MatthewFlames
Registered User
1. Boston Bruins – Cody Glass
Rob starts off by ruining the day of everyone who has a pick between 4 and 12. They’ve all been daydreaming that the best player in the draft will fall to them. Rob needs a center, and this one may have the most development to do, but he may have the highest true NHL potential. Everyone needs a guy who can become a #1 for a decade, compliment his wingers, be a leader, defend against the best players on the opponents’ top lines and still score 80 points.
2. Dallas Stars – Nolan Patrick
Tom was gonna take the loser of the Patrick/Hischier tandem and he didn’t expect to actually have to choose. Patrick seems safer – so he goes to Dallas who also covet a franchise center.
3. Tampa Bay Lightning – Nico Hischier
After having the headache of having the hardest pick in the draft and struggling to decide who was really the 3rd best player in the draft, Boston helped him out. He’ll run to the Slack podium and take Hischier. The celebration will be short lived though, the guilt and second guessing will begin. Should I have taken a defenseman? What’s wrong with Nico that he fell? “No, it’s just that Kershaw is a nutjob for thinking Glass is the best player in the draft.”
4. Washington Capitals – Casey Mittelstadt
Josh feels like he needs elite offensive talent picking this high, and so it’s a debate about Petterson, Vilardi and Middlestat, because it seems less valuable to pick a defenseman here. Middlestat is the American with giant thighs and chicken arms. Which to Josh, sounds kind of tasty.
5. Arizona Coyotes – Gabe Vilardi
Strangely, Ryan doesn’t take as many OHL’ers early as you’d think. But this year he’s got no fear. He probably rates a couple of others players higher, especially in raw talent, but Vilardi is irresistible.
6. Las Vegas Golden Knights – Nick Suzuki
Jon wants to trade down and get more first day picks. He is usually a BPA drafter but today he wants to make a big splash. At the same time - he feels like he can’t miss. All of the defenseman rated here have questions about their size and ability to defend. And the expansion draft was not kind in showing him a lot of long term forward help, so he’s gotta start stocking the cupboard. Centers are more valuable than scoring wingers, so he’s gonna ignore the negatives, and take IQ and skill.
7. Philadelphia Flyers – Elias Pettersson
Skinny, tall, skilled, can’t talk back, er, I mean backcheck. That’s exactly what Alvaro loves in the showers. But don’t worry Elias lovers, he’ll be on the block in a week or two.
8. New York Rangers - Miro Heiskanen
Sean is scrambling here because he hasn’t even read a single Miro profile in any of his draft guides since he didn’t expect him to fall. Still, he’ll take him, and start dreaming of the next Erik Karlsson. Or the next Ryan Murphy.
9. New Jersey Devils – Martin Necas
Rich is still mad about picking one pick after Kershaw took Mathew Barzal in the draft a few years ago – and despite offering Kershaw this pick and free legal advice for eternity, which will be turned down – he ends up picking a player with bucket loads of potential, a kid who’s ready for North America, and someone who already speaks better English than half the GM’s in the league.
10. Edmonton Oilers – Owen Tippett
An OHL kid for his first pick back from the wilderness, this is the easiest pick of the day. In 3 months, Kirk will be kicking himself for not taking Jeff Skinner v 2.0, while Drew will be laughing into his screwdrivers.
11. Minnesota Wild – Erik Brannstrom
FUUUUUUCCCK! Who to pick, who to pick, who to pick? Clearly Makar and Brannstrom have tremendous upside, and these type of Dmen are all the rage. It’s a close call, but Makar’s low level of competition scares Dan and so, Erik it is!
12. Chicago Blackhawks – Jason Robertson
Remember Saad? Who doesn’t. A pick that many thought was a mistake turned out to be lifting the Cup. Dryden has no fear about just taking the best player, a player who has done it all himself so far, and that skating thing, he’ll work it out. It won’t be long before Robertson is lifting the Blackhawks to many more victories.
13. Columbus Blue Jackets – Kristian Vesalainen
Douglas will be sorely tempted to take Makar here, but he’s thinking about hitting it out of the ballpark with a big, talented forward – so he takes Vesalainen. A week later, when KV goes top ten in the NHL, and becomes the only player in this draft to play 82 games in 2017/18, he’ll have that rebuild right back on track.
