NHL Welcomes Next 2 Next Ones!

The two guys who went 1 and 2 in this years draft are Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin. The Oilers took Hall with the first overall pick after a 2 year love affair with him that bordered on an unhealthy obsession, I have been told I have a few of those so it's alright. He's a Canadian and that franchise has been trying to reform the glory days of having a mostly Canadian roster as a year in year out contenders. The Oilers did reach the finals in 2006, losing to Carolina, however, since Messier traveled to New York to end the Rangers curse this once proud franchise has not been the same. Obviously they are not goina be like the Messier Oiler teams that won 5 cups from 84 to 90 but they will give their all to make it appear that way. Now here's a scouting report on the newest members of the NHL. Hall is from Calgary and has been the top prospect for 2 years now. He averaged over 2 points a game at the World Juniors. He is a scoring Left Wing who actually has produced more assists than goals the last few years, he had 106 points with 40 goals and 66 helpers last year. Basically he is the opposite of Rick Nash who was a puck hog in his younger days and put up 40 goals but only 20 assists. I'd say he's a guy who with a talented centerman could contribute right away. 

As for Seguin, the Bruins selection with the 2 spot, he is a centerman that a great forward like Hall would love to play with. Ironically enough he also had 106 points his last minor season, he played for the Plymouth Whalers so he is a semi local guy for a Boston team. He can be best compared to Pavel Datsyuk who can put up highlight reel goals but also is not afraid to play defense. Hall can also be labeled a Joe Sakic type of guy who was like Datsyuk but with more fire power. Seguin like Sakic and Dats has great vision and can make any winger look better than he is much the same way Crosby has throughout his career. A center who will play unselfish, is not scared or to good to play D if necessary, and can score thanks to a sick wrist shot is hard to come by. For a more recent player comparison Seguin is similar to the number 1 pick 2 years ago, Steven Stamkos who just tied Crosby for the most goals scored last season but also had 44 assists. Stamkos took a year of growing pains his rookie season to find his NHL stroke but unlike Stamkos Seguin is being thrown on a playoff team that wont ask him to do to much and he will have a great mentor like Mark Recchi, a future hall of famer who has done it all individual and team wise, who they just re-signed for another year to guide him along.

The B's do already have 2 veteran centers, Bergeron and Savard who when healthy are certainly servicable with talented forwards like Hall. This would have potentially made Hall a better fit in Boston. However, it just wasn't going to happen Hall is from Canada and had all the press going into the draft, Edmonton had to take him or risk a major PR hit if things did not workout. The reason Hall would have been a better fit with the Bruins is simple center is a more important position and cup teams almost always have a great center and can get by with a non super star wing on the top line. Regardless, I could see Seguin playing a wing for a while and then eventually moved back to center when he starts to take off. Right away playing a wing would put less pressure on him. 

Be happy Oiler and Bruins fans unlike in some other sports (MLB and NFL mainly) the top draft picks are usually going to produce within the first 3 years of being in the league. This has been especially evident recently with Fleury, Ovechkin, Malkin, Crosby, Kane, and Stamkos in no particular order. Even throughout history with Gretzky and Lemieux, guys with a lot of hype in juniors are generally future NHL stars.