"You never know what's going to happen," Holmgren said. "We went through our normal preparation in our scouting meetings at the end of the year . . . so I think our scouting staff is as prepared as we would be if we had a first-round pick. They know the players, they've done their work and we'll go to the draft prepared for anything, which may or may not happen."
Edmonton is expected to take Taylor Hall, from the OHL's Windsor Spitfires. The Bruins, who pick second thanks to their trade with Toronto for Phil Kessel, are likely to select Tyler Seguin from Plymouth (OHL). Hall and Seguin are the can't-miss prospects in this draft, which will be televised live on Versus tomorrow night at 7 from the Staples Center.
After those two selections, it is anybody's guess as to who goes next. As it stands now, the Flyers do not pick until No. 89, which is the 29th pick in the third round.
The draft experts and Holmgren say the 2010 draft class is a strong one, but not as deep as some of the past years.
"It's not a considerably deep draft like the year [Mike] Richards and [Jeff] Carter were drafted [in 2003] but it's a good draft," Holmgren said. "I think obviously there are a couple guys early in the draft that are going to be top-line players. Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin, after that there's some good defensemen at the top end of the draft, but I do think there's a couple guys that are probably ready to play, depending on where they end up."
