HFOil Mock Entry Draft 2017 | Draft Complete

[BarDownBobo]

That's a wrap! 3 years in a row... we're awesome at this!

Kudos to everyone who participated. We're consistently one of the better mock drafts on HF and that's a testament to the group we got. Look forward to seeing everyone again for the 2018 HFOil Mock Draft!

Seven rounds in 27 days is damn impressive. Cheers to everyone for making this possible, can't wait till the 23rd/24th so I can watch the actual teams make me look stupid with my picks

 

[BoldNewLettuce]

Aye.

Thanks Soli and gang.

It's always a potent blend of excitement, frustration and confusion. I usually learn a lot too.

I'll give the ol' mock draft salute to Pittsburgh ....off the top of my head. Seems like they got a lot with very little.

 

[Zaddy]

Great job everyone. This went a lot faster than I expected, especially with the slow start we had.

Looking forward to the real thing and see how our picks compare.

A couple of guys that I'm surprised went undrafted here:

F Ivan Kozlov, Val-d'Or Foreurs, QMJHL
F Ivan Kosorenkov, Victoriaville Tigres, QMJHL
F Denis Mikhnin, Rimouski Oceanic, QMJHL
F Emil Westerlund, Linkoping, J20 SuperElit

The three russians in particular as they seem to go anywhere from 3rd to 5th round in most mocks. I think Kozlov and Mikhnin definitely seem to be worth getting picked with the skillsets they have. I guess Westerlund going undrafted here is no surprise as I'm probably the only one who has seen him, but I'd be surprised if no team took a flyer on him in the real thing. Overage kid who took a huge step forward this year leading his team in points while also being the goal-scoring leader with twice as many goals as the next guy on his team. Headed to NCAA, which should be a great place for him to develop his game. I see a real solid bottom-six guy there who can chip in some offense.

Anyway, the next 9 days can't go fast enough

 

[ChaoticOrange]

Nice job gang. I'm consistently impressed by how quickly these go.

 

[FlameChampion]

Was fun peeps. Thanks for the invite. Next year going to pick a team with more than 4 picks though :p

 

[PKSpecialist]

1 - 19 - D - Nicolas Hague - Mississauga Steelheads, OHL
3 - 81 - LW - Ivan Chekhovich - Baie-Comeau Drakkar, QMJHL
5 - 143 - LW - Michael Pastujov - US NTDP, USHL
6 - 159 - D - Clayton Phillips - Fargo Force, USHL
6 - 174 - G- Dayton Rasmussen - Chicago Steel, USHL
7 - 205 - LW - Jan Kern - HC Slavia Praha, Czech2
7 - 212 - RW - Cameron Wright - St. Michael's Buzzers, OJHL
7 - 215 - D - Max Martin - Prince Albert Raiders, WHL

A very difficult draft for the Sharks, as they only have two picks in the top 140....So a lot of wild card selections round out this draft.

I have always believed that you must stick with BPA in the first two rounds. I was really expecting to take a forward in the first round, but I have Hague as the #4 player in this draft, and his upside was just too much to go off my board.
Ivan Chekhovich was a beast for the Russians in international competition. He has great edgework and fantastic puck skills. He is a little on the smaller side, but has the potential to blossom into an offensive dynamo.
Michael Pastujov was hurt much of the first half of the season and struggled some, but he turned his game around in the second half, and like Chekhovich, he was very strong in international competitions.
My plan late in this draft was to target high upside offensive players unless a goalie or defenseman really fell on my board. Both of my sixth round picks were players that went way below where I had them ranked on my board. Clayton Phillips is a smooth skating, puck-moving defenseman. He is a little on the small side, but as one of the youngest players in this draft, he may have a little room left to grow. Dayton Rasmussen is a big goaltender who is technically sound. His puck tracking is solid, and he anticipates well.
Jan Kern and Cameron Wright are offensive wild cards in this draft for me. Kern lit up the Czech U20 league with his speed and smarts, and he displays incredible balance which makes hard to knock off the puck despite his limited stature. Wright averaged 1.5 PPG in the OJHL regular season and ramped it up over 2 PPG in the playoffs. Wright was eligible for the last draft, but a late birthday. He has a slender frame that can be built on, and the playmaking winger has shown incredible offensive improvement year over year. He will develop his skills at Bowling Green University.
Max Martin is a personal favorite of mine. As much as I didn’t want to take a third D in this draft, I couldn’t pass him up. He moves the puck exceptionally well, and is strong character player. A little known fact is that as bad as the Raider’s team was this year, they were above .500 in their last 25 games with Martin playing a big role in that following his trade from Prince George. As an aside here, Martin’s defensive teammate Zack Hayes is another strong draft candidate who is more of a tough as nails shutdown defender in the mold of a Mark Borowiecki who I would not be surprised to see him be drafted this year as well as winger Parker Kelly, who is one of those do everything kids that coaches love. Three draft eligible youngsters that were real leaders on the Raider’s team down the stretch that played above .500.

