My first installment is on Swedish netminder Jonas Gustavsson. He’s been highly touted as the “best goaltender outside of the NHL” and has been rumoured to be coming over to the NHL to play next season. The 24 year-old has apparently been in contact with the Maple Leafs, Avalanche, Sharks, and Stars. We still don’t know where he’s going to end up, and it’s almost July 1st. Now, I’ve watched as much tape as I could possibly scrounge up on the internet on this guy, and I think I’m ready to give you the facts about Jonas Gustavsson. Is he the real deal? Read on to find out…

First thing that gets noticed about Gustavsson is obviously his size. The guy is huge. He has a 6 foot 4 frame, and knows how to use it. He has been given the nickname “the monster” for good reason. He has a strict butterfly style, and rarely ventures away from it. He doesn’t get caught out of position very often, but when he does, he scrambles well. He has a knack for always knowing where the puck is, even on tips, and in fast-paced scenarios. That’s not something you can teach, and I’m very happy to see that from the guy. His awareness is honestly better than a lot of current NHL starters.

His butterfly style allows him to cover the bottom half of the net very easily. His legs are so long, and take up so much net, shooters shouldn’t even try to score down low on the guy. What if they try to shoot high? He has solid reflexes to fall back on. Reflexes + Size is always a good combo in my books. Another thing I noticed is the fact that he doesn’t challenge a whole lot. He can get away with it, though, because of his size and reflexes. He definitely likes to stay back in his net, more so than most butterfly goaltenders.

He is very good at reading plays. I’ve seen him get out of some very tough situations, because he knew exactly what the other player was going to do. I don’t know if that’s just ability on his part, or if he studies shooters a lot, but it definitely shows. That ability to read plays also shows in his puckhandling. He doesn’t look like the greatest puckhandling goalie ever, but he is able to pass the puck up to his teammates in opportunistic situations. He has a good temper as well, I saw him get hacked at after the whistle a few times, but he just let his defenceman take care of the situation, and skated away.

Now that’s the good. But like every goalie, not every part of his game is that great. Some things I noticed:

He has good, not great rebound control. Same goes for shot recovery. I’d even venture to say that his rebound control is below average for a butterfly goaltender such as himself. His shot recovery could also use some work. Sure he’s able to scramble and make some magnificent saves, but it takes him a very long time to get back up, set, and ready to go.

Maybe I’m just expecting too much because of his great size. I expect him to be able to push across a lot better than most smaller goalies, but the fact is, he’s very average in that department. He doesn’t look exceptionally strong when pushing across. Sure, he’s big and flexible which helps him get by, but his lateral movement could really use some work.

My last point is very important, probably the biggest thing that stood out to me. He is very, very patient. He never makes the first move ever. This bodes well for most situations when it’s, say, and odd man rush, a breakaway, or a penalty kill, but it could backfire on him in the NHL. The main thing that worries me is that he will take a long time to adjust to the speed of the NHL. Sure, he plays with men right now, so it’s not like some kid coming out of junior, but there still is that period of adjustment. If he’s overly patient in the NHL, he could be caught watching plays happen around him, and become very ineffective.

He may never adjust to the NHL, and that worries me. The raw talent, and sheer size is there. If he’ll be as effective in the NHL remains to be seen. Any team that takes him is taking a gamble, of course, but he has a very high ceiling. I’m talking Roberto Luongo, Henrik Lundqvist kind of ceiling. Only time will tell, though. I just can’t wait to see what he can do against NHL shooters, and I’m eager to watch him play.

I have evaluated each team, and have a pretty good idea of who they plan on going after in this draft. Some teams need desperate help in a certain area, others will just draft who they think is the best available player at the time. Of course, all of this is barring any kind of trade where a team moves up, which is very possible. I can only go up to the first 14 picks, because the playoffs decide where all of the other teams pick. Here are the first 5 picks in this years’ draft, including a detailed explanation:

#1 overall – New York Islanders select: Centre - John Tavares - London Knights

Lets face it, there is no way the Islanders will pass on this guy. Unless someone approaches the Islanders with a hugely one-sided deal, I think this pick is a lock. Even if someone does offer up a huge trade for the first overall pick, GM Garth Snow will have to think long and hard about it. Tavares is the game-breaker that the Islanders desperately need. I really don’t think they will pass that up.

#2 overall – Tampa Bay Lightning select: Defenceman – Victor Hedman – Modo Hockey

If Tavares goes first like we all expect him to go, the Lightning will snatch up Victor Hedman. Hedman is no small consolation prize either, every team wishes they could get their hands on the 6’6 220 pounder. The Lightning have always struggled with defence, and Hedman should fit in nicely. Mike Smith will love having this guy play in front of him. Hedman’s not known for his offense, but he should contribute.

#3 overall – Colorado Avalanche select: Centre – Matt Duchene – Brampton Battalion

Colorado would love to add a top prospect goalie into their mix of prospects, but with the #3 pick, Duchene is too good to pass up. A little on the small side, but his speed and skill should provide Colorado with strength down the middle for years to come. He’s a very low risk pick, one scout even was quoted saying that the worst possible outcome of drafting Duchene would be that he would become a steady #2 centre. The Avalanche will snatch him up with the #3 pick if they get the chance.

#4 overall – Atlanta Thrashers select: Defenceman – Jared Cowen – Spokane Chiefs

The Thrashers are in need of a big-time game changing defenceman, and while they’d love to get Hedman, they’ll have to settle with the #2 rated defenceman in this year’s draft, Jared Cowan. He’s smaller than Hedman, at 6’5 218 pounds, but size is all you can compare the two with. Where Hedman is a strong two-way defenceman, Cowen is very much a defensive-minded defenceman. He is very steady in his own end, and could have been in the running for the top pick this year if he didn’t end up getting injured. He may take a few years in the minors to refine his game, but taking Cowen with the #4 selection isn’t a bad deal at all.

#5 overall – Los Angeles Kings select: Left Winger – Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson – Timra IK

The Kings have drafted a number of defenceman in the past two drafts, Thomas Hickey 4th overall in 2007, Drew Doughty 3rd overall in 2008, Colten Teubert 13th overall in 2008, and Vyacheslav Voinov 32nd overall in 2008 just to name a few. With Jonathan Bernier well on his way to becoming their #1, they have their back-end set up nicely. That’s why I think the Kings will go out and take the skilled playmaking forward Paajarvi-Svensson (or Svensson-Paajarvi, whatever floats your boat) with the 5th pick if he’s available when they make their selection. Alexander Frolov, Anze Kopitar, and Jarret Stoll are already established scorers at the NHL level, and the playmaking of Paajarvi-Svensson should compliment them nicely. I really think he’s a perfect fit for the Kings’ system, and they should enjoy what he has to bring to the table.

That’s all for now, I will slowly be releasing the rest of the draft as the playoffs finish up, and we work our way towards the big day. I hope you enjoyed, and I would love to hear who you think teams will draft and why.