flyersdad
Registered User
- Jan 23, 2018
- 1,105
- 882
This is my first attempt at the 2018 Mock Draft. Please excuse the current order, I started this a week or so ago and the standings have changed.
Round 1
Round 1
- Arizona- Rasmus Dahlin, D, Frolunda
Yotes get a franchise D-man to go along with OEL (if they choose to not trade him) and the rest of the talent they have built through the draft. - Buffalo- Filip Zadina, LW, Halifax
Buffalo goes against the grain with Zadina over Svechnikov. Halifax has been turning out talent to the NHL (Mackinnon, Drouin, Meier, Ehlers). Zadina gives Eichel a sniper to grow with. - Ottawa- Adam Boqvist, D, Brynas
Ottawa opts for the Karlsson clone. Ottawa hasn’t drafted a Russian in over 10 years. The Russian factor makes Svechnikov drop much like Tarasenko and Kostin even though he is playing in the OHL. - Vancouver- Brady Tkachuk, C/W, Boston University
Vancouver vs Calgary gets a lot more interesting in the future pitting the Tkachuk brothers against each other. Benning is collecting one of the best young forward group in the NHL with Boeser, Horvat, Pettersson and now Tkachuk to compensate for the Sedin’s losing a step - Montreal- Oliver Wahlstrom, C, US National Team
Montreal desperately needs a center and Trevor Timmins loves taking Americans. Wahlstrom is the number 1 Center that Montreal needs. - Florida- Andrei Svechnikov, RW, Barrie
The fall for Svechnikov ends here. Florida runs to the podium and selects the Russian sniper. Barkov and Svechnikov on the power play for the next 10 years is going to be a force to be reckoned with. - Edmonton- Noah Dobson, D, Acadie-Bathurst
Edmonton takes an offensive defensemen to help the power play and his Right shot should help balance the blueline. - Detroit- Evan Bouchard, D, London
London is another junior team that is molding talent for the NHL level. Bouchard is big and can be the next number 1 Dman that Detroit has missed since Lidstrom retired. - Carolina- Akil Thomas, C, Niagara
Carolina is desperate for a center and the rumors about trading one of their young dmen for a center is at a fever pitch. Thomas can do it all and adds to Carolina’s great prospect depth - Philadelphia- Quinton Hughes, D, University of Michigan
Hextall adds to already deep defensive depth of Philly. Hughes is already playing against men and hopefully has a similar ascension to the NHL as Zach Werenski. Hextall could look to package his two firsts to move up to take one of the snipers. - Chicago- Bode Wilde, D, US National Team
Chicago adds a blue chip defensemen to its new generation of prospects. Keith and Seabrook are towards to end of their careers. Wilde adds another pillar to go with Jokiharju and Ian Mitchell. - NY Islanders- Ty Smith, D, Spokane
With the first of two first rounders, Garth Snow adds a similar hard-nosed with more offensive upside that he traded away at the 2017 Draft in Travis Hamonic. Smith, despite being under 6’0” is very strong on the puck and in the corners. - Anaheim- Isac Lundestrom, C, Lulea
Anaheim adds to their future center depth with Getzlaf and Kesler getting older. Lundestrom is playing with men in the SHL and Anaheim loves Swedish prospects in the first round (Rakell, Lindholm, Larsson) - Colorado- Ryan McLeod, C, Mississauga
The Avs prospect pool has regenerated after the Duchene trade and McLeod could slot perfectly as the 2C of the future alongside Tyson Jost and behind Mackinnon. McLeod plays a 200ft game and is already a veteran in the OHL. - Pittsburgh- Barrett Hayton, C, Sault Ste. Marie
The Pens desperately need a 3C and Hayton is rising up the draft boards. He is playing down in the lineup due to the depth on his OHL team and isn’t getting much power play time which is effecting his points per game. I expect his 2018-19 season to mimic Morgan Frost’s 2017-18 season. - NY Rangers- K’Andre Miller, D, US National Team
The Rangers took two centers in the 2017 Draft and they look to bulk up their defense of the future. Miller is big bodied dman that has a heavy shot. Rangers like taking players from the USNT (Miller, Skjei) - Minnesota- Joel Farabee, LW, US National Team
Another team that loves USNT players in round 1 (Leddy, Tuch, Kunin), Farabee is a scoring winger in the mold of Zach Parise. He drops a little because of position and weighing only 160lbs but this could be a steal in 3 years. - Los Angeles Kings- Jett Woo, D, Moose Jaw
The Kings love tough dmen from the WHL (Clague, McKeown). He falls due to being hurt for a lot of the season. He could rise in the 2nd half of the season with a good playoff run. - Columbus Blue Jackets- Jack McBain, C, Toronto Jr.
