CNATI: Cincinnati OH Sports Journalism

Jimmy Mullin is still over a year away from suiting up for the RedHawks, but already he is a member of a record-setting NHL draft class.

Mullin was one of a record 22 high school hockey players selected in the 2010 draft this weekend.

Mullin was selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning late in the fourth round, 118th overall. Mullin is expected to play one season of juniors, probably in the USHL, before joining the RedHawks in the fall of 2011.

"There are a lot of talented players in high school hockey, but the big knock has always been that teams don't know if there's good enough competition (at the high school level)," Blackhawks prep draftee Justin Holl - the 54th pick overall - said to NHL.com. "High school hockey is on the rise, and a lot of people are beginning to realize it now. The leagues throughout the country can produce a lot of good players and we're beginning to see that."

Mullin played for Shattuck St. Mary's prep school last season - the same Minnesota institution that Sidney Crosby suited up for prior to joining the Penguins - where he finished with 32 goals and 40 assists for 72 points in 55 games.

The Philadelphia-area native was the 12th high school player selected in this year's draft, and the only one picked by Tampa Bay.

Mullin is listed at 5-feet-10, 152 pounds (a Friday article in the Philadelphia Daily News said he was 5-11, 165), which may be why he was not selected higher, although the NHL Central Scouting Bureau had him projected 165th overall. Had that happened he would have been taken midway through the sixth round.

Mullin was the lone Miami player taken over the weekend, but that was mostly because most other incoming RedHawks' birthdays did not fall in the draft window.

The incoming class of 2011 may be another of coach Enrico Blasi's masterpieces. Forwards Tyler Biggs and Alex Gacek - both highly-touched NHL prospects - are also expected to join the team for 2011-12.

ANALYSIS: I was pleasantly surprised to see Mullin drafted in the fourth round, although the height-weight discrepancy may have accounting for at least part of his jump.

So it's a great day for Mullin. It looks like he has an extremely bright future in hockey ahead of him. And it's a great day for Miami, which has once again had its program validated by having one of its recruits picked in the draft.

I'm not sure, and I'm not sure if even Blasi is sure, exactly which players are coming here this fall, but I'm not sure that a season in juniors is necessary for a player who scored 32 goals in 55 games at the elite prep level.

This is purely a guess, but it may be a numbers game with the incoming players already slated to come in this fall.