FanPost

The Fab Five


It almost seems like there is a new post or two every day about who the Avs will draft so instead of posting this as a response in each and every related fanpost... I felt it better to share here. As we all know, the Avs are very hush hush about who they like when doing trades, drafting, etc. and when it comes to who they take with the #2 pick... there is a very good chance that they already know who they will be drafting.

I believe everyone has a good idea about RNH & Landeskog but there are 3 others that round out what I like to call the Fab Five and they are Larsson, Couturier, and Huberdeau. Will all 5 go in the top 5? Probably not... as someone like Strome, Murphy, etc may be a favorite on a team's list but right now those 5 are the ones everyone likes to talk about as potential top 3 picks.

Couturier is a tall player from the QMJHL who brings a high talent level, size, and two-way play. There have been questions about his intensity due to some issues with raising his play during big games but overall he has been a very good producer in Juniors. Often compared to Jordan Staal for his two-way play, his overall game has been compared to someone like Lecavalier (not the 40+ goal PPG version). More than likely he will fall somewhere between those two and aim to average around 25-30 goals and 70 points.

Larsson has found himself bouncing all around from between the #1 and #3 rated draft prospect. The movement is more due to the play of the other draft prospects than his own shortcomings. Fans of every team that has an opening for a top pairing D are clamoring to draft this large Swedish defender. Despite playing against grown men, Larsson has done a good job at handling that level of play. In this year's playoffs, Larsson was an important player on D for his team and helped in reaching the finals. Unfortunately the finals did not go so well for either his team or himself as Larsson (and his team) struggled against the tougher competition. Despite that, Larsson still remains an intriguing prospect who has top pairing potential but could settle into being a great #3 two-way defender who shines on his team's second pairing.

Huberdeau. A name that has probably been searched for more recently on Youtube and Google than any other 2011 draft eligible prospect. Many have seen his ability to simply make the puck dance on the ice or connect on another player's stick after a no look pass and have fallen in love. Will his puck wizardry work down low against bigger more physical NHL players and goalies who are bigger and have better lateral movement? Will his seemingly no look passes get picked off and moved the other way only to end up in the back of his team's net? Who knows but for now he is simply a wizard with the puck and if his shot and skating continues to develop, he could be a very good player. He currently projects to be a skilled scorer with some tenacity who has big time potential. Like Kadri in 09, will he adjust his game enough to make the impact at the NHL level that he has the potential for?

so those three fill out the Fab Five of this year's draft. Looking at what has been said about the other two (RNH, Landeskog) you can kind of see why they top 3-4 players have been bouncing around in the rankings all year. So which one will be a new Av come the 2011 draft?

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