THG 2013 NHL Draft Collage
After a long season of intense competition that witnessed top prospects competing against each other for the right to be selected first overall, draft eligible players can sit back and enjoy the festivities knowing that they left it all they had on the ice. After months of observations, analysis, discussion and debate, TheHockeyGuys‘ draft team can put down their scouting notebooks and watch the thirty National Hockey League teams endure the long and significant process of selecting two-hundred plus prospects in hopes of discovering future players for their organizations.
With events such as the CHL regular season and playoffs, Memorial Cup, World Junior Championship, and even the World Championships gone and passed, Brendan Ross and Todd Cordell have prepared an extensive and complementary 2013 NHL Entry Guide for the dedicated followers of The Hockey Guys.
At the top of the draft, 2013 CHL Memorial Cup Champions Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin lead the forward group of prospects but they are joined by European stars Aleksander Barkov and Valeri Nichushkin. Seth Jones is the unanimous number one ranked defenseman and he is followed by London’s Nikita Zadorov, Finland’s Rasmus Ristolainen and Sault Ste. Marie’s Darnell Nurse, all big defenders looking to challenge a top 10 selection.
The Ontario Hockey League is well known for developing top prospects and a tightly packed group of players including Ottawa’s Sean Monahan, Sault Ste. Marie’s Darnell Nurse and London’s trio of Bo Horvat, Nikita Zadorov and Max Domi are all competing for top honours from the OHL.
The Western Hockey League enters another group of excellent prospects featuring Medicine Hat’s Hunter Shinkaruk, Edmonton’s Curtis Lazar and another strong defensive grouping of Seth Jones (Portland), Ryan Pulock (Brandon), Josh Morrissey (Prince Albert), Mirco Mueller (Everett) and Shea Theodore (Seattle).
Cole Harbour’s Sidney Crosby was taken first overall in 2006 and since that historic day, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League has not produced another number one draft selection. It seems fitting that Nathan MacKinnon, also a Cole Harbour native, could be the QMJHL player to end that drought. Regardless, the QMJHL draft class is as strong as it has ever been, as MacKinnon and Drouin are our top two ranked forwards and their teammate, Zach Fucale enters the draft as the top ranked goaltender. Eight players competing out of the QMJHL have cracked our top 30 making it one of the best ever draft classes for the Eastern junior circuit.
As teams prepare to converge at New Jersey’s Prudential Center on June 30th, General Managers and directors of scouting will truthfully admit that the 2013 draft class is as talented and deep as any group of players in the last decade. Early reports project that this group of prospects has the chance to rival the 2003 NHL Entry Draft class as one of the best ever. At the 2003 NHL Draft, 28 of the 30 first round selections have suited up in at least 192 games, leaving only Hugh Jessiman (12th, two games played) and Shawn Belle (30th, 20 games played) as the outliers in this outstanding draft crop. If the 2013 NHL Draft class, headlined by Seth Jones and Halifax teammates Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin, can produce similar results then the future of the NHL looks bright.
Thanks for following our draft coverage all season as Todd and I attempted to provide our readers with in-depth coverage of an outstanding crop of draft eligible players spanning the globe. Please be sure to follow myself, @RossyYoungblood and @ToddCordell on twitter as we work towards the 2013 NHL Entry Draft on June 30th.
Download the Guide: THGTop30 2013 DraftRankingsJUN
Sincerely,
The Hockey Guys’ Draft Team
@RossyYoungblood and @ToddCordell
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