Second Sixes in the Southeast Division

Dustin Byfuglien	Tuomo Ruutu	Cory Stillman	Ryan Malone	Brooks Laich
Evander Kane	Sergei Samsonov	Radek Dvorak	Simon Gagne	Mike Knuble
Jim Slater	Chad Larose	Rostislav Olesz	Dominic Moore	Tomas Fleischmann
Zach Bogosian	Joe Corvo	Dimitri Kulikov	Brett Clark	Jeff Schultz
Freddie Meyer	Brett Carson	Bryan Allen	Mike Lundin	John Erskine
Ondrej Pavelec	Justin Peters	Scott Clemmensen	Mike Smith	Michal Neuvirth

I really didn't do the best sixes justice for the Southeast Division, which is too bad, because there is so much scoring talent in that group. The group of sixes in the second batch doesn't look too bad for the Southeast, which should give the division a little more credibility.

To pick a favourite out of this bunch is kind of difficult, because there is some good young talent out there compared to a couple teams with offensive forwards, but defensive blueliners.  I know, that's exactly what you want on your team, but hockey pool-wise, it's kind of tough.  

The favourite to have all six players chosen before anyone else in this division has to be the Lightning and it really does come down to their defensemen.  Their three forwards are a lock to be gone in good time, Smith has a good chance of challenging Ellis for the number one job, giving him minutes, but Clark and Lundin should be able to wrap up the six before other teams, even if they are only going to score 15-to-20 points.

I like the Thrashers to be the second place team, especially since Bogosian is a top two defenseman in the making, Byfuglien and Kane could make some sweet music together and Pavelec should see some good time behind Chris Mason in the 2011 season.  The real wild card in this group is Jim Slater, who doesn't have a lot of points to his name, but with added talent around him, could make him into a minor sleeper.  I imagine Slater will get first refusal in a top six forward spot, but there is youth nipping at his heels.

Kind of surprising, but I like the Panthers in the 3rd spot, because their defense is also a bit better and has a greater likelihood of being picked than the Capitals.  Dimitri Kulikov is branded as an offensive defenseman and I would be looking to him for some quality points from the back, given ample projections this Fall.  Allen is also a bit better for points in the minutes that he plays, which makes their six just a tad better for picks.  Clemmensen will see some time behind Vokoun, more so than other back-ups, I figure.  The forwards don't have quite the depth as other teams, but they should be better than other team's defense.

The Capitals top four defenders in points actually includes John Erskine, who only picked up 8 points in 2010 and seriously hurts the second six.  Laich, Knuble and Fleischmann all look pretty good as the second six worth of forwards and they'll mix in well with the team's top three, Neuvirth looked good in his games last season with the Caps and Jeff Schultz gets a few touches before goals getting scored, but that isn't enough to lift them up here for scoring and the draft.

Finally, it's the Hurricanes that possibly have an even less-recognizable defenseman in their second six in Brett Carson, who did finish with 12 points in 2010, but being all the way down in the Southeast, he likely doesn't have a lot of pull in my draft.  We would have to be getting awfully deep for him anyways, much like Erskine in Washington, but at least Erskine is recognizable.  Peters is also fairly young and unproven in net, but he was named the back-up awfully early in this off-season, so he might surprise, while Larose doesn't do much for me in the sixth forward spot.  The Hurricanes look to be hurting in my opinion.

Tampa Bay, Atlanta, Florida, Washington and Carolina is how I see the Southeast playing out in second sixes, with the Lightning possibly in the running for one of the better teams in the entire league finishing up their second sixes.