Duchene, Paajarvi-Svensson or Cowen?

I decided to do a little write up on 3 possible picks for the Thrashers. I'll do them in order of who I would like to see us get.


First up is Matt Duchene.

This kid has great hands and possesses one of the best shots in the OHL, with a very quick release. He's labeled as a pure sniper. One of the best skaters in the 2009 draft he has the ability to accelerate and change gears instantly ala Kovalchuk and Ovechkin. Speed like that can back off defenders and create a lot of problems. Can you imagine Kovy and Duchene racing down the ice together? Although rumored to be a decent passer he has the ability to be a game breaker with his offensive talent. Offense aside he's said to be a solid 2 way defender. Something Atlanta poorly needs. At 5'11" and 198 and only 18 this kid could still get above 6' and around 210 easy. That's some pretty decent size to go along with that speed. His downside seems to be that he needs to learn to use his size to shield the puck a little better, especially along the walls. That's something that can be worked on and corrected over time. Personally I would love to see this kid Centering a line with Kovy and say Little on the wing.



Next up is Jared Cowen

Here's what I like about this kid. SIZE, SIZE and SIZE. At 6'5" and 218 pounds this kid is a beast and he's only 18. He's a very fluid skater and has an impressive wingspan that he uses to immobilize forwards. Aside from his stature his strong suit is his positioning and discipline. When a defenseman has good positioning they usually don't take a lot of penalties and it shows by his 45 PIM this year. Cowen likes to jump up into the play so he would fit nicely into our system. He isn't going to bring the same kind of offensive production that bogosian does but he's a big kid who plays very physical in front of the net. Often used to shut down the oppositions strongest player he could eat up a lot of ice time as well. This year he placed 3rd in hardest shot at the skills competition. That could bode well for playing the point on our PP. The down side is he's coming off of a knee injury and that could scare some scouts. Prior to the injury he had never missed a game due to being hurt and was often talked about as the number 3 pick in the draft. A good video can be seen here. www.whl.ca/whl-player-profile---jared-cowen-p126885/t-webTV





Last but not least. Magnus Svensson-Paajarvi

Magnus is an extremely fast and fluid skater. He's 6'1" and 200 pounds. He likes to use his size to attack the net and back up forwards. He has great hands and his offensive upside has been compared to Markus Naslund and Matts Sundin. Magnus has managed to work his way into a potential top 5 pick this year. Good on the breakaway and a tremendous playmaker he could be a great set up guy for Kovy. Downfalls are that he apparently shy's away from physical play and his defensive game needs some work. I'm not sure if we need another guy who can score but can't play in his own zone.