14. New Jersey Devils – Cale Makar
When Kershaw comes calling for this pick, in some desperation, Rich will laugh, and take Makar. Two super highly skilled players – one at forward and one at the back – makes this a perfect first round draft for the Devils.
15. Ottawa Senators - Ryan Poehling
Afraid of the draft fallers, and the big men who show well in junior but not against men, this pick becomes torment for Miller. He thinks about a goalie, DiPietro is the best one but Oettinger is the NHL sized one, and this is not a time for mistakes. He won’t take a Russian either, so forget about “that” guy. In the end, he gets conservative, and takes the for sure thing and hopes there is plenty of hidden offense there. If the upside isn’t there, Poehling will still be an NHL player.
16. Nashville Predators - Jake Oettinger
You know who’s not afraid of drafting goalies. This GM. Oettinger is rated the best but somehow still has some undeserved criticism. Tony Kay doesn’t care.
17. Buffalo Sabres – Conor Timmins
Joe has done his homework and he doesn’t understand why Timmins is rated so much lower than this. Sure, all these other smaller D are flashy as heck, but Timmins is the one who’s come furthest in a short time and offers the straightest line to the NHL.
18. Carolina Hurricanes - Michael Rasmussen
I have no idea what I'm talking about.
19. Florida Panthers - Robert Thomas
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
20. Calgary Flames – Josh Brook
The Flamettes are not enamoured with the forwards left at this point. They’re back to being afraid of the Russians, they don’t think Andersson has the upside, nor that Tolvanen will be an every-day NHL player. Maybe a goalie would do, but Tony already took the one he wanted. So, it’s a defender, and a choice between the three WHL’ers, Foote, Valimaki or surprisingly, Brook – a late riser who’s very underrated.
21. Edmonton Oilers –Eeli Tovanen
Drew isn’t afraid of skill. Tovanen has puck-bucket loads of it, and goal scorers are always welcome.
22. Toronto Maple Leafs – Lias Andersson
The Maple Leafs two-headed dragon leadership team are consistently good drafters and that’s why they’re taking Andersson here. Two years of playing against men may have dented his offensive totals, but they know the complete package is there.
23. Vancouver Canucks – Filip Chytil
Sean was dreaming that Andersson would fall. Now he’s trying to trade down like a madman. There is just nobody that appealing to take this high, and for that reason, finding people who’ll pay to move up just isn’t happening. He ends up taking the most skilled player left on the board.
24. Florida Panthers – Callan Foote
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
25. Pittsburgh Penguins – Shane Bowers
The Champions like risers and aren’t afraid of USHL players. Bowers seems like a Penguins pick – and with another pick coming up, he can go a with a safe pick to make the NHL, a player who may have hidden offensive potential.
26. Nashville Predators – Michael DiPietro
When in doubt, just grab all the goalies! And start avoiding Dryden, who’s mad as hell that someone is drafting more goalies than him.
27. Detroit Red Wings – Timothy Liljegren
Zack knows that he needs depth on his prospects lists, and he doesn’t care about reports of fallers and risers. He’s gonna just look at the skating and the upside here and take the BPA.
28. Montreal Canadiens – Dylan Samberg
If we learn anything from this draft, it’s that there are a lot of high quality defenseman all over the map, and that the idea of the conventional order of them will shift dramatically. There is a fair share of elite Dmen in the league drafted late in the first and in the 2nd round. Matt knows the qualities they require and goes off the board for a player that possesses those attributes.
29. Arizona Coyotes – Nic Hague
With another pick in the first round, and despite drafting an OHL’er earier, Ryan has always eyed a homer pick with this selection and it’s a choice between Hague and Ratcliffe, and he goes with the defenseman.
30. Los Angeles Kings - Juuso Valimaki
The run on defenseman continues. Valimaki has been unfairly overscouted, leading to some over focus on the negatives. On the positive side, this player just screams top 4 NHL potential.
31. Pittsburgh Penguins – Kailer Yamamoto
Having two picks means that Robb can take a risk. He’s watched enough of Johnny Hockey to know that small, creative players who can avoid the big hits can have a place in the NHL, so he’s gonna grab the anti-Lucic.
