NHL Draft: The Top Offensive Players Chosen in the 2011 Draft

When you bet on sports, you tend to pay particular attention to each draft class. If you are betting on the NHL, then you know that draft picks often take years to make an impact on the main club. This year’s NHL draft was not really full of any surprises. The players that were projected to go high in the draft did wind up going to teams with offensive needs. But there is a good chance that, once the MLB scores are complete for the fall, that you will be hearing about some of the top offensive players chosen in this NHL draft as early as this year.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Edmonton Oilers

With the first pick in the 2011 NHL draft, the Edmonton Oilers took Ryan Nugent-Hopkins from Red Deer. The Oilers are full of young players that are not living up to their potential, but Nugent-Hopkins may be the one that breaks through for the Oilers. The unfair comparisons to Wayne Gretzky started months ago, but Nugent-Hopkins may be able to live up to at least some of the hype right away. He’s a tall, skinny kid that scored 31 goals in 69 games for Red Deer in the WHL in 2010-2011. He has hardly put up Gretzky-like numbers, but it is the potential this kid has that everyone is talking about.

Gabriel Landeskog – Colorado Avalanche

This is a kid you will be hearing about from the opening game of the 2011-2012 season. He was the second overall pick and the first round pick of the Colorado Avalanche. He is a big, strong kid that showed a lot more offensive prowess in his junior days than Nugent-Hopkins did. In 53 games played in the 2010-2011 season for Kitchener in the OHL, Landeskog scored 36 goals and added 30 assists. His style is well-suited for the NHL and he should be an immediate impact player.

Jonathan Huberdeau – Florida Panthers

This is another kid that you will be hearing a lot about in the 2011-2012 season, and a potential Rookie of the Year candidate. Huberdeau dropped to third overall in the draft because of his size. But in the 2010-2011 season while playing for Saint John in the QMJHL, he scored 43 goals and had 62 assists. That is a great result for an 82-game NHL season for any player. The difference is that Huberdeau did this in only 67 games.

Joel Armia – Buffalo Sabres

Joel Armia will not be playing in the NHL for a couple of years, but the Buffalo Sabres knew that when they drafted him. Armia is a freak of nature because he dominated the Finnish pro hockey leagues at the age of 17. He is just starting to get serious international experience that will help him develop even further. One or two years in the Sabres’ farm system, and this kid will be an offensive talent to reckon with in the NHL. This is one of those sleeper picks that sports writers will be scrambling to learn more about when he makes his big splash in the NHL.