HW 2011 Prospects: Nathan Beaulieu

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 Saint John Sea Dogs defenseman Nathan Beaulieu:

Nathan Beaulieu

#28 / Defenseman / Saint John Sea Dogs

Height: 6-2

Weight: 174

Born: Dec 5 1992

Don't forget to check out the Hockey Wilderness 2011 Draft Page as well. Just click on the picture.

History And Accomplishments:

2008 QMJHL Midget Draft - 68th Overall, 4th round (Saint John Sea Dogs)

2010-11 CHL Memorial Cup All-Star Team

2010-11 CHL Memorial Cup Champion

2010-11 QMJHL Champion

HW's Take:

A guy who seems to be above average in everything aspect of the game but not overly dominate in any of them, Beaulieu is an interesting prospect.

That is probably why there is such a difference in opinion on Beaulieu. While other prospects have areas that they dominate in, Beaulieu seems to just play good, solid hockey. He has a solid shot that he can get to the net, knows how to move the puck up the ice and even has a nasty edge to him.

Some hoped for more numbers after playing with a star-studded cast of Saint John Sea Dogs players but he still leads the team in scoring by defensemen with 45 points.

Now the question is, will he develop into a puck moving, two-way, first paring defenseman or will he become a defenseman who is only average in everything?

HW's Projection

#2-3 Puck moving defenseman

Summary Scouts Notes

For full explanations, click on the links:

B2011DW

More of a puck mover than a puck rusher ... solid agility, edge control and footwork make him effective in all zones ... offensive instincts are solid, with vision, recognition and the ability to make decisions under duress ... has a big shot ... good wrist shot ... quick stick and exhibits good gap control ... strong passer ... capable defensive player ... an underrated, even nasty fighter ... got off to a slow start offensively ... need to tweak mechanics in his shot

NHL Central Scouting's Chris Bordeleau (via NHL.com)

"He'll be an offensive-defenseman … he's a good skater, good puck-mover. He has a good shot and is very poised with the puck. He's a veteran who has a lot of responsibilities for Saint John."

The Scouting Report

is a technically sound defenseman ... pretty refined overall game ...  solid skater with good size ... does a good job of controlling the pace of a game ... makes a very good first pass out of the zone ... does a good job of jumping up in the rush when he sees a chance ... doesn’t have an overly dominant aspect to his game ... lack of high-end talent

Video Evidence

Nathan Beaulieu (via alex20wild)

Where Does He Fit With The Wild?

The idea of adding a potential defensive prospect that plays a similar game to Brent Burns is very intriguing.

He brings in an offensive game and nastiness that most of the Wild defensive prospects lack.

If we need offense, and we decided we'll get it from the blueline, Beaulieu could be our man/kid

Good Choice At #10?

I'm torn.

There are some people that think of Beaulieu as a top ten pick while others seem him more of a late rounder. I'm the latter.

I think he is a good prospect, I just like a few other prospects better, espicially some of the forwards that will be available at #10.

Would not be disappointed because we need offense and he has a good puck-moving game. But, again, rather see a forward selected because there are a number of them available at #10 that can potentially deliver similarly, if not more, impact to the Wild as with Beaulieu.

How Does He Look As A Wild?

Comment away!