It's too early to start to name any winners from the last couple of drafts -- call me back in three to five years. That said, some teams have prospects in the pipeline whose stock has taken a significant spike up since their selection. According to a sample of NHL scouts contacted this week, nobody fared better than San Jose in getting good value from their picks.
(For our purposes here, we're leaving aside players from the last two drafts who are already playing in the NHL. This isn't the forum to compare the relative merits of, say, John Tavares and Matt Duchene or Taylor Hall, Tyler Seguin and Jeff Skinner. In designating someone a prospect, we'll open the door to a player who might have had an emergency call-up or played in a couple of NHL games, but not any young guy who has drawn a NHL paycheck on a regular basis.
San Jose Sharks
To read more about why the San Jose Sharks, Washington Capitals and New York Rangers have the top sleeper picks, you must be an ESPN Insider.
ABOUT THIS BLOG
NHL Draft Blog
Your home for in-depth reports on the NHL draft and its top prospects.
Follow the NHL Draft Blog on Twitter
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.
Follow Grant Sonier on Twitter
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.
Follow Victoria Matiash on Twitter
