NHL Draft 2012 Prospects: #30 Phil Di Giuseppe

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 #30 Draft Prospect - Phil Di Giuseppe

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?

While Di Giuseppe brings some offense, he really is more of a powerforward that plays with speed and on the cycle. We have that already in Coyle and Larsson, we need some prospects that bring natural offensive skills.

Conclusion

A surprise player during Team Canada's selection camp, Di Giuseppe almost made the team but ended up as a final cut. There aren't many high end Canadians playing in the NCAA, meaning Di Giuseppe did much to impress Canada's coaching staff.

Di Giuseppe has a decent shooting and playmaking abilities but his strength lies in his ability to skate hard and fast, and use his solid frame to protect the puck and win board battles. He drives to the net hard and keeps his feet moving. The combination of size and speed will make him an interesting prospect on draft day.

Considering how well he did this year, he will have a high chance of making Team Canada next year as a bottom six forward. Canada likes to have hardworking and powerful forwards on their bottom two lines and Di Giuseppe fits that bill.

He is still a bit raw but has some tools to make him a decent late round pick. He will spend more time in the NCAA bulking up and refining the rest of his game

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