2019 HFNHL Mock Draft - Post Lottery Edition

Brock

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Feb 27, 2002
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With the 2019 Draft Lottery complete, the first fifteen spots of the draft order have been set. As such, what better way to celebrate than with a mock draft!

1. Detroit Red Wings - Jack Hughes
Far from automatic now thanks to Kaapo Kakko's offensive explosion in Liiga play, but Hughes still seems to be favourite to go first overall. I would suspect that this is the way Zac Niece and the Red Wings go after winning the lottery. Hughes gives the Wings a great foundation down the middle moving forward with Joseph Veleno and Luke Kunin forming a great 1-2-3 punch. That should get the Wings back to relevance sooner, rather than later.

2. Columbus Blue Jackets - Kaapo Kakko
The easiest choice here belongs to Columbus. Whichever of the two Detroit doesn't take will be the choice of the Jackets. The dynamic Kakko has had a record breaking season in the SM-Liiga and will likely suit up for Finland at the upcoming World Championships. He has the chance to be a dynamic scoring winger in the NHL and gives Columbus a great young forward group around the likes of Sam Steel, Morgan Frost, and Nick Suzuki.

3. Philadelphia Flyers (via Calgary) - Vasili Podkolzin
Never one to shy away from a Russian player because he values the potential that they possess, GM Alvaro Silvan rolls the dice on Podkolzin, an electric offensive winger with SKA St. Petersburg. With such a stacked farm system and several first round picks, the Flyers can afford to take the player with the highest offensive potential too.

4. Dallas Stars - Dylan Cozens
Quite honestly, Dallas could go in a variety of different routes here. There are so many options and the Stars haven't been a team with a concrete drafting pattern under GM Tom Baker. After taking two defenders in the top 11 last year (Dahlin and Boqvist), something tells me that he may look forward here. Cozens is an explosive playmaker who could fit in very well with a future group that includes Nico Hischier, Brady Tkachuk, and Grigori Denisenko.

5. Vegas Golden Knights - Bowen Byram
If Byram is available at #5, it seems like a pretty sure bet that he would be the Golden Knights' pick. Vegas has yet to draft a defender with a first round pick and needs a building block on the backend after selecting so many talented forwards in recent years. Byram is, without question, the top defender available this year and would really be a great pick up here for Vegas.

6. Carolina Hurricanes - Peyton Krebs

The Hurricanes are absolutely loaded down the middle with the likes of Alex Barkov, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Lias Andersson, Isac Lundestrom, Colin White, and others in the fold. So what do they do at the 6th spot with so many talented centers available? Yes, you should draft BPA at most times, but with so many players closely huddled together in this range, one wonders what Darryl Solly values here. As such, he goes with Krebs, a competitive two-way forward who can play the wing or center and someone Solly could be very familiar with as a Calgary native (Kootenay plays in the same division as Calgary in the WHL).

7. Arizona Coyotes - Alex Turcotte
Turcotte has missed some time this year due to injury, but on offensive potential alone, he deserves to be taken this high, or higher. He is the complete package offensively, blessed with speed, hands, and smarts. The Coyotes, under GM Ryan Cleland have been another team that is hard to peg down a pattern with. But adding a potential first line center into the fold could help the team finally take that next step as a playoff team in the next few years.

8. Florida Panthers - Kirby Dach

Out of the playoffs for the first time in many years, Florida finds themselves in uncharted territory recently with a top 10 pick. No question the Panthers need to build from the center out as they are missing talent down the middle to play with superstar Nikita Kucherov. So which one does Brock Otten go with? Dach, a big playmaker, has some of the highest potential of any player in the draft. Consistency issues scare some scouts though. But with three firsts this year, Otten rolls the dice. Drafting out of the WHL is rare for him though.

9. Edmonton Oilers - Trevor Zegras
Starting their rebuild, GM Drew Niece has the Oilers in the right spot to find a potential franchise center who they can build around. Never one to shy away from the U.S. Development program, Niece opts for Trevor Zegras, a smart, two-way center who projects as a very complete and well rounded SIM player. This would be a step in the right direction for a team that is finally going in the right direction.

10. New Jersey Devils - Cole Caufield

He may not go this high on NHL draft day, but I think it's a safe bet that Caufield will be a lottery selection in the HFNHL. The new goal scoring record holder for the USDP, Caufield is a potential Alex Debrincat in the making and the type of player who can be a dynamic NHL player despite his 5'7 frame. Obviously GM Chris Malec is no stranger to drafting American players and this seems like a perfect fit and a great roll of the dice on a high potential player.

11. Philadelphia Flyers - Philip Broberg
With their second pick in the lottery, the Flyers take Broberg, a 6'3, smooth skating defender who rocketed up the charts earlier with a strong Hlinka/Gretzky Cup, but who has seen his stock fall recently. But the potential is high for him and he just seems like the type of player that GM Alvaro Silvan likes to covet.

12. Montreal Canadiens - Matthew Boldy
Boldy falls a bit in our draft because he's not the "sexiest" pick in the sense that he's not a center and he's not the dynamic offensive playmaker that others ranked around him are. But he's an extremely efficient player who should be a very well rounded and effective player in the NHL...and in the HFNHL SIM. The Canadiens under GM Matt Kowalchuk have always made it their focus to bring these types of players into the fold.

13. Philadelphia Flyers (via Buffalo) - Raphael Lavoie
Not a reach here for the Flyers to opt for the top French Canadian prospect available this year in Lavoie, a big and skilled forward with a late birthday who can probably make an impact in the HFNHL a little quicker than some of his peers drafted in June. With the strength of Philadelphia's system, they can go with a local product who still has a high ceiling.

14. Pittsburgh Penguins (via Nashville) - Spencer Knight

Long gone are the days where HFNHL GM's wait for goalies to fall on draft day. If you want a goalie, you need to take them earlier now, especially with Dryden Lewis lurking in the weeds ready to scoop them up. Pittsburgh has had a very rough deal with their goaltenders this year with Schneider's health evaporating and Kinkaid collapsing. With not much waiting in the wings, the Penguins use the William Karlsson pick to take Knight, the unanimous top goalie available and someone ranked inside or close to the lottery by most scouting agencies.

15. Los Angeles Kings - Alex Newhook
With GM Mike McEwan's penchant for drafting out of Tier 2, this seems like a match made in heaven should Newhook fall to him at 15. Newhook also plays right in McEwan's backyard out in BC and has the offensive potential that should be alluring to a team that may face some cap issues in the near future.
 

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