Top 25 under 25: #23 David Warsofsky

David Warsofsky
#5 / Defenseman / Boston Bruins

Height: 5-9
Weight: 170
Born: May 30, 1990
2012-2013 numbers: 3-13-16, 58 GP
2012-2013 NHLe: 0.130 PPG

Marshfield native David Warsofsky was drafted by the St. Louis Blues with the 95th overall pick of the 2008 NHL draft and was traded to Boston in 2010 with Vladimir Sobotka going the other way. Warsofsky has spent the past two years in Providence posting 48 points in 134 games.

Prior to turning pro, he spent three seasons at Boston University making a name for himself with his offensive abilities. As a freshman, his Terriers won the Quad (Beanpot, Hockey East Regular Season, Hockey East Tournament and NCAA Tournament) so...not bad. Despite his inexperience, he proved more than capable on the biggest stages including scoring a goal in the Beanpot Final and contributing an assist in the National Title game.

He followed that up with a sophomore campaign that saw him lead the nation in short-handed goals and score goals against Boston College at Fenway Park and the Garden, which is quite the feat when you think about it. Warsofsky wasn't able to match his goal scoring in his junior season, but he made up for that with an increase in assists and finished with a tidy 22 points after posting 23 in his prior two. After BU was upset by Northeastern University in the 2011 Hockey East playoffs, he signed an AHL contract with the Bruins and, two years later, here we are now.

Our Rankings:

As you can see, we were pretty divided on Warsofsky. But unlike the past two entries, he featured on all of our lists, so there's a consensus that he has a good deal of talent.

The biggest knock on Warsofsky's game is his defense, which is subpar. While I don't put a great deal of stock in height, Warsofsky's works against him. At 5'9'' (generous, at best), he is constantly trying to compensate for his lack of reach which can draw him out of position - a big no no with this team. Basically think about what Zdeno Chara brings to the table defensively and imagine Warsofsky as the opposite.

Strong words, I know. But keep in mind that I had him fairly high up amongst the writers; the reason being his offensive capabilities. His skating, passing and shooting are all highly skilled and position him to potentially make an impact in the future. As bad as his defense is, his offense more than makes up for it in my mind. He also wore an A his final year at BU and was captain of the U.S. National Under-18 Team, something that never looks bad if you're looking for character or intangibles.

Warsofsky's ceiling is probably third D-pairing. I'm just not certain he can overcome his height deficiency. His offensive abilities will earn him substantial Power-Play minutes, so there certainly is use for him at the next level. At the risk of sounding lazy, I project him to occupy a similar role that Torey Krug did for the Bruins in the playoffs.