Monday, June 16, 2008

2008 Wrap - Lethbridge

Lethbridge Hurricanes

The Hurricanes will probably have two names go in the first round, but that may be all.

Zach Boychuk: My best guess is he'll go in the 8-15 overall range. Don't think there's too much concern over his size, so I don't see him dropping too far beyond the middle of the first round.

Luca Sbisa: Consensus among NHL guys I talk to is that he's a lock first rounder. Could even sneak into the top half of the first round. My gut says there's a chance he could do a small surprise slide on draft day, but even if that happens, I'd expect him to at worst go in the early picks of the 2nd round. And even though my gut doesn't say it, there's might just as good a chance he could be this year's Thomas Hickey and end up going shockingly early - not 4th overall, but maybe in the 7-12 range.

Ben Wright: If there's going to be a third Hurricane taken this weekend, it's probably going to be the re-entry '88 d-man who went unsigned by Columbus after spending a 2006 4th rounder on him.

Others: Craig Orfino and Dan Iwanski are the only other first year eligibles. I'd say there's a slim chance of either going. And '89 Finn goaltender Juha Metsola could be on some team's list, but I think there's only an outside chance of that.

Looking Ahead to 2009: Carter Ashton has underachieved so far, but has a lot of projectables. He will emerge as an early round candidate if he shows any production. Cam Braes and Brennan Yadlowski are also eligible next year, but probably aren't potential early round picks at this point.

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