StevenToddIves
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Ives 2021 Devils-Centric Mock Draft, Final Version
Mock drafting is always difficult, but in 2021 it’s just ridiculous. There’s no lock for consensus #1, there’s not even a consensus top 3 or top 5 or top 10 which is remotely consistent. We haven’t gotten to see many of the prospects due to the pandemic craziness across the hockey world.
But I will say I’ve studied the players a lot, and I study all 31 (soon 32) NHL teams and their draft tendencies and organizational needs. Keep in mind, this is not a ranking — so if I left your favorite prospect out of the first round, it’s not that I don’t like them too, it’s just that I actually think they can drop out of the first round.
Mock drafting is always difficult, but in 2021 it’s just ridiculous. There’s no lock for consensus #1, there’s not even a consensus top 3 or top 5 or top 10 which is remotely consistent. We haven’t gotten to see many of the prospects due to the pandemic craziness across the hockey world.
But I will say I’ve studied the players a lot, and I study all 31 (soon 32) NHL teams and their draft tendencies and organizational needs. Keep in mind, this is not a ranking — so if I left your favorite prospect out of the first round, it’s not that I don’t like them too, it’s just that I actually think they can drop out of the first round.
- Buffalo: LD Owen Power, University of Michigan NCAA the Sabres have enough PR problems that they cannot afford to be passing up on a 6’6 defenseman with terrific skates and stratospheric two-way potential. Yes they need a center, but I sincerely feel Power is the pick here.
- Seattle: C Matthew Beniers, University of Michigan NCAA the best place to start a new franchise is up the middle, and center is the toughest position to fill in the expansion draft. Beniers has the fiercest compete level in the draft and — though he might lack the 90+ point scoring upside you’d like out of a second overall pick — could be a dominant two-way force with great speed and near-PPG upside.
- Anaheim: C Mason McTavish, EHC Olten Switzerland the Ducks love big and tough and McTavish is both in spades. He’s also a deadly offensive weapon with a cannon for a shot who plays extremely competitive and smart two-way hockey. The idea of McTavish combining with Trevor Zegras on a top line one day is tantalizing.
- NEW JERSEY DEVILS: LD Luke Hughes, US-NTDP if the youngest Hughes brother is not taken in the top 3 — and he’s a very possible Anaheim pick — I feel the Devils will take him and run. Luke is 6’3 and the most electrifying skater in the entire 2021 class. He’s a long way off from the NHL and needs improvements in his overall game, but the skating/skill/size combination is rare and his upside is simply tremendous.
- Columbus: LD Simon Edvinsson, Vasteras Allvenskan the loss of David Savard combined with the impending loss of Seth Jones leaves the Blue Jackets with big impending holes in a once-rock solid defense core. Edvinsson is a physical, high-compete, defensive defenseman. He also offers terrific skating ability and a great set of hands, fueling belief he can one day develop into a player who can offer some offensive production, as well.
- Detroit: RD Brandt Clarke, Nove Zamky Slovakia GM Steve Yzerman traditionally values hockey IQ more than any other hockey executive, and the Red Wings lack a high-end pure offensive defenseman throughout their organization. Clarke hits all those marks dead on — the best offensive d-man with the highest hockey IQ among all 2021 draft-eligible blueliners.
- San Jose: RW Dylan Guenther, Edmonton WHL the Sharks are off to a good start in their re-build efforts with an excellent 2020 draft, and Guenther would immediately become the most gifted forward in the system. He’s a do-it-all, highly intelligent hard worker — a two-way gem with high end skills across the board and great offensive capability.
- Los Angeles: LW/C William Eklund, Djurgardens SHL the rich get richer — as the top prospect pool in the entire NHL adds a player who is arguably deserving of a top 3 pick. Eklund features the top hockey IQ in the draft and plays with extraordinary anticipation, awareness and effort. Though perhaps not possessing the greatest offensive ceiling in the draft, Eklund features a terrific floor as a top-six, all-situations winger.
