2011 NHL Entry Draft Preview by The Sports Network

The Oilers picked Taylor Hall with the top selection in 2010 and had the best chance at landing this year’s No. 1 after posting the worst record in the league during the 2010-11 season. Edmonton won the top spot at the draft lottery in April, marking the fourth straight year that the NHL’s last-place club has taken the No. 1 pick.

Edmonton is expected to draft Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, a centerman from Red Deer of the Western Hockey League, but Oilers general manager Steve Tambellini has other options in what is being billed by many scouts and league GMs as a deep draft.

If Nugent-Hopkins is taken at No. 1 he will be the first player from the WHL to be selected with the top pick since Ottawa landed Chris Phillips of Prince Albert in 1996.

Nugent-Hopkins is at his best when creating scoring opportunities for other players, as was often the case this season when he led the WHL with 75 assists. His biggest fans have claimed the Burnaby, B.C. native has Gretzky- esque vision and hockey instincts. If there’s anything not to like about Nugent-Hopkins it’s that he’s only about 165 pounds and will need to bulk up before making a serious impact at the NHL level, whether that comes in Edmonton or elsewhere.

Edmonton will also have to consider Gabriel Landeskog, Jonathan Huberdeau and Sean Couturier, a trio of coveted forwards playing in Canadian juniors, as well as defenseman Adam Larsson, who has impressed while skating against men in the Swedish Elitserien.

Landeskog, a Swede playing for Kitchener in the OHL, is considered to be the most NHL-ready of that bunch, although Larsson could potentially help the defensively-challenged Oilers the most. Larsson is the top-rated international skater by NHL Central Scouting, while Landeskog is second to Nugent-Hopkins on the domestic side.

Huberdeau continues to see his stock rise after a fabulous 2010-11 campaign that saw him help a loaded Saint John club to a QMJHL championship as well as a Memorial Cup. Couturier, meanwhile, won the QMJHL’s Top Prospect and MVP awards after the 2010-11 season.

Clearly, the Colorado Avalanche, who hold the second pick, will also have plenty of intriguing prospects to choose from, as will Florida, New Jersey and the New York Islanders with the third, fourth and fifth selections, respectively.

The recently crowned Stanley Cup champions will also be heard from early in the first round, as the Boston Bruins hold the ninth selection thanks to the trade that sent Phil Kessel from Beantown to Toronto prior to the 2009-10 season. The Bruins had the second overall pick last year as a result of the Kessel trade and picked forward Tyler Seguin, who last week helped the NHL club win its first Stanley Cup since 1972.

Thankfully, the Maple Leafs were able to acquire a pair of late picks (Nos. 25, 30) in this year’s first round.

The Minnesota Wild, the club hosting this year’s draft, are scheduled to pick 10th in Friday’s opening round.

Once again there isn’t a goaltender eligible for this year’s draft that could be considered a can’t-miss prospect. American John Gibson is the top-rated domestic goaltender by NHL Central Scouting and Finnish netminder Samu Perhonen is the most highly-touted backstop from the European crop.

The most intriguing unknown heading into every draft is how actively teams will pursue or entertain trades. After all, the majority of the players selected this weekend won’t be making any kind of impact for NHL teams over the next few years, but there is proven professional talent to be had via trades at the draft.

The first round of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft will begin Friday evening at 7 p.m. (et) and rounds 2-7 will start on Saturday morning at 11 a.m. (et). The entire first-round order is as follows:

1. Edmonton 2. Colorado 3. Florida 4. New Jersey 5. NY Islanders 6. Ottawa 7. Winnipeg 8. Columbus 9. Boston (from TOR) 10. Minnesota 11. Colorado (from STL) 12. Carolina 13. Calgary 14. Dallas 15. NY Rangers 16. Buffalo 17. Montreal 18. Chicago 19. Edmonton (from LOS) 20. Phoenix 21. Ottawa (from NAS) 22. Anaheim 23. Pittsburgh 24. Detroit 25. Toronto (from PHI) 26. Washington 27. Tampa Bay 28. San Jose 29. Vancouver 30. Toronto (from BOS)

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