Draft Position -- Selection -- Team -- Pos. -- H/W
1 -- Alexander Ovechkin Washington LW 6-2, 200
Many experts in Russia have said that Ovechkin is the country's finest junior-aged player since Vladimir Krutov. An all-tool force, Ovechkin is a goal scorer who shows splendid two-way upside. He is virtually untradeable.
2 -- Evgeny Malkin -- Pittsburgh -- C -- 6-3, 190
A fine consolation prize for the Penguins who cannot complain after losing out on the top prize. A creative and mature forward, Malkin is the man who will be Mario's successor to carry this team for the next 15 or so years. We consider him to be the smartest player in the draft.
3 -- Cam Barker -- Chicago -- D -- 6-3, 215
The Blackhawks are in a difficult situation, as they wanted Ovechkin, but now have no chance of obtaining him, unless they give up the farm to the Capitals. The word is that the gifted, physical rearguard Cam Barker would be their man here, but don't be surprised if they take the powerful centerman Rostislav Olesz.
4 -- Rostislav Olesz -- Columbus -- C -- 6-1, 200
The complete package of size and skill would compliment Rick Nash and Nikolai Zherdev well at the pivot position. We feel that Olesz has the best vision of the eligible players at the draft and possesses a spacious body to dominate along the boards.
5 -- Al Montoya -- Phoenix -- G -- 6-2, 190
The talk of the grapevine is that Montoya is a wanted man and the Coyotes, despite already having netminder David LeNeveu in the system, are the prime candidate to select him. Montoya is a butterfly goalie with cat-like instincts and excellent competitive nature.
6 -- Marek Schwarz -- New York Rangers -- G -- 6-0, 180
Do not be surprised if the Rangers work something out with the Coyotes to draft Montoya, but Schwarz is even better in our books. The acrobatic goalie has been compared to Dominik Hasek in terms of his style and Dan Blackburn's injury woes have been a cause for concern.
7 -- A. J. Thelen -- Florida -- D -- 6-3, 210
Iron Mike Keenan likes North American kids and Thelen would drastically improve Florida's lack of prime blueline talent. This is a player who has shown the propensity to dominate both ends of the ice, exhibiting outstanding puckhandling and physical upside.
8 -- Lauri Tukonen -- -- Carolina -- LW -- 6-2, 200
Supreme Finn offers a pedigree of great size, superb wheels and excellent puck skills. Tukonen exhibits a budding power game that would complement last year's pick Eric Staal well on the wing.
9 -- Andrew Ladd -- Anaheim -- LW -- 6-2, 210
The Ducks need engine-room guys with size and bite and Ladd provides plenty of all-around spunk. He is smart, aggressive and gelled well with Ryan Getzlaf in Calgary, so it only makes sense for Anaheim to unite the duo.
10 -- Drew Stafford -- Atlanta -- C -- 6-2, 210
A big, very versatile two-way forward plays with power and speed. The centerman would shore up the Thrashers' depth up the middle, although he does not offer tremendous offensive upside. A Joe Nieuwendyk-type pick is a winner.
11 -- Andrej Meszaros -- Los Angeles -- D -- 6-2, 190
Talented Slovaks have been good fits in the Kings' system before, so why break the trend? Meszaros provides requisite size and youth for the blueline ranks and has impressive puckmoving upside. Look for them to possibly trade up to select one of the two top goalies.
12 -- Alexandre Picard -- Minnesota -- LW -- 6-2, 190
Acquiring top-line skill should be paramount for the Wild and Picard is a gifted sniper. There is every reason to believe that he will be a good fit with the Lemaire system due to good two-way work ethic and goal scoring drive.
13 -- Boris Valabik -- Buffalo -- D -- 6-7, 210
6-foot-7, 210 pounds of pure meanness. The Sabres badly need a strong young rearguard to alleviate the feebleness of their blueline depth and Valabik fits the bill. Although his offensive upside is not tremendous, Valabik is an old-fashioned defensive nightmare for opposing forwards.
14 -- Alexander Radulov -- Edmonton -- RW -- 6-1, 175
The goal for the Oilers in this draft is to stack up on skill and Radulov is the best pure talent available here. It is important to note that Edmonton has taken forwards with its first pick every year since 1990. They could draft a goalie, but would most likely trade up or down to do so.
15 -- Robbie Schremp -- Nashville -- C -- 5-11, 200
Badly need a skilled forward, preferably a center and Schremp could still be around at this juncture. Although a wonderful playmaker and a potentially great scorer, Schremp has seen his stock drop after a tumultuous season.
