To be honest HockeyNut, I am not too familiar with any of these players. The NCAA is a league I don't follow too closely. Until these players sign NHL contracts, I am not sure I would pick them up unless your league is EXTREMELY deep.

Sustr - size (6'8") and production is looking good for a defenseman

Dekeyser - decent numbers for a college defenseman but nothing that would get me too excited in fantasy world.

Zengerle - small in size and average numbers. Not really noteworthy for fantasy

Sorry I can't help too much here.

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1. Drouin (call me crazy but I have a hunch this kid will be unreal at the NHL level once he hits full stride. MacKinnon is a safer pick though)

2. MacKinnon

3. Barkov

4. Jones

That would be my top 4 (at the moment) so yes, Barkov is the obvious answer.

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Granlund
Grigorenko
Coyle
Niederreiter

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Jaskin may be one of the most improved prospects around. I have watched him twice in his last five games (including Friday night) and he's dominating the Q right now. Skating looks solid and he is always moving his feet. He looks really hungry for the puck. The Blues have a good one in Jaskin and it will be interesting to see if he can take this recent success to the pro leagues.

Jaskin has 81 points through 42 games and is currently riding a 14-game point streak dating back to December 4th totalling 36 points in that span. Craziness.

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32 points in 19 games and 22 points in 13 games since being traded to Rouyn-Noranda. Not too shabby. He's a fun player to watch for sure as he sees the ice extremely well. He will fit in nicely eventually in Tampa Bay with all of the Russian prospects Stevie Y has acquired.

Playing style and upside? I would say Jiri Hudler is a decent comparable with respect to his hands/vision but Kucherov is a MUCH better/different style of skater.

Upside: 80 points but I would say he will average around 55-60 depending on his linemates

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Point - projected to be a top pick for sure and despite his small size (5'8"), he stands a good chance of going high simply because he never stops competing. His work ethic is admirable and his ability to put the puck in the back of the net is great. Extremely intelligent player (all over the ice) and just knows where to be on the ice. Smarts and tenacity are extremely important qualities for survival for a smaller player. Watch out for him if he hits a late growth spurt.

Barbeshev - in the few viewings I have watched, he hasn't been as good as expected but its clear that he's performing well enough to put up points. I have only caught a few games of him this year but in the past, I have been drawn to his size and speed. He was VERY good when I watched him at the Under 17 tournament.

DeAngelo - I have a ton of viewings and there is a lot to like with DeAngelo but also some concerns. He's a small skilled offensive defenseman with great skating abilities. He's really elevated his game since Christmas and stepped up when the Sting lost Murphy. Crafty player on the powerplay but there's a lot of work to be done in the defensive zone. As expected with an offensive dman, DeAngelo is prone to turnovers and he makes a lot of high risk passes. The biggest issue I have had with him is his temperment...he's got a hot head and takes some bad penalties. He has been better in that department later but he will need to mature that area of his game. Love his skill though and it's really been showing lately as he sits among ALL OHL defenders as a young dman.

McKeown - future stud. Fantastic in all areas of the rink. Watch out for him heading into his sophomore OHL season as he could really explode on a young skilled Frontenacs team. Definite consideration for top 10 in 2014. There isn't an area in his game that isn't above average to great.

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Coyle - Man, Minnesota has a slew of offensive prospects. Coyle seems like a great complementary winger that should be versatile enough among the scoring wingers to slot in somewhere in the top 9. I am not sure he will stick all year but there is certainly a chance if he can start producting. His ice time is positive (15+ minutes) but he will need to produce to justify a spot in the top 6 this year.

Brodin - Big, big believer in Jonas Brodin. To be honest, I have a hunch that he may be the best defenseman drafted from the 2011 draft class and that includes names like Adam Larsson (4th) and Dougie Hamilton (9th). He looks like a seasoned vet out there and hes actually one of the youngest playing playing in the NHL this season. The production won't be dramatic this season but in future years, I think we see a stud at both ends of the rink.

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Ryan Sproul seems to be flying under everyones radar. He is putting up incredible numbers and has good size for the NHL. Is he the real deal? With Burns back I am looking to drop Zidlicky for him

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12 Team HTH Keeper
(F's G=1 A=1, D G=1 A=1, All Skaters PPG=.5, SHG=.5 Goalies W=2 SO=3)

Dress 8 F, 4 D, 2 G weekly

F's-Ovie, Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Skinner, Voracek, Hossa, Semin, Ryan, Vinny, Conacher, Stastny, Granlund, Kuznetsov, Bjugstad, Tarasenko, Spooner

D-Byfuglien, Subban, Campbell, Streit, Carlson, Burns, Murphy, Brodin

G-Miller, Bryzgalov,Holtby, Gibson, Mrazek, Enroth

10/11, 12/13 Champs

Cody Ceci - if you know me, I have always liked Cody Ceci. The Sens got great value last year when they grabbed him mid-first round. I am interested to see him make the jump to the AHL next season (assuming that's where he ends up and not the NHL). I see him a little like Michael Del Zotto but probably better in his own end.

Griffin Reinhart - I wasn't sold on Griffin being worth a 4th overall pick but the Islanders certainly drafted him on "potential". He has been wildly inconsistent in the viewings I have had of him. At times, he looks poised and confident. But then, at other times, he makes some pretty poor decisions. He has all of the raw skills and attributes to become a very good NHLer but I question whether he will be worthy of such a high pick. He is definitely a project type of defender. I want to see more of him before commenting anymore though.

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Thanks NikW71.

I am not really sure whether I believe that article at all especially when talking about players outside of the top 10 being 3rd or 4th liners.

From my rankings, all of these players are projected outside the top 10 and all own top 6 upside or top 4 defensemen upside:

Rasmus Ristolainen (top pairing), Erne (2nd line), Max Domi (1st line), Ryan Pulock (top 4), Frederik Gauthier (2nd line), Bo Horvat (2nd line), Mantha (2nd line), Dickinson (1st line), Wennberg (1st line), Petan (1st line), Justin Bailey (1st line), Slepyshev (1st line), plus many many more.

I agree that there are some players who project as bottom-6 types inside the top 60 (Hartman, Lazar, de la Rose, etc.) but if you can get those types in the late 1st or early 2nd then I am sure any NHL team would be happy.

Outside of the 2nd round, it's a crapshoot...it always is. This is the area where teams take their shots at homeruns or personal favourites.

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