Darz
Registered User
I usually don't do these things, but I've been reading and following so many prospects this year, I thought for fun I would do a 1st rd mock. I'm posting it here just so I have a record of it, but feel free to insult my opinions and so forth.
1. Chi - Patrick Kane
I would imagine the Hawks will (have) also consider Turris, but there collective minds are made up. They have already eluded to what they want, and to me it sounds line Kane.
2. Phi - Kyle Turris
The rumblings were if the Flyers picked first they were leaning towards Turris, so with Kane already gone, I would assume this choice becomes even more clear.
3. Phx - James Van Riemsdyk
Unless the Flyers have a change of heart and take him, I can't see how Gretz and co. pass on this kid. They might breifly think about Cherepanov, but the upside on this one is too high.
4. L.A. - Alexei Cherepanov
I could see the Kings trading down in the first round, or considering Alzner, but if they keep the pick I could see them going after Cherepanov. The Kings have show in previous drafts that they will go after the most talented available player with their first round picks, so.....
5. Wsh - Jakub Voracek
A pretty safe pick for a team that doesn't need to swing for the fences. Add another good young forward to the pile.
6. Edm - Karl Alzner
I would imagine Edmonton would be very pleased to nab Alzner with the 6th overall pick. The top d-man in any draft usually doesn't stay on the board for long, and I think Alzner is unquestionable the top dman in this draft. Pretty safe pick.
7. Clb - Sam Gagner
A pretty easy choice for the Blue Jackets at #7. The top seven in this years draft have seperated themselves form the rest, and with the other 6 gone, Columbus gladed adds a great offensive weapon in Gagner.
8. Bos - Ryan McDonagh
The picks become a little clouder at this point, but I don't see McDonagh staying on the board for too long. Ryan's combination of smarts, athletisism and skill could eventually lead to him being one of the best overall players taken in this draft. I wouldn't be surprised if Esposito is also on Boston's radar, but I have to believe McDonagh is high on a few teams list, and I'm guessing one of those teams is Boston.
9. Stl - Angelo Esposito
For a team desperate to add offensive, this seems like a logical pick. Would love to see him drop to Montreal at 12, but I can't imagine many teams passing on his upside after the big 7 are gone.
10. Fla - Logan Couture
Good hockey sense, and a low bust rating will probably sound pretty good by pick 10. If Florida doesn't have this kid next on their list, you could almost think they would be better off dropping a few spots because I would imagine alot of teams between 11-20 would love a chance to move up and grab this kid.
11. Car - Nick Petrecki
Big hitting, physical dman are usually pretty high on ever NHL teams wish list, so they rarely drop on draft day. If anything they usually shot up the ranks. I defiantely could see this happening in this case.
12. Mtl - Keaton Ellerby
Anytime a player routinely has his hockey sense question, it usually means he drops on draft day. I wouldn't be surprised to see Ellerby go as high as #8 to Boston, but I wouldn't be surprised if he hung around til about #20, so I'll meet in the middle and say a team like Montreal takes the plunge at #12.
13. Tor - Zach Hamill
I think at this point Toronto goes with the safest, highest consesus pick and takes Hamill. Wouldn't be surprised if Toronto looks to move down in order to add another 2nd rounder or something like that, but in a weaker draft to be able to nab this highly skilled of a player at #13 isn't too bad.
14. Col - Bill Sweatt
Might be a stretch at this point, and I wouldn't be surprised if Colorado moves this pick to address another weakness, but Colorado has a history of making stretches, and Sweatt's top end speed and the fact he does possess other skills and some figure that his top end could be quite high, sounds to me like a player teams might make a stretch for.
15. Edm - Brandon Sutter
I think Edmonton fans at this point have to like my mock draft. With their first pick they nab the #1 dman on the board, and with their 2nd pick they nab themselves a Sutter. Now I wouldn't be surprised if Calgary makes inquires in an attempt to move up and grab Sutter. Sutter in Calgary just makes sense. More reason for Edmonton to take him here.
