With apologies to fans of the Edmonton Oilers, Colorado Avalanche, Florida Panthers and New Jersey Devils, it is highly unlikely the lottery picks from the 2011 NHL Entry Draft will immediately step into the league and breakout as stars in 2011-12. Instead, when examining players poised for coming out parties, one thing stands out: breakout […]

With an NHL franchise that has missed out on the playoffs since 2003-04, Leafs Nation hasn’t had much to cheer about in the post-lockout era. One thing fans of the Blue and White can now hang their collective hat on is the emergence of the Clarke MacArthur, Mikhail Grabovski and Nikolai Kulemin unit — also known as the best second line […]

When the Philadelphia Flyers came away from the first-round of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft with highly-touted centers Jeff Carter and Mike Richards many thought general manager Bobby Clarke had gotten away with grand larceny. Richards, named captain of the Flyers in 2008, quickly developed into one of the league’s best two-way pivots while amassing […]

One of the most interesting aspects of the NHL Entry Draft is filtering through the hundreds of prospects to find potential steals or sleeper picks. Year after year, diamonds in the rough slip through the fingers of general managers and head scouts. There are a myriad of factors that contribute to a player’s sleeper status, […]

Growing up on a cattle farm in Dorchester, Ontario as the youngest of three hockey playing brothers, Boone Jenner honed his work ethic and toughness – two traits that separate the Oshawa Generals centre from many of the top prospects for the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. Jenner, the 18th-rated skater on Central Scouting’s final rankings, […]

OHL skaters Ryan Murphy, Dan Catenacci, Barclay Goodrow and Steven Janes all grew up five minutes from one another, were minor hockey teammates with the York Simcoe Express and as close friends all hope to be selected in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. Though the four players remain close-knit, Murphy has separated himself from his […]

Each National Hockey League franchise has dreamt of landing the first overall pick at the NHL Entry Draft at least once in their existence. It’s inevitable. When the time does come, management must disarm their short-term aspirations and insert thoughts about what blue chipper is worthy of their enviable position in the draft order. Whether it’s a […]

Entering the 2010-11 regular season, Mark McNeill wasn’t even on the radar as a potential first-round draft pick for the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. In fact, the Prince Albert Raiders center wasn’t even listed on Central Scouting’s preliminary rankings of the top 25 North American skaters last November. He was absent from International Scouting Services’ October, 2010 top […]

Growing up just north of Pittsburgh in Gibsonia, PA., Brandon Saad idolized the Penguins’ multitude of offensive dynamos — the likes of Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr and more recently Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. It’s ironic then that Saad, the 19th ranked North American skater and top-rated U.S. prospect on Central Scouting’s final rankings for the 2011 NHL […]