Goaltending depth would have been more of an issue for it not the signing of Finish superstar Antti Raanta. Another signing, the 2013 Hobey Baker award winner, Drew LeBlanc has his sights on a pivot position next year with the big club next year.
- Tyler Cameron @tycam HockeyIndependent.com
Dallas: (see end of section)
DETROIT REDWINGS
Even though the Detroit Red Wings were eliminated in the second round by the eventual Western Conference champion Chicago Blackhawks, the real winners were the Red Wings' AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins. Four players on the Red Wings' playoff roster (forwards Joakim Andersson and Gustav Nyquist, defensemen Danny DeKeyser and Brian Lashoff) returned to the Griffins in time for the team's playoff push. As of press time, the Griffins hold a 3-1 series lead over the Syracuse Crunch in the Calder Cup Finals.
With the four of them showing that they can play at the NHL level, forwards Jan Mursak and Tomas Tatar have yet to prove that they can stay with the Red Wings on a permanent basis. First-year prospects that have stood out were goaltender Petr Mrazek and forward Tomas Jurco. Mrazek has emerged as the Red Wings' top netminding prospect who could give Jimmy Howard a push for the number one goalie spot by 2014-15 while Jurco has developed into an all-around hockey player, instead of being just known as a YouTube wonder.
Defenseman Brendan Smith didn't exactly play his best in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but the only way he can get better is from learning from his mistakes. He's a player that the Red Wings shouldn't give up on. Other players in the system are forwards Martin Frk, who is fresh off of a Memorial Cup championship, and Calle Jarnkrok, who will arrive in North America this fall to begin his first pro year in Grand Rapids. Another blueliner that will be in Grand Rapids permenantly is Ryan Sproul, who was recently named the OHL's Defenseman of the Year.
The Red Wings hold the 18th pick in this month's NHL Draft and could get a solid player in which this year's class is the best in 10 years. With Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg battling father time, the Red Wings have to look at offense in the first round. A player who would fit the mold is London Knights' forward Max Domi. Yes, he is the son of former NHL enforcer Tie, but Max uses his hands to score goals and set up plays. He is an excellent playmaking forward, whose skating skills are underrated and, like his father, he's not afraid of the rough stuff either. He would be a perfect compliment to the young guns in the Red Wings' organization. Other players that the Red Wings should take a look at, in case Domi is selected before the Red Wings walk up the podium, are Bo Horvat (London Knights), Kerby Rychel (Windsor Spitfires, OHL) and Hunter Shinkaruk (Medicine Hat Tigers, WHL).
- Alex Muscat of JuniorHockey.com
EDMONTON OILERS
Do they even need to draft anyone this year? Edmonton has announced Eberle, Paajarvi-Svensson, Hall, Nugent-Hopkins and Yakubov at the podium as their first picks over the last 5 years. What an impressive group of talent. When you look at the trend here though, the Oilers have been in the position to draft top picks (#1 overall in the last 3 years), which is a sign of regular season failure. Craig MacTavish is looking to build off this talent and morph his team into the successful one of Oilers’ past. He’s brought in a new coach, Dallas Eakins to develop these young superstars.
The Oilers have the 7th pick in the 2013 Entry Draft and will be looking at the best possible talent at that spot. They have size and depth at forward, as well as on the backend, however they are lacking serious goaltending and offensive defenceman prospects. Olivier Roy, Niko Hovinen and Tyler Bunz round out the Oilers goaltending depth chart but it’s no secret that management is seeking help sooner than later for current backstop Devan Dubnyk.
The timing is now to take that next step in their progression, so look for MacTavish to continue his shock and awe approach and potentially deal some of his prized possessions for veteran help or a starting goalie.
- Tyler Cameron @tycam HockeyIndependent.com
LA KINGS
A peek into the Kings' prospect pool should easily give you an idea of what they'll be looking for at the Draft later this month. It comes down to three things, ending with a goalie and a left wing.
First, a quick overview. GM Dean Lombardi has ten picks to work with at the time of publishing, and is without a selection in the first round - that was sent to Columbus in the Jeff Carter trade. He has one pick in the second round, one in the third, three in the fourth, two in the fifth, one in the sixth and two in seventh. Don't look for it to stay that way though. In part, Dealer Dean earned his nickname on Draft Day.
Of the 55 players he's selected since taking the head seat at LA's table in 2006, 15 have already gone on to become NHL players (with the Kings or another club) and 23 are still considered prospects for the Kings. However, there's only one drafted goalie left in the system, JF Berube (fourth round, 2009). The other, Martin Jones, was signed as an unrestricted free agent. Although Jonathan Quick has a long-term contract and looks to be LA's starting netminder for the next decade, Lombardi still likes to keep the pipeline flush at the goaltender position. That probably speaks volumes for what they ended up thinking of Christopher Gibson, the team's top pick in 2011. When they recently decided to not offer him a contract, essentially cutting ties with him, Assistant GM Ron Hextall told MayorsManor they just weren't satisfied enough with his progress. So, look for the Kings to take a goalie, perhaps as early as their second pick.
Finally, LA is fairly set on the blueline, with a stockpile of options at both the NHL and AHL levels. The most glaring need is for another high-end left wing, where the team has remained thin for several years. In fact, three of the team's top picks at forward over the last two drafts were left wings (Tanner Pearson, Nikolay Prokhorkin and Andy Andreoff). Two of those three could be in LA as early as next season. But, they'll still need depth beyond that. As such, logic says look left when it's time for their first pick on June 30th.
- John Hoven of MayorsManor.com