No. 1 Luca Sbisa

1. Luca Sbisa- Sbisa was selected 19th in the 2008 draft. Sbisa is a very good all around player. He does a bit of everything, he can skate, pass, shoot, hit, fight and defend. He’s a player that really broke out in the 2008 WHL playoffs. He’s also blessed with good size at 6’2 190, so obviously he has room to grow into his frame and become a solid 200+ pounder.

He was so impressive at Flyers camp last year, he made the team and played in 39 games. He was later sent back to Lethbridge as the Flyers had a glut of D as well as cap issues so removing his cap number helped. He went on to play over 30 minutes a game back in junior helping his team advance in the playoffs.

Sbisa is expected to make the Ducks right out of camp, many expect him to be paired with Scott Niedermayer, on one hand that’s going to help him learn a lot about what it takes to become a great player. On the other, that means Carlyle is throwing him into the fire against top offensive players. Can he help contain players like Joe Thornton, Pavel Datsyuk and so on? If he can it could accelerate his development, if he can’t….it could stunt his growth. So It’s a bit risky, no doubt but I’ve heard rave reviews about his character.

Sbisa has number 1 type upside with his all around talent and if he can start to excel in a few areas, he could be one of those franchise type D every team craves.