Wednesday, June 22, 2011

WHO WILL PICK HUBERDEAU?

Jonathan Huberdeau will be sporting a National Hockey League jersey early in Friday’s Entry Draft in St. Paul, Minnesota. Where the Memorial Cup’s Most Valuable Player will land is the big question.

Draft rankings have Huberdeau going anywhere from second to sixth overall. There have even been rumblings that the 18-year old could go first overall but that seems like a bit of a stretch at the moment.

Pending trades, here are the teams that will make up the top 10:

Edmonton Oilers
Colorado Avalanche
Florida Panthers
New Jersey Devils
New York Islanders
Ottawa Senators
Winnipeg Whatevers
Columbus Blue Jackets
Boston Bruins
Minnesota Wild
There have been published reports that Huberdeau has visited the Islanders, Senators, and Bruins. The Avalanche, who currently hold the No. 2 overall pick, have also been rumored to be interested in the Sea Dogs’ top scorer.

From the Denver Post last Friday:

There has been a good deal of speculation the Avs are high on Huberdeau and could take him at No. 2. Teams aren't allowed to comment on players directly before they are drafted, but several Avs scouts were in attendance at the recent Memorial Cup tournament, which crowns the major junior hockey league champion.
 Then on Monday, Adrian Datar of the Post’s Avalanche blog “All Things Avs” posted this:

So who is No. 1 on the Avs’ list? Well, I’m still trying to find out for sure. But I’ve had more than one high-level hockey person tell me that it’ll be Jonathan Huberdeau, whom I profiled a couple days ago in a story here. I am only repeating what they’re telling me, and not “reporting” that’s who it will be.
So how high do you think Huberdeau will go? Will he be a riser or a faller on Friday night?

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