develop consistency.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s making better decisions, learning to battle harder, competing for loose pucks,&rdquo; Nill said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s stronger, more mature.&rdquo;Kindl is a good skater and passer who possesses a hard, accurate shot, making him a natural for the power play. He must cut down on giveaways and show better decision-making. Kindl is not overly physical. He&rsquo;ll be playing on the third pairing in Detroit next season and is projected as a top-four defenseman.Acquired 2005 draft, 19th overall.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-02964/9460924-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="933" height="1119"><figcaption class="caption-body">BRENDAN SMITH (GREG ANDERSON)</figcaption></div><h2>4 THOMAS McCOLLUM, G, 20, G. Rapids (AHL)</h2>6-2, 210, 7-9-0, 3.44, .877One of the organization&rsquo;s best goaltending prospects in years, McCollum has a good combination of size and quick reflexes and is sound positionally.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a big, square goalie who covers a lot of the net,&rdquo; Nill said. &ldquo;He needs to improve his lateral movement.&rdquo;He needed a mid-season stint in Toledo (ECHL) to get his confidence back after a rough stretch in the AHL.With Jimmy Howard establishing himself as the organization&rsquo;s goalie of the future and promising Daniel Larsson getting the bulk of the starts in Grand Rapids, the Wings can be patient for years with McCollum.Acquired 2008 draft, 30th overall.<h2>5 GUSTAV NYQUIST, LW, 20, Maine (HE)</h2>5-11, 170, 24-14-22-36-12A mid-round gem whose stock has soared after a smooth transition from Sweden&rsquo;s junior ranks to the NCAA, Nyquist can be a solid two-way NHL player.&ldquo;He likes the puck, likes to make plays,&rdquo; Nill said. &ldquo;He has great offensive instincts, sees the ice well, good scorer.&rdquo;The left winger also is strong defensively and kills penalties. He is a hard worker who aggressively pursues the puck, always keeps his feet moving and has a great knack for stripping opponents of the puck.Nyquist will have one or two more years at Maine to improve his strength, mature and grow physically.Acquired 2008 draft, 121st overall.<h2>ON THE&nbsp;HORIZON</h2>THE NEXT FIVE<h3>6 LANDON FERRARO</h3>C, 18, 6-0, 171Red Deer (WHL)32-12-20-32-38Great speed and hands, gritty worker plays all forward positions; must improve defensively.Acquired2009 draft, 32nd overall<h3>7 JAN MURSAK</h3>RW, 22, 5-11, 184Grand Rapids (AHL)47-18-8-26-19Strong rebound season for fast skater with good moves who gets his nose dirty.Acquired2006 draft, 182nd overall<h3>8 CORY EMMERTON</h3>C, 21, 6-0, 188Grand Rapids (AHL)45-7-15-22-14Good skater and playmaker who won&rsquo;t score a lot and must do well in other areas.Acquired2006 draft, 41st overall<h3>9 JOAKIM ANDERSSON</h3>C, 20, 6-2, 205Frolunda (Swe.)45-5-11-16-34Physical, two-way forward needs to improve skating. Earmarked for AHL next season.Acquired2007 draft, 88th overall<h3>10 MATTIAS RITOLA</h3>RW, 22, 5-11, 205Grand Rapids (AHL)41-10-9-19-36Hard worker who protects puck well, but his skills haven&rsquo;t translated into good numbers.Acquired2005 draft, 103rd overall &#9632;

f0034-01

MOTOWN BACK END WILL GET A TUNE-UP

<div class="byline">BY ROB TYCHKOWSKI</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-02918/9460962-1-eng-US/f0035-022.jpg" title="f0035-02" width="933" height="1111"><figcaption class="caption-body">JORDAN EBERLE (GJ PHOTOGRAPHY)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-011299/9460969-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg" title="f0035-01" width="223" height="233"></div>After years of watching their high draft picks fizzle out &ndash; only two of the 26 players drafted in the first and second rounds between 1995 and 2006 turned into a top six forward or top four defenseman &ndash; the Oilers are hoping the latest batch of highly touted picks will be the ones to fill the decade-long shortage of top-end skill.There is reason to believe they have a couple of decent finds in Jordan Eberle and Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson, two of the best players at the world juniors, and Linus Omark, who&rsquo;s becoming a YouTube regular with all his dazzling highlight reel goals in the Kontinental League.<h2>1 JORDAN EBERLE, C, 19, Regina (WHL)</h2>OVERALL 65-10, 174, 37-35-37-72-26Everyone saw what he did at the WJC, but a lot of players who looked great against 18-year-old kids at the WJC weren&rsquo;t able to duplicate that magic in the NHL.His penchant for clutch goals and a willingness to go into high traffic areas to get them makes Edmonton believe Eberle will succeed in the NHL despite his small frame.Another good sign: Last spring he played nine games in the American League with the Springfield Falcons as an 18-year-old and contributed a point per game against professionals. He already has elite level hands and heart.Acquired 2008 draft, 22nd overall.<h2>2 M. PAAJARVI-SVENSSON, LW, 18, Timra (Swe.)</h2>OVERALL 116-1, 201, 39-11-14-25-6Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson has terrific speed, combined with an ability to not only maintain control of the puck in top gear, but to do something creative with it and finish the play. He&rsquo;s already turning heads with some of his great goals and assists.He&rsquo;s big enough to be strong on the puck when he gets to North America and has a natural instinct for offense, but as is always the case with skilled Europeans, it remains to be seen if his all-around game will be strong enough to earn the confidence of an NHL coach.Acquired 2009 draft, 10th overall.<h2>3 JEFF PETRY, D, 22, Mich. St. (CCHA)</h2>OVERALL 566-3, 200 30-4-20-24-20Petry brings a little bit of everything to the arena: He can generate offense with his foot speed, agility and booming shot, he has the brains and mobility to be a good shutdown guy and he likes to play with a bit of an aggressive edge.He&rsquo;s getting good experience and instruction in a strong college program at Michigan State and has the tools at this point to warrant the Oilers&rsquo; optimism.Petry is scoring at the college level, operating at close to a point-per-game clip (24 in 30) while playing on both special teams on a good Spartans squad.Acquired 2006 draft, 45th overall.<h2>4 TAYLOR CHORNEY, D, 22, Springfield (AHL)</h2>5-11, 182, 23-4-5-9-10Chorney has been getting some cups of coffee in the NHL because of injuries to Edmonton&rsquo;s blueline and hasn&rsquo;t looked that out of place. Like most undersized defensemen, he makes up for it with tremendous wheels and the ability to make quick, correct decisions.When you&rsquo;re not big and not physical, which he isn&rsquo;t, the only way to establish yourself in the NHL is to be a prototypical puck-moving defenseman &ndash; a guy who can skate the puck out of his own end, make the first pass on the breakout and quarterback a power play. Chorney still has a way to go before he&rsquo;s that guy in the NHL.Acquired 2005 draft, 36th overall.<h2>5 ANTON LANDER, C, 18, Timra (Swe.)</h2>6-0, 194, 39-5-8-13-10Not much of an offensive threat here &ndash; just 13 points in his first 39 games in the Swedish Elite League &ndash; but Lander&rsquo;s a very complete two-way player who thinks the game well.He has marginal upside when it comes to offense, but he&rsquo;s strong defensively and the Oilers like his character. He&rsquo;s also versatile, able to play center and left wing, solid in the faceoff circle and likes to get involved.Lander doesn&rsquo;t shy away from contact or traffic, which isn&rsquo;t always the case for Europeans. A lot of intangibles here, which should help his cause. He has upside as a two-way third-liner.Acquired 2009 draft, 40th overall.<h2>ON THE&nbsp;HORIZON</h2>THE NEXT FIVE<h3>6 TEEMU HARTIKAINEN</h3>C, 19, 6-1, 198KalPa Kuopio (Fin.)36-9-15-24-12Big, physical guy who likes to get his hands dirty in the tough areas. Average skater.Acquired2008 draft, 163rd overall<h3>7 ALEX PLANTE</h3>D, 20, 6-4, 225Springfield (AHL)48-2-7-9-122Stay-at-home type with a huge body who plays tough. Has a hard shot.Acquired2007 draft, 15th overall<h3>8 RILEY NASH</h3>C, 20, 6-1, 175Cornell (ECAC)18-5-9-14-31Defensive forward who won&rsquo;t make the highlight reels, but won&rsquo;t make the big mistake.Acquired2007 draft, 21st overall<h3>9 LINUS OMARK</h3>LW, 22, 5-9, 168Moscow Dynamo (KHL)50-19-12-31-30Dreams up and executes some remarkable plays. Check him out on YouTube.Acquired2007 draft, 97th overall<h3>10 JOHAN MOTIN</h3>D, 20, 6-1, 201Springfield (AHL)37-1-3-4-12Stay-at-home defenseman with a lot of size, but doesn&rsquo;t always use it.Acquired2008 draft, 103rd overall &#9632;

f0035-02

THERE IS LIGHT AT BOTTOM OF BARREL

<div class="byline">BY GEORGE RICHARDS</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-011295/9461007-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg" title="f0036-01" width="292" height="281"></div>With Jacques Martin running the organization the past two seasons, the Panthers went hard after defense and goaltending, taking Swedish goalie Jacob Markstrom with their first pick in 2008. Markstrom is Tomas Vokoun&rsquo;s heir apparent in net. That year, Florida spent three of its final four picks on defensemen.New GM Randy Sexton addressed the offense in 2009. Florida&rsquo;s top pick isn&rsquo;t listed here because, at the ripe old age of 19, Dmitry Kulikov is no longer a prospect &ndash; he&rsquo;s a major contributor on the Panthers blueline. Florida&rsquo;s following six picks after Kulikov (at 14) where forwards.<h2>1 JACOB MARKSTROM, G, 20, Brynas (Swe.)</h2>OVERALL 26-3, 180, 34 GP, 1.96, .929The Panthers continue to keep a close eye on Markstrom as he finishes up his contractual obligations in Sweden. The starter for Sweden&rsquo;s entry at the world juniors, Markstrom continues his strong play and is expected to get a lot of play in camp next September.Where Markstrom plays next season is in question; Tomas Vokoun is signed for one more season with backup Scott Clemmensen signed for two. Markstrom could ease into North American play by starting his pro career in Rochester of the American League.Acquired 2008 draft, 31st overall.<h2>2 SHAWN MATTHIAS, C, 21, Rochester (AHL)</h2>OVERALL 686-4, 230, 22-4-7-11-8The Panthers had high expectations for Matthias after a strong junior career &ndash; and they weren&rsquo;t alone. Matthias was ranked 20th overall in Future Watch 2009, but a rocky finish to 2008-09 dropped his stock. It&rsquo;s on the rise again in the eyes of scouts.Matthias has taken to an intense physical regimen and looks a lot stronger and a lot more confident. &ldquo;Last year,&rdquo; DeBoer said, &ldquo;he had the deer in the headlights look.&rsquo;&rsquo;On Jan. 26, Matthias scored twice &ndash; once on a penalty shot &ndash; leading Florida to a 2-1 win over Montreal.Acquired Trade with Detroit, Feb. 27, 2007.<h2>3 KEATON ELLERBY, D, 21, Rochester (AHL)</h2>6-4, 200, 45-6-13-19-20Ellerby continues his ascent through the Panthers depth chart and had a strong training camp this season. He finally made his NHL debut in January as he was a call-up to fill in for an injured Bryan Allen.Florida&rsquo;s blueline has been relatively healthy this year, limiting Ellerby&rsquo;s opportunity with the big club. But he has had a strong season for the Americans.Ellerby won&rsquo;t be a power play quarterback at the NHL level, but he&rsquo;s big, skates well and moves the puck efficiently. He still needs to work on his core strength, but he will have a chance to make the Panthers next fall.Acquired 2007 draft, 10th overall.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-02867/9461000-1-eng-US/f0036-022.jpg" title="f0036-02" width="933" height="1056"><figcaption class="caption-body">JACOB MARKSTROM(MATS &Aring;STRAND/BRYN&Auml;S, SWEDEN)</figcaption></div><h2>4 COLBY ROBAK, D, 19, Brandon (WHL)</h2>6-3, 200, 53-11-39-50-4Robak is having a career year offensively with the Western League&rsquo;s Wheat Kings. His 11 goals through 53 games are just two off last year&rsquo;s high. The Panthers hoped Robak would increase his offensive production this year and that&rsquo;s clearly what he has done.Playing on a talented Brandon team has helped Robak. Last year, Robak showed he could perform in the clutch, scoring six goals in 12 playoff games for the Wheat Kings. Robak&rsquo;s ice time in Brandon has grown in each of the past two years and that has also helped his development. Scouts like how he sees the ice.Acquired 2008 draft, 46th overall.<h2>5 MICHAL REPIK, RW, 21, Rochester (AHL)</h2>5-10, 183, 37-16-16-32-35Repik has been up and down with the Panthers the past few seasons and was called back up in late January. With the big team struggling to score goals, coach Pete DeBoer likes what he has seen in the quick and talented Repik.While he still needs to get stronger and play with more edge, DeBoer thinks he can develop into a top-two line guy at the NHL level. He does have a propensity to score; in his first 15 NHL games, Repik had four goals while playing in a fourth-line role.In Rochester, Repik plays a bigger role and his numbers reflect that. Look for more NHL duty soon.Acquired 2007 draft, 40th overall.<h2>ON THE&nbsp;HORIZON</h2>THE NEXT FIVE<h3>6 DREW SHORE</h3>C, 19, 6-3, 190Denver (WCHA)26-4-10-14-14Scored more with the U.S. development team, but is getting good ice time.Acquired2009 draft, 44th overall<h3>7 KENNDAL MCARDLE</h3>LW, 23, 5-11, 200Rochester (AHL)11-2-4-6-56Missed almost two months with a shoulder injury, but finally got his first NHL goal.Acquired2005 draft, 20th overall<h3>8 MARC CHEVERIE</h3>G, 22, 6-2, 185Denver (WCHA)10-3-3, 2.08, .930Leading the Pioneers to another solid season by winning 12 of 18 overall starts.Acquired2006 draft, 193rd overall<h3>9 EVGENI DADONOV</h3>RW, 20, 5-10, 178Rochester (AHL)48-9-13-22-28Showing decent offensive skills in tough transition season to North American style.Acquired2007 draft, 71st overall<h3>10 ALEXANDER SALAK</h3>G, 23, 6-1, 189Rochester (AHL)22-7-0, 2.56, .920Showed good poise in training camp and earned All-Star Game honors in the AHL.AcquiredFree agent, May 29, 2009 &#9632;

f0036-01

MARKSTROM BIG CAT BETWEEN THE PIPES

<div class="byline">BY JONATHAN DAVIS</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-02804/9461045-1-eng-US/f0037-022.jpg" title="f0037-02" width="273" height="244"></div>The future is looking bright for the Los Angeles Kings. GM Dean Lombardi has the cupboard stocked full of top prospects. The Kings had four players representing Canada at this year&rsquo;s World Junior Championship, more than any other team in the NHL. Their American League affiliate in Manchester has six players that will challenge for a roster spot with the big club next season.With the Kings in need of a dynamic goal-scorer and a No. 2 center, don&rsquo;t be surprised to see Lombardi move a blue-chipper to fill one of his major holes with the NHL team in the not-too-distant future.<h2>1 BRAYDEN SCHENN, C, 18, Brandon (WHL)</h2>OVERALL 106-1, 192, 41-20-42-62-45The younger brother of Toronto defenseman Luke Schenn is projected to be a No. 2 center for the Kings down the road. Schenn got a taste of NHL life earlier this season when he was an emergency call-up for a game in Vancouver.He centers the Wheat Kings&rsquo; top line along with being the team&rsquo;s defensive catalyst and was a key contributor for Canada at the world juniors (eight points in six games). One scout said Schenn is mature beyond his years. He&rsquo;s on pace to eclipse 100 points this season.Acquired 2009 draft, 5th overall.<h2>2 JONATHAN BERNIER, G, 21, Manchester (AHL)</h2>OVERALL 156-0, 177, 21-11-5, 1.90, .942The Kings future between the pipes looks solid for the next decade. At 24, Jonathan Quick was named as one of the three goalies for the U.S. Olympic team and Bernier has been touted as the goaltender of the future.Bernier is an athletic goalie who makes the game look easy. He is well on his way to surpassing last season&rsquo;s win and shutout totals, while his save percentage is gaudy.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m most impressed with the level that he competes at,&rdquo; one scout said. &ldquo;This kid doesn&rsquo;t take a night off. He seems much more focused than before.&rdquo;Acquired 2006 draft, 11th overall.<h2>3 COLTEN TEUBERT, D, 19, Regina (WHL)</h2>OVERALL 486-4, 194 40-9-22-31-72Big, strong and nasty: Three words that best describe Colton Teubert. Teubert&rsquo;s game is all about making life uncomfortable for the opposition. He plays a style slightly similar to Chris Pronger, though not quite as nasty and not as productive.Teubert is well on his way to his third consecutive 100-plus penalty minute season in the Western League. He is above average in his own zone and his size and skill level are what allow the Pats to rely on him to match up against the opposition&rsquo;s top lines every night. Teubert also displays nice leadership qualities.Acquired 2008 draft, 13th overall.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-011155/9461038-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg" title="f0037-01" width="933" height="1140"><figcaption class="caption-body">BRAYDEN SCHENN (BRANDON WHEAT KINGS)</figcaption></div><h2>4 THOMAS HICKEY, D, 20, Manchester (AHL)</h2>OVERALL 725-10, 182 15-0-5-5-10The learning curve has been slower than anticipated for Thomas Hickey, who was selected ahead of the likes of Sam Gagner and Jakub Voracek in the 2007 draft.Sidelined since November with an upper-body injury, Hickey&rsquo;s first pro season hasn&rsquo;t unfolded according to plan, either. But the depth and youth on the Los Angeles blueline has enabled the Kings to be patient with his development.Hickey isn&rsquo;t big or flashy, but he is an efficient defenseman who clears the zone well and can spring a counterattack. He still needs minor pro seasoning.Acquired 2007 draft, 4th overall.<h2>5 ANDREI LOKTIONOV, C, 20, Manchester (AHL)</h2>5-11, 187, 20-6-11-17-8Kings fans got a glimpse of Loktionov back in November, but that was it. He sustained a dislocated shoulder in his only game and is likely done for the season. A nifty playmaker with soft hands along with a high hockey IQ, he has top-six forward potential.&ldquo;He makes those around him better,&rdquo; said Manchester coach Mark Morris. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s got the ability to be a big-time player with his passing, skating and shooting.&rdquo;Loktionov made a big impression in his first game with Manchester, notching three goals and an assist. He still has some work to do in the weight room before becoming NHL ready.Acquired 2008 draft, 123rd overall.<h2>ON THE&nbsp;HORIZON</h2>THE NEXT FIVE<h3>6 VYACHESLAV VOINOV</h3>D, 20, 6-0, 190Manchester (AHL)50-8-16-24-20Nice offensive instincts and a terrific shot; earned spot in AHL All-Star Game.Acquired2008 draft, 32nd overall<h3>7 KYLE CLIFFORD</h3>LW, 19, 6-2, 208Barrie (OHL)40-16-16-32-76Prototypical power forward, will do whatever it takes to win; nice touch around net.Acquired2009 draft, 35th overall<h3>8 JEFF ZATKOFF</h3>G, 22, 6-2, 169Manchester (AHL)8-5-0, 2.36, .932Big guy, late bloomer physically, has put up exceptional numbers in limited opportunity.Acquired2006 draft, 74th overall<h3>9 MARTIN JONES</h3>G, 20, 6-4, 185Calgary (WHL)21-10-0, 2.72, .899Selected as backup for Canada at world juniors, needs to work on rebound control.AcquiredFree agent, Oct., 2008<h3>10 ANDREW CAMPBELL</h3>D, 21, 6-4, 206Manchester (AHL)48-2-7-9-39Steady defensive defenseman, needs to fill out physically and gain pro experience.Acquired2008 draft, 74th overall &#9632;

