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These reviews are not meant to be in-depth player profiles, for those you can find my player reports here. I generally spend time during the year gathering info on players I consider top three round talents or those I think will go in the top three rounds, therefore I do not go in-depth into later round picks.
Calgary Flames
Player Position Selected (HP Rank)
Mark Jankowski Center 21 (36)
Patrick Sieloff Defense 42 (69)
Jon Gillies Goaltender 75
Brett Kulak Defense 105 (121)
Ryan Culkin Defense 121 (110)
Coda Gordon Left Wing 165 (86)
Matt DeBlouw Center 186
Day 1: Calgary went for a home run pick in every definition of the word. Jankowski is a player I ranked 36th due to several uncertainty reasons such as the league he played in, but I would concede has top-20 tools. He's a gifted puck possessor with good skills and arguably plus hockey sense. He'll need several years due to his underwhelming strength level and needing experience at a faster pace, but he could be a good risk/reward pick.
Day 2: Calgary followed a gusty first pick by going relatively safe throughout Day 2 outside of Gillies. Sieloff is an ultra-competitive defender who is very physical, skates well, and provides little offense. Gillies is a huge goalie who is very athletic and quick for a player his size, but is quite raw and is many seasons away. Kulak is a tough, physical defensive defender with a little offensive touch. Culkin is a smart puck-mover with a good panic threshold who has to gain a ton of strength. Gordon is a plus physical player with a big shot, but he has average skill and is a poor skater. DeBlouw is a good skater who plays with energy and can make a few plays, but is a bottom-six type of player.
Summary: Despite the semi-controversial top pick (although I know several scouts who would have looked at Jankowski at or close to that range), Calgary ended up getting a fine haul. This draft class could produce several pro players, although if Jankowski isn't one of them, the output won't likely be significant.
Colorado Avalanche
Player Position Selected (HP Rank)
Mitchell Heard Left Wing 41
Troy Bourke Left Wing 72 (43)
Michael Clarke Center 132
Joseph Blandisi Right Wing 162
Colin Smith Center 192
Day 1: No pick
Day 2: Bourke is a player I was really impressed with this year; he's a pretty smart forward with a good skill level and a desirable on-ice work ethic who really carried a poor offensive team this year. Clarke is a smart defensive forward who won't threaten that much in the offensive end. Smith is a player I had in my top 100 last year but didn't rank this season due to lack of notes; he's a solid skater with a great work ethic and was one of the WHL's top scorers this season.
Summary: Colorado probably won't hang their hats on this draft class. Bourke is the only significant talent I see from their 2012 picks aside from a couple of fine depth guys thrown in.
Edmonton Oilers
Player Position Selected (HP Rank)
Nail Yakupov Right Wing 1 (1)
Mitch Moroz Right Wing 32
Jujhar Khaira Left Wing 63
Daniil Zharkov Right Wing 91 (28)
Erik Gustafsson Defense 93
Joey Laleggia Defense 123 (89)
John McCarron Right Wing 153
Day 1: At the end of the day, logic won out and Yakupov had to be the pick. He's a cornerstone type of asset who is as talented as anyone in the Oilers organization.
Day 2: Moroz is a great physical presence and skated at a fine level, but in my opinion does not have the talent level to warrant such a high selection. Khaira is a fine-sized forward who skates well, but I have few notes on him. Despite his underwhelming counting numbers, I really like Zharkov; he has a ton of skill and played well every time I saw him this year. Laleggia was an offensive monster in the WCHA this year; he's a little guy, and probably won't be able to defend all that well in the pro game, but he has a lot of offensive ability.
Summary: After taking the draft class' best player, Edmonton got a fine mix of upside and safe prospects, although not in the order I would have preferred to take them. They probably could have walked away with a little more talent, but overall outside of Yakupov, their haul was solid.
Minnesota Wild
Player Position Selected (HP Rank)
Matt Dumba Defense 6 (7)
Raphael Bussieres Left Wing 46 (81)
John Draeger Defense 68
Adam Gilmour Right Wing 98
Daniel Gunarsson Defense 128
Christoph Bertschy Center 158 (73)
Lou Nanne Left Wing 188
Day 1: After taking Jonas Brodin last season, this makes two consecutive drafts of adding tremendously gifted defensemen to the Wild organization, as they continue to make a case to be called one of the best prospect systems in hockey. Dumba was the top defender on my board and is a great do-it-all defender with fantastic offensive tools between his skating, puck skills, shot, and physical game.
Day 2: Bussieres struggled during the year with inconsistency, but he has pretty good tools. He's got a decent frame, skates well, and has creativity. He's a bit of a risk at 46, but has notable upside. Bertschy is a pretty skilled forward who flashed solid possession skills during the World Juniors.
Summary: Minnesota took a lot of talent and rolled the dice on some picks. Dumba isn't all that risky, but has some detractors despite his tremendous talent level. Aside from Bussieres, they also took a few high school kids with upside. This draft class has a lot of potential, but the uncertainty is somewhat high as well.
Vancouver Canucks
Player Position Selected (HP Rank)
Brendan Gaunce Center 26 (25)
Alexandre Mallet Right Wing 57
Ben Hutton Defense 147
Wesley Myron Center 177
Matt Beattie Right Wing 207
Day 1: Scouts I talked to have been divided on Gaunce's upside, which may have led to him slipping to the late first. I love his hockey sense, shot, and physicality, but his skating needs work. Due to how advanced his body and reads are, I've heard a few scouts say he potentially could push for a pro job in the not too distant future.
Day 2: The Canucks certainly has an interesting Day 2 as they took a mix of over-age prospects and Juniors players outside the CHL. Mallet is an agitator with some skill. Beattie may have the best upside of their Day 2 picks, but he's a ways away due to his poor strength level and proving he can light up score sheets beyond the high school hockey pace.
Summary: Vancouver took a somewhat safe first round pick in Gaunce who does have skill but likely won't out-produce his draft slot and it got a little riskier from there out. I'd say this class can likely produce one pro, and if they get two it will be an accomplishment.
Corey Pronman is an author of Hockey Prospectus.
You can contact Corey by clicking here or click here to see Corey's other articles.
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