Lord Stanley
Revoluccion Leader
HFNHL VEGAS DRAFT REVIEW 2022
1st Round, 8th Overall - C, Matthew Savoie, Winnipeg Ice, WHL - We were pretty excited to be able to grab Savoie at 8th overall. We had him ranked 5th overall on our draft list and is a guy with the type of high end offensive potential that we really need. There are questions about him remaining at the center position in the NHL, but we feel if he reaches his potential it’s not going to matter to much. The next two players available on our rankings at this spot were Yurov (8) and Kemell (9). We felt that after the top 4 on our rankings the next group between 5 and 10-12 were fairly tight, but in the end we went with the guy we felt had the highest upside. He was selected 9th overall by the Sabres 1 spot lower than we selected him.
1st Round, 21st Overall - C, Conor Geekie, Winnipeg Ice, WHL - This was a big surprise for us to be able to select Geekie this far into the first round. We had him ranked 14th and didn’t expect that he’d make much further down the draft then 14/15th overall. We’ve had an eye on him since the beginning of the season as a player we thought we might select with our expected top 10 pick. He’s a big center that we hope develops into a solid 2nd line guy for years to come. There wasn’t anybody left on our list that really made us waver from potentially picking Geekie here. He was selected 11th overall by Arizona 10 spots higher than we selected him.
2nd Round, 40th Overall - C, Nathan Gaucher, Quebec Remparts, QMJHL - We were very happy to be able to land Gaucher at 40, we had him ranked 32nd on our list. We’ve seen him desired as a Swiss army knife the kind of guy that can play up and down the lineup in different roles. He certainly fits the mold of the type of player we typically look to draft. I’ve seen him compared to a Bo Horvat type player on the high end of his upside. Not sure he reaches that level, my thoughts are more along the lines of a Nick Paul, big heavy guy that plays hard and can score some goals.
2nd Round, 44th Overall - D, Sam Rinzel, Chaska HS, USHS-MN - This a pick that we traded to acquire, mostly because we wanted one of Rinzel or Perevalov in that order. Once pick 42 was made we knew that we were guaranteed one of them and we got our top choice that we had ranked 36th overall. Perevalov we had ranked 37th. Rinzel isn’t a typical pick for us I’m not sure that I’ve ever selected a player from the US high school ranks. We really like his upside and were quite pleased to see he ended up as a NHL first rounder with Chicago.
2nd Round, 48th Overall - C, Jack Hughes, Northeastern, NCAA - We had Hughes ranked 38th overall on our list and were pleased to get him. The thought here was since we can’t seem to work out a trade for the other Jack Hughes we will just draft one of our own. Probably ends up as a bottom six type player.
4th Round, 104th Overall - D, Arseni Koromyslov, SKA-1946, MHL - He ended up being drafted by the Blues in the NHL 4th round 120th overall. Probably a bottom pairing shutdown type down the road if he makes it to the NHL.
4th Round, 108th Overall - C, Ben MacDonald, Noble & Greenough, USHS - Drafted by the Kraken 91st overall in the third round. Another high school player again not a typical pick for us. However with a lot of depth in our prospect pool we’ve decided to change our strategy a little bit.
4th Round, 120th Overall - D, Filip Nordberg, Sodertalje, J20 Nationell - He went well ahead of the spot we grabbed him. Drafted by the Senators 64th overall, he’s another big shutdown defender.
4th Round, 125th Overall - D, Marek Alscher, Portland, WHL - Admittedly this is a guy that wasn’t really on our radar and got added to our day two list after being apart of McKenzies final rankings. Ended up going 93rd over to the Panthers, we will certainly pay some attention to what he does this upcoming season.
5th Round, 136th Overall - D, David Spacek, Sherbrooke, QMJHL - I always thought his father Jaroslav was a pretty solid NHL defender. Not sure that David will have the same type of success but figured he’s well worth a gamble in the 5th round after having an almost point per game season in the QMJHL. Drafted by the Wild 153rd overall.
All in all I’m pretty excited about this draft. All of my picks ended up being selected in the NHL draft with 8 out of 10 going in the top 100 picks.
