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Future Watch 2013

The Hockey News - Future Watch 2013

<div class="byline">BY RORY BOYLEN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0018-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011901/9817528-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">HANDS-ON HELP Former NHL players like Adam Graves can teach and relate to prospects on and off the ice. (BRAD BARKET/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>With each new season comes a new batch of draft-eligible prospects area scouts are responsible for projecting. But while finding and monitoring new players tops their priority list, following up on ones who have already been drafted is another important job.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s always a bit of ownership,&rdquo; says one scout based overseas. &ldquo;If we draft a guy out of Europe, I always feel a little bit of behind-the-scenes ownership. So if we draft, say, a Russian in the fourth round, I&rsquo;ll go watch his team when I&rsquo;m there and talk to him just to let him know the team cares about him.&rdquo;In this sense, the scout acts as an intermediary between the team and its prospects. If a player is struggling, the scout will try and find out if anything is wrong or how the team can help him. What they won&rsquo;t do is stray into the coaching arena and risk sending mixed messages to the prospect &ndash; NHL teams have a specific manager who follows up on scouts&rsquo; notes to actually work with the kids.Look around the league and you&rsquo;ll see a lot of familiar names filling the role of director of player development. Todd Marchant in Anaheim, Mike Sillinger in Edmonton, Chris Clark in Columbus and Adam Graves with the Rangers (who also works in hockey and business operations) are a few examples of the types of people who fill those roles. Not former superstars, but the types of ex-players who make good coaches. &ldquo;Those guys are usually ex-NHLers and usually ex-NHL character guys,&rdquo; the European scout says. &ldquo;Most of the time they have a good enough relationship with the teams the players are on that they can get on the ice and work with those guys. Teams generally don&rsquo;t mind that because sometimes they may have their own guys stay on or an undrafted player stay on and learn something.&rdquo;<blockquote class="pullQuote">IF A GUY HASN&rsquo;T PROGRESSED, IT&rsquo;S A MISTAKE TO SIGN HIM &ndash; NHL SCOUT</blockquote>Outside of summer development camps, until a player becomes pro and falls under the NHL team&rsquo;s control with their American League or ECHL affiliate, most of the information teams have on their own prospects is updated in reports from the area scouts who were drawn to them in the first place.NHL teams are permitted to have a maximum of 50 players under contract at a time, which limits options. So it is imperative to stay on top of any progression or regression a player experiences. It&rsquo;s the scout&rsquo;s job to always be honest and relay to the organization not what it wants to hear, but what it needs to know. Otherwise, larger problems will bloom.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-011668/9817521-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="1392" height="1018"><figcaption class="caption-body">INSIDER TRADING College area scouts helped the Rangers realize Ryan McDonagh was well worth acquiring. (MCDONAUGH: FRANCOIS LACASSE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>&ldquo;People make mistakes when they draft,&rdquo; the scout says. &ldquo;Every team makes a mistake. But the biggest mistake is signing those guys, because that&rsquo;s real dollars. If we draft a guy in the second round with high hopes and he does his years of junior and it comes time to sign him, if he hasn&rsquo;t progressed, it&rsquo;s a mistake to sign him. It&rsquo;s a wasted contract.&rdquo;Scouts are the eyes and ears for NHL teams at these lower levels the information-gathering experts in the field &ndash; and it goes far beyond watching draft eligibles and monitoring their own players.<blockquote class="pullQuote">IF YOU HIRE SCOUTS, YOU BETTER TRUST THEM AND VALUE WHAT THEY SAY &ndash; GORDIE CLARK</blockquote>When the New York Rangers traded Scott Gomez as part of a larger deal to the Montreal Canadiens in 2009, one of the prospects they received in return was Ryan McDonagh, who was with the University of Wisconsin. Since he hadn&rsquo;t yet turned pro, the Rangers needed the input from their area scout to follow up and gauge where McDonagh was in his development two years after being drafted 12th overall. &ldquo;The guys who were in that field &ndash; the college field &ndash; had to keep giving us reports about guys they&rsquo;ve always liked and continue to like,&rdquo; says Gordie Clark, the Rangers director of player personnel. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s a big part of it.&rdquo;In fact, it extends even past other teams&rsquo; players: scouts even have to keep their eyes and ears open for anyone who may have been completely passed over. The current Rangers blueline has clearly benefitted from the knowledge of the team&rsquo;s area scouts, as McDonagh isn&rsquo;t the only one they picked up long after his draft year. &ldquo;A lot comes from the territory guys,&rdquo; Clark says. &ldquo;Dan Girardi was not a draft pick, but he was pushed by Rich Brown, our territory guy who saw the London Knights all the time. If you hire scouts, you better trust them and value what they say.&rdquo;Scouts are passionate about the players they believe in, whether they are a part of their franchise or not. They&rsquo;re always gleaning information about and following all the players in their area who they believe have any sort of potential. It&rsquo;s a friendly and ongoing relationship between scout and prospect, but one that has to toe the line of professionalism.&ldquo;At the end of the day it&rsquo;s almost like a teacher relationship,&rdquo; the scout says. &ldquo;Most of the guys who do my job are usually 30-35-plus and these kids are 17, 18, so &lsquo;friends&rsquo; is a difficult word to attach to it. There&rsquo;s always a professional separation there. You care about the kid, his development, his health, but ultimately if they&rsquo;re not helping your team or making your team, you have to move by him.&ldquo;Scouting is just a small part of the puzzle. The day-to-day contact after they become pro is pretty well gone. When I see guys I know and had a good relationship with, it&rsquo;s awesome, you talk to them. For guys you didn&rsquo;t draft, you also let them know it wasn&rsquo;t that the team didn&rsquo;t have interest. You say &lsquo;I thought you were a good player and a good kid; we would have drafted you.&rsquo; &rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-021245/9817514-1-eng-US/f0019-022.jpg" title="f0019-02" width="666" height="1091"><figcaption class="caption-body">BROADENED HORIZONS Rangers director of player personnel Gordie Clark relies on area scouts for intel on hidden gems like Dan Girardi. (CLARK: BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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FEATURES

THE SCOUTS HAVE CLOUT

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-021416/9817341-1-eng-US/f0011-022.jpg" title="f0011-02" width="698" height="925"><figcaption class="caption-body">(SCHULTZ: ANDY DEVLIN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>THE BALLOTING FOR TOP NHL-affiliated prospect was a neck-and-neck battle between Vladimir Tarasenko and defenseman Justin Schultz of Edmonton. Each prospect received four first-place votes and five second-place votes from our committee of 15 NHL scouts, directors of player personnel and GMs. Panelists ranked prospects based on long-term NHL upside (five to 10 years). Other prospects receiving first-place votes were Anaheim&rsquo;s John Gibson and Florida&rsquo;s Jonathan Huberdeau.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-03951/9817334-1-eng-US/f0011-032.jpg" title="f0011-03" width="1232" height="374"></div> &#9632;

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TOP 50 VOTE BREAKDOWN

<div class="byline">BY BRIAN COSTELLO</div>Its only natural for NHL fans to check the Future Watch grades at the bottom of this page to see how their favorite team is doing in terms of developing prospects. While that gives you a quick and easy answer, the handicapping chart on the right gives perspective to those all-important letter grades.For more than 20 years now, Future Watch has been providing authoritative rankings of top drafted prospects and development systems for all NHL teams. It&rsquo;s authoritative because it comes from a 15-member panel of prospect evaluators (one scout from each NHL team was invited to be part of the process.)In recent seasons, we added a new wrinkle that compares a team&rsquo;s list of prospects against how early that team selects in the draft. The listing on the right ranks teams based on their report card rank (below) and average first selection the past four drafts. For the second straight year, Ottawa finished first in this analysis. Its first pick position in each draft since 2009 ranks 24th among the 30 teams. Yet the Senators rank sixth in report card grade for a differential of plus-18. That suggests they did a better job than their peers procuring talent.The Capitals are second at plus-17. They are 28th in average first pick since 2009 (first selections were 24th, 26th, 117th and 11th), but 11th in report card rank. Like the Sens, the Caps are drafting well or developing well &ndash; or both.The reason we provide handicapping plus/minuses is to give cosmetic lifts to the teams that rarely draft early. Detroit hasn&rsquo;t had a top 15 pick in 22 years and traditionally has a Future Watch grade near the bottom of the league. But when levelling the playing field, the Red Wings are always a plus team.And while the Oilers receive accolades for churning out top-notch prospects, the handicapping chart tells the true story. Edmonton has the highest average draft rank since 2009 and the No. 1 Future Watch prospect grade this year for a plus/minus of zero &ndash; middle of the pack. Contrasting this but with the same plus/minus is Vancouver. The Canucks have the 29th-highest average draft rank since 2009 and the 29th rated Future Watch grade &ndash; again, zero.The teams at the bottom of the list have a minus because their report card ranking is lower than their average first pick ranking the past four drafts.<h2>HANDICAPPING SYSTEM</h2>This chart orders teams on their draft performance in comparison to other clubs. Average Draft Rank (ADR) is the average position of the team&rsquo;s first pick in each draft since 2009. 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/f0022-021130/9817639-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg" title="f0022-02" width="633" height="1357"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-011540/9817632-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="2124" height="955"></div> &#9632;

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DEPARTMENTS

TEAM GRADES WITH MEANING

<div class="byline">BY MIKE HEIKA</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-011453/9817981-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="306" height="257"></div>Dallas Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk has been all over the map in trying to put his NHL product together, but he&rsquo;s been consistent in one area since taking the job in 2009: he wants to accumulate draft picks and target big players with skill.Nieuwendyk hopes that pays off this season, as three of Dallas&rsquo; top prospects already have played in the NHL and the next wave will step up as soon as next season. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re clearly trending young and the transition is coming probably faster than even we expected,&rdquo; Nieuwendyk said. &ldquo;But if you look around the league, this is happening with a lot of players. It&rsquo;s a young, fast league and we&rsquo;re in a place where we can compete with those teams.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-02982/9817974-1-eng-US/f0032-022.jpg" title="f0032-02" width="1127" height="1057"><figcaption class="caption-body">BRETT RITCHIE (CLAUS ANDERSEN/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h2>1|&nbsp;BRETT RITCHIE</h2>RW, 19, Niagara (OHL)6-4, 215, 41-31-28-59-36 2011 draft, 44th overallOVERALL 46Going through a breakout scoring season as Ryan Strome&rsquo;s linemate with the Niagara IceDogs, Brett Ritchie is showing the kind of big shot the Stars were hoping for when they drafted him.He&rsquo;s gone from after-thought &ndash; ranked No. 7 among Stars prospects a year ago &ndash; to one of the OHL&rsquo;s top goal-scorers and a potential impact NHLer.A hulking winger, Ritchie fits the mold Nieuwendyk has been seeking for the future of the team. But the Stars also would like to see more physicality out of him, especially when he&rsquo;s filled out to an NHL-ready size already as a teenager.<h2>2|&nbsp;RADEK FAKSA</h2>C, 19, Kitchener (OHL)6-3, 202, 32-7-19-26-22 2012 draft, 13th overallOVERALL 56The Stars see the big center as a two-way forward in the mold of Ryan Kesler, but would probably be happy if he&rsquo;s just a shutdown center on the third line.Radek Faksa&rsquo;s numbers are down slightly from the 29 goals and 67 points he had in 62 games last season. He had to sit four weeks with an MCL strain in January and February, but the Stars still believe he can challenge for an NHL job next season.A strong rebound from the injury and a solid run in the OHL playoffs are the keys to a quick jump up. Faksa still has another year of junior eligibility though.<h2>3|&nbsp;JACK CAMPBELL</h2>G, 21, Texas (AHL)6-2, 205, 9-6-3, 2.67, .906 2010 draft, 11th overallOVERALL 74The Stars have tried to slow Jack Campbell down in just about every area, because they believe he must adjust his personality to survive at the NHL level. A big, athletic goaltender with quick reflexes and a high-revving engine, Campbell has paved his path so far with adrenaline. Dallas goalie coach Mike Valley wants to make him more economical in his movements, but also in his thoughts.Campbell&rsquo;s biggest problem in development so far has been his reaction to a bad goal &ndash; or any goal for that matter. Valley would like to see him stay on an even keel.<h2>4|&nbsp;CODY EAKIN</h2>C, 21, Dallas (NHL)6-0, 190, 12-0-5-5-6 Trade (Wsh), June 22, 2012OVERALL 75Cody Eakin joined the right team at the right time. Buried in the Washington Capitals system before a trade for Mike Ribeiro in the summer, he has not only made the Stars, he is playing second-line minutes.The scrappy speedster will likely get moved down the lineup when the Stars are completely healthy, but he is forcing Nieuwendyk to ponder the possibility he&rsquo;s a second-line player in the long term. His ability to play center and wing helps.The key to Eakin&rsquo;s game is simplicity and quickness. He does a good job of taking the puck away and putting it on net.<h2>5|&nbsp;JAMIE OLEKSIAK</h2>D, 20, Texas (AHL)6-7, 254, 43-3-20-23-21 2011 draft, 14th overallAfter playing half a season in the AHL, Oleksiak received the call-up to Dallas in late January. The Stars need his size and believe he could be the workhorse No. 1 defenseman they have lacked the past five seasons. Still, they don&rsquo;t want to get ahead of themselves.Oleksiak is a strong skater and has power play skills, but what really convinced the Stars he is NHL-ready was his defensive coverage and ability to win battles in the AHL.Dallas understands there will be growing pains, but is ready to suffer through those to get Oleksiak on the fast track.<h2>On The HORIZON The NEXT Five</h2>6| REILLY SMITHRW, 21, Dallas (NHL)6-0, 185, 10-0-0-0-2 2009 draft, 69th overallCrafty goal-scorer creates chances in NHL after a solid rookie pro debut in AHL to start season.7| ALEX CHIASSONRW, 22, Texas (AHL)6-3, 206, 44-12-15-27-37 2009 draft, 38th overallSmart, physical winger has solid frame and will probably play checking role in the NHL.8| LUDWIG BYSTROMD, 18, Modo (Swe.)6-1, 169, 30-3-3-6-2 2012 draft, 43rd overallLong-term project seen as good value in second round. Solid puck mover without much physicality.9| SCOTT GLENNIERW, 21, Texas (AHL)6-1, 200, 19-2-3-5-6 2009 draft, 8th overallHas battled injuries, but development has clearly flatlined. Ice time and opportunities limited in AHL.10| PATRIK NEMETHD, 20, Texas (AHL)6-4, 233, 44-0-11-11-38 2010 draft, 41st overallSeen as a solid lower pairing D-man. Stars hope he can be a similar player to Nicklas Grossmann &#9632;

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BIGGER IS BETTER

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-012199/9817075-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">MAKING ROOM FOR MIKA Center Mika Zibanejad gets our top prospect billing in Ottawa, slightly ahead of winger Jakob Silfverberg and goalie Robin Lehner. (JANA CHYTILOVA/FREESTYLE PHOTOGRAPHY/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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IN THIS ISSUE

OPENING FACEOFF

<div class="byline">BY BRIAN COSTELLO</div>There was a movement afoot this year to officially change the name of Future Watch to &lsquo;Damn, Those Oilers are Stacked with Youth.&rsquo; It wasn&rsquo;t approved, but that&rsquo;s what this special issue has been about lately.Edmonton is once again ranked the No. 1 team in terms of 21-and-under NHL talent (top 10 prospects and the whisker-less NHLers). That&rsquo;s three straight years, which tends to happen when you get so many first overall draft picks in a row. Last year, we featured three prominent young Oilers on the cover with the main sell &ldquo;Gushing Oil.&rdquo; This year, we passed on the repetitive claim and focused on other top prospects Dougie Hamilton of Boston and Vladimir Tarasenko of St. Louis. They&rsquo;ve been terrific so far this season.One other thing you may find strange about Future Watch is how many prospects in our top 50 list are already doing well and have been since Day 1 of this lockout-shortened 2012-13. Aren&rsquo;t you guys supposed to focus on the next wave of players not yet in the NHL? Yes, we are, but this year was a little tricky. The timing of Future Watch was such that in early January, when we began the detailed process of polling scouts league-wide about hockey&rsquo;s top NHL-affiliated prospects, there was no certainty an NHL season was going to be played. So it made sense to include ballyhooed prospects such as Tarasenko, Hamilton, Nail Yakupov, Justin Schultz and others because they hadn&rsquo;t yet played in the big league. When the lockout was settled, we didn&rsquo;t know for certain which of the unproven top prospects would make it and which ones wouldn&rsquo;t. To be safe, we included all unproven prospects in Future Watch in this most unusual year.Future Watch has been one of our most popular issues for 20-plus years and it&rsquo;s always nice to see industry insiders and players take notice as well. It&rsquo;s no secret 2012 big-ticket unrestricted free agents Zach Parise and Ryan Suter said a primary reason why they selected Minnesota is because of the Wild&rsquo;s burgeoning list of Grade A prospects. No team in FW history had five prospects in the top 40 and six in the top 75 before the Wild last year. Those in the Parise and Suter camp noticed. This year, Minnesota has five in the top 75.And college free agent defenseman Justin Schultz chose Edmonton as his NHL home largely because he saw himself as part of the Oilers youthful winning formula. Given the choice, NHL players clearly want to be part of an environment with a bright future.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-012244/9817113-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="618" height="148"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021899/9817106-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="408" height="738"><figcaption class="caption-body">(MARK WILSON)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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FUTURE IS NOW

<div class="byline">BY MIKE LOFTUS</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-012474/9817182-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">BIG MAN, BIG MINUTES As a 19-year-old rookie, Dougie Hamilton is already logging close to 19 minutes per game. (FRANCOIS LACASSE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>It&rsquo;s a sure sign summer is over. Excited teenagers descend upon Boston, eager to take the next big step in their lives, hoping they&rsquo;ll fit in.There are the college students, too, but this discussion is about Dougie Hamilton, the latest teen to make an impact on the Bruins and the cover boy for this year&rsquo;s Future Watch. The 21st century list begins with Patrice Bergeron (2003-04) and jumps to Phil Kessel (06-07), Milan Lucic (07-08) and Tyler Seguin (10-11) before reaching Hamilton, who&rsquo;s unique to the group.He&rsquo;s the only defenseman, first of all, and has arguably been given more first-year responsibilities than any of his predecessors &ndash; but you&rsquo;d never know he&rsquo;s only 19. &ldquo;He plays a very experienced game,&rdquo; says Dennis Seidenberg, Hamilton&rsquo;s most frequent defense partner through the youngster&rsquo;s first 11 NHL games (four assists, minus-3). &ldquo;He&rsquo;s very poised with the puck &ndash; almost always finds a guy open and makes a nice, crisp, hard pass. It&rsquo;s nice to play with a guy like that who you can rely on.&rdquo;The Bruins effectively reserved a spot for Hamilton, a right-hand shot drafted ninth overall in 2011, on this season&rsquo;s roster. But that spot wasn&rsquo;t necessarily the one he ended up winning &ndash; on the second pairing with Seidenberg, which, when power play time is included, is worth almost 19 minutes per game. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t really know what to expect,&rdquo; says the 6-foot-5, 199-pounder. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve just tried to raise my game: Think quicker, do everything quicker, focus harder, things like that.&rdquo;There&rsquo;s been more to Hamilton earning a full-time job than just putting his mind to it. Though he isn&rsquo;t filled out, his length already helps cover ground and there&rsquo;s nothing awkward about his skating. His passing is excellent, he has a knack for getting shots through from the point and while he understands he must pick his spots carefully, he knows the Bruins project him as a puck-moving, rush-joining, point-shooting blueliner for years to come.Boston has been through its share of those lately, with players such as Paul Mara, Dennis Wideman, Derek Morris, Tomas Kaberle and Joe Corvo rarely lasting even a year. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re hard to acquire,&rdquo; says assistant GM Jim Benning. &ldquo;Now we&rsquo;ve got one of our own.&rdquo;After Hamilton&rsquo;s three-plus increasingly productive seasons with the Ontario League&rsquo;s Niagara IceDogs, as well as a pair of lengthy playoff runs and two World Junior Championship appearances with Canada, the Bruins guessed he couldn&rsquo;t progress any further as a junior. After his first four NHL games, they announced he wouldn&rsquo;t return to major junior for his final year.Hamilton is practically a hockey household name in Boston, although his junior resume isn&rsquo;t the primary reason. He was acquired with the second first round pick obtained in the controversial trade of Kessel to Toronto (Seguin, No. 2 overall in 2010, came first) and fans very much want to see Hamilton succeed.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-012185/9817175-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="1432" height="1513"><figcaption class="caption-body">GREAT EXPECTATIONS Hamilton doesn&rsquo;t seem to mind the added pressure of being part of the 2009 Phil Kessel trade. (CLAUS ANDERSEN/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">I&rsquo;VE JUST TRIED TO RAISE MY GAME, DO THINGS QUICKER AND FOCUS HARDER &ndash; DOUGIE HAMILTON</blockquote>That sort of pressure seems to bug the polite, soft-spoken Hamilton as much as making the jump from OHL to NHL or playing major minutes in a shortened NHL season where every point is critical.In other words, hardly at all.Hamilton says joining such a well-established team helps. &ldquo;Our system, the skill level of the players, make it easy for me to fit in,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;Everyone&rsquo;s in the right spot, everyone in the room is a good player.&rdquo;The Bruins think Hamilton will become great as he matures. They won&rsquo;t be surprised if he&rsquo;s even great at times this year, but good &ndash; and improving &ndash; will be just fine. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s going through exactly what we expected him to go through &ndash; being a good player that&rsquo;s learning along the way,&rdquo; says Bruins coach Claude Julien. &ldquo;We certainly can&rsquo;t complain about the way he&rsquo;s handled himself.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-021493/9817168-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg" title="f0007-02" width="622" height="951"><figcaption class="caption-body">(AARON BELL/CHL IMAGES)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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TRUST IN A TEENAGER

<div class="byline">&nbsp;&#x2013; BRIAN COSTELLO</div>THE FUTURE WATCH top 50 prospect list is a who&rsquo;s who of the best NHL-affiliated players. It&rsquo;s a five-week project that begins shortly after the World Junior Championship, where scouts from all 30 NHL teams evaluate the latest wave of tomorrow&rsquo;s big-league stars.It starts with The Hockey News consulting with each NHL team to determine an order of the top prospects in that organization. Once a master list of 30 top 10s is established, we ask the talent evaluators to rank the top 50 prospects from the 300 candidates with a five to 10-year projected outlook. Fifteen scouts participated in this year&rsquo;s exercise and a spreadsheet does the number crunching. The voting system is weighted to give top-10 prospects sequentially more balloting points than those prospects ranked 11-50.The same members of the 15-scout committee also assign a letter grade to each team based on the strength of their top-10 prospect list as well as their 21-and-under NHLers. We ask that they include the young NHLers in determining a grade because we think it&rsquo;s unfair that a team be penalized for rushing a prospect to the NHL when he could still be in the development system. In recent years, we&rsquo;ve also incorporated a handicapped grading system that weighs a team&rsquo;s strength of prospects against the backdrop of how early that team has selected in the NHL draft the past four years. (See pg. 22 for that story.)Our dividing line between who&rsquo;s a prospect and who&rsquo;s an NHLer is 50 NHL games. Players who have crossed that threshold are no longer part of Future Watch, although we make exceptions on a case-by-case basis if a player goes from the big league one season to back in the minors the next. A good example is Brett Connolly of Tampa Bay. He spent all of 2011-12 in the NHL (68 games), then all of this season in the American League with Syracuse.Some bubble prospects we consider NHLers (and no longer prospects for Future Watch purposes) are Jordan Caron, Andrew Shaw, Ryan Johansen, Andrei Loktionov, Ryan Ellis, Nino Neiderreiter, Nazem Kadri, Matt Frattin, Chris Tanev and Zack Kassian. &#9632;

HOW FW WORKS

<div class="byline">BY BRIAN COSTELLO</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0008-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-012363/9817251-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">JACOB MARKSTROM (MARKSTROM: PHILLIP MACCALLUM/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>Blame or credit the lockout for Brendan Smith setting a Future Watch record this year. The NHL labor dispute postponed Smith&rsquo;s debut as a regular on the Detroit Red Wings blueline and thrust him back in the Future Watch spotlight for a sixth consecutive season.That breaks the record of five straight years among hockey&rsquo;s list of top 75 prospects for a skater. Eric Fehr (2004 to &rsquo;08) and Jack Skille (2006 to 2010) shared that standard for skaters. It&rsquo;s a little different for goalies, who typically take longer to develop and remain part of the Future Watch picture for extended years. Florida Panthers goaltending prospect Jacob Markstrom, for example, has been part of the FW top 75 five years now.For Smith, he really has no business being in Future Watch a sixth year. With Nicklas Lidstrom and Brad Stuart leaving Detroit in the off-season, the expectation was for Smith to finally realize his potential, five years after being drafted 27th overall in 2007. But then the lockout happened. The Future Watch grading and ranking process began shortly after the World Junior Championship in early January when there was still no resolution between the NHL and NHLPA. So we made the decision to include all unproven prospects in our evaluation. That&rsquo;s why the likes of Vladimir Tarasenko, Justin Schultz and Nail Yakupov are on these pages now when they&rsquo;re already doing very well in the NHL.So, too, are four-time Future Watch prospects Chris Kreider of the Rangers, Kyle Palmieri of Anaheim and Tim Erixon of Columbus. There&rsquo;s a very high probability they wouldn&rsquo;t be in Future Watch 2013 if the season had started on time.Following is a list of prospects ranked among the top 75 in three or more years. The seven prospects at the bottom of the list didn&rsquo;t make the top 75 this year, but were part of that exclusive group in three or four years previously.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-021808/9817244-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="1040" height="1214"><figcaption class="caption-body">BRENDAN SMITH (SMITH: DAVE SANDFORD/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-031287/9817237-1-eng-US/f0008-032.jpg" title="f0008-03" width="1390" height="1731"></div> &#9632;

f0008-01

HANGING ON LONG

<div class="byline">BY KEN CAMPBELL</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0010-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-012338/9817303-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">CALCULATED RISK The Blues were confident they could wait until the 16th pick in 2010 to take Vladimir Tarasenko. (MARK BUCKNER/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>If a couple of NHL teams had the same conversation agent Mike Liut did with Vladimir Tarasenko, there&rsquo;s a good chance Tarasenko wouldn&rsquo;t have dropped in the St. Louis Blues&rsquo; lap with the 16th pick in 2010.When teams talk about &ldquo;The Russian factor&rdquo; as it relates to a player, they are hardly being xenophobic. Long gone are the days when hockey executives would look at a player&rsquo;s birthplace when deciding whether or not to draft him. But going into that draft, there was a real uncertainty when, or even if, Tarasenko would ever come over to North America to play in the NHL.The first time Liut met Tarasenko in person, he gave him the example of two Russian players, one of whom adapted well and thrived in the NHL and another who never felt comfortable in North America and returned home early in his career. He explained to Tarasenko the NHL is not an easy life and is very demanding. He went on to tell Tarasenko he had the talent to play in the NHL, but to succeed he would also need the passion and willingness to sacrifice. He told Tarasenko if it was something he didn&rsquo;t want to do, that wouldn&rsquo;t be a problem. But Liut also emphasized if Tarasenko went to the NHL and his heart wasn&rsquo;t in it, the experience would not be a good one. &ldquo;He stopped our partner in Russia from interpreting it and he held up his hand,&rdquo; Liut says. &ldquo;Then he looked at me and he said (in English), &lsquo;I want to win the World Championship for Russia and, maybe if I&rsquo;m good, the Olympics. But I want to play in the NHL, too. I want to win the Stanley Cup.&rsquo; &rdquo;That&rsquo;s essentially what Liut told St. Louis Blues GM Doug Armstrong at the draft. Armed with the knowledge there would be a good chance they would get their man, Armstrong chose Jaden Schwartz with the 14th overall pick, then traded defense prospect David Rundblad to the Ottawa Senators for their pick two selections later and took Tarasenko. The move has paid off for the Blues, with Tarasenko jumping out into early contention for rookie of the year and finishing No. 1 among prospects in THN&rsquo;s annual Future Watch vote from a panel of NHL scouts and directors of player personnel.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-021713/9817296-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg" title="f0010-02" width="806" height="435"></div><h2>FIRST NATIONS</h2>AS A EUROPEAN at No. 1 in THN&rsquo;s rankings, Tarasenko is the norm, not the exception. In 19 years of Future Watch, a European has ranked first 10 times, a Canadian seven times and an American twice.<blockquote class="pullQuote">HE TOLD ME, &lsquo;I WANT TO WIN THE WORLDS AND OLYMPICS, BUT TO PLAY IN THE NHL, TOO. I WANT TO WIN THE CUP &ndash; MIKE LIUT</blockquote>One of Tarasenko&rsquo;s nicknames is &lsquo;T-72&rsquo; in deference to the Soviet-era tank, which might have scared a few teams off. After all, the last Russian guy named &lsquo;Tank&rsquo; who came to the NHL was Vladimir Krutov, who pretty much ate his way out of the league. Tarasenko gets his name because he&rsquo;s a solid sixfoot and 202 pounds and much of that weight is in his core, which makes him difficult to knock off the puck. Blues coach Ken Hitchcock calls Tarasenko an exceptional talent with good strength on the puck. He compares some of what he sees of Tarasenko to fellow Russian Ilya Kovalchuk.And talk about making an incredible first impression. Tarasenko became the first Blues player to score on each of his first two shots in his first game and followed that up with three more goals and five assists in the next seven games. But as teams got more familiar with him and the checking got tighter, Tarasenko went the next four without recording a point. It was also a stretch in which Tarasenko&rsquo;s two-way game took a beating, with his plus-minus going from plus-6 to minus-1. Hitchcock said it was all part of the learning curve for a player who was suddenly becoming the focus of opposing defensive schemes. &ldquo;He has figured out very quickly that there is no space, no room and he&rsquo;s going through that adjustment phase,&rdquo; Hitchcock says. &ldquo;People have figured out he&rsquo;s a good player and they&rsquo;re not giving him the space they gave him at the start of the year. So he&rsquo;s learning every lesson young players learn, especially young, skilled players. The best way to describe it is that he&rsquo;s now learning to fight for space rather than look for space.&rdquo;That&rsquo;s probably to be expected from a guy who played on a 100-foot wide ice surface until coming to the NHL. Players from Europe find out early it&rsquo;s difficult to beat defensemen to the outside because on a rink with a width of 85 feet, there is no outside. And the whole flow of the game is quite different, something Tarasenko did not have the luxury of learning by playing major junior or in the minors.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011946/9817289-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="626" height="1004"><figcaption class="caption-body">SAINTLY DEBUT Tarasenko is the first St. Louis Blue ever to score on his first two shots in his first game. (DAVE REGINEK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>And that&rsquo;s where the tradeoff comes with young players such as Tarasenko.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-012280/9817282-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="2005" height="1242"><figcaption class="caption-body">REALITY CHECK After a sizzling January, Tarasenko stumbled as teams began keying on him. (DILIP VISHWANAT/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">ONCE HE LEARNS YOU GET TREATED DIFFERENTLY AS A GOOD PLAYER, HE&rsquo;S GOING TO REACH ANOTHER LEVEL &ndash; KEN HITCHCOCK</blockquote>For example, Russian defensemen don&rsquo;t pinch and step up on the rush near as much as North American defensemen do. They let the play come to them. By not closing the gap, that lets skill players carry the puck up the ice with some speed without getting impeded in the neutral zone. And that&rsquo;s probably a big reason why Tarasenko has been able to develop the puck skills he possesses.But he and other young Europeans find out pretty quickly the room they had back home simply doesn&rsquo;t exist in the NHL. Because Tarasenko was such a prodigy and has been playing in the Kontinental League since he was 17, some deprogramming has to be done over the course of his rookie season. &ldquo;Nothing against (the KHL), but that game is so different than it is for a kid his age who would have played major junior,&rdquo; Hitchcock says. &ldquo;The game there is a lateral game, where as the game in North America is a linear game. His professionalism and preparation from playing in the KHL has helped him, but with the ice surface and the style of game, he&rsquo;s going to go through a year of adjustment here.&rdquo;He figures to be a quick study, even with the language barrier. Hitchcock says Tarasenko understands most of what he says and what doesn&rsquo;t filter through is passed onto him by Sergei Zubov, who is a consultant to the Blues hockey operations department. Liut says he can have conversations with Tarasenko in English and figures the 21-year-old will be comfortable with the language by the end of the season.As far as on the ice goes, there&rsquo;s little concern there. Tarasenko has a superior hockey mind and a skill level passed on by his father Andrei, who played 15 years in the Soviet/Russian League and coached his son with Novosibirsk Sibir of the KHL. Andrei, who played for Russia at the Lillehammer Olympics in 1994, was the prime hockey influence on Vladimir, who honed his talents in his hometown of Novosibirsk in the southwest region of Siberia.Tarasenko is a long way from home and the style of play to which he&rsquo;s accustomed, but it probably won&rsquo;t be long before St. Louis and the NHL start to feel like home. &ldquo;Once he learns that when you get treated as a good player it&rsquo;s a different world,&rdquo; Hitchcock says, &ldquo;He&rsquo;s going to get to another level.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0010-01

TRUE BLUE

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0014-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-021700/9817386-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">CLEAR AS MUD First-rounder Dan Cleary is a 20-goal man and Stanley Cup winner. Can we call him a bust? (JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-012257/9817393-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="194" height="229"></div>The sooner an elite young player hears his name spoken in the NHL draft, the better he&rsquo;s likely to feel. Yet most top prospects and their agents are smart enough to know (a) the draft is but a pit stop on the road to the real validation that only happens when you a play in hockey&rsquo;s top league; and (b) the possibility of being labelled a &ldquo;bust&rdquo; after they leave the draft podium area is also considerable &ndash; and rises drastically if they&rsquo;re a first or second round selection.That said, some people&rsquo;s idea of what it is to be a bust is far different than that of veteran NHL management and development experts. Sure, there are clear-cut cases: Alexandre Daigle (the first pick in 1993) and Patrik Stefan (No. 1 in 1999) come to mind immediately. But what would you call Dan Cleary?Well, you&rsquo;d call him a high pick (13th overall in 1997) and someone who didn&rsquo;t score nearly as many NHL goals as the 43 he averaged in his final two full seasons in the Ontario League. You&rsquo;d also call him a player who bounced between three NHL teams in his first seven seasons. In many ways, he meets the requirements for bust-dom.There&rsquo;s just one problem with calling Cleary a bust: once he landed in Detroit in his eighth year, he found his niche as a third-liner and became a three-time 20-goal-scorer, helping the Red Wings win the 2007-08 Stanley Cup. In 2009, he was one of 46 players invited to Canada&rsquo;s Olympic orientation camp. Many of the current NHL Players&rsquo; Association membership would kill for that resume.<blockquote class="pullQuote">A GUY WHO PLAYS 10-15 YEARS IN THE NHL ISN&rsquo;T A BUST &ndash; JOHN WEISBROD</blockquote>People who work with prospects acknowledge any developmental system has successes and failures. But they also recognize the difficulty any player faces in carving out a long, worthwhile career and consequently label a player a bust far less frequently than might a fan or media member. &ldquo;The bust term is tough to throw around,&rdquo; says John Weisbrod, assistant GM of the Calgary Flames. &ldquo;If you draft a player with high expectations and he never plays in the NHL, it might be easier to use it. But you often see it applied to a player who makes it and isn&rsquo;t as good as what was expected. He may be a fifth or a sixth defenseman who plays for 10 or 15 years, but because the expectation was higher, people consider him a bust. Maybe he was picked too high or a team made a mistake in judging what he&rsquo;d be, but a guy who plays 10-15 years in the NHL isn&rsquo;t a bust.&rdquo;So why does one player &ldquo;make&rdquo; it in the NHL where so many others do not? It depends who you ask. Some believe a non-NHL player has his talent regress from the level he displayed during his draft year or flatlines in his developmental curve and doesn&rsquo;t ascend to the heights he was projected to reach.An example of a regression is Flames forward Greg Nemisz, drafted 25th overall in 2008 and now languishing in his third season with American League Abbotsford. An example of a flatliner is Thomas Hickey, selected fourth overall by the Kings in 2007. The defenseman had major upside, but never raised his game enough to remain in the organization and was plucked off the waiver wire by the New York Islanders in January.Hickey and teammate Michael Grabner are examples of another truism about socalled busts: if you&rsquo;re a first- or second-rounder slow to develop, you&rsquo;re shown more patience by the team that selected you or another team willing to make a low-risk, high-reward gamble. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s usually another organization who will remember a guy from his draft year,&rdquo; Weisbrod says. &ldquo;But it&rsquo;s still about producing. You won&rsquo;t get a chance from every team because you&rsquo;re a first round pick.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011953/9817379-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="1398" height="925"><figcaption class="caption-body">EYE OF THE BEHOLDER The 2012 first round included players the Flames front office didn&rsquo;t want in any round. (WEISBROD: GERRY THOMAS/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>But to lay all the blame on a player for not living up to potential &ndash; or give him all the credit if he makes it &ndash; is to ignore the importance of each organization&rsquo;s role in his development. &ldquo;Once we acquire a player, it&rsquo;s our responsibility to give them the tools to succeed,&rdquo; says San Jose Sharks GM Doug Wilson. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re in the business of building careers. We don&rsquo;t believe in &lsquo;churning and burning.&rsquo; A player isn&rsquo;t going to naturally get better on his own.&rdquo;Weisbrod says that, in any given draft, 10-15 percent of players will have the natural talents to make the NHL regardless of the quality of development provided to them and another 40-45 percent will never be good enough professionally to play at the NHL level. That leaves 40 percent of players who could go either way, depending on the manner in which their organization handles them.He also says player projections can vary wildly from team to team. He noted the NHL&rsquo;s Central Scouting final projection of the 2012 first round included players the Flames wouldn&rsquo;t have drafted in any round. That speaks to another reason why players flirt with the bust label through little fault of their own: the subjective process that is the drafting system. As often as prospects are put under the microscope before a draft, the smartest hockey men on the planet can only guess as to how they&rsquo;ll adapt emotionally, physically and competitively to playing with grown men in a much different league.Sometimes, despite everybody&rsquo;s best efforts, those guesstimates can end up being off the mark. &ldquo;Sometimes that area of potential and projection don&rsquo;t meet and the draft pick becomes a misread,&rdquo; says former NHL GM and TSN draft guru Craig Button. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not about the player not working hard or the team not doing what was necessary. Sometimes the player just doesn&rsquo;t have as much upside or potential as everybody thought.&ldquo;And that&rsquo;s nobody&rsquo;s fault. We&rsquo;re talking about a very inexact science.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-021384/9817372-1-eng-US/f0015-022.jpg" title="f0015-02" width="692" height="624"><figcaption class="caption-body">LONGER LEASH Michael Grabner got a second chance with a new team since he was a first round talent. (GRABNER/SCHEIFELE: JONATHAN KOZUB/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0014-02

THE BUST MYTH

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-03961/9817431-1-eng-US/f0015-032.jpg" title="f0015-03" width="659" height="673"></div>THE FOLLOWING is a list of the 30 first round picks from the 2011 NHL draft and where they rank today among the top 75 prospects in Future Watch 2013 according to a panel of 15 scouts and GMs. Players not ranked among the top 75 prospects are denoted as &ldquo;nr.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-04719/9817424-1-eng-US/f0015-042.jpg" title="f0015-04" width="617" height="1600"></div> &#9632;

f0015-03

TRENDING 2011

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0016-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-021546/9817476-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">TOP OF THE CROP Goalie John Gibson is Anaheim&rsquo;s No. 1-ranked draft pick despite several injuries this season. (NICK LAHAM/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-012022/9817483-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="194" height="219"></div>It&rsquo;s not as though he&rsquo;s a legitimate Prince of Darkness or anything, but Justin Schultz is to the Anaheim Ducks what Voldemort was to the wizarding world of Harry Potter. You know, He Who Must Not Be Named.It appears even uttering Schultz&rsquo;s name is verboten around the Ducks these days. In fact, the Ducks assistant GM and senior vice president of hockey operations, David McNab, gratefully declines comment when asked what might have been if the Ducks had managed to sign Schultz to a contract after selecting him 43rd overall in the 2008 draft. &ldquo;Just too frustrating,&rdquo; McNab says.We&rsquo;ll give him that. After all, Schultz could become the first player in hockey history to win rookie-of-the-year honors in the American League and the NHL in the same season. If you&rsquo;d drafted him in the second round, only to lose him to unrestricted free agency through absolutely no fault of your own, you&rsquo;d be frustrated, too. In fact, the Ducks&rsquo; first and fourth picks of that draft were Jake Gardiner and Schultz. Gardiner, of course, was packaged to Toronto to get veteran Francois Beauchemin.(As an aside, the 2008 draft was ridiculous. Among defensemen selected along with Schultz and Gardiner were Drew Doughty, Zach Bogosian, Alex Pietrangelo, Luke Schenn, Tyler Myers, Erik Karlsson, Luca Sbisa, Michael Del Zotto, John Carlson and Travis Hamonic. And don&rsquo;t get us started on the forwards &ndash; Steven Stamkos, Cody Hodgson, Jordan Eberle, Tyler Ennis, Derek Stepan, Adam Henrique&hellip;)There is little doubt the presence of Schultz would bolster the Ducks prospect list and their prospects on the ice. But despite losing him, Anaheim has still managed to assemble an impressive list of future talent. Along with their under-22 roster players Cam Fowler and Devante Smith-Pelly, the Ducks are the No. 2-ranked team in the NHL in organizational depth in voting conducted by head scouts and directors of player personnel. And three of their prospects &ndash; goalie John Gibson (11), defenseman Hampus Lindholm (12) and center Rickard Rackell (48) &ndash; are among the top 50 prospects in THN&rsquo;s annual Future Watch.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-011743/9817469-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="664" height="1046"><figcaption class="caption-body">TWO IN THE TOP DOZEN A panel of scouts ranked 2012 draft pick Hampus Lindholm the No. 12 NHL-affiliated prospect. (LINDHOLM: JAMIE SABAU/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>Much of the good work has been done under the watch of Martin Madden Jr., the Ducks director of amateur scouting, who presided over his first draft for the Ducks in 2009. Since then the Ducks have done a good job of getting solid prospects late in the first round and in subsequent rounds. &ldquo;Martin and his staff have done a good job,&rdquo; McNab says. &ldquo;They&rsquo;ve drafted well. Teams that have done well can&rsquo;t just rely on the first round. You&rsquo;ve got to get a few real good players later and they&rsquo;ve been able to do that.&rdquo;You don&rsquo;t have to look far to find tangible evidence of that. After taking Rackell with the last pick of the first round in 2011, the Ducks took Gibson nine picks later. Although Gibson has battled through everything from a sore back to a concussion to bronchitis and pneumonia this season, he was spectacular for the United States at the World Junior Championship, registering a 1.36 goals-against average and .955 save percentage en route to being named the best goaltender and most valuable player in the tournament. In the 2012 draft, after taking Lindholm sixth overall, the Ducks got two more potential NHLers with Nic Kerdiles at 36 and Fredrik Andersen at 87.<blockquote class="pullQuote">OUR SCOUTS ARE REALLY CONFIDENT IN THEIR PICKS &ndash; DAVID MCNAB</blockquote><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-021328/9817462-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="1390" height="1161"><figcaption class="caption-body">HUNTING ELSEWHERE Center Peter Holland is the only Canadian among the Anaheim Ducks&rsquo; top 10 prospects. (HOLLAND: DEBORA ROBINSON/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>There is one thing about Anaheim&rsquo;s prospect list that stands out aside from its quality. Look Ma, no Canadians. Well, not exactly, but close. Of their top 10 prospects, the only one of them who is Canadian is Peter Holland, who was taken 15th overall in 2009. Most of the rest on the list is dominated by Americans &ndash; Gibson, Kyle Palmieri, Emerson Etem and Chris Wagner &ndash; or Swedes &ndash; Lindholm, Rackell and William Karlsson. The other two are Finnish defenseman Sami Vatanen and Danish goalie Andersen, who was originally chosen by Carolina in 2010, but went back into the draft and was taken by the Ducks in 2012.This is certainly not by design. Although McNab acknowledges the Ducks have done a better job finding players in Europe over the past few years, the fact their prospect list is topheavy with Americans and Swedes has to do with nothing more than circumstance. Like every one of the NHL&rsquo;s 30 teams, the Ducks take who they think is the best player available when they are picking, regardless of passport. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve just done a pretty good job everywhere,&rdquo; McNab says. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s weird that it has worked out that way. Guys aren&rsquo;t making choices based on shots in the dark. They&rsquo;re comfortable and they&rsquo;re confident in their picks. They&rsquo;ve really liked the guys they&rsquo;re taking and it&rsquo;s a positive sign when the scouts are really excited about their guys.&rdquo;One more reason to like the Ducks list: it doesn&rsquo;t even include Kevin Roy, who became a YouTube sensation at the age of 13 with his sublime moves during a shootout competition (&ldquo;13-year-old kid pulls orgasmic moves,&rdquo; it says prior to the video, which is at 1.3 million views and counting.)After scoring a record-breaking 54 goals and 104 points for the Lincoln Stars last season and being named player of the year in the United States League, the 19-year-old is playing at Northeastern University this season and is the leading scorer in U.S. college hockey among freshmen. The only problem with the 97th overall pick in the 2012 draft is he&rsquo;s 5-foot-9 and 170 pounds.But if he can play, you can be certain the Ducks, or someone else, will find a place for him on their roster. And if the rest of the prospects can fulfill their potential, the Ducks will be a force for years to come. &#9632;

f0016-02

FLOCK FLUSH

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-011654/9817601-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="521" height="616"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-021185/9817594-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="509" height="639"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-03835/9817587-1-eng-US/f0020-032.jpg" title="f0020-03" width="673" height="696"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-04574/9817580-1-eng-US/f0020-042.jpg" title="f0020-04" width="417" height="622"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-05360/9817573-1-eng-US/f0020-052.jpg" title="f0020-05" width="579" height="677"></div>The Future Watch top 50 ranking is a compilation of ratings provided by a panel of 15 NHL head scouts and GMs.Many of the names near the top of the list this year are familiar because they&rsquo;re already excelling in the NHL. We decided to include these NHL rookies as &ldquo;Future Watch prospects&rdquo; because it wasn&rsquo;t clear which ones were going to make the big league for good during this lockout-delayed/shortened season and which ones &ndash; likes Winnipeg&rsquo;s Mark Scheifele &ndash; were going to stay for a few games, then return to junior or the minors.Our line in the sand for when a prospect crosses over to become an NHLer is typically 50 NHL games. That&rsquo;s why the likes of plus-50 players Ryan Johansen, Nazem Kadri, Matt Frattin, Nino Niederreiter, Chris Tanev and others aren&rsquo;t on this list. In some cases, a player doesn&rsquo;t reach 50 NHL games, but played enough heavy minutes and well enough to establish themselves as NHLers and therefore not &ldquo;prospect&rsquo; enough for this list. Some good examples of those sub-50 players are Nashville&rsquo;s Ryan Ellis and Vancouver&rsquo;s Zack Kassian. Having a lockout butt up against our evaluation deadlines blurs that line even more.The player&rsquo;s rank from last season&rsquo;s Future Watch is in parentheses, with unranked players from last year&rsquo;s list denoted as &ldquo;nr&rdquo; and prospects drafted in 2012 listed as &ldquo;new.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-06295/9817566-1-eng-US/f0020-062.jpg" title="f0020-06" width="2141" height="1296"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-011328/9817559-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="2142" height="1947"></div> &#9632;

f0020-01

TOP 50 PROSPECTS

<div class="byline">BY ERIC STEPHENS</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-011479/9817677-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="278" height="233"></div>The three seasons between 2005-06 and 2007-08 have been the highpoint for the Ducks franchise, but they also covered up a drying prospect pool that wasn&rsquo;t good enough to help sustain that success over the long run. Anaheim GM Bob Murray and his scouting staff have worked to replenish that barren farm system over the past few yearsSome of their top prospects are already filling holes on the roster and will get larger roles when Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu hang up their skates. The Ducks will soon need to lean on youth, especially if they lose top forwards Ryan Getzlaf or Corey Perry, who both become unrestricted free agents this summer.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-021064/9817670-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg" title="f0024-02" width="1032" height="925"><figcaption class="caption-body">JOHN GIBSON (CLAUS ANDERSEN/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h2>1| JOHN GIBSON</h2>G, 19, Kitchener (OHL)6-3, 208, 15-8-0, 2.41, .927 2011 draft, 39th overallOVERALL 11Once the Pittsburgh native finished his Jim Craiglike performance to give the U.S. a world junior gold, Ducks fans were already clamoring for the teenager to make the roster and even push No. 1 goalie Jonas Hiller aside. But there&rsquo;s no point in rushing John Gibson.The Ducks will let him incubate in the OHL another year then probably give him time in the AHL starting in 2014-15. The big netminder is athletic and has a calm, composed demeanor. With Hiller&rsquo;s contract expiring in 2014, it could mean a transition if they believe Gibson is NHL-ready as a 20-year-old by then.<h2>2| HAMPUS LINDHOLM</h2>D, 19, Norfolk (AHL)6-3, 195, 19-1-4-5-10 2012 draft, 6th overallOVERALL 12The Ducks pulled a surprise on draft day when they took this Swede ahead of better-known defenseman prospects like Mathew Dumba and Jacob Trouba, but they&rsquo;ve been enamored with Hampus Lindholm&rsquo;s size and all-around skill.Lindholm was already displaying a sound two-way game as one of the youngest players in the AHL, but was halted by concussions sustained a month apart, the second of which kept him out of the world juniors.With one-time top prospect Justin Schultz defecting to Edmonton, Anaheim hopes Lindholm will fill that talent gap on the blueline.<h2>3| RICKARD RAKELL</h2>RW, 19, Anaheim (NHL)6-1, 191, 4-0-0-0-0 2011 draft, 30th overallOVERALL 48The fact Rickard Rakell made the Ducks while still eligible for another season of junior says a lot about his progression. Rakell has impressed since the Ducks dropped a few slots in the 2011 draft and grabbed him late in the first round.The talented Swede stood out at the WJC as a top-line winger. He has shown the versatility to play any forward position &ndash; on the world stage or in junior with OHL Plymouth.Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau has kept him with the big club as he likes Rakell&rsquo;s solid two-way game at such a young age. He also has offensive upside.<h2>4| KYLE PALMIERI</h2>RW, 22, Anaheim (NHL)5-11, 197, 11-4-1-5-2 2009 draft, 26th overallOVERALL 57Having proven himself as a goal-scorer in the AHL, Kyle Palmieri jumped to the NHL with some success at the end of 2011-12, notching four goals and three assists in 18 games.He&rsquo;s a shooter with a quick release and the Ducks believe he can score in the NHL, but it may take another season for him to realize his potential. He&rsquo;s not terribly big and can get knocked off the puck.With Perry and Selanne still entrenched as Anaheim&rsquo;s top two right wingers, Palmieri will need to carve out his role on the left side for now if he&rsquo;s used as a top-six forward.<h2>5| EMERSON ETEM</h2>RW, 20, Norfolk (AHL)6-1, 210, 40-12-2-14-12 2010 draft, 29th overallThe Ducks are prepared to give Emerson Etem his shot to play in the NHL one year after he finished a stellar junior career. The winger, who is fast despite an unorthodox skating style, started slowly in the AHL, but showed a propensity to score in bunches with four two-goal games.Etem was the last person cut from the Ducks&rsquo; quick camp, but a three-point night against Bridgeport earned him a promotion. Etem became the 13th player born and raised in Southern California to play in the NHL. He&rsquo;ll have a larger role in 2013-14 if Selanne retires or Perry leaves as a free agent.<h2>On The HORIZON The NEXT Five</h2>6| WILLIAM KARLSSON C, 20, HV71 Jonkoping (Swe.)6-0, 170, 41-4-21-25-8 2011 draft, 53rd overallDucks aren&rsquo;t rushing this playmaker, who can still bulk up before he comes to North America.7| SAMI VATANEND, 21, Norfolk (AHL)5-10, 180, 36-4-20-24-30 2009 draft, 106th overallSmall rearguard plays a Kimmo Timonen-type game. Boudreau eager to tap into his offensive talents.8| PETER HOLLAND C, 22, Norfolk (AHL)6-2, 190, 39-16-19-35-58 2009 draft, 15th overallKnocking on NHL door, but club officials want more consistency. Physical skills aren&rsquo;t a question.9| CHRIS WAGNERC, 21, Norfolk (AHL)5-11, 200, 41-3-10-13-42 2010 draft, 122nd overallColgate star already proving a solid two-way player, but scoring potential appears limited.10| FREDERIK ANDERSEN G, 23, Norfolk (AHL)6-4, 250, 9-10-1, 2.30, .929 2012 draft, 87th overallCould be the first Danish netminder to play in NHL, but his path is blocked by backup Viktor Fasth. &#9632;

f0024-01

CHICKS WILL INVADE POND

<div class="byline">BY MIKE LOFTUS</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-011299/9817715-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg" title="f0025-01" width="278" height="233"></div>Even if the Bruins hadn&rsquo;t dealt goalie Tim Thomas to the New York Islanders, they had to think about replacing him as he pushed 40 years old. And even though trading Dennis Wideman to Florida netted a Stanley Cup hero (right winger Nathan Horton) and a valuable defensive center (Gregory Campbell), the Bruins needed a more permanent solution to replace Wideman&rsquo;s production from the blueline. Tomas Kaberle and Joe Corvo didn&rsquo;t work out.Via high draft picks (defenseman Dougie Hamilton, goalie Malcolm Subban) and free agency (defenseman Torey Krug), the Bruins addressed their major needs and added depth.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-02913/9817708-1-eng-US/f0025-022.jpg" title="f0025-02" width="1025" height="975"><figcaption class="caption-body">DOUGIE HAMILTON (ABELIMAGES/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h2>1| DOUGIE HAMILTON</h2>D, 19, Boston (NHL)6-5, 199, 10-0-4-4-0 2011 draft, 9th overallOVERALL 4Boston saved a spot for Hamilton this year and he earned a top-four position, usually with Zdeno Chara or Dennis Seidenberg because, coach Claude Julien said, &ldquo;Hamilton is a good player. He can play anywhere.&rdquo;With the skating ability to retrieve pucks and turn them around, plus the vision to make good passes and get shots through from the point, Hamilton can play 20-plus minutes per game and be a power play staple, even as a teenager. His challenges: learning defensive zone coverage and knowing when to lead or join rushes. The Bruins believe he has the hockey sense to do both.<h2>2| MALCOLM SUBBAN</h2>G, 19, Belleville (OHL)6-2, 201, 21-9-3, 2.22, .931 2012 draft, 24th overallOVERALL 45Subban is a work in progress getting plenty of work this season. The No. 1 goalie for an OHL contender also won that role for Canada at the world juniors, where his play was up and down.&ldquo;It was a learning experience,&rdquo; said Bruins assistant gm Jim Benning, who hopes Subban also gets to experience a long OHL playoff run. &ldquo;A couple of games didn&rsquo;t go that well, but he rebounded.&rdquo;Subban came late to the position and has some technical issues as a result, but the Bruins believe he&rsquo;ll overcome them through coaching, athleticism and a strong work ethic.<h2>3| ALEXANDER KHOKHLACHEV</h2>C, 19, Windsor (OHL)5-10, 180, 15-13-12-25-10 2011 draft, 40th overallIt&rsquo;s been an interesting season for the skillful forward. Alexander Khokhlachev played in the KHL during the lockout (two goals, seven points in 26 games). Then, after suiting up for Russia&rsquo;s bronzemedal entry at the WJC, he returned to his OHL team.What pleased the Bruins was that, while not losing his offensive instincts, he has &ldquo;improved his two-way game, play in his own end and his competitiveness,&rdquo; Benning said.Boston sees his skills and vision as similar to David Krejci&rsquo;s and is glad he&rsquo;s now playing on smaller North American rinks.<h2>4| RYAN SPOONER</h2>C, 21, Providence (AHL)5-10, 180, 36-9-22-31-6 2010 draft, 45th overallThe rookie Ryan Spooner had to adjust to the strength and speed of the AHL, where the competition level was raised during the NHL lockout.He was eventually producing nearly a point per game, playing well away from the puck and using his speed to overcome his lack of bulk. &ldquo;I see him as a playmaking, offensive center because of his ability to go through the neutral zone with speed, have his head up and find teammates coming in late,&rdquo; Benning said.But the B&rsquo;s still want him to bulk up. &ldquo;As he gains strength, he&rsquo;ll be able to use his skill more,&rdquo; Benning said.<h2>5| TOREY KRUG</h2>D, 21, Providence (AHL)5-9, 175, 36-7-12-19-25 Free agent, March 25, 2012The Bruins craved the Michigan State product&rsquo;s skating and puck-moving talents so much, they let last year&rsquo;s one-month stint in Boston (he practised daily and played two games) count as a year of his entry-level contract.An ankle sprain thwarted Torey Krug&rsquo;s attempt to make the NHL post-lock-out, but he&rsquo;s still gaining valuable lessons on making a small body work at the pro level. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s learning positioning, the way our defensemen play within the dots,&rdquo; Benning said. &ldquo;He makes a good first pass out of the zone, transitions the puck up ice and has a real good shot from the point.&rdquo;<h2>On The HORIZON The NEXT Five</h2>6| ANTHONY CAMARALW, 19, Barrie (OHL)6-1, 194, 42-31-23-54-68 2011 draft, 81st overallEnergy winger for Canada&rsquo;s national junior team is now an unexpectedly productive OHL player.7| JARED KNIGHT5-11, 202, 3-0-0-0-0 2010 draft, 32nd overallHamstring injury on first weekend of first pro season has delayed the tenacious pivot&rsquo;s progress.8| MATT GRZELCYKD, 19, Boston U. (HE)5-9, 171, 25-2-15-17-12 2011 draft, 85th overallFinal cut from U.S. national junior team resumed confidence and puck-moving skills of freshman year.9| CARTER CAMPERC, 24, Providence (AHL)5-9, 176, 37-6-25-31-4 Free agent, April 7, 2011Slow start, especially in goal production, to first half of second full AHL season for smart scoring center.10| BRIAN FERLINRW, 20, Cornell (ECAC)6-2, 201, 23-5-8-13-39 2011 draft, 121st overallLimited production with defense-oriented team. Decent size, excels in the corners and on the boards. &#9632;

