Vagrant
The Czech Condor
1st Round - 2nd Overall - C Jack Eichel - Boston University
40-26-45-71
It's unfortunate for Eichel that he happens to be born in the same year as the best prospect since Sidney Crosby. Any other year and the masses would be entirely convinced that Eichel might be the same. I went into the lottery process comfortable with whatever outcome awaited. When Winnipen won the lottery, I wasn't as crestfallen as perhaps I should have been. I'm a huge fan of Eichel and I believe he'll prove to be a worthy comparison point for McDavid as time elapses. The fact that McDavid landed in Edmonton has me a bit more skeptical about him. I think Buffalo will be a much more low pressure situation for Eichel to develop in. Overall, we're just really glad we had the opportunity to grab one of the two premiere prospects in the draft. Seriously... a +51 in the NCAA as a Freshman might be the most jaw dropping stat of them all.
2nd Round - 31st Overall C/RW Jack Roslovic - USNDT
65-27-52-79
Just as the first round was coming to a close, I was inundated with messages asking about the pick. I had decided upon Roslovic prior to hearing any of these offers, and oddly enough it seemed that most of the inquiries for the pick revolved around Roslovic still being on the board. The pivot on one of the most dangerous U18 lines in recent memory with Auston Matthews and Matthew Tkachuk for the United States, Roslovic fit right in with 6 goals in 7 games. There's a lot to like here in terms of speed, creativity, and growth potential. The Miami of Ohio prospect should jump immediately into first line NCAA minutes next season. It would be a great story of Columbus, with two early second round picks, could snag the Ohio native. Talk of him climbing into the bottom of the first round might prevent those ambitions.
2nd Round - 35th Overall - W Jeremy Bracco - USNDT
65-30-64-94
Bracco, who was likely an overdrafted player by me, laid waste to a metric ton of records for the National Development Team. Assists in a season (58) shattered the previous mark set by Andy Hilbert and Patrick Kane in 2013-2014. His 64 assists this season only further solidified his record and made him the career assist leader for the program. He stands behind only Patrick Kane and Phil Kessel for total points with the Development team, though Auston Matthews being only 1 point behind will almost certainly mean that Bracco will drop to 4th. Bracco is a tough player to project. With his size deficiencies, it's going to be tough to see him projecting as an elite NHL player. To make matters worse, his skating is just good and not great... which might be the death knell for him. However, it's hard to argue with the numbers he has generated. The Boston College commit will be challenged once again to take his game to another level.
3rd Round - 61st Overall - D Ryan Pilon - Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
68-11-41-52
Dwarfed by the bright star of his defensive partner, Ivan Provorov, Pilon carved out a nice season for himself for the Wheat Kings of the WHL. I have heard it said that Pilon's puck skills are very strong, but his role with Brandon saw him as more of a support defenseman that allowed Provorov to do what he does best in terms of creating offense. I have also heard it said that Pilon doesn't have nearly the offensive game, but few do. The things that scouts like the most about Pilon is the 200 ft. game he plays and his outlet passing ability. Pilon might be one of the new breed top four defenders that is a jack of all trades but master of none. It will be interesting to see how his career progresses as Provorov may likely make an NHL club this upcoming season, leaving Pilon to his own devices in Brandon and finally in charge of the powerplay.
4th Round - 91st Overall - LW Graham Knott - Niagra IceDogs (OHL)
59-25-18-42
Graham Knott was an obvious choice for me here. I debated between a few options, but decided it was probably best to take a power winger with upside. Knott isn't the most naturally skilled player, but he plays a very North-South game and isn't afraid to get to the front of the net with regularity. Scouts would like to see him work on his skating a bit more, but overall the game is pretty solid. I had a lot of interest in this pick as well but ultimately decided it was worth it to keep Knott.
4th Round - 104th Overall - RW Blake Speers - Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL)
57-24-43-67
Speers is more like the typical "undersized" forward that has success at the next level. His skating ability is elite and his hands are fast enough to keep up. Not only that, his defensive game is pretty impressive as well. He was known to be deployed as a penalty killer for the Greyhounds in addition to all he brings offensively. However, are any of his tools elite enough to find him a full time gig at the NHL level? That remains to be seen. But in terms of some of the more undersized guys in this draft, I feel like Speers is as good of a bet as any due to his very technical skating and versatility. Not your typical offensive one trick pony and he had to scratch and claw to get his icetime on a very stacked team in the Soo.
5th Round - 138th Overall - W Conor Garland - Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL)
67-35-94-129
An unintentional theme of this draft by virtue of my list not going entirely according to plan became undersized scorers. And there are perhaps none more intriguing than the re-entry Garland. Passed over last season after a pedestrian 51 points in 54 games, Garland's skill finally came to play this season with an eye-popping 129 points and 94 assists. He is the only American other than Pat LaFontaine to lead the Q in scoring. There are no questions about his elite offensive ability, but his size is a tremendous red flag. We couldn't risk passing on potentially the most potent offensive player outside the Top 100 picks of this draft despite his size. It will be interesting to see if Garland can secure a place on the U20 team for the Americans.
6th Round - 160th Overall - D Jake Massie - Kimball Union Academy USHS
35-5-15-20
From an American playing in the Q with Garland to a Quebecois playing in the NCAA next season, we have Jake Massie. There's not a lot of information out there about Massie, other than that he's a physical defenseman that can also handle the puck. This pick was one that was based on his being the highest CSB ranked player still available. Massie is the highest rated prep defenseman in this draft class. It will be interesting to see how he progresses.
