Central Scouting ranked Plymouth Whalers center Tyler Seguin as the top rated prospect for the 2010 draft, but that didn't seem to effect the Oilers, who elected to choose Windsor Spitfires winger Taylor Hall with the first overall pick. Hall had been the consensus number one for over a year until Seguin squeaked ahead of him in the final rankings. The remaining rounds of the draft go Saturday, June 26th 2010 in Los Angeles. Obviously for the Oilers, Hall was always the number one pick. Edmonton, a once gloried franchise, hasn't made the playoffs since 2006, and has very little talent on the roster to work with. They are in the midst of a serious rebuild, and with good prospects like Jordan Eberle, Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson and Linus Omark already in the system, Hall looks to become a major piece of the puzzle.
Taylor Hall was the Most Skilled Player Available
Despite scouts believing Tyler Seguin (who went to the Boston Bruins at the number two slot) has a better upside, and potential for a higher skill level, Hall has all the goods right now. He's fast, he's got great hands, he creates plays and can score amazing goals. He is exactly what a dismal Oilers team needed to give their fans some hope. Will he be the better player long term? That's difficult to say, but he will certainly bring some excitement back into the city of Edmonton. Hall has been the Memorial Cup MVP two years in a row, thus it's his experience in big games and winning record that peaked the interest of Oiler management the most. The Oilers need a winner on their roster, they need a big game player who can put the puck in the net and bring the fans out of their seats. They need a player who can give a passionate fan base hope again. And Taylor Hall is that player.
The First Round had Many Surprising Selections
Earlier this season, the top three rated prospects were Taylor Hall, Tyler Seguin, and Windsor Spitfires defenceman Cam Fowler. But Fowler's stock had been dropping, evidenced by his omission from the top 10. He was eventually selected at number 12 by the Anaheim Ducks, and thus he's being labeled the steal of the first round. The Florida Panthers selected big 6"4 defenseman Erik Gudbranson with the third overall pick. The Columbus Blue Jackets used their 4th overall pick to select Portland Winterhawks centerman Ryan Johansen, a surprising player to be chosen so high. The New York Islanders rounded out the top five by selecting World Junior sensation Nino Niederreiter, the highest drafted Swiss born player in history. At the sixth spot, Tampa Bay Lightning GM Steve Yzerman took a chance on injured winger Brett Connolly. Connolly has a lot of skill, but a serious hip injury limited him to just 16 games last season. The Carolina Hurricanes took highly skilled center Jeff Skinner with the 7th overall pick, and the Atlanta Thrashers took the risk of selecting Russian sniper Alexander Burmistrov at number 8. Despite his immense skill, Burmistrov, as is any Russian prospect, is seen as a flight risk to go back to play in Russia, as did Nikita Filatov of the Columbus Blue Jackets this past season. The Minnesota Wild chose Finnish forward Mikael Granlund with the 9th pick, and the New York Rangers rounded up the top 10 with Moose Jaw defenseman Dylan Mcilrath, a very surprising pick to go ahead of Fowler and Brandon Gormley, another highly rated defeseman.
The Majority of the Bottom 10 Picks went as Expected
The first goaltender selected at the 2010 draft was American hero Jack Campbell who went to the Dallas Stars at the number 11 spot. Cam Fowler went to Anaheim at number 12, and Brandon Gormley went to the Phoenix Coyotes at number 13. The St. Louis Blues used the number 14 pick to select Jaden Schwartz, followed by the hometown Los Angeles Kings choosing defenseman Derek Forbort at number 15. Here are the remaining picks of the first round of the 2010 NHL entry draft:
16- St. Louis Blues- Vladimir Tarasenko
17- Colorado Avalanche- Joey Hishon
18- Nashville Predators- Austin Watson
19- Florida Panthers- Nick Bjugstad
20- Pittsburgh Penguins- Beau Bennett
21- Detroit Red Wings- Riley Sheahen
22- Montreal Canadiens- Jarred Tinordi
23- Buffalo Sabres- Mark Pysyk
24- Chicago Blackhawks- Kevin Hayes
25- Florida Panthers- Quinton Howden
26- Washington Capitals- Evgeny Kuznetsov
27- Phoenix Coyotes- Mark Visentin
28- San Jose Sharks- Charlie Coyle
29- Anaheim Ducks- Emerson Etem
30- New York Islanders- Brock Nelson
Marcia Di Michele - In addition to Suite101, Marcy is also a writer for TheHockeyWriters.com and blogs for Sports Illustrated's Fannation page. Marcy has been ...
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