"Panthers General Manager Dale Tallon is a firm member of the "3-S" club when it comes to the NHL Entry Draft: size, speed and skill.

However, last year Tallon added plenty of size in his 13-player draft haul, including 6-foot-4, still-filling-out defenseman Erik Gudbranson at No. 3, as well as seven other picks 6-2 or taller and at least 190 pounds.

So if push comes to shove, Tallon just may lean toward the skill side when he crosses the stage to meet this year's No. 3 selection at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., Friday night.

"Yes … we got lots of size coming, so we've just got to get the best players, that's at all positions,'' Tallon said via phone Monday afternoon.

Two of three mock drafts on NHL.com have the offensively challenged Panthers taking 6-1, 170-pound center Jonathan Huberdeau, mostly because dazzling center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is expected to be snatched by Edmonton with the overall No. 1 pick.

Tallon is just as excited about his nine other picks, including two in the second round and four more in the third.

"We've got lots of options in this draft,'' he said. "We're going to get really good players with three picks in the first 47. We plan on getting 10 good players with 10 picks and add depth at all positions, like we did last year.''

Gudbranson wasn't Tallon's first No. 3 pick as he tabbed 6-2, 210-pound center Jonathan Toews when he was running the Blackhawks in 2006. Toews has averaged close to 29 goals a season in his first four years and was a key component to Chicago's 2009-10 Stanley Cup run."