f0025-01

B’S DON’T MISS A BEAT

<div class="byline">BY JOHN VOGL</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-011490/9817753-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="278" height="234"></div>The Sabres took a lot of heat for introducing video scouting about seven years ago. When they look at their organizational depth now, the feel vindicated. In fact, after seeing how much video helped them get prospects, they&rsquo;ve gone a step further. Buffalo now gives video to its prospects.The Sabres&rsquo; minor-leaguers in Rochester receive iPads filled daily with tips from coaches, personalized highlights, clips of opponents and full-game videos. Top prospects such as Mark Pysyk, Brayden McNabb and Jerome Gauthier-Leduc can get ready for the next level by studying their fine plays and miscues, with each player getting individualized packages.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-021073/9817746-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="1019" height="928"><figcaption class="caption-body">MIKHAIL GRIGORENKO (GRAIG ABEL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h2>1| MIKHAIL GRIGORENKO</h2>C, 18, Buffalo (NHL)6-3, 200, 12-1-2-3-0 2012 draft, 12th overallOVERALL 16The Sabres thought about keeping Mikhail Grigorenko in junior to learn how to be &ldquo;the man,&rdquo; but decided he was better off being an NHL center.Grigorenko is already playing a significant role in Buffalo. He&rsquo;s on the third line and his offensive skills are on display during power plays. He has a lot to learn, especially defensively, but the Sabres are willing to trade mistakes for talent. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s going to be pain,&rdquo; said coach Lindy Ruff. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to feel pain and he&rsquo;s going to feel some. But as an organization, we feel he can grow and help us win.&rdquo;<h2>2| JOEL ARMIA</h2>RW, 19, Assat Pori (Fin.)6-3, 192, 36-13-7-20-24 2011 draft, 16th overallOVERALL 43It&rsquo;s all about scoring for the best sniper among Sabres prospects. For a second straight year, Joel Armia is holding his own against men in the Finnish League and he dazzled in the world juniors.Armia had six goals and 12 points in six WJC games, though Finland played weaker opponents in relegation. &ldquo;He can shoot and when he shoots, he really challenges the goaltender,&rdquo; said Jon Christiano, Buffalo&rsquo;s director of pro scouting. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a guy who can find corners, can find where the goaltender isn&rsquo;t.&rdquo;With two concussions in less than a year, there are injury concerns.<h2>3| MARCUS FOLIGNO</h2>LW, 21, Buffalo (NHL)6-3, 226, 13-1-6-7-15 2009 draft, 104th overallOVERALL 44Everything came easily for Marcus Foligno during his first run in a Sabres sweater. He had six goals and 13 points in 14 games at the end of last season, using his size and decent touch to get fans drooling.As expected, it&rsquo;s not as simple this year, but Foligno&rsquo;s work ethic and desire make up for deficiencies in speed and experience. He&rsquo;s getting power play work. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve just got to generate more, be nasty and get in front of the net more,&rdquo; Foligno said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m just really happy I&rsquo;m going in the right direction here. As games go on, I feel more confident.&rdquo;<h2>4| ZEMGUS GIRGENSONS</h2>C, 19, Rochester (AHL)6-1, 198, 31-3-6-9-14 2012 draft, 14th overallOVERALL 49The AHL&rsquo;s second-youngest player does everything full speed. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s going 100 miles per hour if the puck&rsquo;s in his area code,&rdquo; Christiano said. &ldquo;Most of the time, he&rsquo;s ready to make contact and hurry plays. He takes the puck and his body to dangerous areas.&rdquo;It&rsquo;s cost Zemgus Girgensons in the form of two concussions. He hasn&rsquo;t shown much offense, but toughness isn&rsquo;t a question for the Latvian, who jumped up from the USHL to turn pro. The Sabres can live with Girgensons&rsquo; underage mistakes in exchange for long-term payback.<h2>5| MARK PYSYK</h2>D, 21, Rochester (AHL)6-1, 188, 41-3-10-13-16 2010 draft, 23rd overallPysyk is on the first-year-pro roller-coaster. He started the season on the power play, showcasing his brains and slick passing. He&rsquo;s also been scratched when the transition from junior overwhelms him.Pysyk&rsquo;s smooth skating helps him avoid trouble and the junior captain is a leader. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s not going to be that flamboyant guy that brings you out of your seat,&rdquo; Christiano said. &ldquo;You hardly recognize him when he&rsquo;s playing until he makes the odd mistake, then you realize for the 40 minutes prior he&rsquo;s been bang-on, doing everything the right way. He&rsquo;s a real fundamentally sound player.&rdquo;<h2>On The HORIZON The NEXT Five</h2>6| BRAYDEN MCNABBD, 22, Rochester (AHL)6-5, 212, 43-3-24-27-38 2009 draft, 66th overallBig D-man showed flashes of physicality, skill with Sabres last season, but he&rsquo;s dipped some.7| JAKE MCCABED, 19, Wisconsin (WCHA)6-1, 205, 24-2-8-10-38 2012 draft, 44th overallOvershadowed by USA&rsquo;s big stars on &lsquo;D&rsquo; at WJC, but well-rounded captain was vital part of gold-medal run.8| JEROME GAUTHIER-LEDUCD, 20, Rochester (AHL)6-2, 194, 25-2-4-6-8 2010 draft, 68th overallOffensive force in junior, but skills haven&rsquo;t translated on scoresheet as he adjusts to speed of pro game.9| DANIEL CATENACCIC, 19, Owen Sound (OHL)5-10, 191, 53-29-35-64-103 2011 draft, 77th overallPotent scorer with sandpaper seems to have shaken off being cut from Canada&rsquo;s WJC squad.10| JUSTIN KEAC, 18, Saginaw (OHL)6-4, 206, 53-18-23-41-81 2012 draft, 73rd overallThought of as a defensive pivot, but scoring stats have spiked significantly in third OHL season. &#9632;

f0026-01

SCREENING PROCESS

<div class="byline">BY RANDY SPORTAK</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-011375/9817791-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="279" height="233"></div>The past three seasons have been doubly tough for the Calgary Flames. Not only have they suffered the indignity of being left out of the Stanley Cup party, but constantly finishing in no man&rsquo;s land, just outside the final berth, only lands them mid-first round draft slots. That means they end up selecting after the slam-dunk, surefire stars have been scooped up.To its credit, Calgary is starting to amass a prospect pool, led by scoring wingers Sven Baertschi and John Gaudreau. But, after years of trading away so many picks during Darryl Sutter&rsquo;s reign and striking out on many others, it&rsquo;s going to be a slow process unless some surprises come forward in a hurry.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02962/9817784-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="1025" height="960"><figcaption class="caption-body">SVEN BAERTSCHI (GRAIG ABEL/ABELIMAGES/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h2>1|&nbsp;SVEN BAERTSCHI</h2>LW, 20, Abbotsford (AHL)5-10, 181, 21-6-12-18-14 2011 draft, 13th overallOVERALL 15Drafting outside the top 10 is a bit of a crapshoot, but the Flames believe they have an excellent up-and-comer.Baertschi was close to a point-per-game performer with AHL Abbotsford during the lockout. Now, the first-year pro is going through the ups and downs of an NHL season.He possesses the bigleague scorer&rsquo;s touch and vision to be a very good NHLer and, despite his small stature, has no fear of playing in traffic. Injuries have been something of an issue. The plan is to not push him to do too much too soon and Calgary believes he&rsquo;s on schedule.<h2>2|&nbsp;JOHN GAUDREAU</h2>LW, 19, Boston Col. (HE)5-8, 153, 22-13-20-33-14 2011 draft, 104th overallOVERALL 50There&rsquo;s an obvious knock with his size, but Gaudreau has scaled every mountain put in front of him.He has been a scoring sensation in college, making him a legitimate candidate for the Hobey Baker Award, and he led the 2013 world juniors with seven goals, helping the U.S. win gold.Gaudreau excels because of his offensive sense and ability to create chances in tight spaces. Despite his quickness, time will tell if he can skate with NHL players and be adept defensively. He&rsquo;ll need added bulk to withstand the rigors of the NHL.<h2>3|&nbsp;MARK JANKOWSKI</h2>C, 18, Prov. Col. (HE)6-3, 175, 22-5-6-11-8 2012 draft, 21st overallThe youngest drafted player in college hockey is earning positive reviews in his freshman year after jumping from high school hockey in Quebec.The Flames are in no rush to push Mark Jankowski to be a pro before his time, but believe the wait will be worth it. The points aren&rsquo;t coming in buckets yet in Providence, but his skill level and hockey sense are considered good and his skating is strong.Although he has the height to be a top-line NHL center, Jankowski must gain strength and playing in college will give him the opportunity to hit the gym more often.<h2>4|&nbsp;CHRIS BREEN</h2>D, 23, Abbotsford (AHL)6-7, 230, 44-3-2-5-43 Free agent, May 31, 2010The size is enticing. The problem for too long, though, was Chris Breen&rsquo;s gentle giant persona.Not that he&rsquo;s turned into a crazed killer, but Breen is finding the mean streak to take his game to the next level. &ldquo;This has been Breen&rsquo;s best year as a pro by far,&rdquo; said John Weisbrod, Calgary&rsquo;s assistant GM of player personnel. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s been our most consistent and steady defenseman in Abbbotsford.&rdquo;Breen earned a Flames camp invite after the lockout. He has improved his foot quickness over the past few years and must continue, but is close to being an NHLer.<h2>5|&nbsp;PATRICK SIELOFF</h2>D, 18, Windsor (OHL)6-0, 197, 44-3-8-11-85 2012 draft, 42nd overallWhen the Flames traded down from 14th to 21st and took Mark Jankowski in the first round of the 2012 draft, they also received a coveted second round pick and used it on hard-hitting defenseman Patrick Sieloff.Although he isn&rsquo;t big, he&rsquo;s the same size as Detroit&rsquo;s Niklas Kronwall and we all know what kind of carnage he creates.Sieloff jumped to the OHL from the U.S. NTDP and his competitiveness helped him make the American gold-medal winning team. He must work on his footwork to get his agility to the level needed for the NHL. He&rsquo;ll need work on his puck skills, too.<h2>On The HORIZON The NEXT Five</h2>6| TYLER WOTHERSPOOND, 19, Portland (WHL)6-2, 209, 46-6-26-32-16 2011 draft, 57th overallAll-around D-man played for Canada at WJC; eyepopping plus-minus on stacked Portland team.7| MARKUS GRANLUNDC, 19, Helsinki (Fin.)5-11, 175, 41-8-16-24-14 2011 draft, 45th overallWas outstanding at the WJC with 12 points. Moved to center this season in Finland and it&rsquo;s helped him.8| LAURENT BROSSOITG, 19, Edmonton (WHL)6-3, 200, 26-7-2, 2.11, .924 2011 draft, 164th overallBig, athletic goalie really elevated his game after being cut from Canada&rsquo;s national junior squad.9| JON GILLIESG, 19, Providence Col. (HE)6-5, 215, 10-8-5, 2.21, .927 2012 draft, 75th overallEarned starting job as true freshman. Great physical skills. Was backup stopper on U.S. WJC team.10| MAX REINHARTC, 20, Abbotsford (AHL)6-1, 185, 48-3-11-14-26 2010 draft, 64th overallStruggling to score in AHL. Has smarts and skill to clear that hurdle. Slated to be a two-way center. &#9632;

f0027-01

A SLOW BURN IN CALGARY

<div class="byline">BY LUKE DECOCK</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-011467/9817829-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="278" height="233"></div>When it comes to drafting precocious youngsters and getting them to the NHL at an accelerated pace, the Hurricanes have done well. Look no further than Jeff Skinner and Justin Faulk. Their system, however, hasn&rsquo;t been as productive developing marginal prospects into NHL contributors, although this season will be a litmus test in that regard.Several recent draft picks and prospects, including 2008 second-rounder Zac Dalpe and undrafted free agent Jeremy Welsh, are getting long looks at the NHL level after starting the season with Charlotte in the American League. For them it&rsquo;s sink-orswim time.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-021028/9817822-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="1025" height="965"><figcaption class="caption-body">RYAN MURPHY (TERRY WILSON/OHL IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h2>1|&nbsp;RYAN MURPHY</h2>D, 19, Kitchener (OHL)5-11, 176, 43-7-29-36-32 2011 draft, 12th overallOVERALL 60From Carolina&rsquo;s perspective, the question with Ryan Murphy is whether he&rsquo;ll be a specialty player or a special player. He has breathtaking speed and skill, but needs significant physical development and defensive improvement.This tension was on display in the bronze-medal game at the 2013 world juniors: Murphy had a goal and two assists, but was beaten 1-on-1 for Russia&rsquo;s game-winner. &ldquo;Until we get him in here on a full-time basis and get him going in one direction the way we want him to be, we&rsquo;re not going to see the type of player he is,&rdquo; said Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford.<h2>2|&nbsp;VICTOR RASK</h2>C, 19, Calgary (WHL)6-2, 194, 22-7-14-21-12 2011 draft, 42nd overallThe playmaking center worked to get stronger over the summer and it shows. Victor Rask is back in Calgary after starting the season with AHL Charlotte, where he had only one goal in 10 games, and playing for Sweden at the WJC, where he helped Sweden to silver with four points in six games. He stepped right back into the Hitmen lineup as the No. 1 center and has picked up where he left off last season on a point-per-game pace.With his vision, passing ability and strength in the faceoff circle, he could be the future down the middle behind brothers Eric and Jordan Staal.<h2>3|&nbsp;JEREMY WELSH</h2>C, 24, Carolina (Nhl)6-3, 200, 44-7-8-15-14 Free agent, April 5, 2012Welsh had a one-game Nhl audition at the end of last season after signing out of Union College, where the Hurricanes were extremely impressed with his overall game.He struggled to adapt to the professional level while playing in the AHL during the lockout, but showed improvement and is in the fourth-line mix for the Hurricanes.He&rsquo;s expected to compete for the third-line center position soon and the Hurricanes hope he&rsquo;ll develop into a two-way force over the next few seasons. So far in 2012-13, he&rsquo;s been in and out of the lineup on the wing.<h2>4|&nbsp;ZAC DALPE</h2>RW, 23, Carolina (Nhl)6-1, 190, 6-0-2-2-0 2008 draft, 45th overallDalpe wasn&rsquo;t among the Hurricanes&rsquo; initial invites to training camp, but he had been one of the Checkers&rsquo; best forwards during the lockout, so it wasn&rsquo;t a surprise when he was called up two days into camp and walked straight onto the second line at right wing with Jordan Staal and Jeff Skinner.The Hurricanes really like Dalpe&rsquo;s speed and while he&rsquo;s a natural center, he&rsquo;s been playing right wing in Charlotte this season, so he&rsquo;s more comfortable at the position than he has ever been. On this line, they&rsquo;ll find out whether he can produce at the Nhl level.<h2>5|&nbsp;PHIL DI GIUSEPPE</h2>LW, 19, Michigan (CCHA)6-0, 200, 30-6-14-20-24 2012 draft, 38th overallThe sophomore is actually on a slower scoring pace this year than he was as a freshman, but that may be more a reflection of the Wolverines&rsquo; uncharacteristic struggles than anything else.Phil Di Giuseppe isn&rsquo;t the biggest player, but he has good speed and skill and needs to develop consistency. &ldquo;I saw him earlier in the year and he was struggling a little bit and I saw him the other night and he was good,&rdquo; said Hurricanes vice-president of hockey operations Ron Francis. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the game I&rsquo;d like to see from him on a day-in, day-out basis. He&rsquo;s got all the tools.&rdquo;<h2>On The HORIZON The NEXT Five</h2>6| BROCK MCGINNLW, 18, Guelph (OHL)5-11, 174, 52-19-21-40-53 2012 draft, 47th overallEnergy winger likes to hit despite his smallish stature and gets there in a hurry. A fiery competitor.7| RILEY NASHC, 23, Charlotte (AHL)6-1, 191, 48-8-21-29-18 Trade (Edm), June 26, 2010Plays NHL-caliber defense, but hasn&rsquo;t produced offensively the way the Hurricanes expect.8| KEEGAN LOWED, 19, Edmonton (WHL)6-2, 189, 51-13-14-27-126 2011 draft, 73rd overallHas the hockey sense his bloodlines (father Kevin) suggest. Offensive development continues.9| GREGORY HOFMANNC, 20, Davos (Sui.)6-0, 178, 44-15-11-26-20 2011 draft, 103rd overallHeld his own in the first half in a Swiss league packed with locked-out NHL players.10| DANNY BIEGAD, 21, Harvard (ECAC)6-0, 200, 23-2-7-9-35 2010 draft, 67th overallStrong offensive game and has good size and skill, but needs improvement in his own zone. &#9632;

f0028-01

IN DEEP TROUBLE

<div class="byline">BY TIM SASSONE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-011292/9817867-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="278" height="234"></div>The pipeline is producing. Already lined with homegrown products, the Blackhawks hope to incorporate even more of their prospects as soon as next season. &ldquo;The good news for us is we have a lot of young players who are on the doorstep if they&rsquo;re not here already,&rdquo; said Chicago GM Stan Bowman. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re going to be significant players this year or next year. We have some turning pro at the end of this year, guys like (Mark) McNeill and (Phillip) Danault.&rdquo;McNeill and Danault are centers drafted in the first round in 2011. The Hawks are also high on pivot Teuvo Teravainen, whom they took 18th overall last June.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-02885/9817860-1-eng-US/f0029-022.jpg" title="f0029-02" width="1025" height="974"><figcaption class="caption-body">BRANDON SAAD (BILL SMITH/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h2>1|&nbsp;BRANDON SAAD</h2>LW, 20, Chicago (Nhl)6-1, 202, 11-1-0-1-4 2011 draft, 43rd overallOVERALL 33The Hawks believe they stole Brandon Saad in the 2011 draft. He started in Chicago his first two seasons, though he returned to junior after two games last year.This season it was looking like he&rsquo;d stick. After being a healthy scratch in the team&rsquo;s opener, he joined the lineup on the first line with Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa after Daniel Carcillo hurt his knee.Saad took nine games to score, but was getting A-grade chances. &ldquo;To me, he hasn&rsquo;t done anything wrong,&rdquo; said coach Quenneville. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s big and strong, protects the puck well, sees and makes plays.&rdquo;<h2>2|&nbsp;TEUVO TERAVAINEN</h2>C, 18, Jokerit (Fin.)5-11, 169, 34-11-13-24-6 2012 draft, 18th overallOVERALL 34The Hawks hope they have another Patrick Kane in small, shifty Teravainen. &ldquo;His skills that make him a special player are his vision, creativity and ability to find his teammates,&rdquo; Bowman said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s similar to Kane in that respect. He creates space for himself and finds players. That&rsquo;s what separates him from being just a good player. He&rsquo;s got elite talent that way.&rdquo;Bowman added Teravainen must better prepare his body for the rigors of an Nhl season against big defenseman. A broken finger cost him about a month of the Finnish League season early on.<h2>3|&nbsp;PHILLIP DANAULT</h2>C, 19, Moncton (QMJhl)6-0, 184, 40-17-45-62-36 2011 draft, 26th overallIf Teravainen is comparable to Kane, then Danault is Dave Bolland &ndash; a heady and smart center.He cracked Canada&rsquo;s national junior roster and played well. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a responsible guy,&rdquo; Bowman said. &ldquo;I think he&rsquo;s on pace for 80-90 points this year, but he&rsquo;ll be a guy who starts off as a reliable-type of center who evolves into a second-line guy like Bolland.&rdquo;Danault is an honest hard-working player who doesn&rsquo;t take shortcuts. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s the kind of two-way player coaches love,&rdquo; Bowman said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;ll come to training camp next year and be one of the guys who could make the team.&rdquo;<h2>4|&nbsp;MARK MCNEILL</h2>C, 19, P. Albert (WHL)6-1, 210, 49-20-32-52-31 2011 draft, 18th overallBest described as a power forward with decent skill, McNeill averages better than a point per game in junior, but doesn&rsquo;t project as a big-time Nhl scorer.A late addition to Canada for the WJC, he was more of a role player in that tournament, but the Hawks see him as a versatile prospect who can play center or wing. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a big, strong kid with skill,&rdquo; Bowman said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s an offensive guy, but he&rsquo;s more of a power guy. He&rsquo;s not really a finesse guy. He&rsquo;ll fight.&ldquo;Looking at his ability for our group, he might switch to wing because it&rsquo;s nice to have a guy there who can play that all-around game.&rdquo;<h2>5|&nbsp;BRANDON PIRRI</h2>C, 21, Rockford (AHL)6-0, 183, 48-13-21-34-44 2009 draft, 59th overallAll Brandon Pirri needs is an opportunity. He has played three seasons in the ahl at Rockford and put up good numbers. &ldquo;People forget that this would be his senior year of college (at RPI),&rdquo; Bowman said. &ldquo;He left after his freshman year, so he would be just starting his pro career next year.&ldquo;Brandon is a very highly skilled offensive centerman. He probably would be playing in the Nhl on many teams right now. He&rsquo;s Nhl-ready, so if we run into a problem where we need that kind of role, he&rsquo;s primed to do it.&rdquo;Pirri has also grown his game to be more consistent at both ends of the ice.<h2>On The HORIZON The NEXT Five</h2>6| ADAM CLENDENINGD, 20, Rockford (AHL)5-11, 187, 45-4-22-26-41 2011 draft, 36th overallSkilled offensive defenseman starting to get noticed; played in AHL All-Star Game.7| DYLAN OLSEND, 22, Rockford (AHL)6-2, 214, 34-2-5-7-23 2009 draft, 28th overallSturdy defenseman skates well, but Hawks want him to be even more of a physical presence.8| JEREMY MORINRW, 21, Rockford (AHL)6-1, 192, 43-16-11-27-54 Trade (Atl), June 23, 2010Physical winger plays in the tough areas and has a nose for the net. Has 12 NHL games under his belt.9| BEN SMITHRW, 24, Rockford (AHL)5-11, 207, 37-15-12-27-9 2008 draft, 169th overallBig playoff with Hawks in 2011 with three goals in seven games, but has yet to recapture that form.10| JIMMY HAYESRW, 23, Rockford (AHL)6-6, 221, 47-15-11-26-21 Trade (Tor), June 26, 2010Great size, but needs to become a better skater. Toiling in AHL again despite 31 NHL games last season. &#9632;

f0029-01

YOUNG HAWKS FLOCK TO NHL

<div class="byline">BY ADRIAN DATER</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-011475/9817905-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="306" height="257"></div>Colorado&rsquo;s motto seems to be: &ldquo;You can never have too many defensemen or centers.&rdquo; Most of the Avs&rsquo; top prospects play those positions, with goaltenders and wingers in shorter supply. It&rsquo;s hard to see many of the young players in the pipeline making the NHL anytime soon with so much personnel already ahead of them or competing for a limited number of spots.While size on the wings is a critical need of the organization, the Avs want to be as strong as they can up the middle and in their own end first. They lack true blue-chip prospects, but think they have kids with good character and work habits who will translate into reliable NHL players someday.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-021017/9817898-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="1127" height="1075"><figcaption class="caption-body">STEFAN ELLIOTT (BEN HALL/LAKE ERIE MONSTERS)</figcaption></div><h2>1|&nbsp;STEFAN ELLIOTT</h2>D, 22, Lake Erie (AHL)6-1, 191, 34-3-5-8-6 2009 draft, 49th overallOVERALL 70The Saskatoon Blades&rsquo; all-time leading scorer as a defenseman hasn&rsquo;t found putting up points as easy in the pros. In 64 games for Lake Erie, Stefan Elliott posted just 22 points. After impressing over 39 games for Colorado in 2011-12, Elliott hasn&rsquo;t been back, seeing Tyson Barrie get the call ahead of him.Is it time to panic? Not yet, but clearly the Avs haven&rsquo;t seen the progress they wanted by now.After a poor start at both ends this year in the AHL, Elliott started to pick things up by mid-season. His skating and puckhandling remain strong.<h2>2|&nbsp;TYSON BARRIE</h2>D, 21, Colorado (NHL)5-10, 190, 4-0-0-0-4 2009 draft, 64th overallThe son of former NHLer and Tampa Bay co-owner Len Barrie, the young blueliner is still trying to find his way at the highest level.His speed and offensive instincts are strong, but in his own end, Tyson Barrie has been knocked off the puck a fair amount and suffered through turnoveritis at times. Those kinds of mistakes are to be expected from any young D-man, though, and Barrie has done well to reach the NHL level so soon.He can stickhandle better than most forwards, but sometimes leaves you holding your breath in good and bad ways with his decision-making.<h2>3|&nbsp;DUNCAN SIEMENS</h2>D, 19, Saskatoon (WHL)6-4, 209, 53-1-17-18-85 2011 draft, 11th overallIt&rsquo;s been a rough go for the first-rounder since last season. Duncan Siemens had the captain&rsquo;s &lsquo;C&rsquo; stripped away in Saskatoon, dealt with distractions such as his father&rsquo;s ill health and has struggled to find consistency.But the Avs believe the adversity strengthened his character and he still has a bright future. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s learning and he&rsquo;s growing,&rdquo; said Craig Billington, Colorado&rsquo;s VP of player development. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s going to be fine.&rdquo;Siemens is taking better care of the puck again and with Saskatoon hosting the Memorial Cup, he has a chance to finish his junior career on a high note.<h2>4|&nbsp;JOEY HISHON</h2>C, 21, Lake Erie (AHL)5-10, 175, inactive 2010 draft, 17th overallFor the skillful center, it has been a horribly slow recovery from a concussion sustained on a hit by Brayden McNabb in the 2011 Memorial Cup. That was almost two years ago and Joey Hishon hasn&rsquo;t played since. The only good news came in late December, when the former Owen Sound star resumed skating with the Monsters.However, as of early February, Hishon still had not been cleared for contact. &ldquo;We just have to let things take their course and hopefully he heals fully,&rdquo; Billington said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a good kid and he&rsquo;s doing everything he needs to do to get better.&rdquo;<h2>5|&nbsp;CALVIN PICKARD</h2>G, 20, Lake Erie (AHL)6-1, 208, 13-10-6, 2.70, .912 2010 draft, 49th overallBy all accounts, it&rsquo;s been a good first pro season for Calvin Pickard. Lake Erie watchers say they&rsquo;ve been impressed by his work ethic and increasing confidence. He&rsquo;s coming out of his crease to challenge shooters, he&rsquo;s making athletic plays and seems to like playing under pressure.As a WHLer on some bad Seattle teams, Pickard regularly had a huge workload; no goalie in the league stopped more shots last season. The barrage of rubber gave him a mature and positive attitude after goals. He moves on quickly, thinking about the next save. That&rsquo;s a good quality for a young goalie.<h2>On The HORIZON The NEXT Five</h2>6| SAMI AITTOKALLIO6-1, 180, 11-8-1, 2.92, .902 2010 draft, 107th overallFinn going through usual learning curve in the AHL. Can be spectacular, but Avs want more consistency.7| MIKE SGARBOSSAC, 20, Lake Erie (AHL)5-11, 175, 38-16-20-36-41 Trade (SJ), Feb. 27, 2012Injury recall helping run the point on the Avs&rsquo; second power play unit. Rookie not looking out of place.8| MITCHELL HEARDC, 20, Plymouth (OHL)6-1, 194, 40-7-12-19-95 2012 draft, 41st overallRugged pivot hopes to be a Mike Richards-type. Started season slowly in AHL before demotion.9| BRAD MALONEC, 23, Lake Erie (AHL)6-1, 207, 42-9-9-18-57 2007 draft, 105th overallHe&rsquo;s gotten some looks with Colorado, but has yet to get a toehold as a reliable depth forward.10| CAMERON GAUNCE6-1, 203, 44-1-7-8-94 2008 draft, 50th overallGood leadership skills, stands up for teammates, plays an honest if unspectacular stay-at-home game. &#9632;

f0030-01

MILD FLURRY OF TALENT

<div class="byline">BY AARON PORTZLINE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-011341/9817943-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="306" height="257"></div>Only one first round pick from the Blue Jackets&rsquo; first nine drafts (2000-08) remains with the club. That&rsquo;s center Derick Brassard, who hasn&rsquo;t quite justified his No. 6 overall status in 2006.The arrival of John Davidson as president of hockey operations suggests a new path will be forged. As president of the St. Louis Blues before joining Columbus, Davidson was hailed for stocking the Blues&rsquo; prospects and showing great patience. It&rsquo;s easy to forget he sent defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, now one of the league&rsquo;s best at his position, back to junior twice. The Blue Jackets have some working pieces. Next is developing them.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02910/9817936-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="1127" height="1064"><figcaption class="caption-body">RYAN MURRAY (CHRISTOPHER MAST/CHRISTOPHER MAST IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h2>1|&nbsp;RYAN MURRAY</h2>D, 19, Everett (WHL)6-1, 195, 23-2-15-17-14 2012 draft, 2nd overallOVERALL 9Ryan Murray&rsquo;s season ended abruptly and painfully Nov. 16 when he dislocated his left shoulder. He had surgery Jan. 9 and doctors expect him to be ready for training camp in the fall.The Blue Jackets fully expected Murray to play in Columbus this season, so they view him as a lock to debut in the NHL in 2013-14. Will Murray be a top-end offensive producer at the NHL level? Even the Blue Jackets won&rsquo;t say, but they believe he&rsquo;s a bigminute defenseman who already is proficient making first passes and makes nearly impeccable decisions in his own zone.<h2>2|&nbsp;BOONE JENNER</h2>C, 19, Oshawa (OHL)6-2, 204, 44-34-29-63-42 2011 draft, 37th overallOVERALL 28Boone Jenner already has the physique to play his style in the NHL. That is, he wins faceoffs, finishes checks and can rampage through center ice on the forecheck like an agitated rhinoceros.He has bloomed as a scorer the past two seasons in Oshawa, but that could be a challenge in the nhl, where he projects as a second- or third-liner.Suspended at the past two World Junior Championships, Jenner has earned a reputation for pushing the physical envelope. The Jackets, who view him as a potential captain, are quite ok with his type of passionate, relentless play.<h2>3|&nbsp;TIM ERIXON</h2>D, 21, Springfield (AHL)6-3, 199, 40-5-24-29-38 Trade (NYR), July 23, 2012OVERALL 61After dragging on for months, the Rick Nash trade to the Rangers finally went down when Tim Erixon&rsquo;s name was added to the mix. The Blue Jackets are enthralled with his hockey sense, vision and passing skills and view him as a power play quarterback for years to come.Before he&rsquo;s an NHL fixture, Erixon must gain weight and muscle. He&rsquo;s in good physical shape, but is too thin. Until that changes, he&rsquo;ll have a hard time getting out of Springfield or getting off the third pair at the NHL level. For now, Erixon is barely challenged at the AHL level.<h2>4|&nbsp;OSCAR DANSK</h2>G, 19, Erie (OHL)6-2, 187, 8-15-5, 3.72, .901 2012 draft, 31st overallThe Blue Jackets tried to trade into the late first round to draft Oscar Dansk, then sat delighted when he made it to the second. Dansk, they believe, has the size, skills and agility to be an elite goaltender, but first must adjust to smaller North American rinks.The process is underway in the OHL, but it has not been without bumps. Not only has Dansk been inconsistent in his first season with Erie, he&rsquo;s also been sidelined since mid-January with a concussion.Dansk was Sweden&rsquo;s No. 3 goaltender at the world juniors, winning a silver medal, but not appearing in a game.<h2>5|&nbsp;CAM ATKINSON</h2>RW, 23, Springfield (AHL)5-7, 172, 33-17-21-38-14 2008 draft, 157th overallThe Blue Jackets believe they have a bona fide sniper in Cam Atkinson, not to mention their first true diamond-in-the-rough out of the draft. His small stature will be a challenge, but spending three seasons at Boston College and most of last season in the AHL was wise.He&rsquo;s developed his upper body, which allows him to compete for pucks along the wall and possess the puck through traffic. There&rsquo;s a large chip on his shoulder, too. That helps. Atkinson had five goals in the final two games of 2011-12 for Columbus and opened this season on the No. 1 line.<h2>On The HORIZON The NEXT Five</h2>6| MATT CALVERTLW, 23, Columbus (NHL)5-10, 187, 9-1-0-1-2 2008 draft, 127th overallHas a third- or fourth-line future in the NHL if he sticks to a straight-line, speed game.7| DAVID SAVARD6-2, 219, 35-4-18-22-24 2009 draft, 94th overallHas offensive skill, but slow foot speed holds him back. Often a healthy scratch with Jackets.8| MICHAEL CHAPUTC, 20, Springfield (AHL)6-2, 194, 42-8-12-20-40 Trade (Phi), Feb. 28, 2011Offense-minded pivot still adjusting to pace and physicality in his first professional season.9| JOONAS KORPISALOG, 18, Kiekko-Vantaa (Fin.2)6-2, 172, GP 18, 2.71, .899 2012 draft, 62nd overallTall, lanky project started for Finland at world juniors and could be headed to North America next season.10| MIKE REILLYD, 19, Minnesota (WCHA)6-0, 174, 26-2-10-12-12 2011 draft, 98th overallGifted skater and offensive blueliner must beef up and become harder to play against in his own end. &#9632;

