NHL Draft: Matt Duchene May Be the Right Choice

Yes, we all know that Victor Hedman and Jonathan Tavares are the popular choices for number one and number two overall in this year's draft, but Matt Duchene may just be the dark horse. Not only does Duchene have to compete with Hedman and Tavares, but all of the other top 10 draftees are also getting a good amount of the hype. Duchene plays a similar style to that of Steve Stamkos, who was selected first overall in last season's draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning. The 5-foot-11 190 pound speedster certainly won't de-thrown Hedman or Tavares for number one, but Duchene is a valuable commodity nonetheless. Duchene will surely be a marquee player for years to come. Whether NHL teams decide to draft him appropriately will be another issue.

Duchene's stock has been rising consistently in the last few months, partly because of his fantastic season with the OHL's Brampton Battalion. In 57 games Duchene recorded 31 goals and 48 assists for 79 points. The International Scouting Service has Duchene pegged as the number four pick come June, but with skill, speed, and smarts, look for Duchene to surprise some people.

While Jonathan Tavares is often criticized for his poor skating abilities, Duchene is the exact opposite. He is a smooth skating center who uses game breaking speed to fool slow defenseman. Duchene is not only known for his offensive skills, but he is aware in his own zone as well. His hockey sense is way above average and Duchene will make a great all-around player for the team that selects him. With Duchene, teams will be expecting a number one center down the line. But if number one doesn't pan out, Duchene will be an excellent number two center as well.

The Brampton Battalion is a well known highly skilled organization that is known for producing top end NHL talent. Duchene will follow in the footsteps of Cory Hodgson, who is one of the best prospects taken in last year's draft by the Vancouver Canucks. Hodgson has served as Duchene's mentor throughout their time together in Brampton and was valuable in Duchene's development as a two-way center.

Like last season, the number one spot in this years draft is not set in stone. No team will come out and announce who they are selecting so anything is possible. No one would come out and say they were selecting Stamkos last season, so why would they come out and say they are selecting Tavares this season? The fact of the matter is, Duchene is a capable player who is worthy of being number one status. Duchene can be compared to Mike Richards in the way that he is defensively sound yet can produce on the offensive side of the puck. For a kid only eighteen years old, it is uncommon for a player to have the maturity and all-around ability that he does. Whichever team picks up Duchene will be getting a fabulous two-way player and future leader.