[sureLoss]

Kyle Woodlief of red line report gives his analysis of the top forwards in the draft:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports...pects/9886755/

The forward group is the clear strength — and really, the only strength — of this year's draft class, and at Red Line Report, we believe that 18 of the top 20 overall selections will come from a relatively deep crop.

With that said, the top-end grouping is still not as sexy as last year's star-studded class that included Jonathan Drouin, Nathan MacKinnon, Aleksander Barkov and Valeri Nichushkin. Frankly on pure talent alone, there's no one this year we would take over any of those four.

So while it might not be a class for the ages, at Red Line, we're giving Sam Bennett the slight nod as the top dog.

He's a heart--and-soul, character player who also happens to have high-end skills, and he single-handedly changed the team culture in Kingston. He's not big, and given his gritty, physical style he might struggle to handle playing against men over a grueling 82-game season, but he is extremely competitive and willing to stand up for himself.

Sam Reinhart is next up on Red Line's board, and his explosive shot release and phenomenal hockey IQ give him an outstanding offensive upside. He should become the best goal scorer of the top group and has the type of lightning release that can fool even world-class netminders. His skating is just average, but he makes up for that with his off-the-charts anticipation.

German center Leon Draisaitl rounds out the top tier. He's easily the largest and most physically mature of the group, and as such, perhaps the most ready to play against NHLers right away. In fact, he recently acquitted himself quite well playing for Germany at the senior World Championships. He combines soft hands with terrific vision and play-making ability. Has played a lot of left wing in his career up until now, but at Red Line, we view him as an imaginative center moving forward in the pros.