Go ahead and check out my 2012 NHL draft profile of Mikhail Grigorenko over at The Hockey Writers. There has been plenty of criticism surrounding Grigorenko but I have a hard time believing that he’ll fall too far in the draft because of his “lack of work ethic”, especially considering the few offensive players available in this draft class.  In the above profile, I discuss why the perceived lack of work ethic could be a little off base.

THN’s Ryan Kennedy compared Anton Zlobin (2012 draft overage player) to Ruslan Fedotenko in his recent The Hot List. It’s a comparison that I find very fitting.

“With both goals (one in overtime) in Shawinigan’s 2-1 final win over London, Zlobin is like the Ruslan Fedotenko of junior hockey. Passed over in last year’s draft because scouts wanted to see him adjust more to the North American game, Zlobin stuck it out and returned with a team-best 40 goals and 76 points in 66 games.”

Kennedy also takes a sneak peak at lots of interesting prospects including goaltender Scott Wedgewood (Devils), Henrik Samuelsson (2012), Mark Jankowski (2012, a personal favourite of mine), Justin Schultz (Anaheim…soon to be UFA), Patrick Sieloff (2012….who recently decided to head to the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires over the NCAA route), Chris Calnan (2012…a prospect with very raw skills who could end up a very valuable NHLer) and 2013 prospect Valery Nichuschkin.

Speaking of Justin Schultz…now that he’s decommited from college, where do you think he ends up? My personal top three are….

1. Edmonton Oilers

2. New York Rangers

3. Toronto Maple Leafs

As I mentioned a few days back, the June 1st deadlnie for signing 2010 NHL drafted players has almost arrived and a few more notable signings have trickled in….

As I mentioned a few days back, the June 1st deadlnie for signing 2010 NHL drafted players has almost arrived and a few more notable signings have trickled in….

Canucks signed Alex Friesen (Niagara Ice Dogs; 6th round 2010, 172nd).  Friesen is an excellent two-way forward with a real prowess in the faceoff dot.

Rangers signed undrafted Slovak winger Marek Hrivik, who debuted with the AHL’s Conneticut Whale during the 2011-12 playoffs scoring at a point-per-game pace. Hrivik played for the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats this past season tallying 70 points in just 54 games showing his offensive flair.

Leafs signed 2006 6th round pick Leo Komarov (who has duo Finnish and Russian citizenship). Komarov will hopefully join the Marlies next season after he posted 24 points in 46 KHL games this past season.  He is an agitating type of winger with decent offensive skills.

Leafs also signed their 2010 4th round pick, defenseman Petter Granberg. He is a player that projects to be a shutdown defenseman at the NHL level and he owns very good size at 6’3″ and plus 200 pounds.

The Canadiens signed their 2011 first round selection, Nathan Beaulieu to a 3-year entry level contract yesterday.  Beaulieu is expected to make the transition to the AHL next season after he faired well for the Saint John SeaDogs scoring 51 points in 52 games including 100 penalty minutes.

Red Wings officially signed Calle Jarnkrok (2010, 2nd round pick) Wednesday night. Both he and Teemu Pulkkinen will remain in Europe for another year to develop after some speculated they might head over to play in the AHL.

Panther’s prospect Evgeny Dadonov is rumoured to be close to signing with the KHL’s Traktor. I always liked Dadonov as a player but his trade to Florida was the death of him as there were just too few open roster spots available.

Forum member dyzfunctioned put some great work together looking at the WHL’s top draft-eligible defensemen and how they rank with adjusted statistics. Give his work a read as it’s well worth it.

If you choose to, follow me on twitter @rossyyoungblood

Speaking of twitter, I am thoroughly enjoying following a few draft-eligible prospects as they undergo their interviews for the NHL Combine this week.  Twitter gives us so much first hand knowledge of the information through these young players.

Sarnia’s Alex Galchenyuk tweeted that he had 16 interviews in 2 days. Do you want to know how dedicated he is to his hockey game? Read this tweet.

“@AGally Little work out b4 the next interview”

How impressive is it that an 18-year-old gets a few hours between NHL Combine interviews and he chooses to workout? Wow.

Other active draft-eligible tweeters are Nic Kerdiles (@NicKerdiles), Matt Finn (@brotherfinner), Brady Vail (@BradyVail), Jacob Trouba (@JacobTrouba), Cody Ceci (@Cecer_83), Brady Skjei (@BradySkjei) and Patrick Sieloff (@PatSieloff)

Today is the third and final day of interviews and the fitness testing portion of the NHL Combine starts Friday.