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               Biscuits and Breezers

                 The NHL draft for 2012-2013 is almost here! For the young guys that will be top prospects for the draft, they range far and in between. Many of these young men are at the top of their leagues and the high point of the season.  At the top of the pack we have Nail Yakupov from Nizhnekamsk, Tatarstan, Russia. Being a right wing that is 5ft 11in and 189lbs. he is a very good option for any team preferably for the Edmonton oilers.  Playing for Sarnia he has 31 goals in 42 games played and a total of 30 PIMs.  He also has a whopping 69 points and 38 assists in the 2011-2012 season with Sarnia. Nail, I think, is prepared to go into the NHL. He has soft hands, great checks, and is a great right winger. Nail is going to be the biggest NHL prospect since my favorite player ever, Sidney Crosby. It looks like so far, that since the draft will be in Pittsburgh this year, the Penguins, in Round four, will get first pick from Columbus for trading Mark Letestu on November 8, 2011. 92^nd overall.

                 For all the Penguins’ fans like myself out there, here is some great news! Evgeni Malkin is up for being on the cover of NHL 13 and a finalist for the Hart trophy.  If he wins the Hart trophy, he will be the fourth Penguin to win, following Mario Lemieux, Jamir Jagr, and of course, Sidney Crosby. Putting Malkin on the cover of next year’s chell would be awesome! I think he deserves it and some recognition for helping the team out while Crosby was temporarily away. He really pulled the team along. Just recently, Malkin was added as a finalist for the Ted Lindsay Award. Evgeni will also be the fourth Penguin to win the award following Mario Lemieux, Jamir Jagr, and Sidney Crosby.

                Some more good news is that Pekka Rinne is up for the Vezina Award! That is pretty awesome.  He really deserves it for all the top shelf and back handed wrap around goals he had to block over the season. It was pretty worth it since the Predators are now in the Stanley Cup Semi –Finals. Being 6ft 5in and 205 lbs. he really covers the entire net and doesn’t really give those five hole advantages. He really is great between the pipes.  

Going on the topic of the Predators, they are everywhere in the draft this year. They have been trading and exchanging spots mostly with Phoenix, Ottawa, Montreal, Buffalo, and New York. This is because they recently got Paul Gaustad and a fourth round draft pick in 2013 on February 27, 2012 for this pick involving  Buffalo, Hal Gill and fifth round draft pick in 2013 in exchange for Blake Geoffrien and Robert Slaney for this pick with the Montreal Canadiens on February 17, 2012, Mike Fisher in February 10, 2011 In exchange for a first round draft pick last year and this year being conditional that the Preds win the Stanley Cup playoff finals round one which was changed on April 24,this year, they get a round 4 pick for sending Cal O’Reilly to Phoenix on October 28, 2011, and a round 6 exchange with the New York Rangers for giving up their round 6 draft pick last year on June 25, 2011. The Nashville Predators will get the 66^th spot and the 164^th spots so far in the draft.

                To end the first episode of Biscuits and Breezers we will try to follow more top prospects not only in the draft but from local teams as well. More hockey excitement heading your way and more players to examine. Until next time, don’t get your breezers in a bunch over the closing hockey season. There is more hockey coming soon. Every post there will be three players examined: a European player and a combination of a goalie, NHL player, and or a Prospect player, a junior/minor player.