HW 2011 Prospects: Matt Puempel

Hockey Wilderness has decided to rank their 30 favorite prospects in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft and will analyze each and every one of them. So on draft day, you'll have a good sense of who's who.

With each post, you will get to understand what type of player he is, and how he can help the Wild. You'll understand his strengths, flaws and get to understand what type of player he'll develop into.

The HW's Rank - The average rank of several of our favorite available rankings, weighted appropriately.

Summary Scout Notes - A broken down version of comments offered by each service. To read the whole explanations, click on the source site and search.

Now, introducing Peterborough Petes left winger Matt Puempel:

History And Accomplishments

HW's Take:

I'm hoping I am not taking a biased approach to Puempel because wanting to not repeat the same mistake last year and underrate your natural goal scorers (Jeff Skinner).

But Puempel has that dangerous shot, can shoot from anywhere and has the hockey sense to find open areas. While he doesn't have that imposing body frame or that breakaway speed, neither did Skinner and see how well he is doing in the NHL.

That said, there have been worries about his consistency, especially away from the puck. In addition, he plays on a very weak Peterborough Petes team so some have to wonder his ability to carry his team.

I feel Puempel is that type of prospect that is going to have alot of question marks, but if a team feels he can fix them or if a team feels those question marks aren't that big of a deal, they'll select him earlier on the expected just based on his ability to score. Because teams love scorers.

HW's Projection

Top six scoring winger

Summary Scouts Notes

For full explanations, click on the links:

B2011DW

OHLProspects

one of the better goal scoring forwards available in this draft ...  has a great shot and  can unleash it anywhere on the ice ... a very intelligent player and seems to find his way to loose pucks in front of the net ... needs to improve his ability to take the puck to the net and create offense from that ... needs to refine the rest of his game (play along the boards, backchecking, intensity).
The Scouting Report

Video Evidence

Where Does He Fit With The Wild?

Anywhere in the Wild organization. Seriously.

We need scorers. We need guys that can put the puck in the net, and Puempel is one of the best in this years draft class at doing that. In the near future, imagine a Granlund-Puempel duo. Drool...

Good Choice At #10?

At #10, I have my favorites, Puempel isn't one of them.

But if the Wild selected him at #10? I wouldn't be too against it. In the 2011 Draft, there is just so many prospects at around the same level and if the Wild feel Puempel's offensive upside is worth taking him earlier on, then so be it. Because while he isn't my favorite, its hard to complain against a scoring winger that has won CHL Rookie of the Year as well as team MVP awards.

How Does He Look As A Wild?

Comment away!