June 27, 2011
NHL Draft Wrap-Up
Southeast Division

by Corey Pronman

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Carolina Hurricanes

Player 			Position	Selection #	HP Rank 1-100 
Ryan Murphy		Defense		12		6
Victor Rask		Center		42		41
Keegan Lowe		Defense		73		N/A
Gregory Hofmann		Center		103		45
Matt Mahalak		Goaltender	163		N/A
Brody Sutter		Right Wing 	193 		N/A

Day 1: "Wow" is all I can really say about getting Ryan Murphy at #12. I thought I saw a little hop in Carolina's step as they went up to the podium to make this pick. Murphy has top-end upside and while he has risk, Carolina's system is so loaded they can live with some risk. If he pans out, Murphy and Justin Faulk will terrorize opposing penalty killers for many years.

The Rest: The Canes followed a big upside pick in Murphy with a home run shot in Victor Rask. Rask was seen as a top ten pick last summer and I thought he even had the look of a top five player, but really fell off as the year went on and what I originally thought were true plus possession tools showed some gaping holes. He has some major weaknesses that could keep him from making it, but conversely, he has the ability to be a really good one too. I'm not a real Keegan Lowe fan, but scouts in the WHL I've talked to think he's a decent, hard-working defenseman who looks like a fine lower-tier prospect. Gregory Hofmann likely fell due to transfer questions, but most scouts I've talked with think his talent level is at the least in the top 60. Matt Mahalak came into the season as one of the top goalie prospects but was plainly average in the OHL.

Summary: There's a healthy amount of risk to this class and there is a decent possibility the class could underwhelm. However the Canes system is stocked and they have the security to take the kind of shots they did here and if a couple of things go right, we could look back at the 2011 class as what pushed their organization over the top.

Florida Panthers

Player 			Position	Selection #	HP Rank 1-100 
Jonathan Huberdeau	Center		3		4
Rocco Grimaldi		Center		33		10
Rasmus Bengtsson	Defense		59		48
Vincent Trocheck	Center		64		63
Logan Shaw		Right Wing	76		N/A
Jonathan Racine		Defense		87 		N/A
Kyle Rau		Center		91 		N/A
Yaroslav Kosov		Left Wing	124 		N/A
Eddit Wittchow		Defense		154 		N/A
Iiro Pakarinen		Right Wing	184 		N/A

Day 1: This is what the organization needed, and they got it without going out of draft range. Jonathan Huberdeau is a scoring forward with top, top-end potential and great possession skills.