- Vancouver: C/RW Chaz Lucius, US-NTDP though the Canucks’ front office has taken some heat in recent years, there is no doubt they have been phenomenal at the draft table. Lucius might be the best pure goal-scorer in the 2021 class, and he adds an intelligent, two-way game. Lucius boasts high-end skills across the board, aside from his average skating.
- Ottawa: G Sebastian Cossa, Edmonton WHL the Senators rebuild is starting to trend upwards, as the prospect pool is stacked at all positions except one — goaltending. Cossa is an athletic beast with a 6’6 frame, which has helped him rocket up draft boards to the current point where reportedly several NHL teams have him above Wallstedt as the top available goalie for the 2021 draft.
- Arizona: FORFEIT It will unfortunately take the Coyotes several seasons to recover from ex-GM John Chayka’s historically disastrous reign of error.
- Chicago: G Jesper Wallstedt, Lulea SHL the Hawks make it back-to-back netminders with the addition of Wallstedt, the consensus top goalie for 2021 until Cossa’s meteoric late rise. Wallstedt is seen as a franchise-level stopper, imperative for a Chicago return to contention.
- Calgary: LW/C Kent Johnson, University of Michigan NCAA the Flames find themselves in a limbo — unable to compete with the current core, yet still reluctant to fully rebuild. The prospect pool is near the bottom of the league and lacking in high-end offensive prospects. Johnson is considered by some to have the most pure offensive upside of any forward in the draft — a magical combination of hands, vision and scoring ability.
- Philadelphia: RD Corson Ceulemans, Brooks AJHL the Flyers blueline was exposed this year with a disappointing non-playoff campaign. Ceulemans oozes upside — big, extremely fast and offensively skilled. Questions surrounding his defensive play were answered in spades with a phenomenal U-18 tournament for the gold medal-winning Team Canada.
- Dallas: C Fyodor Svechkov, Lada Togliatti VHL it is beyond me how this kid has not received the hype he deserves, because Svechkov is the best two-way forward in the draft after only Matt Beniers and also features elite passing vision which gives him enormous scoring upside. Dallas would benefit from this versatility, as well as Svechkov’s ability to shine on either LW or up the middle.
- NY Rangers: C Aatu Raty, Karpat Finland the Rangers have built a prospect pool with depth at both wings and on the blueline, but aside from Mika Zibanajad they lack a top-two caliber center throughout their entire organization. Despite a rocky draft-eligible season, Raty offers a top-10 caliber combination of size, speed and skill up the middle, and the Rangers have enough overall talent in the pipeline to take a chance here.
- St. Louis: LW/C Cole Sillinger, Sioux Falls USHL though I also think it’s quite possible the Blues use this pick for the blueline, it would be quite difficult for them to pass on the enormously skilled Sillinger, who also features the physicality and intensity to fit perfectly in Coach Craig Berube’s hard-hitting and forechecking system. Sillinger’s skill-set is higher than this, but his below-average skating could drop him just outside the top half of the first round.
- Winnipeg: LD Carson Lambos, Winnipeg WHL the Jets have bled blueliners in recent years, losing backend stalwarts like Byfuglien, Trouba, Myers, Chiarot and more. Lambos offers size, great skating and a booming shot — he can shut it down defensively and has big offensive upside, as well. A rough draft-eligible campaign dropped him from his pre-season consensus spot in the top 5, but Lambos offers comparable upside to names like Hughes and Clarke.
- Nashville: C Zachary Bolduc, Rimouski QMJHL the Preds lack a top-line caliber center at the NHL level, and although there is hope top prospect Philip Tomasino can develop into this type of player, there is certainly an organizational need up the middle. Bolduc is silky smooth offensively with terrific vision and also offers a top-notch two way acumen which is is a prerequisite for Nashville’s organizational philosophy.
- Edmonton: RW Fabian Lysell, Lulea SHL Oilers’ GM Ken Holland has been trying to surround elite center duo McDavid/Draisaitl with speed and skill on the wing, and Lysell is one of the best skaters and scorers in the draft. If he can answer some questions about his 200-foot game, Lysell’s upside is star-quality.
