This article is part of our Darryl's Dispatch series.
2012-13 Top 300 NHL Prospects (Part II: The Defensemen)
The goal of this list is to place a raw ranking or value on a given young player's ability to adapt and mature his game during those crucial first few seasons after he is drafted or signed by an NHL team.
Prospect Criteria: Players under 24 years of age who have appeared in less than 40 NHL games are considered prospects. A player's current ranking combines two grades; the first is his current state of NHL preparedness (60%) and the second measures his long-term potential (40%).
DEFENSEMEN
| RANK | PLAYER/DRAFT YEAR | POS | NHL TEAM | 2012-13 CLUB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dougie Hamilton '11 | D | Boston | Boston (NHL) |
| 2 | Justin Schultz '08 | D | Edmonton | Edmonton (NHL) |
| 3 | Jacob Trouba '12 | D | Winnipeg | Michigan (CCHA) |
| 4 | Brandon Gormley '10 | D | Phoenix | Portland (AHL) |
| 5 | Matt Dumba '12 | D | Minnesota | Red Deer (WHL) |
| 6 | Morgan Rielly '12 | D | Toronto | Moose Jaw (WHL) |
| 7 | Ryan Murray '12 | D | Columbus | Everett (WHL) |
| 8 | Griffin Reinhart '12 | D | NY Islanders | Edmonton (WHL) |
| 9 | Jonas Brodin '11 | D | Minnesota | Minnesota (NHL) |
| 10 | Oscar Klefbom '11 | D | Edmonton | Farjestad (SEL) |
| 11 | Olli Maatta '12 | D | Pittsburgh | London (OHL) |
| 12 | Derrick Pouliot '12 | D | Pittsburgh | Portland (WHL) |
| 13 | Nathan Beaulieu '11 | D | Montreal | Hamilton (AHL) |
| 14 | Joe Morrow '11 | D | Pittsburgh | Wilkes-Barre (AHL) |
| 15 | Ryan Murphy '11 | D | Carolina | Kitchener (OHL) |
| 16 | Tim Erixon '09 | D | Columbus | Columbus (NHL) |
| 17 | Hampus Lindholm '12 | D | Anaheim | Norfolk (AHL) |
| 18 | Simon Despres '09 | D | Pittsburgh |
2012-13 Top 300 NHL Prospects (Part II: The Defensemen)
The goal of this list is to place a raw ranking or value on a given young player's ability to adapt and mature his game during those crucial first few seasons after he is drafted or signed by an NHL team.
Prospect Criteria: Players under 24 years of age who have appeared in less than 40 NHL games are considered prospects. A player's current ranking combines two grades; the first is his current state of NHL preparedness (60%) and the second measures his long-term potential (40%).
DEFENSEMEN
| RANK | PLAYER/DRAFT YEAR | POS | NHL TEAM | 2012-13 CLUB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dougie Hamilton '11 | D | Boston | Boston (NHL) |
| 2 | Justin Schultz '08 | D | Edmonton | Edmonton (NHL) |
| 3 | Jacob Trouba '12 | D | Winnipeg | Michigan (CCHA) |
| 4 | Brandon Gormley '10 | D | Phoenix | Portland (AHL) |
| 5 | Matt Dumba '12 | D | Minnesota | Red Deer (WHL) |
| 6 | Morgan Rielly '12 | D | Toronto | Moose Jaw (WHL) |
| 7 | Ryan Murray '12 | D | Columbus | Everett (WHL) |
| 8 | Griffin Reinhart '12 | D | NY Islanders | Edmonton (WHL) |
