The biggest prospect in the 2011 entry draft, Jamieson Oleksiak, is arguably the most intriguing.
This guy is 6-foot-7 (maybe 6-foot-8), north of 240 pounds, and plays defense at Northeastern; where he lands and when he goes in the draft will be interesting because it might indicate a trend in the league -- are teams going to put a greater premium on extreme height in propects? Think about Zdeno Chara or Tyler Myers in this regard.
Usually the word "raw" is attached and a long, gradual development curve is presumed when you're talking about guys this tall; Chara and Meyers debunked that, but it's still the prevailing notion.
In one junior season after leaving Europe, Chara was unpolished on D -- but a force without the puck. Myers' improvement was even more dramatic; he struggled at the world juniors in Jan '09 but four months later he might have been the best D in major junior, leading Kelowna to the Memorial Cup final.
So where does that leave us on Oleksiak?
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Grant Sonier
Grant Sonier has scouted for six NHL organizations over the past 13 years, most recently for the Atlanta Thrashers during the 2010-11 season. He is a special contributor to ESPN Insider.
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Victoria Matiash
Victoria Matiash has served as a Fantasy Hockey columnist for ESPN.com since 2007, and contributor to NHL Rumor Central since 2010. She lives in Toronto.
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