f0031-01

BLUE SKIES AHEAD

<div class="byline">BY BOB DUFF</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-011291/9818019-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="306" height="257"></div>For years, patience with their prospects has not only proven virtuous for the Detroit Red Wings, but also quite rewarding. They&rsquo;ve allowed players to learn the Wings way of playing the game while serving an apprenticeship at the minorleague level. But that slow and steady approach will be in need of re-assessment, especially on the back end, where the Wings are suddenly bereft of NHL-caliber depth following the departures in the past two years of Brian Rafalski, Brad Stuart and captain Nicklas Lidstrom.With little immediate help on the way, the Wings may find they need to fast-track some of their prospects.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-02890/9818012-1-eng-US/f0033-022.jpg" title="f0033-02" width="1127" height="1121"><figcaption class="caption-body">brendan smith (JAMIE SABAU/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h2>1|&nbsp;BRENDAN SMITH</h2>D, 23, Detroit (NHL)6-2, 198, 8-0-1-1-22 2007 draft, 27th overallOVERALL 26With most teams, Brendan Smith would already be an NHL veteran.After 152 AHL games, the Wings figure he&rsquo;s with them to stay now.A slick skater and smooth puckhandler comfortable in all situations, Smith also plays with a physical edge and has reined in the wild ways of his youth. He plays a more mature, controlled game than he did in college. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s proven himself and he&rsquo;s contributing every night,&rdquo; said Jiri Fischer, Detroit&rsquo;s director of player development. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re excited about him. He can blossom into a really good &lsquo;D&rsquo; for us here for a long time.&rdquo;<h2>2|&nbsp;CALLE JARNKROK</h2>C, 21, Brynas (Swe.)5-11, 165, 46-11-24-35-12 2010 draft, 51st overallOVERALL 31Compared in style to Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg, Calle Jarnkrok continues to improve. He led Brynas to the Swedish League title last spring and has been the club&rsquo;s leading scorer this season.Fischer said Jarnkrok&rsquo;s size and how fast he could fill out were questions after drafting him, but that he&rsquo;s done everything necessary to make the NHL since. &ldquo;Calle is probably the most exciting player in Sweden aged 21 and under,&rdquo; Fischer said. &ldquo;He can really play. He loves the puck. He&rsquo;s got a ton of personality on the ice and he wants to be a great player.&rdquo;<h2>3|&nbsp;GUSTAV NYQUIST</h2>RW, 23, G. Rapids (AHL)5-11, 185, 47-17-28-45-24 2008 draft, 121st overallOVERALL 55Gustav Nyquist leads the Griffins in points and is contending for the AHL scoring crown. He&rsquo;s already earned an NHL recall.The projected top-six forward had a goal and seven points in 18 games for the Wings last season. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not easy for a young player to stay 100 per cent unaffected by being called up and sent down all the time,&rdquo; Fischer said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s one of the guys who is strong enough mentally that he&rsquo;s been able to manage it.&rdquo;Dominant in college at Maine, he&rsquo;s done the same at the minor pro level. &ldquo;Every year, he finds a way to get better,&rdquo; Fischer said.<h2>4|&nbsp;TOMAS TATAR</h2>LW, 22, G. Rapids (AHL)5-10, 182, 44-19-20-39-44 2009 draft, 60th overallIt&rsquo;s easy to forget Tomas Tatar is so young since he&rsquo;s already in his fourth pro year. Sometimes, his development is unfairly measured against older players with similar experience.It&rsquo;s good Detroit called him up in February, as spending so much time in the AHL frustrated him. &ldquo;I know it&rsquo;s something he&rsquo;s not satisfied about,&rdquo; Fischer said. &ldquo;He wants to play. It&rsquo;s that competition of proving himself over and over.&rdquo;Tatar&rsquo;s hands and offensive sense are highly regarded. To stick in the NHL, he must pick up his pace. &ldquo;When he&rsquo;s moving, he&rsquo;s really hard to defend,&rdquo; Fischer said.<h2>5|&nbsp;PETR MRAZEK</h2>G, 20, G. Rapids (NHL)6-1, 187, 25-16-7, 2.26, .916 2010 draft, 141st overallIt&rsquo;s been quite a first pro year for Petr Mrazek. After three games with ECHL Toledo, he jumped to Grand Rapids, earned the No. 1 job and played in the AHL All-Star Game. &ldquo;He has a ton of passion and is one of the more mentally strong guys,&rdquo; Fischer said.Fischer coached Mrazek with the Czech Republic at the 2012 world juniors, where he was named top goalie. &ldquo;He was the guy who took the spotlight and wasn&rsquo;t affected by the media, the hype and 20,000 people at the games,&rdquo; Fischer said. &ldquo;He thrived in that environment. He couldn&rsquo;t get enough of it. That&rsquo;s who he is.&rdquo;<h2>On The HORIZON The NEXT Five</h2>6| RILEY SHEAHANC, 21, G. Rapids (AHL)6-2, 212, 45-14-12-26-25 2010 draft, 21st overallLearning to score in tight and protect the puck with his big body in first full season as a pro.7| XAVIER OUELLETD, 19, Blainville (QMJHL)6-1, 190, 37-7-26-33-36 2011 draft, 48th overallProjects as solid twoway D-man who can quarterback power play. Must improve explosiveness.8| MARTIN FRKRW, 19, Halifax (QMJHL)6-0, 203, 39-23-36-59-66 2012 draft, 49th overallConfident with puck, powerful one-timer, has a knack for getting shots through traffic.9| RYAN SPROULD, 20, S.S. Marie (OHL)6-4, 200, 37-18-34-52-33 2011 draft, 55th overallHuge offensive skill set, but should make himself harder to play against given his big frame.10| MATTIAS BACKMAND, 20, Linkoping (Swe.)6-2, 169, 45-1-20-21-30 2011 draft, 146th overallIncredibly calm with puck under forecheck pressure. Two-way blueliner still has lots of filling out to do. &#9632;

f0033-01

LEARNING TO FLY SOONER

<div class="byline">BY ROB TYCHKOWSKI</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-011474/9818057-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="306" height="257"></div>At the risk of sounding repetitive &ndash; and it&rsquo;s a pretty big risk given the pre-season storyline hasn&rsquo;t changed much in seven years &ndash; the Oilers are young, skilled and on the rise.The fact they&rsquo;ve finished 30th, 30th and 29th in recent years opens the door to legitimate skepticism, but there they are: Jordan Eberle, Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Nail Yakupov and Justin Schultz. At some point the Oilers will have to actually show the progress they&rsquo;ve been promising themselves and their fans. They believe that time is now.The top wave of young talent is as good as there is in the NHL, but the lower draft picks have been slow to develop.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-021032/9818050-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="1127" height="1072"><figcaption class="caption-body">JUSTIN SCHULTZ (ANDY DEVLIN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h2>1|&nbsp;JUSTIN SCHULTZ</h2>D, 22, Edmonton (NHL)6-2, 185, 12-4-3-7-2 Free agent, July 1, 2012OVERALL 2Schultz became the talk of hockey with an incredible AHL performance during the lockout.He&rsquo;s definitely the offensive presence the Oilers expected. He likes to jump up in the play: in his very first NHL shift, he was jamming at a puck in the Vancouver crease. Schultz gets his point shots away quickly and usually gets them through.The other end of the ice has been an adjustment. Schultz glaringly turned the puck over in his first couple weeks with the Oilers, but what rookie defenseman didn&rsquo;t? He&rsquo;s reliable enough to play 20 minutes a night.<h2>2|&nbsp;NAIL YAKUPOV</h2>RW, 19, Edmonton (NHL)5-11, 184, 12-5-3-8-10 2012 draft, 1st overallOVERALL 5Ten games into his NHL career, Yakupov already had five goals, including an overtime-winner and a game-tying goal in the last minute.Coach Ralph Krueger called the exuberant Russian&rsquo;s one-timer the best he&rsquo;d seen from a young player in 25 years. The kid is fast and hungry. He possesses the world-class shot a team with setup men like Ales Hemsky and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins needs. Yakupov also goes to the net well with and without the puck.And those soft, aimless passes he sometimes throws into the middle of the zone? Krueger is working on remedying that.<h2>3|&nbsp;OSCAR KLEFBOM</h2>D, 19, Farjestad (Swe.)6-3, 204, 11-0-3-3-2 2011 draft, 19th overallOVERALL 37The Oilers invested a high pick on Oscar Klefbom and need to start growing some of their own defenseman in an era when teams are reluctant to trade good ones. He made strides this season and was prepared to cross the pond and compete for a spot with the Oilers.Unfortunately, Klefbom&rsquo;s progress screeched to a halt, and may have been set back slightly, because of season-ending shoulder surgery.Edmonton expects him to return to form as soon as the shoulder is fully rehabilitated, as Taylor Hall did, but he&rsquo;s missing a valuable season of development.<h2>4|&nbsp;TEEMU HARTIKAINEN</h2>LW, 22, Edmonton (NHL)6-1, 214, 11-0-2-2-4 2008 draft, 163rd overallAfter a couple of lukewarm attempts to crack the Oilers lineup in the past, Teemu Hartikainen is starting to figure out his role and play it well.The Oilers are desperately small up front, so they need him to be hard on the puck, strong along the boards and tough in front of the net. Out of the gate this season, that&rsquo;s what he&rsquo;s been.He&rsquo;s earned a spot on the power play, serving as Edmonton&rsquo;s puck retriever and net presence. Playing with some of the Oilers&rsquo; high-end talent in Oklahoma City during the lockout helped his confidence and lit a fire under him.<h2>5|&nbsp;Martin Marincin</h2>D, 20, Okla. City (AHL)6-5, 195, 42-4-12-16-28 2010 draft, 46th overallMartin Marincin&rsquo;s 16 points through 40 games in the AHL were reasonable, but it&rsquo;s important to point out he spent a lot of those contests paired with Schultz, the runaway leader in scoring among defensemen.Marincin is capable of making great plays, but he&rsquo;s also capable of throwing hand grenades around his own end. Inconsistency has been a season-long issue.The Slovak is still very thin and struggles with the language, which makes it difficult for a coach to get the subtle nuances of the position across. Regular NHL duty remains a long way off.<h2>On The HORIZON The NEXT Five</h2>6| COLTEN TEUBERTD, 22, Okla. City (AHL)6-4, 195, 45-3-3-6-107 Trade (LA), Feb. 28, 2011He has a lot of heart and has been called up a few times to fill holes. Nothing flashy about his game.7| TYLER PITLICKC, 21, Okla. City (AHL)6-2, 195, 32-1-4-5-6 2010 draft, 31st overallWasn&rsquo;t accomplishing much in the minors, then injured his knee and is out for the season.8| MARTIN GERNATD, 19, Edmonton (WHL)6-5, 187, 14-1-5-6-12 2011 draft, 122nd overallSkilled point-getter is back after missing almost a full year recovering from shoulder surgery.9| DAVID MUSILD, 19, Edmonton (WHL)6-3, 196, 48-7-18-25-65 2011 draft, 31st overallA big, solid, safe presence on the blueline. Good leader looking for a deep run with the Oil Kings.10| JUJHAR KHAIRALW, 20, Mich. Tech (WCHA)6-3, 198, 27-4-14-18-45 2012 draft, 63rd overallJust a freshman, he is years away. Has a great mix of size and skill at the college level. &#9632;

f0034-01

PUT UP OR SHUT UP

<div class="byline">BY GEORGE RICHARDS</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-011365/9818095-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg" title="f0035-01" width="306" height="257"></div>After Dale Tallon worked his first two drafts in Florida with a sense of urgency, the Panthers have been very patient developing those players. Instead of rushing Erik Gudbranson after taking him third in 2010, the Panthers sent him back to junior for a year. Same with Jonathan Huberdeau in 2011. When Nick Bjugstad returned to college for his junior year, Florida was fine with it. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not in the habit of pushing guys out of college, rushing their development,&rdquo; said assistant GM Mike Santos. &ldquo;These players are making the decisions for us. We are developing our players at the right time and place. You see the patience we&rsquo;ve had is paying off.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-02972/9818088-1-eng-US/f0035-022.jpg" title="f0035-02" width="1127" height="1054"><figcaption class="caption-body">JONATHAN HUBERDEAU (ANDRE RINGUETTE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h2>1|&nbsp;JONATHAN HUBERDEAU</h2>C, 19, Florida (NHL)6-1, 177, 11-3-3-6-4 2011 draft, 3rd overallOVERALL 8The Panthers made the right move returning Jonathan Huberdeau to junior last year to grow physically. Even though he still needs to pack on some weight, it&rsquo;s clear he is a top-six talent in the NHL and will be with the Panthers a long time.Huberdeau scored a goal with two assists in his NHL debut Jan. 19 against Carolina, hinting his great hands and all-around scoring ability will translate to The Show. His junior days are done, as the Panthers decided to keep him with the big squad. Florida had Huberdeau start on its second line.<h2>2|&nbsp;JACOB MARKSTROM</h2>G, 23, San Antonio (AHL)6-6, 196, 15-14-2, 2.54, .923 2008 draft, 31st overallOVERALL 30Florida&rsquo;s &ldquo;goalie of the future&rdquo; still hasn&rsquo;t cracked a full-time job with the Panthers &ndash; though that doesn&rsquo;t mean the organization isn&rsquo;t happy with the work Jacob Markstrom has done.The Panthers are obviously taking things slowly with Markstrom as he is in his third AHL season. Florida wants to see the big, skilled butterfly goaltender play a full year in the AHL before coming up to the big club, which should happen next season.He had the previous two seasons cut short because of knee issues, but he&rsquo;s been strong as the Rampage starter this season.<h2>3|&nbsp;NICK BJUGSTAD</h2>C, 20, Minnesota (WCHA)6-6, 215, 28-15-12-27-22 2010 draft, 19th overallOVERALL 36The Panthers had privately hoped Nick Bjugstad would skip out on college after his strong sophomore season. Yet the lure of a national championship proved too strong. He returned to the storied Minnesota program for his junior campaign.Florida hopes Bjugstad is the big, top-line center it has been searching for. He&rsquo;s impressed the Panthers not only on the college level, but in their development camps.Bjugstad is strong with the puck and has good ice vision. Unless he decides to return for his senior year, expect him in a Panthers&rsquo; uniform next season.<h2>4|&nbsp;MICHAEL MATHESON</h2>D, 18, Boston Col. (HE)6-2, 180, 24-5-11-16-56 2012 draft, 23rd overallOVERALL 69Florida didn&rsquo;t have a high draft pick in 2012 after making the playoffs for the first time in more than a decade. On draft day, the Panthers kept their pick and went safe, grabbing a defenseman in Michael Matheson who they think will develop his game at Boston College.Matheson is a strong skater who plays with a lot of confidence. At his first development camp in Florida, he showed a lot of poise and moved the puck well.The Panthers feel he is an intelligent player who finds the open man, but would like to see him develop a stronger shot.<h2>5|&nbsp;ALEX PETROVIC</h2>D, 20, San Antonio (AHL)6-4, 206, 40-4-11-15-77 2010 draft, 36th overallAfter a strong junior career with Red Deer of the WHL, Alex Petrovic was signed by the Panthers and made his pro debut with the Rampage in 2012.During the summer he worked on getting stronger &ndash; scary news for opponents, as he was already a physical player. Petrovic became a top-four defenseman in San Antonio to earn an invitation to Florida&rsquo;s shortened camp.The Panthers are impressed with his slapshot, which helped him score 12 goals with the Rebels last year. Still finding his touch as a pro, he had just four in his first 40 games with the Rampage.<h2>On The HORIZON The NEXT Five</h2>6| QUINTON HOWDENLW, 21, San Antonio (AHL)6-3, 189, 45-9-12-21-18 2010 draft, 25th overallGood speed and has experience at center and wing. Playing well in AHL as a first-year pro.7| DREW SHOREC, 22, Florida (NHL)6-3, 200, 9-0-2-2-2 2009 draft, 44th overallMade NHL debut in late January and looks like he belongs. A faceoff wizard who shoots a lot.8| ROCCO GRIMALDIC, 20, North Dakota (WCHA)5-6, 165, 28-10-14-24-12 2011 draft, 33rd overallKnee injury sidelined speedster for much of freshman year. Bounced back and was WJC hero for U.S.9| COLBY ROBAKD, 22, San Antonio (AHL)6-3, 210, 48-3-15-18-44 2008 draft, 46th overallGood size and shot, but offense is down this year. Played three games with Florida in 2011-12.10| VINCENT TROCHECKC, 19, Plymouth (OHL)5-11, 182, 48-38-42-80-40 2011 draft, 64th overallHard-working pivot exploding in junior to reach a level of offense most didn&rsquo;t believe he had in him. &#9632;

f0035-01

HURRY UP AND WAIT

<div class="byline">BY JONATHAN DAVIS</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-011375/9818133-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg" title="f0036-01" width="306" height="257"></div>When Dean Lombardi was hired as Kings GM, his philosophy was to tear down the roster and rebuild through the draft. Over the past two seasons, he dealt both his prized draft picks and a top prospect (Brayden Schenn) and in return he built the Kings into Stanley Cup champions.The Kings&rsquo; fifth-ranked prospect, Jake Muzzin, has found his way into their starting lineup while budding sniper Tyler Toffoli is knocking on the door. Though the Kings may not be rich in NHL-ready prospects, they remain one of the youngest teams in the NHL with their core locked up for several years, giving their youth the necessary time to develop.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-02938/9818126-1-eng-US/f0036-022.jpg" title="f0036-02" width="1127" height="1062"><figcaption class="caption-body">TYLER TOFFOLI (STEVE BABINEAU)</figcaption></div><h2>1|&nbsp;TYLER TOFFOLI</h2>RW, 20, Manchester (AHL)6-1, 194, 44-20-15-35-12 2010 draft, 47th overallOVERALL 65Toffoli has been called the most gifted prospect in the organization by assistant GM Ron Hextall. He was the only forward not on last year&rsquo;s Stanley Cup team to be invited to L.A.&rsquo;s abbreviated camp this season. Despite not making the roster, he impressed. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s certainly not out of place here,&rdquo; said Kings coach Darryl Sutter. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s right where he should be as a first-year pro.&rdquo;In his first year in Manchester, Toffoli found himself among league leaders in goals and earned a trip to the All-Star Game. If he can maintain his numbers, it could be his only minor league all-star appearance.<h2>2|&nbsp;DEREK FORBORT</h2>D, 20, N. Dakota (WCHA)6-4, 218, 30-4-8-12-12 2010 draft 15th overallWhile Derek Forbort is on track for career highs offensively, there is no denying he has yet to display the talent that made him a first round draft pick three years ago.Forbort has size and skating ability and is a good passer, but is reluctant to take on the role of a puckmoving defenseman. He could use more grit to his game as well as work on making better decisions on when to close on an opponent and when to back off.Despite his short-comings, the Kings feel Forbort has NHL upside, but it&rsquo;s sure to include a grooming stint in the AHL when he turns pro in 2014.<h2>3|&nbsp;TANNER PEARSON</h2>LW, 20, Manchester (AHL)6-0, 205, 46-11-19-30-8 2012 draft, 30th overallAfter Tanner Pearson was passed over twice in the draft (2010 and 2011), the Kings made the Kitchener, Ont. native a first-rounder. Last season, Pearson had a breakthrough, finishing third in OHL scoring with 91 points, including 37 goals.Because he&rsquo;s 20, Pearson was eligible to play in the AHL, where the Kings can fast-track his growth and maturation. He fits the Lombardi prototype. He is big, fast and can play both ends of the rink.The goals aren&rsquo;t coming as frequently in Manchester, but the Kings project a left winger who can play on the top two lines.<h2>4|&nbsp;KEVIN GRAVEL</h2>D, 20, St. Cloud (WCHA)6-4, 190, 30-1-8-9-23 2010 draft, 148th overallQuiet and effective: two words that continue to best describe Kevin Gravel. While he won&rsquo;t wow you with his offensive ability, you will rarely see him out of position.Gravel uses his size and long reach to his benefit. His rugged and physical style is similar to current Kings defenseman Rob Scuderi.Most nights you won&rsquo;t find him on the scoresheet, though Gravel continues to increase his offensive output from year to year.Gravel could find himself taking over for one of the Kings&rsquo; older stay-at-home blueliners in the near future if he stays on course.<h2>5|&nbsp;JAKE MUZZIN</h2>D, 23, Manchester (AHL)6-3, 217, 29-2-9-11-24 Free agent, Jan. 4, 2010Injuries to Matt Greene and Willie Mitchell opened up a spot on the Los Angeles blueline and Muzzin did nothing in the early going to disappoint. Through a handful of games, Muzzin had already registered his first NHL goal, was one of the team leaders in plus/minus and even saw power play time.Muzzin has all the tools to be an everyday NHL defenseman. He has a cannon for a shot, can play a physical game and has the ability to play in all situations.If Muzzin can subscribe to the theory that less can be more and not try to do too much, he will have a bright NHL future.<h2>On The HORIZON The NEXT Five</h2>6| NICK SHOREC, 20, Denver (WCHA)6-0, 184, 29-11-15-26-26 2011 draft, 82nd overallTwo-way forward with high hockey IQ. Gritty in high-traffic areas. Defensive game lacks consistency.7| LINDEN VEYC, 21, Manchester (AHL)6-0, 200, 47-12-26-38-22 2009 draft, 96th overallCan play all three zones with aplomb. Has flourished centering the Monarchs&rsquo; top line.8| ANDY ANDREOFFLW, 21, Manchester (AHL)6-1, 217, 40-6-6-12-69 2011 draft, 80th overallA tough two-way forward who will run opponents over and has the ability to generate turnovers.9| MARTIN JONESG, 23, Manchester (AHL)6-4, 189, 11-16-2, 2.45, .920 Free agent, Oct. 2, 2008Has the credentials, but has struggled his third pro season. Focus and preparation have been his downfall.10| COLIN MILLERD, 20, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)6-1, 181, 41-14-25-39-64 2012 draft, 151st overallGreyhounds captain is a right-shot defender with burgeoning puck skills, but a need to add some bulk. &#9632;

f0036-01

NO RUSH FOR KINGS KIDS

<div class="byline">BY MICHAEL RUSSO</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-011227/9818171-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg" title="f0037-01" width="306" height="257"></div>Apile of money helped, but maybe the Wild&rsquo;s biggest recruiting tool in landing Zach Parise and Ryan Suter was its stable of prospects. &ldquo;Thirteen years is a long time, so you have to make sure you&rsquo;re going to a place well set up for the future,&rdquo; Parise said. &ldquo;When we were going through each team, my agents really educated me on the kids here.&rdquo;Mikael Granlund and Jonas Brodin are in Minnesota. Charlie Coyle, Jason Zucker and Johan Larsson are knocking on the door. And as assistant GM Brent Flahr said, several who haven&rsquo;t turned pro yet are on their tail (Erik Haula, Mario Lucia, Raphael Bussieres, Tyler Graovac).<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-02866/9818164-1-eng-US/f0037-022.jpg" title="f0037-02" width="1122" height="1131"><figcaption class="caption-body">MIKAEL GRANLUND (JEFF GROSS/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h2>1|&nbsp;MIKAEL GRANLUND</h2>C, 20, Minnesota (NHL)5-10, 180, 10-1-2-3-4 2010 draft, 9th overallOVERALL 7Granlund is such a star in Finland, three TV stations, two newspapers and a dozen Finnish reporters came for his first NHL game. A Finnish magazine writer moved to Minnesota to cover the Wild full time. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s good that Mikko (Koivu) is here, but Granlund is so big in Finland,&rdquo; said Heikki Miettinen, a sports writer for Helsingin Sanomat.Granlund&rsquo;s skill is obvious, but his play without the puck and his ability to battle big D-men has been an early issue. &ldquo;It&rsquo;ll take time to adjust to the NHL and the pace, but he doesn&rsquo;t look out of place,&rdquo; assistant GM Brent Flahr said.<h2>2|&nbsp;JONAS BRODIN</h2>D, 19, Minnesota (NHL)6-1, 166, 8-0-3-3-2 2011 draft, 10th overallOVERALL 22After the Swedish teenager lost 11 weeks in the AHL to a broken clavicle, it took one game in Houston before the Wild recalled him for his NHL debut. &ldquo;He may look young, but he&rsquo;s quietly a very confident kid,&rdquo; Flahr said. &ldquo;His skating, his hockey sense, his ability to defend, his ability to move the puck are elite and the rest of his game is just evolving.&rdquo;The Wild project Brodin to perhaps be Ryan Suter&rsquo;s partner for years. &ldquo;He doesn&rsquo;t make mistakes, makes the right play most of the time,&rdquo; Suter said. &ldquo;You couldn&rsquo;t tell he&rsquo;s a rookie by watching him.&rdquo;<h2>3|&nbsp;CHARLIE COYLE</h2>C, 20, Houston (AHL)6-2, 205, 44-14-10-24-22 Trade (SJ), June 24, 2011OVERALL 27The big piece in the Devin Setoguchi-Brent Burns trade with San Jose, Coyle is a horse of a player who had a strong start in Houston before tailing off a bit.A couple years removed from prep hockey, he is getting accustomed to the pro grind and was pressed into NHL duty in February.With the frame to become a prototypical power forward, he could be the future right winger on a line with Parise and Mikko Koivu. &ldquo;He can play center, wing, you can use him in a checking role or in a scoring role,&rdquo; Flahr said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s got the ability to be a big-time player.&rdquo;<h2>4|&nbsp;MATHEW DUMBA</h2>D, 18, Red Deer (WHL)6-0, 185, 48-12-17-29-61 2012 draft, 7th overallOVERALL 47It&rsquo;s been an up and down year for Mathew Dumba. The hard-shooting, hard-hitting Red Deer blueliner failed to make Canada&rsquo;s national junior team, but that didn&rsquo;t sour the Wild on him.Minnesota invited him to camp and kept him for a job shadow of sorts for four games. &ldquo;You go from being cut from world juniors and maybe second-guessing certain things to coming here and playing with NHL players and all of sudden you realize you&rsquo;re not far away,&rdquo; Flahr said. &ldquo;With his ability to skate, shoot, jump in the offense, play physical, he&rsquo;s got the tools to be a dynamic player.&rdquo;<h2>5|&nbsp;JASON ZUCKER</h2>LW, 21, Houston (AHL)5-11, 186, 45-19-22-41-43 2010 draft, 59th overallOVERALL 66The skilled sparkplug is thriving as a first-year pro. The former college star has far exceeded expectations. The Wild loved his speed, character and work ethic and initially pegged him as a third-line, two-way forward who could kill penalties and chip in offensively.But GM Chuck Fletcher said, &ldquo;His ceiling is higher now than we anticipated. It&rsquo;s very rare for a first-year, 20-year-old forward to score at a goal every-other-game pace and point-per-game pace (in the AHL).&rdquo;Zucker feels he&rsquo;s a future top-six forward: &ldquo;They had a vision for me. My goal is to change that.&rdquo;<h2>On The HORIZON The NEXT Five</h2>6| JOHAN LARSSONC, 20, Houston (AHL)&nbsp;5-11, 198, 48-13-14-27-24 2010 draft, 56th overallCompetitive, versatile, mature captain of the 2012 gold-medal-winning Swedish WJC team (see pg. 64).7| MATT HACKETTG, 22, Houston (AHL)6-2, 179, 14-16-3, 2.72, .903 2009 draft, 77th overallJeff Hackett&rsquo;s nephew is athletic, quiet in net and close to being polished enough for the NHL.8| BRETT BULMERRW, 20, Houston (AHL)6-3, 185, 29-2-2-4-35 2010 draft, 39th overall&nbsp;With the Wild small up front, his size and physicality will be valuable once he matures.9| ZACK PHILLIPSC, 20, Houston (AHL)6-1, 186, 45-2-12-14-4 2011 draft, 28th overall&nbsp;Points came easy in junior, but not as a first-year pro. Soft hands, but skating is an issue.10| DARCY KUEMPERG, 22, Houston (AHL)6-5, 207, 10-6-0, 1.79, .938 2009 draft, 161st overallFormer WHL goalie of the year and player of the year continues to progress, battling Hackett for time. &#9632;