 

[bzur]

Looks like :
Dallas - McHeavyHitter97
Florida - ChaoticOrange
Carolina - belair
Edmonton - ChaoticOrange again
Montreal - me!

Nailed that first round! Haha
I have to follow ChaoticOrange's picks for the rest of the draft now.. damn

 

[GrandLarseny]

Round 1, 1st Overall - C Nolan Patrick - Went 2nd to PHI
Round 2, 36th Overall - C/W Jesper Boqvist - Nailed it
Round 2, 49th Overall - D David Farrance - Went 92nd to NSH
Round 3, 63rd Overall - C/W Evan Barratt - Went 90th to CHI
Round 3, 67th Overall - D Josh Brook - Went 56th to MTL
Round 4, 98th Overall - C Patrick Khodorenko - Undrafted
Round 4, 121st Overall - D Scooter Brickey - Undrafted
Round 5, 129th Overall - G Daniil Tarasov - Went 86th to CBJ
Round 6, 160th Overall - C/W Georgi Ivanov - Undrafted
Round 6, 176th Overall - LW German Poddubnyi - Undrafted
Round 7, 191st Overall - D Simon Johansson - Undrafted

Yikes, lots of my choices did not go in this years draft. At least I got good value with Tarasov haha.

 

[ChaoticOrange]

Looks like :
Dallas - McHeavyHitter97
Florida - ChaoticOrange
Carolina - belair
Edmonton - ChaoticOrange again
Montreal - me!

Nailed that first round! Haha
I have to follow ChaoticOrange's picks for the rest of the draft now.. damn

Can't take credit for Florida's, I took them over a bit later

Got great value with a few of my picks that ended up being big risers.

 

[Zaddy]

(1) 8th overall - Cale Makar - Went 4th to COL
(2) 37th overall - Filip Chytil - Went 21st to NYR
(2) 55th overall - Antoine Morand - Went 60th to ANA
(3) 68th overall - Max Gildon - Went 66th to FLA
(3) 89th overall - Dmitri Samorukov - Went 84th to EDM
(4) 99th overall - Tim S�derlund - Went 112th to CHI
(6) 161st overall - Emil Oksanen - Undrafted
(7) 192nd overall - Arvid S�derblom - Undrafted

Super happy with how my draft panned out. Every player except my last two went either earlier than I picked them or just after. Can't ask for much more than that. Surprised Oksanen didn't get drafted but with him being one of the oldest guys in the draft and not having spectacular production I sort of get it, but still goalscorers are hard to find and Oksanen has a great shot and good size and speed to go along with it. S�derblom was just a flyer from my side, haven't seen him a lot but big swedish goalie with decent numbers. Teams definitely made worse picks than that today. On the flip side I was thrilled to see Tim S�derlund get drafted. Wasn't sure he would, being an overager and being very diminuitive. Usually not a good combo, but not only did he get drafted, he got taken only thirteen picks after I selected him in the mock, whoa!