40-26-45-71
It's unfortunate for Eichel that he happens to be born in the same year as the best prospect since Sidney Crosby. Any other year and the masses would be entirely convinced that Eichel might be the same. I went into the lottery process comfortable with whatever outcome awaited. When Winnipen won the lottery, I wasn't as crestfallen as perhaps I should have been. I'm a huge fan of Eichel and I believe he'll prove to be a worthy comparison point for McDavid as time elapses. The fact that McDavid landed in Edmonton has me a bit more skeptical about him. I think Buffalo will be a much more low pressure situation for Eichel to develop in. Overall, we're just really glad we had the opportunity to grab one of the two premiere prospects in the draft. Seriously... a +51 in the NCAA as a Freshman might be the most jaw dropping stat of them all.
2nd Round - 31st Overall C/RW Jack Roslovic - USNDT
65-27-52-79
Just as the first round was coming to a close, I was inundated with messages asking about the pick. I had decided upon Roslovic prior to hearing any of these offers, and oddly enough it seemed that most of the inquiries for the pick revolved around Roslovic still being on the board. The pivot on one of the most dangerous U18 lines in recent memory with Auston Matthews and Matthew Tkachuk for the United States, Roslovic fit right in with 6 goals in 7 games. There's a lot to like here in terms of speed, creativity, and growth potential. The Miami of Ohio prospect should jump immediately into first line NCAA minutes next season. It would be a great story of Columbus, with two early second round picks, could snag the Ohio native. Talk of him climbing into the bottom of the first round might prevent those ambitions.
2nd Round - 35th Overall - W Jeremy Bracco - USNDT
65-30-64-94
Bracco, who was likely an overdrafted player by me, laid waste to a metric ton of records for the National Development Team. Assists in a season (58) shattered the previous mark set by Andy Hilbert and Patrick Kane in 2013-2014. His 64 assists this season only further solidified his record and made him the career assist leader for the program. He stands behind only Patrick Kane and Phil Kessel for total points with the Development team, though Auston Matthews being only 1 point behind will almost certainly mean that Bracco will drop to 4th. Bracco is a tough player to project. With his size deficiencies, it's going to be tough to see him projecting as an elite NHL player. To make matters worse, his skating is just good and not great... which might be the death knell for him. However, it's hard to argue with the numbers he has generated. The Boston College commit will be challenged once again to take his game to another level.
3rd Round - 61st Overall - D Ryan Pilon - Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
68-11-41-52
Dwarfed by the bright star of his defensive partner, Ivan Provorov, Pilon carved out a nice season for himself for the Wheat Kings of the WHL. I have heard it said that Pilon's puck skills are very strong, but his role with Brandon saw him as more of a support defenseman that allowed Provorov to do what he does best in terms of creating offense. I have also heard it said that Pilon doesn't have nearly the offensive game, but few do. The things that scouts like the most about Pilon is the 200 ft. game he plays and his outlet passing ability. Pilon might be one of the new breed top four defenders that is a jack of all trades but master of none. It will be interesting to see how his career progresses as Provorov may likely make an NHL club this upcoming season, leaving Pilon to his own devices in Brandon and finally in charge of the powerplay.
4th Round - 91st Overall - LW Graham Knott - Niagra IceDogs (OHL)
59-25-18-42
Graham Knott was an obvious choice for me here. I debated between a few options, but decided it was probably best to take a power winger with upside. Knott isn't the most naturally skilled player, but he plays a very North-South game and isn't afraid to get to the front of the net with regularity. Scouts would like to see him work on his skating a bit more, but overall the game is pretty solid. I had a lot of interest in this pick as well but ultimately decided it was worth it to keep Knott.
4th Round - 104th Overall - RW Blake Speers - Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL)
57-24-43-67
Speers is more like the typical "undersized" forward that has success at the next level. His skating ability is elite and his hands are fast enough to keep up. Not only that, his defensive game is pretty impressive as well. He was known to be deployed as a penalty killer for the Greyhounds in addition to all he brings offensively. However, are any of his tools elite enough to find him a full time gig at the NHL level? That remains to be seen. But in terms of some of the more undersized guys in this draft, I feel like Speers is as good of a bet as any due to his very technical skating and versatility. Not your typical offensive one trick pony and he had to scratch and claw to get his icetime on a very stacked team in the Soo.
5th Round - 138th Overall - W Conor Garland - Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL)
67-35-94-129
An unintentional theme of this draft by virtue of my list not going entirely according to plan became undersized scorers. And there are perhaps none more intriguing than the re-entry Garland. Passed over last season after a pedestrian 51 points in 54 games, Garland's skill finally came to play this season with an eye-popping 129 points and 94 assists. He is the only American other than Pat LaFontaine to lead the Q in scoring. There are no questions about his elite offensive ability, but his size is a tremendous red flag. We couldn't risk passing on potentially the most potent offensive player outside the Top 100 picks of this draft despite his size. It will be interesting to see if Garland can secure a place on the U20 team for the Americans.
6th Round - 160th Overall - D Jake Massie - Kimball Union Academy USHS
35-5-15-20
From an American playing in the Q with Garland to a Quebecois playing in the NCAA next season, we have Jake Massie. There's not a lot of information out there about Massie, other than that he's a physical defenseman that can also handle the puck. This pick was one that was based on his being the highest CSB ranked player still available. Massie is the highest rated prep defenseman in this draft class. It will be interesting to see how he progresses.