f0037-01

MAD ABOUT MINNESOTA

<div class="byline">BY HERB ZURKOWSKY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-011335/9818209-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg" title="f0038-01" width="306" height="257"></div>The times, they are a-changing in Montreal. With the arrival of GM Marc Bergevin, who repatriated Michel Therrien as coach, the Canadiens&rsquo; philosophy has drastically changed.No longer must prospects wallow in the minors for years because of their age and lack of experience. If a kid displays a modicum of talent and hockey sense, there now might be a spot for him on the big-league roster. Therrien always has been a coach willing to give young players an opportunity while demonstrating patience with them.For the first time in years, the Canadiens are reasonably well-stocked and have depth at most if not all positions.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-02931/9818202-1-eng-US/f0038-022.jpg" title="f0038-02" width="1127" height="1060"><figcaption class="caption-body">ALEX GALCHENYUK (RICHARD WOLOWICZ/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h2>1|&nbsp;ALEX GALCHENYUK</h2>C, 18, Montreal (Nhl)6-1, 195, 11-1-6-7-4 2012 draft, 3rd overallOVERALL 6It has been a long time since an 18-year-old played for the Canadiens and there were doubts about the strength and stability of Alex Galchenyuk&rsquo;s knee.But after an abbreviated camp, he made immediate contributions as an Nhl rookie. He&rsquo;s a strong playmaker with a quick release and a threat in the offensive and defensive zones. He&rsquo;s not afraid to get his nose dirty in the corners or in front of the net.Galchenyuk must add pounds and improve his strength. He also requires work on his faceoffs. But he&rsquo;s already adjusting well to playing against men.<h2>2|&nbsp;NATHAN BEAULIEU</h2>D, 20, Hamilton (AHL)6-2, 194, 45-3-12-15-39 2011 draft, 17th overallOVERALL 41Nathan Beaulieu was born to play hockey and has been around the game his entire life. His father, Jacques, has been a coach in junior for more than a decade.Beaulieu is strong with the puck, possesses a good shot and sees the ice well. He&rsquo;s a smooth skater with a long stride. He has been known to play with a mean streak. If he can do so more consistently, he will develop into an elite defenseman.While he&rsquo;s skilled offensively, Beaulieu must improve his play without the puck. Predictably, his defensive zone coverage requires work.<h2>3|&nbsp;JARRED TINORDI</h2>D, 20, Hamilton (AHL)6-6, 218, 43-1-5-6-49 2010 draft, 22nd overallOVERALL 72Every coach Jarred Tinordi has played for has loved him. He has good defensive hockey sense and skates well.Tinordi&rsquo;s a natural leader capable of making athletic plays. The Canadiens haven&rsquo;t possessed a defenseman this big and strong since Larry Robinson, but Tinordi must work on his reaction time and make quicker decisions with the puck. He&rsquo;ll never be gifted offensively, but the Canadiens believe he can develop into a competent shutdown defender who won&rsquo;t take too many risks in his own zone.He&rsquo;s intense and must learn to control his emotion.<h2>4|&nbsp;SEBASTIAN COLLBERG</h2>RW, 18, Frolunda (Swe.)5-11, 181, 27-5-3-8-6 2012 draft, 33rd overallSebastian Collberg plays a high-tempo game and has been reliable in shootouts this season. He&rsquo;s a versatile player and smooth stickhandler who can play both wings. His most impressive attribute is his shot.Collberg needs to get stronger, but he&rsquo;s not intimidated by his lack of size. He&rsquo;s a battler, although he remains primarily a perimeter player. Although considered a good playmaker, Collberg remains a sniper at heart. His role with Frolunda has increased this season after he played limited minutes and failed to record a point in 2011-12.<h2>5|&nbsp;BRENDAN GALLAGHER</h2>RW, 20, Montreal (Nhl)5-9, 163, 10-4-2-6-15 2010 draft, 147th overallBrendan Gallagher has overcome his stature to defy the odds at every level.He quickly realized he must penetrate the dirty areas to succeed, so he often can be found in the crease or in the goaltender&rsquo;s face, picking up loose pucks and rebounds to finish. He clicked right away on a line with Galchenyuk and actually scored at a better pace than he did in the AHL during the lockout.Gallagher has displayed a competitive nature and tremendous work ethic at every level and must play with a chip on his shoulder. His only weakness is his lack of size.<h2>On The HORIZON The NEXT Five</h2>6| CHARLES HUDONLW, 18, Chicoutimi (QMJhl)&nbsp;5-11, 170, 43-25-27-52-56 2012 draft, 122nd overallGreat hands in tight and good hockey sense. Speed and strength leave a bit to be desired.7| MICHAEL BOURNIVALLW, 20, Hamilton (AHL)5-11, 191, 41-3-11-14-18 Trade (Col), Nov. 11, 2010Speedy and hard-working. Projects as more of a two-way player than a scorer at the pro level.8| PATRICK HOLLANDRW, 21, Hamilton (AHL)6-0, 175, 44-5-7-12-4 Trade (Cgy), Jan. 12, 2012Has good offensive sense and playmaking ability. Lacks strength and needs more experience.9| LOUIS LEBLANCC, 22, Hamilton (AHL)&nbsp;6-0, 190, 32-6-3-9-25 2009 draft, 18th overallHas never recovered from high ankle sprain. Over-thinks game situations and get discouraged.10| DANNY KRISTORW, 22, N. Dakota (WCHA)&nbsp;5-11, 185, 28-18-21-39-18 2008 draft, 56th overallSpeedy winger has quick hands, good scoring ability, but has to improve maturity and work ethic. &#9632;

f0038-01

RIGHTING THE SHIP

<div class="byline">BY DAVID BOCLAIR</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-011222/9818247-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg" title="f0039-01" width="306" height="255"></div>When it comes to the draft, the Nashville Predators rely on quantity to find quality.In 2003, they used five of their first seven selections (13 in all) on defensemen, including Ryan Suter, Shea Weber and Kevin Klein. That focus continued over the next six years, when three of their five first-rounders were blueliners. The last of those was Ryan Ellis in 2009. It&rsquo;s no wonder the team&rsquo;s strength is its defense. In the three drafts since, the Predators had eight selections within the first three rounds and six of those were used on forwards. That recent determination to get better up front explains the number of forwards among their top prospects.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-02823/9818240-1-eng-US/f0039-022.jpg" title="f0039-02" width="1127" height="1065"><figcaption class="caption-body">AUSTIN WATSON (SCOTT PAULUS/MILWAUKEE ADMIRALS)</figcaption></div><h2>1|&nbsp;AUSTIN WATSON</h2>C, 21, Milwaukee (AHL)6-3, 202, 45-16-10-26-12 2010 draft, 18th overallOVERALL 58Austin Watson built momentum during London&rsquo;s run to the Memorial Cup last season and carried that over into his first full professional campaign. From an offensive perspective, his transition has been smooth and he has used his size to good advantage.The primary focus now is gaining experience. He has seen action this season on the power play, the penalty kill and as a top-six forward. The plan is to give Watson as much ice time as possible for as long as he remains in the AHL so that the budding power forward is prepared when he gets the call.<h2>2|&nbsp;MATTIAS EKHOLM</h2>D, 22, Milwaukee (AHL)6-4, 176, 29-4-10-14-16 2009 draft, 102nd overallOVERALL 73Mattias Ekholm got off to a fast start in his first full North American season before an injury slowed him and cost him a spot on the NHL roster in January. There is no question about his ability to move the puck, to produce points or to read the play as it develops. In particular, he is a guy who can help make a power play dangerous with his heavy shot.Ekholm&rsquo;s size lessens concerns about his ability to become a more accomplished two-way player on the smaller rinks, but his play in his own end needs more attention and his decision-making has to get quicker.<h2>3|&nbsp;COLTON SISSONS</h2>C, 19, Kelowna (WHL)6-1, 194, 48-23-32-55-43 2012 draft, 50th overallLike Ekholm, an injury sidetracked Colton Sissons &ndash; he was out for a month &ndash; after a fast start. When able to play, he&rsquo;s been a consistent point producer, which was what franchise officials asked to see from him this season.Sissons remains a solid two-way player, as evidenced by the fact he ranks among the top of a strong Kelowna team in points and plus-minus and projects as a player who fits well into the Predators&rsquo; system.In his final junior season, he easily is on pace for his best statistical season and his role as captain speaks to his character and leadership qualities.<h2>4|&nbsp;TAYLOR BECK</h2>RW, 21, Milwaukee (AHL)6-2, 205, 39-7-26-33-22 2009 draft, 70th overallTaylor Beck was third in points for Milwaukee as a rookie pro last season and has produced at close to a point per game in this one. Too many of those points have come from assists, though. He has the size to get to the front of the net and make things happen, but has been too willing at times to stay on the perimeter and serve as a playmaker.Once Beck understands more clearly when to go to the tough areas and what to do once he gets there, the belief is he can become a consistent goal-scorer.Beck projects as a power forward, but needs to improve his skating.<h2>5|&nbsp;MICHAEL LATTA</h2>C, 21, Milwaukee (AHL)6-0, 215, 45-5-19-24-126 2009 draft, 72nd overallMichael Latta piles up penalty minutes, but those are offset by the fouls opposing teams commit in response and because of the bravery and much-needed sandpaper he supplies to the lineup. The next step is to get a better feel for when and how to create havoc rather than just play on the edge at all times.Latta has shown improvement as a playmaker and as an offensive threat, but his future is as an energy guy who makes his team difficult to play against and makes those on the ice with him more comfortable and able to do their jobs.He&rsquo;s progressing, but still a few years away.<h2>On The HORIZON The NEXT Five</h2>6| MIIKKA SALOMAKIRW, 19, Karpat (Finland)&nbsp;6-0, 205, 34-6-9-15-28 2011 draft, 52nd overall&nbsp;A top-six forward who is almost NHL-ready. Versatile, energetic, tenacious two-way player.7| BRENDAN LEIPSICC, 18, Portland (WHL)&nbsp;5-9, 170, 54-40-61-101-87 2012 draft, 89th overallHas become a consistent point producer. Needs to add strength to his already gritty game.8| JIMMY VESEYLW, 19, Harvard (ECAC)&nbsp;6-1, 195, 19-10-4-14-21 2012 draft, 66th overall&nbsp;An unexpected U.S. star at world juniors, arguably the Predators&rsquo; best pure offensive prospect.9| MAGNUS HELLBERGG, 21, Milwaukee (AHL)&nbsp;6-5, 196, 5-6-0, 2.78, .909 2011 draft, 38th overallHis adjustment to North America includes a focus on puck handling and strength.10| PONTUS ABERGLW, 19, Djurgarden (Swe.2)5-11, 189, 44-10-21-31-4 2012 draft, 37th overallReacted to failure to make Sweden&rsquo;s world junior team with improved focus, production. &#9632;

f0039-01

BACK TO THE FRONT

<div class="byline">BY RICH CHERE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-01929/9818285-1-eng-US/f0040-012.jpg" title="f0040-01" width="306" height="255"></div>For almost a decade, the Devils have looked back wistfully on the days Hall of Famer Scott Stevens and future Hall of Famer Scott Niedermayer dominated their defense corps.Those kind of blueliners don&rsquo;t come around often, but some within the organization think it could happen again if the stars align for Adam Larsson (class of 2011) and Jon Merrill (class of 2010). Both will earn their promotions the hard way. &ldquo;With teams that have high standards, like ours, you&rsquo;re not given anything,&rdquo; said David Conte, the Devils director of scouting. &ldquo;You have to earn it. Then you have to maintain it. It&rsquo;s a tough league and a tough team to break into.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-02601/9818278-1-eng-US/f0040-022.jpg" title="f0040-02" width="1127" height="1067"><figcaption class="caption-body">sTEFAN MATTEAU (ANDY MARLIN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h2>1|&nbsp;STEFAN MATTEAU</h2>LW, 18, New Jersey (NHL)6-1, 215, 8-1-1-2-2 2012 draft, 29th overallOVERALL 64The son of former NHLer Stephane Matteau hasn&rsquo;t looked out of place with the Devils this season, even seeing some action on the first line. They were pleased enough to retain him and use up a year of his entry level contract.Stefan Matteau&rsquo;s pride was slightly dented when he was a late cut from Team USA&rsquo;s gold medal-winning national junior team, but he has shown surprising agility for a big winger and the Devils didn&rsquo;t keep him just to build his confidence. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s going to be a good nhl player for a long time,&rdquo; said coach Pete DeBoer. &ldquo;The question is when. He&rsquo;s a typical NHL forward.&rdquo;<h2>2|&nbsp;JON MERRILL</h2>D, 20, Michigan (CCHA)6-4, 210, 11-1-3-4-10 2010 draft, 38th overallThere was some panic in the Devils front office when the big, mobile American sustained a cracked vertebrae after being hit from behind in October. When Merrill returned, he showed rust and damaged confidence. The Devils will give him space before judging where his game is.Steve Kampfer and Max Pacioretty overcame similar injuries and Merrill, a superior passer, may still be on the fast track to the nhl. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s as close as he wants to be,&rdquo; Conte said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a question of him feeling confident and ready to take on those challenges and it&rsquo;s not our place to tell him when that time is.&rdquo;<h2>3|&nbsp;ALEXANDER URBOM</h2>D, 22, Albany (AHL)6-5, 215, 40-0-4-4-36 2009 draft, 73rd overallInexperience and Larsson stand in the way of Alexander Urbom claiming a spot on the NHL roster right now. The Devils have finally coaxed the young Swede to use his size to play a more physical style and it has raised his impact on games. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s been one of our top defensemen in Albany all year,&rdquo; said Devils gm Lou Lamoriello.While it is far too early to start comparing him to Hall of Famers, at least one scout sees the Larry Robinson influence (they are the same size). His long reach and poise under pressure have given him an advantage over the organization&rsquo;s smaller defensemen.<h2>4|&nbsp;KEITH KINKAID</h2>G, 23, Albany (AHL)6-3, 190, 16-9-4, 2.49, .913 Free agent, April 18, 2011In his few chances to go head-to-head with NHL players during training camps, Keith Kinkaid has been very competitive and his athleticism is reason to believe he&rsquo;ll be a regular in New Jersey. &ldquo;Marty is probably going to retire in the next 10 years, maybe,&rdquo; Conte said jokingly.Improving his numbers across the board, the New Yorker had what Lamoriello called &ldquo;an exceptional first half.&rdquo; Kinkaid&rsquo;s confident in his abilities and the somewhat harder route to the NHL may benefit him. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s constantly improved,&rdquo; Lamoriello said, &ldquo;but I don&rsquo;t think you can ever bring a goalie along too slowly.&rdquo;<h2>5|&nbsp;ERIC GELINAS</h2>D, 21, Albany (AHL)6-4, 205, 27-4-10-14-28 2009 draft, 54th overallWith Larsson back in the NHL post-lockout, Eric Gelinas is Albany&rsquo;s most dominant defenseman.He suffered a setback when he was struck by a puck during the team&rsquo;s final AHL pre-season game. It left him with a fractured jaw and some loose teeth and sidelined him for an extended period. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s just getting back into physical shape,&rdquo; Lamoriello said. &ldquo;He lost a lot because of the injury. But he&rsquo;s still a top prospect. He shoots the puck as hard as anyone in the NHL.&rdquo;With that howitzer and his size, it will be a surprise if Gelinas isn&rsquo;t in the NHL by next season.<h2>On The HORIZON The NEXT Five</h2>6| REID BOUCHERLW, 19, Sarnia (OHL)5-11, 195, 54-49-25-74-45 2011 draft, 99th overallLeft off U.S. WJC squad, but has addressed his defensive shortcomings and passed the 40-goal mark.7| DAMON SEVERSOND, 18, Kelowna (WHL)&nbsp;6-2, 198, 57-8-35-43-58 2012 draft, 60th overallNo longer gears his game only toward his offensive skills. He&rsquo;s now a more complete player.8|&nbsp;SCOTT WEDGEWOODG, 20, Trenton (ECHL)6-1, 195, 14-16-4, 3.32, .895 2010 draft, 84th overallEvolving as a potential Brodeur successor. Rangy and agile, he&rsquo;s a big goalie who covers a lot of net.9| HARRI PESONENLW, 24, Albany (AHL)5-11, 198, 42-9-11-20-16 Free agent, June 15, 2012Must be more willing to play in the dirty areas to become a successful winger in the NHL.10| DAVID WOHLBERGC, 22, Albany (AHL)6-1, 190, 16-0-2-2-14 2008 draft, 172nd overallIllness and injury have prevented him from getting in sync offensively. Needs a regular spot and role. &#9632;

f0040-01

DEVIL IS IN THE ‘D’

<div class="byline">BY PETER BOTTE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-01808/9818323-1-eng-US/f0041-012.jpg" title="f0041-01" width="306" height="255"></div>What does it say about the New York Islanders that they kept a couple of last-minute waiver pickups and retreads once the lockout ended because none of their defense prospects were deemed ready to crack the NHL roster?Well, it explains GM Garth Snow expending all seven of his draft picks last summer on blueliners. Still, despite some obvious holes at the NHL level, the Isles smartly remained patient with the most noteworthy of those selections, No. 4 overall pick Griffin Reinhart, who was returned to the Western League after a brief taste in training camp.Snow finally appears intent on not rushing high-end prospects.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-02530/9818316-1-eng-US/f0041-022.jpg" title="f0041-02" width="1127" height="1071"><figcaption class="caption-body">RYAN STROME (JOEL SMITH/ICEDOGSPHOTOS.COM)</figcaption></div><h2>1|&nbsp;RYAN STROME</h2>C, 19, Niagara (OHL)6-1, 192, 42-29-44-73-45 2011 draft, 5th overallOVERALL 13Tabbed in the top five one year earlier than Reinhart&rsquo;s selection, Ryan Strome admittedly was disappointed not to receive at least the allowable five-game NHL look from the Islanders before heading back to junior.Despite missing a dozen games between international play and his Isles&rsquo; tryout, the dynamic teen center still was leading Niagara in scoring by a large margin, averaging nearly two points per game. Snow and Islanders coach Jack Capuano envision Strome as the ideal No. 2 center behind franchise lynchpin John Tavares for years to come.<h2>2|&nbsp;GRIFFIN REINHART</h2>D, 19, Edmonton (WHL)6-4, 202, 45-6-14-20-25 2012 draft, 4th overallOVERALL 23Eight of the first 10 picks in the 2012 draft were defenders and Reinhart was the second of those selected, so there&rsquo;s a strong chance his arrival on Long Island only has been delayed by a year. The son of former NHL offensive defenseman Paul Reinhart enjoyed a strong WJC for Canada before he was suspended for the final game on a stick infraction.Capuano was impressed by Reinhart&rsquo;s steadiness and vision in the abridged camp, but the teenager expectedly was returned to junior to work on his mobility, confidence with the puck and strength.<h2>3|&nbsp;BROCK NELSON</h2>D, 21, Bridgeport (AHL)6-3, 205, 35-14-14-28-18 2010 draft, 30th overallOVERALL 59Brock Nelson&rsquo;s initial pro season after two impressive years at the University of North Dakota was temporarily derailed in December when he sustained a broken jaw after he was struck in the face by a puck.The gritty center returned in mid-January after a month out of the lineup and has been a staple on the power play and the penalty kill for Bridgeport, impressing firstyear coach Scott Pellerin with his hockey sense and maturity as a rookie.A late-season call-up isn&rsquo;t out of the question if injuries arise, but a potential AHL playoff run bodes well for his development.<h2>4|&nbsp;CALVIN DE HAAN</h2>C, 21, Bridgeport (AHL)6-0, 180, 3-0-2-2-4 2009 draft, 12th overallFrom the what-might-have-been department: Calvin de Haan would be on Long Island by now if not for a series of significant injuries since the Isles boldly moved up to draft him on the same day they landed Tavares with the No. 1 overall pick.The latest serious health issue for the puck-rushing defenseman came in just the third game of the season for Bridgeport, when de Haan sustained a season-ending dislocation of his left shoulder. It marked his third shoulder injury in four seasons and puts doubt on whether he&rsquo;ll stay healthy enough to reach his vast potential.<h2>5|&nbsp;VILLE POKKA</h2>D, 18, Karpat (Fin.1)6-0, 187, 36-5-5-20-6 2012 draft, 34th overallVille Pokka is hardly a finished product, as he still needs to improve his skating before making the jump to North America. Still, the Finnish blueliner has held his own in the pro ranks in his home country since he was 17 and several scouts believed he easily was seventh-place Finland&rsquo;s best two-way defenseman at the world juniors.His confidence with the puck leads to occasional simple mistakes, but those are correctable. While he is not overly physical in this stage of his development, the Isles believe Pokka has the tools and smarts to become an effective puckmoving blueliner.<h2>On The HORIZON The NEXT Five</h2>6| JOHAN SUNDSTROMC, 20, Bridgeport (AHL)&nbsp;6-2, 195, 39-11-14-25-14 2011 draft, 50th overallWell-schooled Swedish pivot has shown steady improvement at both ends as Bridgeport rookie.7| SCOTT MAYFIELDD, 20, Denver (WCHA)&nbsp;6-4, 205, 29-2-10-12-80 2011 draft, 34th overallCollege sophomore is another sizable D-man for the pipeline with a willingness to mix it up.8| MATT DONOVAND, 22, Bridgeport (AHL)6-0, 205, 44-6-16-22-47 2008 draft, 96th overallTwo years out of Denver himself, named AHL All-Star Game starter. Foot speed is improving.9| KEVIN POULING, 22, Bridgeport (AHL)6-2, 210, 14-10-3, 3.01, .909 2008 draft, 126th overallWith Rick DiPietro back on Isles&rsquo; active roster, Poulin is again just one tweak away from the NHL.10| ANDERS NILSSONG, 22, Bridgeport (AHL)6-5, 220, 7-10-0, 3.14, .896 2009 draft, 62nd overall&nbsp;Another Scandinavian-born goaltender with great size, calmness and all-around athleticism. &#9632;

f0041-01

ISLES LOOK LONG TERM

<div class="byline">BY STEVE ZIPAY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-01858/9818361-1-eng-US/f0042-012.jpg" title="f0042-01" width="305" height="255"></div>The New York Rangers are like a jigsaw puzzle. They have some pieces firmly in place and are waiting to see if and how the others fit into the frame.Americans Chris Kreider and J.T. Miller are the crown jewels of a forward-heavy top 10, which could extend to include fast-rising center Oscar Lindberg and Notre Dame freshman Steven Fogarty. Beyond Dylan McIlrath, Brady Skjei and, perhaps, 2012 fourth-rounder Swede Calle Andersson, the blueline hopefuls are thin, with no immediate help coming.Also, without a blue-chip prospect in net, the Rangers will surely draft one this summer.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-02558/9818354-1-eng-US/f0042-022.jpg" title="f0042-02" width="1127" height="1082"><figcaption class="caption-body">CHRIS KREIDER (SCOTT LEVY/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h2>1|&nbsp;CHRIS KREIDER</h2>LW, 21, New York (NHL)6-3, 226, 6-1-1-2-4 2009 draft, 19th overallOVERALL 20After a record-setting splash in the Stanley Cup playoffs, the gifted Boston College product has had some issues adjusting to the next level. He was asked to concentrate more on defense in the AHL and, without the benefit of a normal NHL camp, struggled at the start of the season.To be fair, Kreider was later diagnosed with a bone chip in his right ankle. Coach John Tortorella and his staff are being cautious, balancing a win-now philosophy with his long-term development. The Rangers are counting on his top-six potential to blossom later this season or next.<h2>2|&nbsp;J.T. MILLER</h2>LW, 19, Connecticut (AHL)6-1, 200, 37-8-12-20-27 2011 draft, 15th overallOVERALL 38Miller&rsquo;s leadership and nine points on Team USA&rsquo;s gold-medal team at the 2013 world juniors cannot be understated. He improved every game in his second stint with the squad.His hard-nosed style and ability to create offense are exactly what Tortorella craves. Because the Blueshirts are thin at center beyond Brad Richards and Derek Stepan, Miller, who can play wing and center, will compete for a job next season. Miller Time arrived in February, but New York won&rsquo;t burn a year on his entry level contract by playing him for more than a few games this season.<h2>3|&nbsp;JESPER FAST</h2>RW, 21, HV71 (Swe.)5-11, 165, 38-17-13-30-4 2010 draft, 157th overallThe story goes this sixth-round sleeper is so speedy, he outraced the &ldquo;h&rdquo; at the end of his last name, which fell by the wayside. Quickness and acceleration are major attributes in the today&rsquo;s NHL, which is why Jesper Fast has a shot to crack the Ranger lineup as a two-way player if he can add some muscle without losing his key attribute.Fast, who possesses a similar skill set to Carl Hagelin, appears to have fully recovered from a broken ankle that cost him three months of the 2011-12 season. The youngster has a strong work ethic and is averaging close to 20 minutes a game.<h2>4|&nbsp;DYLAN MCILRATH</h2>D, 20, Connecticut (AHL)6-5, 220, 18-0-1-1-60 2010 draft, 10th overallThe burly blueliner was sidetracked until late December by a dislocated knee sustained in prospect camp in July. Ex-Ranger D-man Jeff Beukeboom, in his first year as an assistant coach with the Whale, is helping smooth the rough spots in his game.As a crease-clearer with some offensive upside rather than an offensive force &ndash; much like Beukeboom, who was Brian Leetch&rsquo;s bodyguard &ndash; Mc-Ilrath drops the gloves to defend teammates without hesitation. He&rsquo;s an intimidator who plays hard, simple and mean. He will need a healthy season in the AHL to learn the ropes.<h2>5|&nbsp;CHRISTIAN THOMAS</h2>RW, 20, Connecticut (AHL)5-9, 170, 48-10-11-21-11 2010 draft, 40th overallThe son of former NHLer Steve Thomas is blessed with an elite shot, but isn&rsquo;t duplicating his junior goalscoring stats in the AHL, which isn&rsquo;t totally surprising. He&rsquo;s undersized and part of a young group in Hartford.Tortorella was hoping to give Thomas, who has a reputation for being dangerous around the net, an extended look in training camp, but that was KO&rsquo;d by the lockout.The Toronto native can find shooting lanes, but gets pushed off the puck and needs to put up some better numbers and upgrade his defense to take the next step.<h2>On The HORIZON The NEXT Five</h2>6| BRADY SKJEID, 18, Minnesota (WCHA)6-3, 200, 26-1-2-3-10 2012 draft, 28th overallU.S. NTDP product is a phenomenal skater. Just missed cut for USA national junior team in 2013.7| CRISTOVAL NIEVESC, 19, Michigan (CCHA)&nbsp;6-3, 200, 30-8-15-23-16 2012 draft, 59th overallBig pivot has lots of skill and is coachable. Maturing, but &lsquo;Boo&rsquo; needs more time in a top college system.8| CAMERON TALBOTG, 25, Connecticut (AHL)6-3, 185, 17-19-1, 2.61, .917 Free agent, March 30, 2010Seasoned AHL starter could emerge as eventual backup to Henrik Lundqvist with improved play.9| KYLE JEANC, 22, Connecticut (AHL)&nbsp;6-4, 203, 49-9-12-21-35 Free agent, July 5, 2012Still raw in many areas in his first year as a pro out of college, but his size makes him intriguing.10| MICHAEL ST-CROIXC, 19, Edmonton (WHL)6-0, 179, 58-28-40-68-28 2011 draft, 106th overallConsistent offensive machine, but many kids are in junior. His real test will come in the AHL. &#9632;

f0042-01

LOOKING BACKWARD

<div class="byline">BY BRUCE GARRIOCH</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-01836/9818399-1-eng-US/f0043-012.jpg" title="f0043-01" width="304" height="255"></div>The future is now for the Ottawa Senators. Yes, they have plenty of prospects in the organization, but many are getting their baptism by fire in the NHL as part of a rapid rebuild because GM Bryan Murray and his staff have made room on this roster for them to grow.Jakob Silfverbeg and Mark Stone made their NHL debuts during the playoffs last season and Silfverberg wound up on the top line for his first regular season game this year. Mika Zibanejad was pressed into duty as well to plug a hole at center after Jason Spezza&rsquo;s injury. So several of Ottawa&rsquo;s top prospects are already in the NHL and others will get their opportunity soon enough.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-02582/9818392-1-eng-US/f0043-022.jpg" title="f0043-02" width="1127" height="1052"><figcaption class="caption-body">MIKA ZIBANEJAD (ANDRE RINGUETTE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h2>1|&nbsp;MIKA ZIBANEJAD</h2>C, 19, Ottawa (NHL)6-1, 200, 7-1-2-3-0 2011 draft, 6th overallOVERALL 17Spezza&rsquo;s back surgery was a blessing for Zibanejad. He struggled in the AHL early after whiplash, impacted wisdom teeth and the flu kept him out of action.Brought up after Spezza was sidelined, Zibanejad will be given every chance to stay in the NHL. &ldquo;He had a really tough start which was frustrating for us and him,&rdquo; said Randy Lee, Ottawa&rsquo;s director of player development. &ldquo;But it challenged him to regain his confidence. He missed a lot of hockey.&rdquo;The Senators like his skills, but have told him he must use his strength to be more hard-nosed.<h2>2|&nbsp;JAKOB SILFVERBERG</h2>RW, 22, Ottawa (NHL)6-1, 200, 12-2-1-3-6 2009 draft, 39th overallOVERALL 18The Senators wanted Silfverberg, an intelligent two-way winger, to stay when he attended their development camp before the 2011-12 season. He opted for one more year in the Swedish League and won the MVP.The lockout helped him adjust to playing in North America. &ldquo;It gave him a chance to have success at a good level,&rdquo; Lee said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s been a blessing, he&rsquo;s made the transition and he&rsquo;ll be a complete player in the NHL.&rdquo; Coach Paul MacLean is giving him every chance to establish himself by playing him on the top line. More scoring success will keep him there.<h2>3|&nbsp;ROBIN LEHNER</h2>G, 21, Binghamton (AHL)6-4, 213, 17-8-2, 1.87, .945 2009 draft, 46th overallOVERALL 24Robin Lehner might be the best goalie prospect outside the NHL. He first came to camp as an 18-year-old and had lots of growing up to do. The Senators can&rsquo;t say enough about his maturation in the past year.He worked hard in the summer and has been the top goalie in the AHL this season. &ldquo;Management challenged him to (go to Binghamton) and run with it,&rdquo; Lee said. &ldquo;He has handled the challenge so well. A lot of that is maturity.&rdquo; The Senators needed Lehner to realize they have a plan for him to succeed. He has bought in and will be a full-time NHLer soon.<h2>4|&nbsp;STEFAN NOESEN</h2>RW, 19, Plymouth (OHL)6-2, 205, 36-17-15-32-37 2011 draft, 21st overallOVERALL 67Born in Texas, Noesen took his game to another level with Plymouth early this season, but couldn&rsquo;t play for Team USA in the world juniors because of a suspension and slumped offensively at mid-season.He&rsquo;s used at the point on the power play by the Whalers because he&rsquo;s got a heavy shot. &ldquo;He just competes really hard every night,&rdquo; Lee said.Noesen is a versatile player capable of being a checker or scorer. He is the club&rsquo;s best prospect not playing pro, but has to prove he can be effective offensively at the NHL pace of play.<h2>5|&nbsp;PATRICK WIERCIOCH</h2>D, 22, Ottawa (NHL)6-5, 205, 9-0-4-4-4 2008 draft, 42nd overallMany were starting to wonder if Patrick Wiercioch would ever play in the NHL. A devastating throat injury in December 2011 that nearly took his life is an example of his perseverance.Wiercioch, a well-rounded D-man who can play in all situations, took time to develop, but has finally arrived. He spent the summer working with staff and close friend/center Kyle Turris. &ldquo;We always saw Patrick&rsquo;s upside,&rdquo; Lee said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s had to fight through tough times and he&rsquo;s worked hard.&rdquo;Wiercioch was twice a top 75 prospect in Future Watch (74 in 2009 and 43 in 2010) before slipping out in 2011 and 2012.<h2>On The HORIZON The NEXT Five</h2>6| MATT PUEMPELLW, 20, Kitchener (OHL)6-0, 208, 38-24-9-33-30 2011 draft, 24th overall&nbsp;Junior team has challenged goal-scorer to become a responsible player at both ends of the ice.7| CODY CECID, 19, Owen Sound (OHL)6-3, 215, 55-12-37-49-12 2012 draft, 15th overallThe Senators love the local-born D-man offensively, but his play without the puck has to improve.8| MARK STONERW, 20, Binghamton (AHL)6-3, 203, 35-8-11-19-8 2010 draft, 178th overallSkating a problem for gifted scorer, but he&rsquo;s worked hard to improve it. Solid in first AHL season.9| MARK BOROWIECKID, 23, Binghamton (AHL)6-1, 200, 28-2-4-6-102 2008 draft, 139th overallIntimidating defenseman got a call-up this season to help a Senators lineup short on sandpaper.10| STEPHANE DA COSTAC, 23, Binghamton (AHL)&nbsp;5-11, 185, 31-9-15-24-10 Free agent, March 31, 2011&nbsp;Was coveted as a college star. Must get stronger for his offense to translate at the NHL level. &#9632;

