The 2012 NHL Entry Draft is 370 days away, but it’s impact can be felt in as little as 11.

With 14 defenseman currently ranked in the first round for the 2012 draft and 24 slotted in the first 60 picks, NHL teams may look beyond 2011 to bolster their blueline. With just nine defenseman with first round potential in 2011, organizations outside of the range of the likes of Adam Larsson and Dougie Hamilton may wait for the opportunity to select Ryan Murray, Nick Ebert, Jacob Truba, Griffin Reinhart or about a dozen other high profile defenseman available in a year’s time.

“You could realistically see 20 defensemen go in the first round next year,” an Eastern Conference based NHL executive said.

He went on to wonder out loud if it is worth it for his club to wait until next year to use a high pick on a defenseman, where the blueline talent and depth far outweighs 2011.

The quality of blueliner available with the 25th pick in 2012 appears to exceed his 2011 counterpart at this point, which may have some NHL clubs looking to use their first round pick on a forward instead.

Aaron Vickers is the managing editor of Future Considerations and can be found on Twitter. For all the latest Future Considerations news and posts, follow FC’s Official Twitter Feed, on YouTube and on Facebook!