f0037-02

ALL THE KINGS MEN LOOK LEAN AND MEAN

<div class="byline">BY MICHAEL RUSSO</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-011255/9461083-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg" title="f0038-01" width="361" height="247"></div>A few years ago, the Wild had holes everywhere.That&rsquo;s what a few blown first-round selections and trading away a number of draft picks will do to an organization. But over the past couple of drafts, the Wild have done a quality job infusing defensemen (Marco Scandella, Tyler Cuma and Nick Leddy) and goalies (Matt Hackett and Anton Khudobin) into the prospect depth chart.Offense is the next weakness to tackle. Other than Cody Almond, there&rsquo;s not much. &ldquo;We need skilled forwards, it&rsquo;s a priority,&rdquo; said assistant GM Tommy Thompson. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re missing the quantity.&rdquo;<h2>1 MARCO SCANDELLA, D, 19, Val d&rsquo;Or (QMJHL)</h2>OVERALL 546-3, 200, 30-9-20-29-41Selected 32 spots after Tyler Cuma in 2008, Scandella has skyrocketed to what Thompson calls &ldquo;one of the best defensemen in junior hockey right now.&rdquo;A year ago, Scandella was No. 10 on The Hockey News&rsquo; Wild Future Watch list. This year, he tops them all after making the national junior team for Canada and being the Wild&rsquo;s last cut in training camp.Nobody on Minnesota&rsquo;s reserve list has grown more in the past year and we&rsquo;re not just talking stature. He can blast the puck and he&rsquo;s got great feet, strength and range.Acquired 2008 draft, 55th overall.<h2>2 NICK LEDDY, D, 18, Minnesota (WCHA)</h2>OVERALL 645-11, 179, 19-1-4-5-4Looking to add what Thompson calls &ldquo;pizzazz&rdquo;, the team drafted last year&rsquo;s Minnesota &lsquo;Mr. Hockey&rsquo; &ndash; a free-wheeling defenseman who&rsquo;s had his ups and downs (he broke his jaw) during his freshman year at university.&ldquo;(Coordinator of scouting) Guy Lapointe and I were saying, &lsquo;How can we pass this guy up if he&rsquo;s there?&rdquo; Thompson said. &ldquo;The hardest thing to find is the guy that can get you the puck in the right spots and bring it to you if he has to.&rdquo; Leddy hasn&rsquo;t become an offensive threat yet, but Thompson said, &ldquo;In a different situation, he would be.&rdquo;Acquired 2009 draft, 16th overall.<h2>3 MATTHEW HACKETT, G, 19, Plymouth (OHL)</h2>OVERALL 746-2, 167 27-14-1, 2.58, .927Hackett, the nephew of long-time NHL goalie Jeff Hackett, flourished last season after being traded from Windsor to Plymouth. He went 35-14-3, although a disappointing junior selection camp in December made him a final cut for Canada.Hackett grew up taking shots in the off-season from future NHLers Steve Rucchin, Jeff Carter and Brian Campbell &ndash; starting at age 9. He&rsquo;s very quick post-to-post and poised in the cage, although Thompson said he must get stronger. Playing the puck, &ldquo;he looks like a guy like me carrying a big load on his back,&rdquo; Thompson said.Acquired 2009 draft, 77th overall.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-02859/9461076-1-eng-US/f0038-022.jpg" title="f0038-02" width="1063" height="1120"><figcaption class="caption-body">MARCO SCANDELLA (DAVID CONNELL/QMJHL IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h2>4 TYLER CUMA, D, 20, Ottawa (OHL)</h2>6-1, 193, 37-2-12-14-51After a knee injury in December of 2008 caused him to miss more than half of last season, Cuma struggled for the Wild in camp and out of the gate for the Ottawa 67&rsquo;s. Most disappointing was not making Canada&rsquo;s national junior team.&ldquo;Like a batter who thought he was supposed to hit 30 home runs and then missed half the year, Tyler felt he had to catch up and hit every pitch out of the park,&rdquo; Thompson said.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s had a rough go compared to what he thought the development process would be. But he&rsquo;ll be fine. The one thing he can do is defend. We&rsquo;re not worried.&rdquo;Acquired 2008 draft, 23rd overall.<h2>5 COLTON GILLIES, LW, 20, Houston (AHL)</h2>6-4, 199, 44-3-12-15-37Breaking away from the previous regime&rsquo;s pattern of putting youngsters into the lineup, GM Chuck Fletcher sent Gillies, who played 45 games for the Wild last season, to the minors.The fast, gritty forward hasn&rsquo;t gotten a ton of points, and &ldquo;that&rsquo;s not what he&rsquo;s going to be,&rdquo; Thompson said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;ll be a checker, an energy guy. He&rsquo;s got great character and he&rsquo;s the type of guy because of his speed that you can complement a line with two good offensive guys.&rdquo;Gillies was disappointed by his demotion, but he&rsquo;s embraced playing in Houston and is planning to be back in Minnesota next season.Acquired 2007 draft, 16th overall.<h2>ON THE&nbsp;HORIZON</h2>THE NEXT FIVE<h3>6 CLAYTON STONER</h3>D, 24, 6-4, 214Houston (AHL)26-3-7-10-52Mobile and physical, finally making the jump to NHL after five- and-a-half year journey.Acquired2004 draft, 79th overall<h3>7 CODY ALMOND</h3>C, 20, 6-2, 215Houston (AHL)22-3-8-11-39Injuries slowed his first pro year, but the big, smooth, edgy forward is also a producer.Acquired2007 draft, 140th overall<h3>8 ANTON KHUDOBIN</h3>G, 23, 5-11, 203Houston (AHL)10-14-1, 2.42, .904As unorthodox as his style and mannerisms are, he keeps on advancing and succeeding.Acquired2004 draft, 206th overall<h3>9 JUSTIN FALK</h3>D, 21, 6-5, 214Houston (AHL)45-1-4-5-59Reliable defensively, a space eater, he&rsquo;s an adept passer and can skate; needs to be ornery.Acquired2007 draft, 110th overall<h3>10 PETR KALUS</h3>RW, 22, 6-1, 200Houston (AHL)37-8-3-11-50Once considered a bona fide prospect, he&rsquo;s not scoring and nearly out of sight, out of mind.AcquiredTrade with Bos, July &rsquo;07 &#9632;

f0038-01

YOUNG REARGUARDS MAXING OUT IN MINNY

<div class="byline">BY HERB ZURKOWSKY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-011152/9461121-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg" title="f0039-01" width="289" height="212"></div>The road between Hamilton and Montreal has been well traveled this season, with a dozen players recalled by the Habs &ndash; sometimes through injuries and, occasionally, to send a message to the big-leaguers.There are many reasons why the Canadiens have been inconsistent this season, one complaint being there&rsquo;s no quick fix on the farm. And yet the Bulldogs remain a very competitive team, despite a roster that&rsquo;s constantly in flux.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got a lot of young prospects in Hamilton,&rdquo; said Trevor Timmins, the Canadiens&rsquo; director of player development. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s a lot of depth at all positions.&rdquo;<h2>1 P.K. SUBBAN, D, 20, Hamilton (AHL)</h2>OVERALL 176-0, 206, 49-10-23-33-54The Canadiens can&rsquo;t help but drool over the potential of this burgeoning defenseman. Subban will bring an offensive dimension to Montreal &ndash; once he&rsquo;s ready to make the jump.He&rsquo;s a strong skater with speed, agility and quickness. Subban also possesses plenty of energy that might need to eventually be harnessed. He wants the puck and wants to be the architect on plays. Sometimes he tries to do too much and overextends. That will come with maturity. But he has a passion for the game and wants to be a big-leaguer.Acquired 2007 draft, 43rd overall.<h2>2 DANNY KRISTO, RW, 19, North Dakota (WCHA)</h2>OVERALL 355-11, 180, 26-8-12-20-8Given his size, it&rsquo;s not surprising Kristo&rsquo;s an outstanding skater with speed and acceleration. He plays a high-tempo game, never short on energy or passion.Unlike many players who slap the puck when in scoring position, Kristo has developed a lethal wrist shot.The Canadiens believe Kristo needs to bulk up before he can play pro and would like to see him add between 10 and 15 pounds. He has improved his play without the puck along with his defensive coverage. Although he&rsquo;s only a freshman, he plays the point on the first power play unit.Acquired 2008 draft, 56th overall.<h2>3 LOUIS LEBLANC, C, 19, Harvard (ECAC)</h2>OVERALL 416-0, 174 17-9-8-17-34Leblanc already has been tagged as the franchise&rsquo;s next superstar; fans chanting his name at the Bell Centre last June before he was selected by the Canadiens.He plays with some jam, skating north to south. A good skater who can change direction and accelerate, Leblanc has a good shot while playing with intensity, passion and grit.Leblanc obviously must improve his strength, but is considered coachable and has worked hard on and off the ice. He can only improve with experience, especially after tweaking his skating technique.Acquired 2009 draft, 18th overall.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-02755/9461114-1-eng-US/f0039-022.jpg" title="f0039-02" width="933" height="1100"><figcaption class="caption-body">P.K. SUBBAN (PELLERINS PHOTOGRAPHY/HAMILTON BULLDOGS)</figcaption></div><h2>4 RYAN WHITE, C, 21, Hamilton (AHL)</h2>6-0, 193, 36-12-8-20-93White has spent some time with the Canadiens this season and management believes he has shown he can play at the NHL level down the road due to his hockey sense and character.White, a second-year player in the AHL, brings his best every shift and is considered a leader due to his work ethic. He&rsquo;ll get his nose dirty and competes.While he lacks experience, the Canadiens would like to see him work on his quickness and speed. The four-year Calgary Hitmen graduate has come a long way, but needs to continue that effort. He can&rsquo;t lose his spirit when demoted.Acquired 2006 draft, 66th overall.<h2>5 YANNICK WEBER, D, 21, Hamilton (AHL)</h2>5-11, 193, 44-2-21-23-40There are many &ndash; Weber included &ndash; who believed the Swiss-born defenseman would be a regular with the Canadiens this season. But he had a poor training camp and didn&rsquo;t perform well during the exhibition games. Nobody in management is exactly certain why.Weber will improve Montreal&rsquo;s power play, eventually, due to a heavy and lethal shot from the point. He&rsquo;s a strong technical skater although lacking height and size.He needs to learn his trade to become more of a pro in the minors, but has worked hard on improving his defensive play and utilizing his body.Acquired 2007 draft, 73rd overall.<h2>ON THE&nbsp;HORIZON</h2>THE NEXT FIVE<h3>6 JOONAS NATTINEN</h3>C, 19, 6-2, 187Espoo (Fin.)19-0-3-3-4A tall, rangy center who plays a strong two-way game and is good on faceoffs.Acquired2009 draft, 65th overall<h3>7 MATHIEU CARLE</h3>D, 22, 6-0, 203Hamilton (AHL)31-5-10-15-26A solid, two-way D-man who plays a good transition game and can move the puck up ice.Acquired2006 draft, 53rd overall<h3>8 MAC BENNETT</h3>D, 18, 5-11, 170Cedar Rapids (USHL)34-7-11-18-16An outstanding skater who exits the defensive zone well, moving the puck up ice.Acquired2009 draft, 79th overall<h3>9 CEDRICK DESJARDINS</h3>G, 24, 6-0, 194Hamilton (AHL)19-6-2, 1.84, .929Neither the best, technically, nor the biggest. All he does is win at every level.AcquiredFree agent, 2008<h3>10 BEN MAXWELL</h3>C, 21, 6-1, 195Hamilton (AHL)46-11-23-34-18A cerebral player with hockey sense who&rsquo;s considered an effortless skater.Acquired2006 draft, 49th overall &#9632;

f0039-01

BULLISH ON BULLDOG: P.K. MORE THAN OK

<div class="byline">BY JOHN GLENNON</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-01849/9461159-1-eng-US/f0040-012.jpg" title="f0040-01" width="378" height="239"></div>Ever since selecting four future NHL defensemen in the 2003 draft, the Predators have earned a reputation for producing quality blueliners.That theme continues as three of the Preds&rsquo; top five prospects are defensemen. Ryan Ellis helped the Canadians earn silver at the world juniors, Jonathon Blum is off to a strong start in his first pro season and Roman Josi is expected to make his North American debut next season.&ldquo;If you want to go deeper, we think we probably have about eight (defensive prospects) that will be playing here someday,&rdquo; said Predators assistant GM Paul Fenton.<h2>1 COLIN WILSON, C, 20, Milwaukee (AHL)</h2>OVERALL 86-1, 215, 33-10-15-25-14Wilson has had a bumpy first pro season, but it has taken a turn for the better. He actually made the NHL roster out of camp, but injuries and inexperience eventually landed him in Milwaukee. Wilson finally started to get healthy around the start of the new year and he posted 15 points in the Admirals&rsquo; first 13 games in January.He&rsquo;s using his size to his advantage and is showing versatility by playing both center and wing. Wilson is working on his skating and making the typical transition from college to pro &ndash; getting used to a more demanding schedule.Acquired 2008 draft, 7th overall.<h2>2 ELLIS, D, 19, Windsor (OHL)</h2>OVERALL 195-9, 180, 34-7-30-37-20Ellis is having another very good season, but hasn&rsquo;t put up the outrageous numbers he did last year when he posted 89 points and guided the Spitfires to the Memorial Cup. He&rsquo;s been hampered by a wrist injury, one that has made him a little less lethal while doing what he does best &ndash; run the power play.There is little doubt that when Ellis is healthy, he is an offensive force, especially with the man advantage. But his challenge will be proving he can get strong enough to handle bigger players on the defensive side of the rink.Acquired 2009 draft, 11th overall.<h2>3 CHET PICKARD, G, 20, Milwaukee (AHL)</h2>OVERALL 266-2, 216 12-8-2, 2.77, .892After being named the WHL&rsquo;s goaltender of the year the past two seasons, Pickard has had an up-and-down rookie pro season in Milwaukee. He struggled a bit out of the gate, caught fire for a few months and then came back to earth a bit in early January.Pickard has certainly shown he can excel at the pro level, as he supplanted the more experienced Mark Dekanich as Milwaukee&rsquo;s starter for a while and now the two split games. The Predators remain high on the big man&rsquo;s talent, but want him to develop more consistency, maturity and professional game experience.Acquired 2008 draft, 18th overall.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-02529/9461152-1-eng-US/f0040-022.jpg" title="f0040-02" width="933" height="1109"><figcaption class="caption-body">COLIN WILSON (SCOTT PAULUS)</figcaption></div><h2>4 JONATHON BLUM, D, 21, Milwaukee (AHL)</h2>OVERALL 666-1, 183 52-5-20-25-16Unlike many young prospects, gaining maturity is not much of a concern for Blum, who has long been recognized for thinking and playing the game beyond his years. Blum has been steady in his first pro season, producing 25 points and a plus-13 rating through 52 games.He doesn&rsquo;t make many mistakes and earns rave reviews for his hockey sense. Like Ellis, Blum will have to prove he can build up his strength and show the ability to handle weight on the professional level. If his physical maturity catches up to his mental makeup, he will see NHL action next season.Acquired 2007 draft, 23rd overall.<h2>5 ROMAN JOSI, D, 19, Bern (Switz.)</h2>6-1, 198, 24-9-11-20-12One thing is certain: Josi will see plenty of high-level competition this season. He&rsquo;s already played in the World Junior Championship and is also scheduled to skate for Switzerland in both the Olympics and the World Championship.Josi&rsquo;s been racking up big numbers in the Swiss league and the Preds are complimentary of his puck-moving skills and his sense of when to jump into the offensive play.Josi will get a significant test next season when the Preds hope to bring him to North America. He&rsquo;ll have to show he can maintain his level of play despite far longer schedules and smaller rinks.Acquired 2008 draft, 38th overall.<h2>ON THE&nbsp;HORIZON</h2>THE NEXT FIVE<h3>6 ZACH BUDISH</h3>RW, 18, 6-3, 223Minnesota (WCHA)28-7-8-15-31Having a moderate impact as a freshman while still mending from 2009 knee surgery.Acquired2009 draft, 41st overall<h3>7 TAYLOR BECK</h3>LW, 18, 6-2, 211Guelph (OHL)47-28-44-72-40Using size, physical play and soft hands to put up big numbers. Still working on skating.Acquired2009 draft, 70th overall<h3>8 NICK SPALING</h3>C, 21, 6-1, 190Milwaukee (AHL)30-2-7-9-17Hasn&rsquo;t produced in NHL, but versatility, smarts, penalty-killing ability make him a keeper.Acquired2007 draft, 58th overall<h3>9 TEEMU LAAKSO</h3>D, 22, 6-1, 208Milwaukee (AHL)18-1-1-2-18Solid defensive D-man who plays with some edge, but has had trouble staying healthy.Acquired2005 draft, 78th overall<h3>10 ANDREAS THURESSON</h3>RW, 22, 6-1, 204Milwaukee (AHL)25-7-8-15-12Excellent two-way player and strong forechecker has good third-line potential.Acquired2007 draft, 144th overall &#9632;

