2010 NHL Draft: What Dale Tallon Will Do With Pick #3

Dale Tallon was just hired as the General Manager of the Florida Panthers. It will be hard to tell how much control of the draft war room he actually has; but we have to assume that this pick will be his. 

From his time with the Chicago Blackhawks, Tallon very rarely picked defense men with his first round pick, preferring instead to build from the offense back.  By drafting Patrick Kane, Jonathen Toews and Jack Skille, Tallon missed out on the services of Marc Staal, Thomas Hickey and Kevin Shattenkirk, not that we're complaining. 

The day the Blackhawks franchise turned around was the day Jonathen Toews fell to them at #3 overall at the 2006 Entry Draft.  That's why I believe it is a lock that if Tyler Seguin falls to #3, Dale Tallon will snap him up and immediately have another stud centerman to which a franchise can be built around. 

With the Panthers attention to defense under Jaques Martin (Jacob Markstrom, Dmitry Kulikov and Keaton Ellerby have been recent first picks), I expect Tallon to fortify the prospect pool he has inherited with offensive wingers to complement Seguin. 

A couple of names that Tallon will look at are John McFarland of the Sudbury Wolves and, yes, I think Tallon will consider the enigmatic Kirill Petrov.  Both are talented, high risk forwards who could turn Florida into a playoff time in time.  This is a team that needs offense and Tallon knows it. 

Dale Tallon built around Kane and Toews in Chicago, could it be Seguin and Petrov in Florida? 

Salim Valji's Pick for Florida at #3:  Tyler Seguin, C, Plymouth Whalers.