Kekalainen is not afraid to go off the board and pick for the upside. McBain is committed to play at Boston College in 18-19. That should give him more time to develop since Dubois and Wennberg are already in the NHL. - NY Islanders (from Calgary)- Jacob Olofsson, C, Timra
Snow takes the big center from Timra. With Barzal graduating to the NHL, the Isles don’t have much prospect depth down the middle. If the Isles retain Tavares, Olofsson should have plenty of time to develop. - San Jose- Jakub Lauko, C, Pirati Chomutov
Lauko has fallen a little with a lackluster World Jr Championship but he is playing against men in the Czech league. Doug Wilson has drafted Czechs three times before in the first round during his tenure in San Jose (Milan Michalek, Lukas Kaspar, and Tomas Hertl) - Toronto- Dominik Bokk, LW/RW, Vaxjo
Bokk is someone who can vault himself into the top half of this draft. He is splitting his time between the SHL and SuperElit. He is more than a point per game player in the SuperElit. He has good size at 6’1” and will be developing in the SHL next year because of a contract extension. The Leafs have some enviable depth on the wings and continue to add to their strength. - New Jersey- Ryan Merkley, D, Guelph
The fall stops at 23 for Merkley. Perhaps one of the more debated prospects in this draft, Merkley is the leading scorer for his team for a 2nd year in a row as a defenseman. His critics lament his brain lapses and defensive miscues. His upside is a Shayne Gostisbehere and if he does not progress defensively, he could just end up being a power play specialist. He becomes the Devils best defensive prospect and Shero loves drafting dmen in round 1. - Dallas- Cole Fonstad, C, Prince Albert
Fonstad is an undersized (5’11” and 160lbs) center that is scoring at above a point per game on a mediocre team in the WHL. Jim Nill is from the Detroit mindset where they love to draft someone who has an elite skill and then coach up their other attributes as they progress into the NHL. Fonstad has elite vision and is an above average skater. This is an off the board pick but I expect Fonstad to rise in the rankings at season’s end. - Philadelphia (from St. Louis)- Joe Veleno, C, Drummondville
Veleno’s fall ends at 25 to Philly. Hextall takes the best player available. The Flyers love to draft centers and turn them into wingers (Gagne, Carter, Konency) if it doesn’t work out because they like 200ft players. Veleno could go anywhere from 6th overall to late in round one. Veleno can do it all and I think he is suffering from recency bias of new and late rising prospects. - Nashville- Jesperi Kotkaniemi, C, Assat
Kotkaniemi is one of my favorite prospects in this draft. He is a big center that is playing against men in Finland’s top league. He is one of the youngest prospects in the draft (won’t be 18 until a couple of weeks after the draft). He is the highest scoring player in his age group for the league. Poile adds another high end Finnish player to a good depth of high end prospects for Nashville. - Boston- Milos Roman, C, Vancouver
Sweeney is another GM that loves 200ft players. Roman is just that. He can play the penalty kill and is a natural center at the next level. Roman has great vision. Much like most of Sweeney’s first round picks, Roman is an off the board pick. He is ranked pretty low compared to other prospects in this mock draft but if he recovers from his injury then he can definitely go in this range of the draft. - Winnipeg- Benoit-Olivier Groulx, C, Halifax
The highly touted French born center is an offensive powerhouse. He has very good size (6’1”, 190lbs) and can shoot. Winnipeg can pair him with Kristian Veselainen and Patrik Laine at the next level and watch that line destroy the NHL. Chevy likes offensive minded forward prospects in the first round. - Washington- Calen Addison, D, Lethbridge
Washington adds a swift skating dman to the fold. Washington has a need at defense and Addison can man the power play. He is close to a point per game and has a lot of similarities to Ty Smith and Ryan Merkley. Much like Merkley, Addison is one of the highest scorers on a mediocre team. - Vegas Golden Knights- Rasmus Kupari, C, Karpat
McPhee adds more fireworks to the NHL’s most exciting team. Kupari, Glass, and Suzuki down the middle for the next 10 years is going to be hard to check for opposing teams. Kupari is also playing in the Finnish top league and a lot of scouts like him better than Kotkaniemi who I had going to Nashville at 26. He is smaller than Kotkaniemi but he is a little slicker with the puck on his stick. - Tampa Bay- Adam Samuelsson, D, US National Team
Yzerman adds a big, hulking dman (6’5”, 240lbs) to his prospect pool. Son of Ulf Samuelsson, Adam isn’t quite as mean as his father but has enough grit to go around. He is committed to Boston College and needs time to develop. This is a down the road pick for Tampa who has depth at every level of their system. The rich get richer. This pick could be used as a trade asset for Erik Karlsson or Oliver Ekman Larsson at the deadline or draft day.