f0040-01

THE BLUEPRINT FOR BLUELINERS

<div class="byline">BY RICH CHERE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-02467/9461190-1-eng-US/f0041-022.jpg" title="f0041-02" width="933" height="1110"><figcaption class="caption-body">JACOB JOSEFSON (IHA)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-01734/9461197-1-eng-US/f0041-012.jpg" title="f0041-01" width="232" height="233"></div>There is a sure-fire way to measure the depth of an organization: Look beyond the top 10 prospects to the kids in the system that did not make the list.That is how the Devils kept rolling in a season that saw numerous key veterans out for lengthy periods and Ilya Kovalchuk acquired in exchange for two players, a draft pick and top prospect Patrice Cormier.GM Lou Lamoriello and VP of operations David Conte smile when they speak of the prospects not in the top 10. &ldquo;Nick Palmieri didn&rsquo;t make the list,&rdquo; Conte said. &ldquo;Brandon Burlon, David MacIntyre and David Wohlberg are good, too.&rdquo;<h2>1 JACOB JOSEFSON, C, 18, Djurgarden (Swe.)</h2>OVERALL 376-0, 190, 33-6-11-17-18When the Devils made him their first pick last June, it was because he reminded them of former NHLer Patrik Sundstrom. Although Josefson had an impressive tournament at the WJC, where Sweden underachieved, he is still not a mature player and will not be rushed.An unselfish and unassuming type of forward (just like Sundstrom), he is responsible at both ends of the ice and will fit perfectly in with the Devils&rsquo; mentality. Djurgarden won the Nordic Trophy pre-season tournament primarily because of his offensive contributions.Acquired 2009 draft, 20th overall.<h2>2 MATTIAS TEDENBY, LW, 19, Jonkoping (Fin.)</h2>OVERALL 405-9, 170, 34-5-6-11-24Tedenby may be the best skater the organization has ever seen. His skating ability is to forwards as Scott Niedermayer&rsquo;s is to defensemen. He is an exceptionally dynamic player, as evidenced at the world juniors.Devils&rsquo; management is anxiously awaiting his arrival in North America because he is a rarity for the organization &ndash; someone who can get people out of their seats instead of just shutting opponents down. If his development continues, Tedenby could be in the Mats Naslund mold. At the least, they think they have another Brian Gionta.Acquired 2008 draft, 24th overall.<h2>3 MATT CORRENTE, D, 21, Lowell (AHL)</h2>6-0, 200, 21-3-10-13-46Mark Fraser, who is two years older, beat him to becoming an NHL regular, but the injury-plagued Devils had enough faith in Corrente&rsquo;s development to give him 10 games. He played with surprising poise for a physical style defenseman and impressed teammates with a Dec. 4 fight against Tampa Bay&rsquo;s Zenon Konopka.&ldquo;Matt plays with an edge. He&rsquo;s played well and he&rsquo;s played with confidence,&rdquo; said captain Jamie Langenbrunner. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s always good to have those guys on your side.&rdquo;Some might call him cocky. More time in the minors won&rsquo;t hurt as he improves his speed and timing.Acquired 2006 draft, 30th overall.<h2>4 ADAM HENRIQUE, C, 19, Windsor (OHL)</h2>6-0, 195, 39-29-28-57-39The Devils have had good success drafting skilled smaller forwards. Sergei Brylin played on three Cup winners and Zach Parise is their best forward right now.Henrique has some of both players in his game. He was an OHL scoring leader before the WJC and has a touch around the net that will only improve as he matures.He also has some of Brylin&rsquo;s versatility. Before he gets to the NHL, Henrique may add another dimension. Playing for Windsor coach Bob Boughner, he has added some toughness to his game.Henrique had one goal in six games for Canada at the world juniors.Acquired 2008 draft, 82nd overall.<h2>5 TYLER ECKFORD, D, 24, Lowell (AHL)</h2>6-1, 200, 40-8-19-27-16The future is now for this mature prospect who will be 25 by the start of next season.The late bloomer spent three years in college. He has had a fabulous second year with Lowell &ndash; on pace for more points than he had in any NCAA season &ndash; and was given full credit with an AHL All-Star Game inclusion.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s having a really good season production wise as well,&rdquo; Conte said.There&rsquo;s space on the New Jersey defense next season with Paul Martin and Mike Mottau slated to become UFAs in July. Eckford may not be a power play quarterback at the NHL level, but he does play an all-around game.Acquired 2004 draft, 217th overall.<h2>ON THE&nbsp;HORIZON</h2>THE NEXT FIVE<h3>6 MIKE HOEFFEL</h3>LW, 20, 6-3, 205Minnesota (WCHA)23-11-7-18-16Had led team in scoring, not typically his niche. A Dainius Zubrus type with heart.Acquired2007 draft, 57th overall<h3>7 MATT HALISCHUK</h3>RW, 21, 5-11, 185Lowell (AHL)13-4-7-11-0Injuries have slowed his progress. Needs to get stronger to compete at the NHL level.Acquired2007 draft, 117th overall<h3>8 ALEXANDER URBOM</h3>D, 19, 6-4, 215Brandon (WHL)48-7-18-25-56His overall game is as impressive as his size. A budding Kjell Samuelsson.Acquired2009 draft, 73rd overall<h3>9 ALEXANDER VASYUNOV</h3>LW, 21, 6-1, 205Lowell (AHL)48-12-15-27-6Crafty Russian has a good shot, but must use it more often.Acquired2006 draft, 58th overall<h3>10 JEFF FRAZEE</h3>G, 22, 6-0, 195Lowell (AHL)12-10-0, 2.44, 921Rebounding nicely after skate across throat cost him three weeks and a big scare.Acquired2005 draft, 38th overall &#9632;

f0041-02

OFFENSIVE FLARE COMING FOR DEVILS

<div class="byline">BY PETER BOTTE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-02494/9461228-1-eng-US/f0042-022.jpg" title="f0042-02" width="933" height="1122"><figcaption class="caption-body">CALVIN de HAAN (IAN GOODALL PHOTOGRAPHY)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-01774/9461235-1-eng-US/f0042-012.jpg" title="f0042-01" width="233" height="225"></div>A second straight year at the head of the draft lottery isn&rsquo;t in the Islanders&rsquo; immediate future. And that&rsquo;s not necessarily a bad thing for one of the league&rsquo;s most improved teams.As of late January, the Isles had 11 regulars playing at the NHL level aged 25 or under. That included recent first round picks John Tavares, Josh Bailey and Kyle Okposo, who comprised the team&rsquo;s increasingly productive first line as the Isles surged into playoff contention.There&rsquo;s more help on the way, as GM Garth Snow&rsquo;s staff have quickly replenished a fractured prospect base.<h2>1 CALVIN de HAAN, D, 18, Oshawa (OHL)</h2>OVERALL 286-0, 180, 34-5-19-24-14Playing for a middling Oshawa club has enabled the lauded puck-rusher to log heavy minutes in all situations this season and de Haan&rsquo;s inclusion on Team Canada at the world juniors was &ldquo;a huge feather for him,&rdquo; according to Isles assistant GM Ryan Jankowski.But de Haan, whom the Isles traded up to draft last June, sustained a torn labrum and underwent shoulder surgery in January, an injury with a six-month recovery time. &ldquo;The biggest thing is putting on weight in the summertime and becoming bigger and stronger,&rdquo; Jankowski said.Acquired 2009 draft, 12th overall.<h2>2 TRAVIS HAMONIC, D, 19, Brandon (WHL)</h2>OVERALL 616-2, 215, 31-10-29-39-48This fast-rising prospect also separated his shoulder, in Hamonic&rsquo;s case on a hit-from-behind at the world juniors, shelving him for up to two months. But a recent trade from Moose Jaw to Memorial Cup-host Brandon means Hamonic will surely be back in time to play important playoff games this spring.&ldquo;It was a disappointing setback for Travis,&rdquo; Jankowski said. &ldquo;But we couldn&rsquo;t have been more pleased with his development as a potential two-way and shutdown defenseman this season.&rdquo;Acquired 2008 draft, 53rd overall.<h2>3 MIKKO KOSKINEN, G, 21, Bridgeport (AHL)</h2>6-5, 187, 1-1-0, 2.45, .902It&rsquo;s been a disappointing first year in North America for the first pick in the second round last June. The towering Finnish netminder appeared in just two AHL games before undergoing major hip surgery that will probably keep him out until next season.&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t feel this will hold him up in any way,&rdquo; Jankowski said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s on the right track in his rehab and he still has a ton of raw tools to become a very good NHL goaltender. Just how raw a talent he is, and how big he is, and the potential he has, is what has is all very excited.&rdquo;A late bloomer, he went unselected in three drafts before getting nabbed last June.Acquired 2009 draft, 31st overall.<h2>4 JESSE JOENSUU, LW, 22, Bridgeport (AHL)</h2>6-4, 212, 44-10-19-29-32Power forwards, as we&rsquo;ve all heard time and again, take longer to develop. And being one from Europe, &ldquo;takes that notion a step further,&rdquo; Jankowski said.Following a decent late-season NHL stint last spring, Joensuu didn&rsquo;t make the Isles out of camp and endured a slow start with Bridgeport. With the numbers coming and his skating improving, the Finnish forward was rewarded with another seven-game NHL tour with the Isles in December.&ldquo;He has enough skill to contribute,&rdquo; Jankowski said. &ldquo;The more he develops with his physical game, the more versatile he&rsquo;s going to be.&rdquo;Acquired 2006 draft, 60th overall.<h2>5 KIRILL PETROV, RW, 19, AK Bars (Rus.)</h2>6-3, 198, 8-0-0-0-4No Islander prospect is debated more by the team&rsquo;s fan base than the skilled Russian winger who slipped to the third round in the &rsquo;08 draft because of obligations to the Kontinental League.Injuries and a lack of playing time led to his 2008-09 season being a wash, said Jankowski, who added that &ldquo;it was nice to see the old Kirill Petrov back&rdquo; in a strong performance at the WJC.&ldquo;(His contract situation) is the unknown,&rdquo; Jankowski said. &ldquo;Kirill, I believe in my heart, still wants to play in the NHL. But it&rsquo;s very tough to get any type of agreement or understanding of how long this is going to take.&rdquo;Acquired 2008 draft, 73rd overall.<h2>ON THE&nbsp;HORIZON</h2>THE NEXT FIVE<h3>6 MARK KATIC</h3>D, 20, 5-11, 185Bridgeport (AHL)47-3-11-14-16All-star designation in first pro season has him on fast track for Isles&rsquo; puck-moving system.Acquired2007 draft, 62nd overall<h3>7 MATT MARTIN</h3>LW, 20, 6-2, 192Bridgeport (AHL)51-8-8-16-91Late-bloomer has organization excited about adding a homegrown, physical type.Acquired2008 draft, 148th overall<h3>8 ULLSTROM</h3>RW, 20, 6-3, 198Jonkoping (Swe.)39-5-11-16-27A top-10 scorer in vet-laden Swedish League early on, but not getting prime ice time.Acquired2008 draft, 102nd overall<h3>9 AARON NESS</h3>D, 19, 5-10, 170Minnesota (WCHA)28-1-9-10-16This small, puck-moving backliner hasn&rsquo;t shown offensive production at college level.Acquired2008 draft, 40th overall<h3>10 RAKHSHANI</h3>RW, 21, 5-10, 180Denver (WCHA)26-17-16-33-24Good decision to return for senior season as captain and top scorer on powerful Pioneers.Acquired2006 draft, 100th overall &#9632;

f0042-02

YOUTH MOVEMENT CONTINUES FOR ISLES

<div class="byline">BY STEVE ZIPAY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-01760/9461273-1-eng-US/f0043-012.jpg" title="f0043-01" width="270" height="248"></div>With homegrown rookies Artem Anisimov and Michael Del Zotto contributing on Broadway this year, the Rangers&rsquo; recent drafts are helping to erase some of the blunders and unexpected misfortunes of the past. Right winger Alexei Cherepanov, for example, New York&rsquo;s No. 1 pick in 2007, would be on this list had he not died from a heart ailment during a game in Russia in 2008. As it stands, six of the Rangers&rsquo; best 10 prospects are Americans and Derek Stepan and Chris Kreider have vaulted to the top. Five are centers, as Evgeny Grachev has been shifted to wing.<h2>1 DEREK STEPAN, C, 19, Wisconsin (WCHA)</h2>OVERALL 166-0, 172, 24-6-23-29-6Stepan, who grew up in Hastings, Minn., and attended Shattuck-St. Mary&rsquo;s, punctuated his rise to the top spot with an outstanding performance as captain of the U.S. team that defeated Canada in the world juniors.He led all players with 14 points, including four goals, in seven games. Scouts describe him as playmaker in the mold of Craig Janney and Adam Oates.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know if I&rsquo;d put him in that category, but they can make a play at any time to win a game and that&rsquo;s what he showed,&rdquo; said director of player personnel Gordie Clark.Acquired 2008 draft, 51st overall.<h2>2 EVGENY GRACHEV, LW, 19, Hartford (AHL)</h2>OVERALL 216-4, 200, 49-11-12-23-14The Ontario League&rsquo;s rookie of the year last season with Brampton (40-40-80, plus-48 in 60 games) hasn&rsquo;t dominated in the AHL. In fact, the youngster has been inconsistent and disengaged at times. He has had five-and six-game stretches without a point and his adjustment to the pro game has been slower than expected.Rangers coach John Tortorella had suggested Grachev might get a look before the season ended, but the organization, which did not release him to play for Russia in the WJC, wants to let him prove himself at the minor pro level.Acquired 2008 draft, 75th overall.<h2>3 CHRIS KREIDER, C, 18, Boston Col. (HE)</h2>OVERALL 226-2, 205 19-4-3-7-10Considered the fastest skater available in last summer&rsquo;s draft, Kreider, a Boxford, Mass., native, may eventually be shifted to power forward if he continues to bulk up.Scouts say he can hit top speed in a few strides and has a huge shot that he gets off on the fly. Those skills were evident in the world juniors when he scored six goals for the U.S., third-most in the tourney.Kreider has made a smooth transition from prep school to a strong college program and is a regular contributor. Still raw, but has emotion and character and is described as an Eric Staal-type of player.Acquired 2009 draft, 19th overall.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-02524/9461266-1-eng-US/f0043-022.jpg" title="f0043-02" width="1384" height="1110"><figcaption class="caption-body">DEREK STEPAN (DAVID STLUKA)</figcaption></div><h2>4 RYAN McDONAGH,&nbsp;D, 20, Wisconsin (WCHA)</h2>OVERALL 676-1, 212 26-3-9-12-47The 2007 first-rounder, drafted No. 12 overall by Montreal, is continuing his development as a college junior. Considered a steal in the Scott Gomez trade/salary dump, McDonagh is a strong, tough two-way player who is unafraid to drop the gloves and excels on the penalty kill.McDonagh&rsquo;s exuberance can lead to costly penalties, however. The former Minnesota &lsquo;Mr. Hockey&rsquo; doesn&rsquo;t have the pure skills of Del Zotto or Bobby Sanguinetti, but could be a fine defensive complement to Marc Staal on the second pair someday. It&rsquo;s unclear whether he&rsquo;ll stay in Wisconsin or turn pro.Acquired Trade from Montreal, June 30, 2009.<h2>5 BOBBY SANGUINETTI, D, 21, Hartford (AHL)</h2>6-3, 190, 40-6-21-27-20Though he struggled in rigorous camp drills, Sanguinetti rebounded and his offensive skills can make him a fit in Tortorella&rsquo;s system, which emphasizes outlet passes, puck control and joining the rush.The New Jersey native is mobile, reliable in his own zone and has a low, hard shot from the point. The downside: He&rsquo;s not a punishing hitter.Sanguinetti played five NHL games in two callups in late November and December and was returned to the AHL. With the rise of Del Zotto and Matt Gilroy, however, and the potential of McDonagh, Sanguinetti could be used as a chip in a trade down the road.Acquired 2006 draft, 21st overall.<h2>ON THE&nbsp;HORIZON</h2>THE NEXT FIVE<h3>6 CHAD JOHNSON</h3>G, 23, 6-3, 200Hartford (AHL)14-8-2, 2.03, .930Showed plenty of poise in NHL debut and primed for backup role next season.AcquiredTrade with Pit, June &rsquo;09<h3>7 ETHAN WEREK</h3>C, 18, 6-0, 189Kingston (OHL)47-24-28-52-52The battle level remains high, continuing his point-per-game pace from last season.Acquired2009 draft, 47th overall<h3>8 SCOTT STAJCER</h3>G, 18, 6-3, 185Owen Sound (OHL)18-16-4, 3.47, .904Good size, needs work on positioning, but performing well for a middling team.Acquired2009 draft, 140th overall<h3>9 MIKE SAUER</h3>D, 22, 6-3, 200Hartford (AHL)42-3-9-12-45Gritty, steady and has size the Rangers need. Will get a long look at camp next season.Acquired2005 draft, 40th overall<h3>10 RYAN BOURQUE</h3>C, 19, 5-9, 175Quebec (QMJHL)37-13-22-35-16Slight but speedy, great vision and quickness; played checking role for U.S. at WJC.Acquired2009 draft, 80th overall &#9632;

