NHL Draft 2011: 25 Bold Predictions for the NHL Entry Draft and Beyond
One week for the Edmonton Oilers to decide which of the most talked-about prospects for this year’s draft they will select with their No. 1 pick.
They'll be choosing between center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins from the WHL's Red Deer Rebels and Adam Larsson of the Swedish Elite League's Skelleftea AIK.
Other notable names include Jonathan Huberdeau and Gabriel Landeskog of the QMJHL's Saint John Sea Dogs and OHL's Kitchener Rangers, respectively.
This is the last week that NHL GMs will be able to do all their research before making their 2011 selections. By this weekend, teams' perceptions and choices could change dramatically and there could be a lot of surprises this weekend.
Here are 25 bold predictions for the 2011 NHL draft.
25. Edmonton Oilers Move Up in the Standings in 2011-12
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For two straight seasons, the Edmonton Oilers have been the worst team in the NHL, earning the top draft pick in the 2010 and 2011 NHL drafts.
After two years of picking the top prospect, combined with their three prime picks this year, the Oilers will improve their team.
I'm not going to get into predictions of how well (relatively speaking, compared to previous seasons) the Oilers will do next year, but I will make this prediction: Edmonton will not be the worst team in the league this coming season.
24. Toronto Maple Leafs Make the Playoffs Next Season
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The Toronto Maple Leafs have not qualified for the playoffs since the 2003-04 season, disappointing for the historically dominant franchise steeped in Canadian history.
However, GM Brian Burke is a genius when it comes to assembling teams and he has been working tirelessly to assemble the best possible team for the 2011-12 Maple Leafs.
All of these moves will pay off and the Leafs will make their much-anticipated return to the Stanley Cup playoffs.
23. Florida Panthers Will Be the Worst Team in 2011-12
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Despite holding the third overall draft pick in the 2011 NHL draft and making a lot of moves in the hopes of becoming a better team, the Panthers will fall to last place in the league.
The Panthers will have the first overall pick in the 2012 NHL draft to continue their rebuilding period.
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22. Joel Armia Drops Below the Top 15
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Joel Armia is the top-ranked winger on the Central Scouting Service's final rankings for European skaters and only behind Mika Zibanejad for forwards.
There is a lot of interest in Armia, yet he'll drop below the 15th pick.
He could go to the Chicago Blackhawks, who have the 18th selection.
21. Jonas Brodin Drops to Late First Round or Early Second Round
5 of 25Jonas Brodin is the second-ranked European defenseman on Central Scouting's final rankings, behind Adam Larsson.
Despite his high ranking, Brodin will not be selected as early as one might think.
There are plenty of top North American defensive prospects that will go long before Brodin.
20. Only One Pick in the First Round for U.S. U-18 Team
6 of 25The United States U-18 development team has plenty of good prospects in the 2011 NHL draft, yet only one will be drafted in the first round: Tyler Biggs.
Players like Jonathan Miller, John Gibson, Connor Murphy and Matt McNeely will be good picks, but won't go until the second round.
19. Ty Rattie Moves Up in the Draft
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Many of the 2011 NHL mock drafts don't have Ty Rattie drafted in the first round.
However, the Portland Winterhawks right winger will be drafted late in the first round.
Possible destinations for Rattie include the Toronto Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning or the Vancouver Canucks.
18. No Goaltender Will Be Drafted in the First Round
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The first goaltender selected in the 2011 NHL draft will be taken in the second round.
Ordinarily, this wouldn't be too surprising, as there have been many drafts where the first goaltender hasn't been picked until the second round, but this year's pool of goaltender prospects has a lot of potential. Still, none of them will be selected until the second round.
17. Mark Scheifele Drops into the Second Round
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Most mock draft creators for the 2011 NHL draft have Barrie Colts center Mark Scheifele being drafted in the first round.
However, Scheifele will drop and won't be drafted until early in the second round instead.
The team that gets Scheifele in the second round will be lucky.
16. Tyler Biggs Drafted in the Early 20s
10 of 25Many mock drafts for the 2011 NHL draft have Tyler Biggs drafted either low in the first round or not in the first round at all.
