TSN Survey: Top Prospects

TSN's survey asked NHL scouts this simple question: If the 2008 NHL Entry Draft were being held in September 2007 and your GM asked you for your Top 10 rankings, what would the list look like?

For purposes of scoring, a first-place vote was worth 10 points, a second-place vote nine points and so on to a No. 10 vote being worth one point. Steven Stamkos of the Sarnia Sting, with 10 first place votes, scored a perfect 100. Guelph Storm's Drew Doughty, with eight second-place votes and two third-place votes, was next at 88 points and Alex Pietrangelo of the Niagara Ice Dogs, with one second-place vote, seven third-place votes, one fourth-place and one fifth-place vote, closed behind at 78.

1. STEVEN STAMKOS

Pos: Centre Shoots: R Height: 6' Weight: 170 lbs. Born: 02/07/1990 Hometown: Unionville, ON Team: Sarnia Sting (OHL)	Bob McKenzie: It is the year of the high-end defenceman, but it's a dynamic forward with star qualities who is the unanimous pre-season choice to be no. 1 overall in the 2008 NHL entry draft. In a TSN pre-season survey of 10 NHL team scouts, Sarnia Sting centre Steven Stamkos was ranked no. 1 by each and every one of them. "He has star written all over him," one scout said. "He is a dynamic player with speed, skill and size. He's No. 1. It's not even close." If there is a player or players who could challenge Stamkos before the draft next June in Ottawa, it's expected to be a pair of elite-level defenceman.
	Year	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	Pim
	2006-2007	Sarnia (OHL)	63	42	50	92	56
	2007 Playoffs	Sarnia (OHL)	4	3	3	6	0

2. DREW DOUGHTY

Pos: Defenceman Shoots: R Height: 6' Weight: 213 lbs. Born: 12/08/1989 From: - Team: Guelph Storm (OHL)	Bob McKenzie: Drew Doughty of the Guelph Storm is No. 2, a talented all-around blueliner who has excelled for Team Canada in the Super Series. Doughty played for Canada at the 2007 IIHF World Under-18 Championship in Finland and was named one of Canada's Top Three Players at the tournament, leading Canada's defencemen with five points in six games. He also played for Canada at the 2006 Junior World Cup in Slovakia/Czech Republic, helping Canada take home gold.
	Year	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	Pim
	2006-2007	Guelph (OHL)	67	21	53	74	76
	2007 Playoffs	Guelph (OHL)	4	2	3	5	8

3. ALEX PIETRANGELO

Pos: Defenceman Shoots: R Height: 6'4" Weight: 210 lbs. Born: 01/18/1990 Hometown: King City, ON Team: Niagara IceDogs (OHL)	Bob McKenzie: Alex Pietrangelo of the Niagara Ice Dogs, another defenceman touted as the total package, is no. 3. At this point, based on the survey, there's no disputing Steven Stamkos, Drew Doughty and Pietrangelo as the clear favorites as the top three in that order. Beyond that, there is not much separating the balance of the top ten and beyond.
	Year	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	Pim
	2006-2007	Niagara (OHL)	59	7	45	52	45
	2007 Playoffs	Niagara (OHL)	4	0	0	0	8

4. MICHAEL DEL ZOTTO

Pos: Defence Shoots: L Height: 6' Weight: 190 lbs. Born: 06/24/1990 Birthplace: Stouffville, ON Team: Oshawa Generals (OHL)	Bob McKenzie: Nichael Del Zotto is not considered as complete a package as Drew Doughty and Alex Pietrangelo but is strong offensively and has a great shot from the point. Six of the 10 scouts had Del Zotto in the top five. He was no threat to the Top Three but was clearly ahead of the rest of the Top 10 field.
	Year	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	Pim
	2006-2007	Oshawa (OHL)	64	10	47	57	78
	2007 Playoffs	Oshawa (OHL)	9	3	9	12	14

5. LUKE SCHENN

Pos: Defenceman Shoots: R Height: 6'3" Weight: 209 lbs. Born: 11/2/1989 Hometown: Saskatoon, SK Team: Kelowna Rockets (WHL)	Bob McKenzie: Luke Schenn has played well for Team Canada in the Super Series. While Schenn is a consensus top five pick, two of the scouts surveyed didn't have him in their top 10 and one other had him at No. 10. Schenn is Kelowna's 1st round selection, 20th overall, in the 2004 WHL Bantam Draft. He played in all 72 games for Kelowna in the 2006-07 season and finished fourth in team scoring.
	Year	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	Pim
	2006-2007	Kelowna (WHL)	72	2	27	29	139

6. COLIN WILSON

Pos: Centre Shoots: L Height: 6'1" Weight: 215 lbs. Born: 10/02/1989 Hometown: Greenwich, CT Team: Boston University	Bob McKenzie: Colin Wilson is a product of the U.S. Under-18 program and will be a freshman this season at BU, but he is also a product of the Winnipeg minor hockey system. Wilson is the son of former NHLer and Canadian Olympian Carey Wilson and while he was born in the U.S. and will now wear their colors, the all-around centre grew up in Winnipeg. Wilson was omitted on two ballots but was as high as No. 2 on one scout's list.
	Year	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	Pim
	2006-2007	NTDP U-18	56	30	44	74	53