f0043-01

SENS LET THEM PLAY

<div class="byline">BY WAYNE FISH</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-01736/9818437-1-eng-US/f0044-012.jpg" title="f0044-01" width="305" height="255"></div>Early in the shortened season, two of the Flyers&rsquo; top five prospects were playing somewhat prominent roles.The early success of Scott Laughton (No. 1) and Tye McGinn (No. 5) indicates that scouts are doing something right. Laughton was eventually returned to Oshawa for more seasoning, but the point was made &ndash; some of these prospects are almost ready for the show.&ldquo;We think this is a pretty good group,&rdquo; said GM Paul Holmgren.Philadelphia has searched high and low for talent in recent years and even has the son of Comcast-Spectacor president and COO Peter Luukko (Nick) on the depth chart.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-02476/9818430-1-eng-US/f0044-022.jpg" title="f0044-02" width="1127" height="1077"><figcaption class="caption-body">SCOTT LAUGHTON (TERRY WILSON/OHL IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h2>1|&nbsp;SCOTT LAUGHTON</h2>C, 18, Oshawa (OHL)6-1, 190, 37-17-27-44-53 2012 draft, 20th overallOVERALL 35Laughton impressed coaches so much in training camp, the team decided to keep him around for a five-game rookie trial period before sending him back to his junior team.During Danny Briere&rsquo;s absence (broken wrist) at the start of the season, Laughton got some quality minutes and didn&rsquo;t look out of place. &ldquo;He plays both ends of the rink very well,&rdquo; Holmgren said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s tough, he&rsquo;ll finish his checks. He&rsquo;s got a mean streak in him. We think a lot of him. He has to get a little stronger and a bit bigger (to 195 pounds), but he&rsquo;s strong on the puck.&rdquo;<h2>2|&nbsp;BRANDON MANNING</h2>D, 22, Adirondack (AHL)6-1, 195, 44-5-8-13-82 Free agent, Nov. 23, 2010There&rsquo;s always room in the Flyers&rsquo; organization for an intense player and Brandon Manning fits that profile. It&rsquo;s a cliche, but he comes to play every night.&ldquo;He had a tough year last year with all the injuries,&rdquo; Holmgren said. &ldquo;Brandon is good with the puck and he&rsquo;s developed nicely for us. He&rsquo;s a pretty good defender, but what we like about him is he&rsquo;s very competitive.&rdquo;In a brief trial last year, Manning was well received in the Flyers dressing room.His poor plus-minus and middling offensive stats on a bad Phantoms team are deceiving. He was named to the AHL All-Star Game.<h2>3|&nbsp;SHAYNE GOSTISBEHERE</h2>D, 19, Union (ECAC)5-11, 161, 24-5-11-16-18 2012 draft, 78th overallShayne Gostisbehere is an offense-minded player who can get nasty. He even got suspended during the world juniors.&ldquo;Union College got to the Frozen Four and that was a coming out party for him,&rdquo; Holmgren said. &ldquo;We were hoping we might have a shot at him in the third round (of the draft) and we did.&ldquo;He needs to get a little bigger, but we like his potential. He has a good chance to play at a higher level.&rdquo;Gostisbehere, born in Pembroke Pines, is a rare native of Florida to play hockey at a high level.<h2>4|&nbsp;ANTHONY STOLARZ</h2>G, 19, London (OHL)6-6, 220, 4-1-1, 2.42, .916 2012 draft, 45th overallNo matter what round the Flyers draft a goalie, there&rsquo;s always the eternal question: will he be the savior, the next Bernie Parent or Ron Hextall?The Flyers have been searching for more than a quarter century. Maybe it&rsquo;s Anthony Stolarz. He sounds as promising as anything that&rsquo;s come along in a while.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s very athletic,&rdquo; Holmgren said. &ldquo;He was at our summer camp and we liked him. He&rsquo;s a New Jersey kid (Jackson), so he&rsquo;s got some local roots.&rdquo;Stolarz doesn&rsquo;t lack for confidence and impressed media at the draft with his articulate observations.<h2>5|&nbsp;TYE MCGINN</h2>LW, 22, Adirondack (AHL)6-2, 205, 33-11-4-15-52 2010 draft, 119th overallLike Laughton, McGinn enjoyed an impressive training camp with he Flyers and was called back from Adirondack when Zac Rinaldo got hurt.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re not surprised (by his talent),&rdquo; Holmgren said. &ldquo;But his skating and quickness have to pick up a notch. He&rsquo;s a big, strong guy who likes to go to the front of the net on the power play.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just a question of continuing to get more leg strength and he needs to get off the mark quicker. He&rsquo;s come a long way in a year and a half.&rdquo;Size, physicality and high hockey IQ are what will get him to the NHL.<h2>On The HORIZON The NEXT Five</h2>6| MARCEL NOEBELSC, 20, Adirondack (AHL)6-2, 205, 15-5-3-8-2 2011 draft, 118th overallHe&rsquo;s got a good knack with the puck and can shoot. Better in the middle than wing.7| NICK COUSINSC, 19, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)5-11, 177, 54-21-63-84-68 2011 draft, 68th overallGritty, hardnosed undersized player. Puck seems to follow him. A smaller version of Scott Hartnell.8| OLIVER LAURIDSEND, 23, Adirondack (AHL)6-6, 220, 40-0-5-5-55 2009 draft, 196th overall&nbsp;He can skate for a player that tall, but he needs to continue to get better handling the puck.9| ANDREW JOHNSTONLW, 21, Adirondack (AHL)&nbsp;6-1, 178, 23-1-2-3-5 Free agent, May 21, 2012&nbsp;Signed after an stellar playoff run (10 goals) with Humboldt. Needs bulk, but has good feel for the game.10| NICK LUUKKOD, 21, Vermont (HE)6-3, 196, 26-3-6-9-14 2010 draft, 179th overallSuffered an abdominal injury (spleen) to end his season last year, but has come back strong. &#9632;

f0044-01

KIDS GETTING SNEAK PEEKS

<div class="byline">BY SARAH MCLELLAN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-01648/9818475-1-eng-US/f0045-012.jpg" title="f0045-01" width="304" height="255"></div>Under the limitations of league ownership for almost four years, the Phoenix Coyotes have had to be creative in building an NHL roster. They haven&rsquo;t been able to sign bigmoney free agents and trades can be a challenge to execute.Drafting, as a result, has taken on added importance. Defensive hockey under the guidance of coach Dave Tippett has been their mode of survival and that&rsquo;s why their depth on the blueline is exemplary.That progress has enabled Phoenix to focus more on accumulating forwards, but even they need to realize responsibility in their own end trumps the pursuit of offense.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-02434/9818468-1-eng-US/f0045-022.jpg" title="f0045-02" width="1127" height="1060"><figcaption class="caption-body">Brandon Gormley (RON MORIN/PORTLAND PIRATES)</figcaption></div><h2>1|&nbsp;BRANDON GORMLEY</h2>D, 20, Portland (AHL)6-2, 196, 40-4-10-14-24 2010 draft, 13th overallOVERALL 32In his second year in the American League, Brandon Gormley has performed exactly how the Coyotes expected.He struggled initially to adapt to the speed of the game. What helped his learning curve was realizing some shortcuts he could take in junior wouldn&rsquo;t hold up in pro. With time, Gormley has matured into the same steady presence with offensive upside.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not a matter of if he&rsquo;s going to play for us, it&rsquo;s a matter of when he&rsquo;s going to play,&rdquo; said GM Don Maloney. &ldquo;And when he gets here he&rsquo;ll be here for a long, long time.&rdquo;<h2>2|&nbsp;DAVID RUNDBLAD</h2>D, 22, Portland (AHL)6-2, 195, 34-6-19-25-16 Trade (Ott), Dec. 17, 2011OVERALL 71Among the defensemen in the system, David Rundblad has progressed the most this season. His offense has always been strong, but to play for the Coyotes he needed to become smarter in his own end.Often, he&rsquo;d try to make a risky move out of the defensive zone and end up turning the puck over. But now he&rsquo;s better at reading each situation and his positioning to react is solid.&ldquo;His natural ability is going to be his puck game,&rdquo; said assistant GM Brad Treliving. &ldquo;But you can see the development in terms of his play without the puck and defending.&rdquo;<h2>3|&nbsp;HENRIK SAMUELSSON</h2>C, 18, Edmonton (WHL)6-2, 215, 58-29-41-70-86 2012 draft, 27th overallHenrik Samuelsson was hyped as a big body with a heavy shot and offensive instincts and that&rsquo;s what he continues to deliver for the Oil Kings.But what the Coyotes really like about his game is his ability to play in every situation, from penalty kill to power play. Those are responsibilities Samuelsson had to earn this season and he&rsquo;s proven he can handle the pressure.&ldquo;If they need a goal, they could put me out,&rdquo; Samuelsson said. &ldquo;If they needed somebody in the last few minutes just to shut them down, then they can trust me in that, too.&rdquo;<h2>4|&nbsp;MARK VISENTIN</h2>G, 20, Portland (AHL)6-2, 195, 11-9-1, 2.85, .909 2010 draft, 27th overallPhoenix doesn&rsquo;t see Mark Visentin competing for an NHL job for three or four years, but he&rsquo;s on schedule in his development.He&rsquo;s been strong in his rookie year in the AHL, even earning player of the week honors in early January after going 2-0 with a 1.00 goals-against average and .978 save percentage.Visentin has competed mostly as a backup, but he&rsquo;s played plenty of minutes. Next year, he will compete for the starting job in Portland.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s like all the young goalies,&rdquo; Maloney said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;ll have his ups and downs this year, but we like where he&rsquo;s going.&rdquo;<h2>5|&nbsp;MICHAEL STONE</h2>D, 22, Phoenix (NHL)6-3, 210, 10-0-0-0-4 2008 draft, 69th overallThe experience Michael Stone earned last season with the Coyotes made him an easy call-up when the defense struggled early.Although he was a puckmover in junior, Stone easily learned coach Dave Tippett&rsquo;s defense-first system and that&rsquo;s why Stone has bridged the gap between the NHL and AHL.He has a long stick and a big shot, but his decision-making stands out. His positioning is steady, which is vital for the Coyotes. With continued confidence, he&rsquo;ll solidify a spot on the roster for years to come.&ldquo;His game has so much maturity to it right now,&rdquo; Treliving said.<h2>On The HORIZON The NEXT Five</h2>6| CONNOR MURPHYD, 19, Sarnia (OHL)&nbsp;6-3, 190, 33-6-12-18-32 2011 draft, 20th overall&nbsp;Has size and strength. A smart defender in matchup roles. Has had trouble staying healthy.7| CHRIS BROWNC, 21, Portland (AHL)6-2, 191, 45-13-11-24-68 2009 draft, 36th overallBig and physical. Aggressive in pursuing the puck. Consistency is his biggest challenge.8| ANDY MIELEC, 24, Portland (AHL)5-9, 180, 42-11-16-27-43 Free agent, April 2, 2011&nbsp;Lacks size, but is speedy. Coyotes haven&rsquo;t been able to find him consistent opportunity.9| LUCAS LESSIOLW, 20, Oshawa (OHL)&nbsp;6-1, 206, 21-10-10-20-26 2011 draft, 56th overall&nbsp;Big and fast winger has smart instincts with the puck. Returning from hand injury.10| CHRIS SUMMERSD, 24, Portland (AHL)6-2, 209, 41-2-8-10-45 2006 draft, 29th overallShutdown defender has some NHL experience. Must work on making better outlet passes. &#9632;

f0045-01

‘D’-FIRST MENTALITY

<div class="byline">BY JONATHAN BOMBULIE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-01652/9818513-1-eng-US/f0046-012.jpg" title="f0046-01" width="305" height="255"></div>The way the Pittsburgh Penguins have stockpiled defensemen, selecting them with their top two picks in three of the past four drafts, GM Ray Shero could be on one of those reality TV shows about compulsive hoarders.While the team obviously values depth on defense, Tom Fitzgerald, assistant to the GM, said it&rsquo;s not necessarily part of an overriding organizational philosophy. &ldquo;Our scouts do their due diligence and put the kids in order,&rdquo; Fitzgerald said. &ldquo;On draft day, it&rsquo;s almost like fantasy football. You just scratch them off and if Olli Maatta&rsquo;s next on the list, well, you draft Olli Maatta.&rdquo;And that&rsquo;s what Pittsburgh did at No. 22.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-02429/9818506-1-eng-US/f0046-022.jpg" title="f0046-02" width="1122" height="1039"><figcaption class="caption-body">OLLI MAATTA (TERRY WILSON/OHL IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h2>1|&nbsp;OLLI MAATTA</h2>D, 18, London (OHL)6-2, 198, 44-4-24-28-24 2012 draft, 22nd overallOVERALL 40The Penguins have their defensemen retrieve pucks a little differently than most teams and it sometimes takes young players weeks or even months to get used to the change. Maatta picked it up in one afternoon during the team&rsquo;s developmental camp last summer, leaving coaches raving about his smarts.Maatta probably won&rsquo;t be a first power play guy and he&rsquo;s not a big open-ice hitter, but he does everything else well. He eats up minutes, plays with his head up and uses his size to separate opponents from the puck. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a horse,&rdquo; Fitzgerald said.<h2>2|&nbsp;DERRICK POULIOT</h2>D, 19, Portland (WHL)5-11, 195, 39-8-30-38-54 2012 draft, 8th overallOVERALL 42When the Penguins drafted Derrick Pouliot, they didn&rsquo;t consider him just another young offensive defenseman. So what separates him from the pack? &ldquo;Skating,&rdquo; Fitzgerald said.In Portland, Pouliot&rsquo;s skating, vision and hockey sense have helped him become a point-per-game player. Once he learns how to use those attributes in the defensive zone and transition game, he&rsquo;s got top-pair defenseman written all over him. He needs to be reminded to keep his game simple sometimes and he could ramp up his physicality and intensity in his own end.<h2>3|&nbsp;BEAU BENNETT</h2>LW, 21, W-Barre (AHL)6-1, 195, 35-7-18-25-14 2010 draft, 20th overallOVERALL 54When Beau Bennett turned pro last season, the Penguins thought he&rsquo;d develop slowly at first. They were mistaken. Bennett led Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in scoring in the first three months of the season and nearly stuck in Pittsburgh as a secondline left winger with Evgeni Malkin and James Neal out of training camp.Employing an imaginative style forged on the rollerhockey rinks of southern California, Bennett is the Pens&rsquo; most skilled top-six prospect to come through the organization in years. If he bulks up and learns to push the pace more effectively, his ceiling is high.<h2>4|&nbsp;JOE MORROW</h2>D, 20, W-Barre (AHL)6-1, 198, 40-2-8-10-31 2011 draft, 23rd overallOVERALL 63Joe Morrow still has the explosive shot and slick skating ability that made him one of the most dangerous &lsquo;D&rsquo; in the WHL and earned him a long look in Pittsburgh&rsquo;s training camp last season. But he&rsquo;s hit some setbacks as an AHL rookie. He was a healthy scratch eight times in the first half of the season as the Penguins tore down his defensive game and built it back up again.&ldquo;In the four years I played junior hockey, I guess, no one taught me how to play defense properly,&rdquo; Morrow said. &ldquo;I was more of a guy who would get out on the power play, score a goal and you&rsquo;re fine.&rdquo;<h2>5|&nbsp;SIMON DESPRES</h2>D, 21, Pittsburgh (NHL)6-4, 214, 12-2-3-5-14 2009 draft, 30th overallWhen the Penguins imploded on defense and lost the first three games of a first round playoff series against the Flyers last spring, they inserted Simon Despres into the lineup for Games 4, 5 and 6. On opening night this season, he was paired with Kris Letang. That shows how highly the organization thinks of Despres.With great size and a galloping stride, Despres projects as a minute-eating second-pair defender who could play on the first penalty kill and second power play. He only runs into trouble when he forgets to play a simple game and tries to be a hero.<h2>On The HORIZON The NEXT Five</h2>6| SCOTT HARRINGTOND, 19, London (OHL)&nbsp;6-1, 202, 45-2-14-16-22 2011 draft, 54th overall&nbsp;He&rsquo;s not dynamic, but he&rsquo;s tremendously reliable. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s steady Eddie,&rdquo; Fitzgerald said.7| BRIAN DUMOULIND, 21, W-Barre (AHL)6-3, 210, 45-4-11-15-12 Trade (Car), June 22, 2012&nbsp;Uses his reach well and processes plays quickly. Lacks snarl and fluidity in his game.8| TEDDY BLUEGERC, 18, M.S.-Mankato (WCHA)5-11, 165, 26-5-12-17-32 2012 draft, 52nd overall&nbsp;Diminutive, yet cerebral Latvian plays a North American style comparable to Dustin Jeffrey.9| JAYSON MEGNAC, 22, W-Barre (AHL)&nbsp;5-11, 200, 29-3-4-7-12 Free agent, Aug. 1, 2012Quick and dynamic, but really raw. Played only one year of college hockey before turning pro.10| OSKAR SUNDQVISTRW, 18, Skelleftea Jr. (Swe.)6-3, 190, 26-13-13-26-32 2013 draft, 81st overallDidn&rsquo;t crack lineup for WJC, but showing nice finish in junior league plus a few games at elite level. &#9632;

f0046-01

BOTTOM HEAVY

<div class="byline">BY JEREMY RUTHERFORD</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-01586/9818551-1-eng-US/f0047-012.jpg" title="f0047-01" width="306" height="257"></div>Now that forwards Vladimir Tarasenko and Jaden Schwartz have arrived and impressed, the Blues hope a strong crop of goaltending prospects can produce a gem.With Jennings Trophy winners Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliott entrenched, the Blues aren&rsquo;t in a rush. But when it&rsquo;s time, they have three goalies among their top 10 prospects in Jake Allen, Niklas Lundstrom and Jordan Binnington waiting in the wings. Allen is shouldering the load with the Blues&rsquo; American League affiliate, while Sweden&rsquo;s Lundstrom and Canada&rsquo;s Binnington were contributors on their national junior teams at the WJC in 2013. It&rsquo;s the most depth the Blues have had at the position in years.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-02383/9818544-1-eng-US/f0047-022.jpg" title="f0047-02" width="1127" height="1061"><figcaption class="caption-body">JADEN SCHWARTZ (MARK BUCKNER/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h2>1|&nbsp;VLADIMIR TARASENKO</h2>RW, 21, St. Louis (NHL)6-0, 202, 12-5-5-10-8 2010 draft, 16th overallOVERALL 1From the day he was drafted, Tarasenko seemed dedicated to one day playing in North America. After two more seasons in Russia&rsquo;s KHL, he moved to the NHL and hasn&rsquo;t disappointed.Tarasenko scored on his first two shots and posted five points in his first two games, something no St. Louis rookie had done in 35 years.While Tarasenko has proven proficient with the puck, he still has habits he must crack to be a sound overall player. With roots in European hockey, he&rsquo;s prone to playing an east-west game and backing off on the forecheck.<h2>2|&nbsp;JADEN SCHWARTZ</h2>C, 20, St. Louis (NHL)5-10, 193, 9-0-1-1-2 2010 draft, 14th overallOVERALL 29Schwartz broke into the NHL for a seven-game cup of coffee late in 2011-12 and won over the coaching staff with his hockey sense. Before Tarasenko arrived, Schwartz first turned the trick of scoring on his first two shots. But he lacked the strength to enhance his performance.So he added 15 pounds to his frame and the work paid off, as he played well in the AHL during the lockout. However, when the NHL season began, Schwartz was guilty of playing soft on many nights.He must engage opponents again and control the play as he has in the past.<h2>3|&nbsp;TY RATTIE</h2>RW, 19, Portland (WHL)5-11, 170, 48-35-51-86-21 2011 draft, 32nd overallOVERALL 51After a snub in 2012, Ty Rattie earned his way onto Canada&rsquo;s national junior roster in 2013 and chipped in three goals in six games.Skill level has never been a concern for scouts watching Rattie. He exploded for 57 goals and 121 points in 69 games last season with Portland.However, in addition to adding strength, which he&rsquo;s done slowly, Rattie must improve his skating and effort in the defensive zone. The lockout kept him from gaining valuable experience in the Blues&rsquo; training camp, but his fifth season in the WHL will provide some extra polish.<h2>4|&nbsp;DMITRIJ JASKIN</h2>LW, 19, Moncton (QMJHL)6-3, 205, 43-39-42-81-67 2011 draft, 41st overallOVERALL 52The Blues themselves were questioning this pick after Dmitrij Jaskin, though playing with men in the Czech League, had one goal in 30 games in 2011-12.But a move to the QMJHL this season has been a springboard for his approaching pro career. Already possessing tremendous size, allowing him to be strong on the puck, Jaskin displayed dazzling skill in his first year with Moncton and averaged close to a goal per game through mid-February.He still faces questions about consistency and commitment, but is answering them emphatically.<h2>5|&nbsp;JORDAN SCHMALTZ</h2>D, 19, N. Dakota (WCHA)6-2, 180, 30-2-7-9-25 2012 draft, 25th overallJordan Schmaltz&rsquo;s first round selection was considered a reach and he&rsquo;s since done little to prove otherwise on or off the ice.In August, he was cut from the U.S. national junior team, which went on to win a gold, and in September he was cited for underage drinking, according to the Grand Forks Herald.Still, the college freshman, who won a championship with Green Bay in the USHL, is a legitimate prospect. He&rsquo;s an offenseminded defenseman with characteristics of a power play specialist. Other parts of his game, particularly in the defensive zone, need developing.<h2>On The HORIZON The NEXT Five</h2>6| JAKE ALLENG, 22, Peoria (AHL)6-2, 195, 12-16-2, 2.94, .903 2008 draft, 34th overallShowing more consistency in third pro season and earned an NHL call-up as an injury replacement.7| NIKLAS LUNDSTROMG, 20, AIK (Swe.)&nbsp;6-2, 187, 3-9-0, 3.14, .900 2011 draft, 132nd overallYouth is apparent playing in the SEL, but he&rsquo;s held his own when facing competition his own age.8| JORDAN BINNINGTONG, 19, Owen Sound (OHL)&nbsp;6-2, 169, 24-10-4, 2.29, .930 2011 draft, 88th overallPosting eye-popping numbers in OHL and expanded his credentials as Canada&rsquo;s WJC backup.9| JOEL EDMUNDSOND, 19, Kamloops (WHL)6-5, 190, 51-6-14-20-112 2011 draft, 46th overall&nbsp;Big, consistent D-man has bounced back from injury. Vastly improved after trade from Moose Jaw.10| PETTERI LINDBOHMD, 19, Jokerit (Fin.)&nbsp;6-3, 209, 28-0-4-4-57 2012 draft, 176th overall&nbsp;Big, poised, physical blueliner is still raw. Was loaned to second-tier Finnish League team. &#9632;

f0047-01

BLUE ICE A PRIORITY

<div class="byline">BY DAVID POLLAK</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-01458/9818589-1-eng-US/f0048-012.jpg" title="f0048-01" width="306" height="257"></div>Sharks GM Doug Wilson will never say it in so many words, but all that window-closing talk as the 2013 season began rankled. &ldquo;We may have some players that might be closer to the end of their career,&rdquo; Wilson said, &ldquo;but we have a very good young corps of people in very key positions.&rdquo;That reference goes beyond the likes of 23-year-old Logan Couture already having a big impact in San Jose. Press a little and the front office will let you know they like what&rsquo;s in the pipeline as well &ndash; especially in key positions they define as center, goal and defense. However, based on Future Watch rankings, those players are potential hidden gems, not sure things.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-02293/9818582-1-eng-US/f0048-022.jpg" title="f0048-02" width="1127" height="1069"><figcaption class="caption-body">TOMAS HERTL (PETR VANCURA)</figcaption></div><h2>1|&nbsp;TOMAS HERTL</h2>C, 19, Slavia Praha (Cze.)6-2, 198, 37-17-11-28-12 2012 draft, 17th overallOVERALL 39The Sharks touted the fact Tomas Hertl was playing in the Czech league at 18 against grown men when they drafted him and director of scouting Tim Burke now adds Hertl is doing more than just filling a roster spot. &ldquo;Playing with older guys is one thing, contributing with the older guys is another,&rdquo; Burke said.Burke describes the lanky center&rsquo;s game as &ldquo;a good blend of finish and playmaking that fits the modern game of shoot-first a little bit more.&rdquo;Hertl&rsquo;s effort at the 2013 world juniors &ndash; two goals, three assists in five games &ndash; reinforces that.<h2>2|&nbsp;NICK PETRECKI</h2>D, 23, Worcester (AHL)6-3, 225, 18-1-3-4-62 2007 draft, 28th overallNick Petrecki reached the NHL this season as a depth defenseman, albeit for a one-game call-up.In the past, if you asked the Sharks what took so long after his impressive college career, they&rsquo;d say it takes time for big D-men to adapt to the pro game. Now they add bad luck as a reason. &ldquo;If he didn&rsquo;t get injured, he gets called up last year,&rdquo; Burke said, adding San Jose was seeking the physicality Petrecki brings when Douglas Murray was hurt, but that Petrecki was also ailing then.The Sharks believe Petrecki can benefit from the arrival of Larry Robinson as an associate coach.<h2>3|&nbsp;TAYLOR DOHERTY</h2>D, 21, Worcester (AHL)6-7, 235, 14-1-2-3-6 2009 draft, 57th overallIf Taylor Doherty weren&rsquo;t out with a sliced Achilles tendon, Burke said he would have been in San Jose for this season&rsquo;s camp &ndash; with a decent chance to make the team. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s rare when a kid that age and that tall also gets filled out and has some denseness to him,&rdquo; Burke said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s not far off.&rdquo;He noted Robinson worked with Doherty during the lockout and was impressed. Doherty&rsquo;s offensive stats haven&rsquo;t approached those he put up in the OHL, but Burke said that&rsquo;s more a function of who&rsquo;s ahead of him on the depth chart in Worcester than anything else.<h2>4|&nbsp;FREDDIE HAMILTON</h2>C, 21, Worcester (AHL)6-1, 195, 46-6-8-14-10 2010 draft, 129th overallFreddie and his younger brother, Bruins D-man Dougie Hamilton, were teammates for Canada at the 2012 WJC. Burke thinks they&rsquo;ll face each other as nhl opponents soon.Burke, who downplays any comparison of the brothers other than their similar hands, isn&rsquo;t troubled by Freddie&rsquo;s lack of scoring in his first pro season. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s an all-around player, does everything well,&rdquo; he said.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s been a consistent player every night in the faceoff circle, defending, making plays in traffic. He does what he&rsquo;s supposed to do and he&rsquo;s eventually going to get more points.&rdquo;<h2>5|&nbsp;MATT NIETO</h2>LW, 20, Boston U. (HE)5-11, 185, 26-7-12-19-22 2011 draft, 47th overallThe Sharks looked nearly 400 miles down the Pacific Coast to make Matt Nieto, who grew up in Long Beach, their first draftee from California. And they moved up 12 spots to get him. &ldquo;We were watching this guy over two years now,&rdquo; Burke said at the time. &ldquo;He has offensive ability on the rush and has shown he can do other roles, like penalty kill.&rdquo;Nieto was more than a point-per-game player his second season at BU. Though that pace has dropped off, Burke dismissed the suggestion he might not be big enough to succeed in the NHL. &ldquo;His speed is his engine.&rdquo;<h2>On The HORIZON The NEXT Five</h2>6| CHRIS TIERNEYC, 18, London (OHL)6-0, 190, 54-15-30-45-12 2012 draft, 55th overallHis scoring is improving as he moves up lines and gets more responsibility on a solid Knights team.7| KONRAD ABELTSHAUSERD, 20, Halifax (QMJHL)6-5, 225, 41-6-36-42-14 2010 draft, 163rd overall&nbsp;Growing into his body, taking leadership role and his point production continues to improve.8| HARRI SATERIG, 23, Worcester (AHL)&nbsp;6-1 205, 10-9-2, 2.51, .914 2008 draft, 106th overall&nbsp;Good health, wider presence give him slight edge over Alex Stalock, though they split time in AHL.9| SEAN KURALYC, 20, Miami (CCHA)&nbsp;6-2, 200, 28-3-5-8-22 2011 draft, 133rd overallTwo-way pivot benefitted from playing in all situations for USA at the WJC. Not much offense in college yet.10|&nbsp;JUSTIN SEFTOND, 19, London (OHL)6-3, 230, 52-3-16-19-69 2011 draft, 89th overallTrade from Sudbury puts tough guy in better setting, though he seemed to leave his offense behind. &#9632;

