2012 NHL Draft - Top 80 Forwards
Derek Zona
May 22 2012 10:23AM
Photo by Resolute via Wikimedia Commons
The May version of the Consensus Top 100 is in and the top of the draft continues to be dominated by European forwards and Canadian defensemen.
| Ov | Name | Ht | Wt | Team |
| 1 | Nail Yakupov | 5'11 | 180 | Sarnia Sting |
| 2 | Filip Forsberg | 6'2 | 180 | Leksand |
| 3 | Alex Galchenyuk | 6'1 | 185 | Sarnia Sting |
| 4 | Mikhail Grigorenko | 6'2 | 192 | Quebec Remparts |
| 7 | Teuvo Teräväinen | 5'10 | 161 | Jokerit |
| 12 | Radek Faksa | 6'2 | 183 | Kitchener Rangers |
| 13 | Sebastian Collberg | 6'0 | 180 | Frölunda |
| 14 | Pontus Åberg | 5'11 | 183 | Djurgården |
| 15 | Zemgus Girgensons | 6'1 | 182 | Dubuque Fighting Saints |
| 20 | Brendan Gaunce | 6'2 | 205 | Belleville Bulls |
| 21 | Tomas Hertl | 6'2 | 196 | Slavia Praha |
| 25 | Martin Frk | 5'11 | 190 | Halifax Mooseheads |
| 26 | Nicolas Kerdiles | 6'1 | 183 | USA NTDP U18 |
| 27 | Philip Di Giuseppe | 5'11 | 176 | Michigan |
| 31 | Stefan Matteau | 6'1 | 188 | USA NTDP U18 |
| 32 | Tanner Pearson | 6'0 | 192 | Barrie Colts |
| 35 | Daniil Zharkov | 6'3 | 195 | Tri-City Storm |
| 36 | Jarrod Maidens | 6'2 | 170 | Owen Sound Attack |
| 37 | Tom Wilson | 6'4 | 195 | Plymouth Whalers |
| 38 | Colton Sissons | 6'0 | 173 | Kelowna Rockets |
| 39 | Matia Marcantuoni | 5'11 | 185 | Kitchener Rangers |
| 41 | Scott Laughton | 6'0 | 174 | Oshawa Generals |
| 42 | Henrik Samuelsson | 6'2 | 192 | Edmonton Oil Kings |
| 43 | Cristoval Nieves | 6'2 | 175 | Kent Prep School |
| 44 | Scott Komaschuk | 5'11 | 185 | Guelph Storm |
| 46 | Mike Winther | 5'11 | 170 | Prince Albert Raiders |
| 47 | Brady Vail | 6'1 | 190 | Windsor Spitfires |
| 48 | Andreas Athanasiou | 6'0 | 165 | London Knights |
| 51 | Anton Slepyshev | 6'2 | 187 | Novokuznetsk |
| 52 | Tim Bozon | 6'1 | 178 | Kamloops Blazers |
| 55 | Gemel Smith | 5'11 | 165 | Owen Sound Attack |
| 57 | Raphaël Bussières | 6'0 | 183 | Baie-Comeau Drakkar |
| 59 | Mark Jankowski | 6'2 | 170 | Stanstead |
| 60 | Charles Hudon | 5'8 | 165 | Chicoutimi Sagueneens |
| 61 | Nikolai Prokhorkin | 6'2 | 183 | CSKA Moscow |
| 63 | Tomas Hyka | 5'11 | 160 | Gatineau Olympiques |
| 64 | Chandler Stephenson | 5'9 | 170 | Regina Pats |
| 66 | Ryan Olsen | 6'2 | 190 | Kelowna Rockets |
| 67 | Dane Fox | 6'0 | 185 | London Knights |
| 68 | Emil Lundberg | 6'3 | 198 | Södertälje |
| 69 | Branden Troock | 6'1 | 175 | Seattle Thunderbirds |
| 70 | Steven Hodges | 5'11 | 165 | Chilliwack Bruins |
| 71 | Tanner Richard | 5'11 | 182 | Guelph Storm |
| 72 | Brian Hart | 6'1 | 190 | Phillips Exeter Academy |
| 73 | Devin Shore | 6'0 | 184 | Whitby |
| 74 | Nikita Gusev | 5'9 | 163 | CSKA Moscow |
| 75 | A.J. Michaelson | 6'0 | 180 | Waterloo Black Hawks |
| 78 | Troy Bourke | 5'10 | 150 | Prince George Cougars |
| 80 | Brendan Leipsic | 5'9 | 155 | Portland Winterhawks |
| 81 | Coda Gordon | 6'2 | 174 | Swift Current Broncos |
| 82 | Lukas Sutter | 6'0 | 199 | Saskatoon Blades |
| 88 | Jimmy Vesey | 6'0 | 176 | South Shore Kings |
| 90 | Ben Johnson | 5'10 | 155 | Windsor Spitfires |
| 91 | Vyacheslav Osnovin | 6'0 | 188 | Cheljabinsk |
| 92 | Dominik Volek | 6'1 | 180 | Regina Pats |
| 93 | Riley Barber | 5'11 | 195 | USA NTDP U18 |
| 95 | Matej Beran | 6'4" | 215 | PEI Rocket |
| 96 | Chris Tierney | 6'0 | 181 | London Knights |
| 98 | Kalle Torniainen | 5'10 | 172 | Djurgården |
| 101 | Zach Stepan | 6'0 | 170 | Shattuck St. Mary's |
| 102 | Gustav Rydahl | 6'2 | 194 | Färjestad |
| 103 | Mathew Campagna | 5'11 | 170 | Sudbury Wolves |
| 106 | Dalton Sward | 6'0 | 165 | Vancouver Giants |
| 107 | Ludvig Nilsson | 6'1 | 175 | Timra |
| 109 | Logan McVeigh | 6'0 | 179 | Kamloops Blazers |
| 113 | Erik Karlsson | 6'0 | 161 | Frölunda |
| 114 | Seth Griffith | 5'10 | 185 | London Knights |
| 115 | Michael Clark | 6'1 | 184 | Windsor Spitfires |
| 116 | James Melindy | 6'2 | 195 | Moncton Wildcats |
| 117 | Chris Canlan | 6'2 | 195 | Nobles |
| 118 | Teddy Blueger | 6'0 | 180 | Shattuck St. Mary's |
| 119 | Arturs Gavrus | 5'10 | 165 | Owen Sound Attack |
