My 2011 NHL Draft Top-30

12 years ago

I know the hockey world is swamped with mock drafts and top-30 lists at the moment, but I thought I’d add one more – mine. This is not a mock draft; rather, this is how I rank the players I feel are the top-30 prospects for tomorrow’s draft.

The List

Rank	Player	League	Stats	Brief Comments
1	Adam Larsson	SEL	37GP – 1G – 8A – 9PTS	Two-way defender is already handling tough opposition in one of the world’s best leagues
2	Ryan Nugent-Hopkins	WHL	69GP – 31G – 75A – 106PTS	Smallish power play dynamo is the consensus first overall pick; has been compared to Datsyuk
3	Sean Couturier	QMJHL	58GP – 36G – 60A – 96PTS	Big forward plays a strong two-way game, skating is a concern
4	Gabriel Landeskog	OHL	53GP – 36G – 30A – 66PTS	Gritty winger is a better scorer than he gets credit for; he outscored Nugent-Hopkins at even-strength
5	Jonathan Huberdeau	QMJHL	67GP – 43G – 62A – 105PTS	Top scorer for the best team in the ‘Q’; will probably be selected before Couturier
6	Ryan Strome	OHL	65GP – 33G – 73A – 106PTS	Complete player is in the draft’s upper tier, though (relatively) poor playoff showing might hurt him
7	Dougie Hamilton	OHL	67GP – 12G – 46A – 58PTS	6’4" defender can do it all – he really isn’t that far behind Larsson
8	Ryan Murphy	OHL	63GP – 26G – 53A – 79PTS	All-offense defenseman put up a lot of points on the powerplay, but defensive game is weak
9	Alexander Khokhlachev	OHL	67GP – 34G – 42A – 76PTS	One of the youngest players in the draft, Khokhlachev’s got high-end puck skills
10	Duncan Siemens	WHL	72GP – 5G – 38A – 43PTS	Tough as nails defender has pretty good skills too.
11	Mika Zibanejad	SEL	26GP – 5G – 4A – 9PTS	Physically mature two-way forward is rising fast and seems to have broken into the draft’s top tier
12	Zack Phillips	QMJHL	67GP – 38G – 57A – 95PTS	Goal-scorer was a key member of Huberdeau’s powerhouse Saint John team
13	Mark McNeill	WHL	70GP – 32G – 49A – 81PTS	Smart, two-way forward lacks a glaring weakness
14	Sven Bartschi	WHL	66GP – 34G – 51A – 85PTS	Small winger played for a ridiculously good Portland team, but is gritty and can score
15	Matt Puempel	OHL	55GP – 34G – 35A – 69PTS	I really like this natural goal-scorer, despite injury problems
16	Nikita Kucherov	MHL	41GP – 27G – 31A – 58PTS	Phenomenal offensive player is a gamble because of the ‘Russian factor’
17	Mark Scheifele	OHL	66GP – 22G – 53A – 75PTS	6’3" centre has plus hockey sense, doesn’t mind traffic
18	Jonas Brodin	SEL	42GP – 0G – 4A – 4PTS	Intelligent finesse defender needs to bulk up; offensive upside is a bit of a question mark
19	Michael St. Croix	WHL	68GP – 27G – 48A – 75PTS	5’11" centre has scoring skills, defensive play described as "indifferent"
20	Rocco Grimaldi	USNTDP	23GP – 12G – 13A – 25PTS	5’6" forward is one of the best players in the draft, but stands 5’6"
21	Joel Armia	Fin.	48GP – 18G – 11A – 29PTS	Big, highly-skilled shooter gets knocked for vision and hockey sense
22	Ty Rattie	OHL	67GP – 28G – 51A – 79PTS	Another offensive player from that ridiculously loaded Portland team
23	Scott Mayfield	USHL	52GP – 7G – 9A – 16PTS	Huge defender played big minutes for a lousy Youngstown team
24	Joe Morrow	WHL	60GP – 9G – 40A – 49PTS	I wonder if this offensive defenseman would have managed these total outside Portland
25	Connor Murphy	USNTDP	9GP – 3G – 1A – 4PTS	I’m a sucker for hockey sense, but his back injuries scare me. This late, I’d risk a selection.
26	Dmitrij Jaskin	Cze.	33GP – 3G – 7A – 10PTS	Had a great U-18 tourney; 6’3" winger went 1st overall in the KHL’s 2010 Draft
27	David Musil	WHL	62GP – 6G – 19A – 25PTS	Defensive defenseman’s scouting report sounds a lot like he’s a higher-end version of his dad
28	Jamie Oleksiak	NE	38GP – 4G – 9A – 13PTS	Massive (6’7") player is a decent skater for his size, provides minimal offense
29	Nicklas Jensen	OHL	61GP – 29G – 29A – 58PTS	Big Dane had a great playoffs, scoring seven times in 10 games
30	Oscar Klefbom	SEL	23GP – 1G – 1A – 2PTS	Defenseman had a great U18 tournament as Sweden’s captain

Further Explanation

I have Ryan Nugent-Hopkins at number two, and despite my worries about his even-strength scoring I want to make something clear: I like this player. He’s a high-end prospect, a dynamo on the man advantage, and a guy people I respect have seen a lot and gushed about. I expect him to go first overall, and I’d be drafting him fairly high as an NHL G.M. That said, I think there’s a small chance (say one in 15) that his career turns out to be a disappointment.

I’m a huge fan of Gabriel Landeskog, and I think if he’d put up a few more points with the man advantage he would be going first overall. Character, grit, and goal-scoring aren’t often wrapped up in the same package, and he’s a guy I’d love to see in the system.

Portland was a ridiculously loaded club, with three players likely to go in the first round this year, plus high picks from last year like Ryan Johansen, Nino Niederreiter and Brad Ross. Because the team was so good, I’m a little suspicious of some of the totals we’ve seen from prospects in this year’s draft.

Jonas Brodin was compared to Nicklas Lidstrom in Bob McKenzie’s TSN list, and seems to be a guy that might skyrocket on draft day. It only takes one team to love him that much.

I really, really like Connor Murphy. From what I’ve read, I can’t find a scout that disagrees with that statement. He’s suffered through some terrifying injuries the last few years, and it’s fair to ask whether he’ll be permanently damaged as a result – if he isn’t, a 25th overall selection would be brilliant, but then again he might be retired by 25.

Everyone has Jamie Oleksiak higher than I do because he’s so huge, and could turn into the next Tyler Myers or Zdeno Chara. My worry would be that he turns into Boris Valabik.

My 2011 NHL Draft Top-30

The List

Further Explanation

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