7. COLTEN TEUBERT

Pos: Defenceman Shoots: R Height: 6'4" Weight: 181 lbs. Born: 03/08/1990 Hometown: White Rock, BC Team: Regina Pats (WHL)	Bob McKenzie: While the rugged blueliner, who draws favorable comparisons to Adam Foote, is perhaps not as skilled or polished as the high-end defencemen eligible this year, he appears to be a solid top-10 prospect. Three scouts ranked him at No. 6 and one as high as No. 4.
	Year	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	Pim
	2006-2007	Regina (WHL)	63	3	8	11	91
	2007 Playoffs	Regina (WHL)	10	0	1	1	13

8. KYLE BEACH

Pos: Centre Shoots: R Height: 6'3" Weight: 203 lbs. Born: 01/13/1990 Hometown: Kelowna, BC Team: Everett Silvertips (WHL)	Bob McKenzie: No one questions Beach's talent or ability to play the power game but even scouts who ranked him in the top 10 - seven of the 10 did - expressed concern that his lack of discipline and volatile temperament on the ice and a "difficult" personality and attitude off the ice could hurt him if he doesn't make adjustments. Beach was ranked as high as No. 4 on one scout's list.
	Year	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	Pim
	2006-2007	Everett (WHL)	65	29	32	61	196
	2007 Playoffs	Everett (WHL)	11	5	6	11	19

9. NIKITA FILATOV

Pos: Forward Shoots: R Height: 6' Weight: 158 lbs. Born: 05/25/1990 Hometown: Moscow, Russia Team: CSKA Moskva	Bob McKenzie: No one knows quite what to make of Russian prospects in the draft, after Alexei Cherepanov's fall from grace in last year's draft, the lack of a development agreement with the Russian Federation, to say nothing of the Russian disaster in the junior Super Series, so Filatov qualifies as something of a wild card. One scout rated him as high as No. 3 and projected him to have NHL star potential but five others left him off their ballot entirely.
	Year	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	Pim
	2006-2007	CSKA Moskva	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
	2007 Playoffs	CSKA Moskva	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

10. JIMMY HAYES

Pos: Forward Shoots: - Height: 6'5" Weight: 210 lbs. Born: 11/21/1989 Hometown: Dorchester, Mass Team: US-U18	Bob McKenzie: A member of the U.S. U-18 program, Hayes plays a power-forward type game and was ranked as high as No. 5 on one ballot. Hayes was drafted by the QMJHL Moncton Wildcats (7th round) and then by the USHL Ohio Junior Blue Jackets (first overall) in 2006 and captured the silver medal at the 2007 IIHF U-18 Championship in Finland.
	Year	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	Pim
	2006-2007	US-U18	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
	2007 Playoffs	US-U18	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Two players who didn't quite get enough points to crack the Top 10, but who are obviously interchangeable with some who did are Russian forward Kirill Petrov (17 points), who is said to be as industrious as he is talented, and Lethbridge Hurricane forward Zac Boychuk (14 points), who has played in a support role for Team Canada in the Super Series but who will be a main man in Lethbridge. Petrov actually appeared on more ballots than countryman Filatov and the scouts who didn't put him in their top 10 often saw fit to mention him as the 11th or 12th guy, so it should surprise no one if Petrov emerges as the premier Russian prospect in this year's draft.

Other players who received at least one vote in the Top 10 but not enough points to get there include: Brampton Battalion forward Cody Hodgson, who was a minor hockey teammate of both Stamkos and Del Zotto in Markham, Ont.; Peterborough Pete defenceman Zach Bogosian; London Knight forward Phil McRae, the son of former NHLer Basil McRae; Saint John Sea Dog defenceman Yann Sauve; big forward Mikhail Stefanovich of Belarus, who will play for Patrick Roy in Quebec this season after it was initially thought he would be playing the Russian Super League; Russian defenceman Viacheslav Voinov, who has been one of the few brights spots on the Russian Super Series entry; diminutive but dynamic Swedish forward Mattias Tedenby; and Danish forward Mikkel Boedker, who is slated to play for the Kitchener Rangers this season.

One scout said he believes Bogosian of the Petes has a chance to climb into the elite group of defenders with Doughty, Pietrangelo, Del Zotto, Schenn and Tuebert. "He'll be the guy who rockets up the charts, just wait and see," the scout said.

Some players who didn't get Top 10 votes, but were mentioned by scouts as players who might warrant consideration include: Ottawa 67s defenceman Tyler Cuma; Kelowna defenceman Tyler Myers; Vancouver Giant forward James Wright and Swift Current forward Geordie Wudrick.