Commentary

NHL draft: Top 50 prospects 3.0

Nugent-Hopkins, Larsson top group of six elite prospects for 2011 NHL Entry Draft

Updated: June 17, 2011, 1:23 PM ET

By Gare Joyce | ESPN Insider

A year ago the buzz centered around Taylor vs. Tyler -- Taylor Hall vs. Tyler Seguin, that is. The pair were clearly seen as the top two talents in the draft pool and were selected No. 1 and 2 respectively.

This season Ryan Nugent-Hopkins seems to be the consensus top talent in the draft, but the range of elite prospects runs a little deeper. Scouts and talent evaluators from around the league believe this draft class contains as many as six potential studs, including Swedish D Adam Larsson, Saint John C Jonathan Huberdeau, former Central Scouting No. 1 LW Gabriel Landeskog and our former No. 1, C Sean Couturier.

With the first round of the draft set for Friday, June 24, here's a look at our final Top 50 rankings for the 2011 NHL draft class.

To see all of the top 50 prospects for the 2011 NHL draft and get all of Insider's draft coverage, including regular updates in the NHL Draft Blog, sign up today.