 

[belair]

12. C MARTIN NECAS, 6'1, 168lb, HC Kometa Brno, Czech Extraliga - Bingo.
42. LW NIKITA A. POPUGAEV, 6'5, 202lb, Prince George Cougars, WHL - Went 98 to NJD
52. LW MATTHEW STROME, 6'3, 201lb, Hamilton Bulldogs, OHL - Went 106 to PHI
62. C ALEKSI HEPONIEMI, 5'10, 143lb, Swift Current Broncos, WHL - Went 40 to FLA
73. C ADAM RUZICKA, 6'4, 202lb, Sarnia Sting, OHL - Went 109 to CGY
104. LD JACK RATHBONE, 5'10, 165lb, Dexter High School, USHS - Went 95 to VAN
142. G MATTHEW VILLALTA 6'2, 170lb, Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds, OHL - Went 72 to LAK
166. LD JACK AHCAN, 5'8, 183lb, St Cloud St University, NCAA - Undrafted
197. C BRYCE MISLEY, 6'2, 187lb, Oakville Blades, OJHL - Went 116 to MIN

Even though guys like Popugayev, Strome and Ruzicka fell in the draft, I see them as players with significant upside. All three are skilled players with good NHL size and all three wouldn't have looked out of place had they gone much sooner in the draft. I'm also not surprised to see Villalta and Heponiemi go much earlier. Both had very successful seasons and both have extremely high upsides. Rathbone is a quality defender. Misley I wasn't entirely familiar with, but his play in the OJHL this season obviously didn't go unnoticed. As for Jack Ahcan, it's not entirely surprising he went underfted as an undersized double-overager, but he will receive contract offers in the near future, I'm certain.

I'm still very happy with the draft result. I feel I did a good job assessing the needs of the Hurricanes and focused on adding some high end depth up the middle. I targeted several players with significant offensive upside and added a quality goaltending prospect.

 

[ChaoticOrange]

Edmonton:

RHC/RW Kailer Yamamoto, 5'7.5, 146lbs

My draft: 22nd
Actual Draft: 22nd, Edmonton Oilers (Bingo!)

G Maxim Zhukov, 6'2 194lb

My draft: 82nd
Actual Draft: 96th, Vegas Golden Knights (-14)

RHD Reilly Walsh, 5'10.75, 184lb

My draft: 84th
Actual Draft: 81st, New Jersey Devils (+3, damn close!)

RHC/RW Drake Rymsha, 6'0, 187lb

My draft: 115th
Actual draft: 138th, LA Kings (-23)

RHC/W Pavel Shen, 6'0, 179lb

My draft: 126th
Actual draft: Undrafted

RHC Lane Zablocki, 6'0, 190 lb

My draft: 146th
Actual draft: 79th, Detroit Red Wings (+67)

RHD Otto Latvala, 6'5, 190lb

My draft: 177th
Actual draft: Undrafted

LHD Benjamin Mirageas, 6'1, 180lb

My draft: 208th
Actual draft: 77th, New York Islanders (+201)

Florida:

Owen Tippett

(Not my pick) 10th
Actual draft: 10th, Florida Panthers (Bingo!)

Grant Mismash

(Not my pick) 40th
Actual draft: 61st (-21)

Filip Westerlund

My draft: 66th
Actual draft: 44th, Arizona Coyotes (+22)

Greg Meireles

My draft: 133rd
Actual draft: undrafted

Overall: 1 Bingo, + 235 (or +34 without Mirageas's ridiculous +201), 3 Undrafted (Shen, Latvala, Meiereles).

Not bad. Pretty pleased with my draft overall, though I think I like the Oilers actual draft better than my mock. Would have loved to pick up Rymsha though, and really surprised Meireles went undrafted.

 

[McDNicks17]

1(20) - Klim Kostin, W (-11)
1(27) - Conor Timmins, D (-5)
2(20) - Morgan Frost, C (+25)
4(20) - Emil Bemstrom, C (-4)
5(6) - Ben Jones, C (-59)
6(20) - Jocktan Chainey, D (-16)
7(20) - Oliver Castleman, W (Undrafted)

Ended up surprisingly realistic.