16 -- Mike Green -- New York Islanders -- D -- 6-1, 195
Have not selected a rearguard with their first pick since Wade Redden in 1995 and the position has suddenly become a glaring weakness. There is a lack of big-name talent on the blueline depth chart, so either Green or Ladislav Smid could be taken here. We see Green as a better bet.
17 -- Wojtek Wolski -- St Louis -- LW -- 6-3, 200
They need forwards and goalies and Wolski is a savvy, offensively gifted winger who would be an ideal fit. One of the best skaters in the draft, Wolski impresses with great knowledge of the offensive zone.
18 -- Bruce Graham -- Montreal -- C -- 6-6, 220
Habs desire to add more size and Graham is a huge centerman with excellent offensive range. Although a project, Graham is a competitive player with excellent puck skills, but needs to add meanness and moxie.
19 -- Kyle Chipchura -- Calgary -- C -- 6-2, 200
Darryl Sutter is high on players who exhibit grit, character, size and scoring potential. A mobile center, Chipchura is a blazing fast skater who excels at sharing the puck at full speed. He uses his size well and sticks his nose into traffic.
20 -- Ladislav Smid -- Dallas -- D -- 6-3, 205
Selecting a defenseman makes the most sense here for the Stars, who recently let go of the struggling Martin Vagner. Smid is a mobile rearguard who stands out due to deadly accurate playmaking skills and impression vision.
21 -- Jakub Sindel -- Colorado -- C -- 6-0, 175
Colorado's organizational depth is at an all-time low and many of the team's stars are on their way out. Sindel is a slight, but skilled forward who shows plenty of scoring upside. There is some Milan Hejduk in him.
22 -- Cory Schneider -- New Jersey -- G -- 6-2, 195
The Devils would like to add scoring wingers and a blue-chip blueliner, but the underrated Schneider is a potential number one goalie and New Jersey rarely passes up on these kinds of picks. Ari Ahonen is in the system, but we don't see them drafting for need here.
23 -- Wes O'Neill -- Ottawa -- D -- 6-4, 215
Ottawa is stacked on forward prospects, so the clear need here is on the blueline. O'Neill is a big, gifted and physically mature rearguard who displayed good poise in his freshman college campaign. The kind of player who requires time, but could pay big dividends.
24 -- Roman Voloshenko -- New York Rangers -- LW -- 6-1, 190
A lack of scoring forwards on the depth chart may persuade New York's scouts to select Voloshenko who has been highly productive at every level of competition so far. He has
outstanding hands and offensive instincts, but is only an average skater.
25 -- Lauri Korpikoski -- Edmonton -- LW -- 6-0, 175
The flashy Finn would be a perfect fork in the road for a team in search of forwards who can skate and score. Although a bit of a late bloomer, Korpikoski had a monster second half, dominating with excellent shiftiness and soft hands.
26 -- Devan Dubnyk -- Vancouver -- G -- 6-5, 195
Alex Auld looks poised to take over as Vancouver's starting goalie in the near future, but Vancouver is thin on talented young goalies thereafter. Like Auld, Dubnyk is tall and poised, as well as one of the more competitive players in this draft class.
27 -- Johan Fransson -- Washington -- D -- 6-1, 180
Although Washington has good prospects at each position, blueline is still a considerable weakness and this is where a guy like Fransson would come in. He is a year older than most of the eligibles, but has established himself as a solid pro defender in Sweden and has above-average puck moving upside.
28 -- Viktor Alexandrov -- San Jose -- RW -- 5-11, 185
The Sharks have made surprise selections in the past and Alexandrov is a wildcard due to a lack of exposure. The son of former Soviet star Boris Alexandrov, Viktor is a shifty winger with deceptive quickness and excellent understanding of the game.
29 -- Petteri Nokelainen -- Washington -- C -- 6-1, 190
Played on the high-octane Finnish Under-18 line with the 'Lauries' (Korpikoski and Tukonen) and served as a physical energy forward with surprising offensive gumption. After previous selections of Alexander Semin and Eric Fehr, the Capitals could use a gritty type.
30 -- Dave Bolland -- Tampa Bay --C --5-11, 170
While he would not be described as a sniper, Bolland proved that he can bury the puck this year with the high-scoring London Knights. Tampa Bay is stacked with assertive, two-way prospects in Alex Polushin and Evgeni Artukhin and Bolland would provide a greater goal-scoring aptitude while also excelling in his own end of the ice.
