I am going to look back at previous drafts and re-draft the top ten with the hindsight we have now. This will value their entire body of work over the years not just where they are in the present moment. I'm looking for who would provide the most value over their careers to this point. These players are all ~25 years old and at the height of their powers. Today is going to focus on the 2011 Entry Draft.
Here is the original top ten
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
Gabriel Landeskog
Jonathan Huberdeau
Adam Larsson
Ryan Strome
Mika Zibanejad
Mark Scheifele
Sean Couturier
Dougie Hamilton
Jonas Brodin
Not a bad job by most of the teams here. The Devils reached for Larsson, but we know how that turned out. Despite the teams making some solid choices there is still room for improvement with hindsight. Here is my list
1. Nikita Kucherov (58)
One of the best offensive players in the NHL. He flirted with the Art Ross Trophy this year until Connor McDavid kicked it into high gear. Everything about him screams high end player. This was an easy selection.
2. Johnny Gaudreau (104)
This was a tough selection. I went with Gaudreau here because I think his offensive skills are better than the guy that went at #3 and their other attributes were pretty similar. The only different is that Gaudreau is small and that is why he originally went 104th instead of in the top three of this draft. He is one of the most fun players to watch in the league. He is a personal favorite of mine.
3. Mark Scheifele (7)
I think very highly of Scheifele and I would be fine with anybody who wanted to draft him in the #2 overall spot. He's one of the best centers in hockey and never really got noticed until he played on the most fun team ever assembled, Team North America. He's one of the best players on one of the best teams in hockey.
4. Dougie Hamilton (9)
A tremendous all around player who is among the best at generating offense from the back end. His latest knock is that he liked to go to museums instead of hanging out with his team. What is the Calgary Flames loss is Carolina's gain. He is the best defenseman from the 2011 draft.
5. Jonathan Huberdeau (3)
This is where things are going to blend together. The next few picks could honestly be in a lot of different combinations. They are all very close. Huberdeau has had some injury issues, but he's shown that he can play with high end players and produce. I think his offensive upside is higher than some of the other guys who are very close in this part of the hindsight draft.
6. Brandon Saad (43)
He's been a consistently good player for both Chicago, Columbus, and then again for Chicago. He produces near a top line level and his underlying passing numbers are really good as well.
7. Rickard Rakell (30)
He's hidden on the west coast in Anaheim. He's the new Corey Perry for the Ducks. While the original Corey Perry is fading Rakell is picking up the slack. He has a 1.94 points per 60 which is the same as Huberdeau and higher than some of the other more familiar players that will round out this top ten.
8. Gabriel Landeskog (2)
He won the Calder Trophy and was named Colorado's captain immediately. He was the youngest center in the history of the NHL beating out Sidney Crosby in that department. His career arch saw him explode onto the scene and then he kind of tailed off. Overall he's shown more of an offensive upside than the remaining two on this list.
9. Ondrej Palat (208)
I was blown away at some of the things I saw when looking up Palat. His impact in the passing game has the looks of a B+ student when you look at his percentiles. His career 2.11 points per 60 is impressive, albeit it slipped to 1.73 last year. It's no wonder Tampa Bay is a contender when they snag Kucherov and Palat in the 2011 draft on top of Stamkos and Hedman right before.
10. Sean Couturier (8)
Couturier only drops two slots from his original position. Early in his career he earned accolades for his defense and last year he absolutely busted out with a 76 point campaign. That was almost double his previous career high. If he had another year along those lines he would be higher on this list.
Honorable mentions: William Karlsson (so hard to peg his actual value right now), Vincent Trochek, Oscar Klefbom, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Josh Gibson, Mika Zibanejad, JT Miller
The top four players in my re-draft are difference makers and the rest of the players who round out this top ten are really good effective NHL players. The original top ten list wasn't too bad either. Next up in the series will be the putrid 2012 entry draft.
Thanks for reading!
Pittsburgh Penguins Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»