f0043-01

YOUNG AMERICANS THE FUTURE OF NYR

<div class="byline">BY WAYNE FISH</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-01567/9461349-1-eng-US/f0045-012.jpg" title="f0045-01" width="311" height="234"></div>There are no first round draft picks on the Flyers&rsquo; top 10 prospect list, mainly because the most recent ones are either on their roster or were part of trades. But that&rsquo;s OK with GM Paul Holmgren, who sounds content to work on developing depth players.First-rounders Claude Giroux (2006) and James van Riemsdyk (2007) are making NHL contributions while Steve Downie (2005) and Luca Sbisa (2008), along with the 2009 pick, were packaged in trades.&ldquo;In this age, you need role players &ndash; third- and fourth-liners that (don&rsquo;t) tie up a lot of cap space,&rdquo; Holmgren said.<h2>1 JON KALINSKI, LW, 22, Adirondack (AHL)</h2>6-1, 175, 36-4-8-12-8After surviving a severe leg cut last season that only quick medical attention prevented from being life-threatening, Kalinski has recovered for a standout showing with the Phantoms this season.Always a strong two-way player, he holds the Minnesota State-Mankato University career shorthanded goal record with six. His versatility makes him an easy call-up.&ldquo;He understands his role at the NHL level,&rdquo; Holmgren said. &ldquo;His recovery was miraculous. For him to come back in (18 games) tells you something about the person.&rdquo;Acquired 2007 draft, 152nd overall.<h2>2 DAVID LALIBERTE, RW, 23, Adirondack (AHL)</h2>6-1, 198, 39-11-17-28-25There aren&rsquo;t too many players who can say they scored goals in their first two NHL games, but Laliberte can. A valuable recall from the Phantoms at times this season, he&rsquo;s shown a nice touch around the net, even occasionally playing on a line such as Jeff Carter&rsquo;s, which sees some of the best NHL defenses.&ldquo;The two goals were kind of a neat story, but David has also helped us as a two-way player&rdquo; Holmgren said of the St.-Liboire, Que., native&rsquo;s first 11 NHL games.Laliberte is an early call-up when injuries hit.Acquired 2004 draft, 124th overall.<h2>3 KEVIN MARSHALL, D, 21, A&rsquo;dack (AHL)</h2>6-1, 200, 43-2-1-3-49The day he was drafted, Marshall raised a few eyebrows by saying he wanted to be the next Chris Chelios. He certainly plays with a Chelios edge, having averaged 129 penalty minutes the past four Quebec League seasons with Lewiston and Quebec.&ldquo;You could say he&rsquo;s been a pleasant surprise for us his first year of pro,&rdquo; Holmgren said.&ldquo;When I call (Phantoms coach) Greg Gilbert and ask who he thinks his best defenseman is, he says Marshall. He&rsquo;s kind of an in-your-face, Danny Markov-type player.&rdquo;Marshall needs at least another year or two of seasoning.Acquired 2007 draft, 41st overall.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-02368/9461342-1-eng-US/f0045-022.jpg" title="f0045-02" width="933" height="1053"><figcaption class="caption-body">JON KALINSKI (ANDY CAMP)</figcaption></div><h2>4 JOONAS LEHTIVUORI, D, 21, A&rsquo;dack (AHL)</h2>5-11, 170, 35-3-9-12-10Lehtivuori has been a plus player most of the season on a Phantoms roster that&rsquo;s been filled with minuses.As for any NHL aspirations, his size will be an issue, but he has the skating ability and hockey sense to compensate. This is a bit of an adjustment year with it being his first outside of Finland.&ldquo;Joonas is what you would call a puck-skill defenseman,&rdquo; Holmgren said. &ldquo;He played in Finland for four years so he&rsquo;s probably a little more advanced than some of our other kids.&rdquo;Lehtivuori needs to add toughness and North American experience to his repertoire.Acquired 2006 draft, 101st overall.<h2>5 ANDREAS NODL, RW, 22, A&rsquo;dack (AHL)</h2>6-1, 196, 35-5-9-14-12Getting into 38 games with the Flyers last season and 10 this year has been an invaluable experience for the lanky winger.Nodl still needs to work on offense (he has just one goal during his two NHL stints), but the Vienna, Austria native continues to show promise in the minors.&ldquo;The times he&rsquo;s been up (to the NHL) he looked like he just didn&rsquo;t want to get scored upon, which is good,&rdquo; Holmgren said. &ldquo;But he has the ability to score &ndash; defensively he&rsquo;s fine, he just needs to gain confidence (scoring).&rdquo;Nodl averaged more than a point per game in two years at St. Cloud State.Acquired 2006 draft, 39th overall.<h2>ON THE&nbsp;HORIZON</h2>THE NEXT FIVE<h3>6 PATRICK MAROON</h3>LW, 21, 6-4, 225Adirondack (AHL)35-6-21-27-57Injuries have slowed his offensive production. Needs work on defense, conditioning.Acquired2007 draft, 161st overall<h3>7-A BOURDON</h3>D, 20, 6-0, 206Adirondack (AHL)44-1-9-10-47Has good puck skills and hockey sense, but must get in better physical shape.Acquired2008 draft, 67th overall<h3>8 SIMON BERTILSSON</h3>D, 18, 6-0, 185Brynas (Swe.)30-1-3-4-43Knee injury knocked him off Sweden&rsquo;s WJC team, but he&rsquo;s a solid two-way defender.Acquired2009 draft, 87th overall<h3>9 JOACIM ERIKSSON</h3>G, 19, 6-1, 189Brynas (Swe.)31 GP, 2.34, .928Big, quick and advanced enough to figure into 2010 Flyers training camp plans.Acquired2008 draft, 196th overall<h3>10 ADAM MORRISON</h3>G, 18, 6-3, 166Saskatoon (WHL)15-8-3, 3.12, .898Tall goalie struggling to repeat last year&rsquo;s numbers. Patterns his game after Cam Ward.Acquired2009 draft, 81st overall &#9632;

f0045-01

FARM FOCUS SHIFTS TO ROLE PLAYERS

<div class="byline">BY JIM GINTONIO</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-01567/9461387-1-eng-US/f0046-012.jpg" title="f0046-01" width="304" height="311"></div>The Coyotes have stockpiled several players in their system referred to as &ldquo;&lsquo;A&rsquo; assets&rdquo; by GM Don Maloney. Translation: Untouchables.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m excited about our future. We&rsquo;re talking about legitimate NHLers, not pie-in-the-sky thinking,&rdquo; Maloney said.From No. 1 prospect Kyle Turris to Mike Stone at No. 10, the Coyotes believe they&rsquo;re gathering the kind of talent that will serve them well in the future. The youth movement the Coyotes advanced in recent seasons is no more, as bringing players along slowly is the new mantra, even if it means some get the AHL-to-NHL-back-to-AHL treatment.<h2>1 OLIVER EKMAN-LARSSON, D, 18, Leksand (Swe.)</h2>OVERALL 36-2, 176, 31-6-10-16-78Ekman-Larsson is right where the Coyotes hoped he would be at this point, according to director of amateur scouting, Keith Gretzky. A strong skater who moves the puck well, the main area of concern is strength. He has the intangibles that top defensemen possess.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s an elite skater,&rdquo; Maloney said.International Scouting Services praises his shot, although he has trouble getting it off at times. Another strong point, scouts say, is his &ldquo;great transitional offensive ability&rdquo; and he&rsquo;s someone who can start the rush quickly.Acquired 2009 draft, 6th overall.<h2>2 KYLE TURRIS, C, 20, San Antonio (AHL)</h2>OVERALL 126-1, 185, 43-10-19-29-30In a word, toughness. That&rsquo;s probably the main thing the highly skilled Turris had working against him both in his time up with the Coyotes last season and during training camp with a new coach. Maloney calls it &ldquo;physical maturity&rdquo; and believes Turris has taken steps toward that.His demotion to the AHL is something some may wonder about, but Maloney said the organization has &ldquo;no doubt whatsoever he&rsquo;s going to be a good player for a long time in this league. He&rsquo;s very shifty, he&rsquo;s developing. He&rsquo;s exactly where he needs to be at this stage of his career.&rdquo;Acquired 2007 draft, 3rd overall.<h2>3 MIKKEL BOEDKER, RW, 19, S. Antonio (AHL)</h2>OVERALL 145-11, 200 34-4-9-13-2Boedker, who showed progress as a rookie two seasons ago, is primed to become a potent offensive weapon. He has excellent speed and it would not be difficult to envision him on a line with fellow Phoenix speedsters Scottie Upshall and Matthew Lombardi.Boedker&rsquo;s level of physical play is also progressing. Maloney said he would not be surprised to see Boedker make another trip to the NHL &ldquo;at some point in the near future,&rdquo; adding he needs to continue to mature mentally to understand what it takes to be a top-six forward on a winning team.Acquired 2008 draft, 8th overall.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-02358/9461380-1-eng-US/f0046-022.jpg" title="f0046-02" width="933" height="1127"><figcaption class="caption-body">OLIVER EKMAN-LARSSON (IHA)</figcaption></div><h2>4 MAX GONCHAROV, D, 20, CSKA (Rus.)</h2>OVERALL 446-0, 176 46-4-12-16-32Once he gets the chance &ndash; and it may come a lot sooner than many think &ndash; Goncharov could evolve rapidly into a top NHL performer. The physical part of the game is not a concern; it&rsquo;s more the transition from the KHL to the NHL.Physically he&rsquo;s a man, Maloney says, and he points to this as the next stage of his development: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s more a mental (thing) of how is he adjusting to the small rink and quick tempo over here.&rdquo;His skating is good and he can make an immediate impact once he makes the move up. &ldquo;Certainly nobody would be surprised,&rdquo; Maloney said.&rdquo; He&rsquo;s a terrific prospect.&rdquo;Acquired 2007 draft, 123rd overall.<h2>5 KEVIN PORTER, RW, 23, S. Antonio (AHL)</h2>5-11, 195, 38-11-19-30-25Porter has the potential to be a solid NHL player, which he has shown during his call-ups the past two seasons. The former Hobey Baker Award winner from Michigan has shown skill in various phases of the game and has no reluctance to do some of the dirty work.Mainly due to a numbers game, he has not had the extended opportunity to get into a 10-game-plus situation with the same line. While a good player in his own right, Maloney is convinced Porter can play with top players in a support role.&ldquo;He can make plays, kill penalties, hasn&rsquo;t quite found that regular niche yet,&rdquo; he said.Acquired 2004 draft, 119th overall.<h2>ON THE&nbsp;HORIZON</h2>THE NEXT FIVE<h3>6 BRETT MACLEAN</h3>LW, 22, 6-2, 200San Antonio (AHL)45-20-15-35-28Maturing physically, he continues to hone his game. Exhibiting a deft scoring touch.Acquired2007 draft, 32nd overall<h3>7 VIKTOR TIKHONOV</h3>LW, 21, 6-1, 190Severstal (KHL)18-10-2-12-6Excellent instincts for the game, but not ready for the grind of a full NHL season.Acquired2008 draft, 28th overall<h3>8 CHRIS SUMMERS</h3>D, 21, 6-2, 180Michigan (CCHA)28-2-10-12-22Skates well, strong and competitive. Summers just needs pro seasoning.Acquired2006 draft, 29th overall<h3>9 DAVID SCHLEMKO</h3>D, 22, 6-1, 195San Antonio (AHL)26-1-8-9-12Game is suited for the &ldquo;new&rdquo; NHL as a big, brawny defenseman; moves the puck well.AcquiredFree agent, July 19, &rsquo;07<h3>10 MIKE STONE</h3>D, 19, 6-3, 200Calgary (WHL)51-15-31-46-68A right-handed shot, has shown good two-way tendencies on solid Hitmen team.Acquired2008 draft, 69th overall &#9632;

f0046-01

THE SAN ANTONIO TREATMENT

<div class="byline">BY JOE STARKEY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-01522/9461425-1-eng-US/f0047-012.jpg" title="f0047-01" width="304" height="273"></div>In a salary cap world, every team has to make tough choices. The Penguins have allocated mega resources up the middle of their roster lately. It&rsquo;s hard to argue with that decision &ndash; they are the defending Cup champions &ndash; but it left some hard-to-fill holes on the wings.GM Ray Shero has been attempting to fill those holes mostly with short-term, veteran acquisitions. At some point, the Pens will look inward for players to skate with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal. It&rsquo;s no coincidence, then, that three of the top four prospects and five of the top 10 are wingers, including a few former pivots.<h2>1 ERIC TANGRADI, LW, 20, Wilkes-Barre (AHL)</h2>OVERALL 656-4, 221, 39-10-11-21-15Imagine a bigger Chris Kunitz. Some see it when they watch Tangradi, who plays an aggressive, fearless game. He&rsquo;s not going to dangle the puck or beat anyone from 40 feet, but he projects as a good, honest power forward who does his best work in front of the net banging bodies and scoring garbage goals.Tangradi shown a nice set of hands in his first pro season. On one goal, he was at point-blank range and softly lobbed the puck over the fallen goaltender. Has shown no ill affects from an horrific wrist injury last season.Acquired Trade with Anaheim, Feb. 26, 2009.<h2>2 LUCA CAPUTI, LW, 21, Wilkes-Barre (AHL)</h2>6-3, 200, 41-18-16-34-47Caputi&rsquo;s biggest challenge is to make himself stronger and he&rsquo;s made progress since last season, when he got an eye-opening initiation to the NHL.&ldquo;When I was 192 pounds going to the corner with (Mike) Komisarek, it was like, &lsquo;This guy&rsquo;s going to throw me through the boards,&rsquo;&rdquo; Caputi said.That experience prompted him to add 10 pounds of bulk during the off-season. Now he might land in front of the net on the Pens&rsquo; power play some day. He was leading Wilkes-Barre in power play goals this season.Acquired 2007 draft, 111th overall.<h2>3 SIMON DESPRES, D, 18, St. John (QMJHL)</h2>6-4, 205, 46-8-26-34-58Playing for one of junior&rsquo;s best teams, Despres is proving the Penguins correct in their assessment of him as a future stalwart, even if his stats aren&rsquo;t mind-blowing.&ldquo;The defensive part of the game is what he needs to learn,&rdquo; said Pens director of amateur scouting Jay Heinbuck. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s adequate and as long as he becomes a solid puck-moving defenseman, that&rsquo;s what we&rsquo;re looking for.&rdquo;Despres is learning the nuances of how to defend properly, including his angles of approach. Sufficed to say, the Pens want him to play a safer game in his own zone. Not so different from Tangradi, just a bit smaller.Acquired 2009 draft, 30th overall.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-02341/9461418-1-eng-US/f0047-022.jpg" title="f0047-02" width="933" height="1100"><figcaption class="caption-body">ERIC TANGRADI (AFC MEDIA)</figcaption></div><h2>4 DUSTIN JEFFREY, LW, 21, WB/S (AHL)</h2>6-3, 199, 44-14-33-47-14Jeffrey has re-invented himself, morphing from a checking-line center last season into a winger who ranks among the AHL scoring leaders this season.Wilkes-Barre lost most of its top offensive weapons from last year, so management told Jeffrey to focus on scoring. He complied. He isn&rsquo;t a classic sniper, but generates many of his opportunities from creating turnovers and odd-man breaks.His skating won&rsquo;t remind anyone of Pavel Bure, but he&rsquo;s adequate and a better skater than either Caputi or Tangradi. Ultimately, his versatility will open a door at the NHL level for him.Acquired 2007 draft, 171st overall.<h2>5 PHILIP SAMUELSSON, D, 18, Boston Col. (HE)</h2>6-3, 198, 24-1-8-9-22He&rsquo;s getting plenty of ice time for a true freshman and is making the most of it, playing an abrasive game that reminds some observers of his father &ndash; long-time NHL thumper Ulf Samuelsson.&ldquo;He plays a tenacious brand of defense, just like his father,&rdquo; Heinbuck said. &ldquo;The coaches have nothing but good things to say about his work ethic and development.&rdquo;The Penguins want Samuelsson to work on his skating and by all accounts, it has improved so far this season. The team projects him as a solid, defensive defensemen with an ability to move the puck quickly &ndash; and make some people hurt.Acquired 2009 draft, 61st overall.<h2>ON THE&nbsp;HORIZON</h2>THE NEXT FIVE<h3>6 ROBERT BORTUZZO</h3>D, 20, 6-4, 207Wilkes-Barre (AHL)46-2-8-10-73Injured most of last season, he has bounced back, using long reach to kill penalties.Acquired2007 draft, 78th overall<h3>7 BRIAN STRAIT</h3>D, 22, 6-1, 200Wilkes-Barre (AHL)45-1-9-10-28Rebounded from rough camp. Good skater, sturdy defender with limited offensive skills.Acquired2006 draft, 65th overall<h3>8 BEN HANOWSKI</h3>LW, 19, 6-2, 198St. Cloud State (WCHA)28-6-7-13-9Making difficult transition from high-scoring high-school center to college winger.Acquired2009 draft, 63rd overall<h3>9 KEVEN VEILLEUX</h3>RW, 20, 6-5, 218Wilkes-Barre (AHL)9-2-1-3-12Succumbed to shoulder surgery after showing promise in conversion from center.Acquired2007 draft, 51st overall<h3>10 ALEX VELISCHEK</h3>D, 19, 6-0, 200Providence (HE)25-1-8-9-34Nice surprise, playing big minutes as a freshman, ultra-confident with puck.Acquired2009 draft, 123rd overall &#9632;

f0047-01

PENS HOPEFULS EAGER TO FILL GAPS

<div class="byline">BY JEREMY RUTHERFORD</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-01401/9461463-1-eng-US/f0048-012.jpg" title="f0048-01" width="304" height="260"></div>The Blues might not want their NHL roster to get any younger in 2010-11, but they may have no choice. Former prospects T.J. Oshie, David Perron, Roman Polak, Patrik Berglund and Erik Johnson are all growing into key components on the team, which has one of the youngest nuclei in the league.The Blues will only get greener next season when top prospect Alex Pietrangelo joins the team full-time.With the expected departure of veterans Keith Tkachuk and Paul Kariya, the Blues will also have room up front for No. 2 prospect Lars Eller.<h2>1 ALEX PIETRANGELO, D, 20, Barrie (OHL)</h2>OVERALL 16-2, 208, 9-2-7-9-6Pietrangelo&rsquo;s road to the NHL continues to be winding, but he is miles closer now than he was last year.After playing eight NHL games last season then returning to junior, Pietrangelo was stronger both physically and mentally in his nine-game trial with the Blues this year.The Blues couldn&rsquo;t pass up the opportunity to give him playing time at the world juniors. Pietrangelo shined, earning the award for the tournament&rsquo;s top defenseman to go along with a silver medal. Afterwards, Pietrangelo was sent back to junior and traded to Barrie from Niagara.Acquired 2008 draft, 4th overall.<h2>2 JAKE ALLEN, G, 19, Drummondville (QMJHL)</h2>OVERALL 456-0, 178, 15-12-1, 2.41, .908Allen is the top goaltending prospect in the organization. Much of his fanfare stems from his international play, not his performance in the Quebec League.A year after being left off Canada&rsquo;s roster for the world juniors, Allen was the starting netminder for his country at this year&rsquo;s tournament. Allen was outstanding before being yanked in the championship game against the U.S. The Blues say the experience Allen gained outweighed the disappointment of the final night. After the WJC, Allen was dealt to Drummondville by Montreal.Acquired 2008 draft, 34th overall.<h2>3 LARS ELLER, C, 20, Peoria (AHL)</h2>OVERALL 466-1, 198 39-7-25-32-40Eller made a commitment to play in North America this season and that commitment is paying off.He spent the past two seasons in the Swedish Elite League, but vowed to play in the AHL this season if he didn&rsquo;t make the Blues&rsquo; roster out of training camp.Off-season shoulder surgery and an illness kept Eller off the ice in camp, negating the small chance he had of making the team. But he willingly went to Peoria and quickly became the hardnosed, skilled forward the club drafted, earning himself a selection to the AHL All-Star Game in the process.Acquired 2007 draft, 13th overall.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-02254/9461456-1-eng-US/f0048-022.jpg" title="f0048-02" width="1389" height="1131"><figcaption class="caption-body">ALEX PIETRANGELO (TERRY WILSON PHOTOGRAPHY)</figcaption></div><h2>4 IAN COLE, D, 20, N. Dame (CCHA)</h2>OVERALL 756-1, 217 24-3-12-15-43Cole decided to return to Notre Dame for his junior season, a decision the Blues understood, but were disappointed by.Cole wanted to get closer to earning his college degree and meanwhile gain more ice time in key situations. The Blues felt that his game could have developed more playing in the AHL.No one can fault Cole for making a decision based on the right reasons, but his performance this season at Notre Dame leveled off and his numbers dropped.Cole will almost assuredly turn pro after his current campaign.Acquired 2007 draft, 18th overall.<h2>5 DAVID RUNDBLAD, D, 19, Skelleftea (Swe.)</h2>6-2, 189, 37-1-8-9-10Rundblad was the third defenseman drafted in the past four years who was picked to help ensure a strong puck-moving ability from the blueline.Before Rundblad, the Blues took Erik Johnson in 2006 and Alex Pietrangelo in 2008. While Johnson and Pietrangelo are both expected to be with the Blues next season, Rundblad&rsquo;s arrival will take a little longer.He played his second full season in Sweden&rsquo;s top league this year. After a slow start, he made strides in his game and then took another step with a decent performance for Sweden at the world juniors.Acquired 2009 draft, 17th overall.<h2>ON THE&nbsp;HORIZON</h2>THE NEXT FIVE<h3>6 BRETT PONICH</h3>D, 18, 6-6, 225Portland (WHL)52-1-11-12-71Behemoth rearguard has soared up the list, but still considered a work in progress.Acquired2009 draft, 48th overall<h3>7 BEN BISHOP</h3>G, 23, 6-7, 220Peoria (AHL)14-9-3, 2.73, .904Has answered questions about his potential by improving his fitness and competitiveness.Acquired2005 draft, 85th overall<h3>8 JONAS JUNLAND</h3>D, 22, 6-2, 195Peoria (AHL)47-10-20-30-30Was AHL all-star for the second straight year, but needs more strength for next level.Acquired2006 draft, 64th overall<h3>9 PHILIP MCRAE</h3>C, 19, 6-1, 192Plymouth (OHL)41-15-28-43-52McRae gained invaluable experience helping the U.S. win gold at the WJC.Acquired2008 draft, 33rd overall<h3>10 AARON PALUSHAJ</h3>RW, 20, 5-11, 185Peoria (AHL)35-3-15-18-18Had an outstanding NHL camp, but is now learning the AHL is a tough league as well.Acquired2007 draft, 44th overall &#9632;