 

[bzur]

#25 - C - Ryan Poehling : Actual #25 (Noice)
#54 - RW - Ivan Lodnia : Actual #85 (-31)
#58 - C - Mason Shaw : Actual #97 (-39)
#85 - C - Tyler Steenbergen : Actual #128 (-43)
#147 - RW - D'Artagnan Joly : Actual #171 (-24)

Whoops. Haha

 

[BarDownBobo]

Philadelphia Flyers 2017 HFOil Mock Draft
Round 1(2nd Overall): Nico Hischier, C, Halifax Mooseheads(QMJHL) Went 1st Overall to New Jersey
Round 2(44th Overall): Maxime Comtois, LW, Victoriaville Tigres(QMJHL) Went 50th Overall to Anaheim
Round 3(75th Overall): Lukas Elvenes, RW, Rögle BK J20(SuperElit) Went 127th Overall to Vegas
Round 3(80th Overall): Artyom Minulin, RD, Swift Current Broncos(WHL) Undrafted
Round 4(106th Overall): Alexandre Texier, C, Grenoble(France) Went 45th Overall to Columbus
Round 4(107th Overall): Cayden Primeau, G, Lincoln Stars(USHL) Went 199th Overall to Montreal
Round 4(108th Overall): Will Warm, RD, Edmonton Oil Kings(WHL) Undrafted
Round 5(137th Overall): Jonas Røndbjerg, RW, Växjö Lakers HC J20(SuperElit) Went 65th Overall to Vegas
Round 6(168th Overall): Santeri Virtanen, C, TPS U20(Jr. A SM-liiga) Went 105th Overall to Winnipeg
Round 7(196th Overall): Igor Shvyryov, C, Stalnye Lisy Magnitogorsk(MHL) Went 125th Overall to Colorado
Round 7(199th Overall): Antoine Crête-Belzile, LD, Blainville-Boisbriand Armada(QMJHL) Undrafted
Round 7(200th Overall): Alex D'Orio, G, Saint John Sea Dogs(QMJHL) Undrafted

Pittsburgh Penguins 2017 HFOil Mock Draft
Round 1(31st Overall: Kole Lind, C, Kelowna Rockets(WHL) Went 33rd Overall to Vancouver
Round 3(93rd Overall): Tyler Inamoto, LD, USNTDP(USHL) Went 133rd Overall to Florida
Round 5(153rd Overall): Ty Lewis, LW, Brandon Wheat Kings(WHL) Undrafted
Round 5(155th Overall): Kirill Slepets, RW, Loko Yaroslavl(MHL) Undrafted
Round 6(186th Overall): Jakub Galvas, LD, HC Olomouc(Czech) Went 150th Overall to Chicago
Round 7(217th Overall): Vladislav Sukhachyov, G, Chelmet Chelyabinsk(VHL) Undrafted

Teams never fail to make me look like an idiot haha. Was so confident in both of these drafts, but yet again I picked 7 players who went undrafted. Some of my late round picks are less of a surprise, but I'm still absolutely baffled that Minulin and Warm were completely passed over.

 

[BoldNewLettuce]

1 (15) - Eeli Tolvanen - RW - Boston (NCAA) 30th (-15)
2 (46) - Marcus Davidsson - LW - Djurgadrends (SHL) 37th (+9)
3 (77) - Jake Leschyshyn - C - Regina (WHL) 62nd (+15)
5 (139) - Cameron Crotty - D - Boston (NCAA) 82nd (+57)
7 (201) - Nathan Knoepke - D - Maine (NCAA) (undrafted)

Not too shabby aside from Tolvanen sliding. I blame the University of Boston.

 

[Soli]

1 (18th) - Lias Andersson, C, HV71 (SHL) +11
2 (53rd) - Michael DiPietro, G, Windsor Spitfires (OHL) -11
4 (111th) - Kirill Maksimov, RW, Niagara IceDogs (OHL) -35
6 (173rd) - Tobias Geisser, LD, EV Zug (NLA) +53
7 (195th) - Martin Bodak, RD, Tappara (Liiga) Undrafted
7 (204th) - Arnaud Durandeau, LW, (QMJHL) +39

TOTAL: +57 & 1 undrafted (7th).

---



2 (60th) - Alex Formenton, C, London Knights (OHL) +13
2 (61st) - Sasha Chmelevski, C, Ottawa 67s {OHL) -124
3 (92nd) - Mario Ferraro , LD, Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL) +43
4 (123rd) - Gustav Lindstrom, RD, Almtuna IS (Allsvenskan) +85
5 (154th) - Macauley Carson. LW/C, Sudbury Wolves (OHL) Undrafted
6 (185th) - Noah Cates, LW, Omaha Lancers, (USHL) +48

TOTAL: +65 & 1 undrafted (5th).

