Lord Stanley
Revoluccion Leader
1st round 6th overall, Elias Pettersson - C
This would be the Golden Knights very first pick ever in franchise history. Pettersson is arguably one of the most talented players available in the draft, the only really knock against him is his size 6’1†161 LBS. Obviously Elias has some work to do with his body before he’s ready to suit up in the HFNHL. It will most likely take a couple seasons before Pettersson is ready for duty. While we will have to have patience with our first ever pick, we fell in the end he will be well worth the wait.
2nd round 34th overall, Shane Bowers - C
Some will consider this a very safe pick, Bowers plays a complete two way game. He’s highly intelligent on the ice and responsible in his own end. There are questions as to how good he will be offensively once he reaches the HFNHL, however we aren't concerned. We think he’s be a middle 6 forward down the road that has a long career. He’s committed to Boston University where he’ll get to play in one of the top programs in the NCAA.
2nd round 38th overall, Maxime Comtois - W
A year ago Comtois was considered a top 5-10 pick in this draft, however maybe some unreasonable expectations after a breakout rookie campaign caused him to drop. He’s not the most skilled player but he has hockey sense and plays a strong north south game, competes every shift and isn’t afraid to get his nose dirty. Needs to improve his first couple steps, but we feel we got another player that will make it to the show down the road.
3rd round 65th overall, Mackenzie Entwistle - C
He’s a big strong guy down the middle, with very good hockey sense. Entwistle has the ability to play on both the PP and PK. Again he’s a guy with question marks about how good offensively he can be at the next level, but he’s responsible defensively and plays hard.
3rd round 78th overall, Stelio Mattheos - C
A former first overall selection in the WHL bantam draft. Mattheos hasn’t developed the offensive game expected. He has shown versatility playing all three forward spots, and all over the lineup. Wherever he has been he fits into that role. He’s got good size and skating ability to go with smarts.
3rd round 79th overall, Ian Mitchell - D
A undersized defensemen that skates well, makes a good first pass, good in transition and shows a good hockey IQ. He was the only non major junior player to make Canadas under 18 team and is committed to the university of North Dakota where he will have to work on his defensive game while adding some size and strength.
3rd round 87th overall, Filip Westerlund - D
Another undersized smooth skating defensemen. Westerlund has a high hockey IQ, he’s very calm and patient with the puck. Willing to block shots and battle bigger players for the puck. Needs to add some size, strength and develop more consistency.
3rd round 93rd overall, Luke Martin - D
He just completed his first NCAA season with Michigan. Although he’s a gifted skater with the ability to handle the puck Martin projects more as a two-way defender. He make good strong passes and has a good shot, but it often misses the net. Reliable defensively Luke projects as a middle pairing defender.
While this wasn’t my first ever HFNHL draft, it was the first for the expansion Vegas Golden Knights. It’s no secret that being an expansion team we aren’t likely to see success for a few years, it’s going to take patience and time to build properly. With that being said I need to get players I think have the best chance of playing in the league at some point. So while I was looking to take the best player available, I wanted to get players I felt were relatively safe picks to eventually play. As part of my strategy in doing that I place a lot of value in scouting reports of players that have high hockey IQ, defensive responsibility, and skating. I came into the day with 7 picks in the first 3 rounds. One 1st, three 2nd, and three 3rd round picks. When my 3rd pick of the 2nd round rolled around all of the players I had targeted had been selected so I dealt the 55th pick to Detroit for the 78th and 93rd overall picks. That brought my total up to 8 picks on day one. I think day one overall went well, I stuck to my plan and while I may not have gotten any boom type players other then Pettersson, I feel like I got some players that I can count on to make it to Vegas one day.
This would be the Golden Knights very first pick ever in franchise history. Pettersson is arguably one of the most talented players available in the draft, the only really knock against him is his size 6’1†161 LBS. Obviously Elias has some work to do with his body before he’s ready to suit up in the HFNHL. It will most likely take a couple seasons before Pettersson is ready for duty. While we will have to have patience with our first ever pick, we fell in the end he will be well worth the wait.
2nd round 34th overall, Shane Bowers - C
Some will consider this a very safe pick, Bowers plays a complete two way game. He’s highly intelligent on the ice and responsible in his own end. There are questions as to how good he will be offensively once he reaches the HFNHL, however we aren't concerned. We think he’s be a middle 6 forward down the road that has a long career. He’s committed to Boston University where he’ll get to play in one of the top programs in the NCAA.
2nd round 38th overall, Maxime Comtois - W
A year ago Comtois was considered a top 5-10 pick in this draft, however maybe some unreasonable expectations after a breakout rookie campaign caused him to drop. He’s not the most skilled player but he has hockey sense and plays a strong north south game, competes every shift and isn’t afraid to get his nose dirty. Needs to improve his first couple steps, but we feel we got another player that will make it to the show down the road.
3rd round 65th overall, Mackenzie Entwistle - C
He’s a big strong guy down the middle, with very good hockey sense. Entwistle has the ability to play on both the PP and PK. Again he’s a guy with question marks about how good offensively he can be at the next level, but he’s responsible defensively and plays hard.
3rd round 78th overall, Stelio Mattheos - C
A former first overall selection in the WHL bantam draft. Mattheos hasn’t developed the offensive game expected. He has shown versatility playing all three forward spots, and all over the lineup. Wherever he has been he fits into that role. He’s got good size and skating ability to go with smarts.
3rd round 79th overall, Ian Mitchell - D
A undersized defensemen that skates well, makes a good first pass, good in transition and shows a good hockey IQ. He was the only non major junior player to make Canadas under 18 team and is committed to the university of North Dakota where he will have to work on his defensive game while adding some size and strength.
3rd round 87th overall, Filip Westerlund - D
Another undersized smooth skating defensemen. Westerlund has a high hockey IQ, he’s very calm and patient with the puck. Willing to block shots and battle bigger players for the puck. Needs to add some size, strength and develop more consistency.
3rd round 93rd overall, Luke Martin - D
He just completed his first NCAA season with Michigan. Although he’s a gifted skater with the ability to handle the puck Martin projects more as a two-way defender. He make good strong passes and has a good shot, but it often misses the net. Reliable defensively Luke projects as a middle pairing defender.
While this wasn’t my first ever HFNHL draft, it was the first for the expansion Vegas Golden Knights. It’s no secret that being an expansion team we aren’t likely to see success for a few years, it’s going to take patience and time to build properly. With that being said I need to get players I think have the best chance of playing in the league at some point. So while I was looking to take the best player available, I wanted to get players I felt were relatively safe picks to eventually play. As part of my strategy in doing that I place a lot of value in scouting reports of players that have high hockey IQ, defensive responsibility, and skating. I came into the day with 7 picks in the first 3 rounds. One 1st, three 2nd, and three 3rd round picks. When my 3rd pick of the 2nd round rolled around all of the players I had targeted had been selected so I dealt the 55th pick to Detroit for the 78th and 93rd overall picks. That brought my total up to 8 picks on day one. I think day one overall went well, I stuck to my plan and while I may not have gotten any boom type players other then Pettersson, I feel like I got some players that I can count on to make it to Vegas one day.