f0048-01

WORLD EXPERIENCE INVALUABLE TO BLUES

<div class="byline">BY DAVID POLLAK</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-01367/9461501-1-eng-US/f0049-012.jpg" title="f0049-01" width="317" height="259"></div>San Jose Sharks GM Doug Wilson was in a good mood. At that moment, his NHL team was first overall and his development team in Worcester was &ndash; if only for a brief time &ndash; about to occupy the top spot in the Atlantic Division of the American League.&ldquo;To have teams that are at the top of both their leagues indicates something,&rdquo; Wilson said.Even without many early draft picks in recent years, the Sharks have been able to re-stock their roster with homegrown talent or use that talent as trade bait to help close deals for players such as Dan Boyle.<h2>1 LOGAN COUTURE, C, 21, Worcester (AHL)</h2>OVERALL 366-1, 195, 33-18-27-45-8Ask about Couture and the first thing you hear about is his ability to play well in all three zones with a comparison made to Joe Pavelski. Then there&rsquo;s a mention of Couture&rsquo;s good hockey sense and vision on the ice.&ldquo;He doesn&rsquo;t have blinding speed,&rdquo; said Sharks director of scouting Tim Burke, &ldquo;but he knows where to be and he&rsquo;s a step ahead, and that makes up for it.&rdquo;Adjusting to the pro game has meant learning to take hits and play off them. &ldquo;Let him grow up and get stronger,&rdquo; said Sharks assistant GM Wayne Thomas.Acquired 2007 draft, 9th overall.<h2>2 NICK PETRECKI, D, 21, Worcester (AHL)</h2>6-4, 220, 46-1-7-8-73At Boston College, Nick Petrecki dominated games as a bruising physical defenseman who could contribute goals as well. And though his first year as a pro has been more of a learning experience, the Sharks have faith he&rsquo;ll be the real deal once he&rsquo;s made the adjustments.&ldquo;There was a time at the beginning of the season when he was over-physical,&rdquo; Burke said. &ldquo;Now he&rsquo;s getting a balance. His stick is better, his positioning is better.&rdquo;Petrecki&rsquo;s physical game won&rsquo;t suffer &ndash; not with Sharks scout Bryan Marchment working on his development.Acquired 2007 draft, 28th overall.<h2>3 DEREK JOSLIN, D, 23, Worcester (AHL)</h2>6-1, 210, 27-1-14-15-17The Sharks think Derek Joslin will be holding down a spot on an NHL blueline sooner rather than later.There wasn&rsquo;t much doubt in-house about Joslin&rsquo;s offensive potential after he averaged better than a half-point per game with the Ottawa 67&rsquo;s of the Ontario League.It didn&rsquo;t hurt his cause when his shot was the hardest in the skills competition at the 2009 American League All-Star Game. But it&rsquo;s his play in his own zone that is getting praised now.&ldquo;We feel his defensive game has really come on and we like where he&rsquo;s at,&rdquo; Burke said. &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t want to rush him.&rdquo;Acquired 2005 draft, 149th overall.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-02271/9461494-1-eng-US/f0049-022.jpg" title="f0049-02" width="933" height="1052"><figcaption class="caption-body">LOGAN COUTURE (WORCESTER SHARKS)</figcaption></div><h2>4 STEVEN ZALEWSKI, LW, 24, Worcester (AHL)</h2>5-11, 190, 46-17-28-45-7Some in the Sharks organization thought Zalewski had a chance to be one of the rare players who could leap to the NHL right out of college, but that didn&rsquo;t happen when he left Clarkson in 2008.Then, his first professional year was only so-so as he divided time between center and wing.&ldquo;He was good defensively,&rdquo; Burke said, &ldquo;but he didn&rsquo;t put up the offensive numbers he probably thought he should.&rdquo;This season has been a different story. Zalewski earned a spot at wing on Worcester&rsquo;s top line and &ldquo;has really come on,&rdquo; Thomas said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s really comfortable there and putting up points.&rdquo;Acquired 2005 draft, 153rd overall.<h2>5 PATRIK ZACKRISSON, LW, 23, Linkoping (Swe.)</h2>5-11, 187, 42-15-15-30-20Remaining in Europe, Zackrisson flies somewhat under the radar in an organization that routinely has been bringing prospects up from Worcester for a taste of life in the NHL this season.But his development has been monitored closely.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a smart, offensive player,&rdquo; Burke said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a possession type guy who can make plays and score.&rdquo;On the other hand, Zackrisson likely would still need to make a big adjustment to the North American game as far as playing without the puck.&ldquo;The defensive part of the game over there is more a positional thing than a grinding kind of the thing,&rdquo; Burke said.Acquired 2007 draft, 165th overall.<h2>ON THE&nbsp;HORIZON</h2>THE NEXT FIVE<h3>6 TYSON SEXSMITH</h3>G, 21, 5-11, 210Worcester (AHL)3-5-1, 4.14, .850Early physical setback. Learning how to be part of tandem and not the go-to guy.Acquired2007 draft, 91st overall<h3>7 WILLIAM WRENN</h3>D, 19, 6-1, 190Denver (WCHA)20-0-6-6-34Getting regular minutes and earning trust as freshman on NCAA&rsquo;s top-ranked team.Acquired2009 draft, 43rd overall<h3>8 TAYLOR DOHERTY</h3>D, 19, 6-7, 220Kingston (OHL)49-12-17-29-80Plays physical, but still learning to use size. Surprisingly good offensive numbers.Acquired2009 draft, 57th overall<h3>9 JULIEN DEMERS</h3>D, 21, 6-0, 200Ottawa (OHL)39-3-14-17-33Big and physical with a mean streak, pretty good offensive blend. Has leadership traits.Acquired2008 draft, 146th overall<h3>10 SAMUEL GROULX</h3>D, 20, 6-2, 175Victoriaville (QMJHL)51-14-21-35-50Velcro-like checking competitor, showing offensive side for the first time.Acquired2008 draft, 92nd overall &#9632;

f0049-01

SHARK TANK READY FOR THE NEXT CALL

<div class="byline">BY DAMIAN CRISTODERO</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-01350/9461539-1-eng-US/f0050-012.jpg" title="f0050-01" width="295" height="293"></div>Baby steps. That is what the Lightning took last year in what is expected to be a long process to rebuild its minor league system after a decade of dreadful drafting that left the cupboard bare.The results look promising. Defenseman Victor Hedman, taken second overall, is playing big NHL minutes. And 2009 draftees such as Carter Ashton, Alex Hutchings, Jaroslav Janus and Richard Panik are opening eyes.It is at goaltender, though, where Tampa Bay has made its mark. Three of its top-10 prospects are goalies: Janus, Karri Ramo and Dustin Tokarski.<h2>1 CARTER ASHTON, RW, 18, Regina (WHL)</h2>OVERALL 716-3, 205, 47-20-19-39-84The winger was so good during camp, there was talk he&rsquo;d make the big club. Instead, Tampa signed him to an entry-level deal and returned him to junior, where he has flourished, first for Lethbridge and now Regina.Big and strong, Tampa Bay sees Ashton as another Ryan Malone; a guy who can get in front of the net, be physical and disrupt. According to head scout Darryl Plandowski, the only thing holding him back is experience.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to take a couple of years, but his potential is really good,&rdquo; Plandowski said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re excited about him.&rdquo;Acquired 2009 draft, 29th overall.<h2>2 KARRI RAMO, G, 23, Omsk (Rus.)</h2>6-2, 192, 21-15-2, 2.00, .916The Lightning felt the sting when Ramo, after his entry-level contract expired, bolted for Russia. But things may work out yet for the team and the big Finn. Ramo signed a two-year deal in the KHL, but can opt out after one and that seemed to be his plan.Tampa believes it will ultimately get a more polished and battle-tested goalie who has calmed his game from the flop-o-rama it used to be. With regular work, Ramo has shone in Russia.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s maturing,&rdquo; Plandowski said.Acquired 2004 draft, 191st overall.<h2>3 RICHARD PANIK, RW, 18, Belleville (OHL)</h2>6-2, 203, 44-12-12-24-29Talk about coming out of nowhere. Panik was a revelation during the Lightning&rsquo;s rookie camp and he continued to impress at training camp.All &ldquo;power and skill,&rdquo; according to Plandowski, Panik skates well and is not afraid to be physical or get to the net against big defensemen.Tampa is very impressed with Panik and the prognosis is that he will be a top-six player. GM Brian Lawton has said Panik could challenge for an NHL spot next season.Originally with Windsor, Panik was traded to Belleville, where the Slovak&rsquo;s acclimation to the North American game continues, not to mention his learning of English.Acquired 2009 draft, 52nd overall.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-02251/9461532-1-eng-US/f0050-022.jpg" title="f0050-02" width="1370" height="1141"><figcaption class="caption-body">CARTER ASHTON (GJ PHOTOGRAPHY)</figcaption></div><h2>4 DUSTIN TOKARSKI, G, 20, Norfolk (AHL)</h2>5-11, 185 16-13-0, 2.51, .917Tokarski has had to battle for his entire career, it seems, the perception that his relative lack of height is a detriment to a goaltender. But Tokarski has overcome that with a commitment to technical excellence.Goalie coach Cap Raeder has marveled at how quiet Tokarski&rsquo;s game is. There&rsquo;s no flopping and little of the adventurism from the net that marks so many young goalies. Instead, Tokarski stays square to the puck. His quickness handles the rest.That explains how he went from major junior to Norfolk&rsquo;s No. 1 with little trouble, leaping past fast-falling Riku Helenius, the 15th pick in 2006.Acquired 2008 draft, 122nd overall.<h2>5 ALEX HUTCHINGS, LW, 19, Barrie (OHL)</h2>5-10, 173, 49-33-23-56-45Here is all one needs to know about Hutchings, according to Plandowski: &ldquo;He has great speed, skill and can shoot the puck.&rdquo;One other thing that Plandowski admits: Hutchings has to learn to overcome that at 5-foot-10, he is relatively small and needs to maximize his strength. In other words, don&rsquo;t be surprised if Hutchings&rsquo; development takes a bit longer. But there is no denying his ability to affect a game at the junior level as he is scoring more than a point a game.&ldquo;His ability to score goals and create and skate, we are very high on him in those areas,&rdquo; Plandowski said.Acquired 2009 draft, 93rd overall.<h2>ON THE&nbsp;HORIZON</h2>THE NEXT FIVE<h3>6 JAROSLAV JANUS</h3>G, 20, 5-11, 192Norfolk (AHL)2-6-0, 2.40, .910His fast rise was another reason Tampa Bay shipped Riku Helenius to Sweden.Acquired2009 draft, 162nd overall<h3>7 BLAIR JONES</h3>C, 23, 6-2, 193Norfolk (AHL)36-6-16-22-12Jones must get stronger and hone defensive skills, especially as a penalty-killer.Acquired2005 draft, 102nd overall<h3>8 TY WISHART</h3>D, 21, 6-4, 205Norfolk (AHL)48-7-14-21-36Offense has developed nicely, but needs to improve play away from puck.AcquiredTrade with SJ, July 4, &rsquo;08<h3>9 DANA TYRELL</h3>C, 20, 6-1, 175Norfolk (AHL)43-2-9-11-12The heart-and-soul player is still finding his way after a broken leg in 2008.Acquired2007 draft, 47th overall<h3>10 MATT LASHOFF</h3>D, 23, 6-2, 205Norfolk (AHL)43-4-7-11-63Holding him back, Plandowski said, is &ldquo;experience&rdquo; and &ldquo;learning the game.&rdquo;AcquiredTrade with Bos, March 4, &rsquo;09 &#9632;

f0050-01

A GRADUAL RISE FROM THE ASHES

<div class="byline">BY MIKE ZEISBERGER</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-01298/9461577-1-eng-US/f0051-012.jpg" title="f0051-01" width="274" height="268"></div>When GM Brian Burke dealt away four forwards and a reliable blueliner on the final day of January, it meant some prospects in the system would get their opportunity down the stretch in 2009-10.The dealing of Matt Stajan, Niklas Hagman and Jamal Mayers to Calgary and Jason Blake to Anaheim opened the door for the Tyler Bozaks, Viktor Stalbergs and Christian Hansons of the system to make it work in the NHL now.For the purposes of Future Watch and during the early days of January, they were considered prospects and that&rsquo;s why you see them on this list.<h2>1 NAZEM KADRI, C, 19, London (OHL)</h2>OVERALL 136-0, 170, 39-26-37-63-85The speedy, offensively gifted Kadri practically was made into a folk hero during his outstanding training camp with the Leafs, leaving many &ndash; including Kadri &ndash; disappointed when he was returned to junior.It was the right move.According to Leafs coach Ron Wilson, Kadri needs to &ldquo;beef up&rdquo; to physically survive among the men of the NHL. Still a relative beanpole, Kadri&rsquo;s efforts to add muscle will mean a spot with the Leafs next season.A nice performance at the world juniors only helps.Acquired 2009 draft, 7th overall.<h2>2 TYLER BOZAK, C, 23, Toronto (AHL)</h2>OVERALL 426-1, 195, 32-4-16-20-6Blue-chip college free agent Bozak probably figured his path from Denver to the NHL would be a quick one. Not so. Bozak did enjoy a strong camp only to find there was no roster spot for him. Shipped to the Marlies, life was hardly smooth on the farm.First he lost 12 pounds when felled by the H1N1 flu. Then came a nagging ankle injury. He needs to bulk up and has been doing that by becoming nutrition conscious.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t eat out as much,&rdquo; Bozak said.Bozak was called up for good in January.Acquired Signed as a free agent, April 4, 2009.<h2>3 VIKTOR STALBERG, LW, 24, Toronto (AHL)</h2>OVERALL 506-3, 210 29-11-17-28-28If ever there was a poster child for an extremely talented kid whose confidence has been siphoned, it&rsquo;s Stalberg.After wowing fans and management during the pre-season, Stalberg started with the Leafs. A prospect with the rare combination of a big body and blinding speed, he had some great scoring chances early on, but could not find the back of the net.That led to a number of stints with the Marlies. Then there were injury woes, including a shoulder ailment.Stalberg&rsquo;s makeup of hustle and muscle will make him a special NHLer down the road.Acquired 2006 draft, 161st overall.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-02215/9461570-1-eng-US/f0051-022.jpg" title="f0051-02" width="1048" height="1114"><figcaption class="caption-body">NAZEM KADRI (OHL IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h2>4 CARL GUNNARSSON, D, 23, Toronto (AHL)</h2>6-2, 196, 12-0-2-2-2Ex-Leafs GM John Ferguson still is slagged in Toronto, but Burke feels he deserves at least one pat on the back for bringing Gunnarsson into the fold.&ldquo;Ferguson unjustly takes a lot of heat in this town, but he deserves credit for drafting a kid like this,&rdquo; Burke said of the young Swede who still has hiccups in his game. The physical North American style sometimes takes its toll on him, an obstacle management hopes he can overcome.Since returning from a 22-game absence due to an elbow injury, Gunnarson has found himself playing the point for the Leafs on the power play.Acquired 2007 draft, 194th overall.<h2>5 CHRISTIAN HANSON, RW, 23, Toronto (AHL)</h2>6-4, 228, 30-12-17-29-31New York Jets coach Rex Ryan is a huge fan of the Leafs and the movie Slap Shot. So when he heard Christian Hanson, son of Slap Shot star Dave Hanson, was in the system, Ryan had one question &ndash; &ldquo;Does he put on the foil like his dad?&rdquo;We don&rsquo;t think so, but he does put on his work boots almost every night.Hanson earns his keep primarily by being a grinder and budding power forward. There is some offensive talent there, too, but points certainly don&rsquo;t come as effortless as they do for the Kadris and Bozaks.Hanson&rsquo;s work ethic was on display during a brief stint with the Leafs.Acquired Signed as a free agent, March 31, 2009.<h2>ON THE&nbsp;HORIZON</h2>THE NEXT FIVE<h3>6 JAMES REIMER</h3>G, 21, 6-2, 208Toronto (AHL)6-1-1, 2.29, .925Big kid who likes to challenge shooters. Lower body injury has kept him sidelined.Acquired2006 draft, 99th overall<h3>7 PHILIPPE PARADIS</h3>C, 19, 6-1, 205Shawinigan (QMJHL)49-18-18-36-78Physical forward not afraid to get nose dirty. Needs to polish up his finishing skills.AcquiredTrade with Car, Dec, &rsquo;09<h3>8 KEITH AULIE</h3>D, 20, 6-6, 208Abbotsford (AHL)43-2-4-6-32Slow and steady development has helped the big D-man, who skates well for his size.AcquiredTrade with Cgy, Jan, &rsquo;10<h3>9 JURAJ MIKUS</h3>D, 21, 6-4, 185Toronto (AHL)45-3-14-17-22Still needs to fill out. Scouts impressed by puckhandling skills for a big man.Acquired2007 draft, 134th overall<h3>10 JERRY D&rsquo;AMIGO</h3>RW, 18, 5-11, 196RPI (ECAC)24-8-14-22-12WJC was coming-out party, scoring five times in final three games to help U.S. to gold.Acquired2009 draft, 158th overall &#9632;

