A great boom-or-bust player for the ‘Yotes to roll the dice on. His name alone is worth the risk. Blessed with natural talent, but cursed with a ‘devil may care’ attitude, the team will patiently give him shot after shot until he gets it right. As an 18-year-old, the youngest Staal brother was expected to easily top a point per game in the OHL. However, he fell far short, stumbling through a couple of dry spells and falling flat in the playoffs. He was also pointless during a five-game AHL cup of coffee. All we can hope for is a strong camp in the fall and an 80-point year in junior for 2009-10. If he can do that, he’s worth keeping on the radar. Regardless, the wait on Jared will be at least four years.

Upside: Second liner (30-45-75, 50 PIM)

Certainty (NHLer; Upside): 65%; 30%

You see that right- a 20 goal improvement over his OHL rookie year. That’s the ‘ole Staal bloodlines at work. Interestingly enough, Jordan improved by 40 points in his draft year as compared to his rookie year, Eric 36. But does this mean Jared should hop to the top of your list? Err, no. While the youngest Staal doesn’t turn 18 until two months after the draft, his skills have not improved to those six months older. And that’s ultimately what matters. While a great crease-crasher with soft hands and a long, frustrating reach, Staal’s speed, vision and shot selection are still not up to OHL star par, let alone NHL. Perhaps worst of all is the lack of a mean attitude. While a lack of talent is a lack of talent, Jared can control how mean he plays. It’s also worth noting that Staal’s best stretch of production came in February with the addition of Eric O’Dell.