http://insider.espn.go.com/nhl/draft201 ... id=5333673 We've discussed this from a multitude of angles already since Round 1 on Friday night, so let's get right to it: the team-by-team grades for the 2010 NHL draft.
The cream of the crop
Florida Panthers: A-plus
It might be something along the lines of the Pittsburgh Steelers' 1974 draft -- with three firsts and a total of 10 picks in the top 99, you have to figure that at least four players will be meaningful NHLers, and maybe six or seven. No. 3 D Eric Gudbranson of Kingston will be a 15-year bedrock defenseman starting tomorrow but Panthers fans will have to wait for others. High-risk, high-reward Sudbury LW John McFarland was a very intriguing pick. GM Dale Tallon suggests that he won't hesitate to play anyone out of this draft next season if he shows his stuff in preseason. McFarland is a pretty good dark-horse play on that count.
Boston Bruins: A
I suppose you have to count getting Nathan Horton as part of this package. The Bruins get easily the most improved player in junior ranks in Plymouth C Tyler Seguin. He would have been No. 2 overall even before he arrived at the NHL combine looking as though he was ready for a shot at the cruiserweight title; he had packed on significant weight with his offseason work. In the second round the Bruins landed two more OHL C's, London's Jared Knight and Peterborough's Ryan Spooner who are down in class from Seguin, but players who are head and heart -- more than simply size and skill. Knight might have the edge here in speed. The wild card in the group might be No. 165 Zane Gothberg, a big goaltender out of Thief River Falls High School in Minnesota.
Carolina Hurricanes: A
The draft's best goal scorer in Kitchener's Jeff Skinner at No. 7 and then extra picks in the second and third round -- four D picks, the best of them either in college (Harvard's undersized Danny Biega) or bound for it (USDT Justin Faulk and Cretin-Derham Minnesota high schooler Mark Alt). The Canes address both front and back end. LW Justin Shugg of Windsor is an interesting fourth-rounder.
Chicago Blackhawks: A-minus
A lot to like here. High-end skill with top pick, Mass. high schooler Kevin Hayes, and then Ludvig Rensfeldt, a smooth, smart LW out of Sweden, at No. 35. Not sure how dynamic two second round D's are, Minnesota high schooler Justin Holl and USDT Stephen Johns. Hidden value: The pickup of Kitchener winger Jeremy Morin, a 2009 draftee, in trade with Atlanta. He'd be a first-rounder on a redo of last year's draft.
Dallas Stars: A-minus
The Stars were the first lottery team that can afford the time to wait for a goaltender to develop -- and they landed the best G prospect in several years, USDT's Jack Campbell. The grade here is for Campbell alone, really. It's hard to work up enthusiasm for soft Swedish defenseman Patrick Nemeth, their second-rounder. A more interesting play was the University of Michigan-bound Alexander Guptill, who tore up Junior A with Orangeville; Guptill was good for a few exceptional shifts most games but would take a shift or two off. Needed a challenge that he didn't get. Might be better served in Brampton of the OHL than waiting until 2011 to go to Michigan.
Washington Capitals: A-minus
The high mark rides on landing F Evgeni Kuznetsov. The Capitals might have landed one of the five best players in the draft class at No. 26. GM George McPhee says Kuznetsov has a two-year deal but a reasonable buyout and can land in North America in the fall of 2011. Scouts say Kuznetsov was the best player in the invitational U-18 tournament in Belarus. He was a factor as an under-ager on the Russian team at world juniors. The Capitals also went with a Russian player with their next pick -- at No. 86 they landed Stanislav Galiev, who played with St. John in the Q this year. Central Scouting had Galiev projected as a first-rounder, but it's guilt by association: A lot of GMs are afraid that young Russians will either not come to North America or pull the chute and go back to the KHL at the first sign of trouble. "We haven't lost one yet," McPhee said.
The next tier
Edmonton Oilers: B-plus
Edmonton came away with the best player in the draft, Taylor Hall. That's good. The 10 other picks? Not as exciting. Something to like in No. 31 Tyler Pitlick out of Minnesota State; maybe he'll show a higher gear in Medicine Hat next season. Picks thereafter don't impress. There's a chance that this draft yields one-and-a-half NHLers for the Oilers.