However, Biggs will be drafted earlier than a lot of people expect, going in the early 20s.
He'll be drafted by either the Phoenix Coyotes or the Ottawa Senators, who have picks No. 20 and No. 21, respectively.
15. The San Jose Sharks Select Vladislav Namestnikov with Their First Pick
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The San Jose Sharks haven't selected a European with their first-round pick since 2004, when they selected Lukas Kaspar, a native of the Czech Republic.
They haven't selected a Russian with their first-round pick since Viktor Kozlov in 1993.
They only have one European forward on their roster and no Eastern Europeans, as most other NHL teams have now.
Despite this, the Sharks will choose a Russian native with this year's first-round pick: Vladislav Namestnikov, the London Knights star.
14. Sean Couturier Drops Out of the Top 10
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Sean Couturier was ranked second on Central Scouting's midterm rankings amongst North American skaters.
Couturier dropped to No. 6 in their final rankings and he'll drop even more in the draft.
He'll drop out of the top 10, but still be drafted before the 15th pick—not too shabby. Plus, he will join a better team the lower he drops.
13. Mika Zibanejad Drafted in the Top 10
13 of 25Mika Zibanejad wasn't necessarily a favorite for the early picks in the 2011 NHL draft, but the top-ranked European forward will be an early pick.
In fact, Zibanejad will be drafted in the top 10 picks.
He'll be drafted by the Ottawa Senators if they don't trade up for one of the top three forwards. If the Senators trade up, he'll either be drafted by the team that takes their spot or by Winnipeg.
12. Alexander Khokhlachev Will Be First Russian Drafted
14 of 25The most talked-about Russian player going into the 2011 NHL draft is Vladislav Namestnikov, the center from the London Knights.
Another top Russian prospect is Alexander Khokhlachev, left wing/center from the Windsor Spitfires.
Khokhlachev will be drafted before Namestnikov, as the first Russian player selected in this year's draft. The Washington Capitals will select Khokhlachev.
11. Jamieson Oleksiak Drafted in Top 15
15 of 25Most of the expert mock draft predictions have Northeastern University star defenseman Jamieson Oleksiak going late in the first round, below the 15th pick.
However, Oleksiak is a big, physical defenseman who will be a great addition to any NHL team's blue line.
Oleksiak will be drafted earlier than predictions have him slated, in the top 15.
10. Edmonton Oilers Trade Up from No. 19
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Along with the first overall pick in the 2011 NHL draft, the Oilers have the 19th pick in the draft.
In order to gain both Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and one of the top three defensive prospects, the Oilers will trade up from the No. 19 spot to grab Dougie Hamilton.
This way, Edmonton gets two awesome draft picks.
9. 2011 NHL Draft Will Be Better Than All of the Recent Draft Classes
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Mike G. Morreale of NHL.com has compared the 2011 NHL draft class to the 2003 NHL draft, a draft that produced top NHL players Eric Staal, Marc-Andre Fleury, Nathan Horton, Ryan Suter, Dion Phaneuf, Andrei Kostitsyn, Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Zach Parise and Ryan Kesler.
And that was just in the first round.
However, as much as people have complained about a lack of star power in this year's draft, experts agree that this draft contains a lot of depth.
The first couple rounds will produce the next crop of the NHL's top players.
8. Ottawa Senators Trade Up from the Sixth Pick
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The Ottawa Senators are reportedly very interested in both Gabriel Landeskog and Jonathan Huberdeau.
They recognize that neither will likely still be available by the time their sixth pick rolls around, therefore they'll need to trade up to snatch one of them up.
The Senators will trade with the Florida Panthers, who may be looking to trade draft picks for current players.
With their newly acquired third pick, the Senators will draft Gabriel Landeskog.
7. Dallas Stars Trade the Rights to Brad Richards
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The Dallas Stars are reportedly looking to trade the rights to Brad Richards, likely for one or two picks in this draft plus a conditional pick.
After all, since the Stars can't sign him, they'll want to get something in return for Richards.
