Draft Watch: Top junior D this decade wears red, white and blue

Wednesday, October 28, 2009 | Feedback | Print Entry

Talking to an experienced amateur scout, I learned something pretty interesting. The little old U.S.A. is producing some hardcore kid defensemen.

Now, I'm not talking about Texas-born Tyler Myers, who's enjoying a heck of a start with the Sabres in Buffalo. He grew up in Western Canada and opted to compete for Team Canada in international competitions.

A more in-depth discussion of Myers will come in time in this space, but right now I'm talking about some kids who will be eligible for the draft in June.

 
 

To read about several up and coming American defensemen who could be selected early in the 2010 draft -- as well as one player who scouts say could be very special -- you must be an ESPN Insider.
  • E.J. Hradek E.J. Hradek

    E.J. Hradek is a senior writer at ESPN The Magazine, joining the staff prior to its launch in 1998. He began covering hockey as a writer/editor for Hockey Illustrated in 1989. The following year, he beat the Stars to Dallas (by three years), taking over as the editor of Beckett Hockey Monthly. When the Stars finally did arrive in Big D, he hosted a weekly hockey radio show and tried (unsuccessfully) to convert ESPN's Skip Bayless to the greatest game on ice.

    In 1996, Hradek left Dallas, but not the Stars. Relocating back to the New York area, he became a part-time pro scout for the club, seeing more than 100 NHL/AHL games for each of the next two seasons. The scouting gig was a great learning experience, offering a different view of the game.

    Hradek grew up in Tuckahoe, N.Y., about a 40-minute train ride from New York City. Despite the proximity to the Rangers, Hradek embraced the Islanders when the expansion franchise debuted in 1972. Eight years later, he was part of the sellout crowd at the Nassau Coliseum that witnessed the Islanders' first Stanley Cup championship.


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