Draft Faceoff: David Toews or Derek Stepan

Whether you are an NHL franchise making your draft board or a scouting service finalizing your rankings, difficult decisions must be made for positive results on draft day. McKeen's correspondent Max Giese compares and determines which of these Shattuck St. Mary's teammates – David Toews or Derek Stepan - is the better draft-eligible prospect heading into the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.

Derek Stepan C, Shattuck St. Mary's

Ranked 61st overall in McKeen's final rankings and is committed to the University of Wisconsin .. averaged over an assist per game while producing 91 points in 54 games .. complimented his scoring prowess with a more well-rounded game, as the year progressed and seemed to get better with each viewing.

David Toews C, Shattuck St. Mary's

Committed to North Dakota and is ranked 65th overall in McKeen's final rankings .. led Shattuck in all scoring categories with 44 goals and 100 points in 51 games .. played well internationally, but seemed disinterested in most regular season contests.

1. Skill/Scoring: David Toews is no scoring slouch, but Stepan is the more dynamic of the two. Toews generates most of his offense below the hash marks thanks to his superb in-close puck control, but struggles to create much in the open-ice. Stepan on the other hand can do both and he's a deadly finisher if given a chance from within 15-feet thanks to his delicious release. His long wingspan, magnetic hands, and tremendous puck focus allow him to execute deft moves in heavy traffic.

Winner is: Stepan

2. Skating: Neither player is a great skater, but Stepan has more length to his mobility and the fact that his stride appears to become more flourishing with each viewing makes him the winner of this category. Both prospects are sturdy on their feet and Toews does have the edge in agility, but his lack of any open-ice speed will hinder his ability to create space for himself at the next level.

Winner is: Stepan

3. Hockey Sense: This is one attribute that both players have in spades. Either prospect is an exemplarily example of an intuitive player with impressive savvy in all-situations and creativity in the offensive zone. Stepan displays more ingenuity in the open-ice and seems to have limitless options with the puck, while Toews has that knack for finding the quiet ice near the opponents net. Both are resourceful, but Stepan's offensive imagination puts him over the top.

Winner is: Stepan

4. Toughness/Competitiveness: Stepan's knack for coming out of the corner with the puck on his stick despite his gangly appearance is endearing, but Toews has been a buzz saw at the international stage while being a formidable checking-line winger for Team Canada against some of the world's best. Toews did alarmingly pick his spots this year with Shattuck St. Mary's, but in the end, if either of these players is going to develop into a tenacious checker, it will be Toews.

Winner is: Toews

5. Defense: If David Toews played as hard away from the puck as he does for Team Canada during the regular season, he would have won this category hands down. However, Toews floated too much this season with Shattuck's Prep team and wasn't even trusted to kill penalties against a low level of competition. On the other hand, Stepan's defensive game has improved rapidly over the past season and he was a key penalty killer this year for Shattuck while being the faceoff ace late in the games to preserve a lead.

Winner is: Stepan

6. Intangibles: Put a gun to the head of any scout that is lukewarm on either prospect and make him choose one with his life at stake, they would all select Toews. His bloodlines and potential of filling in as a checking-line center make him the safer selection of the two. In addition, Toews has been brilliant on the international stage and impressed scouts every time he has performed for Canada. His dominant performance at the World U-17's a year ago still rings in the mind of many scouts, while Stepan hasn't proven himself enough at the higher levels of play.

Winner is: Toews

Overall the winner is: Stepan

Toews is the safer pick, but here at McKeen's we believe Stepan is the better prospect of the two and has the upside to develop into a top-six forward down the road at the NHL level.