By JIMMY D / Hedman head and shoulders above prospects | Jimmy's archive

There is talk that John Tavares is a lock to go No. 1 overall this weekend in the NHL entry draft.

There was also talk that Matt Duchene would leapfrog Tavares and go first.
But neither will happen in Montreal.

Defenceman Victor Hedman is the player everyone wants and the player the New York Islanders will select.

There was a similar quandary facing the Florida Panthers back in 2002. Do you take the tall blueliner with quick feet, great reach and offensive upside (Jay Bouwmeester) or the goal-scoring pig who is a lock to score goals but not a great skater and maybe a defensive liability (Rick Nash)?

As puck nerds will recall, Florida traded down with Columbus allowing the Blue Jackets to take Nash. They knew Atlanta wanted Kari Lehtonen and took Bouwmeester at No. 3.

Jimmy forecasts some potential trade funny business at No. 2 where Tampa Bay – flush with talent at forward but weak on defense – will trade down three or four spots to select Jared Cowan, the 6-foot-6 giant from Spokane.

Whoever trades up will grab Tavares.

Colorado, which hasn’t been near the top of the draft in decades, will take Duchene, the Brampton Battalion speedster who needs to mature physically to handle the NHL game. The last time Colorado picked as high as No. 12 was in 1998 when they took Halifax Moosey Alex Tanguay (the first of five picks they had in the first round).

Atlanta sits at No. 4 and needs help everywhere, including its season-ticket drive. Nobody is going to help immediately at this spot, although Evander Kane will be the best choice. Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson is possibly the better long-term choice, but Kane could be closer to playing.

The Kings are also trade possibilities as the team made great strides with a young roster in 2008. They have apparently sniffed around at an offer for Daniel Briere, but passed on it, indicating they are open to adding salary and veteran skill.

Phoenix picks after them at No. 6 and may target Paajarvi-Svensson. Kane could become a King, but Jimmy sees them getting active with trades.

All you Toronto fans hoping to see Luke Schenn’s little brother Brayden selected at No. 7 will be disappointed. Nazem Kadri, Tavares’s teammate in London, has been climbing draft boards and is more of a Brian Burke kid.

Watch Dallas go Euro with Swedish winger Jacob Josefson at No. 8 and Schenn possibly to Edmonton at No. 10.

Ottawa, with a checkered draft history other than the 2001 draft when they plucked Jason Spezza, Tim Gleason and Ray Emery in the first 100 picks, should be looking for blueline help. The wild card here is the Dany Heatley trade demand/request, which could shake up the draft order.

If they stand pat at No. 9, Saint John Seadog Simon Depres is a logical choice, although they may also be tempted by dwarfy blueliner Ryan Ellis, who quarterbacked Team Canada’s WJC power play. Jimmy sees Ellis tumbling to the middle of the first round.

Senator success in grooming Euro talent could see them land with Hedman’s teammate – another hyphenated Swede by the name of Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
There is a danger in drafting hyphenated dudes as the names sometimes don’t fit on the back of the jerseys and next-generation players get even more confusing.
Imagine for a moment that Ekman-Larsson marries Paajarvi-Svensson’s sister and they have a boy and since they like French names, decide to name him Marc-Andre Jean-Claude.

If you further hyphenate the already-hyphenated names, you could be looking at a player in the 2035 entry named Marc-Andre Jean-Claude Ekman-Larsson-Paajarvi-Svensson.

Good luck to Bob Cole with that one. Makes you long for the days of Ed Kea and Bob Baun.

Lots of activity this week to impact your fantasy hockey rosters and keeper leagues.

Jimmy D

jpoole@herald.ca