[A technical glitch has delayed the posting of this morning’s Rink Wrap, so as you eagerly await your chance to vote on Milan Jurcina‘s 2008-09 season later today or tomorrow, chew on this for a bit.]
With just a few weeks to go before the NHL holds its annual entry draft, it’s time to start familiarizing yourselves with some of the names that will be called on First Round Friday night. And while (barring a trade) the Caps won’t be selecting any of the big dogs at the top of this list (they pick 24th), there are gems aplenty to be found later in the round, as John Carlson – last year’s 27th pick overall – is well on his way to demonstrating.
Below is a list of thirty potential first-rounders, with links to the Draft Prospect Card for each. Study up.
| Player | Pos | Ht | Wt |
| Tavares, John | C | 6’0″ | 198 |
| Hedman, Victor | D | 6’6″ | 220 |
| Duchene, Matt | C | 5’11” | 198 |
| Kane, Evander | C | 5’11” | 160 |
| Paajarvi-Svensson, Magnus | LW | 6’1″ | 200 |
| Schenn, Brayden | C | 6’0″ | 196 |
| Cowen, Jared | D | 6’5″ | 218 |
| Schroeder, Jordan | RW | 5’8″ | 165 |
| Kulikov, Dmitri | D | 6’1″ | 195 |
| Ellis, Ryan | D | 5’10” | 173 |
| Kadri, Nazem | C | 6’1″ | 177 |
| Glennie, Scott | C | 6’1″ | 180 |
| Josefson, Jacob | C | 6’0″ | 174 |
| Ekman-Larsson, Oliver | D | 6’2″ | 176 |
| Moore, John | D | 6’2″ | 189 |
| Kassian, Zack | RW | 6’3″ | 205 |
| Despres, Simon | D | 6’4″ | 214 |
| Leblanc, Louis | C | 5’11” | 170 |
| Ashton, Carter | RW | 6’3″ | 205 |
| Kreider, Chris | LW | 6’2″ | 200 |
| Runblad, David | RW | 6’2 | 189 |
| Ferraro, Landon | RW | 6’0″ | 165 |
| Holland, Peter | C | 6’2″ | 178 |
| Budish, Zack | C/R | 6’3″ | 229 |
| Morin, Jeremy | C | 5’10” | 189 |
| Shore, Drew | C | 6’2″ | 165 |
| Leddy, Nick | D | 5’11” | 185 |
| Olsen, Dylan | D | 6’2″ | 206 |
| Elliot, Stefan | D | 6’0″ | 180 |
| Palmieri, Kyle | C | 5’10” | 185 |