St. Louis Blues: B-plus
Bump this up to an A if the Blues get delivery from Russia on Vladimir Tarasenko, their second first-rounder, probably one of the three best players in this draft class. Jaden Schwartz out of Tri-City in the USHL has great vision and hockey sense. Grading down a bit on the next two picks, Swedish overage RW Sebastien Wannstrom (decent skills and competiveness but not strong and not much room for improvement) and Minnesota high school C Max Gardiner (herky-jerky skating).
Getty ImagesRyan Johansen was a good pickup for the Blue Jackets at No. 4; it's a team that is stockpiling young talent.
Columbus Blue Jackets: B-plus
It was a daring move to take emerging Portland C Ryan Johansen at No. 4 -- nobody improved as dramatically over the past season than Johansen. Dalton Smith is a tough and physical winger, son of former NHLer Derek Smith. He might not have the high-end offensive game of Ottawa 67s teammate Tyler Toffoli, but he might be a safer bet to make the next level; Smith can serve a third-line role and be effective. Not a pleasant guy for other teams to line up against. Petr Straka out of Rimouski brings skill to the table, and Mathieu Corbeil-Theriault, a towering goaltender with Halifax, is a project who had some good games early in the season but later overworked behind a weak team.
Anaheim Ducks: B
With picks No. 12 and No. 29, the Ducks landed major junior players who dropped unexpectedly: at No. 12 Windsor D Cam Fowler, a projected top-6 pick, and at No. 29 Medicine Hat RW Emerson Etem (from Long Beach), projected in the top 20. Fowler is not physical enough for a lot of scouts' liking, and some don't like how he plays without the puck in his own end. Etem, a natural goal scorer, gets graded down by scouts for an awkward skating style. Second-rounder Devante Smith-Pelly, a left winger with Mississauga also in the O, looks like a bit of a reach at No. 42; he's a heady enough and effective junior, but it's not clear that he has the pace to keep up with NHLers.
Atlanta Thrashers: B
Dynamic first choice in Barrie C Alexander Burmistrov -- and then went the Russian route with another forward in the O, Saginaw's Ivan Telegin. Rest of the picks are not too exciting.
Minnesota Wild: B
Four picks in the first 60 should be a reason to party -- and Finnish C Mikael Granlund should step into the line-up next year. Smallish Swedish C Johan Larsson had a great world U-18 tournament, but other picks are questionable, especially Kelowna winger Brett Bulmer, who looked to be over-drafted at No. 39 (No. 65 on Central Scouting's final rankings, 164 in midterm).
New York Islanders: B
Portland RW Nino Niederreiter will get a chance to play next season and has first-line upside, but the Isles' next two picks are significant gambles. Warroad (Minnesota high school) C Brock Nelson is a decent value with the last pick of the first round -- but Kiril Kabanov early in the third is a big gamble; a lot of teams wouldn't have taken him with the last pick of the seventh round.
New York Rangers: B
The first pick, Moose Jaw D Dylan McIlrath, is a great if daring pick at No. 10. Oshawa winger Christian Thomas is undersized, but so was his father. Not much depth to the Rangers' draft, mark raised from a C by McIlrath.
Pittsburgh Penguins: B
Beau Bennett's stock was higher than Central's ranking; Bennett has the skills to make the most of the opportunity to play on such elite lines but is two years away. No second-rounder. Fourth-round C Tom Kuehnhackl from Germany is an interesting pick -- in a soft domestic league, he would have been hard to read outside international competition. He makes a big step up with Windsor next season. Little else of interest.
Tampa Bay Lightning: B
RW Brett Connolly at No. 6 is a solid pick if he's healthy -- but the Bolts had no second pick, and the rest don't impress that much. Sault Ste. Marie D Brock Beukeboom has a NHL pedigree and a physical game -- not as much as his father's but much more than nine out of 10 D's in this draft. Beukeboom was better late in season and might have been dragged down early by a shoulder injury.
Getty ImagesRiley Sheahan goes from Notre Dame to Red Wings prospect.
Colorado Avalanche: B-minus
Some scouts had first pick Joey Hishon of Owen Sound in the first round, though not as high as 17. Seattle G Cal Pickard was decent value in the second round and Stephen Silas of Belleville in the fourth is an interesting pick with some decent offensive upside (punished this year with a rebuilding team).
Detroit Red Wings: B-minus
A lot of scouts were down on Notre Dame C Riley Sheahan, but the Wings must have seen something others didn't (or liked his underage year better than this season). Calle Jarnkrok is super-skilled but tiny at this point. Wings have a wild card in fourth-round Teemu Pulkkinen; he's a natural scorer but with two knocks, inconsistent effort and injuries.