 

[Jumptheshark]

Will up date how i did later

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

Tampa Bay Lightning 2017 HFOil Mock Draft
Round 1(14th Overall): Elias Pettersson, F, Timra (Allsvenskan)

Round 2(45th Overall): Eemeli Rasanen, D, Kingston (OHL)

Round 2(48th Overall): Ian Mitchell, D, Spruce Grove(AJHL)

Round 3(76th Overall): Nate Schnarr, F, Guelph(OHL)

Round 6(169th Overall): Alexander Volkov, F, SKA St. Petersberg-2(Russia-JR)

Round 6(178th Overall): Matthew Kellenberger, D, Oakville(OJHL)

I'm pretty happy with this draft for the

Pettersson went 5th to Van, Tampa took Cal Foote at 14

Rasanen went 59th and Mitchell went 57th, Tampa traded 45 and took Volkov at 48th (Yeah, right, but I got better value )

Schnarr went 75th, Tampa took Alexei Lipanov at 76, so basically correct.

Tampa took Nicklaus Perbix at 169

Tampa trade for 180 and 200, took Cole Guttan and Samuel Walker.

So only Kellenberger didn't get drafted, which was the 7th round pick, so that works.

 

[BoldNewLettuce]

1 (15) - Eeli Tolvanen - RW - Boston (NCAA) 30th (-15)
2 (46) - Marcus Davidsson - LW - Djurgadrends (SHL) 37th (+9)
3 (77) - Jake Leschyshyn - C - Regina (WHL) 62nd (+15)
5 (139) - Cameron Crotty - D - Boston (NCAA) 82nd (+57)
7 (201) - Nathan Knoepke - D - Maine (NCAA) (undrafted)

Not too shabby aside from Tolvanen sliding. I blame the University of Boston.

Total; +66
Lick my boot, soli

 

[FlameChampion]

1 (29) Urho Vaakaninen (actual 18, +11)
2 (47) Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (actual 54, -7)
4 (122) Andrei Altybarmakyan (actual 70, +52)
6 (184) Austen Keating (actual ND)

+56 on Vaakainen, Luukkonen and Altybarmakyan
1 not drafted with Austen Keating (Round 6)

 

[Soli]

Selfish *cough*

 

[Soli]

Almost a full season has past for most of these players, lets see how we look Draft +1.

1 (18th) - Lias Andersson, C, HV71 (SHL) +11
2 (53rd) - Michael DiPietro, G, Windsor Spitfires (OHL) -11
4 (111th) - Kirill Maksimov, RW, Niagara IceDogs (OHL) -35
6 (173rd) - Tobias Geisser, LD, EV Zug (NLA) +53
7 (195th) - Martin Bodak, RD, Tappara (Liiga) Undrafted
7 (204th) - Arnaud Durandeau, LW, (QMJHL) +39

TOTAL: +57 & 1 undrafted (7th).

May have been my favorite mock draft of these on HFOil. I was targeting Lias Andersson and was stoked he made it to me at 18. He's been a firey competitor and made it to the show already. Was really high on him and the Rangers made me look smart. DiPietro had a rough year. He was drafted to the goalie graveyard in Vancouver and is now dead to me and will have a chance once Demko flames out spectacularly. Move over Lias, my favourite pick of this mock draft was 111th and our boy Kirill Maksimov. I took him a full round before the Oilers and he's done nothing but impress us since. Called it a potential home run selection at the time and he's tracking really well.

2 (60th) - Alex Formenton, C, London Knights (OHL) +13
2 (61st) - Sasha Chmelevski, C, Ottawa 67s {OHL) -124
3 (92nd) - Mario Ferraro , LD, Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL) +43
4 (123rd) - Gustav Lindstrom, RD, Almtuna IS (Allsvenskan) +85
5 (154th) - Macauley Carson. LW/C, Sudbury Wolves (OHL) Undrafted
6 (185th) - Noah Cates, LW, Omaha Lancers, (USHL) +48

TOTAL: +65 & 1 undrafted (5th).

Don't have a whole lot to say here, thought I did really well post draft in terms of finding value. Chmelevski must have said some awful awful things during the interviews, heh. Formenton made the show, but it was Ottawa, so... heh.

