NHL Draft 2011: Final Rankings of Skaters and What the Florida Panthers Will Do

My favorite, Gabriel Landeskog (and rumored Florida Panther target), ranks second for North American skaters, Sean Couturier falls to sixth and Dougie Hamilton jumps into the top five as the draft's second best D.

Rank	Name	League	Birthdate	Height	Weight	Pos	GP	G	A	P	PIM
1	NUGENT-HOPKINS, RYAN	WHL	04/12/93	6' 0.5"	164	C	69	31	75	106	51
2	LANDESKOG, GABRIEL	OHL	11/23/92	6' 0.5"	207	LW	53	36	30	66	61
3	HUBERDEAU, JONATHAN	QMJHL	06/04/93	6' 1.25"	170	C	67	43	62	105	88
4	HAMILTON, DOUGIE	OHL	06/17/93	6' 4.25"	187	D	67	12	46	58	77
5	BEAULIEU, NATHAN	QMJHL	12/05/92	6' 1.75"	174	D	65	12	33	45	52
6	COUTURIER, SEAN	QMJHL	12/07/92	6' 4"	197	C	58	36	60	96	36
7	BAERTSCHI, SVEN	WHL	10/05/92	5' 10"	181	LW	66	34	51	85	74
8	STROME, RYAN	OHL	07/11/93	6' 0"	175	C	65	33	73	106	2
9	MURPHY, RYAN	OHL	03/31/93	5' 10.5"	166	D	63	26	53	79	36
10	SIEMENS, DUNCAN	WHL	09/07/93	6' 2.5"	192	D	72	5	38	43	121
11	NAMESTNIKOV, VLADISLAV	OHL	11/22/92	5' 11.5"	166	C	68	30	38	68	49
12	MORROW, JOSEPH	WHL	12/09/92	6' 0.25"	197	D	60	9	40	49	67
13	OLEKSIAK, JAMIESON	H-EAST	12/21/92	6' 7"	244	D	34	3	9	12	51
14	MCNEILL, MARK	WHL	02/22/93	6' 1.5"	201	C	70	32	49	81	53
15	PHILLIPS, ZACK	QMJHL	10/28/92	6' 1"	178	C	67	38	57	95	16

*top 15 only*

In Europe, Adam Larsson remains top dog and will most likely go in the top three. Sweden is the dominant country, with Larsson, forward Mika Zibanejad and D Jonas Brodin as the top three skaters.

Rank	Name	League	Birthdate	Height	Weight	Pos	GP	G	A	P	PIM
1	LARSSON, ADAM	SWEDEN	11/12/92	6' 3"	200	D	37	1	8	9	41
2	ZIBANEJAD, MIKA	SWEDEN	04/18/93	6' 1.5"	191	C	26	5	4	9	2
3	BRODIN, JONAS	SWEDEN	07/12/93	6' 1"	169	D	42	0	4	4	12
4	ARMIA, JOEL	FINLAND	05/31/93	6' 3"	191	RW	48	18	11	29	24
5	JASKIN, DMITRI	CZREP	03/23/93	6' 1"	196	RW	33	3	7	10	16
6	KLEFBOM, OSCAR	SWEDEN	07/20/93	6' 3.5"	200	D	23	1	1	2	2
7	SALOMAKI, MIIKKA	FINLAND	03/09/93	5' 11"	198	RW	40	4	6	10	53
8	NERMARK, JOACHIM	SWE-JR.	05/12/93	6' 1"	187	C	37	8	18	26	16
9	GRANLUND, MARKUS	FINLAND-JR.	04/16/93	5' 10"	169	C	40	20	32	52	49
10	BENGTSSON, RASMUS	SWEDEN-2	05/14/93	6' 2.5"	189	D	45	2	7	9	6
11	HOFMANN, GREGORY	SWISS	11/13/92	6' 0"	170	C	41	3	9	12	2
12	RASK, VICTOR	SWEDEN-2	03/01/93	6' 1.5"	194	C	37	5	6	11	8
13	FRIBERG, MAX	SWEDEN-3	11/20/92	5' 11"	185	LW	34	13	27	40	6
14	BOYCE ROTEVALL, JEREMY	SWEDEN	08/28/93	6' 0"	169	LW	33	1	2	3	4
15	JOHANSSON, KARL	SWE-JR.	01/21/93	5' 8.5"	167	D	35	6	5	11	49

*top 15 only*

The Florida Panthers finished with the third-worst record in the NHL this year and most likely will have the third overall pick. With their deep, young core of defenseman, it is expected that they are going to take a forward.

With Nugent-Hopkins most likely going in the first two picks, the Panthers could take Swede Gabriel Landeskog of the OHL. Landeskog, according to scouts, may not be the best player in the draft, but is the most complete and NHL-ready player.

Nugent-Hopkins and Larsson are considered to be the best of the draft, although I wouldn't put Landeskog far behind them.

If Nugent-Hopkins falls to the Panthers, I would not be unhappy. This is a possibility as the Edmonton Oilers are stocked with young offensive talent, but lack any defensive talent. They could take Larsson first, and the Panthers could get second in the lottery.

However, the Panthers are attracted to Landeskog's leadership capabilities. They need their Mike Richards or Jonathan Toews. Nugent-Hopkins, while more talented offensively, does not have natural leadership qualities like Landeskog.

A key to drafting players is not always taking the best available player overall, but rather the best available player that matches your wants and needs. Hopefully, Landeskog turns out to be both for the Florida Panthers.

We will know more as June 24th approaches.

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Original article @ www.zelepuckin.blogspot.com