2012 NHL Entry Draft: How Does This Year's Class Match Up with the Last 5?

Every year the promise of stardom ascends upon a crop of youngsters from around the globe as they wait to hear which NHL franchise will anoint them as the "Next One." The No. 1 draft pick title is worn proudly atop the heads of a few, but can also hang around the necks of others as an albatross.

The front office of every NHL franchise scours the scouting reports, reviews the tapes and discusses the eat, drink and sleeping habits of every prospect from No. 1 to 1,000. For seven rounds, teams will dissect every aspect of a prospect, looking for someone who can help their team now or in the future.

The most important word during the draft process is potential. There is always the "can't miss" and "sure thing," but does anyone really know for sure? Sitting across from an 18-year-old stranger, interviewing them for a position in your workplace. How confident would you be if your job depended on that person's success? Potential has made general managers—and destroyed dozens more.

Most 18-year-old stars have been told their entire lives that they are better than everyone else. They have been given free things at every turn and almost always win at everything they do. They are entitlement personified and are about to become millionaires simply by playing a game that they love.

The NHL is a different animal, though.

Success for the top pick in the NHL draft is equated by simply making the roster for opening night. You will be drafted by the team with the worst record the previous year. The game is faster; the men are bigger, stronger and meaner.

The word potential now becomes the word expectation. You are the one who will save the team, the coach, the franchise and even the city. Don't let the word potential become the word bust.

The cream of this year's crop seems to be an 18-year-old Russian by the name of Nail Yakupov. He seems to be so overwhelmingly favored as the number one pick that certain fan bases have adopted a "Fail for Nail" war cry to win his services...by losing.

Here's a look at the prizes in this year's draft class and how they rank with the best drafts of the last five year.

2008 Draft Class

Here's the best of 2008 so far. Five years is a pretty good sample size to determine if any late round picks could be diamonds in the rough.

1. Steven Stamkos

2. Erik Karlsson

3. Alex Pietrangelo

4. Jordan Eberle

5. Drew Doughty

Also drafted of note: Zach Bogosian, Josh Bailey, Adam Henrique, Michael Del Zotto, Tyler Myers,Mikkel Boedker, Colin Wilson, Derek Stepan, Luke Schenn and a pile of others who have achieved a good bit of success in the NHL so far.

Grade: A

2009 Draft Class

Tavares is becoming a legit star on Long Island, but so far only seven of these players have eclipsed 50 points in their young career.

1. John Tavares

2. Matt Duchene

3. Evander Kane

4. Ryan O'Reilly

5. Dmitri Kulikov

Honorable mention to Victor Hedman, Brayden Schenn, Kyle Clifford, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Marcus Johansson. Tons of potential in this draft—stay tuned.

Grade: C

2010 Draft Class

The 2010 Draft appears to be very top heavy at first glance, but a few players should rise to prominence in the next calender year and get regular playing time with the team that drafted them.

1. Jeff Skinner

2. Tyler Seguin

3. Taylor Hall

4. Cam Fowler

5. Alexander Burmistrov

Keep an eye on Brett Connolly and Devante Smith-Pelly. Both have shown flashes of exciting things to come.

Grade: B

2011 Draft Class

2011's draft class is every bit the work in progress,but could be the very best of the five.

1. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

2. Gabriel Landeskog

3. Andrew Shaw

4. Sean Couturier

5. Adam Larsson

Landeskog and RNH have been dueling for the Calder Trophy with 2008 draftee Adam Henrique.

Landeskog is a prototypical power forward who loves to hit, while Nugent-Hopkins is a dazzling playmaker with exceptional vision and puck sense. If he can put on some weight and keep his shoulders healthy, the Calder won't be the last trophy he competes for.

Grade: B+

2012 Draft (Projected)

2012 is expected to produce at least three future legitimate NHL stars. Here are the top 10 according to International Scouting Services (ISS):

1. Nail Yakupov

2. Mathew Dumba

3. Filip Forsberg

4. Morgan Reilly

5. Alex Galchenyuk

6. Griffin Reinhart

7. Mikhail Grigorenko

8. Matt Finn

9. Cody Ceci

10. Ryan Murray

Grade: TBD

Any variation outside of Yakupov going No. 1 seems to be the rule of the day. The rankings seem to change as often as the weather, likely due to variables that may occur.

For example, Ryan Murray's stock may have fallen last month because he had gotten a bad haircut. Grigorenko, the previous No. 2, could have possibly eaten too many cupcakes during the third week in March, thereby lowering his stock.

Obviously, the instances given are silly and far-fetched but are examples of the scrutiny that these young men face from now until the draft on June 22-23. The draft order has yet to be determined as the regular season hasn't quite wrapped, but all eyes will be on last place as the race to lose heats up.

Follow Rob Kirk on Twitter @theRobKirk