NHL Draft 2011: Adam Larsson and the 10 Best Defensemen in the Draft

The city of Vancouver has been burned down to the ground. The streets of Boston are filled with confetti. 

The NHL season is over. 

However, next week the draft starts signaling the start of the 2011-12 season. 

As Boston showed this year, defense wins championships. They only allowed eight goals in the whole Stanley Cup Final. This exemplifies the importance of defense.

Because of this, teams will be out for the next Zdeno Chara or Dennis Seidenberg.

Here are the top 10 defenseman available in this year's draft. 

10. Jonas Brodin

He won't wow you on the stat sheet. Brodin only had four assists for Farjestads in the Swedish Elitserian League. 

Defense is what Brodin does. That's the name of his game and he's ready to bring it to the NHL. He's projected to go 27th overall to the Tampa Bay Lightning in hockeysfuture.com's mock draft. 

Brodin could gain some muscle as he only weighs 172 lbs right now and he stands at 6'1", but like any prospect, he has plenty of room to grow. He's an absolute steal with great upside late in the first round. 

9. David Musil

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TORONTO, CAN - JANUARY 19: David Musil #6 of Team Orr skates against Team Cherry in the 2011 Home Hardware Top Prospects game on January 19, 2011 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Canada. Team Orr defeated Team Cherry 7-1. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Get

David Musil is the nephew of Stanley Cup champion Bobby Holik. NHL teams hope he plays like he did. His father, Frank Musil, also played in the NHL along with his grandfather.

Musil's family has a long history of NHL experience, so he definitely has the genetic makeup to play in the NHL. Musil, however, must take playing defense seriously because it's a very difficult position to master.

For the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League, Musil scored six goals and 25 points last season. He's a defensive defenseman who will be a valuable asset to any team's blue line.

The fact that he's regarded as a top prospect without the offensive numbers shows that he knows what the defense position is all about because that's how he got noticed from scouts.

8. Jamie Oleksiak

Northeastern University, in recent years, in recent years has put more and more players in the NHL. Joe Vitale made his Pittsburgh Penguins debut this past season and goalie Brad Thiessen is expected to play in the NHL very soon.

This year, Northeastern boasts Jamie Oleksiak, a 6'7" gigantic defenseman. Hockeysfuture.com sees him being drafted 16th overall by the Buffalo Sabres. We've seen in recent years how valuable tall defensemen can be, (i.e Zdeno Chara, Tyler Myers) so this definitely has increased Oleksiak's value.

Oleksiak scored 13 points in 38 games for the Huskies this season, which once again exemplifies his defensive skill. It's not his point totals that got him noticed by scouts, it's his size and strength. And this will eventually make him a top notch first round draft pick with a great future. 

7. Connor Murphy

Connor Murphy gained a lot of value after he scored the game winning goal in the U-18 gold medal game. 

Murphy's clutch moment shows he stares adversity in the face and shows up big in times of crises. This is a huge asset for any defenseman to have. 

Playing defense isn't about putting up points or having flashy skills. It's about the intangibles. Murphy has those as evidenced by his clutch moment. He also has great size at 6'3" and 185 lbs. Murphy will develop into a solid offensive defenseman some day. In nine games with the US Development Team, he scored three goals in nine games.

6. Nathan Beaulieu

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MISSISSAUGA, CANADA - MAY 29: Nathan Beaulieu #28 of the Saint John Sea Dogs celebrates with the Memorial Cup after the win against the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors in the 2011 CHL Mastercard Memorial Cup final on May 29, 2011 at the Hershey Centre i

As mentioned before, valuable defensemen are not measured by the box score. It's the intangibles that make them valuable.

Nathan Beaulieu helped lead the Saint John Sea Dogs to the 2011 Memorial Cup. He has played in adverse situations and the experience of playing in such a prestigious championship gives him an edge over other defensemen. 

Beaulieu is a highly touted defenseman and he's projected to go 13th overall to Calgary. 

