Taylor Hall

NHL Top 100 Prospect Rankings (Part 4: 1 to 25)

#4 Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson EDM F 2009-10th

One-Timer: MPS. MSP. MP. Now known as simply Magnus Paajarvi. Call him anything, but call him one of the most talented young players in the game. Even at 10th, the Oilers got a gift. I had him ranked 7th in my my 2009 Draft Preview and here’s an excerpt:

MSP is a super creative winger with speed to burn. Known more of a playmaker, the talented Swede still knows how to finish. The powerful and smooth skating MSP is also very tough to knock off the puck. At 7th overall, he could prove to be a steal even at this rank.

Boston’s needs call for Hall

By Mike Miccoli, Boston Bruins correspondent

In a perfect world, the Edmonton Oilers select Tyler Seguin with their number one pick in this year’s NHL Entry Draft. That leaves the Boston Bruins to select Taylor Hall number two. Hall goes on to sign a multi-year deal with the Bruins, wear number 14, and slide right into the winger position on line with either skilled playmaker, Marc Savard or David Krejci. Hall scores 30+ goals in his first year, wins the Calder Trophy and leads Boston to their first Stanley Cup since 1972 causing all Bostonians to have a memory lapse on whether a player named Phil Kessel actually ever played here.

As you might be able to tell, I’ve been playing this scenario out now for the past few weeks.

Three Crazy Ideas for the Bruins

By Mike Miccoli, Boston Bruins correspondent

The Boston Bruins winning streak remains at four as the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver pauses all NHL action. Yes, you read that right. The Bruins are on a four-game winning streak; second longest in the NHL below the basement-dwelling Carolina Hurricanes’ five-game streak, just as the Olympic break goes into effect. And while maybe just one or two of the victories seemed legitimate, the Bruins were still able to secure an important eight points in four games (10, in six games, if you count the previous two overtime losses) placing them right in playoff contention in the 7th spot in the Eastern Conference. The big question for when play resumes in Boston on March 2 is how will the Bruins be able to carry over that same success seen in the previous few weeks? I’m glad you asked because I have some ideas. As crazy as they may seem…