Round 2 - Florida (from Arizona)- Jared MacIssac, D, Halifax
MacIssac falls out of the first round and Florida picks him up with the first pick in round 2. He has good size and skating ability and is playing on a very good Halifax team. MacIssac will probably go in the first round in June. Florida starts the rebuild with Svechnikov and MacIssac. - Buffalo- Jonathan Tychonick, D, Penticton
In a deep defensive draft, Buffalo picks up Tychonick after taking Zadina over Svechnikov and Boqvist. He is a future power play point man and fleet footed. He is committed to North Dakota in 18-19. - Detroit (from Ottawa)- Alexander Khovanov, C, Moncton
Khovanov has missed most of the season with Hepatitis and could be an under the radar pick up. The Red Wings have not been afraid to roll the dice on Russian prospects in the past. Khovanov could be a future number 1 center for them. - Vancouver- Ty Dellandrea, C, Flint
Good sized center that won’t have to be the number 1 center at the next level like he is on his OHL team. Plays 200ft game and could slot behind Horvat and Pettersson/Tkachuk at the next level. - Montreal- Filip Hallander, C, Timra
Hallander is playing at Timra’s 2nd division team in the Allsvenskan league against men and is holding his own with 19pts in 35 games. Montreal adds more Swedes to their prospect pool and tries to build up their center depth. - Washington- Philip Kurashev, LW, Quebec
Washington adds a slick playmaker to their pool. The Swiss born player is in his 2nd year in the Q and is still getting used to the North American game. He had a good showing at the World Jr Championships against older players. - Edmonton- Nathan Dunkley, C, London
Traded at the OHL trade deadline to London, Dunkley is one of my favorite players in this draft. He is not big but he has a good frame (5’11”, 185lbs) and can do all the little things well that do not come up on a score sheet. He is close to a point per game player and is still getting used to his new team. - Detroit- Jake Wise, C, US National Team
Detroit bulks up their depth down the middle and gets a point per game with the USNT. His elite characteristic is his vision. - Carolina- Sampo Ranta, C/LW, Sioux City
The Hurricanes have drafted a Finn in the 2nd round for 3 years in a row with some great results (Aho, Janne Kuokkanen, Eetu Luostrainen). Ranta is committed to the University of Wisconsin in 18-19. He can really shoot the puck and figures to project as a middle 6 winger. - Philadelphia- Vitali Kravtsov, RW, Traktor Chelyanbinsk
Hextall goes out and gets what the Flyers truly need, a big winger (6’2”, 170lbs) who can fire the puck. Hextall traded up last year to select another big winger Issac Ratcliffe, who plays the left side. Kravtsov has 6 points in 33 KHL games. Hextall is not afraid to take Russian in the top 3 rounds and this fills an organizational need. - Montreal (from Chicago)- Mattias Samuelsson, D, US National Team
Montreal gets a hulking defenseman (6’4”, 214lbs) from the USNT. Son of former NHLer Kjell Samuelsson, Mattias is a swift skating dman with a little more offensive abiliy than his father. - NY Islanders- Jesse Ylonen, RW, Espoo
Snow goes back to the international draft pool and selects Ylonen from Espoo in Finland’s 2nd division. Ylonen has a good nose for the net and has 11 goals in 37 games against older competition. - Anaheim- Kevin Bahl, D, Ottawa
Bahl won player of the game in the CHL Top Prospects game. At 6’6” 225lbs, Bahl is a massive defenseman that is a good skating prospect. Anaheim has traded away Theodore and Vatanen, they need to restock the cupboard. - Colorado- Anderson MacDonald, LW, Sherbrooke
Colorado adds more size and scoring on the wings with MacDonald. 25 goals in 45 games and 54 goals in 94 QMJHL games overall shows a knack for the net. The arms race that Colorado is building is something behold. - Pittsburgh- Martin Kaut, RW, Pardubice
After having a massive breakout World Jr Championship (7pts in 7 games). Kaut has moved himself up the draft board. Kaut is a strong winger playing against men in the Czech league. Kaut might be able to move himself into the end of Round 1. - NY Rangers - Grigori Denisenko, LW, Yaroslav
The Rangers add a fast and skilled Russian to their fold. Denisenko is undersized at 5’10” and 160lbs. He is a new NHL player, skill and speed over size and brawn. - Arizona (from Minnesota)- Jakub Skarek, G, Dukla Jihlava
Skarek is the top goalie on most draft boards. Skarek is playing in the top Czech league and has a 2.60 GAA and .900 save percentage. Not bad for an 18 year old. Arizona has depth at every level except for at goalie. GM John Chayka has not drafted a goalie since becoming the GM. - Los Angeles- Allan McShane, C, Oshawa
LA takes a highly touted center from the OHL. McShane is suffering from having such high expectations going into the season. He is not a point per game player in the OHL and this will make him fall out of the top round of the draft. - Columbus- Alexander Alexeyev, D, Red Deer
