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The first rule of the NHL draft, like all other drafts, is take the BPA, or "best player available." The second rule of the NHL is draft is that you never reach to fill a need. The third rule of the NHL draft is that rules No. 1 and 2 don't necessarily apply.

The order of the NHL draft will be sorted out tonight and, the way the draft works, there's about half a chance that the Edmonton Oilers will own the first overall pick when the envelopes are opened. I'm going to stand by the idea that Taylor Hall is the BPA in this draft and should go No. 1. But will he? Or will it be center Tyler Seguin of the Plymouth Whalers, Central's No. 1 in the final ranking of North American skaters?

It will surely be debated by the lucky team that lands the first pick. You could make a case that, if all things are equal, Edmonton would be best served by addressing center rather than wing. The fact is, you can make that argument for just about anybody. First-line centers are a requisite to team success while All-Star wingers can go hungry without someone to get the puck. That was an opinion floated out there by NHL Central Scouting's Chris Edwards when the outfit released its list.

But ...

Hall is the best player and Edmonton is going to lean heavily that way with their first pic. With Hall's Alberta roots and the storyline that he'd come home to bail out a foundering franchise, it would be a tremendous gut check for the Oil to opt for Seguin.

Boston Bruins

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