Rob starts off by ruining the day of everyone who has a pick between 4 and 12. They’ve all been daydreaming that the best player in the draft will fall to them. Rob needs a center, and this one may have the most development to do, but he may have the highest true NHL potential. Everyone needs a guy who can become a #1 for a decade, compliment his wingers, be a leader, defend against the best players on the opponents’ top lines and still score 80 points.
2. Dallas Stars – Nolan Patrick
Tom was gonna take the loser of the Patrick/Hischier tandem and he didn’t expect to actually have to choose. Patrick seems safer – so he goes to Dallas who also covet a franchise center.
3. Tampa Bay Lightning – Nico Hischier
After having the headache of having the hardest pick in the draft and struggling to decide who was really the 3rd best player in the draft, Boston helped him out. He’ll run to the Slack podium and take Hischier. The celebration will be short lived though, the guilt and second guessing will begin. Should I have taken a defenseman? What’s wrong with Nico that he fell? “No, it’s just that Kershaw is a nutjob for thinking Glass is the best player in the draft.”
4. Washington Capitals – Casey Mittelstadt
Josh feels like he needs elite offensive talent picking this high, and so it’s a debate about Petterson, Vilardi and Middlestat, because it seems less valuable to pick a defenseman here. Middlestat is the American with giant thighs and chicken arms. Which to Josh, sounds kind of tasty.
5. Arizona Coyotes – Gabe Vilardi
Strangely, Ryan doesn’t take as many OHL’ers early as you’d think. But this year he’s got no fear. He probably rates a couple of others players higher, especially in raw talent, but Vilardi is irresistible.
6. Las Vegas Golden Knights – Nick Suzuki
Jon wants to trade down and get more first day picks. He is usually a BPA drafter but today he wants to make a big splash. At the same time - he feels like he can’t miss. All of the defenseman rated here have questions about their size and ability to defend. And the expansion draft was not kind in showing him a lot of long term forward help, so he’s gotta start stocking the cupboard. Centers are more valuable than scoring wingers, so he’s gonna ignore the negatives, and take IQ and skill.
7. Philadelphia Flyers – Elias Pettersson
Skinny, tall, skilled, can’t talk back, er, I mean backcheck. That’s exactly what Alvaro loves in the showers. But don’t worry Elias lovers, he’ll be on the block in a week or two.
8. New York Rangers - Miro Heiskanen
Sean is scrambling here because he hasn’t even read a single Miro profile in any of his draft guides since he didn’t expect him to fall. Still, he’ll take him, and start dreaming of the next Erik Karlsson. Or the next Ryan Murphy.
9. New Jersey Devils – Martin Necas
Rich is still mad about picking one pick after Kershaw took Mathew Barzal in the draft a few years ago – and despite offering Kershaw this pick and free legal advice for eternity, which will be turned down – he ends up picking a player with bucket loads of potential, a kid who’s ready for North America, and someone who already speaks better English than half the GM’s in the league.
10. Edmonton Oilers – Owen Tippett
An OHL kid for his first pick back from the wilderness, this is the easiest pick of the day. In 3 months, Kirk will be kicking himself for not taking Jeff Skinner v 2.0, while Drew will be laughing into his screwdrivers.
11. Minnesota Wild – Erik Brannstrom
FUUUUUUCCCK! Who to pick, who to pick, who to pick? Clearly Makar and Brannstrom have tremendous upside, and these type of Dmen are all the rage. It’s a close call, but Makar’s low level of competition scares Dan and so, Erik it is!
12. Chicago Blackhawks – Jason Robertson
Remember Saad? Who doesn’t. A pick that many thought was a mistake turned out to be lifting the Cup. Dryden has no fear about just taking the best player, a player who has done it all himself so far, and that skating thing, he’ll work it out. It won’t be long before Robertson is lifting the Blackhawks to many more victories.
13. Columbus Blue Jackets – Kristian Vesalainen
Douglas will be sorely tempted to take Makar here, but he’s thinking about hitting it out of the ballpark with a big, talented forward – so he takes Vesalainen. A week later, when KV goes top ten in the NHL, and becomes the only player in this draft to play 82 games in 2017/18, he’ll have that rebuild right back on track.
