You're on the clock

With only a handful of days before the 2009 NHL Entry Draft in Montreal, it's time we all put on our general manager/player personnel hats and figure out the top 30 NHL draft prospects.

Though the top two picks are easy, either John Tavares or Victor Hedman, it gets a little tricky after that. Will teams pick the best available player or try to fill an institutional need?

Barring any last-minutes trades (think Toronto trading for the Islanders' No. 1 overall pick), here's a lineup of the draft order for the first round. If you'd like to participate, feel free to share your insights in a comment.

In the meantime, here are my picks:

No. 1: John Tavares, C, New York Islanders
No. 2: Victor Hedman, D, Tampa Bay Lightning
No. 3: Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson, LW, Colorado Avalanche
No. 4: Matt Duchene, C, Atlanta Thrashers
No. 5: Evander Kane, C, Los Angeles Kings
No. 6: Jared Cowen, D, Phoenix Coyotes
No. 7: Brayden Schenn, C, Toronto Maple Leafs
No. 8: Dmitry Kulikov, D, Dallas Stars
No. 9: Nazem Kadri, C, Ottawa Senators
No. 10: Oliver Ekman-Larsson, D, Edmonton Oilers
No. 11: Zack Kassian, RW, Nashville Predators
No. 12: Jordan Schroeder, RW, Minnesota Wild
No. 13: John Moore, D, Buffalo Sabres
No. 14: David Rundblad, D, Florida Panthers
No. 15: Simon Despres, D, Anaheim Ducks
No. 16: Dylan Olsen, D, Columbus Blue Jackets
No. 17: Scott Glennie, C, St. Louis Blues
No. 18: Louis Leblanc, C, Montreal Canadiens
No. 19: Carter Ashton, LW, New York Rangers
No. 20: Jacon Josefson, C, Calgary Flames
No. 21: Robin Lehner, G, Philadelphia Flyers
No. 22: Ryan Ellis, D, Vancouver Canucks
No. 23: Chris Kreider, C, New Jersey Devils
No. 24: Ryan O'Reilly, C, Washington Capitals
No. 25: Stefan Elliott, D, Boston Bruins
No. 26: Calvin deHaan, D. New York Islanders
No. 27: Carl Klingberg, LW, Carolina Hurricanes
No. 28: Landon Ferraro, LW, Chicago Blackhawks
No. 29: Kyle Palmieri, C, Detroit Red Wings
No. 30: Tim Erixon, D, Pittsburgh Penguins