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          Why Patrik Laine, not Auston Matthews, is the top NHL draft prospect

          What Patrik Laine is doing at his age has rarely been done before in the modern era. Roni Rekomaa/AFP/Getty Images
          • Corey Pronman, Special to ESPNMay 12, 2016, 09:00 AM ET
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              Corey Pronman is ESPN's NHL Draft and Prospects analyst. He provides analysis on the top draft-eligible players, prospects drafted by NHL teams and all other relevant prospect information. He lives in New York.
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          There is a great debate between favoring Auston Matthews and favoring Patrik Laine as the top overall prospect in the 2016 draft class, and in crafting my top 100 rankings for the class, I landed on Laine.