1st Round, 8th Overall - C, Matthew Savoie, Winnipeg Ice, WHL - We were pretty excited to be able to grab Savoie at 8th overall. We had him ranked 5th overall on our draft list and is a guy with the type of high end offensive potential that we really need. There are questions about him remaining at the center position in the NHL, but we feel if he reaches his potential it’s not going to matter to much. The next two players available on our rankings at this spot were Yurov (8) and Kemell (9). We felt that after the top 4 on our rankings the next group between 5 and 10-12 were fairly tight, but in the end we went with the guy we felt had the highest upside. He was selected 9th overall by the Sabres 1 spot lower than we selected him.
1st Round, 21st Overall - C, Conor Geekie, Winnipeg Ice, WHL - This was a big surprise for us to be able to select Geekie this far into the first round. We had him ranked 14th and didn’t expect that he’d make much further down the draft then 14/15th overall. We’ve had an eye on him since the beginning of the season as a player we thought we might select with our expected top 10 pick. He’s a big center that we hope develops into a solid 2nd line guy for years to come. There wasn’t anybody left on our list that really made us waver from potentially picking Geekie here. He was selected 11th overall by Arizona 10 spots higher than we selected him.
2nd Round, 40th Overall - C, Nathan Gaucher, Quebec Remparts, QMJHL - We were very happy to be able to land Gaucher at 40, we had him ranked 32nd on our list. We’ve seen him desired as a Swiss army knife the kind of guy that can play up and down the lineup in different roles. He certainly fits the mold of the type of player we typically look to draft. I’ve seen him compared to a Bo Horvat type player on the high end of his upside. Not sure he reaches that level, my thoughts are more along the lines of a Nick Paul, big heavy guy that plays hard and can score some goals.
2nd Round, 44th Overall - D, Sam Rinzel, Chaska HS, USHS-MN - This a pick that we traded to acquire, mostly because we wanted one of Rinzel or Perevalov in that order. Once pick 42 was made we knew that we were guaranteed one of them and we got our top choice that we had ranked 36th overall. Perevalov we had ranked 37th. Rinzel isn’t a typical pick for us I’m not sure that I’ve ever selected a player from the US high school ranks. We really like his upside and were quite pleased to see he ended up as a NHL first rounder with Chicago.
2nd Round, 48th Overall - C, Jack Hughes, Northeastern, NCAA - We had Hughes ranked 38th overall on our list and were pleased to get him. The thought here was since we can’t seem to work out a trade for the other Jack Hughes we will just draft one of our own. Probably ends up as a bottom six type player.
4th Round, 104th Overall - D, Arseni Koromyslov, SKA-1946, MHL - He ended up being drafted by the Blues in the NHL 4th round 120th overall. Probably a bottom pairing shutdown type down the road if he makes it to the NHL.
4th Round, 108th Overall - C, Ben MacDonald, Noble & Greenough, USHS - Drafted by the Kraken 91st overall in the third round. Another high school player again not a typical pick for us. However with a lot of depth in our prospect pool we’ve decided to change our strategy a little bit.
4th Round, 120th Overall - D, Filip Nordberg, Sodertalje, J20 Nationell - He went well ahead of the spot we grabbed him. Drafted by the Senators 64th overall, he’s another big shutdown defender.
4th Round, 125th Overall - D, Marek Alscher, Portland, WHL - Admittedly this is a guy that wasn’t really on our radar and got added to our day two list after being apart of McKenzies final rankings. Ended up going 93rd over to the Panthers, we will certainly pay some attention to what he does this upcoming season.
5th Round, 136th Overall - D, David Spacek, Sherbrooke, QMJHL - I always thought his father Jaroslav was a pretty solid NHL defender. Not sure that David will have the same type of success but figured he’s well worth a gamble in the 5th round after having an almost point per game season in the QMJHL. Drafted by the Wild 153rd overall.
All in all I’m pretty excited about this draft. All of my picks ended up being selected in the NHL draft with 8 out of 10 going in the top 100 picks.
