The Hockey Spy's 1st 2009 Mock Entry Draft (Part 3 of 3)

The Top 10!

Notes up front:

- The mock draft at this point is based on teams drafting BPA (Best Player Available). I will begin with a first round mock and expand from there leading up to the June Entry Draft, likely including three rounds or 100 players.
- I am not a big fan of drafting a goalie in first round unless the talent and potential are simply undeniable. Last year, for instance, given the astronomical odds of actually being a NHL GM, I would have considered selecting Jacob Markstrom and Chet Pitkard in the first round. This year, I would not select a netminder at all. Olivier Roy would be the closest thing to a 1st-round talent goalie, but I seem him more as an early to mid second rounder.
- NHL Player Comparisons are simply to give the reader a feel for the players' style and ultimately likely equal the player's ceiling potential being reached. It is often an exercise in futility, but does offer up some value. If I add the suffix "-lite" or "Jr." after a NHL player comparison, it simply refers to the fact the prospect likely has no chance to reach that high a potential, but rather resembles or plays a style reminiscent of the respective NHLer.
- "One-Timer" heading is meant to be a quick synopsis of the prospect. As we move closer to the June entry draft, The Hockey Spy will reveal more detailed information on the prospective players.
- NHL teams not listed at hits point. I'll wait until positions are set after April 16th.
- Stats are from '08-'09 season in format of GP-G-A-Pts +/- (if latter is available)


# - Name - Hometown - Height - Weight - Amateur League - Amateur Club - Position

1. John Tavares - Oakville, ONT - 6'0" - 198 lbs - OHL - London - C
One-Timer: Already a legend, J.T. has broken the all-time OHL goal-scoring record this season. Possessing elite hands, hockey sense and an innate pure goal-scorers touch, J.T. seems destined to be an NHL superstar. Skating is about the only issue scouts can identify, but even that is far from a liability.
NHL Player(s) Comparison: Dany Heatley, Brett Hull, Mike Bossy
ISS: 1
CSB: 1-NA
TSN: 1
NACS: 1


2. Victor Hedman - Örnsköldsvik, SWE - 6'6" - 220 lbs - SEL - Modo - D
One-Timer: A fast and smooth skating defenseman, offensively and defensively sound and is 6'6" 220lbs and only recently turned 18?!? Is he genetically engineered? Nope! It's one Victor Hedman, who's a shoe in to go second overall in June, with more than a few GMs considering him at first overall.
NHL Player(s) Comparison: hybrid of Jay Boumeester and Chris Pronger
ISS: 2
CSB: 1-E
TSN: 2
NACS: 2


3. Matt Duchene - Haliburton, ONT - 5'11" - 196 lbs - OHL - Brampton - C
One-Timer: Duchene is an explosive skater and speedster with great hands, good passer and has a great shot with a quick release. Matt can also play in his own end, being responsible defensively.
NHL Player(s) Comparison: Marian Hossa, Simon Gagne, Joe Sakic Jr.
ISS: 4
CSB: 2-NA
TSN: 3
NACS: 3


4. Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson - Norrköping, SWE - 6'1" - 198 lbs - SEL - Timra - LW
One-Timer: MSP is a super creative winger with speed to burn. Known more of a playmaker, the talented Swede still knows how to finish. The powerful and smooth skating MSP is also very tough to knock off the puck.
NHL Player(s) Comparison: Forsberg-lite, Marian Hossa
ISS: 3
CSB: 2-E
TSN: 7
NACS: 6


5. Evander Kane - Vancouver, BC - 6'1" - 181 lbs - WHL - Vancouver - C
One-Timer: Kane is a physical forward with sniper-like instincts. He is ultra-competitive, consistent and has an innate ability of knowing where to be on the ice at all times. Put that with his great hands and goal-scorer's touch and you have yourself an elite forward in the making.
NHL Player(s) Comparison: Iginla-lite
ISS: 7
CSB: 3-NA
TSN: 4
NACS: 5


6. Jared Cowen - Allan, SK - 6'5" - 218 lbs - WHL - Spokane - D
One-Timer: The towering all-around defender unfortunately had his season cut short in February with a knee injury. He has already won a Memorial Cup at age 16 and was a valuable shutdown defender on that squad. While the injury may hurt the big and mobile d-man's stock on draft day, if he does drop at all he will likely have GMs who passed him over regret their decision in the future.
NHL Player(s) Comparison: Pronger-lite, Braydon Coburn, Robyn Regehr
ISS: 6
CSB: 7-NA
TSN: 11
NACS: 7


7. Brayden Schenn - Saskatoon, SK - 6'0" - 192 lbs - WHL - Brandon - C
One-Timer: The talented and enthusiastic two-way forward is the younger brother of the Leafs' Luke. He plays even bigger than his size suggests. He possesses excellent leadership qualities as well.
NHL Player(s) Comparison: Mike Richards, smaller Ryan Getzlaf, Mark Messier Jr.
ISS: 5
CSB: 5-NA
TSN: 5
NACS: 4


8. Jordan Schroeder - Prior Lake, MN - 5'9" - 180 lbs - WCHA - Minnesota - RW
One-Timer: Although most will dwell on his size, Schroeder more than makes up for this deficiency with his outstanding hockey sense and intelligence, poise, pucks skills and blazing speed. He is the ultimate team player, has excellent creativity and is not intimidated by the physical play despite his size. He is described as more of a playmaker, but the shot he exhibited at the WJC was just as lethal as his passing.
NHL Player(s) Comparison: Paul Kariya, Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Zach Parise
ISS: 11
CSB: 4-NA
TSN: 12
NACS: 12


9. Ryan Ellis - Freelton, ONT - 5'9" - 183 lbs - OHL - Windsor - D
One-Timer: The PP QB magician, Ellis is an offensive dynamo from the blueline! Size will also be the biggest issue with Ryan, but having watched him closely at this year's WJC it is hard to fathom he won't excel at the next level. His hockey sense and smarts are off the chart, and not surprisingly he was the OHL's scholastic player of the year last year. My feeling is at worst, if he is in fact too small to play on the blueline in the big leagues, convert him to forward! It likely won't be necessary, but in all honesty I'd foresee an extremely smooth transition.
NHL Player(s) Comparison: Andrei Markov, Dan Boyle
ISS: 12
CSB: 15-NA
TSN: 13
NACS: 11


10. Dmitry Kulikov - Moscow, RUS - 6'1" - 195 lbs - QMJHL - Drummondville - D
One-Timer: Deadly on the powerplay, Kulikov displays tremendous hockey sense and vision. The offensive d-man is exudes great confidence as well, helping him acclimatize rapidly to the North American brand of hockey. The talented puck-moving blueliner also boasts a great shot and is an excellent passer. Interestingly, at this year's WJC he was a cast in more of a shutdown role and adapted nicely to what was asked of him.
NHL Player(s) Comparison: Sergei Zubov, Andrei Markov
ISS: 14
CSB: 17-NA
TSN: 11
NACS: 8


Legend:
ISS = International Scouting Services
CSB = Central Scouting Bureau (NA = North America , E = Europe)
TSN = Bob McKenzie's mid-season rankings
NACS = North American Central Scouting - Mark Seidel

The Hockey Spy's Eagle Eye Scouting will continue to bring you updated mock drafts and player profiles leading up to the June NHL Entry Draft. The Hockey Spy is your quintessential guide to the NHL draft.