f0048-01

NOT READY TO TANK

<div class="byline">BY DAMIAN CRISTODERO</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-01440/9818627-1-eng-US/f0049-012.jpg" title="f0049-01" width="306" height="257"></div>For so long, the Lightning&rsquo;s minor league system was a barren landscape. Ten years of bad drafting will do that. But Tampa Bay under GM Steve Yzerman has drafted smart and the feeder system is becoming a reliable source of talent. &ldquo;For the first time in a long time, it&rsquo;s really exciting for the whole organization,&rdquo; said head amateur scout Darryl Plandowski.Also a plus: the coaching of Jon Cooper, who last season led the American League Norfolk Admirals (now the Syracuse Crunch) to a historic Calder Cup run. &ldquo;Good coach and good kids who want to get better,&rdquo; Plandowski said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re developing and winning. It&rsquo;s fun to watch.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-02337/9818620-1-eng-US/f0049-022.jpg" title="f0049-02" width="1127" height="1072"><figcaption class="caption-body">ANDREY VASILEVSKIY (RICHARD WOLOWICZ/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h2>1|&nbsp;ANDREY VASILEVSKIY</h2>G, 18, Ufa (Rus. Jr.)6-3, 210, GP 4, 1.81, .950 2012 draft, 19th overallOVERALL 25The Lightning, Plandowski said, believe Andrey Vasilevskiy is &ldquo;one of the best of his age group in the world.&rdquo;Vasilevskiy has the potential to be a game-changer. Not only is the Russian big, he is quick, athletic and technically skilled. &ldquo;And as he matures and gets stronger, we&rsquo;re super-excited about him,&rdquo; Plandowski said.The Lightning would like to see Vasilevskiy cross the pond to play North American major junior next season, but Plandowski said it is &ldquo;up to him&rdquo; and nothing is in place yet. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think there&rsquo;s a big rush,&rdquo; Plandowski said.<h2>2|&nbsp;BRETT CONNOLLY</h2>RW, 20, Syracuse (AHL)6-2, 200, 45-19-21-40-39 2010 draft, 6th overallOVERALL 53Brett Connolly was disappointed when he wasn&rsquo;t invited to Lightning camp, especially after playing 2011-12 with the big club. But he struggled last season with just four goals, all coming in November, and none in his final 50 games. He was a defensive liability at times.The Lightning believe it&rsquo;s better he spend this season with the Crunch. &ldquo;The benefit will be he is on the ice in those crucial situations &ndash; power play, first and second line &ndash; with good players, lots of ice time and scoring goals,&rdquo; Plandowski said. Added Connolly: &ldquo;I understand this is all for the right reasons.&rdquo;<h2>3|&nbsp;NIKITA KUCHEROV</h2>RW, 19, R-Noranda (QMJhl)5-11, 174, 19-12-20-32-2 2011 draft, 58th overallOVERALL 68It has been an injury-filled season for Nikita Kucherov, who had major shoulder surgery over the summer, then injured his hand at the World Junior Championship.But that has not diminished his potential. Plandowski said he loves Kucherov&rsquo;s offensive instincts. &ldquo;He not only sees the ice really well, he has the skill set to do the plays. It&rsquo;s nice to have one or the other, but he has both.&rdquo;Kucherov also has been diligent developing his defensive awareness, Plandowski said. &ldquo;But he&rsquo;s an offensive guy. We think he can score goals and add assists.&rdquo;<h2>4|&nbsp;SLATER KOEKKOEK</h2>D, 18, Windsor (OHL)6-2, 186, 42-6-23-29-28 2012 draft, 10th overallThe Lightning drafted Slater Koekkoek (pronounced Koo-Koo) after surgery on his left shoulder limited him to 26 games in 2011-12. He played 42 games this season (the first 40 with Peterborough), then needed surgery on the same shoulder. According to Yzerman, the first operation &ldquo;failed.&rdquo;The short-term goal is for Koekkoek to be 100 percent healthy. In the long term, it&rsquo;s to be stronger. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a solid two-way D-man and is such a good skater,&rdquo; Plandowski said. &ldquo;He can play defense, move the puck and join the play. He just has to get stronger and become a man.&rdquo;<h2>5|&nbsp;NIKITA NESTEROV</h2>D, 19, Chelyabinsk (Khl)6-0, 183, 33-0-0-0-14 2011 draft, 148th overallThe Lightning believe they got a steal in Nikita Nesterov, pinning his low draft position on the uncertainty of whether players from his homeland can or will come to North America. &ldquo;If he wasn&rsquo;t Russian,&rdquo; Plandowski said, &ldquo;he would have been a higher pick.&rdquo;Plandowski acknowledged Nesterov is not the ideal size for an NHL defenseman, but added, &ldquo;He&rsquo;s solid on his feet with good balance and he can move the puck.&rdquo;The plan is to bring Nesterov to North America next season. If he gets here, Plandowski said, he will play for AHL Syracuse or the Lightning.<h2>On The HORIZON The NEXT Five</h2>6| MARK BARBERIOD, 22, Syracuse (AHL)&nbsp;6-1, 202, 46-6-22-28-32 2008 draft, 152nd overallPuck-moving defenseman ranks fourth in scoring among AHL blueliners; was first last season.7| VLADISLAV NAMESTNIKOVC, 20, Syracuse (AHL)6-0, 179, 19-3-4-7-20 2011 draft, 27th overallNever 100 percent because of a shoulder injury. Offensively gifted, but needs to get stronger.8| ALEX KILLORNC, 23, Syracuse (AHL)6-1, 202, 44-16-22-38-32 2007 draft, 77th overall&nbsp;Ryan Malone-type player producing steadily in AHL after four solid seasons with Harvard Crimson.9| RICHARD PANIKRW, 21, Syracuse (AHL)6-1, 208, 43-21-14-35-79 2009 draft, 52nd overallHighly skilled, but while he&rsquo;s improved, he remains inconsistent. Closing in on point-per-game pace.10| J.T. BROWNRW, 22, Syracuse (AHL)5-10, 170, 26-6-11-17-4 Free agent, March 28, 2012.Would have started the season with the Lightning if not for a broken collarbone sustained in late December. &#9632;

f0049-01

WAITING FOR A STRIKE

<div class="byline">BY MICHAEL TRAIKOS</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-01427/9818665-1-eng-US/f0050-012.jpg" title="f0050-01" width="306" height="257"></div>Any keen observer of the Toronto Maple Leafs will tell you the team&rsquo;s most glaring needs are down the middle and in goal.But at last year&rsquo;s draft, the Leafs continued their objective of building a blue-chip blueline by selecting defenseman Morgan Rielly and Matthew Finn with their first two picks. &ldquo;The thing about defenseman is that the good ones are really hard to find,&rdquo; said Dave Morrison, Leafs director of amateur scouting. &ldquo;And if you can build a really good defense, I think that&rsquo;s always a good thing. So far, we&rsquo;re happy with the way things have gone in that regard.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-02319/9818658-1-eng-US/f0050-022.jpg" title="f0050-02" width="1127" height="1069"><figcaption class="caption-body">MORGAN RIELLY (MARISSA BAECKER/SHOOTTHEBREEZE.CA)</figcaption></div><h2>1|&nbsp;MORGAN RIELLY</h2>D, 18, Moose Jaw (WHL)6-0, 205, 45-9-32-41-13 2012 draft, 5th overallOVERALL 19Rielly was one of the final cuts at the Leafs&rsquo; training camp, but it wasn&rsquo;t an indication of how he played.Coach Randy Carlyle admitted that had there been pre-season games to judge him, Rielly might have made the team. The Leafs are expecting the smoothskating defenseman to join the club once Moose Jaw&rsquo;s season is over.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s got NHL skill and he&rsquo;s got NHL speed and he&rsquo;s got an NHL head,&rdquo; Morrison said. &ldquo;Is he ready? That&rsquo;s a tough question to answer at this point. But it was very prudent of our organization to send him back.&rdquo;<h2>2|&nbsp;MATTHEW FINN</h2>D, 18, Guelph (OHL)6-0, 207, 36-11-18-29-22 2012 draft, 35th overallLike Rielly and Toronto&rsquo;s other defensive prospects, Finn&rsquo;s strength is the offensive side of the game. But it isn&rsquo;t his point totals that have impressed the Leafs. Rather, it is the fact that despite contracting mononucleosis, the Guelph Storm captain never let it affect his performance.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been tough for him,&rdquo; Morrison said. &ldquo;He started the year and tried to play with it and then he had a bit of a recurrence with it. But he&rsquo;s played well. From our perspective, he showed us a lot of character. When you&rsquo;re not feeling yourself and you&rsquo;re still pushing to help your team succeed, that&rsquo;s a good quality.&rdquo;<h2>3|&nbsp;TYLER BIGGS</h2>RW, 19, Oshawa (OHL)6-3, 224, 48-22-22-44-53 2011 draft, 22nd overallThe Leafs never had an issue with Tyler Biggs playing at Miami University (Ohio), but at the same time they believe him having left the Ncaa to play in the OHL has accelerated his development in becoming a Milan Lucic-type power forward. That he has teamed up with Boone Jenner, another Lucic clone, also hasn&rsquo;t hurt.&ldquo;Tyler wanted that ability to play a little more aggressive and play more of a that power game and do some of the things that you just can&rsquo;t do at the collegiate level that you can do at the major junior level,&rdquo; Morrison said. &ldquo;So in that sense, it&rsquo;s been good for him.&rdquo;<h2>4|&nbsp;JOE COLBORNE</h2>C, 23, Toronto (AHL)6-5, 213, 43-7-19-26-41 Trade (Bos) Feb. 18, 2011This is the fifth year Joe Colborne has been featured in Future Watch, which is in an indicator of how long it&rsquo;s taking the 2008 first-rounder to develop. But the Leafs aren&rsquo;t losing patience or down-grading his potential as a second-line center. They believe Colborne has the skill to be a big-time player. His problem is a lack of consistency and developing more of a power game.&ldquo;Sometimes a big bodied guy like that takes a little more time,&rdquo; Morrison said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a talented kid. It&rsquo;s tough to find a big center like him. He&rsquo;s going to be fine. We&rsquo;re going to take our time with Joe.&rdquo;.<h2>5|&nbsp;STUART PERCY</h2>D, 19, Mississauga (OHL)6-1, 196, 53-12-25-37-30 2011 draft, 25th overallStuart Percy joined the Toronto Marlies for their Calder Cup run last year and didn&rsquo;t look out of place in the three games he played. In an ideal world, he would still be playing in the AHL. But because of age restrictions, the teenager was sent back to the OHL, where he has failed to stand out.While Percy might just be bored with his surroundings, the Leafs aren&rsquo;t concerned that his development is being stunted.&ldquo;Sometimes Stuart can fly under the radar because that&rsquo;s just the way he plays,&rdquo; Morrison said. &ldquo;But it&rsquo;s certainly not to underestimate what he can do.&rdquo;<h2>On The HORIZON The NEXT Five</h2>6| JESSE BLACKERD, 21, Toronto (AHL)6-2, 190, 37-2-5-7-19 2009 draft, 58th overallAn energetic puck-mover with some sandpaper still needs to round out his game at AHL level.7| JOSH LEIVOLW, 19, Kitchener (OHL)&nbsp;6-1, 191, 49-24-39-63-44 2011 draft, 86th overallAccording to Morrison, no player has made as big of a jump. Needs to work on agility.8| CARTER ASHTONRW, 21, Toronto (AHL)&nbsp;6-3, 205, 44-10-7-17-56 Trade (TB), Feb. 27, 2012Offense is lacking, but the power forward is starting to embrace the energ-yline role.9| GREGG MCKEGGC, 20, Toronto (AHL)6-0, 191, 33-6-3-9-4 2010 draft, 62nd overallFirst-year pro is still getting his feet wet, as he hasn&rsquo;t seen a lot of ice time. Needs to increase strength.10| BRAD ROSSLW, 20, Toronto (AHL)6-1, 183, 19-1-0-1-13 2010 draft, 43rd overallTransition from junior to pro has been slow for the pest-in-training. Has some offensive upside. &#9632;

f0050-01

BEGIN ON THE BLUELINE

<div class="byline">BY BEN KUZMA</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-01338/9818703-1-eng-US/f0052-012.jpg" title="f0052-01" width="307" height="257"></div>The prospect report on the Vancouver Canucks is at best a mixed bag of grades. Uncertainty surrounds even their top young players. It remains to be seen if hulking winger Nicklas Jensen will helplater this season after impressing in the Swedish League and no one knows when goaltender Eddie Lack will make the NHL leap after late-January hip surgery and with Roberto Luongo still in town. &ldquo;Everything has to be kept in perspective,&rdquo; said GM Mike Gillis. &ldquo;We were chasing a Stanley Cup and traded away picks, which we wouldn&rsquo;t have done if we were in a different position. It affects your drafting.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-02213/9818696-1-eng-US/f0052-022.jpg" title="f0052-02" width="1127" height="1052"><figcaption class="caption-body">NICKLAS JENSEN (JESPER ZERMAN)</figcaption></div><h2>1|&nbsp;NICKLAS JENSEN</h2>RW, 19, AIK (Swe.)6-3, 187, 42-15-6-21-16 2011 draft, 29th overallOpting to play against men rather than return to Oshawa of the OHL, the first round pick is on the fast track to the NHL. The only thing holding the winger back is a positive. A willingness to battle for pucks and take them to the net had Jensen leading AIK in goal-scoring.He sustained a slight shoulder injury Jan. 29, but returned to help his native Denmark in a failed bid to qualify for the 2014 Winter Olympics.If Canucks injuries arise &ndash; or Ryan Kesler and David Booth are slow to recover from their surgeries &ndash; Gillis hasn&rsquo;t rule out a call to promote Jensen.<h2>2|&nbsp;EDDIE LACK</h2>G, 25, Chicago (AHL)6-5, 196, 7-4-1, 3.00, .899 Free agent, April 6, 2010The biggest concern with &lsquo;The Stork&rsquo; was inconsistency. Now it&rsquo;s health. After the Swede had hip surgery Jan. 29 and was sidelined six months, how Lack recovers from his first major bout of adversity will determine if he can be the Canucks&rsquo; backup next season when his contract reverts to one-way status.While size and aggressiveness have worked in Lack&rsquo;s favor, the injury didn&rsquo;t help. Some games Lack was spectacular, some he was suspect. His 3.00 goals-against average was a big disappointment after he posted 2.31 and 2.26 marks in his previous AHL seasons.<h2>3|&nbsp;JORDAN SCHROEDER</h2>C, 22, Vancouver (NHL)5-8, 175, 10-2-2-4-4 2009 draft, 22nd overallRecalled from the Chicago Wolves Jan. 22, the diminutive center appeared in his first NHL game Jan. 23 and recorded his first point in his second game.With Kesler sidelined by two surgeries and the Canucks not yet trading for help up the middle, Jordan Schroeder got the chance to prove he&rsquo;s evolved from a one-dimensional player to a responsible third-liner with no fear factor.Showing speed and smarts, he wasn&rsquo;t a defensive liability and displayed enough playmaking ability to earn second unit power play time. Now Schroeder has to prove it over the long haul.<h2>4|&nbsp;KEVIN CONNAUTON</h2>D, 22, Chicago (AHL)6-2, 198, 40-3-9-12-50 2009 draft, 83rd overallKevin Connauton&rsquo;s offensive numbers, especially his goal-scoring, have fallen off, because he&rsquo;s trying to improve in his own zone. That&rsquo;s what will allow the blueliner to graduate to the NHL next season with his entry level deal expiring.However, all that pressure has affected Connauton and some of his natural instincts with the puck have suffered. He has been hesitant jumping into the rush and using his big shot.Behind his own blueline, his stick positioning and footwork are occasionally lax and his body position down low is too passive at times. Connauton remains a work in progress.<h2>5|&nbsp;BRENDAN GAUNCE</h2>C, 18, Belleville (OHL)6-2, 215, 43-21-18-39-28 2012 draft, 26th overallA two-way force who plays a hard-nosed game, Cameron Gaunce was sidelined in October by a second-degree shoulder separation, but was a player-of-the-week recipient by the end of December.His understanding and willingness to get in the shooting lane and battle down low or pick up his man on the backcheck are second nature. Not every prospect is willing to do those little things.Gaunce is projected as a Kesler clone once he makes the NHL leap, starting on the third line and evolving from there because he&rsquo;s responsible at both ends of the ice.<h2>On The HORIZON The NEXT Five</h2>6| PETER ANDERSSOND, 21, Chicago (AHL)&nbsp;6-4, 199, 28-1-6-7-12 2009 draft, 143rd overall&nbsp;Diamond in the rough. His calm, positioning and effectiveness are surprising. Needs to add muscle.7| FRANK CORRADOD, 19, Kitchener (OHL)6-1, 191, 55-6-31-37-60 2011 draft, 150th overallConfident, coachable, quickly improving. Good in Super Series, almost made Canada for WJC.8| DARREN ARCHIBALDLW, 22, Chicago (AHL)&nbsp;6-3, 212, 24-6-3-9-27 Free agent, Dec. 13, 2010Lots of ECHL ice during lockout, but needs to improve quickness with contract expiring.9| HENRIK TOMMERNESD, 22, Frolunda (Swe.)&nbsp;6-1, 176, 47-5-10-15-26 2011 draft, 210th overall&nbsp;Good skater with offensive instincts. Projects as power play quarterback. Needs work in own zone.10| ANTON RODINLW, 22, Chicago (AHL)&nbsp;6-1, 180, 34-2-10-12-16 2009 draft, 53rd overall&nbsp;Has fallen off the radar. Plays too much on the perimeter. Must learn to get to the inside. &#9632;

f0052-01

YOUNG BLOOD NOT A FOCUS

<div class="byline">BY BRIAN MCNALLY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0054-01328/9818741-1-eng-US/f0054-012.jpg" title="f0054-01" width="305" height="255"></div>Plenty of young NHL talent remains in Washington, but with the minor league system finally running dry in recent seasons, the Capitals have tried to restock the prospect pool. Their efforts have produced a mix of high-end European skill and, even further away from making an impact at the NHL level, a slew of young defensemen.There&rsquo;s good balance here, too &ndash; a rugged player with scoring upside, a promising two-way college winger and yet another goalie pushing up the organization&rsquo;s depth chart. But it&rsquo;s unlikely any of the players on this list contributes next season. Washington will have to wait for help.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0054-02196/9818734-1-eng-US/f0054-022.jpg" title="f0054-02" width="1127" height="1065"><figcaption class="caption-body">EVGENY KUZNETSOV (YURY KUZMIN/KHL PHOTO AGENCY VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h2>1 EVGENY KUZNETSOV</h2>C, 20, Chelyabinsk (KHL)6-0. 172, 49-18-24-42-40 2010 draft, 26th overallOVERALL 3Here&rsquo;s a dynamic talent the Capitals can&rsquo;t convince to play in North America. Even countryman Alex Ovechkin has questioned Evgeni Kuznetsov&rsquo;s choice to remain in the KHL. But he is still just 20 with one more year on his contract in Russia and the Winter Olympics &ndash; the initial reason he gave for staying &ndash; less than a year away.The Caps hope they eventually get a gifted scorer who will be just 22 in 2014-15. The concern is Kuznetsov regresses as a player before then and struggles to adjust to the smaller rinks and more physical play of the NHL.<h2>2 FILIP FORSBERG</h2>C, 18, Leksand (Swe.2)6-1, 188, 31-13-17-30-12 2012 draft, 11th overallOVERALL 21A run on defensemen left Filip Forsberg there for the taking at last June&rsquo;s draft and Washington had to pounce. Caps GM George McPhee said the team had no clue Forsberg would still be on the board at No. 11. He was rated as high as No. 2 on some mock draft lists.Another elite skill position player with good hands, Forsberg played for Sweden at the last two world juniors. He is more sniper than playmaker and not ready for the physical grind of the NHL.He plays for Leksand in the Allsvenskan, Sweden&rsquo;s second-highest pro league and is holding is own.<h2>3 THOMAS WILSON</h2>RW, 18, Plymouth (OHL)6-4, 210, 37-16-28-44-81 2012 draft, 16th overallOVERALL 62Washington&rsquo;s second first-rounder in 2012 was used on a dominant physical presence who showed enough of a scoring touch to intrigue scouts. Thomas Wilson was asked to dial back his nasty side on a return trip to OHL Plymouth and work on his offense. For the most part, he has done so successfully. His penalty minutes are way down, too.Wilson didn&rsquo;t help himself with a five-game suspension in January for hitting from behind, but the Caps liked enough of what they saw prior to that incident to invite Wilson to their brief camp before returning him to Plymouth.<h2>4 PHILIPP GRUBAUER</h2>G, 21, Hershey (AHL)6-1, 184, 4-3-0, 2.03, .924 2010 draft, 112th overallPhilipp Grubauer is the new project for Dave Prior, the Caps&rsquo; director of goaltending, who molded some good ones in recent years (Semyon Varlamov, Michal Neuvirth, Braden Holtby).Grubauer spent the summer recovering from surgery to repair a torn tendon in his right wrist, which ended his first year in North America in March. He had to start 2012-13 in the ECHL again when the lockout pushed Holtby back to AHL Hershey. The young German thrived &ndash; Reading won 11 straight in November and had a 10-0-1 stretch in December &ndash; and got back to Hershey when the lockout ended.<h2>5 RILEY BARBER</h2>RW, 18, Miami (CCHA)5-11, 185, 28-12-18-30-10 2012 draft, 167th overallIt&rsquo;s been a fine season for a player some weren&rsquo;t sure would make the U.S. WJC team. Riley Barber not only did it &ndash; he had six points in seven games for the gold medallists &ndash; but he became one of the top-scoring freshmen in the ncAA with Miami (Ohio).Barber isn&rsquo;t the biggest winger around, but is still difficult to knock off the puck. He has a hard shot and has been Miami&rsquo;s best player on the power play.But he projects as a two-way player at the NHL level and he&rsquo;s been asked to kill penalties, too. Barber anticipates plays well and has good hands around the net.<h2>On The HORIZON The NEXT Five</h2>6 CONNOR CARRICKD, 18, Plymouth (OHL)5-11, 190, 53-10-20-30-58 2012 draft, 137th overallSmooth with the puck and one of the OHL&rsquo;s top scoring D-men. Not big, but has a mean streak.7 STANISLAV GALIEVRW, 21, Reading (ECHL)6-1, 193, 25-11-16-27-18 2010 draft, 86th overallTop-six skill, but his strength is a concern. Ineffective in first AHL stint with one point in 17 games.8 PATRICK WEYD, 21, Boston College (HE)6-3, 207, 26-1-9-10-38 2009 draft, 115th overallAlternate captain for defending NCAA champs. A stay-at-home blueliner at the next level.9 GARRETT HAARD, 19, W. Michigan (CCHA)6-1, 198, 16-3-3-6-6 2011 draft, 207th overallAn incomplete developmental year after undisclosed upper body injury sidelined him in December.10 GARRETT MITCHELLRW, 21, Hershey (AHL)5-10, 188, 48-9-9-18-63 2009 draft, 175th overallFeisty winger took a step forward offensively in second full AHL season. Not a big scorer in junior. &#9632;

f0054-01

RELOADED, NOT READY

<div class="byline">BY TIM CAMPBELL</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-01257/9818779-1-eng-US/f0056-012.jpg" title="f0056-01" width="306" height="257"></div>Draft picks develop. So do organizations. The Winnipeg Jets believe they&rsquo;re now well on the road to having a stable of young players growing and evolving into NHL players, progress from the days when the Atlanta Thrashers&rsquo; top picks were frequently rolled straight into the lineup.It&rsquo;s far too soon to say if Kevin Cheveldayoff, who&rsquo;s been on the job as the Jets&rsquo; GM for 20 months, has this right or whether it will yield a winner for the starved-for-15-years fans of Winnipeg. But Cheveldayoff has been consistent since taking the job &ndash; prospects earn positions. Period. And there are definitely some keepers in the Winnipeg system.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-02168/9818772-1-eng-US/f0056-022.jpg" title="f0056-02" width="1127" height="1059"><figcaption class="caption-body">JACOB TROUBA (UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY)</figcaption></div><h2>1 JACOB TROUBA</h2>D, 18, Michigan (CCHA)6-2, 195, 27-8-12-20-70 2012 draft, 9th overallOVERALL 10The top defenseman on the winning U.S. team at the world juniors, Jacob Trouba has some Winnipeg scouts and fans salivating. His skating and shooting are high-level in the class of 2012 and he has played with an edge whether at his regular ncaa spot or on the world stage.&ldquo;The world juniors was a very good showing for him,&rdquo; Cheveldayoff said. &ldquo;Playing on the big stage, winning a championship, being a big part of winning it was very exciting for him and his development.&ldquo;The player that we saw there was the player we felt we were drafting.&rdquo;<h2>2 MARK SCHEIFELE</h2>C, 19, Barrie (OHL)6-2, 184, 33-26-29-55-17 2011 draft, 7th overallOVERALL 14Not long after a pretty good showing at the world juniors, Mark Scheifele was called to Winnipeg for training camp. He began the season with the team, but was sent down after four games (zero points) in part because free agent center Olli Jokinen was signed last summer.The Jets adore Scheifele&rsquo;s character and personality and are pleased with the progress in his skills and skating.&ldquo;The thing you can&rsquo;t control is the strength,&rdquo; Cheveldayoff said. &ldquo;When that comes, it comes. We&rsquo;re not going to push him. That hasn&rsquo;t changed.&rdquo;<h2>3 PAUL POSTMA</h2>D, 23, Winnipeg (NHL)6-3, 195, 12-1-4-5-2 2007 draft, 205th overallLike Scheifele, Paul Postma also started the season on the Jets&rsquo; roster. He was given a one-way deal last summer, a signal it&rsquo;s time for him to show his stuff after three-plus years of steady development in the AHL level. He&rsquo;s a wiry figure, decent skater with an excellent shot.Given the depth chart, the Jets have an opening for a young blueliner who&rsquo;s ready, so Postma&rsquo;s opportunity is now. There may be some leeway for nerves, but he&rsquo;ll have to prove he thinks the game well in the NHL.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s gained experience and confidence,&rdquo; Chevel-dayoff said. &ldquo;Now it&rsquo;s up to him to continue to grow.&rdquo;<h2>4 PATRICE CORMIER</h2>C, 22, St. John&rsquo;s (AHL)6-2, 215, 22-3-2-5-43 Trade (NJ), Feb. 4, 2010Past the halfway mark of his third pro year, Patrice Cormier had played barely 120 games because of a variety of injuries. It&rsquo;s looking more and more like his biggest obstacle to being an NHL regular is staying healthy.Still in his favor are that he&rsquo;s a big-bodied player who moves well and someone who&rsquo;s difficult to play against.Cheveldayoff indicated he&rsquo;ll have all the patience necessary for Cormier&rsquo;s opportunity. Since improving size has been one area of focus for the Jets, Cormier is well suited for a future role. And that future is sooner rather than later.<h2>5 ZACH REDMOND</h2>D, 24, St. John&rsquo;s (AHL)6-2, 205, 36-8-9-17-32 2008 draft, 184th overallZach Redmond is in a similar situation as Postma &ndash; a developing defenseman with an opening.In his second pro year, he earned the chance to start the NHL season with the Jets. His path was four college years and a rookie pro year in the AHL that had an impact.Redmond has twice been selected to play in the AHL All-Star Game and his combination of thinking, size and maturity had afforded him an opportunity with the Jets.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re very excited about how he&rsquo;s come in and played pro,&rdquo; Chevel-dayoff said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll see where his level goes.&rdquo;<h2>On The HORIZON The NEXT Five</h2>6 IVAN TELEGINLW, 20, St. John&rsquo;s (AHL)6-3, 198, 34-3-7-10-8 2010 draft, 101st overallA big youngster who&rsquo;s a skating thoroughbred. Still needs time to learn the pro game.7 ADAM LOWRYC, 19, Swift Current (WHL)6-5, 201, 57-36-38-74-76 2011 draft, 67th overallBroncos captain having a superb year. A blossoming leader who makes those around him better.8 EDWARD PASQUALEG, 22, St. John&rsquo;s (AHL)6-3, 220, 14-19-2, 2.63, .912 2009 draft, 117th overallEmerged as the IceCaps&rsquo; No. 1 netminder last season. Today he&rsquo;s the top Jets&rsquo; goalie prospect.9 CARL KLINGBERGLW, 22, St. John&rsquo;s (AHL)6-3, 214, 46-8-8-16-18 2009 draft, 34th overallSecond-year pro has struggled with consistency, but can move well on his feet for a big man.10 ERIC TANGRADILW, 23, W-Barre (AHL)6-4, 221, 34-10-8-18-57 Trade (Pit), Feb. 14, 2013Big, skilled winger couldn&rsquo;t make the grade in Pittsburgh, but will get more of a chance with Jets. &#9632;

f0056-01

PREACHING PATIENCE

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0058-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0058-01260/9818810-1-eng-US/f0058-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">SETTING THE PACE Aleksander Barkov has been in the top 10 in scoring in the SM-Liiga, Finland&rsquo;s highest league. (RICHARD WOLOWICZ/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>Aleksander Barkov came into the 2013 World Junior Championship as one of the most talked-about prospects available for this year&rsquo;s draft. And while his Finnish squad crashed and burned in Russia, scouts still love &lsquo;Sasha,&rsquo; even if he&rsquo;s not too keen on pumping his own tires in public. &ldquo;Our goal was to win a gold medal, but we played in qualification,&rdquo; Barkov said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s bad for us.&rdquo;The youngster finished the tourney with seven points in six games, but much more was at play. Coach Harri Rindell admitted he had trouble finding the proper linemates for his young center and by the end of the run Barkov had played with a different combination of players every single game.But one tournament does not make or break a prospect&rsquo;s career, especially when you&rsquo;re having the run Barkov is having back in Finland. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound 17-year-old has been killing the SM-Liiga, Finland&rsquo;s top league, all season long. &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t compare him to anybody in the past,&rdquo; said one NHL scout stationed in Europe. &ldquo;You can go all the way back to the Koivus and not see those results.&rdquo;It starts with the wicked combination of size, skill and vision Barkov brings to the ice. &ldquo;I have playmaking skills and I can pass very well,&rdquo; said Barkov, fluent in both Finnish and Russian and getting better at English &ldquo;Skating is one thing I&rsquo;d like to improve.&rdquo;That hasn&rsquo;t held him back, but life is still not so easy for Barkov. He is the son of Alexander Barkov, a Russian-born player who became a star in Finland while playing for Tappara, the same club Sasha now skates for. Alexander played 10 years (1994 to 2004) for Tappara and was an all-star who helped the club to a league championship in 2002-03. He is still highly revered in town.But the Finnish people also hate Russians historically. Finland was once part of the Russian empire and the two nations fought each other in the Winter War, which broke out in late 1939 with the Soviet Union playing the invaders. All of which means Sasha Barkov has a lot of pressure on him. Not only does his name evoke his famous father, but should he fail there&rsquo;s another deep-seated reason for Finns to turn on him. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s incredible when you&rsquo;re that young,&rdquo; Rindell said. &ldquo;There are so many stories about him in the newspapers. It&rsquo;s nothing that concerns him because he&rsquo;s focused. He&rsquo;s very critical of himself when he&rsquo;s not playing well, but he never shows bad emotion. It&rsquo;s easy to talk with him because he&rsquo;s directly on the map; he knows what you&rsquo;re talking about. It&rsquo;s a quick analysis.&rdquo;Playing with ex-NHLer Ville Nieminen, Barkov anchors Tappara&rsquo;s top line. He and his linemate &ndash; who is twice as old as the teen &ndash; bounce back and forth as the team&rsquo;s top scorer. But Barkov comes from a humble generation of Finns (including Buffalo prospect Joel Armia and Minnesota&rsquo;s Mikael Granlund) that let their play do almost all the talking. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s always playing for the team and thinking what is best for it,&rdquo; Rindell said. &ldquo;Very nice guy. He doesn&rsquo;t talk much, but he has a sense of humor you wouldn&rsquo;t believe, because he&rsquo;s so stonefaced. I like him very much.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0058-01