f0051-01

THE FUTURE IS NOW FOR MAPLE LEAF BUDS

<div class="byline">BY ELLIOTT PAP</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-01293/9461615-1-eng-US/f0052-012.jpg" title="f0052-01" width="304" height="296"></div>After two drafts by the Mike Gillis regime, the Vancouver Canucks have made it clear they are putting skill above all else in their efforts to build up the organization&rsquo;s talent pool.Gillis&rsquo;s two first round picks &ndash; Cody Hodgson in 2008 and Jordan Schroeder in &lsquo;09 &ndash; are small by NHL standards. But these players, both centers, are projected to be offensive dynamos once they reach the NHL.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s easier to teach defensive responsibility than it is to teach a guy how to be really creative offensively,&rdquo; said Dave Gagner, the Canucks&rsquo; director of player development.<h2>1 CODY HODGSON, C, 19, Brampton (OHL)</h2>OVERALL 46-0, 185, injuredThere isn&rsquo;t any progress to report on Hodgson, the 2008-09 major junior player of the year, who hadn&rsquo;t seen any game action due to a persistent back injury.Hodgson was hurt in training last July, played six NHL pre-season games in September, didn&rsquo;t fare well and was returned to Brampton where he underwent a physiotherapy program. The crux of the problem was a bulging disc impinging on a nerve causing numbness and discomfort.&ldquo;There hasn&rsquo;t been much development at all,&rdquo; Gagner said. &ldquo;It just hasn&rsquo;t been what we planned on, for sure.&rdquo;Acquired 2008 draft, 10th overall.<h2>2 CORY SCHNEIDER, G, 23, Manitoba (AHL)</h2>OVERALL 206-2, 201, 20-14-1, 2.64, .912Now in his third season with the Moose, Schneider is NHL-ready, but there is no room for him up top where Roberto Luongo rules the roost. Schneider was AHL goalie of the year in 2008-09 and led his team to the Calder Cup final, where it lost. He&rsquo;s had one NHL start and brilliantly stopped 45 shots in a 2-1 loss to Dallas.It&rsquo;s likely Schneider will be traded at some point with Luongo under contract for another 12 years.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s good for Cory to learn to be consistent at the American League level,&rdquo; Gagner said.Acquired 2004 draft, 26th overall.<h2>3 JORDAN SCHROEDER, C, 19, Minnesota (WCHA)</h2>OVERALL 575-8, 175 26-7-16-23-12The little center began slowly with the Golden Gophers as he was forced to adjust to life without key linemate Ryan Stoa, who turned pro with Colorado. According to Gagner, Schroeder struggled to find the same chemistry with someone on this year&rsquo;s squad while the team itself also struggled.Schroeder had another fine world junior tournament and collected eight points to help Team USA win the gold. The Canucks aren&rsquo;t concerned he might not match last season&rsquo;s Gopher total of 45 points.&ldquo;He has such explosive speed and sees passing lanes really well,&rdquo; Gagner said.Acquired 2009 draft, 22nd overall.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-02180/9461608-1-eng-US/f0052-022.jpg" title="f0052-02" width="933" height="1185"><figcaption class="caption-body">CODY HODGSON (CLAUS ANDERSEN/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h2>4 MICHAEL GRABNER, RW, 22, Manitoba (AHL)</h2>6-1, 180, 21-7-7-14-4Drafted for his ability to score, the speedy Grabner has done that in the AHL with 40 goals last season (including playoffs). His play without the puck and his battle levels were issues he had to overcome.In a nine-game October callup with the Canucks, Grabner finally demonstrated he had learned his lesson, but a broken ankle on Nov. 1 derailed his stint. He was returned to the Manitoba Moose to await his next opportunity, if not this year then for sure in 2010-11.&ldquo;What Michael needs to (work on) is really wanting the puck and going into traffic to get it,&rdquo; Gagner said.Acquired 2006 draft, 14th overall.<h2>5 SERGEI SHIROKOV, LW, 23, Manitoba (AHL)</h2>5-10, 202, 48-16-18-34-18Shirokov was an almost forgotten prospect playing for Moscow Red Army in the KHL. However, the shifty winger expressed a desire to chase his NHL dream and was willing to play in the AHL for less money if he couldn&rsquo;t make the Canucks.He did initially make the big squad out of camp, but struggled mightily once the season began. His offensive ability was never in question, it was his play without the puck that needed significant improvement.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s listened and he&rsquo;s really tried to work at making sure his intensity without the puck matches his intensity with it,&rdquo; Gagner said.Acquired 2006 draft, 163rd overall.<h2>ON THE&nbsp;HORIZON</h2>THE NEXT FIVE<h3>6 ANTON RODIN</h3>RW, 19, 5-11, 174Brynas (Swe.)26-1-2-3-4Injured at WJC, also needs to pick up intensity when playing without the puck.Acquired2009 draft, 53rd overall<h3>7 EVAN OBERG</h3>D, 21, 6-0, 180Manitoba (AHL)43-1-15-16-36A good passer, but small by NHL standards. Needs to improve strength and shot.AcquiredFree agent, April 10, 2009<h3>8 KEVIN CONNAUTON</h3>D, 19, 6-1, 191Vancouver (WHL)52-21-37-58-96Exceeding expectations, especially with his offense and power play work.Acquired2009 draft, 83rd overall<h3>9 YANN SAUVE</h3>D, 19, 6-3, 216Saint John (QMJHL)46-6-23-29-47A physical force in the QMJHL and making better decisions with the puck.Acquired2008 draft, 41st overall<h3>10 PETER ANDERSSON</h3>D, 18, 6-3, 194Frolunda (Swe.)21-1-4-5-4Calm with the puck under pressure, needs to work on improving physical strength.Acquired2009 draft, 143rd overall &#9632;

f0052-01

SKILL TRUMPS SIZE ON WEST COAST

<div class="byline">BY PETER KERZEL</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-01273/9461653-1-eng-US/f0053-012.jpg" title="f0053-01" width="308" height="243"></div>For several post-lockout years, the Capitals faced a serious deficiency in organizational depth. When Washington needed replacements or reinforcements, only fringe fill-ins were readily available.Now, with coach Bruce Boudreau&rsquo;s defensively responsible and offensively explosive system in place &ndash; and similar schemes successfully employed in the minors &ndash; the Capitals have created an enviable pipeline. Defense and center are flush; right wing, however, remains a weakness.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got talent at a lot of levels,&rdquo; Boudreau said. &ldquo;Wait a couple of years, you&rsquo;ll see.&rdquo;<h2>1 JOHN CARLSON, D, 20, Hershey (AHL)</h2>OVERALL 56-3, 208, 37-3-28-31-14Carlson was so impressive in training camp he forced his way into consideration for a spot with the big club, pushing past Karl Alzner on the depth chart.The subtleties of Carlson&rsquo;s game &ndash; the way he precisely positions himself, correctly anticipates what&rsquo;s happening before it does and his ability to hold his own in physical situations &ndash; speak to his maturity. He doesn&rsquo;t play like a 20-year-old and there are few holes that more ice time can&rsquo;t fix. Better yet, his head is screwed on straight enough that his unflappable nature won&rsquo;t yield to overconfidence.Acquired 2008 draft, 27th overall.<h2>2 KARL ALZNER, D, 21, Hershey (AHL)</h2>OVERALL 186-3, 206, 30-1-6-7-10Other NHL teams would like to confront the Capitals&rsquo; dilemma: a glut of experienced defensemen that has both robbed Alzner of his Calder Trophy eligibility and kept him plugging away in Hershey between recalls.Alzner is expected to become a cornerstone on the blueline, a fluid puck-mover who is steady in his own end. He hasn&rsquo;t been frustrated by his prolonged presence on the bubble, which is good; the Capitals would like Alzner to be more consistent and develop a mean streak. Experience will help on both counts.Acquired 2007 draft, 5th overall.<h2>3 MICHAL NEUVIRTH, G, 21, Hershey (AHL)</h2>OVERALL 306-1, 199 11-5-0, 1.92, .932Semyon Varlamov&rsquo;s injuries have rekindled the debate about whether Varlamov or Neuvirth will be first to establish himself as Washington&rsquo;s next franchise goalie.Neuvirth hasn&rsquo;t been rattled by his ups and downs, willing to learn from but not repeat mistakes. His quickness and good hands can carry a team; he needs to learn to enjoy but not rely on flashy saves for ingame motivation. Neuvirth has to develop a better game, limit rebounds and learn to mesh with his defenders.Neuvirth&rsquo;s quietness is sometimes misinterpreted as indifference; in reality, he feeds off game situations.Acquired 2006 draft, 34th overall.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-02181/9461646-1-eng-US/f0053-022.jpg" title="f0053-02" width="1013" height="1119"><figcaption class="caption-body">JOHN CARLSON (JUSTSPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY)</figcaption></div><h2>4 MARCUS JOHANSSON, C, 19, Farjestad (Swe.)</h2>OVERALL 605-11, 189 31-8-8-16-10The Caps were happy the Swedish pivot, whose polished, two-way style was coveted by Detroit, fell to them.One of seven Swedes selected in the first round, Johansson is a smooth center who creates offense and plays respectable defense. Quick hands power an effective left-handed wrist shot.Unlike some Europeans, Johansson doesn&rsquo;t have to be coaxed to shoot. But in order to overcome some critics who see his size as a drawback, he needs to play pinpoint defense with solid positioning. Johansson has battled concussions, which Washington insists are a non-issue.Acquired 2009 draft, 24th overall.<h2>5 MATHIEU PERREAULT, RW, 22, Hershey (AHL)</h2>5-10, 174, 31-7-19-26-12Perreault has turned an obvious weakness &ndash; a lack of size &ndash; into a noticeable strength that&rsquo;s already earned him some NHL ice time. He&rsquo;s just small enough to be pesky, buzzing the net, between defensemen, in then out of a goalie&rsquo;s peripheral vision.Perreault probably won&rsquo;t develop into a big scoring threat, but he&rsquo;s got the makeup to morph into a third or fourth-liner whose offensive capabilities must be respected.To make the transition, the mighty mite will need to hone his defense and not become as enamored of the red light as he must be of an important job well done.Acquired 2006 draft, 177th overall.<h2>ON THE&nbsp;HORIZON</h2>THE NEXT FIVE<h3>6 BRADEN HOLTBY</h3>G, 20, 6-1, 202Hershey (AHL)16-2-1, 2.04, .928Has sneaky quick glove and Gumby-like legs; progressed quickly in ECHL.Acquired2008 draft, 93rd overall<h3>7 STEFAN DELLA ROVERE</h3>LW, 19, 5-11, 196Barrie (OHL)39-14-16-30-90Undersized overachiever has opened Caps brass&rsquo; eyes with his work ethic, quickness.Acquired2008 draft, 204th overall<h3>8 DMITRI ORLOV</h3>D, 18, 6-0, 197Novokuznetsk (KHL)35-4-2-6-43Proficient passer, good stickhandler, needs to work on his physical game.Acquired2009 draft, 55th overall<h3>9 ANTON GUSTAFSSON</h3>C, 19, 6-2, 194Boras (Swe.)26-5-9-14-14Bengt&rsquo;s son is a prototypical two-way European pivot, but is battling back issues.Acquired2008 draft, 21st overall<h3>10 OSKAR OSALA</h3>LW, 22, 6-4, 220Hershey (AHL)40-13-10-23-55Big scoring winger&rsquo;s toughness has been questioned, leading to backsliding.Acquired2006 draft, 97th overall &#9632;

f0053-01

GOALTENDING DEPTH NO ISSUE FOR CAPS

<div class="byline">BY RORY BOYLEN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0054-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0054-01282/9461691-1-eng-US/f0054-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Sean Couturier has distracted NHL scouts from watching 2010 draft-eligible players. (DAVID CONNELL/QMJHL IMAGES)</figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;Scouting at the Western League level for bantam is completely different than at the NHL level. At the end of the day you&rsquo;re all looking for the same thing, but it&rsquo;s just different avenues of finding it.&rdquo; &ndash; NHL scout</blockquote>THERE ARE TWO scouting schools of development that young prospects must rise through before arriving in the NHL. The first is being tracked as a bantam or slightly earlier for major junior league drafts and taking your game to one of those leagues, or perhaps the NCAA. The other is developing your game and your frame at those levels, while being tracked by the NHL scouts.But the scouting game requires a different perspective at each level when on the hunt for the top projected players.Scouting staffs in junior employ a head scout and a few guys for specific geographic areas, plus the part-time help of &lsquo;bird dog&rsquo; scouts; often people with day jobs who have kids in hockey. They relay names of notable players to junior teams, who then follow up with their own eyes.Of course, this is a time of transition for these kids. Bantam players remove their masks and don visors for the first time upon entering junior, causing some to lose their courage, while growth spurts sprout everywhere. For a scout, this makes it difficult to separate the good youth hockey players from the ones who will continue in junior.&ldquo;When I was in the WHL, I&rsquo;d see some 5-foot-8 guy who was 165 pounds ripping it up for the bantam draft&hellip;and then you meet the kid and his parents,&rdquo; said one current NHL scout.&ldquo;The parents are 5-foot-7 and 5-foot and the kid&rsquo;s starting to grow facial hair. The chances that he&rsquo;ll get any bigger are almost gone. Unfortunately, it&rsquo;ll be tough for him to be a star at a higher level.&rdquo;Scouts at the NHL level dedicate themselves to draft-eligible players, but will, of course, note younger prospects who stand out early. One scout said he keeps a fairly substantial underage list for kids available one year later and stores notes on even younger players on a computer. He doesn&rsquo;t make a list, but sets every note aside until it can be used as a tool to project.Another scout points to a standout underager in the Quebec League who is in the corner of his eye when he makes a trip to Drummondville: left winger Sean Couturier.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a late-born &rsquo;92, so he&rsquo;s not available for the (2010) draft,&rdquo; the scout said. &ldquo;However, when you go to a game and he&rsquo;s playing in it, he&rsquo;s a good player so you see him. You&rsquo;ll watch him because he&rsquo;s a player, but you don&rsquo;t really study him because you&rsquo;re trying to study the other players that you can draft. But you&rsquo;re fully aware of him.&rdquo;At the NHL level, projections are a little less fuzzy, but variables still cloud the picture. Often there are skilled talents who are unmapped at the start their draft-eligible year, but are quickly picked up on the radar early in the season. It&rsquo;s important to get out early and jump on any draft-eligible guys your team might not yet recognize.For one scout, there&rsquo;s a perfect example in this year&rsquo;s draft class. Ryan Johansen spent last season in the British Columbia Junior League and only joined the Portland Winterhawks this season.<blockquote class="pullQuote">&lsquo;I WENT AWAY THINKING THIS KID COULD BE A FIRST-ROUNDER&rsquo;</blockquote>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m out watching Portland in early October because they have a kid called Nino Niederreiter,&rdquo; said one NHL scout. &ldquo;All of a sudden there&rsquo;s this Johansen kid, this guy&rsquo;s a pretty good player. I&rsquo;m watching Niederreiter and a kid called (Brad) Ross and pretty soon I went away from the game thinking, &lsquo;This Johansen kid could be a first-rounder.&rsquo;&ldquo;Once I realize he&rsquo;s a pretty good player, I want to make a few phone calls and find out about his background because all of a sudden he shows up in his draft year. I find out he&rsquo;s a seventh round draft pick in the bantam draft and he was 5-foot-7 or 5-foot-8, now he&rsquo;s 6-foot-3. Here&rsquo;s a kid who plays like a kid who grew a lot because he&rsquo;s gangly and he lacks power and strength, but he&rsquo;s got hockey sense and skill. You know eventually the muscles will catch up to the bone development. That&rsquo;s how you find players.&rdquo;Where the two schools fuse is when trying to figure out where a certain player fits in. For junior scouts, there are a number of minor leagues and levels across the map to sift through and each has its own demands on skill. How does a small scorer with skating concerns in AAA stack up to a bigger player with a smoother stride from a more remote area?<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-01250/9461684-1-eng-US/f0055-012.jpg" title="f0055-01" width="1269" height="1458"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ryan Johansen caught scouts by surprise early this year, but now he&rsquo;s on everyone&rsquo;s radar. (SOOBUM IM/PORTLAND WINTERHAWKS)</figcaption></div>For NHL scouts, players will come from major junior, high school, the USHL, NCAA or Europe and, again, each level has its own benchmark of talent. Not only that, but each level has its own barometer of day-in and day-out commitment that also plays into projecting how a prospect will do when presented with the next challenge.&ldquo;I was in New England watching a kid &ndash; he went in the first round &ndash; at a prep school,&rdquo; said one scout of a former draftee. &ldquo;The first period was over and this kid had his sweater off, his shoulder pads and elbow pads off and he was in the lobby having a hot dog and talking to the girls. Now you have to compare that kid to some guy who gets on a bus in Western Canada and drives six hours, laces them up, drives home and then goes to the billet and gets up and goes to school.&rdquo;So can junior scouts help NHL scouts by introducing them to talented bantam-aged players to follow? That early on in years, the road ahead is too long to worry about.&ldquo;I have an interest in what&rsquo;s coming up, but I don&rsquo;t worry about it,&rdquo; said one scout. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been disappointed too many times.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0054-01