The third tier
Buffalo Sabres: C
Sabres addressed a position -- defense -- but not a team issue exposed in the playoffs, toughness. No. 23 D Mark Pysyk was a tough read. He played on a very bad team and then had an injury shorten his season. He might be good value for that slot but he's barely average in size and physical play. No second-rounder and then three in the third, with skilled D Jerone Gauthier-Leduc out of Rouyn-Noranda being the best. Lots to like in fourth-rounder C Steven Shipley of Owen Sound in the OHL.
Nashville Predators: C
Lots to like in Peterborough Austin Watson, who projects to a power forward as a pro, but no second and no fourth makes it an uneventful draft. The Preds are elite drafters, though, so there might be hidden value in their later picks.
Phoenix Coyotes: C
Four picks in the top 57 but a couple of head-scratchers. No problem with Moncton D Brandon Gormley at 13, even with a big fall out of the top 6 -- but the selection of Niagara G Mark Visentin at No. 27 blew away a lot of scouts who didn't have him in the first three rounds. Brampton RW Philip Lane was a tough projection; he's still basically learning the game on the fly. He was a bit of a reach 52. Swedish C Oscar Lindberg was an interesting late second-rounder.
San Jose Sharks: C
No second- and no fourth-round picks. Charlie Coyle, out of South Shore of the EJHL, was a decent pick. He'll get a challenge at the next level at BU. He was a harder read for some teams; scouts wanted to get a late look at him but he bowed out of all-star showcases in late season because of injury. Boston-based Sharks scout Tim Burke's fingerprints are all over this one. Big winger Max Gaede, a Minnesota high schooler, is headed to Minnesota State and had a couple of big games against the best teams in the loop; mono in the early season might have brought his energy down later on. A decent gamble at No. 88.
Calgary Flames: C-Minus
There's only so much you can do with no picks in the first two rounds, even if you have four picks in the first 108 selections. Unsurprisingly they went for players out of the Dub, C Max Reinhart and D Joey Leach, both out of Kootenay.
Los Angeles Kings: C-minus
Draft hosts had only five picks and only three in the top 140 -- shouldn't they at least get seven for sweeping up after the party? USDT D Derek Forbort was fair value at No. 15 and Tyler Toffoli, referenced above, looks as though he might be a competent if not dynamic NHLer. It might turn out that the best player will be the Kings' last pick, Russian D Max Kitsyn at No. 158, a very up-and-down kid who has shown tons of skill and a bit of bad attitude.
Getty ImagesTinordi could be an elite D-man someday, but the Habs' overall draft wasn't stellar.
Montreal Canadiens: C-minus
Habs had only one pick in the top 100 -- USDT D Jarred Tinordi, who is big and strong but not yet physical who doesn't look as though he'll ever be a power-play contributor. Not a bad pick at No. 22, but some other teams had him a lot closer to No. 40.
New Jersey Devils: C-minus
USDT D Jonathon Merrill fell out of the first round to the Devils at No. 38 because of off-ice issues, but before that, some scouts thought he compared favorably with teammate Forbort. In fact, they thought his offensive upside was significantly higher than anyone on the USDT blue line, which was a very talented bunch. Otherwise, the Devils had no first-rounder, no extra picks and nothing to get excited about.
Ottawa Senators: C-minus
Only four picks, and none in the top 75. Ottawa traded out of the first for St. Louis D prospect David Rundblad out of Sweden. Otherwise, this would be a D, D-minus or F.
The low end
Vancouver Canucks: D-plus
The Sahara Desert. No picks in the top 100, five all day Saturday. Top pick is No. 115, Massachusetts high school LW Brandon McNally, who probably has fourth-line upside. The Canucks get the D they wanted in the Ballard trade, immediate help. On the basis of their picks, though, a F.
Philadelphia Flyers: D
No picks until No. 89. Lewiston C Michael Chaput in the third round was a sometimes player -- some very good games and some that he didn't compete in at all. Hard to see a player in their picks who'll be a NHLer.
Toronto Maple Leafs: D
Just getting into the second round is a win for GM Brian Burke, but what they trade up to No. 43 for gets them Portland LW Brad Ross, who looks like Darcy Tucker Redux, except that Tucker was a lot better junior. There's a good shot that Greg McKegg will have a bigger impact than Ross. Tough times for Burke and Leafs watching Boston get Seguin and Jared Knight as the first two of three installments on the Phil Kessel trade.
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