---

Signup for the 2018 Mock Entry Draft will happen sometime after the Draft Lottery next week. I'll see where the playoffs series matchups are at and how it is likely to influence the draft order and we'll find a suitable start date.

This will be the 4th iteration of our annual mock draft and aside from having to make a whole new table format (and I hate the new table codes), it should run pretty smoothly. Always open to suggestions for improvement though!

 

[BoldNewLettuce]

1 (15) - Eeli Tolvanen - RW - Boston (NCAA) 30th (-15)
2 (46) - Marcus Davidsson - LW - Djurgadrends (SHL) 37th (+9)
3 (77) - Jake Leschyshyn - C - Regina (WHL) 62nd (+15)
5 (139) - Cameron Crotty - D - Boston (NCAA) 82nd (+57)
7 (201) - Nathan Knoepke - D - Maine (NCAA) (undrafted)

In my plus 1.

Tolvanen would probably be a top 10 pick now. So suffice it to say I blew my own socks off there.

Davidsson is probably sticking around that mid 30 range.

Leschyshyn and Crotty hadn't really taken big leaps this year...but they both got some playoff games under their belt......Crotty has more time to grow but if I recall correctly I was pumping his tires to the moon last year. He's still got a ways to go with BU to really get to the bigs. And for Jake....I guess this is the season post-ACL so could be he has another level there.

Knoepke looks like he's done.

 

[belair]

12. C MARTIN NECAS, 6'1, 168lb, HC Kometa Brno, Czech Extraliga - Bingo.
42. LW NIKITA A. POPUGAEV, 6'5, 202lb, Prince George Cougars, WHL - Went 98 to NJD
52. LW MATTHEW STROME, 6'3, 201lb, Hamilton Bulldogs, OHL - Went 106 to PHI
62. C ALEKSI HEPONIEMI, 5'10, 143lb, Swift Current Broncos, WHL - Went 40 to FLA
73. C ADAM RUZICKA, 6'4, 202lb, Sarnia Sting, OHL - Went 109 to CGY
104. LD JACK RATHBONE, 5'10, 165lb, Dexter High School, USHS - Went 95 to VAN
142. G MATTHEW VILLALTA 6'2, 170lb, Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds, OHL - Went 72 to LAK
166. LD JACK AHCAN, 5'8, 183lb, St Cloud St University, NCAA - Undrafted
197. C BRYCE MISLEY, 6'2, 187lb, Oakville Blades, OJHL - Went 116 to MIN

Even though guys like Popugayev, Strome and Ruzicka fell in the draft, I see them as players with significant upside. All three are skilled players with good NHL size and all three wouldn't have looked out of place had they gone much sooner in the draft. I'm also not surprised to see Villalta and Heponiemi go much earlier. Both had very successful seasons and both have extremely high upsides. Rathbone is a quality defender. Misley I wasn't entirely familiar with, but his play in the OJHL this season obviously didn't go unnoticed. As for Jack Ahcan, it's not entirely surprising he went underfted as an undersized double-overager, but he will receive contract offers in the near future, I'm certain.

I'm still very happy with the draft result. I feel I did a good job assessing the needs of the Hurricanes and focused on adding some high end depth up the middle. I targeted several players with significant offensive upside and added a quality goaltending prospect.

In my draft plus one season I'm really liking the trajectory of some of these picks. Carolina would definitely be excited about the CHL playoff picture seeing that they've got three key players on three separate teams playing in their respective league's Finals. Heponiemi is helping lead the charge in Swift Current. Strome has been a solid contributor in Hamilton and Villalta has backstopped the SSM Greyhounds to a stellar season. Ruzicka had quite the season in Sarnia as well--36 goals and over a PPG seeing the Sting into the second round.

Necas, their real life pick lit up the juniors this year and went home and had himself a year in Brno. He's looking very close to making it full time in the NHL.

Rathbone looks ready to take on Harvard next year while Misley had a slow start in Vermont. Ahcan, though undrafted, built on a quality offensive campaign in St Cloud.

The only one looking like a big miss was Nikita Popugaev at 42. He went home and played in CSKA's organization--a bit of a forgettable year, but he was a questionable prospect to start with.