panoo

Shane Malloy
Fox Sports
June 18, 2007

Anaheim Ducks

The Ducks have seen many of their prospects make the jump permanently to the NHL in recent years, so their farm system has taken a bit of a hit. On top of that, the young players sent to Edmonton in the Chris Pronger trade added to the issue, so the scouting staff will need to roll up their sleeves.

Now is the time to replenish some of the offensive stock and talent. Director of amateur scouting Alain Chainey and VP Chuck Fletcher will head the scouting team once again and build on the success of late.

With Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Dustin Penner out of the farm system, the cupboard is bare on one side while flush on the other, so some balance is needed. The need for offensive talent and goaltending is glaring, so expect the focus to be on those two areas the next couple of drafts.

Top draft pick: 16th overall

Draft needs: Offensive forwards, goaltending

Key prospects: (D) Mark Mitera, (D) Brett Festerling, (D) Brendan Mikkelson, (D) John DeGray, (RW) Bobby Ryan

Strengths: Defense has taken over as the strength with some nice talent with Brett Festerling, Brendan Mikkelson, Mark Mitera, John DeGray, Aaron Rome and Doug O'Brian.

Weaknesses: Other than Bobby Ryan, things are pretty slim up front and they have no goaltenders of note either. Both situations must be addressed in this draft.

Dallas Stars

The Stars could give Dallas another reason to be known as Big D if the defensemen in the system develop into NHL players. D-men Mark Fistric, Matt Niskanen, Mario Scalzo and Ivan Vishnevsky should be able to fill most of the Nos. 3 to 6 positions in the next couple of years.

Stars GM Doug Armstrong and his crew have done a good job finding gems in North America and Europe. They have an underrated group of versatile forwards that could fill parts of the second, third and fourth lines. They lack top-end elite skill, which will haunt them in the next couple of seasons if it is not addressed. A lack of a first-round draft choice will be a disadvantage in acquiring that talent. Things are crowed in goal with Dan Ellis, Tobias Stephan pushing for playing time behind Mike Smith.

Top draft pick: 51st overall

Draft needs: Offensive talent in all three forward positions.

Key prospects: (LW) Vojtech Polak, (RW) Raymond Sawada, (D) Mark Fistric, (D) Matt Niskanen (G) Dan Ellis, (G) Tobias Stephan, (D) Mario Scalzo, (D) Ivan Vishnevsky, (LW) John Lammers

Strengths: Defense depth and solid goaltenders.

Weaknesses: They have a lack of pure offensive talent who could play on the top line.

Los Angeles Kings

The Kings have hope for the future offensively with Patrick O'Sullivan and Trevor Lewis at center. On the wings, things are solid with Lauri Tukonen, Konstantin Pushkarev and possibly Scott Parse playing on the top three lines one day.

As always, Al Murray will run the show on Draft Day and GM Dean Lombardi will have a hand early on in the selection process.

The lynch pin for the offense and the defense could be Brian Boyle, as it's unclear whether he'll play up front on on the blueline. The Kings only have Jack Johnson and T.J. Fast among their defense prospects, as it gets pretty thin after that. The Kings are flush with goalie talent in Jonathan Bernier, Barry Brust and Matt Zatkoff and Jonathan Quick.

Top draft pick: Fourth overall

Draft needs: If Brian Boyle plays defense then an offensive forward, defensive depth.

Key prospects: (C/D) Brian Boyle, (D) Jack Johnson, (G) Jonathan Bernier, (C) Trevor Lewis, (RW) Lauri Tukonen, (G) Jonathan Quick, (G) Barry Brust, (C) Patrick O'Sullivan, (G) Matt Zatkoff

Strengths: Top-end talent at the forward positions, depending on where Brian Boyle plays. They also have some depth and talent in net with Jonathan Bernier, Barry Brust and Matt Zatkoff and Jonathan Quick.

Weaknesses: They painfully need depth on defense to replace veterans in a couple of years down the road. The only blueliners of note are Jack Johnson, T.J. Fast and maybe Brian Boyle

Phoenix Coyotes

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