Draft Preview Summary

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Over the last 19 days we have reviewed the 26 NHL teams that are in possession of first round picks for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. We've gone through the entire first round from #30 all the way up to #1 and have made some educated predictions along the way. We've been by many readers asked to compile a list that easily shows the results of those picks so here that is...


The first thing we want to remind you of is that these predictions were "locked in" back in May before the Draft Previews started to come out. Since then things have changed - Kirill Kabanov was dropped by agent J.P. Barry for example, something that both Dean and I feel will drastically affect his stock.

Because of that, and other tidbits he and I have dug up over the last 3 weeks, you should NOT take the following list to be our official 2010 Mock Draft - we'll post that in a few days. This is nothing but a summary of the draft preview picks.

OK? OK.

Draft Preview Summary

1. Tyler Seguin - Dean and I both had Edmonton taking the center from the Plymouth Whalers.
2. Taylor Hall - Because of #1, #2 becomes much easier and both of us agreed that the Bruins would swoop in and take the 2-time Memorial cup MVP.
3. Gudbranson/Fowler - Dean had the Panthers taking the big Kingston captain and I suggested Fowler would be their man.
4. Gormley/Gudbranson - Dean liked Columbus taking the Wildcat and I had them going for the D-first Gudbranson.
5. Fowler/Connolly - Millard thought the Islanders added more to the blueline with Fowler while I felt the Prince George forward would be next.
6. Connolly/Gormley - Dean liked the Bolts adding Connolly while I had them taking Gormley. A different order but the same top 6 for both Dean and I.
7. Niederreiter/Forbort - Dean saw Carolina taking on the Swiss forward while I voted for them grabbing the big offensive defenceman in Forbort.
8. Johansen/Campbell - The Portland pivot was Dean's pick for Atlanta while I felt the Thrashers would go for the franchise goalie of the draft.
9. Skinner/Johansen - The Wild would take the Kitchener sniper according to Dean while I felt Johansen was Best Player Available for Minnie.
10. Forbort/Granlund - Complete opposites here for the Rangers; Dean argued for the big blueliner while I picked the small winger. Both offensive guys though.
11. Campbell/Niederreiter - Dean thought the Stars would nab the netminder here while I wondered if the Swiss forward might slip this far.
12. McIlrath/Etem - It's the WHL for Anaheim; Dean predicted the big, tough blueliner from Moose Jaw while I offered up the native Californian forward.
13. Watson/Tarasenko - A big power forward for the Coyotes from Dean, the first Russian of the day from me.
14. Burmistrov/Watson - Dean's first Russian and here is where I had the Peterborough power forward slotted for the Blues.
15. Pysyk/McIlrath - We both had Boston taking a WHL d-man with their second pick; he chose Pysyk, I suggested McIlrath.
16. Granlund/Burmistrov - Dean's pick for Ottawa was the skilled Finn while I gave them the skilled Russian.
17. Etem/Skinner - Two guys that can fill the net here. Dean opted for Medicine Hat's Etem and I pointed towards Jeff Skinner.
18. Bennett/McFarland - A bit of a reach for Nashville? Dean looked to the BCHL's Beau Bennett while I suggested Sudbury's enigma.
19. Howden/Kabanov - Millard gave the Kings the Moose Jaw forward while I thought Kabanov might be a fit... this will change for sure.
20. Schwartz/Bjugstad - Dean gave Pittsburgh the USHL's top scorer and I gave them the top ranked high school kid in the draft.
21. Merril/Pysyk - Both defencemen but Dean's offering was Merrill while I suggested a "poor man's Lidstrom" in Pysyk would be the perfect fit for Detroit.
22. Tarasenko/Howden - Dean gave the Desert Dogs the same Russian I did, but with their second pick. I gave them the big WHL forward.
23. Sheahan/Merrill - Buffalo came away with the current Fighting Irish from Dean and a future Wolverine from me.
24. Galiev/Schwartz - Atlanta's second pick of the day became the Russian from Saint John for Dean and the USHL dynamo from me.
25. Bjugstad/Bennett - We both chose forwards, Dean going with the future Golden Gopher while I suggested the soon-to-be Denver Pioneer.
26. Kabanov/Kuznetsov - We both gave Washington higher projected Russians thinking they might fall to the Caps. Kabanov from Dean, Kuznetsov from me.
27. Nelson/Galiev - The Habs get a high school kid for Montréal from Dean, a Russian Sea Dog from me.
28. Pickard/Toffoli - The Sharks take the goalie in Dean's opinion while they went to familiar territory taking the Ottawa 67's forward according to me.
29. Toffoli/Pitlick - Dean had the Ducks adding Toffoli while I gave them the NCAA deserter who is headed the WHL.
30. Tinordi/Sheahan - The Hawks take the big blueliner from Dean and the big forward from me.