| 121 | Denis Kamaev | 5'10 | 165 | Rouyn-Noranda Huskies |
| 122 | Kevin Roy | 5'10 | 170 | Lincoln Stars |
| 123 | Andrew Ryan | 6'2 | 200 | Halifax Mooseheads |
| 124 | Brett Kulak | 6'0 | 175 | Vancouver Giants |
| 128 | Robert Baillargeon | 6'0 | 175 | Indiana Ice |
| 129 | Nathan Walker | 5'9 | 176 | HC Vitkovice |
| 130 | Frank Vatrano | 5'10 | 215 | USA NTDP U18 |
| 131 | Daniel O'Regan | 5'9 | 160 | St. Sebastien |
- My favorite name on the list is the 78th ranked forward (#128 overall), Nathan Walker from the Czech Republic via Australia. Walker could become a singular sports celebrity in his native Australia if he is drafted in June.
- The first Canadian forward is Brendan Gaunce, ranked 10th amongst forwards (#20 overall). After Gaunce, it's Philip Di Giuseppe, ranked 14th (#27 overall) then Tanner Pearson, ranked 16th (#33 overall). I can't recall a weaker draft class for Canadians up front.
- Even with the weak class, Canada still makes up 37 of the top 80. The United States is second with 15, Sweden and Russia tie for third with 8, and the Czechs have 6 in the top 80.
- The OHL leads the way in originating leagues with 21 of the top 80. The WHL is second with 15, the USHL and QMJHL tie for third with 9.
- This might be the year (albeit temporary) that the USHL overtakes the QMJHL as the third Major Junior League in the world. The USHL has the same number of forwards in the top 80 as the QMJHL and the USHL has recently produced more high-end defenders as well. 3 of the USHL's top 9 forwards are imports (one player from Canada, Latvia and Russia), five of the QMJHL's top 9 forwards are imports (3 players from the Czech Republic and 2 from Russia).
- The Czechs have to be ecstatic with this draft class. They've got two sure-fire first round picks in Faksa and Hertl and a possible third in Frk. Hyka is a bottom of the second, top of the third pick and Beran and Volek could go at the bottom of the third or top of the fourth. If 6 Czech players come off of the board in the first 100 picks, there may be a revival underway in the Czech Republic.
Comments are closed for this article.
Any chance the Oilers could draft Erik Karlsson in round three, then surreptitiously exchange their Karlsson for Ottawa's in the middle of the night?
Just a thought. Sometimes you have to think outside the box.
I see reinhart might slip down! I will take a canadian with heart over any euro with talent !
funny how the draft still works your best picks are the kids 6 foot or taller over 2oo lbs, a point a game and over 100 minutes in penalties ,you want the agressive players which means you wouldn't want a Sedin ! ever. just take a look at that formula the last 20 draft years and see for yourself!
you certainly dont want to draft a wall flower like nugent hopkins or hall as #1 overall they are not competitive enough in the physical department, this is why both spent a large portion of the seaon on the injury reserve . oilers would have been better of f addressing their holes on defense by picking larson but the oilers got greedy and drafted another soft player who may not last 5 years in this league.
@digits
Wow. Simply wow. Nugent-Hopkins and Hall both suffered freak injuries and all of a sudden they're "wall flowers"? RNH has underrated physical abilities (see him laying several hits on Dallas' Morrow this year, to name but one), but that's not his game. Hall is a bull in a china shop - might not hit a lot but is absolutely fearless.
Besides, since when is being physical more important than actually being able to play hockey? If that were the case then Derek Dorsett should win the Hart this year. RNH is an absolute wizard and will only get better, and Hall is a gritty emotional goal scorer who, again, will only get better. Hall's style might lead to more injuries, yes, but so did Forsberg's and no-one called him soft.
I think you would fit in quite well with the Oiler's scouting department circa 2002-2006. Draft big players with lots of PIMs over players who can impact the game in ways that matter (see: taking MAP and JFJ over Parise).