16. Ana - Max Pacioretty
Brain Bruke likes the power forward type, and grabs another one with Anahiem's first round pick.
17. NYR - Lars Eller
I think the Rangers will try to add a highly skill forward to the group of prospects they have right now, and I wouldn't be surprised if this was the highest available name left on their list.
18. Cal - Colton Gillies
Well if they can't get Sutter, they will turn their attention to another big Westerner. Gilles seems like a Calgary, Sutter type player, especially if he could find a bit of a scoring touch in the next couple of years. This seems like a good fit.
19. Min - Mikael Backlund
Minnesota has a decent group of forwards at present and might be in the market for a high risk/reward type player and Backlund should fits that mold. I could see him going 5-8 spots higher, but I don't see him slinding much past here.
20. Pitt - Brett McLean
Pittsburgh adds a goal scorer to their young stable of forwards. If he could improve his skating a little bit he could become a point a game player in the NHL playing on a line with one of Pittsburghs great centres. Has shown the ability to ride shotgun fairly successfully already with a potential superstar, so...
21. Phx - Maxim Mayorov
Could see this guy go anywhere from 8th to 38th. Has the combination of size and skill that is so conveted, so if will be interesting to see where he goes. Have a hard time seeing him fall too much father then this though. Would be a good first round for Gretz and crew if they could nab Maxim and Van Riemsdyk with their two picks.
22. Mtl - David Perron
At first I didn't even look at this as a choice for Montreal, but after looking at the remaining names available this one started to make more sense. Highly skilled player with a good upside...and it doesn't hurt that he is from Quebec.
23. Nsh - Oscar Moller
A rather safe pick for a team in turmoil. This team is going to need some NHL ready forwards in the next couple of years, and this guy might just fit the bill.
24. Stl - Kevin Shattenkirk
I think St. Louis would be happy as a pig in sh...well lets say really happy to nab Shattenkirk at this point in the draft. I wouldn't be surprised if he goes higher than this, but with all the 1st round worthy dman available this year, it's hard to say which guy is going to go where and when.
25. Van - Jonathan Blum
I would imagine Vancouver has scouted this kid as much as any other NHL club, and if they liked what they saw, this would be the time to nab him. Good skills, a little small, but in the new NHL the former outweighs the latter, so.....
26. Stl - Akim Aliu
This kid might not go anywhere in the first 40 or so picks, but when a team has three first rounders, they could be the team that decided to take an early gamble with a potential huge payout, so why not.
27. Det - Tommy Cross
A bit of a project, but the payout could be there. Sounds like a Detroit type pick to me.
28. Wsh - Alex Plante
This kid could go anywhere between 15-50, but I would imagine he has to be rated at least this high on a few teams list. Can't recall who it was on TSN that said that a couple teams had him in their top 15, so it wouldn't be much of a surprised to see him go here. If he skating could improve slightly, he could be one of the safer picks on the board.
29. Ott - Thomas Hickey
Could go higher..could go lower, but I think the Sens would be quite happy to add this skilled of a dman this late of the first round of what is supposed to be a fairly weak draft.
30 Edm - Jeremy Smith
With their first pick, Edmonton gets the top dman, with their second pick, they land a Sutter, why not add the top draft eligible goalie with the third pick. This could be a stretch, but any team looking to add a goalie at this draft would have to have this kid somewhere around this point, so....
1. Chi - Patrick Kane
I would imagine the Hawks will (have) also consider Turris, but there collective minds are made up. They have already eluded to what they want, and to me it sounds line Kane.
2. Phi - Kyle Turris
The rumblings were if the Flyers picked first they were leaning towards Turris, so with Kane already gone, I would assume this choice becomes even more clear.
3. Phx - James Van Riemsdyk
Unless the Flyers have a change of heart and take him, I can't see how Gretz and co. pass on this kid. They might breifly think about Cherepanov, but the upside on this one is too high.
