Patrick Kane – Top Five NHL Draft Prospects
April means a lot for online sports betting fans, as it brings the March Madness betting national title game, the Masters odds and, of course, the Stanley Cup betting playoffs. In a tough league like the NHL, only 16 of 30 teams make the postseason. As a result, the eliminated teams are thinking about two things right now: golf and the draft.
Who are the most desired prospect entering June’s NHL draft? Let’s look at the top five.
5. Brayden Schenn – center, Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
The younger brother of 2008 top-five NHL betting draft pick Luke, Brayden doesn’t have the same size and strength, though it’s not too late for him to fill out. He has good goal-scoring touch for a center and could develop into a power forward in the mold of Eric Staal.
4. Evander Kane – center, Vancouver Giants (WHL)
The fast, slick-skating center was a late addition to Canada’s World Junior Championship team a few months ago and didn’t disappoint, notching six points in six games. A gifted sniper and physical forechecker despite his relatively small build, he’s the kind of player every team would want.
3. Matt Duchene – center, Brampton Battalion (OHL)
Here’s yet another smallish center who gets by on blinding speed. Duchene is living in John Tavares’ shadow entering the 2009 NHL betting draft, but some hockey fans are betting at the sportsbook that Duchene could leap to the top pick. I wouldn’t bet on it, but no one can deny Duchene’s skillset, which is comparable to Patrick Kane or, because of his goal-scoring ability, Jonathan Toews.
2. Victor Hedman – defenseman, MoDo (SweJE)
Now, we get to the “big two” and we start with the towering Hedman. Scouts see aspects of Zdeno Chara, Chris Pronger, Jay Bouwmeester and even Nicklas Lidstrom in him, and any team would be thrilled if Hedman embodied just one of those players. He’s a beast but he can already skate at an elite level, meaning he’s more like Chara 2009 than Chara 1999. No online betting fan could blame an NHL team for passing on John Tavares for Hedman; he’s the type of physical specimen no team will give up on even if his NHL career starts rockily. A future 30-minute-per-game pillar.
1. John Tavares – center, London Knights (OHL)
He’s the big prize, arguably the most hyped prospect since the Malkin-Crosby-Ovechkin drafts, and the reason so many teams want to win the NHL draft lottery. Scouts definitely question his skating, but the fact that he puts up astronomical offensive numbers despite his physical limitations suggests he could become one of those truly special scorers who uses his vision and anticipation to find the net again and again. He’s listed at 6′0″ but he plays bigger, not in his hitting ability but in the way he uses his frame to protect the puck. He’s capable of becoming a perennial 100-point scorer and teams will trip over themselves to get him in this year’s NHL betting draft.
Also worth watching: Jared Cowen, D, Spokane Chiefs; Magnus Svensson-Paajarvi, LW, Timra; Ryan Ellis, D, Windsor Spitfires
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