14. New Jersey Devils – Cale Makar
When Kershaw comes calling for this pick, in some desperation, Rich will laugh, and take Makar. Two super highly skilled players – one at forward and one at the back – makes this a perfect first round draft for the Devils.
15. Ottawa Senators - Ryan Poehling
Afraid of the draft fallers, and the big men who show well in junior but not against men, this pick becomes torment for Miller. He thinks about a goalie, DiPietro is the best one but Oettinger is the NHL sized one, and this is not a time for mistakes. He won’t take a Russian either, so forget about “that” guy. In the end, he gets conservative, and takes the for sure thing and hopes there is plenty of hidden offense there. If the upside isn’t there, Poehling will still be an NHL player.
16. Nashville Predators - Jake Oettinger
You know who’s not afraid of drafting goalies. This GM. Oettinger is rated the best but somehow still has some undeserved criticism. Tony Kay doesn’t care.
17. Buffalo Sabres – Conor Timmins
Joe has done his homework and he doesn’t understand why Timmins is rated so much lower than this. Sure, all these other smaller D are flashy as heck, but Timmins is the one who’s come furthest in a short time and offers the straightest line to the NHL.
18. Carolina Hurricanes - Michael Rasmussen
I have no idea what I'm talking about.
19. Florida Panthers - Robert Thomas
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
20. Calgary Flames – Josh Brook
The Flamettes are not enamoured with the forwards left at this point. They’re back to being afraid of the Russians, they don’t think Andersson has the upside, nor that Tolvanen will be an every-day NHL player. Maybe a goalie would do, but Tony already took the one he wanted. So, it’s a defender, and a choice between the three WHL’ers, Foote, Valimaki or surprisingly, Brook – a late riser who’s very underrated.
21. Edmonton Oilers –Eeli Tovanen
Drew isn’t afraid of skill. Tovanen has puck-bucket loads of it, and goal scorers are always welcome.
22. Toronto Maple Leafs – Lias Andersson
The Maple Leafs two-headed dragon leadership team are consistently good drafters and that’s why they’re taking Andersson here. Two years of playing against men may have dented his offensive totals, but they know the complete package is there.
23. Vancouver Canucks – Filip Chytil
Sean was dreaming that Andersson would fall. Now he’s trying to trade down like a madman. There is just nobody that appealing to take this high, and for that reason, finding people who’ll pay to move up just isn’t happening. He ends up taking the most skilled player left on the board.
24. Florida Panthers – Callan Foote
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
25. Pittsburgh Penguins – Shane Bowers
The Champions like risers and aren’t afraid of USHL players. Bowers seems like a Penguins pick – and with another pick coming up, he can go a with a safe pick to make the NHL, a player who may have hidden offensive potential.
26. Nashville Predators – Michael DiPietro
When in doubt, just grab all the goalies! And start avoiding Dryden, who’s mad as hell that someone is drafting more goalies than him.
27. Detroit Red Wings – Timothy Liljegren
Zack knows that he needs depth on his prospects lists, and he doesn’t care about reports of fallers and risers. He’s gonna just look at the skating and the upside here and take the BPA.
28. Montreal Canadiens – Dylan Samberg
If we learn anything from this draft, it’s that there are a lot of high quality defenseman all over the map, and that the idea of the conventional order of them will shift dramatically. There is a fair share of elite Dmen in the league drafted late in the first and in the 2nd round. Matt knows the qualities they require and goes off the board for a player that possesses those attributes.
29. Arizona Coyotes – Nic Hague
With another pick in the first round, and despite drafting an OHL’er earier, Ryan has always eyed a homer pick with this selection and it’s a choice between Hague and Ratcliffe, and he goes with the defenseman.
30. Los Angeles Kings - Juuso Valimaki
The run on defenseman continues. Valimaki has been unfairly overscouted, leading to some over focus on the negatives. On the positive side, this player just screams top 4 NHL potential.
31. Pittsburgh Penguins – Kailer Yamamoto
Having two picks means that Robb can take a risk. He’s watched enough of Johnny Hockey to know that small, creative players who can avoid the big hits can have a place in the NHL, so he’s gonna grab the anti-Lucic.
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