2010 NHL Draft Prospect: Joe Basaraba

Name: Joe Basaraba

Height: 6-2

Weight: 180 lbs.

09-10 team: Shattuck St. Mary's

09-10 stats: 52 games played, 24 goals, 22 assists, 46 points

Prospect Info:

Joe Basaraba is a big forward from the town of Fort Frances, Ontario, just across the border from International Falls, Minnesota. After playing high school hockey for Fort Frances High School as a sophomore, Basaraba was drafted by the Erie Otters of the OHL. But not wanting to move so far away from home--it's a 1730 mile drive from his hometown to Erie--Basaraba stayed closer to home, transferring to the Shattuck-St. Mary's prep school in southern Minnesota, where he has played for the past two years.

Basaraba has a big frame, and though he still has room to add strength, he's already very strong for his age, which makes him a punishing checker and gives him a wicked shot. Despite the big shot, he hasn't shown a lot of potential as a future NHL scoring threat, but even if that area doesn't develop, he could be a very talent two-way player.

Basaraba will play next season for the University of Minnesota-Duluth, where his older sister goes to school..

Links of Interest:

No Average Joe-YouTube Video-November 2008

Basaraba Commits to UMD-Fort Frances Times-December 2009

Shattuck-St. Mary's Means Hockey-Minnesota Public Radio-March 2010

On WCH...

November 10, 2010: "Joe Basaraba-He was on the top line with Clark too and didn't get much going. He at least made a few things happen with his size and strength. You feel sorry for anyone that he hits. He also has an incredible shot, but didn't get to use it that many times."

January 11, 2010: "39. Joe Basaraba-Shattuck(Minnesota-Duluth)-This looks about right. I don't think Basaraba will ever develop into a big scorer, but he's a fairly safe pick because of his physical play."

Final Analysis

Basaraba would be a very nice prospect for any team to have. As he continues to develop physically in college, he could become a punishing force along the boards. That said, teams may look elsewhere early on in the draft for players that possibly have more offensive upside and the potential to be a top six NHL forward. So he may slip a little bit, but someone will be intrigued by his size and physicality and hope the offensive part of his game comes round. If not, he'll still likely end up being a valuable player. I'd expect him to go somewhere in the third or fourth round.