NHL Draft 2012 Prospects: #26 Matt Finn

The draft, hands down, is the best time of the hockey season. Maybe I'm just saying that because the Wild haven't been seen post-season action since 2008, but that is besides the point.

So, on June 22nd-23rd, we will all sit down in front of the television/computer and watch the draft. But if you are wondering, "who's who", then you haven't been reading HW because thats my job.

So without further ado:

Introducing our 2012 NHL #26 Draft Prospect - Matt Finn

Accomplishments & Awards:

Prospect Jersey (What Would They Look Like In a Wild Jersey?)

Summarized Scouting Report

Strengths:

Weaknesses:

HW Projection:

Video Evidence:

Where Does He Fit In The Wild?

A smart player but questions about his ultimate upside. The Wild don't need that...

Conclusion

Reminds me that time the Wild drafted Tyler Cuma, in the sense that Matt Finn is smart and skilled in all aspects of the game, but doesn't excel in anything.

Finn is a smart defenseman that will eat minutes on the 2nd PP or PK at the NHL level, play an unspectacular but safe game. He does have a bit of upside as his development in his offensive game as been quite good this season, so it raises questions whether he has more to come.

Some like Finn's toolset and think he's worthy a top 20 pick but I have my doubts.

He has only average size, average strength, and average skating. He doesn't bring a huge physical aspect to the game nor is he dynamic enough to become a star offfensive defenseman.

At 20-30, Finn is a decent pick because he has a good chance of developing into a safe, all-round defenseman, and will add value to any organization. I just question if he has enough upside to become a regular #3-4 defenseman or will he just be a #5-6 defenseman that will have a long NHL career playing an unspecatular game while eating good minutes.

Special thanks to HFBoards, Future Considerations, The Hockey Writers, TSN, OHLProspeccts and The Scouting Repor