Over the last three years, the Dallas Stars have grown used to selecting in 11th to 14th range in the first of the NHL Draft. This year, the club holds the 13th pick of the first round. Truth be told, it's kind of a precarious place to pick, because of the high probability that some players originally projected to be available outside the top 10 will go early while a couple projected top 10 picks are sure to fall.

The 2012 Draft is particularly heavy in big yet mobile defensemen with some offensive upside. Therefore, odds are strong that a few of them should be available for the Stars if they decide to hold onto the 13th pick rather than trading up or down a few spots. Potential candidates include Griffin Reinhart, Cody Ceci, Matt Dumba, Jacob Trouba and Derek Pouliot.

If the Stars elect to go with a forward, Latvian-born USHL center Zemgus Girgensons could be a sleeper pick, as could Radek Faksa. They could also go with a "safe" selection with arguably lower NHL offensive upside such as Brendan Gaunce, Stefan Matteau or Colton Sissons. While one NHL.com mock draft had the Stars picking dynamically skilled but undersized Finnish winger Teuvo Teräväinen, it does not appear that the player will slip beyond the top 10 on Friday night.

The 2012 Draft has three highly regarded goaltending prospects in Malcom Subban, Oscar Dansk and Andrei Vasilevsky. While the presence of 2010 1st-round pick Jack Campbell in the Stars farm system need not automatically preclude an early goalie selection, such a pick seems unlikely. There should be good enough position players available at the 13th spot to declare that selection the "best available player" still on the board.

No matter whom the Stars select in the first round, the player is unlikely to be immediately NHL ready. Unlike last year's Draft, in which seven of the top 13 picks saw time in the NHL in 2011-12 (and four spent the entire year in the NHL), the current year's crop seems likely to have only a couple picks start out the next season in the NHL.

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