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The last time as many as two European prospects were chosen among the top five players at an NHL draft was nine years ago, when Russians Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin were selected with the opening two picks.

While it's a long shot that we'll see a repeat of that at the 2013 NHL Draft, there's a good chance Aleksander "Sasha" Barkov of Tappara in Finland and Valeri Nichushkin of Chelyabinsk in Russia could be among the top five picks.

Barkov is No. 1 on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of draft-eligible European skaters that was released Wednesday, a position he also held when the midterm rankings were released in January.

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