FLYING FINN

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0059-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0059-01211/9818841-1-eng-US/f0059-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">NATHAN MACKINNON (DAVID CHAN/HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS)</figcaption></div><h2>1 NATHAN MACKINNON, C, HALIFAX (QMJHL)</h2>The race for No. 1 overall may come down to whether the team picking first wants a forward or a defenseman. The forward is MacKinnon, whose speed and pro-style game make him an easy choice to step right into the NHL and contribute.Scout Says:&nbsp;&ldquo;He has the best first three-step quickness I&rsquo;ve ever seen in a draft eligible player. He&rsquo;ll be a pro for a lot of years.&rdquo;<h2>2 SETH JONES, D, PORTLAND (WHL)</h2>If a blueliner goes first, Jones is the man. He comes from athletic bloodlines and boasts an enviable 6-foot-4, 206-pound frame. His play at the world juniors was incredible and a big reason Team USA won gold. Excels at both ends of the rink.Scout Says:&nbsp;&ldquo;He does everything. He rushes the puck and if he loses it, he&rsquo;s pretty much the first one back. No-brainer No. 1 or 2.&rdquo;<h2>3 JONATHAN DROUIN, LW, HALIFAX (QMJHL)</h2>MacKinnon&rsquo;s linemate has become a scoring machine in the &lsquo;Q,&rsquo; where he was averaging two points a game late into the season. His vision and stickwork is amazing to witness.Scout Says:&nbsp;&ldquo;Great agility, great edges; skating is well above average. Highlight reel kid because of his hands. Sweet pair of mitts.&rdquo;<h2>4 SASHA BARKOV, C, TAPPARA (FIN.)</h2>Barkov (see previous page) is dominating older competition.Scout Says:&nbsp;&ldquo;He&rsquo;s big, poised, pretty much man-sized right now. He sets the game&rsquo;s tempo and there aren&rsquo;t very many 17-year-olds who can do that. Plays in tough games every night.&rdquo;<h2>5 ELIAS LINDHOLM, C, BRYNAS (SWE.)</h2>Playing on a line with cousin and Detroit Red Wings prospect Calle Jarnkrok, Lindholm electrified Sweden&rsquo;s best league for stretches this season. He was also an integral part of the silver-medal squad at the world juniors, contributing at both ends of the ice.Scout Says:&nbsp;&ldquo;He&rsquo;s taken the next step this year in terms of leadership. Easy guy to like; plays in the corners and provides offense.&rdquo;<h2>6 SEAN MONAHAN, C, OTTAWA (OHL)</h2>In a year where his 67&rsquo;s team was completely dismantled around him, Monahan continued to play top-notch hockey and proved himself best among his peers at the CHL Super Series, where his smarts and quickness created offense.Scout Says:&nbsp;&ldquo;Hockey sense describes him to a &lsquo;T.&rsquo; An elite thinker. Protects the puck as well as anyone.&rdquo;<h2>7 VALERI NICHUSHKIN, C, TRAKTOR (KHL)</h2>Star roles at the world juniors (where his swooping OT goal sunk Canada to win bronze) and Five Nations tourney confirmed his elite skill and capabilities. He went from junior to the minors to the KHL and signed contract extension in summer.Scout Says:&nbsp;&ldquo;He has the physical attributes above most other kids. Excellent skater. As far as talent, he&rsquo;s top-three.&rdquo;<h2>8 ROBERT HAGG, D, MODO (SWE.)</h2>A last-minute replacement for Sweden at the world juniors, Hagg quickly became indispensable for the silver medallists. The big, two-way defenseman shut down Russian dynamo Nail Yakupov to propel his squad to the final.Scout Says:&nbsp;&ldquo;Physically, he&rsquo;s such a strong boy. He passes the puck as well as an NHL defenseman does now.&rdquo;<h2>9 RASMUS RISTOLAINEN, D, TPS (FIN.)</h2>This big, rangy blueliner can be effective at both ends of the ice, though he works best when he&rsquo;s picking his spots offensively. Skating is a plus and he showed an edgy side at the world juniors that proves he can handle business in front of his own net.Scout Says:&nbsp;&ldquo;He doesn&rsquo;t wow you, but he has all the tools. He has more value as a solid two-way guy.&rdquo;<h2>10 HUNTER SHINKARUK, LW, MEDICINE HAT (WHL)</h2>Injuries have slowed him down, but when he&rsquo;s on the ice there are few players in the Western League who can match his dynamism. Speed is his calling card. His size not optimal, but scouts point to the success of Patrick Kane and Sam Gagner as a template.Scout&nbsp;Says:&nbsp;&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a highly skilled kid, very explosive skater. His hands are as quick as anyone&rsquo;s in the league.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0059-01

2013 NHL DRAFT PROJECTED TOP 10

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0060-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0060-01210/9818872-1-eng-US/f0060-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">ONE-MAN ARMY Sam Reinhart leads the Ice in scoring. One scout thinks he&rsquo;d lead the WHL on a better team. (CHRIS PULLEN/CRANBROOK PHOTO & STUDIO)</figcaption></div>When you&rsquo;re the youngest of three boys, there are few benefits that come with being the lowest on the totem pole. But for Kootenay&rsquo;s Sam Reinhart, there at least came clarity in his life early thanks to decisions forced upon him when he and older siblings Max and Griffin were bombing around the room above their family&rsquo;s garage, playing all manner of sports, including hockey. &ldquo;They&rsquo;d toss me in net and shoot tennis balls at me,&rdquo; Reinhart says. &ldquo;So at least I learned I didn&rsquo;t want to be a goalie, I wanted to be a skater.&rdquo;Not only has Reinhart become a skater, but he&rsquo;s on track to be the highest-drafted player in the family, which includes his father, former Calgary Flames defenseman Paul Reinhart. Dad went 12th overall in 1979 to the then-Atlanta Flames. Eldest brother Max went to the same Calgary organization 64th overall in 2010 and is now in his first full year of pro hockey with the American League&rsquo;s Abbotsford Heat. Middle brother Griffin, a towering blueliner, was taken fourth overall by the New York Islanders in 2012. But Sam has the chance to beat them all.On a Kootenay Ice team young and bereft of older elite talent, 17-year-old Reinhart was the top scorer with 28 goals and 61 points in 56 games. &ldquo;If he played for Portland or Edmonton, he&rsquo;d be the leading scorer in the league,&rdquo; says one scout. &ldquo;The way he handles the reliance and pressure on that team is impressive.&rdquo;Last season, Sam was second in team scoring to brother Max, who led the Ice to a Western League championship and Memorial Cup berth in 2010-11. Sam, still in his midget season, got in a few games two seasons ago, including some playoff contests. &ldquo;It was great for me,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;There were so many players on that team that went to the pros.&rdquo;Along with brother Max, there were Buffalo prospects Brayden McNabb and Nathan Lieuwen, plus Matt Fraser and Cody Eakin, both of whom are now in the Dallas organization. But it was largely a lunchpail crew, an identity the team maintains today. &ldquo;Teams say they work hard,&rdquo; says coach Ryan McGill. &ldquo;Well, you&rsquo;re supposed to work hard. That&rsquo;s how we see it, so that&rsquo;s what we do. And Sam is a great example of that. At 17, he knows the benefits of practice.&rdquo;Reinhart has a great sense of humor, telling brother Griffin in a scrum between the Ice and his 6-foot-4 sibling&rsquo;s Edmonton Oil Kings that he&rsquo;d tell their mom if Griffin punched him, but there&rsquo;s no doubt he is serious about hockey. In fact, his ideal NHL role model is &lsquo;Captain Serious&rsquo; himself, Jonathan Toews. Though expectations are not high for this year&rsquo;s installment of the Ice, Mc Gill believes the strength of the franchise lies within its 1995 and &rsquo;96 birth years. &ldquo;It&rsquo;ll be interesting,&rdquo; Reinhart says. &ldquo;This year we were quite young, but we&rsquo;re already seeing that transition. Another summer, another year and we&rsquo;ll be more mature.&rdquo;As young as he is, Reinhart has made a smooth transition to junior and the fact older brother Max was in town to share a billet house didn&rsquo;t hurt. The Reinhart kids were raised in Vancouver, where father Paul ended his career as a Canuck, so small-town Cranbrook, B.C., (Kootenay is the name of the region) has been a nice change of pace for Sam. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a great chance to do things in the community,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;You get to know everyone in the streets and people recognize you and talk to you. It&rsquo;s really fun to play here.&rdquo;That forward-thinking attitude is yet another reason why Reinhart is on the right track. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s an even-keeled person off the ice,&rdquo; McGill says. &ldquo;Everything is done with a purpose.&rdquo;Which is perhaps why Reinhart&rsquo;s greatest strength on the ice is his mind. &ldquo;For his age, his mind is so mature,&rdquo; McGill says. &ldquo;His habits are consistent and with the way he prepares for a game, there&rsquo;s no surprise for us as to where he is today.&rdquo;<blockquote class="pullQuote">THE WAY HE PREPARES FOR A GAME, THERE&rsquo;S NO SURPRISE HE&rsquo;S WHERE HE IS TODAY &ndash; RYAN MCGILL</blockquote>That extends to Reinhart&rsquo;s on-ice awareness, too. His coach lauds the youngster&rsquo;s play away from the puck as well as his efficiency. The task now is to make sure he doesn&rsquo;t overtire in a game, as that&rsquo;s when the center&rsquo;s play can vary. But since Reinhart is already used in all situations for the Ice, it&rsquo;s not hard to understand him overexerting himself occasionally. And if that&rsquo;s his biggest weakness, Reinhart&rsquo;s in a pretty good place. &#9632;

f0060-01

FAMILY’S FINEST

<h2>1 SAM REINHART, C, KOOTENAY (WHL)</h2>Reinhart (see story, left) has a late birthday, so he&rsquo;ll play three seasons of major junior before his draft year.Scout Says: &ldquo;His family bloodline has really shown this season. He just seems to know the game better than most of us do.&rdquo;<h2>2 AARON EKBLAD, D, BARRIE (OHL)</h2>The first player after John Tavares to gain exceptional status to play in the OHL early, Ekblad is a mobile defenseman who already comes in at 6-foot-4 and 213 pounds.Scout Says: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s the complete package with this kid. At the under-17s, he was without a doubt the best defenseman. Plays big minutes and important minutes.&rdquo;<h2>3 WILLIE NYLANDER, LW, SODERTALJE (SWE.)</h2>Son of ex-NHLer Michael Nylander got to play on the same line as his dad in his Allsvenskan debut. Expected to be a key player at the under-18s in April.Scout Says: &ldquo;A really good skater with good hands. Carries the puck with poise already. His dad said he&rsquo;s never had better chemistry with a linemate before.&rdquo;<h2>4 ROLAND MCKEOWN, D, KINGSTON (OHL)</h2>McKeown was part of the famed Toronto Marlboros team with Connor McDavid and Josh Ho-Sang. Has assumed a similar role on an up-and-coming Frontenacs squad.Scout Says: &ldquo;Maturity, poise, patience with the puck &ndash; he&rsquo;s like a third-year man as a rookie. He&rsquo;s got it all and can pretty much do everything. The sky&rsquo;s the limit.&rdquo;<h2>5 BLAKE CLARKE, LW, BRAMPTON (OHL)</h2>Clarke is a big-bodied underager who is already leading the Battalion in scoring after coming over from Fargo of the USHL.Scout Says: &ldquo;Another big, skilled guy. He&rsquo;s got the work ethic to go along with it, too, which sets him apart. Great release, always involved with the play.&rdquo;<h2>6 JAKE VIRTANEN, C, CALGARY (WHL)</h2>The top pick in the 2011 bantam draft has started to come into his own in Calgary, where he puts up points and refuses to be intimidated by older competition.Scout Says: &ldquo;Brings skill and skating, but what sets him apart is his willingness to engage physically.&rdquo;<h2>7 ANTON KARLSSON, RW, FROLUNDA (SWE.)</h2>The younger brother of the other Erik Karlsson (Carolina&rsquo;s fourth pick last year), Anton has offensively dominated at several different junior levels already.Scout Says: &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a big, powerful skater, a power forward type who goes to the net and plays hard. Very likeable and has more tools than Erik.&rdquo;<h2>8 MICHAEL DAL COLLE, C, OSHAWA (OHL)</h2>The Gens rookie successfully launched his OHL career and though he came back to earth in terms of points, he&rsquo;s still tied for the best plus-minus on a very good team.Scout Says: &ldquo;Big body, handles the puck well and has great hands. He was another player who played very well at the under-17s this year.&rdquo;<h2>9 JARED MCCANN, C, SAULT STE. MARIE (OHL)</h2>McCann possesses great vision for passing and a stick to match. He&rsquo;s the type of player who can make &ldquo;wow&rdquo; factor plays offensively, plus he already has decent size.Scout Says: &ldquo;Very skilled, he&rsquo;s a real playmaker. He&rsquo;s starting to gain confidence up there in the Soo and his skating is great.&rdquo;<h2>10 JAKUB VRANA, RW, LINKOPING (SWE.)</h2>Vrana made the Czech national junior team at 16. He and David Pastrnak are both Czechs honing their skills in Sweden; Vrana has lit the junior circuit on fire offensively.Scout Says: &ldquo;Highly skilled offensive scorer. With his scoring touch, he&rsquo;ll bury it. More of a sniper, but he can also play in all three zones.&rdquo; &#9632;

2014 NHL DRAFT PROJECTED TOP 10

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0062-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0062-01209/9818927-1-eng-US/f0062-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">HIGHER LEARNING Nathan Noel plays for Shattuck-St. Mary&rsquo;s with teammates several years older. (SHATTUCK-ST. MARY’S)</figcaption></div>Every year, the brain trust at Shattuck-St. Mary&rsquo;s prep school in Faribault, Minn., scans the globe for the most talented players they can find. But it&rsquo;s not every year a 15-year-old cracks the squad.That&rsquo;s the situation center Nathan Noel is in. The native of St. John&rsquo;s, Nfld., is still in Grade 10, but he&rsquo;s playing on the same varsity squad as players who are draft eligible for the NHL this season and even a couple who have already been passed over. For a program that has graduated the likes of Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews and Zach Parise, Noel&rsquo;s accomplishments are admirable. &ldquo;Nathan had a really good season as a bantam and he had a really good camp,&rdquo; said coach Tom Ward. &ldquo;He earned his spot. There wasn&rsquo;t anybody who stood up and said Nathan shouldn&rsquo;t be here.&rdquo;On last year&rsquo;s bantam team with Shattuck&rsquo;s, Noel tallied 45 goals and 104 points in 56 games, ranking third on the team. But he was the only one to earn his way up with the big boys this season. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s strong on the puck and plays a hard game,&rdquo; Ward said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s 15, so his game is riddled with holes, but he has the chance to be a really good player.&rdquo;Tempering expectations is important at this age, but part of the reason the youngster left St. John&rsquo;s in the first place was to improve. &ldquo;The competition in Newfoundland wasn&rsquo;t there at a higher level,&rdquo; Noel said. &ldquo;So I knew I was going somewhere.&rdquo;The other option for the pivot was Notre Dame in Saskatchewan, which boasts its own murderers&rsquo; row of alumni such as Brad Richards, Vincent Lecavalier and, more recently, Sean Couturier. But in the end, Shattuck&rsquo;s won out. &ldquo;I just love how organized it is,&rdquo; Noel says. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a great routine and great for development.&rdquo;You&rsquo;d think the one bonus of playing in the United States instead of Canada is the St. John&rsquo;s native doesn&rsquo;t have to worry about an onslaught of &lsquo;Newfie&rsquo; jokes. He only has one Canadian teammate (Ontario&rsquo;s Broydon Stufko), but Noel has still had to defend his province&rsquo;s honor to his teammates. &ldquo;Yeah, I get a lot of that,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re getting used to me just like I&rsquo;m getting used to them.&rdquo;The team has dropped only a handful of games this season, playing a variety of elite squads from Minnesota, Canada and the rest of the world. A trip to Germany allowed Noel and his teammates some sightseeing and shopping, while the hockey featured fierce competition.Undecided as to where he&rsquo;ll play in the future &ndash; it&rsquo;s the Quebec League or college &ndash; Noel still wants to work on faceoffs and getting stronger on the wall. The edgy center cites Toews and Philadelphia&rsquo;s Claude Giroux as NHLers he&rsquo;d like to model his game after and with a few more years in development, he might be in the same position they were in as young, exciting NHLers.Not that he&rsquo;s in any hurry to leave his current address in Faribault, Minn. &ldquo;After a while,&rdquo; Noel said, &ldquo;it&rsquo;s like Shattuck&rsquo;s is your home.&rdquo;<h2>PHENOMS TO WATCH</h2><h3>CONNOR MCDAVID, C, ERIE (OHL)</h3>Exceptional status phenom second on team in scoring as a 16-year-old; &lsquo;Sid the Kid&rsquo; is a fan.Scout Says:&nbsp;&ldquo;It&rsquo;s gotta be his skating, he&rsquo;s so explosive. Elite vision.&rdquo;<h3>MATTHEW BARZAL, C, VAN. CHIEFS (B.C.)</h3>Offensive genius in the Ryan Nugent-Hopkins mold; creates space with his stride.Scout Says:&nbsp;&ldquo;Skates effortlessly. Combines that with vision I haven&rsquo;t seen at the bantam level.&rdquo;<h3>JACK EICHEL, C, U.S. NTDP (U-17)</h3>Boston U. commit was a scoring machine with the Jr. Bruins before starring for Team USA.Scout Says:&nbsp;&ldquo;He catches your eye. Has the attributes to be a power forward and great hands.&rdquo;<h3>ALEKSI SAARELA, C, LUKKO RAUMAN (FIN.)</h3>Very strong skater with a stocky build. He&rsquo;s put up nice points against older competition.Scout Says:&nbsp;&ldquo;He was the go-to guy at the under-17s. He was the leader and he ran things.&rdquo; &#9632;

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GIFTED PUPIL

<div class="byline">BY MATT LARKIN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0064-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0064-01168/9818958-1-eng-US/f0064-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">WINNING PERSONALITY At 20, Johan Larsson already has world junior gold and a Swedish League title. (RICHARD WOLOWICZ/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>Minnesota: Land of 10,000 Lakes. Gee, that&rsquo;s a lot of lakes. Seems you can&rsquo;t walk 10 feet there without stepping waist-deep in fresh water. Kind of like you can&rsquo;t walk 10 feet in any dressing room in the Minnesota organization, be it the Wild&rsquo;s or that of the Houston Aeros, without bumping into one of the sport&rsquo;s elite young players. Minnesota: Team of 10,000 Prospects.The Wild are the only team with five players in our Future Watch top 75: Mikael Granlund (7), Jonas Brodin (22), Charlie Coyle (27), Mathew Dumba (47) and Jason Zucker (66). They&rsquo;re the only team with four of the top 50. Even their 10th-best prospect, Darcy Kuemper, is a former Western League player of the year and goalie of the year who saw his first NHL game action in February.When you have the embarrassment of riches Minnesota does &ndash; an array of talent so impressive it played a role in Zach Parise and Ryan Suter signing there last summer &ndash; you&rsquo;re bound to have a quality player get overlooked. And The Hockey News is convinced the Wild have one good enough to be a top-three prospect on almost any other team. That young man is Johan Larsson, a stoic Swede who&rsquo;s won everywhere he&rsquo;s played so far in his career. He&rsquo;s our choice as the game&rsquo;s best prospect outside the top 75.That&rsquo;s not to say the Wild don&rsquo;t know what they have in him. When told Larsson didn&rsquo;t crack the Future Watch top 50, let alone 75, assistant GM Brent Flahr openly scoffed. &ldquo;I call him &lsquo;The Viking,&rsquo; &rdquo; Flahr says. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a pit bull of a kid. He&rsquo;s somewhat shorter in stature for a center, but he&rsquo;s really powerful, highly competitive and very intelligent. He&rsquo;s one of those guys who&rsquo;s always the coach&rsquo;s favorite because he does all the little things right and manages the puck.&rdquo;Larsson, 20, is a leader, having captained the Swedish national junior team to gold in 2012. He&rsquo;s a winner, having captured the Swedish League title with Brynas the same year. He&rsquo;s a brick at 5-foot-11 and 198 pounds, never afraid to take the body and a feisty two-way forward who plays in all situations. &ldquo;I call him low maintenance, high character,&rdquo; says Aeros coach John Torchetti. &ldquo;Oh my God, he hates to lose a battle.&rdquo;That&rsquo;s a loud skill set, isn&rsquo;t it? So why has Larsson gone relatively unnoticed?There&rsquo;s the stable of other elite Wild kids attracting attention. Another reason why he&rsquo;s under the radar is his relatively slow adjustment to North American life. This past autumn with the American League&rsquo;s Aeros marked Larsson&rsquo;s first time living away from home. That lack of familiarity has been an adjustment.&ldquo;You have the team here and everything, but of course you miss your family and the language you have,&rdquo; Larsson says. &ldquo;So that&rsquo;s the most difficult.&ldquo;Houston is difficult. The weather is great, but when you go to practice in shorts and T-shirts, that&rsquo;s different. Back home it&rsquo;s cold and winter. And the culture of living here is different. But when you&rsquo;re with a team you get used to it. It gets easier with the guys helping a lot.&rdquo;At first, Larsson had a cushion in Houston. Brodin and Granlund were around and the trio spent lots of time together off the ice. In Brodin, Larsson had a roommate and friend with whom he could speak Swedish. &ldquo;We just took it easy together,&rdquo; Brodin says. &ldquo;When we had time, we went to the mall, did some shopping, all that stuff. I play PlayStation but (Larsson) doesn&rsquo;t want to play with me.&rdquo;With Granlund and Brodin called up to the Wild, Larsson is now the only European player on the Aeros. It&rsquo;s forced him to grow up quickly. While his English needs work, it hasn&rsquo;t stopped him from doing what he does best: lead. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s something I try to do,&rdquo; Larsson says. &ldquo;But I try to lead by example. Hard work out on the ice, that&rsquo;s my style. I&rsquo;m not the loudest guy in the dressing room.&rdquo;<blockquote class="pullQuote">HARD WORK ON THE ICE, THAT&rsquo;S MY STYLE. I&rsquo;M NOT THE LOUDEST IN THE ROOM &ndash; JOHAN LARSSON</blockquote>But he&rsquo;s not as quiet as he thinks he is. Brodin calls Larsson a leader on and off the ice and says he inspires his teammates with his body language. Torchetti points out Larsson will tell his teammates to pull up their socks and motivate them by taking the puck to the net or throwing a big hit. &ldquo;On the bench we&rsquo;ve got a saying, because he&rsquo;s got his accent,&rdquo; Torchetti says. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got a kid Chay Genoway that we call &lsquo;Geno&rsquo; and Johan yells &lsquo;YEENO!&rsquo;&ldquo;And you know his accountability as a player is coming when he&rsquo;s holding the other guys accountable and saying &lsquo;We can do this, we can do that.&rsquo; Guys follow his lead and he&rsquo;s done that in only 40 games. He&rsquo;s come a long way.&rdquo;Since the Wild drafted Larsson 56th overall in 2010, he&rsquo;s been lauded for his ability as a defensive forward. The natural comparison is another famously smothering Swedish center, one of the pre-eminent shutdown forwards of his era: Samuel Pahlsson. While Larsson sees the comparison, he says he studies lots of different players and considers himself more of an offensive threat. The Wild do, too. Flahr quickly points to Larsson&rsquo;s scoring numbers in the Swedish League and international play, especially his 14 points in five games at the under-18s in 2010. That&rsquo;s why the Aeros had him centering a potent first line with Zucker and Coyle before Coyle was called up &ndash; and on the top power play unit. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s really strong on the puck, he&rsquo;s good at protecting the puck,&rdquo; Brodin says. &ldquo;He sees the ice very well and he has a good shot, too.&rdquo;But Larsson&rsquo;s skills didn&rsquo;t translate in Houston right away. He didn&rsquo;t score a goal until his seventh game and he struggled defensively as he adapted to the speed and flow of North American hockey. &ldquo;When you come over here you have to be quick with your head and quick with your hands,&rdquo; Larsson says. &ldquo;You have to keep your head up all the time and get your feet moving all the time. It&rsquo;s really important. The other stuff will come, you have to work on everything, but that&rsquo;s the big thing for me.&rdquo;Torchetti reminded him he shouldn&rsquo;t expect success right away and has to work the puck lower to buy himself more time with less space on a smaller ice surface. It&rsquo;s working. According to Torchetti and the Wild front office, Larsson has bought in and become a player they can trust in the final minute of a game to create a quality scoring chance with his puck distribution skills or shut down the opposition&rsquo;s top unit to protect a lead.It seems it&rsquo;s only a matter of time before Larsson gets the NHL call. His organization is so high on him, his coach can&rsquo;t even criticize his game without turning the words into a positive. &ldquo;His No. 1 thing to improve on &ndash; he already has,&rdquo; Torchetti says. &ldquo;His defensive responsibilities. He&rsquo;s done a great job with that.&rdquo;1.17&nbsp;JOHAN LARSSON&rsquo;Spoints per game in all international junior play. He had 14 points in five games at the World Under-18 Championship in 2010 and six points in six games while captaining Sweden to 2012 world junior gold. &#9632;

f0064-01

WILDLY UNNOTICED

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0065-01171/9818996-1-eng-US/f0065-012.jpg" title="f0065-01" width="681" height="751"><figcaption class="caption-body">(GREGORY SHAMUS/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>JUST BECAUSE A PLAYER doesn&rsquo;t crack his team&rsquo;s top five prospects doesn&rsquo;t mean he won&rsquo;t be an impact NHLer. The THN staffers put their heads together to pick a sleeper prospect ranked 6-10 on each team. Buffalo blueliner Jake McCabe, who just captained the U.S. to world junior gold, is a prime example.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0065-02122/9818989-1-eng-US/f0065-022.jpg" title="f0065-02" width="677" height="1701"></div> &#9632;

f0065-01

SNEAK ATTACK

<div class="byline">BY PETER BARACCHINI</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0066-01164/9819041-1-eng-US/f0066-012.jpg" title="f0066-01" width="787" height="1036"><figcaption class="caption-body">JASON SPEZZA (ANDRE RINGUETTE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>When it comes to forecasting the future careers of up-and-coming NHL prospects, scouts are the first to admit they&rsquo;re sure about only one thing. And that is there are no sure things in the game.So when we regularly backtest their prognostications five and 10 years after the fact on this page in Future Watch, we do so to highlight the fact there are no guarantees in this business. Results show 10 years after listing the likes of Jason Spezza, Mikko Koivu, Kari Lehtonen and Joni Pitkanen as the game&rsquo;s top NHL-affiliated prospects, the scouting community was pretty much on the mark. The reality part of scouting, though, is bound to have a few whiffs mixed in as well. One-time talented prospects such as Alexander Perezhogin, Alexander Svitov and Jani Rita never lived up to initial billing.Such is the business of scouting.Our five-year backtest shows the 2008 top 50 list previewed some of today&rsquo;s bright young stars with fewer misses than 10 years ago. In fact, just 12 players from 2008 have failed to reach 100 NHL games compared to 13 in twice the term from the 2003 list.The anticipated strength of the 2013 top 50 will be revealed in 2018.HERE ARE THN&rsquo;S TOP 50 prospects from Future Watch 2003 and 2008. Players are listed with current team and NHL games played as of Feb. 1, 2013.<h2>2003</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0066-02101/9819034-1-eng-US/f0066-022.jpg" title="f0066-02" width="716" height="2717"></div><h2>2008</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0066-0344/9819027-1-eng-US/f0066-032.jpg" title="f0066-03" width="703" height="2714"></div> &#9632;

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Future Watch 2013

THE SCOUTS HAVE CLOUT

TOP 50 VOTE BREAKDOWN

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BIGGER IS BETTER