Seguin wins Red Tilson Trophy as OHL MVP

Tyler Seguin probably will not be the first player taken in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft in a little less than two months, but in addition to edging the odds-on favorite to get the call from the Edmonton Oilers, Taylor Hall, in the race for No. 1 on Central Scouting's final rankings, Seguin was also named the OHL's most outstanding player, earning the 2010 Red Tilson Trophy for his outstanding 106-point regular season with the Plymouth Whalers.

Seguin will be passed over by the Oilers because he doesn't quite have the flash and dash of Hall, nor is he viewed by the majority of rank-and-file fans as the favored one as Hall is. The Oilers and GM Steve Tambellini will face the same kind of pressure Garth Snow and the New York Islanders did a year ago, when the John Tavares-Victor Hedman-Matt Duchene debate was heating up. In the end, the fans, the New York media and perhaps most importantly, owner Charles Wang wanted Tavares, and it worked out for the team. However, at least after one season is concerned, the team would have been fine with either one of the other players the Isles ultimately passed on, especially Duchene, who is a Calder Trophy finalist as NHL Rookie of the Year.

There is no shame in Seguin falling to No. 2 if that be the case. After all, go back to the 1983 NHL Draft, and you'll recall that Pat LaFontaine's flash and dash earned him an earlier draft call than Steve Yzerman. Both guys are in the Hall of Fame, but, hindsight being 20/20, if the Islanders could do it all over again, which player do you think Bill Torrey would have opted for?

Seguin appears to have the goods and he's certainly got the credentials, so if he becomes Boston's "consolation prize" in all of this, then fans will get over it in record time. In the long run, he could prove to be the more complete and productive player over Hall. Either way, the Bruins are in a great position right now, whether they grab the reigning OHL regular season MVP in Seguin, or somehow come away with the surefire OHL playoff MVP and reigning Memorial Cup outstanding player in Hall.

If the Bruins end up with Seguin, then he'll be the first Boston player since Andrew Raycroft won the award in 2000 to cop OHL MVP honors.