Alexeyev is another big dman (6’3”, 190lbs) from the WHL. He has close to a point per game and this is a great value for Columbus. He won’t be a top pairing at the NHL but a middle pairing that could play on the penalty kill and power play. - NY Islanders (from Calgary)- Alexis Gravel, G, Halifax
The Isles take a goalie with their 4th pick in the top 51st selections. Gravel is also the 4th Halifax player off of the board. Gravel already has the frame and size to be an NHL goalie at 6’3”, 220lbs. Snow likes big goalies (Sorokin, Soderstrom, McAdam, and Williams are all over 6’3”) and hasn’t draft one since 2014. - San Jose- Keegan Karki, G, Muskegon
There always seems to be a goalie that is drafted in the 2nd round every year where the public is baffled by value of the pick. This is one of those picks. Karki is 6’4”, 218lbs goalie playing in the USHL. He has good but not great numbers (3.44 GAA and 0.875 save percentage). Karki is also committed to North Dakota. San Jose is making this selection for down the road with Martin Jones and Aaron Dell in the NHL. - Toronto- Rasmus Sandin, D, Sault Ste. Marie
Lamiorello has taken a defenseman from the OHL in 2 out of his 3 drafts with the Leafs (Dermott and Rasanen). Sandin is a solid defenseman playing on the best team in the CHL. He is on loan from Rogle in the SHL and that may affect if he can play in the AHL next year rather than wait until he is 20. He is close to a point per game and is playing the 2nd pairing and 2nd power play minutes. That is a very good sign in his draft eligible year. - New Jersey- Jachym Kondelik, C, Muskegon
Kondelik is a 6’7”, 220lbs who is committed to the University of Connecticut in 18-19. He is a future bottom 6 center but I believe he will make it to the NHL as long as he continues to improve his skating. Future Brian Boyle replacement. - Dallas- Jonathan Berggren, C, Skelleftea
He is the top scorer in the SuperElit with 41 pts in 29 games. Even though he is 5’10”, he is 185lbs so he is a good size even though he is not tall. Berggren could follow a similar path to the NHL as Dallas player Mattias Janmark. - Edmonton (from St. Louis)- Xavier Bernard, D, Drummondville
Edmonton takes another defenseman from the Q. Bernard is 6’2” and has a huge shot from the point. He already has 10 goals in 47 games. Chiarelli adds more offensive defenseman to his pool that will pair well with the more conservative dmen like Adam Larsson and Kris Russell. - Colorado (from Nashville)- Serron Noel, RW, Oshawa
Noel is a player that could sneak into round 1. 6’5”, 220lbs and the son of former CFL player, Noel is one of the youngest players in the draft and is still developing. Sakic adds Noel to MacDonald, McLeod, Jost, Rantanen, Morrison and Greer plus Mackinnon and Landeskog. This could be one of the most dangerous teams in the next 5 years. - Boston- Jack Drury, C, Waterloo
Son of former NHLer Ted Drury (who was a former teammate of GM Don Sweeney) and nephew to Chris Drury, Jack Drury is a point per game scorer at the USHL level. He is committed to Harvard in 18-19 and has future captain written all over him Sweeney loves USHL prospects in round 2 (Lindgren and Forsbacka-Karlsson). - Winnipeg- Xavier Bouchard, D, Baie-Comeau
The Jets could use some defensive depth. Bouchard is having a down year after scoring 34 points in 63 games last year. His totals aren’t moving the needle as much this year, 14 points in 43 games. At 6’3” and 190 lbs, he should still here his name called in the top 3 rounds. Chevy loves big defensemen and does not seem to put too much stock in draft year scoring stats (Logan Stanley, Dylan Samberg). - Montreal (from Washington)- Adam Ginning, D, Linkoping
Ginning is playing in the SHL as an 18 year old. Although he is scoreless through 19 games, it is no small feat to play defense in one of the top leagues in the world. With Ginning and Samuelsson, Montreal will be tougher to play against in the future and could be a shutdown/penalty kill pairing. - Vegas- Riley Sutter, RW, Everett
McPhee is trying to build up Vegas to be a long time contender. Sutter may take longer to develop than some prospects available at this time but he is a power forward that can score. He is from hockey’s biggest family and the Sutter family has proven to be difference makers in the NHL. - Tampa Bay- Jan Jenik, LW, Liberec
Jenik is the youngest player in this draft. If he was born a day later, he would not be eligible for the 2018 Draft. Jenik is a tall (6’1”) but needs to add weight to his 154lbs body. He is splitting this year between the top Czech league and the 2nd division. Jenik could have a similar career path to Alex Killorn, who was also very young for this draft year. Yzerman can let Jenik mature at his own pace and stash him for later.