THE GAME OF SCOUTING

<div class="byline">BY JOHN GRIGG</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0056-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-01221/9461743-1-eng-US/f0056-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">(DALLAS STARS MIDGET MAJOR AAA CLUB)</figcaption></div>SETH JONES HAS OPTIONS.At 15, he&rsquo;s an early favorite to be a top prospect for the 2013 NHL draft. He&rsquo;s already being advised by player agent Pat Brisson, whose stable of NHLers includes Sidney Crosby, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews.Jones is a hot commodity.A 6-foot-3, 180-pound rookie defenseman with the Dallas Stars major midget AAA team, which plays in the under-18 tier 1 Mid-West Elite League, you&rsquo;ll be hearing a lot from Jones in the coming years. He has been featured in Sports Illustrated as a player to keep an eye on and had interviewed with the local NBC affiliate the week we spoke to him. He&rsquo;s also being wooed by folks from the Western League&rsquo;s Everett Silvertips and the U.S. national team development program.Jones is a terrific player, but his notoriety comes in part because of who his father is &ndash; Ronald Jerome Jones, better known as Popeye.Popeye Jones played parts of 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association with Dallas, Toronto, Boston, Denver, Washington and Golden State. He&rsquo;s now an assistant coach with the Dallas Mavericks.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s weird,&rdquo; Seth said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s in the NBA and I&rsquo;m trying to get to the NHL.&rdquo;But just how does a kid from Texas, the son of a 6-foot-8, 265-pound NBA power forward, end up becoming a hockey player?It began when Popeye played for the Mavericks in the mid-1990s, around the time Seth was born. Older brother Justin was four.&ldquo;I had an appearance with Mike Modano,&rdquo; Popeye remembered, &ldquo;and he mentioned he played for the Dallas Stars. So I got some tickets and took the family to the game. We didn&rsquo;t know what we were watching, but it was exciting and we started going a little bit.&rdquo;The Joneses moved to Toronto when Popeye was traded to the Raptors in 1996. &ldquo;That was before the DirecTV days,&rdquo; Popeye said. &ldquo;The only thing I was getting was usually hockey, so I started watching Don Cherry and the boys started watching (hockey).&rdquo;From Toronto, it was on to Boston in 1998, then Denver in 1999, two more top-notch hockey towns. The Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in 1996 and were on their way to another one in 2001.&ldquo;All the friends they made that school year were playing hockey,&rdquo; said Amy Jones, Seth&rsquo;s mother. &ldquo;In Denver at that time, the Avalanche had Joe Sakic and Patrick Roy. Everybody was hockey crazy.&rdquo;<blockquote class="pullQuote">&lsquo;OFF THE ICE, HE IS MATURE BEYOND HIS YEARS&rsquo;</blockquote>What began as family outings to NHL games soon turned into eldest brother Justin wanting to play himself.&ldquo;I was like, &lsquo;You want to play?&rsquo;&rdquo; Popeye said.Seth soon followed suit, as did youngest brother Caleb. Justin, now 19, is a speedy left winger for the Jr. A Texas Tornado of the North American League. Caleb, 12, is a burgeoning blueliner in the same Dallas Stars program in which Seth plays.Luckily for the out-of-his-league Popeye, he had some friends in top-corner places.&ldquo;I was in the weight room one day in Denver and I ran into Joe Sakic and told him, &lsquo;My kids want to play hockey, but I don&rsquo;t know anything about it,&rsquo;&rdquo; Popeye said.Sakic&rsquo;s advice was to get the kids skating; all the other stuff would follow.The rest is history.And for Seth, at least, the future.He was drafted 11th overall by Everett in the WHL&rsquo;s 2009 bantam draft; was offered a spot with the U.S. NTDP in Ann Arbor, Mich.; and, was looking into a couple of NCAA schools &ndash; even though he&rsquo;s still a freshman in high school &ndash; in late January when THN caught up with him for a wide-ranging conversation.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0057-01207/9461736-1-eng-US/f0057-012.jpg" title="f0057-01" width="1300" height="1435"><figcaption class="caption-body">Seth Jones began playing in Denver in the late &rsquo;90s when the city was crazy for the Avs.</figcaption></div>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a big, solid athletic defender who sees the ice extremely well,&rdquo; said Ross MacLean, a scout for International Scouting Services. &ldquo;He understands and adapts to positioning very well in both zones and is always active. He&rsquo;s a strong, powerful skater who has above-average puck skills.&rdquo;Jones&rsquo; coach with Dallas, Adam Robbins, knew what he was getting in the young defenseman, but was surprised by what Seth brought to the team of mostly 16- and 17-year-olds right from the start.&ldquo;At the time, I knew he wouldn&rsquo;t hurt us because I&rsquo;d seen him play, but I didn&rsquo;t know how much he was actually going to help us,&rdquo; the coach said. &ldquo;Those questions were answered the second weekend of the year&hellip; he stepped up his game.&rdquo;For his part, Jones was unsure where he&rsquo;d fit in with the Stars.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been a test for me,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The strength is always a factor&hellip;I have the size, but I&rsquo;m not really built yet. At the beginning of the year I didn&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;d be able to, but I think I&rsquo;ve adjusted well.&rdquo;As good as Jones is &ndash; he is one of just two 1994-born players on the Stars roster and was leading in blueline scoring &ndash; he&rsquo;s not letting it go to his head.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s stayed pretty level-headed, if he does get something special he kind of keeps it from the rest of the guys,&rdquo; said Robbins, who mentioned Jones&rsquo; own special-pattern sticks as an example. &ldquo;He just kind of puts them away. He&rsquo;d rather hide them than show them off.&rdquo;Added Amy: &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a more mellow, quiet kid. He&rsquo;s just real humble.&rdquo;The scouts agree.&ldquo;Off the ice, he is mature beyond his years with a very down-to-earth demeanor,&rdquo; MacLean said. &ldquo;He received rave reviews from the coaches at the IIHF development camp this past summer.&rdquo;Everett GM Doug Soetaert was in Plano, Texas, meeting with the Joneses and watching Seth practice when we caught up with him.&ldquo;I think he&rsquo;s been exposed to the NBA and he&rsquo;s been around the NHL&hellip;he&rsquo;s seen it, felt it and lived it,&rdquo; Soetaert said. &ldquo;But I also believe his mother is quite the individual. I think she keeps him very grounded, humble and very focused. They&rsquo;ve got three young boys and she&rsquo;s got them all in the right places.&rdquo;Having been around pro athletes for two decades, Popeye sees an ability to succeed in his son&rsquo;s personality.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a fine line between being confident and being cocky,&rdquo; said Popeye when asked whether Seth has the killer instinct most pro athletes have. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think being cocky is a good thing, even if it works for some people. He&rsquo;s a quiet kid off the ice, but on the ice he&rsquo;s very confident.&rdquo;Jones doesn&rsquo;t want to get ahead of himself, but remains a self-assured kid.&ldquo;I like to compare myself to Nicklas Lidstrom, because he&rsquo;s smart,&rdquo; said Seth when asked about NHLers his game resembles. &ldquo;But I&rsquo;m also comparable to a (Chris) Pronger, too&hellip; the hard shot, the size.<blockquote class="pullQuote">&lsquo;MY GOAL IS TO GO TO THE NHL MY FIRST DRAFT YEAR&rsquo;</blockquote>&ldquo;I can be rough when I need to be, physical and all that, but I think I&rsquo;m more of a mental player. I see the ice really well, make a great first pass, have a hard shot and run the power play well.&rdquo;Soetaert compared Jones to a player a little closer in age than Lidstrom or Pronger, but still an impressive NHL talent.&ldquo;(Buffalo Sabres defenseman and Calder Trophy candidate) Tyler Myers is what he is,&rdquo; said Soetaert when prompted with a list of recent WHL blueline studs. &ldquo;I think he&rsquo;s probably more coordinated and has more strength than Myers (did at age 15). He&rsquo;s as good a skater as Tyler was.&ldquo;He does have the offensive ability, talent and vision, but he also has the size, the range and the physicalness to him that allows him to kill penalties. I think he&rsquo;s got unlimited potential.&rdquo;An October birth date in 1994, Jones isn&rsquo;t eligible for the NHL draft until 2013. Had he been born a month sooner, he&rsquo;d be available in 2012. So where is he going to spend the next three seasons? Options, ah, those options.Jones still had some big decisions to make when this story went to press. It sounded like he had at least narrowed his choices down, but nobody in the family was letting on as to which way he was leaning. As for long-term plans, Seth wasn&rsquo;t keeping his a secret.&ldquo;My goal is to go to the NHL my first draft year (in 2013),&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Next year, I think it&rsquo;s going to be a tough decision. Everett is a great program, they have a great coach and the GM is great. Same as the (U.S.) national program. It&rsquo;s going to be a hard decision.&rdquo;Jones could make the two-year commitment to the NTDP and then head to the WHL or accelerate his high school and go to the NCAA for one season before the draft. Or he could jump straight to the NHL-defenseman factory that is the WHL next season as a 16-year-old. Whichever way you look at it, it&rsquo;s a lot for a 15-year-old kid to deal with, making life decisions at such a young age.&ldquo;As a professional player you have to make decisions you can&rsquo;t look back on,&rdquo; said Seth when asked what he&rsquo;s learned from his dad&rsquo;s experiences. &ldquo;You have to believe in what you think and do what you have to do.&rdquo;Jones&rsquo; mom just wants her son to enjoy being a kid and not get too caught up in the ramifications of his options.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve talked about it quite a bit, especially once he got the offer from the U.S. program,&rdquo; Amy said. &ldquo;I think he just has to kind of go with his gut. He&rsquo;s in a position that so many kids would love to be in and he has options and a lot of kids don&rsquo;t. He needs to enjoy every minute of it.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0058-01220/9461729-1-eng-US/f0058-012.jpg" title="f0058-01" width="1010" height="771"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0058-02147/9461722-1-eng-US/f0058-022.jpg" title="f0058-02" width="926" height="1302"><figcaption class="caption-body">The Jones brothers (from left: Seth, Caleb and Justin) surprised their NBA-playing father, Popeye, by becoming hockey players. (POPEYE: FERNANDO MEDINA/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>Popeye thinks it&rsquo;s important for Seth to make this decision on his own.&ldquo;Ultimately as parents, yes, we have to guide, but my opinion on it is whatever decision he makes&hellip;he&rsquo;s got to make the decision because he&rsquo;s got to want to do it,&rdquo; Popeye said.&ldquo;If you allow somebody else to make decisions for you and things get tough for you, then your mindset is, &lsquo;I really didn&rsquo;t want to do this, but mom and dad thought this was the best.&rsquo; No, it has to be your decision, it&rsquo;s has to be what you want to do.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0056-01

MEET MR. JONES

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0060-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0060-01177/9461781-1-eng-US/f0060-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Nazem Kadri had a strong WJC showing, scoring eight points in six games for Canada. (AARON BELL/OHL IMAGES)</figcaption></div>IN THE WORLD OF HIP-HOP, everybody knows that rapper Nas is like, half-man, half-amazing. For Leafs Nation, the hope is that &lsquo;Naz&rsquo; &ndash; center Nazem Kadri &ndash; can live up to the similar moniker.The Toronto Maple Leafs have done some extensive renovations this season and though the additions of Phil Kessel, Dion Phaneuf and J-S Giguere were eye-popping, they did leave a dearth of forwards committed to the Blue and White.It goes without saying that Kadri, who has been lauded in the past for his ability to play all three forward positions and preformed so well for the Leafs during his first training camp, is the name on the tip of every fan&rsquo;s tongue when talks of restocking the cabinet next year come up.Kadri, the No. 13-ranked prospect in Future Watch, admits even he likes to play fantasy depth charts now and then.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not unusual, of course,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;When you&rsquo;re five, six years old you throw yourself on that depth chart.&rdquo;This summer, a lot of fans saw the London Knights star on that roster right away, as he blew people away with an impressive pre-season. But Kadri was still just a teenager and with the Maple Leafs in no mood to wreck the kid they just drafted seventh overall, it was back to the Ontario League for more seasoning.&ldquo;Part of my role is to manage expectations and it was something we discussed all summer,&rdquo; said Kadri&rsquo;s agent, Brian MacDonald. &ldquo;You have to be realistic with an 18- or 19-year-old making the NHL. Behind the scenes, I thought he was very gracious throughout.&rdquo;<blockquote class="pullQuote">&lsquo;I WANT TO BE A GO-TO GUY&hellip;I LIKE THE PRESSURE&rsquo;</blockquote>But it was a blow for the high-flyer. In his first nine games back with the Knights, Kadri tallied just six points. After the initial disappointment wore off, however, the young pivot was back to his usual offensively gifted self.&ldquo;Once he settled in,&rdquo; noted Dave Morrison, director of amateur scouting for the Leafs, &ldquo;he turned his season around.&rdquo;Indeed, after 12 points in 12 October games, Kadri began to pick up steam and has been hotter with each month, culminating in an 11-game, 25-point spree in January that vaulted him into the top-10 for OHL scoring.Most importantly, Kadri is happy again. And that&rsquo;s not just good for him, it&rsquo;s good for everyone.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s got a great smile, the kind of smile people are drawn to,&rdquo; MacDonald said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m proud of how he has turned out as a person. He&rsquo;s got a great personality.&rdquo;Added Morrison: &ldquo;Nazem is a bright kid with a bubbly personality. He brings a positive attitude into the dressing room. I think he&rsquo;s an upbeat guy.&rdquo;And it&rsquo;s pretty obvious where it came from. Before he was even drafted by the Maple Leafs, the London, Ont., native was well-known to the public thanks to the incredible support he receives from his family, who, as Lebanese-Canadian Muslims decked out in London Knights green, were very visible at the draft in Montreal the day he was selected (Kadri had 80 tickets to the draft).A couple of his uncles even made their way out to Saskatoon, Sask., this year to see Kadri suit up for Team Canada and win silver at the World Junior Championship.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s something I take pride in,&rdquo; Kadri said of his family support. &ldquo;For them to take the trip to Saskatoon &ndash; it&rsquo;s not close and it&rsquo;s not cheap. I have tons of people watching me all the time and it&rsquo;s great.&rdquo;Even if he didn&rsquo;t have his parents, four sisters and a bevy of aunts, uncles and other well-wishers in his corner, Kadri&rsquo;s worth the price of admission.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s very crafty and fast,&rdquo; said defenseman Calvin de Haan, the New York Islanders draft pick who played with Kadri at the world juniors and lines up against him as a member of the Oshawa Generals. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s got all the tools to be an elite hockey player in the NHL one day.&rdquo;Potential 2010 top pick Taylor Hall also lauded Kadri for his speed and creativity, which would look real nice in Toronto next to, say, Phil Kessel.But nothing is given in the NHL and there&rsquo;s no reason to hurry Kadri along, even if his tantalizing skill package is apparent. At six-foot, 177 pounds, the teenager will need to continue to bulk up.&ldquo;We wanted him to go back to London and get stronger,&rdquo; Morrison said, &ldquo;to learn how to be a leader and develop his overall game, particularly his shot. I know his team counts on him and this is a good opportunity to take the reins.&rdquo;For someone so young, Kadri has actually gone through a gamut of different experiences in the OHL. As a 17-year-old with the Kitchener Rangers, Kadri was part of a powerhouse squad that went all the way to the final game of the Memorial Cup. And while Kitchener hosted that season, the team earned its way there by winning the OHL title.That summer, he was traded to his hometown Knights, the same team that had traded current Blue Jackets goalie Steve Mason to Kitchener prior to the Memorial Cup run. And while it was nice to be home, Kadri soon faced the agony of a broken jaw, which caused him to miss out on a shot at Canada&rsquo;s national junior team and face a very uncomfortable December.&ldquo;Oh, it&rsquo;s sad, something I wouldn&rsquo;t wish on anybody,&rdquo; he said in an earlier THN interview. &ldquo;You have to drink everything out of those big 7-11 straws and of course, keep those teeth clean.&rdquo;With the jaw recovered, Kadri then had to make another adjustment when the greatest major junior player ever joined the Knights in a trade.When John Tavares came to London, Kadri&rsquo;s numbers fell. He had 64 points through 43 games pre-Tavares, then 14 in the final 13 contests.But Kadri seems to find the bright side of life and remembers his time with Johnny T fondly.&ldquo;We were actually roommates,&rdquo; Kadri said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s an unbelievable guy.&rdquo;Kadri is never one to blend into the background and so far that&rsquo;s been an advantage. Toronto fans are starving for heroes and one whom the team actually drafted would be the icing on the cake.Those fans got a sneak peek at Kadri in early February after he made his NHL regular season debut as an emergency call-up to Toronto.For the kid who grew up in Leafs Nation in London, there is no shirking the responsibility of being a top pick and a key cog in the team&rsquo;s future.&ldquo;I want to be a go-to guy, I want to be a top-six forward,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;When you need a goal, you toss my line out on the ice. I like the pressure.&rdquo;Don&rsquo;t worry, Nazem &ndash; it&rsquo;s coming.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0061-01172/9461774-1-eng-US/f0061-012.jpg" title="f0061-01" width="2456" height="3422"><figcaption class="caption-body">(CLAUS ANDERSEN/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0060-01

