Filip Forsberg

Filip Forsberg is a guy I've been anxious to get a glimpse of since Craig Button pegged him 2nd overall in his pre-season rankings ahead of Mikhail Grigorenko. Button has a tendency to go against the grain, and I can't say I always agree with his take, so the idea that anyone but Grigorenko could slot in behind Nail Yakupov seemed a little ridiculous to me. I didn't get a chance to watch the 2011 Ivan Hlinka Tournament but I knew that Forsberg was a standout player there and I think that's largely what Button was basing his ranking on. On the other hand, he had a pretty weak showing at the WJCs with one point in six games, ceding the starring role to 5th round Ducks pick Max Friberg and really getting outproduced by most every other forward on the roster. It might be a little ignorant of me to knock him based on that tournament as I didn't get a chance to watch it while I was traveling, but from a purely on-paper perspective those are weak numbers for a top prospect. Central Scouting seems pretty set on Yakupov and Grigorenko as 1A/1B type talents, but they also have Forsberg first overall amongst Europeans which is a great honor in itself.