Mark Spector

Mark Spector is a columnist for sportsnet.ca

While scouts sit on the fence over who is the consensus No. 1, here's 5 reasons to take Seguin.

EDMONTON -- Ultimately, the Edmonton Oilers' first pick overall has become the bird in hand - Taylor Hall - against the one in the bush - Tyler Seguin.

Across Canada, most hockey fans and followers out there - me included - have seen Taylor Hall play 25 times on television. But most of us have had only rare opportunities to view Tyler Seguin. So the Oilers' draft day decision has become a known entity against one we've been told about, but not seen for ourselves.

In the end, NHL scouts are split right down the middle. And it must be said that whoever the Oilers pick with the No. 1 selection on Friday, we won't know who is better until sometime around draft day 2015 - if even then.

But alas, we're in the opinion business, and you're not reading this piece to see me sit on the fence. So, with the most important draft day in Edmonton Oilers modern day history almost upon us, we bring you:

Five Reasons Why the Oilers Should Draft Tyler Seguin.

1. The Dodge to Plymouth

It would be a crime to send Taylor Hall back to Windsor. He's done it all through three years in the OHL, and there is nothing left at that level for him.

2010 NHL Entry Draft coverage

Team needs by division: Atlantic | Northeast | Southeast | Central | Pacific | Northwest
Top prospect interviews:
Taylor Hall | Tyler Seguin | Erik Gudbranson
Cam Fowler | Brandon Gormley | Nino Niederreiter | Dylan McIlrath
Spector on Seguin:Five reasons why he is No. 1
SPORTSNET.CA mock draft
NHL Entry Draft Tracker

Seguin, however, tied Hall with 106 points in only his second OHL season. He had 48 goals as a sophomore. How good could he be as a third-year player in the OHL?

Of course, Seguin wants to play in the NHL next season at age 18. But a third year in Plymouth and a world junior tournament would be far more valuable to Seguin than it would be to Hall. If chosen, Hall will ultimately end up being thrust into an Oilers lineup that is likely to miss the 2011 playoffs.

"I'm very confident in my skills. I think I have the skill set, all the tools to play in the National Hockey League next year," Seguin told us during the Stanley Cup final. "(But) hey, it's a just a learning experience. If I get sent back (to junior) … I'll just keep developing. Just another year to keep on improving and work on the little things."

2. Staying on Schedule

The Oilers rushed first-round pick Sam Gagner to the NHL level after one 35-goal year with the London Knights. He hasn't scored more than 16 in a season since.

Fellow first-rounder Andrew Cogliano also never played a game in the minors and his game regressed in Year 3 in Edmonton. This after the Oilers attempted to trade Cogliano as part of a deal for Dany Heatley.

With top prospects Jordan Eberle, Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson and Teemu Hartikainen all able to go to Oklahoma City this season, that's exactly where GM Steve Tambellini should be leaning toward to start the season. Seguin thrives back in Plymouth, that trio gets time to season in the AHL, and the Oilers get another high draft pick a year from now.

Then they meet in Edmonton two years from now, and away they go.

The last thing Edmonton needs to do is to win now. Building the right way takes time. There is no way to speed up the process, nor should Tambellini be seeking one.

3. He's a Centre

The last big, strong, right-handed centre who could play that was drafted by Edmonton is still playing in the league and wearing the "C" in Nashville. Jason Arnott might not have worked out in Edmonton, but he was - after more than 1,200 NHL games - clearly an excellent pick by the Oilers scouts.

Edmonton is in desperate need of centres. Eberle and Paajarvi-Svensson, plus Ales Hemsky and Dustin Penner (each signed for two more years) are all wingers. Hall says he has played some centre growing up, but the way he busts down the wing, why would you ask him to play anywhere else?

Seguin is a big, natural centre with room on his frame for 20 more pounds. And this much we know for certain: if you don't draft a big, skilled centre, you'll never have one. Because nobody trades those players in today's NHL.

4. Smart, Smart, Smart

We all saw Hall get cranked in his first shift of the Memorial Cup. He came back without missing a beat, but how many hits like that can he absorb when he gets to the NHL?

Seguin is a more subtle player. He plays the game with his head, the scouts say, and in today's concussion environment that factors in when you're drafting a kid you are hoping will play out his career in Edmonton.

We talked to both Hall and Seguin and both are well-spoken, intelligent young men. When all skills are equal, smarts is the big tie-breaker. That's where the Oilers had better be asking the right questions, of the right people.

	Tyler Seguin as a member of Team Cherry. (Getty)

5. Hall Fits Boston, Seguin Fits Edmonton

If we've established that Hall is NHL-ready, likely more so than Seguin, than Boston is the place for him. The Bruins are loaded up the middle and will contend for the Stanley Cup next season.

Still, Hall's not letting on which town appeals to him more.

"Look at both, and honestly, both are really good situations," Hall said. "In Edmonton they've got a lot of young guys. They're rebuilding, obviously - they've got the No. 1 pick. That would be a great situation to … step into and try and make a big impact next year.

"Boston, they've got a team where they contend for the playoffs every year. Either one of those is an awesome team to go to."

Playing on a losing team in Edmonton next season, with the pressure and expectations that come as the No. 1 pick, could be detrimental to either Hall or Seguin. The Oilers' dressing room, at the time of this writing, still needs some serious attention. Unless some significant moves are made, the pragmatic approach is in order in Edmonton.

Take Seguin, send him back after camp, and build a Stanley Cup contender the old fashioned way.

Over time.