Consensus top 15?

According to a TSN article today there looks to be a consensus top 15 in this year's draft:

At the very top we have the Tavares/Hedman/Douchene trio. I'll let TSN take over from there:

The only other prospect who got a vote in the top three is Vancouver Giant forward Evander Kane, TSN's No. 4 ranked player, but it was a solitary vote putting him ahead of Duchene on one scout's list.

Brandon forward Brayden Schenn rounds out TSN's top five.

Swedish defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larson is No. 6, followed by Spokane defenceman Jared Cowen at No. 7, London Knight forward Nazem Kadri at No. 8, Russian defenceman Dmitri Kulikov of Drummondville at No. 9 and Swedish winger Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson at No. 10.

There is an air of unpredictability to this year's draft and TSN's rankings. Last year, of the 30 players TSN ranked as first rounders, 27 actually went in the first round. There's an excellent chance the batting average will not be so high this year.

It would be a surprise of sorts if the top 10 ranked players don't actually get selected in the top 10, but the draft will likely open up significantly after that.

If one of TSN's top 10 prospects were to be unseated, it's likely to be by one of the five players ranked from Nos. 11 to 15 – Brandon forward Scott Glennie; Windsor defenceman Ryan Ellis; Chicago Steel (USHL) defenceman John Moore; Peterborough Petes tough guy forward Zack Kassian and University of Minnesota forward Jordan Schroeder. Those prospects are solid first-rounders who could conceivably creep into the top 10 and if they fall out of the top 15, it shouldn't be too far.

But beyond the 15th pick, this draft looks as though it's wide open.

Of course wouldn't you know, the Jackets select 16th.

I have a real hard time believing that the top 15 will fall exactly like the top 15 listed here. If I were a betting man I would bet that at least 1 or 2 of these players will still be on the board by the time the Jackets selection turns up.

A couple of names that could sneak into that top 15 that are not on MacKenzie's list are David Runbland, Jacob Josefson and Carter Ashton.

Bob MacKenzie has his final rankings of his top 60 players out. You can start with the first 10 by following this link.

One interesting ranking of note to me is that he has Jordan Schroeder at 15. I've watched this kid a couple of times and he is a very dynamic player. He reminds me of one of my favorite players in the NHL right now in Zach Parise.

Unfotunately he's a right wing on the smaller side, but again if he's the BPA you have to take him.

Be sure to check out their style of play comparables. For instance they compare Tavares to Hawerchuk, Hedman to Bouwmeester and Duchene to Yzerman.

Out of the players that could be there at 16 are Moore to Ryan Suter, Ellis to Ruotsalainen (wow breaking out the old school), Kassian to Bertuzzi, Schroeder to Yzerman and Josefson to Zetterberg.

According to a poster on HF Scott Howson was on WCOL this morning and said the following:

"he was going to plan on focusing on center for the first pick. He said as an organization we don't have much outside of Brass and Vermette."

To me that's a massive mistake. You don't draft for need. You draft the best player that is available at the pick.

Now if there are two players rated equally when your pick comes up then you take a look at positional preference. Now I'm certainly not telling these guys anything they don't already know.
Centers that could potentially be available at 16 are Jacob Josefson, Carter Ashton, Louis Leblanc.

Nazem Kadri is a center that is ranked in the top 10 who could potentially fall as well.

Check out this pic sent in from Kory which is a shot of the fridge from the television show King of Queens. Take a look at the sticker on the fridge -- look familiar?

Heard a story from my father-in-law yesterday (who I'm slowing but surely converting into a hockey fan).. Said he was listening to the radio and they were telling a story about a 70 and over hockey team. Spoke about how one of the man's wives had never seen them play until recently and how they have played intermissions at NHL games.

Their team name?

The Gerihatricks.

-LTL