Top 15 for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft

Alright, with the Canadian Major Junior teams well into their schedules and the Europeans turning toward their second full month of action in some cases, it seems an appropriate time to debut the monthly Top Fifteen list.

15. Louis Boileau – Domingue (G – Moncton Wildcats, QMJHL)

Getting an invite to the Team Canada camp for the Ivan Hlinka Tournament should have been taken as accomplishment for Domingue. It wasn’t. In tandem with Calvin Pickard, Domingue provided Team Canada with the kind of goaltending that Gold Medals are built on. Domingue may think the game better than any goaltender in the draft. He’s the first Wildcat on this list and with a 2.13 Goals Against and a .926 Save Percentage, it’s not difficult to see why.

14. Alexander Burmistrov (C – Barrie Colts, OHL)

The young Russian had his fair share of doubters when he defected from Ak Bars to Barrie this summer. But he’s proving them all wrong now. He exploded out of the gate for the Colts offensive, contributing effectively with his swift skating stride and trademark soft hands. The Russian import is the most explosive Colt since Bryan Little was commanding the corral up in Barrie and with good reason. His eight goals and thirteen assists show an almost instantaneous transition to the North American style of play.

13. Jon Merrill (D – USNTDP, USHL)

It’s hard to find a flaw in Merrill’s game. If there is one, it’s that he’s so well rounded that he lacks a trademark. He’s got the size and strength to be an effective physical presence. He’s got the hockey sense and poise to be an effective offensive contributor and yet, all those assets also make him effective on the defensive side of the puck. He’s a very strong  Jack-of-all-trades defenseman. But that leads to two classic scouting questions, the first is that if he lacks an explosive element to set him apart from the other prospects, particularly defensemen in the draft, is the early teens the highest he should go? And the second is that it raises worries that there belies the possibility for a lower talent ceiling for the prospect. That Merrill stepped in as a forward for the USNTDP during a weekend exhibition game against Colgate speaks to his versatility.

12. Teemu Pulkkinen (RW – Jokerit, SM-Liga)

Watching Pulkkinen last spring at the Under-18 Tournament, I thought he had to be one of the best technical skaters I’d ever seen. His skating style begs comparisons to Mikkel Boedker who was viewed as one of the best skaters in the strong draft class of 2008. Pulkkinen should be viewed as a pure offensive talent, not that there’s anything wrong with that. He has the kind of complete offensive game that makes him elusive and creative when cultivating scoring chances in the offensive zone. He’s more of a sniper than a playmaker, a kind of Finnish Mike Cammalleri in that way.

11. Stanislav Galiev (LW – Saint John, QMJHL)

Galiev was the first overall pick in this summer’s CHL Import Draft.  His status then was due as much to the likelihood that he would report to the CHL as it was his offensive skillset. Galiev has offence, of that there can be little question but he’s had some notably sluggish stretches in Saint John thus far. When he’s been good, he’s been very good but when he hasn’t been at the top of the game, it’s been very noticeable. For the moment, his struggles can be attributed to an adjustment to the CHL though it should be noted, he played in North America in the USHL last season. While he looks to have kicked his initial problems, a strong performance in Saint John for the remainder of the season could cement him as a Top Ten pick.

10. John McFarland (C – Sudbury, OHL)

Speaking of players that have to step it up. John McFarland was absolutely great at both the spring U-18 tournament in Fargo-Moorhead and the summer Ivan Hlinka Tournament. McFarland is incredibly talented, no one would ever doubt that. He’s got the hands, the skating, the hockey sense event he fearlessness that should make him a top five pick. But he just doesn’t seem to try very hard whenever he has to play in Sudbury. Rumours abound that he’s having a negative effect on the Wolves dressing room and was one of the reasons for Mike Foligno taking back over behind the bench. Some have even gone so far as to say that McFarland is trying to get out of Sudbury.

9. Vladimir Tarasenko (LW – Sibir Novobirsk, KHL)

The only Russian on the list not playing in North America, Tarasenko has been climbing up the scouting charts since he stuck for a full season with Sibir last season as a 17 year-old. He then went on to join countrymen Kirill Kabanov and Alexander Burmistrov to form one of the most potent Russian junior lines since Sergei Fedorov, Pavel Bure and Alexander Mogilny were playing together for the Soviet Union in the late 1980s. Tarasenko is a sniper with a superb shot and a whip-like release. His hard heavy shot and skating stride make him absolutely deadly any time he’s given time and space.

8. Erik Gudbranson (D – Kingston Frontenacs, OHL)

I’m very high on Gudbranson, but I couldn’t justify putting him any higher based on his start. Like Merrill, Gudbranson is a very well rounded defenseman with enviable size but Gudbranson’s aggression set him apart from any other defenseman in this draft or really any defensive prospect since Dion Phaneuf not named Zach Bogosian. Gudbranson is a smart, strong defenseman who plays punishing defence along the wall. He’s also capable of quarterbacking the powerplay and unleashing a veritable howitzer from the point when he needs to. I can’t help it, and people have told me that I’m out to lunch because of how raw Gudbranson’s skillset still is (and it is still quite raw), but I see Chris Pronger in his future.