LUCKY No.13

<div class="byline">BY RYAN DIXON</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0062-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0062-01176/9461819-1-eng-US/f0062-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Becoming a shutdown defender required a lot of sticking with it for Douglas Murray. (DAVE REGINEK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>TEENAGE ANGST has long been at the root of screeching songs and scattered scribblings, but the scope of insecurity can certainly cross over from arts to sports.It&rsquo;s easy to assume every 18-year-old who&rsquo;s drafted by an NHL team breezes through life with a cocksure attitude stemming from a combination of youthful optimism and the fact they&rsquo;ve already obtained rarefied status simply by having their name called out by a squad from the world&rsquo;s best hockey league.But don&rsquo;t, for one second, think there isn&rsquo;t some emotional turmoil and serious self-doubt associated with being a kid trying to crack a stacked NHL roster.Tim Burke is the San Jose Sharks&rsquo; director of scouting and just as anyone who&rsquo;s married can tell you the wedding is simply the start of an incredibly involved process, Burke knows full well selecting players at the draft is merely the first step in the long process of turning them into NHLers. Often, the journey starts with some assurances.&ldquo;Many times a player will walk through the door and he thinks he&rsquo;s a number or he thinks, &lsquo;Oh my God, they&rsquo;ve got all these defensemen, they&rsquo;ve got all these wingers, nobody is talking to me,&rsquo;&rdquo; Burke said. &ldquo;Every player who comes in, the first thing we want them to know is we&rsquo;re going to try and make you an NHL player.&rdquo;Making good on that commitment may mean some initial coddling, but that quickly gives way to other things, like conditioning.David Good doesn&rsquo;t attend every draft, but he&rsquo;s always well represented. Shortly after any player chosen by the Nashville Predators is done shaking hands with his new employers, those same mitts are then filled with a package from Good, the Preds&rsquo; strength and conditioning coach.A few weeks later, Good gets a firsthand look at the fresh crop of draftees during Nashville&rsquo;s conditioning camp. While building confidence in players is paramount, there&rsquo;s also something to be said for eroding ego a little bit, too.&ldquo;The kids come in during conditioning camp and think they&rsquo;re top dogs and then they get here with the veterans later on at the regular training camp and they kind of see where they stand,&rdquo; Good said.Good confirmed the most common need for the majority of kids is getting &ldquo;bigger, faster, stronger.&rdquo; He also stressed it&rsquo;s important the regimen he provides targets rounded results.&ldquo;The biggest thing that&rsquo;s overlooked is that we, as strength coaches, forget that they&rsquo;re athletes,&rdquo; Good stated. &ldquo;We think of them as (specifically) hockey players and these guys need to develop as athletes, too. If I can make them a better athlete, they become a better hockey player.&rdquo;Feedback obviously plays a massive role in anybody&rsquo;s professional development, and young hockey players are no exception. Burke said the Sharks always take the approach that no matter where a prospect is &ndash; toiling in major junior, college or somewhere in Europe &ndash; they put faith in the coaching that player is receiving and stress that he do the same.<blockquote class="pullQuote">&lsquo;WE&rsquo;RE NOT EASY ON THESE GUYS. WE TELL THEM THE TRUTH&rsquo;</blockquote>&ldquo;So the kid is not getting power play time, we&rsquo;re not going to go to that coach and beg for that,&rdquo; Burke said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to say this is a hurdle, we&rsquo;re going to help you get through it, we&rsquo;ve given you some principles to work on, you&rsquo;ve got to get through it.&rdquo;Having an open dialogue with prospects is also important because it goes a long way in making a player feel as though the organization is still in his corner, even if he&rsquo;s enduring some roadblocks.&ldquo;When the player isn&rsquo;t getting the ice time or he&rsquo;s maybe taken a step back, while he&rsquo;s taking that step back we&rsquo;ll try to catch him before he falls and keep staying with what we identified in him, and keep the kid abreast of it,&rdquo; Burke said.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re not easy on these guys. We don&rsquo;t make excuses, but we tell them the truth and we back it up by going back to what we were going to work on. We don&rsquo;t back it up by avoidance or saying you go figure it out somewhere.&rdquo;One of the channels teams can use to communicate with players is through their agents. According to Burke, agents have become increasingly viable vessels for parlaying information because they recognize it&rsquo;s in the best interest of their clients to hear constructive criticism.&ldquo;The agents have been very good because when we tell them so-and-so is not at this level yet, but we think we see it coming, they&rsquo;ve got to now go back to the kid and not make excuses for him,&rdquo; Burke said. &ldquo;The agents are getting better at that and I think they understand it more because you look at how many guys have put themselves out of the league.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0063-01138/9461812-1-eng-US/f0063-012.jpg" title="f0063-01" width="1300" height="1204"><figcaption class="caption-body">Defenseman Shea Weber improved his strength after being drafted by Nashville in 2003. (JAMIE SABAU/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>Another prime motivator? Having a prospect sit down with a player on the team, be it someone who went through the process of being a highly rated talent or the kind of guy who had to grind it out every step of the way to achieve their NHL goal. Burke pointed to a pair of players from the Sharks roster who cover off each avenue.&ldquo;Doug Murray, are you kidding me?&rdquo; he said of San Jose&rsquo;s late-blooming Swedish defenseman, who was drafted 241st overall by the Sharks back in 1999. &ldquo;Look at what he went through to make it. So he can sit down with a kid and say, &lsquo;Look, this is the way it is. It&rsquo;s not going to all go smooth.&rsquo;&ldquo;Or a Joe Thornton talking to some of the high picks about what happened in Boston. He wasn&rsquo;t ready, he&rsquo;ll tell them what he had to go through. Those are powerful things.&rdquo;Helping a person in their late teens or early 20s negotiate their way into the NHL goes beyond building up body strength or showing them exactly where to stand for every second of a two-minute penalty kill. These players all have lives away from the rink and the happenings of their off-ice existence can hugely impact their mental state, especially given how young they really are.&ldquo;You have a lot of issues today with divorced families, they&rsquo;ve got girlfriend issues, you&rsquo;ve got to assume other roles for kids, you&rsquo;ve got different levels of support (required),&rdquo; Burke said. &ldquo;There are all kinds of things that come into play.&rdquo;By the same token, as much as a team can be there at every turn for a kid, sometimes it&rsquo;s all about letting that young mind absorb and digest all the material that&rsquo;s been thrown at them.&ldquo;People forget, sometimes the greatest development of a player can be that he went home for the summer and thought about all this stuff,&rdquo; Burke said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s amazing when a kid comes back for a second year, sometimes you&rsquo;re like, &lsquo;What happened?&rsquo;&rdquo; &#9632;

f0062-01

PROSPECT OR SUSPECT?

<div class="byline">BY KEVIN OKLOBZIJA</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0064-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0064-01146/9461864-1-eng-US/f0064-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Veteran Keith Aucoin was the AHL&rsquo;s second-leading scorer and top assist man in 2008-09. (JUSTSPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY)</figcaption></div>THE&nbsp;AMERICAN LEAGUE prides itself on being the elite home for prospect development, but that doesn&rsquo;t mean the 29 active franchises follow any uniform &ldquo;how to&rdquo; instruction manual of hockey operations.In fact, philosophies vary greatly depending upon the objectives of ownership.For the 12 franchises owned by NHL teams, player development is the definite priority. In most cases, the vast majority of their roster spots are given to prospects and possible late-bloomers.&ldquo;With the money we have invested here (primarily in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin), we can&rsquo;t go out and get veteran free agents, we have to develop from within,&rdquo; said Pittsburgh Penguins assistant GM Jason Botterill, who oversees operations for the Penguin-owned Wilkes-Barre/Scranton team in the AHL.For most of the 17 independently owned franchises &ndash; such as the Hershey Bears, Chicago Wolves and Manitoba Moose &ndash; the roster must contain the maximum of five or six veteran players, all preferably with NHL experience.&ldquo;Our objective in Hershey is to win and develop, it&rsquo;s not the reverse, develop and win,&rdquo; said Bears president Doug Yingst, who has worked in various capacities during his 28 years with the team.Of late, the Bears have done both equally well. They&rsquo;ve won the Calder Cup twice in the past three years and the roster of their parent team, the Washington Capitals, is filled with players who gained experience in Hershey, such as defenseman Mike Green, left winger Tomas Fleischmann and goalie Semyon Varlamov.The Chicago Wolves made it a priority over the summer to sign 34-year-old center Jason Krog, an elite AHL scorer whose NHL days are in the past. Mike Keane won three Stanley Cup rings and played more than 1,100 games in a 16-season NHL career, but at 42, he&rsquo;s not ready to quit and is now in his fifth season with the Moose.In most cases, local ownership pays the veteran salaries and the best veterans can make $250,000 to $500,000 just to play in the AHL.By contrast, there are no high-priced, big-name veterans playing for the Manchester Monarchs or Portland Pirates. The Los Angeles Kings own the Monarchs and they stocked the roster with draft picks and younger free agents with NHL upside.The Monarchs were in a three-way battle for first place in the East Division in early February. Portland, stocked by the Buffalo Sabres, wasn&rsquo;t far back.One of the teams the Monarchs were sparring with for the East lead: The Lowell Devils, who are owned by New Jersey.The Devils usually are prospect heavy, but they have four veterans this year, including defensemen Cory Murphy and Rob Davison who provide depth for the big team.&ldquo;We build from within, making sure we have the young players that fit into the Devils&rsquo; mode,&rdquo; said Chris Lamoriello, senior vice-president of hockey operations for New Jersey and the GM for Lowell. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve had years where we had up to five and six veterans. This year we knew we had a lot of drafted players turning pro.&rdquo;The independently owned Binghamton Senators believe it&rsquo;s critical to have name recognition in the community. Left winger Denis Hamel has been a huge fan favorite during three seasons in Binghamton. Over the summer, the Rochester Americans brought back center Chris Taylor, who spent seven seasons in their uniform before playing the past three years in Germany. A three-story picture of Taylor adorns the arena atrium.&ldquo;Our marketplace demands it,&rdquo; said Yingst of the veteran presence in Hershey. &ldquo;(Former defenseman) Dean Arsene was the mayor of Hershey. He made hospital visits, he visited schools twice a week.&rdquo;But not everyone believes the name on the back of a sweater will sell tickets.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re never going to subscribe to the individual thought process,&rdquo; Lamoriello said. &ldquo;We subscribe to team &ndash; what fans are seeing on the ice every night from the team.&rdquo;The Devils, however, aren&rsquo;t trying to totally offset development costs at the Lowell box office. They build the cost of operating the AHL team into their overall budget in New Jersey.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0065-01154/9461857-1-eng-US/f0065-012.jpg" title="f0065-01" width="1359" height="966"><figcaption class="caption-body">Buffalo&rsquo;s Jason Pominville spent 235 games honing his skills with Rochester in the AHL. (GRAIG ABEL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">&lsquo;THE DOLLARS WE PAY (THE NHL) IS A LOT TO US, BUT NOT TO THEM&rsquo;</blockquote>Throughout the 1980s and into the &rsquo;90s, two NHL teams sometimes shared one AHL team (Montreal and Winnipeg sent players to Sherbrooke; Washington and Hartford stocked Binghamton).But now with the salary cap, nearly every NHL team believes it must develop draft picks and have them learn their systems in the AHL in order to remain competitive.The AHL&rsquo;s goal remains to have one franchise for each NHL team; it could be achieved for the first time in the 30-team era next season if the Anaheim Ducks &ndash; the lone NHL club without an AHL affiliate &ndash; can find a home.For the independently owned teams, expenses can make or break them.&ldquo;The dollars we pay to the NHL team is a lot to us, but it&rsquo;s not a lot to them,&rdquo; Yingst said.Those costs include the affiliation fee, which ranges between $825,000 and $1.1 million. Some NHL teams pay all player and coaching salaries. Sometimes the salaries of veteran players are shared. They often share the cost of the medical and equipment staffs.The affiliation contracts cover a variety of other clauses. The parent team pays the travel costs for a recall, but sometimes the AHL team is responsible for travel costs for a demoted player. The AHL team sometimes must pay for lodging if parent team executives come to town. Bus and airline travel costs are paid by the AHL team, as are player per diems and worker&rsquo;s compensation premiums.For independently owned teams, coaches sometimes have autonomy to play whoever, whenever. Other times, since the coach is hired and paid by the NHL parent team, prospects are expected to get power play time and defend in the last minute of a one-goal game.Most often, however, the NHL team just wants the development coach to use common sense.&ldquo;You want the kids to be getting ice time,&rdquo; Botterill said, &ldquo;but at the same time, you don&rsquo;t want a first-year defenseman going up against the top line all the time, that just ruins their confidence.&rdquo;When the Sabres were the parent team in Rochester, they loved when veteran defenseman Doug Houda (now an assistant coach with the Boston Bruins) was paired with an on-the-rise prospect (first Dmitri Kalinin, then Brian Campbell).&ldquo;I look at the development in Rochester of a guy like Jason Pominville, when he had Taylor and (Domenic) Pittis passing him the puck so many times,&rdquo; Botterill said.&ldquo;The veterans allow your team to have success.&rdquo;And most NHL executives agree that winning in the AHL enhances prospect development.&ldquo;To me, it&rsquo;s important for your kids to be playing pressure playoff games, in a packed building, back-to-back, with a lot on the line, that really helps development,&rdquo; said Florida Panthers GM Randy Sexton, who sends prospects to Rochester.&ldquo;The only way you can do that is by making the playoffs.&rdquo;<h2>2009-10 AHL/NHL Affiliates</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0065-02113/9461850-1-eng-US/f0065-022.jpg" title="f0065-02" width="699" height="2977"></div> &#9632;

f0064-01

‘LITTLE NHL’ HAS BIG ROLE

<div class="byline">BY KEN CAMPBELL</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0066-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0066-01143/9461895-1-eng-US/f0066-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Casey Wellman is the crown jewel among undrafted college free agents this spring. (THOM KENDALL PHOTOGRAPHY)</figcaption></div>EARLIER&nbsp;THIS SEASON, University of Massachusetts-Amherst coach Don Cahoon felt compelled to send a delicately worded email out to all 30 NHL teams. In it, he said he appreciated what they were doing and was flattered by the interest they were showing in his star senior, but to please refrain from descending on Casey Wellman like a bunch of hungry vultures after every game.All right, that might be a bit strong. But it was getting to the point where Wellman would emerge from his team&rsquo;s dressing room to see a dozen NHL scouts wanting to spend five minutes with him.&ldquo;And a lot of times we had a game the next night,&rdquo; Cahoon said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been in this business a long time and I know a lot of these guys and they&rsquo;d put their arm around you and say, &lsquo;Can I talk to him for five minutes?&rsquo; and that puts us in a difficult spot. When I wrote that, I worded it respectfully, but I think I spoke for a lot of other coaches.&rdquo;Wellman, the California-born son of a former Major League Baseball player, is this year&rsquo;s crown jewel of college free agents. The crop of players available isn&rsquo;t as deep as last year&rsquo;s group that produced Matt Gilroy, Tyler Bozak, Christian Hansen and Dan Sexton, but that was something of an anomaly.It&rsquo;s very much a crapshoot when you sign these late-blooming players and NHL teams tend to take something of a scattergun approach. The teams that can afford to usually sign as many as possible and see how many will turn out. The success rate isn&rsquo;t particularly high, especially for those who leave college early to turn pro, but the fact that teams don&rsquo;t have to part with any assets to get them makes them attractive.Take Wellman, for instance. Cahoon said that two years ago he would have been an afterthought for most NHL teams, which is pretty obvious since he was never drafted. But he has grown to an NHL-acceptable size of 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds and has developed quite an offensive touch. In fact, the 22-year-old forward was among the top producers in the NCAA in both goals and points with 19 goals and 35 points in 27 games for the Minutemen.But Cahoon is concerned that teams which focus on his offensive upside will ignore some of the deficiencies in his game and, once they&rsquo;re discovered, will discard him as a prospect. He hopes that doesn&rsquo;t happen and is trying to make Wellman a better all-around player.&ldquo;As a player, Casey Wellman has some great strengths and abilities, but he also has some glaring deficiencies that he needs to work on,&rdquo; Cahoon said. &ldquo;If he hopes to play in the NHL, he&rsquo;s going to really have to learn to play the game without the puck. We&rsquo;re working on trying to make him a better three-zone player.&rdquo;Whatever team signs Wellman will, however, be getting an athlete of good pedigree. His father, Chris, played in the major leagues primarily as a second baseman for the San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers and Kansas City Royals. They&rsquo;ll also be getting a top student as Wellman has a 3.7 grade-point average majoring in business management.&ldquo;He has some great abilities,&rdquo; said Cahoon of Wellman. &ldquo;He has really quick feet and hands and he blows the puck right by goalies sometimes.&rdquo;Wellman isn&rsquo;t the only Minuteman player who is attracting scouts. Aware of the success the Anaheim Ducks have had with the undersized Sexton this season, teams are also focusing on Wellman&rsquo;s linemate, 21-year-old junior James Marcou. A serious candidate in the eyes of many to win the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in U.S. college hockey, Marcou has been at the playmaking end of many of Wellman&rsquo;s goals. His nine goals and 41 points in 27 games had him second in the nation in overall scoring.The only problem is Marcou is just 5-foot-8 and 165 pounds.&ldquo;But that&rsquo;s 25 more pounds than he was when he showed up here as a freshman,&rdquo; Cahoon said. &ldquo;But he&rsquo;s a special player. There aren&rsquo;t many players in college hockey who see the ice and make intuitive plays the way he does.&rdquo;Another smaller player gaining a lot of attention is 20-year-old sophomore forward Jack Connolly of Minnesota-Duluth, who led the WCHA in scoring with 16 goals and 39 points in 30 games. But he&rsquo;s also just 5-foot-8 and is five pounds lighter than Marcou.Logic would dictate both Marcou and Connolly should stay with their collegiate programs before being signed, but when there are 30 teams going after college talent, all it takes is one team to give the player an offer he can&rsquo;t refuse.Another senior who is attracting a lot of interest is Princeton forward Cam MacIntyre, who started this season projected as the top college free agent, but has been limited to only 10 games due to various injuries. But he had six goals and 10 points in those games and scouts are impressed with his array of skills. One scout said there were 24 NHL scouts at a recent Princeton game to watch MacIntyre, only to see him get injured again. &#9632;

f0066-01

NHL GOES BACK TO COLLEGE

<div class="byline">BY COREY JOHNSON</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0070-0194/9462006-1-eng-US/f0070-012.jpg" title="f0070-01" width="583" height="951"><figcaption class="caption-body">DION PHANEUF (GRAIG ABEL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>WE&rsquo;VE HEARD THE NHL&nbsp;is getting younger &ndash; and looking back at our rankings from 10 years ago, the evidence is staring us right in the face.Of the top 50 ranked prospects in Future Watch 2000, only 15 remain in the NHL. The other 35 are either playing in European leagues &ndash; with 13 in Russia&rsquo;s Kontinental League alone &ndash; or retired due to injuries or a lack of a place to play.While having just 30 percent of the top 50 still playing in the NHL is disappointing, the ones who remain have had successful careers. Of the 15 players, only two, goalie Mathieu Garon and center Jamie Lundmark, have played fewer than 400 games.Looking back at our top 50 from 2005, 43 prospects are now logging regular minutes in the NHL. Even more impressive, 34 of them have already played at least 250 games.Will 2005&rsquo;s class dwindle in the next five years like 2000&rsquo;s? It doesn&rsquo;t look like it. Twelve of the remaining 23 forwards were in the top 50 in scoring as of Feb. 1, while defenseman such as Dion Phaneuf, Niklas Kronwall and Shea Weber all have long careers ahead of them.In goal, Ryan Miller, Cam Ward and Marc-Andre Fleury are here to stay for a long time.Here are THN&rsquo;s top 50 prospects from Future Watch 2005 and 2000. Players are listed with current team and NHL games played as of Feb. 1, 2010<h2>2005</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0070-0253/9461999-1-eng-US/f0070-022.jpg" title="f0070-02" width="805" height="2780"></div><h2>2000</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0070-0327/9461992-1-eng-US/f0070-032.jpg" title="f0070-03" width="805" height="2780"></div> &#9632;

Search for your favorite player or team

Future Watch 2010

BIG BLUELINERS KEY TO FUTURE SUCCESS

TOP 50

ALEX PIETRANGELO

BUYING INTO THEIR ROOTS