Sekera The One To Watch

Who could be this year’s surprise first rounder? It would not shock us if it will be Slovakian defender Andrej Sekera.

Although he stands at only 6-foot, 190 pounds, Sekera is a real battler and a leader. He first jumped onto the radar at the Viking Cup in December and has been considered as a darkhorse ever since.

"This guy is very strong on the puck," says our scout. "He knocks people at will and is very balanced. To boot, he likes to attack the net and hurt people due to his nasty demeanor."

A solid puckmover, Sekera is an excellent skater who often commands the ice. His open-ice hits are hard and precisely timed and he leads by example by shouting instructions on who to cover. Possessing a quick first step and deceptive quickness, he can take the puck end-to-end.

Sekera’s mean streak truly stood out when he crushed Kyle Klubertanz with a big hit at the Viking Cup. He captained the Slovakian squad at the event. Pencil him in as a wildcard candidate for the first round in a crap shoot draft.

SOME WILL RISE, SOME WILL FALL

- Let’s face it, draft results and draft rankings do not mix. Each and every NHL team at the draft tries to steal the show and selects players with whom their scouts have some sort of attachment. Oftentimes it’s about a hunch or a standout game. Often it is about something a scout saw that maybe no one else did. We want to make it clear immediately that our rankings reflect our opinions, however the draft should unearth different results. And there is no use denying it - it happens every single year, as attested by the fall of Jiri Hudler to Detroit or the selection of Brent Burns by Minnesota.

Here are the guys we think should go either considerably higher or considerably lower than where we rank them for the draft. (And remember - our rankings are not intended to predict the outcome of the draft).

Wes O'Neill - will fall. Didn’t blossom this year as some have expected, especially offensively. We feel that he has considerable upside at both ends of the ice and he possesses excellent size, good enough to go in the top 20, but he’ll slip. Just watch the likes of Valabik and Meszaros go ahead of him.

Our Prediction: late 1st.

Drew Stafford - will skyrocket. A very safe pick at a draft that is alike to a game of Russian Roulette (no offense, Mr. Radulov). This guy brings a strong two-way game with size and grit. A win-win pick.

Our Prediction: top 10.

Enver Lisin - will fall. We wouldn’t be surprised if he fell out of the first round. He has the speed and the hands, but the work ethic has not been there and that has stood out in his defensive game. Roman Voloshenko will probably go ahead of him.

Our Prediction: out of 1st round.

Lukas Kaspar - will fall. He’s big and skilled enough not to fall too far, but he’s a guy who looks like he won’t make the first round. Teams will be scared off by his play in traffic. We think that he can fix that, but teams will be more cautious.

Our Prediction: out of 1st round.

Boris Valabik - will skyrocket. There is a lot of question marks here, including his vision, but teams won’t be able to ignore his size, strength and mean streak. A pretty good bet to go in the top 20.

Our Prediction: top 20.

Andrej Meszaros - will skyrocket. He’ll be in the top 15 of our upcoming mock draft. Teams will be enamored with the flashes of upside he showcases at both ends of the ice. There is good puck carrying potential here and that’s enough for someone to snatch him very early.

Our Prediction: top 12.

Lauri Korpikoski - will skyrocket. The draft buzz is on his side, so much that teams won’t wait too long to snatch him up. The fact that he’s very unproven and pretty skinny will most likely be ignored.

Our Prediction: top 25.

David Shantz - will skyrocket. Goalie could easily go ahead of Devan Dubnyk in the first round. Teams will remember his awe-inspiring play in the playoffs and that should be enough to go 20-30.

Our Prediction: top 30.

Petteri Nokelainen - will skyrocket. Could sneak into the first round on the strength of exposure on the line with Lauri Tukonen and Lauri Korpikoski on the Finnish U-18 squad.

Our Prediction: top 30.

Blake Wheeler - neither. Should not be discounted as a first round pick, but just because he’s quite possibly the draft’s biggest wildcard does not mean that teams will be jumping on the bandwagon too early. So far he’s proven nothing and teams will keep that in mind.

Our Prediction: pencil him in around middle of second round.

Viktor Alexandrov - will skyrocket. He has played enough hockey for scouts to get decent viewings, but he remains a bit of a mystery due to lack of international experience and teams could be intrigued enough to take him in round one.

Our Prediction: top 35.

Geoff Paukovich - will fall. His past (see June draft update) will be heavily scrutinized and usually something like that is enough to really lower a kid’s stock. Didn’t impress at the U-18's either.

Our Prediction: we’re guessing, but let’s say 4th round.

Richard Demen-Willaume - will fall. Simply had a bad year - beginning to end. We think that he’s an intriguing package, but our hunch is that teams will opt for safer players.

Our Prediction: 4th round.

Denis Parshin - will fall. Gotta love the little guy, but he’s small and not sufficiently strong. The odds are not in his favour to go in the first two rounds.

Our Prediction: late 3rd round.

Kyle Wharton - will skyrocket. Scouts loved him even when he played terribly - that should tell you all you need to know. When he picked up his game late in the year, we knew that his stock would go through the roof.

Our Prediction: early 2nd round.

Shawn Weller - will skyrocket. Once all those darkhorse players are selected, this guy will be quickly snapped up. Solid, mature, dependable - could go as high as middle of round two.

Our Prediction: top 2 rounds.

Roman Tomanek - will skyrocket. A skilled player with great hands and wheels. Teams won’t wait too long and despite the weaknesses, they’ll figure that he’s worth a top 50 pick.

Our Prediction: top 2 rounds.

Jason Churchill - will skyrocket. There is something about big goalies like this guy that intrigues even us. He exhibited tremendous confidence and poise playing for a horrible Halifax team and passed with flying colours. Could squeak into round two.

Our Prediction: top 3 rounds.

David Krejci - will skyrocket. His deceptive quickness was the ticket for a point-a-game performance at the U-18 tournament. There are a lot of weaknesses here, but those teams that rely mostly on tourney viewings a lot will snap him up quickly.

Our Prediction: top 80.