The 2008 NHL Draft is this Friday and Saturday, and as we have seen from Washington and Pittsburgh, a team?s fortunes can change with a few young, dynamic players. Read on to see the top talent available when teams start selecting on Friday. 1. Steven Stamkos C 5-11, 176 Sarnia (OHL) The consensus top rated player in this draft had 58 goals and 47 assists (105 points) in 61 games for Sarnia of the OHL this past season. He will be a nice building block to add for Tampa Bay. 2. Zach Bogosian D 6-2, 197 Peterborough (OHL) Bogosian headlines a talented group of defensemen, in which nine made the RealGM Big Board. He has good size and has shown the ability to make an impact on both ends of the ice. He had 11 goals and 50 assists in 60 games this past season. 3. Alex Pietrangelo D 6-3, 206 Niagara (OHL) In a close race, Pietrangelo lost out to Bogosian for top defenseman honors. He has good size to be a force and can help the offensive from the blue line. He had 13 goals and 40 assists in 60 games last season. 4. Drew Doughty D 6-0, 215 Guelph (OHL) The OHL makes it 4-4 in the rankings with Doughty. He is a thicker prospect with a good amount of international experience playing for Canada in the World Junior Championships. He had 13 goals and 37 assists in 58 games last season. 5. Nikita Filatov LW 6-0, 172 CSKA 2 (Russia-3) The top rated European skater by Central Scouting Service is an offense first player who could make an early impact in the NHL. He had 32 goals and 34 assists in 34 games this season and led Russia in points (9) at the 2008 World Junior Championships. 6. Luke Schenn D 6-2, 216 Kelowna (WHL) Schenn is the top prospect coming out of the Western Hockey League (WHL) this season. He isn?t a bona fide two way player; but, at 6-foot-2, he will be a physical force in his own zone every night. 7. Luke Sbisa D 6-1, 190 Lethbridge (WHL) Not rated as highly by other people in the hockey world, we like Sbisa for his offensive potential. Hockey is going back to being a more offensive game, and having more scorers on the ice at one time is how to play winning hockey. Sbisa had 13 goals and 40 assists in 60 games. 8. Colin Wilson C 6-1, 215 Boston University (H-East) The first collegiate player on the board has a good frame and put together a solid year at Boston U. with 12 goals and 23 assists in 37 games. He was also tied for the most goals (6) for Team USA at the 2008 World Junior Championships. 9. Joshua Bailey C 6-0, 188 Windsor (OHL) Bailey is one of the top pure playmakers in this draft after he tallied 29 goals and 67 assists in 67 games in a breakout season. The 67 assists was good for third in a deep OHL. 10. Cody Hodgson C 5-11, 185 Brampton (OHL) Hodgson showed the ability this past season to be an anchor in the middle of a top line. He had 40 goals and 45 assists in 68 games and was the leading point man at the 2008 Under-18 World Championships. 11. Zach Boychuk C 5-9, 175 Lethbridge (WHL) Speed defines Boychuk?s game and makes him a dangerous player in the open ice. He had 33 goals and 39 assists in 61 games this season and was the leading goal scorer in the WHL playoffs with 11. 12. Mattias Tedenby LW 5-10, 176 HV 71 (Sweden) Sweden has produced many talented players over the year, and Tedenby will look to try and join that group. He only saw 23 games of action for HV 71 in one of Sweden?s top league but ranked third among junior aged-players in points for that league, according to NHL.com 13. Joe Colborne LW 6-5, 190 Camrose (AJHL) The Denver University commit was a terror in the AJHL with 33 goals and 57 assists in 55 games this season. He has a great frame at 6-foot-5 and could be a steal in this draft if he can put on muscle without sacrificing much of his speed in the coming years. 14. Mikkel Boedker LW 5-11, 195 Kitchener (OHL) Boedker is another pure speed guy who is in the mold of Marian Gaborik. He had 29 goals and 44 assists in 62 games this season. Originally from Denmark, Boedker also has played in Swedish leagues and performed well there, as well. 15. Zac Dalpe C 6-0, 170 Penticton (BCHL) The Ohio State commit has had a recent growth spurt over the last year or so, but that didn?t slow down his development as a budding two-way player. He scored 29 goals and had 44 assists in 62 games last season. 16. Kirill Petrov LW 6-3, 198 Kazan (Russia) Petrov is another scoring Russian prospect who has the ability to make his own scoring chances. He performed well for Team Russia in the 2008 World Junior Championships, when he had five goals and two assists in six games 17. David Toews LW 5-10, 175 Shattuck, St. Mary?s (Minnesota High School) The lone high school product on the RealGM Big Board kept jumping out at us and landed at No. 17. He had 44 goals and 56 assists in 51 games of high school action. He is not NHL ready, but down the road, he could be pretty special. 18. Evgeny Grachev C 6-3, 202 Yaroslavl 2 (Russia-3) With a solid frame already, whichever team gets Grachev will be getting a physical presence to add to their roster. He played only 28 games for Yaroslavl-2 this season but helped Russia win the silver medal in the 2008 U-18 World Championships. 19. Jyri Niemi D 6-2, 192 Saskatoon (WHL) Coming over from Finland, Niemi had a solid rookie season in the WHL with 14 goals and 20 assists in 49 games from the blue line. He only recently made the switch from forward. 20. Thomas McCollum G 6-1, 205 Guelph (OHL) This draft doesn?t have a clear franchise goaltender, but McCollum has been solid in his two years with the OHL. This past season, he had a 2.5 GAA with four shutouts and a .914 save percentage as he saw a slight drop-off in each category from the previous year. 21. Dmitri Kugryshev RW 5-11, 183 CSKA-2 (Russia-3) Playing on the same team as Nikita Filatov, Kugryshev had an outstanding year with 29 goals and 29 assists in 35 games. He doesn?t have great size but will be a nice concession price for a team in the mid-to-late first round. 22. Tyler Myers D 6-7, 204 Kelowna (WHL) Myers is a big prospect with room to fill out as he continues to develop since he is just 18 years old. He is a more pure defenseman as opposed to some of the more offensive ones rated higher on this list, but on size alone, he will take up precious ice space in his zone from the opposition. 23. Colby Robak D 6-3, 194 Brandon (WHL) Robak has shown the ability to make plays anywhere on the ice and contribute offensively, defensively, and on special teams. He is another prospect who has the ability to fill out even more as he starts to play professional hockey. 24. Tyler Cuma D 6-1, 180 Ottawa (OHL) Cuma was the only defenseman on his team with a positive +/- rating and is considered a potential offensive defenseman down the road. He had four goals and 28 assists in 59 games for Ottawa. 25. Chet Pickard G 6-2, 210 Tri-City (WHL) Pickard is pretty close to McCollum, and after three years with Tri-City in the WHL, he has seen his GAA go down each year, ending with a 2.32. He had the most wins in the league and was third in GAA and will be a nice pick-up in the late first, but more likely second round. Which player is going to your favorite team? Email your thoughts to Douglas.Benton@realgm.com