BY ERIC NGUYEN – FAN FUEL BLOGGER
With the 2012 NHL Draft less than a week away, let’s take another look at some of the teams picking early in the first round.
Here are some burning questions that these teams should address prior to drafting on Friday:
Have your say: Have an opinion on the news of the day? Better yet, want to become a Fan Fuel blogger? Email us here. | NHL draft schmaft? Picks vs. players
1. Edmonton Oilers – Is Nail Yakupov going to be a better player than Ryan Murray 5 years down the road? 10 years? 20 years?
Basically, since the Oilers are going to pick first (yet again), they need to evaluate who they believe to be the best player available. Many people agree that when it comes to picking first, it’s all about selecting not only who the organization believes is the best player now, but also who will be the best player in the near and distant future.
The Oilers should not be tempted to trade away this selection unless a great offer comes their way. There are rumours that general manager Steve Tambellini is looking for an early first round pick as well as a young top pairing defenceman. While some may think that this is asking for too much, the Oilers don’t need to move their pick, so it’s definitely justified.
At the end of the day, while Ryan Murray fills a more dire organizational need for the Oilers, he won’t be much of an immediate help. Murray will not step into the NHL next year and be a solid top pairing defenceman immediately. Yakupov gives the Oilers yet more scoring depth to a team that is relatively loaded up front. A young team led by Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Yakupov, Ales Hemsky, Sam Gagner and Magnus Paajarvi sounds very intriguing.
Eric’s Pick: Nail Yakupov, RW, Sarnia (OHL);
Edmonton Oilers’ pick (predicted): Nail Yakupov, RW, Sarnia (OHL)
2. Columbus Blue Jackets – Is Rick Nash staying or going? What can you get in return for Nash if he’s traded?
It looks as if Nash is going to be traded sooner or later, and personally, I think this is a situation that can benefit the Jackets. People might disagree with this to a large extent since the Kings won the Stanley Cup, but I’m a firm believer in the notion that the Jackets won the Jeff Carter trade. Sure, the Kings won the Cup, but the Jackets will get a first round pick and they acquired a great top pairing two-way defenceman in Jack Johnson, who’s even locked up at a very sensible price for the near future.
Carter and Nash are both power-forward goal scorers, but they don’t offer much outside of scoring a fair amount of goals. I don’t see the love affair with Rick Nash – he struggles to get 70 points a season and he dubbed as an “elite goal-scorer” by many even though his goal totals in the past three seasons have been 33, 32 and 30 (respectively). Let’s not forget his $7.8 million cap hit until 2017-18.
Nash will fetch more than Jeff Carter in the trading market. It all comes down to who the Jackets like in the draft. If scoring is a priority, Grigorenko, Galchenyuk and Forsberg are all viable options. If defence is a priority, Murray should be the pick. In the end, Murray should be the pick. He will give the Jackets a great blueline duo with Johnson for many years to come.
Eric’s Pick: Ryan Murray, D, Everett (WHL);
Columbus Blue Jackets’ pick (predicted): Ryan Murray, D, Everett (WHL)
3. Montreal Canadiens – If Mikhail Grigorenko is available at third overall, would you chance it on him?
All signs and predictions point to Grigorenko being available at number three. He was ranked number two on the NHL Draft Midterm Rankings list, but has since seen his draft stock plummet at an alarming rate. He’s had to battle some consistency issues thanks to an illness, but everyone is wondering: Does he really want to play in the NHL?
Grigorenko has the tools to become an elite two-way centre. I can definitely see Grigorenko playing a similar style to Jonathan Toews, who, coincidentally, also went third overall to the Blackhawks in 2006. The Canadiens are not rebuilding – I truly believe that the 2011-12 season was an aberration. That being said, the jury might still be out on the QMJHL star.
Eric’s Pick: Mikhail Grigorenko, C, Quebec (QMJHL);
Montreal Canadiens’ pick (predicted): Alex Galchenyuk, C, Sarnia (OHL)
4. New York Islanders – Is it time to finally use a first round pick on a defenceman?
The Isles have spent only 11 of their last 12 first-round selections on forwards. The last time they used a first-round pick on a defenceman, they selected Calvin de Haan. Fast forward to the future, and what do you have? Well, it seems as if those forwards haven’t really panned out. Basically, the only first-round forward making viable contributions on the Isles is uber-talented C John Tavares. The jury is definitely still out on Kyle Okposo and Josh Bailey, and it is unknown to when Nino Niederreiter and Ryan Strome will have a chance to be a part of the Isles’ roster.
For now, they are running on the surprisingly effective threesome of Tavares and two ninth round draft picks: Matt Moulson and P.A. Parenteau. It seems as if the Islanders have a moderately bright future on the front end. If their current top line can keep up their strong play, the emergence of Okposo, Bailey, Neiderreiter and Strome gives them some nice depth up front.
It’s time that the Islanders start taking care of the back-end. They missed out on Murray unfortunately and with De Haan’s offensive flair seemingly gone (as evident of his play in the AHL), Morgan Reilly definitely fits the bill. But is it too early to take Reilly? There are an abundance of good forwards still available.
Eric’s Pick: Morgan Reilly, D, Moose Jaw (WHL);
New York Islanders’ pick (predicted): Filip Forsberg, C, Leksand (SEL)
5. Toronto Maple Leafs – Who is the best player available?
Let’s face it – the Leafs have a lot of holes on their team that need to be filled. Unfortunately, their organizational depth chart isn’t exactly deep either. Nazem Kadri’s chances of proving that he’s a future top-liner in the NHL seems to be fading real quick, but Luke Schenn isn’t exactly becoming the dominant shutdown defenceman he is supposed to be by now.
At the end of the day, the Leafs might be bummed that Galchenyuk isn’t available, but maybe it’s a blessing in disguise. The Leafs might have already “missed” with Kadri and history doesn’t support the notion that draftees coming out of a injury-plagued seasons become immediately successful (eg. Brett Connolly and his 15-point rookie season in Tampa). If Grigorenko is available at number five, it should be a no-brainer.
In reality, he might be. In my mind, he shouldn’t be. He’s not an injury scare and he’s a supreme two-way centre. Galchenyuk has offensive flair, but has he fully recovered? Burke also runs a “tight ship” in Toronto – Grigorenko might rub Burke the wrong way if he doesn’t give it his all night in and night out.
Eric’s Pick: Alex Galchenyuk, C, Sarnia (OHL);
Toronto Maple Leafs’ pick (predicted): Mikhail Grigorenko, C, Quebec (QMJHL)
Related read:
More NHL: Oilers can’t draft Yakupov