| 9 | Jonas Brodin '11 | D | Minnesota | Minnesota (NHL) |
| 10 | Oscar Klefbom '11 | D | Edmonton | Farjestad (SEL) |
| 11 | Olli Maatta '12 | D | Pittsburgh | London (OHL) |
| 12 | Derrick Pouliot '12 | D | Pittsburgh | Portland (WHL) |
| 13 | Nathan Beaulieu '11 | D | Montreal | Hamilton (AHL) |
| 14 | Joe Morrow '11 | D | Pittsburgh | Wilkes-Barre (AHL) |
| 15 | Ryan Murphy '11 | D | Carolina | Kitchener (OHL) |
| 16 | Tim Erixon '09 | D | Columbus | Columbus (NHL) |
| 17 | Hampus Lindholm '12 | D | Anaheim | Norfolk (AHL) |
| 18 | Simon Despres '09 | D | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh (NHL) |
| 19 | Jarred Tinordi '10 | D | Montreal | Hamilton (AHL) |
| 20 | David Rundblad '09 | D | Phoenix | Phoenix (NHL) |
| 21 | Jamie Oleksiak '11 | D | Dallas | Dallas (NHL) |
| 22 | Patrick Wiercioch '08 | D | Ottawa | Ottawa (NHL) |
| 23 | Cody Ceci '12 | D | Ottawa | Owen Sound (OHL) |
| 24 | Tyson Barrie '09 | D | Colorado | Colorado (NHL) |
| 25 | Michael Stone '08 | D | Phoenix | Phoenix (NHL) |
| 26 | Jonathan Merrill '10 | D | New Jersey | Michigan (CCHA) |
| 27 | Scott Harrington '11 | D | Pittsburgh | London (OHL) |
| 28 | Brenden Dillon (UD) | D | Dallas | Dallas (NHL) |
| 29 | Xavier Ouellet '11 | D | Detroit | Blainville-Boisbriand (QMJHL) |
| 30 | Michael Matheson '12 | D | Florida | Boston College (HE) |
| 31 | Mattias Ekholm '09 | D | Nashville | Milwaukee (AHL) |
| 32 | Mark Barberio '08 | D | Tampa Bay | Syracuse (AHL) |
| 33 | Brayden McNabb '09 | D | Buffalo | Rochester (AHL) |
| 34 | Adam Clendening '11 | D | Chicago | Rockford (AHL) |
| 35 | Matt Donovan '08 | D | NY Islanders | Bridgeport (AHL) |
| 36 | Derek Forbort '10 | D | Los Angeles | North Dakota (WCHA) |
| 37 | Martin Marincin '10 | D | Edmonton | Oklahoma (AHL) |
| 38 | Connor Murphy '11 | D | Phoenix | Sarnia (OHL) |
| 39 | David Savard '09 | D | Columbus | Springfield (AHL) |
| 40 | Mark Pysyk '10 | D | Buffalo | Rochester (AHL) |
| 41 | Alex Petrovic '10 | D | Florida | San Antonio (AHL) |
| 42 | Mike Reilly '11 | D | Columbus | Minnesota (WCHA) |
| 43 | David Musil '11 | D | Edmonton | Edmonton (WHL) |
| 44 | Duncan Siemens '11 | D | Colorado | Saskatoon (WHL) |
| 45 | Radko Gudas '10 NEW | D | Tampa Bay | Tampa Bay (NHL) |
| 46 | Calvin de Haan '09 | D | NY Islanders | Bridgeport (OHL) |
| 47 | Dylan Olsen '09 | D | Chicago | Chicago (NHL) |
| 48 | Slater Koekkoek '12 NEW | D | Tampa Bay | Windsor (OHL) |
| 49 | Matt Finn '12 | D | Toronto | Guelph (OHL) |
| 50 | Sami Vatanen '09 | D | Anaheim | Norfolk (AHL) |
| 51 | Scott Mayfield '11 | D | NY Islanders | Denver (WCHA) |
| 52 | Nikita Nesterov '11 NEW | D | Tampa Bay | Chelyabinsk (KHL) |
| 53 | Jake McCabe '12 NEW | D | Buffalo | Wisconsin (WCHA) |
| 54 | Keegan Lowe '11 NEW | D | Carolina | Edmonton (WHL) |
| 55 | Frank Corrado '11 NEW | D | Vancouver | Kitchener (OHL) |