Wow... how this list has ever changed from 3-4 weeks ago. I think it's amazing that we agreed on only 2 picks, the top 2, during the whole round. Funny how we both suggested Phoenix would end up with Vlad Tarasenko (below) but use different picks to get him.

For me there are a couple of guys here who won't be in my top 30 when we release those in a couple of days. There will also be two or three guys who go higher than where I had them, plus, if two come out that means two others will be included on my final list that didn't make this first go through at the end of May.

Some great questions heading into the final week leading up to the draft:
- How early will Jack Campbell go?
- Are teams convinced Brett Connolly's hip problems are in the past?
- Who is willing to take a chance on Kirill Kabanov now?
- Will off-ice trouble and potential character issues hurt Riley Sheahan, Jon Merrill, etc?
- How will the "Russian Factor" impact the draft?
- Will size trump skill?
- Will there be as much trade activity as most are predicting there will be?
- Who gets completely passed over, invited to a summer prospect camp and is immediately signed?

Two self-promotion announcements:

1) This Tuesday from 7-9pm local time (9-11pm EST) we are presenting our Annual 2-hour Draft Countdown Special. In years past we've always been joined over the phone by the head scout of ISS who would take your calls and emails on the Class of 2006-9. This year is going to be different; ISS is out (congratulations to Mike Oke who is now the Director of Player Personnel for the Peterborough Petes). In his place we've recruited someone with past experience being on the floor at the draft who will be able to give us some insight as to what really goes on at the table. He's also been actively scouting the Class of 2010 and can tell us how NHL teams view the players. We think you'll find this year's special to be really, really informative.

2) On Friday of the draft (June 25th) our station, Edmonton's Sports Radio TEAM 1260, will be on location in Los Angeles starting from 6AM. Join Dustin Nielson and Kyle Chase from 6-10AM, Jim Rome will also be at the draft and his show runs from 10AM-1pm. That's when Bob Stauffer's Oilers Lunch picks up and goes until 3pm. The Jason Gregor Show will lead up to the start of the draft itself at 5PM and Jason will have a smattering of guest with him.

At 5pm (Edmonton time) Gregor will be joined by Dean and I until 6pm, that will cover the first five or so picks. From 6-9pm it will be The Pipeline Show with Dean, myself, "The Sports Doctor" Taylor Medak, Corey Graham and Wil Fraser bringing you the rest of the picks, breaking down each player as they are chosen, and feeding you the interviews the rest of the TEAM 1260 guys will be getting from the players and GMs in L.A.

Corey and Wil are on from 9-Midnight taking your calls and helping set up Day 2 of the draft.

On Saturday, The Pipeline Show is back on the air starting at 10AM. We'll lead up to the start of and through Day 2 where there are another 6 rounds of picks to be made. We'll keep you updated on the rapid fire selections that happen on Saturday as well as all the trades and more reaction from our assembled team in Los Angeles.

No where else are you going to get all-day Friday and bonus Saturday coverage like that. If you're not in Edmonton but want to follow along, join us online at www.theteam1260.com or www.thepipelineshow.com and stay up to speed with our exclusive content.