Teams like the New York Rangers or Toronto Maple Leafs, who have been very interested in Richards, might find this to be a bargain, even though they’ll only have a week or so to sign Richards before free agency begins.
6. Philadelphia Flyers Trade for the New York Islanders' First-Round Pick
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The New York Islanders are reportedly shopping their No. 5 first-round draft pick. They are looking to lure a cap-strapped team for their pick in exchange for a current player.
The Philadelphia Flyers seem to be the perfect trade partner.
The Flyers don't have a draft pick until the third round, so they may want another pick before that. Plus, in order to sign Ilya Bryzgalov, even with the reported significant increase to the cap, they'll need to move some salary.
Philadelphia trades Versteeg to the New York Islanders for their first-round pick, along with another pick, perhaps.
This is a bold prediction because the teams are in the same division. The Islanders have reportedly been interested in Versteeg and this will be an opportunity both teams can't pass up.
5. Washington Capitals Draft a Goaltender
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The Washington Capitals will draft a goaltender midway to late in the draft.
This is a bold prediction because the Capitals currently have three talented, young goaltenders. However, there have been musings about Semyon Varlamov returning to his homeland to play in the KHL.
Rumors on ProHockeyTalk.com say SKA St. Petersburg interested in Varlamov. What makes this story even more interesting is that Varlamov's mentor, Jussi Parkkila, is SKA's goaltending coach, which may lure him to the St. Petersburg.
In that case, the Capitals will be perfectly capable with Michal Neuvirth and Braden Holtby, but they’ll want to draft another goaltender to keep in their system just in case.
4. Matt McNeely Is Drafted Before Teammate John Gibson
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The top goaltender on Central Scouting's ranking of domestic goalies is John Gibson of the U.S. U-18 team.
However, his teammate Matt McNeely has gained a lot of attention recently.
McNeely had an ankle injury that affected his performance and sidelined him this past season. He has impressed in international play, though, remaining undefeated in six international appearances.
He will play for the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders in the USHL this coming season and committed to the University of Minnesota-Duluth for 2012.
After the experience in the USHL and at UM-Duluth, McNeely will have matured into an even better goaltender, making him a top prospect in this year's draft.
3. Ryan Murphy Will Be Drafted Before Dougie Hamilton
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After Adam Larsson, the most talked-about defenseman in the 2011 NHL draft has been Dougie Hamilton.
However, Ryan Murphy of the Kitchener Rangers has been garnering some attention as of late and I believe there is a good chance that Murphy will be the next defenseman taken after Larsson, over Hamilton.
After the New Jersey Devils, come the New York Islanders with the fifth pick in the draft. It's likely they'll select a defenseman.
Murphy will be their guy.
2. Jonathan Huberdeau Is Selected Second Overall
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The talk between the best forward prospects in this year's draft has typically been in this order: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Gabriel Landeskog and Jonathan Huberdeau.
However, after the Saint John Sea Dogs' Memorial Cup win, MVP of the tournament Huberdeau is looking even better to NHL clubs.
Huberdeau will be drafted before Landeskog by the Colorado Avalanche as the second overall pick in the 2011 NHL draft.
1. Adam Larsson Drops Out of the Top Three
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It looks like the Edmonton Oilers will be selecting top forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins with the first draft pick of the 2011 NHL draft.
Yesterday, the Denver Post reported that Adam Larsson, who has been talked about as going first or second, is seriously considering remaining in Sweden for another season or two, which might make the Colorado Avalanche think twice about selecting him second overall. The article also reports that the Avalanche are very interested in either Ryan Nugent-Hopkins or Jonathan Huberdeau.
If the Oilers select Nugent-Hopkins, the Avalanche will select Huberdeau.
The third pick is the Florida Panthers'. They are in need of offense, so they're more likely to choose a forward with their first-round pick, dropping Larsson out of the top three.
Larsson will be picked next, by the New Jersey Devils, who won the draft lottery to bump up to the fourth overall pick.
For more 2011 NHL draft coverage, stay tuned to Bleacher Report for updated NHL mock drafts, NHL draft rumors, NHL draft results and draft grades.
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