Got my first sneak peak at the 2010 Prospect Report today… in a word – comprehensive. Lists for everything you can think of. Dobber, Bugg, Goldman, and Van Horne all share their thoughts on the best prospects in the hockey world.

It appears Jacob Markstrom has signed with the Panthers.

Some new DobberHockey wallpapers! Toews, Kiprusoff, Havlat, and Seabrook!

Some of my other keeper lists coming this summer – top 10 special teams players (PPP + SHP), top top 10 rookies, top 10 goalies, any more ideas? I’ll try to get as creative as possible, trying to include SOG in one of the lists as well.

Baseless prediction for tonight – Flyers win 3-2 in a close game. Giroux nets two goals.

Rich Hammond chatted with Los Angeles Assistant GM Ron Hextall yesterday. Hextall weighed in on the prospect centers, wingers, and defensemen in the Kings system. A must-read, especially if you own a Kings prospect or two on your keeper league team.

Dobber’s 2010 Prospect Report – read all about it here! You can buy it now, and it will be available for download on June 1^st. Matt Bugg’s famous 2010 Mock Entry Draft will be included as well. The guide will be available in French – check out the link for that version here. Support the site!

Do rich teams like Toronto and Montreal draft better than other teams? Surprisingly, no. In the salary cap era, scouting is one way that teams with more resources can get a leg up on the competition, but it doesn’t seem to be working out (yet).

The Predators have signed Swiss defenseman Roman Josi to a two-year entry level contract. DobberHockey writer Ryan Van Horne had a fantastic piece on Josi a few weeks ago – check it out.

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According to CapGeek, the Bruins have signed Yuri Alexandrov to an entry level contract. Alexandrov, a defenseman, had six goals and 21 points in 56 games last season for Cherepovets Severstal of the KHL. He was originally drafted 37^th overall way back in 2006. The Bruins have a few loose ends on defense (Boychuk and Seidenberg are both UFA's, Stuart is an RFA), so keep an eye on what they do. Alexandrov probably starts off the 2010-11 season in the AHL, but he may get a shot at a spot out of camp. His strong attributes are skating, passing, and positioning. Russianprospects.com's (and DobberHockey's) Alessandro Seren Rosso ranked him second behind Phoenix's Maxim Goncharov among drafted young defensemen playing in Russia in 2009-10.

The NHL Combine started yesterday. Tyler Seguin tested very well in all categories. There are two schools of thought (generally) with regards to the Combine – players who test well show great fitness and a commitment to excellence, but players who don't test well are thought to have more room to grow. A double-sided coin, if you will. I think the interviews and mental testing is infinitely more valuable than seeing how many push ups or bench presses a player can do. Most teams agree with this, but sometimes fan get caught up a bit in the test results.

The Penguins traded for (and then signed) Swedish goaltending prospect Matias Modig. Modig, a 4^th round selection of the Anaheim Ducks in 2007, has played with Lulea HF of the SEL for the past four seasons. The Penguins obviously plan to bring Modig over to North America, or they wouldn't have wasted a draft pick in acquiring him. They have Fleury and Johnson signed through 2010-11. John Curry, Brad Thiessen and Patrick Killeen are all signed to minor-league deals, and Alexander Pechurski is in the system as well. Thiessen stole Curry's starting job with the AHL Penguins by the end of the 2009-10 season. Is this the end of Curry in Pittsburgh?

Carolina signed defenseman Jay Harrison to a one-year, one-way $500,000 deal yesterday. Harrison is an adventure in the defensive zone… he comes cheap, but there is a reason for that. He’s not going to cost you the Cup or a shot at the postseason on his own, but good teams tend to have better options on the depth chart at #7 (where Harrison is being pencilled in).

Anaheim signed 2008 3^rd round pick Brandon McMillan yesterday. McMillan finished the 2009-10 season with 25 goals and 67 points in 55 games for the WHL's Kelowna Rockets. He added 15 points in 12 postseason games. It was his fourth season with the Rockets, and most fourth-year players (offensive forwards, obviously) should be at (or over) a point-per-game. McMillan had a very good 2010 WJC for Canada, scoring four goals and supplying lots of energy. He'll probably develop into more of a character/role player in the NHL.

Steve Yzerman's first order of business as Tampa GM (and Vice President)? Signing Moncton defenseman Mark Barberio to a standard entry level contract. Barberio scored 17 goals and added 43 assists in 2009-10 with the Wildcats. Also, from the article: "he led Moncton in plus-minus rating with a plus-39 and was tied for the team lead for game-winning goals. He also led all team defensemen in goals and was second in assists and points. Barberio was second in the QMJHL for game-winning goals, fifth for points and assists and sixth for goals." He also led all QMJHL defensemen in playoff scoring with 22 points in 21 games.

Another new NHL commercial to get you pumped up for the game tonight: