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Ryan Murphy was featured on Hockey Night in Canada last year as Don Cherry's favorite to win this years race to first pick overall. His stats suggest he could do it but with recent developments and a draft class that could be one of the deepest in years, he seems destined to be a top 10 instead of a top 3. This year, he has been lighting it up offensively from the back side but isn't as refined as a Siemens or Larrson project to be. Think Mike Green but better offensively but a little on the smallish side. Better offensively, yes! He might be the most prolific offensive player in the draft. Anyone wishing to see Paul Coffee type rushes can look no further than Murphy. A cure to any teams powerplay woes. He could step into the NHL soon too as he will be drafted to provide offense and could be paired as a 6th d-man.
If this guy was 6'2, he would easily be the first overall pick in this years NHL draft. Murphy is explosive with the puck and excels as the quarterback on the Powerplay. Murphy has worked extremely hard in Kitchener, developing his play in the his own end, his first pass is one of the best in all of the OHL. Murphy eats tons of minutes of the blueline and is not a one denominational player. Murphy has developed in a very talented offensive defenseman who will have his name called around 5-10 in this year's NHL draft.
The most skilled of all blueliners in this year’s draft class, Murphy excels in the offensize zone. He has high end vision and hockey IQ and can make pinpoint passes, and exploit holes in defensive coverage. He also has a howitzer from the point and can double as a trigger man. He’s a more than gifted skater, and can blow past others with ease, as well as having the ability to elude with sharp turns. Outside of his lack of size, and ‘work-in-progress’ defensive game, there isn’t much to not like.