- Boston: LW Brennan Othmann, EHC Olten Switzerland the Bruins might have the thinnest prospect pool in the entire NHL, so they have needs everywhere. What they do traditionally covet is players like Othmann — a highly skilled two-way winger who plays with extreme edge and features the type of blistering sniping ability which gives him 30+ goal upside at the NHL level.
- Minnesota: RW/LW Matthew Coronato, Chicago USHL every team covets more scoring, and all Coronato does is score. Despite lack of great size or skating, Coronato absolutely lit up the USHL with his ridiculous sniping ability, elusiveness with the puck and tremendous passing vision.
- Detroit: LW Isak Rosen, Leksands SHL I’ve been criticized a bit for saying this, but Isak Rosen might have the most scoring upside of any player in the 2021 draft. He features blazing speed, elite passing vision and an electrifying shot for his size. However, it’s his size which has knocked him further down draft boards than he deserves — he probably weighs between 150-155 and is very physically immature. However, I feel Yzerman will realize this is eclipsed by his mental maturity — as Rosen is also a high-compete, two-way winger who dazzles on both the PP and PK.
- Columbus: C Francesco Pinelli, HDD Jesenice Slovenia the Blue Jackets have been on a seemingly perennial search for top six centers. Pinelli entered the draft year around many top 10 lists, but no one saw as he just played a handful of games in Slovenia. However, his brilliant U-18 tournament for the gold medalling Team Canada raised a ton of eyebrows in the greater scouting community.
- Minnesota: C Mackie Samoskevich, Chicago USHL in this scenario, the Wild reunite the top two forwards on the top USHL team, selecting a center with magical hands and seemingly psychic passing vision with their #22 pick of scoring sensation Coronato.
- Florida: LD Daniil Chayka, Moskva KHL the Panthers are widely rumored to be leaning towards defense with their first-round pick. Chayka offers an elite combination of size, skating and skill — though he has sometimes lacked in intensity and scoring statistics, dropping him to the back end of the first round.
- Carolina: RW/C Xavier Bourgault, Shawinigan QMJHL the Canes are positioned to contend in the Eastern Conference for years to come, and here they solidify the future of their top 6 with a devastating goal-scorer who checks off all the boxes of size, skating and skill.
- Colorado: RW Tyler Boucher, US-NTDP the Avs feel they were bullied a bit in a traumatizing fall-from-ahead playoff loss to Vegas. Boucher could be a cure — one of the most underrated power forwards of the 2021 class, he combines great skating with extreme physicality and a huge compete level. There are questions about his scoring upside, but if Boucher can chip in offensively at a middle-6 level, Colorado is not exactly short on scoring options.
- NEW JERSEY DEVILS: LW Zachary L’Heureux, Halifax the Devils are as desperate as any team in the league for physicality and net-front presence in their top 6. L’Heureux is the Tkachukiest player in the 2021 draft, but he’s also gained a reputation as a loose cannon who takes penalties — and suspensions — at the detriment of his team. However, this is also a player with high end offensive upside and borderline elite sniping ability. His talent is undeniable, and if he can iron out his penchant for almost sociopathic mental lapses, L’Heureux can be a huge steal this late in the first round.
- Vegas: LD Shai Buium, Sioux City USHL another heavily underrated prospect, Buium is a 6’3-215 bruiser who also features a combination of hands/passing ability on the level of surefire top 10 picks Power and Edvinsson. Though his average skating holds him out of the top 20, Buium is a strong bet to surprise as a late first round pick and pay off in spades for seasons to come.
- Montreal: C Zach Dean, Gatineau QMJHL the Habs brilliant Stanley Cup Final run ended in no small part because of an inability to score with the high-powered Lightning; Dean is a tall, rangy, smooth-skating, dual-threat center with a ton of upside for an NHL top 6.
- Columbus: RD Aleksi Heimosalmi, Assat Fin Jr. the first round concludes with a hyper-intelligent, two-way defenseman who, along with surefire top 10 pick Brandt Clarke, was in the conversation for best defenseman in the U-18 tournament. His cerebral style makes him better defensively than his 5’11 size and good-but-not-great skating would indicate, and his slick hands and precision passing make Heimosalmi dangerous on end-to-end rushes and deadly in the offensive zone.