7. Brett Connolly (C/LW – Prince George Cougars, WHL)

As with Gudbranson, I’m very high on Connolly but can’t justify putting him any higher based on his start. Connolly plays with so much heart and competitive drive that you almost feel, shift to shift, that he’s able to will the puck into the net. No WHL rookie since Patrick Marleau has had a season like Connolly had last year and that’s saying something when one considers the kind of talent that the Dub has produced lately and the dearth of complimentary talent on last year’s Cougars squad. Connolly has pretty well been on crutches since late September and was even hurt for most of the Ivan Hlinka which limited effectiveness. But when he’s on the ice, only Jordan Eberle is a more potent threat to score night in and night out on the rinks of the Dub circuit.

6. Mikael Granlund (C – HIFK, SM- Liga)

Granlund almost came out of nowhere last year at the World Juniors playing for the meandering Finns. I remember standing next to a Central Division scout who grumbled “so much for that sleeper” after Granlund potted a pair of back to back goals against the Latvians. In spite of the fact that Granlund only potted two goals and an assist in whole tournament, he constantly played like a scoring threat throughout the tournament and one always came away with the impression that if he had the puck, there was a decent chance it was going in the opposing net. Granlund’s hockey sens is his strongest attribute and the start that he has had in the SM-Liga to this point show him to be one of that league’s premiere playmakers at only seventeen years of age.

5. Brandon Gormley (D – Moncton Wildcats, QMJHL)

Gormley was outstanding for Canada at the Ivan Hlinka Tournament this summer. And he’s been a rock for Moncton since he got back. Gormley’s not quite as big as Merrill or Gudbranson but he’s so good with the puck that any size difference is made negligible when one talks about defensive effectiveness. Gormley plays a safe offensive game, he’s by no means a riverboat gambler but he still has the poise to put up points and contribute with his shot. His hockey sense makes him a very strong positional player on the defensive side of the puck as well. One scout at the Hlinka couldn’t believe that Canada would have seven junior aged defensemen good enough to merit keeping Gormley off the World Junior team.

4. Kirill Kabanov (RW – Moncton Wildcats, QMJHL)

Kabanov has been generating buzz in North America since he dominated the 2007 World Under 17 Challenge in London Ontario as a 15 year old. Already fluent in English, Kabanov used the time before his transfer from Ufa was made official to ingratiate himself in the North American culture and style of play by practising with the Moncton Wildcats. His speed and shot are his bread and butter but his size creates an added element. Kabanov seems to take his offensive strategy from Hannibal of Carthage;  if he can’t find a hole, he makes one. Some minor reports of him being a dressing room distraction have been quickly dispelled by those in the know.

3. Cam Fowler (D – Windsor Spitfires, OHL)

Cam Fowler is the most heralded defenseman to come out of the USNTDP since Erik Johnson. His trademark is his skating as he’s likely the only prospect that keeps Teemu Pulkkinen from being the best technical skater in the draft. Fowler’s style draws high comparisons to both Scott Niedermayer and Jay Bouwmeester. While Fowler isn’t quite blessed with Bouwmeester’s size, both have keen on ice vision and almost unparalelled hockey sense when head-manning a puck to clear the defensive zone. He’ll rack up a lot of assists and like Bouwmeester, eat a lot of minutes at the pro level where skating is prized so highly. He could stand to have a little more confidence in his shot, but most scouts believe that will come with time.

2. Taylor Hall (LW – Windsor Spitfires, OHL)

I don’t know what more I can say about Taylor Hall that hasn’t been said by any and every major hockey publication in the last two years. Sufficed to say, when you draw constant comparisons to Pavel Bure, you’re doing something right as a goal scorer. Hall is a complete winger. He has a degree of defensive awareness that prevents him from being a liability. He’s got unmatched north-south speed and plays with the kind of energy and hustle that you need to see out of your top players. He’s got a deadly accurate shot, knows how to be effective along the wall on the cycle and has the kind of ability to find his teammates on the rush that is uncommon for a sniper in most cases. Add that to sky’s-the-limit potential, and one is left to wonder, what more could a GM ask for? Well…

1. Tyler Seguin (C – Plymouth Whalers, OHL)

When I saw that so many people had Seguin at the top of their rankings after the start he’s had. I figured it was a typical bandwagon effect. Then I went to Plymouth’s game last Friday night in Kitchener. When I saw that Seguin, a second year player, was wearing the “C”, I still worried that Plymouth coach Mike Vellucci was trying to blow smoke up the collective skirt of the scouting community. Yeah, he’s not. Seguin is a gamebreaker. There have been shades of it all along, ever since he dominated the OHL Cup in his OHL draft year but he’s simply taken over. Without a lot of help on the current edition of the Whalers, Seguin manages to almost single-handedly generate offence and find ways to make himself dangerous on every shift. Rundown the checklist if you have to. The kid has a sniper’s shot; a playmaker’s vision; incredible speed, especially to the outside matched with great agility; he exudes leadership and even puts in the effort defensively. Steve Yzerman comparisons have been thrown around too lightly in past with other prospects, but they’re well earned here. I normally don’t like to abandon a horse and I wouldn’t have thought it possible for anyone to overcome Taylor Hall this year, but I was wrong. I bet on John Tavares from start to finish last season, even when Hedman was supposedly “overtaking” him prior to the World Juniors last year. But I’ve never seen a horse race like this.