| 56 | Artem Sergeev (UD) NEW | D | Tampa Bay | Val-d'Or Foreurs (QMJHL) |
| 57 | Alexander Urbom '09 | D | New Jersey | Albany (AHL) |
| 58 | Jerome Gauthier-Leduc '10 | D | Buffalo | Rochester (AHL) |
| 59 | Brian Dumoulin '09 | D | Pittsburgh | Wilkes-Barre (AHL) |
| 60 | Danny Biega '10 | D | Carolina | Harvard (ECAC) |
| 61 | Damon Severson '12 | D | New Jersey | Kelowna (WHL) |
| 62 | Ryan Sproul '11 | D | Detroit | Sault Ste. Marie (OHL) |
| 63 | Brandon Manning (UD) NEW | D | Philadelphia | Philadelphia (NHL) |
| 64 | Ludwig Bystrom '12 | D | Dallas | Modo (SEL) |
| 65 | Kevin Connauton '09 | D | Vancouver | Chicago (AHL) |
| 66 | Eric Gelinas '09 | D | New Jersey | Albany (AHL) |
| 67 | Ville Pokka '12 | D | NY Islanders | Karpat (SM-LIIGA) |
| 68 | Dylan McIlrath '10 | D | NY Rangers | Connecticut (AHL) |
| 69 | Petteri Lindbohm '12 NEW | D | St. Louis | Jokerit (SM-LIIGA) |
| 70 | Adam Pelech '12 NEW | D | NY Islanders | Erie (OHL) |
| 71 | Patrik Nemeth '10 | D | Dallas | Texas (AHL) |
| 72 | Charles-Olivier Roussel '09 | D | Nashville | Milwaukee (AHL) |
| 73 | Christian Djoos '12 NEW | D | Washington | Brynas (SEL) |
| 74 | Brady Skjei '12 | D | NY Rangers | Minnesota (WCHA) |
| 75 | Esa Lindell '12 NEW | D | Dallas | Jokerit (SM-LIIGA) |
| 76 | Stephen Johns '10 | D | Chicago | Notre Dame (CCHA) |
| 77 | Cameron Gaunce '08 | D | Colorado | Lake Erie (AHL) |
| 78 | Adam Polasek '10 | D | Vancouver | Chicago (AHL) |
| 79 | Dalton Thrower '12 | D | Montreal | Saskatoon (WHL) |
| 80 | Joel Edmundson '11 | D | St. Louis | Kamloops (WHL) |
| 81 | Martin Gernat '11 | D | Edmonton | Edmonton (WHL) |
| 82 | Colby Robak '08 | D | Florida | Florida (NHL) |
| 83 | Aaron Ness '08 | D | NY Islanders | Bridgeport (AHL) |
| 84 | Jani Hakanpaa '10 | D | St. Louis | Peoria (AHL) |
| 85 | Adam Almqvist '08 | D | Detroit | Grand Rapids (AHL) |
| 86 | Brandon Burlon '08 | D | New Jersey | Albany (AHL) |
| 87 | Jesse Blacker '09 | D | Toronto | Toronto (AHL) |
| 88 | Shayne Gostisbehere '12 NEW | D | Philadelphia | Union (ECAC) |
| 89 | Brennan Serville '11 | D | Winnipeg | Michigan (CCHA) |
| 90 | Patrick McNally '10 | D | Vancouver | Harvard (ECAC) |
| 91 | Stuart Percy '11 | D | Toronto | Mississauga (OHL) |
| 92 | Taylor Doherty '09 | D | San Jose | Worcester (AHL) |
| 93 | Philip Samuelsson '09 | D | Pittsburgh | Wilkes-Barre (AHL) |
| 94 | Julian Melchiori '10 | D | Winnipeg | St. John's (AHL) |
| 95 | Torey Krug (UD) | D | Boston | Providence (AHL) |
| 96 | Jordan Schmaltz '12 | D | St. Louis | North Dakota (WCHA) |
| 97 | Matt Grzelcyk '12 NEW | D | Boston | Boston University (HE) |
| 98 | Patrick Sieloff '12 NEW | D | Calgary | Windsor (OHL) |
| 99 | Peter Ceresnak '11 NEW | D | NY Rangers | Peterborough (OHL) |
| 100 | Rasmus Bengtsson '11 NEW | D | Florida | Muskegon (USHL) |