LIke Connor Murphy, Beaulieu has also scored big goals in his career, scoring the game winning goal in the first game of the Memorial Cup against Mississauga. 

5. Duncan Siemens

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TORONTO, CAN - JANUARY 19: Duncan Siemens #5 of Team Cherry poses for a Head Shot prior to skating in the 2011 Home Hardware Top Prospects game on January 19, 2011 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)

The Saskatoon Blades of the WHL are extremely proud of Duncan Siemens. He's going to represent them well in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft this summer.

The defenseman has great puck handling ability as evidenced by his 38 assists and 43 points this season. He's also not afraid to get dirty, amassing 121 penalty minutes.

The most telling stat which illustrates Siemens' value is his plus-40. Every time he's on the ice, his team gets better. That's the type of player teams like their defensemen to be. 

Siemens is expected to go to the Edmonton Oilers in hockeyfutures.com mock draft at No. 19.

4. Oscar Klefbom

What is the best indicator of value? 

We saw how valuable LeBron James was to the Cleveland Cavaliers when he left them because Cleveland collapsed in the standings.

Oscar Klefbom means that much to the Swedish team that has participated in recent tournaments. His value to the team was apparent because of the way they played. 

Klefbom is a true leader and many on hockeysfuture.com see him wearing a "C" on his chest sometime in the future. The site also sees him going to the Detroit Red Wings with the 24th overall selection to aid an aging blueline. 

3. Ryan Murphy

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TORONTO, CAN - JANUARY 19: Ryan Murphy #24 of Team Cherry skates against Team Orr in the 2011 Home Hardware Top Prospects game on January 19, 2011 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Canada. Team Orr defeated Team Cherry 7-1. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Ge

Kitchener's Ryan Murphy is a highly touted offensive defenseman seen as someone who will lead a powerplay when he's in the NHL. Hockeysfuture.com sees him being drafted in the top ten. 

The defenseman put up staggering numbers for Kitchener this season. He scored 26 goals and 53 assists as a blueliner. 

His puck moving and scoring abilities will help boost any team's powerplay. He also weights 176 lbs with his 5'11" frame so he has some size to go along with his offensive capabilities. 

Murphy will be a perennial all-star when his time comes to play in the NHL. The way he moves the puck it won't be surprising to see him playing immediately.

2. Dougie Hamilton

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TORONTO, CAN - JANUARY 19: Dougie Hamilton #27 of Team Orr skates against Team Cherry in the 2011 Home Hardware Top Prospects game on January 19, 2011 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Canada. Team Orr defeated Team Cherry 7-1. (Photo by Claus Anderse

It's unclear whether Dougie can do the Dougie like John Wall, but one thing Hamilton does do is play solid defense. 

Not only can he play defense but he's also valuable offensively. He can be quarterbacking a powerplay in the near future.

Hockeysfuture.com sees him going at No. 6 overall to Columbus.

Hamilton's parents both represented Team Canada in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. His brother Fred Hamilton was drafted by the San Jose Sharks last season.

Last season, Hamilton scored 12 goals and 46 assists along with a plus-35 plus/minus rating for the Niagara IceDogs. 

1. Adam Larsson

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BUFFALO, NY - JANUARY 03: Adam Larsson #5 of Sweden skates against Russia during the 2011 IIHF World U20 Championship Semi Final game between Sweden and Russia on January 3, 2011 in Buffalo, New York. Russia won 4-3 and faces Canada in the gold medal game

This one is a no-brainer.

Adam Larsson is projected by some to go No. 1 overall. If not, he will most likely be selected by the Colorado Avalanche as the second overall pick.

Larsson's not someone who will light up the stat sheet like Ryan Murphy and Dougie Hamilton. He only scored nine points in 37 games in the Swedish league. Even with that, in 2010, Larsson tied the record for most points in a season by a defenseman under the age of 18 in the Swedish league with 17.

Larsson has great upside. His defensive ability and his experience and success in big tournaments like the World Junior Championships should mold him into a great defenseman in the future.