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Yesterday we began to profile some players that may be available for the Detroit Red Wings to select with the 29th pick in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft which takes place on Friday night in Montreal.
With the 29th selection, the Detroit Red Wings select ..., Part 1
Today we will look at a couple of rankings and another mock draft to identify a couple more players that might be available with the 29th overall selection.
To recap the prospects identified yesterday, The Hockey News draft preview ranked Louis Leblanc as the 29th best prospect available and in the mock draft by THN writer Ryan Kennedy Finnish center Joonas Nattinen was identified as the potential choice for the Red Wings.
The 2009 NHL Entry Draft begins Friday and continues on Saturday with rounds two through seven.
Today we will examine who TSN.ca (The Sports Network) has rated as the 29th best prospect, TSN Draft analyst Bob McKenzie's rankings and the mock draft by NHL.com writer Shawn Roarke.
TSN (Canada) and Versus (USA) will provide live television coverage of the Draft, and Bob McKenzie has covered every draft since 1980. He is considered the media's foremost draft expert, and his annual rankings are considered one of the best indicators of how the draft will unfold. Last year 27 of his top 30 players were selected in the first round. McKenzie surveys 10 scouts to develop a consensus opinion, and over the past five years McKenzie's top 30 players have been selected in the first round 83% of the time (125 out of 150). The TSN rankings are very similar to McKenzie's with just three players not having the same rank on both lists. Roarke is just one of three writers from nhl.com to submit mock drafts and we will examine the other two tomorrow.
Since the TSN and McKenzie rankings are so similar it is no surprise that they both identify the same player as the Red Wings best selection with the 29th overall pick. Their choice is Nick Leddy, a 5'11", 178-pound defenseman, from Eden Prairie High School in Minnesota. Leddy is described as an elite skater and he excelled at the high school level this season leading his team to the State 2A title and was named "Mr. Hockey." He has committed to the University of Minnesota for next season.
Leddy is ranked 24th among North American skaters by Central Scouting , and 21st by International Scouting Services. The Hockey News ranked him 25th and Ryan Kennedy had him being selected 22nd overall by the Vancouver Canucks. Shawn Roarke of nhl.com did not have Leddy among his top 30 selections.
Shawn Roarke's mock draft has the Red Wings selecting Kyle Palmieri from the United States National Team Development Program based in Ann Arbor. Palmieri, a native of Montvale, New Jersey was released from the USNTDP in March for violating team rules, but according to the scouts spoken to by nhl.com that should not affect the 5'10" and 191-pound center's draft position. He has committed to Notre Dame next season.
Palmieri is ranked 20th among North American Skaters by Central Scouting and 23rd by International Scouting Services. The Hockey News ranked him 26th and Ryan Kennedy had him being selected 23rd overall by the New Jersey Devils. TSN and McKenzie have Palmieri ranked 25th overall.
To follow up on the players listed as potential selections yesterday, Leblanc is ranked 17th by McKenzie, 18th by Roarke and 20th by TSN. Nattinen is ranked 36th by both TSN and McKenzie and not among the top 30 by Roarke.
Again please check yesterday's article featuring prospects Louis Leblanc and Joonas Nattinen, and check back tomorrow as two more potential Red Wings selections at the 29th overall spot according to more mock drafts will be profiled.
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