Used this site to simulate draft:
http://timgur.com/nhl/draft/index#
Used the site and made my own mock draft from after the WJC. fyi bettman would never allow this order to happen
1. Calgary-
Seth Jones. every championship team has a norris trophy type D man the last 2 years. Jones can be that guy for the flames sooner rather then later
2. Nashville-
Nathan Mackinnon. Much like the taylor vs. tyler debate of 2010, the Number 2 pick is fairly easy for nashville. draft mackinnon, forget about top line center for 6 years.
3. Winnipeg-
Jonathon Drouin- The WJC darling makes the biggest leap from the preseason rankings and is landed at 3. winnipeg locks him in as a top line patrick kane type performer, minus the alcohol abuse.
4. Dallas-
Sean Monahan- Dallas picks a responsible 2-way centerman who can probably play in the NHL right now and uses him in a coutourier type role to start.
5. LA kings-
Alexander Barkov. Whats better then anze kopitar? 2 anze kopitars! (this pick is owned by columbus so oh well LA, barkov goes to OH.)
6. Columbus Blue Jackets-
Rasmus Ristolainen with what turns out to be back to back picks by the jackets they opt for the other Fin to go with barkov. the blue jackets all of a sudden have some top tier talent...
7. Edmonton Oilers-
Valeri Nichushkin- Why not? Hall-RNH-Eberle...Nichushkin, gagner-Yakupov. wow..Yakupov is the reason edmonton doesn't fear the russian factor as Nail convinces Valeri to come across the pond.
8. St. Louis Blues-
Ryan Pulock- the blues miss the slapshot that al macinnis had. they get the best shot in the draft and keep building a great core of talent.
9. Vancouver Canucks-
Hunter Shinkaruk. The Canucks need everything as they probably have the most shallow prospect pool in the league. shinkaruk makes the jump straight to the NHL and has a jeff skinner like effect on the league.
10. Carolina Hurricanes-
Elias Lindholm- The hurricanes get a top 6 centerman who gets to play on the 3rd line to start as a shutdown player with speed to burn.
11. New York Rangers-
Max Domi- the bluejackets don't miss rick nash anymore, another high pick due to the rangers trade. They go with another centerman who will play wing for them on one of the top 2 lines with johansen and barkov as the future pivots.
12. Pittsburgh Penguins-
Adam Erne. the last thing the pens need is another Dman so they reach a tad bit for a power forward with some big potential.
13. Tampa Bay Lightning-
Nikita Zadorov. The lightning scare the bejesus out of their future opponents sending out the 6-5 zadorov alongside the 6-6 Hedman.
14. Boston Bruins-
Darnell Nurse- The bruins take a project player with massive upside in Nurse as they have a pretty crowded lineup right now and can afford to let darnell develop at a slower pace
15. Toronto Maple Leafs-
Curtis Lazar- The leafs nab a centerman with top 6 potential who has a wicked wrist shot and good leadership qualities.
16. Montreal Canadiens-
Robert Hagg- PK needs help on the blueline. Hagg should provide some.
17. Buffalo Sabres-
Frederick Gauthier- Trade one 6-5 centerman, draft another. and Gauthier probably will be better then Gaustad ever was.
18. Washington Capitals-
Josh Morrissey- The caps need some more defense with wideman gone. Morrissey will be paired with someone responsible hopefully like alzner and then will eventually have the responsibility of keeping up with carlsson and greene. the caps top 4 will be very talented with those guys.
19. Florida Panthers-
Hudson Fasching- the panthers have had some luck with US players recently (bjugstad) and grab him a RW in Fasching for when they want to have a massive power checking/scoring line.
20. Philadelphia Flyers-
Steve Santini- The Flyers need D..badly. Santini is the best D left.
21. Minnesota Wild-
Andre Burakovsky- the wild take a Euro who might need a few more seasons before he can be ready to compete, but they have enough talent on the current roster to wait.
22. Detroit Red Wings-
Jacob De La Rose- because he is european and the red wings love euro players.
23. Anaheim Ducks-
Anthony Mantha- Big Power forward from the Q to bring along with Etem as the next wave of duck greats. Mantha is the heir apparent to corey perrys role on the team.
24. Colorado Avalanche-
Kerby Rychel- Having a down year on a bad team but Rychels game oozes intangibles. avalanche get themselves a top 6 forward to pair with duchene and statsny while landeskog continues to gain chemistry with o'reilly.
25. San Jose Sharks-
Anthony Duclair- big time skillset, lightning quick, great hands, big time sniping ability. Lacks hockey IQ but sharks could get the steal of the draft with duclair.
26. Phoenix Coyotes-
Jason Dickinson- they have no need for D-men, so they grab the player with the most offensive potential left in dickinson.
27. Ottawa senators-
Alexander Wennberg. the Sens like swedes, they get another one that they can forbid from entering the WJC.
28. New Jersey Devils-
Madison Bowey- the devils need another D to replace the aging bryce salvador. Bowey plays a similar game
29. New York Islanders-
Bo Horvat. The Isles need some depth up front to round out the bottom 6 forwards. Horvat can play next year in a shutdown role and provide some secondary scoring on the 3rd line
30. Chicago Blackhawks-
Ryan Kujawinski- Drafted high in the OHL draft, the hawks take a risk hoping this OHLer can put together all his talents finally and become the dominating 2 way centerman he has the ability to be.
