It's not every year that the draft is brimming with talent. In 1999, aside from the Sedin twins, the draft was so barren that GMs were better off trading their first-round pick. The best players taken in the first-round, other than the Sedins, were probably Tim Connolly and Martin Havlat, two players so injury-prone teams have never really been able to count on them.

In other years, like 2003, you would have to be stupid not to draft a future cornerstone in the first-round. That year was so deep players like Ryan Kesler, Mike Richards, and Corey Perry went late in the first-round. Of course, that year the Leafs didn't have a first-round pick, thanks to the much complained about trade for Owen Nolan. So failing to find an elite player could have been due to stupidly trading your first-round pick, not just general draft stupidity.

Another year that is proving to be a bonanza is 2008, especially if you were looking for a defenceman. Toronto traded up to take Luke Schenn fifth overall that season, thankfully avoiding selecting someone like Nikita Filatov, but missing out on other game-breaking talents. Schenn has had an up-and-down career so far, but is only 22, an age in which many defencemen are just breaking into the league, whereas Schenn just completed his fourth.

Today's post at The Good Point takes a closer look at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft and compares the three elite defencemen that came out of it.

The old superpowers of the NHL crumbled in the first round of the playoffs and the league is undergoing a changing of the guard. Gone are the Detroit Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Chicago Blackhawks, three of the past four Stanley Cup winners. Presidents' Trophy winners like the Vancouver Canucks and San Jose Sharks have joined them in searching for early tee off times. In their place, teams green to the upper echelon of the NHL like the Phoenix Coyotes and Nashville Predators.

This off-season represents an important crossroads for many of the former elite squads. Aging rosters are beginning to show cracks, especially when compared to the younger and hungrier rosters that bounced them. It isn't full-time panic mode for any of the teams, but moves must be made for each to remain competitive going forward.

A smile only a hockey fan could love.

Despite my outward hatred for the Flyers, I have a secret to confess: They have a really likeable team. It is a team that has everything: size, speed, power, and finesse. Well, everything except goaltending that is. The only thing that isn’t likeable about them is that they are THE PHILADELPHIA FLYERS! Satan’s henchmen, I say.

But temporarily putting aside how loathsome the Flyers are as an entity, their players are awesome to watch.

Claude Giroux is fantastic, both offensively and defensively. He’s a great centreman, which is even more impressive considering he isn't your prototypical hulking centre. Philly could have 10 Zac Rinaldos and they would still be secretly likeable if they still had one Claude Giroux.

Wayne Simmonds is a big, strong, power-forward, who goes to the dirty areas and has even scored a goal with his face. I’m convinced that the only hockey player (not goon) that can counter Milan Lucic is Simmonds. We might even get to see that play out in round 2.

Danny Briere is a big-game, money player, which is always a cool narrative to see actually play out, unlike other “big-game” players (hint: Marc-Andre Fleury) that are only clutch in reputation.

Plus, they have Schenn the Good, or Good Schenn, depending on your dialect. Sure, watching him makes me a little sad on the inside as Nazem Kadri rots in the minors and Luke Schenn gets crushed by all the buses he’s under, but that doesn’t deter me from cheering for Brayden.

But the player that has most impressed me is Sean Couturier. It’s amazing to think the Blue Jackets traded both Couturier and Jakub Voracek for a couple months of Jeff Carter—a couple of injury-filled, petulant, unproductive months.

Read my latest post at The Good Point to find out what young Couturier has done to win me over.

The NHL playoffs have turned into a prison riot. As the referees started the post-season with their whistles in their pockets, the players took the opportunity to gain the upper hand by any means necessary. Now the inmates are running the prison and the guards are helpless to do anything about it.

There has already been 11 fights through the first few games of the playoffs. There were only 12 all of last year.