4. L.A. - Alexei Cherepanov
I could see the Kings trading down in the first round, or considering Alzner, but if they keep the pick I could see them going after Cherepanov. The Kings have show in previous drafts that they will go after the most talented available player with their first round picks, so.....
5. Wsh - Jakub Voracek
A pretty safe pick for a team that doesn't need to swing for the fences. Add another good young forward to the pile.
6. Edm - Karl Alzner
I would imagine Edmonton would be very pleased to nab Alzner with the 6th overall pick. The top d-man in any draft usually doesn't stay on the board for long, and I think Alzner is unquestionable the top dman in this draft. Pretty safe pick.
7. Clb - Sam Gagner
A pretty easy choice for the Blue Jackets at #7. The top seven in this years draft have seperated themselves form the rest, and with the other 6 gone, Columbus gladed adds a great offensive weapon in Gagner.
8. Bos - Ryan McDonagh
The picks become a little clouder at this point, but I don't see McDonagh staying on the board for too long. Ryan's combination of smarts, athletisism and skill could eventually lead to him being one of the best overall players taken in this draft. I wouldn't be surprised if Esposito is also on Boston's radar, but I have to believe McDonagh is high on a few teams list, and I'm guessing one of those teams is Boston.
9. Stl - Angelo Esposito
For a team desperate to add offensive, this seems like a logical pick. Would love to see him drop to Montreal at 12, but I can't imagine many teams passing on his upside after the big 7 are gone.
10. Fla - Logan Couture
Good hockey sense, and a low bust rating will probably sound pretty good by pick 10. If Florida doesn't have this kid next on their list, you could almost think they would be better off dropping a few spots because I would imagine alot of teams between 11-20 would love a chance to move up and grab this kid.
11. Car - Nick Petrecki
Big hitting, physical dman are usually pretty high on ever NHL teams wish list, so they rarely drop on draft day. If anything they usually shot up the ranks. I defiantely could see this happening in this case.
12. Mtl - Keaton Ellerby
Anytime a player routinely has his hockey sense question, it usually means he drops on draft day. I wouldn't be surprised to see Ellerby go as high as #8 to Boston, but I wouldn't be surprised if he hung around til about #20, so I'll meet in the middle and say a team like Montreal takes the plunge at #12.
13. Tor - Zach Hamill
I think at this point Toronto goes with the safest, highest consesus pick and takes Hamill. Wouldn't be surprised if Toronto looks to move down in order to add another 2nd rounder or something like that, but in a weaker draft to be able to nab this highly skilled of a player at #13 isn't too bad.
14. Col - Bill Sweatt
Might be a stretch at this point, and I wouldn't be surprised if Colorado moves this pick to address another weakness, but Colorado has a history of making stretches, and Sweatt's top end speed and the fact he does possess other skills and some figure that his top end could be quite high, sounds to me like a player teams might make a stretch for.
15. Edm - Brandon Sutter
I think Edmonton fans at this point have to like my mock draft. With their first pick they nab the #1 dman on the board, and with their 2nd pick they nab themselves a Sutter. Now I wouldn't be surprised if Calgary makes inquires in an attempt to move up and grab Sutter. Sutter in Calgary just makes sense. More reason for Edmonton to take him here.
16. Ana - Max Pacioretty
Brain Bruke likes the power forward type, and grabs another one with Anahiem's first round pick.
17. NYR - Lars Eller
I think the Rangers will try to add a highly skill forward to the group of prospects they have right now, and I wouldn't be surprised if this was the highest available name left on their list.
18. Cal - Colton Gillies
Well if they can't get Sutter, they will turn their attention to another big Westerner. Gilles seems like a Calgary, Sutter type player, especially if he could find a bit of a scoring touch in the next couple of years. This seems like a good fit.
19. Min - Mikael Backlund
Minnesota has a decent group of forwards at present and might be in the market for a high risk/reward type player and Backlund should fits that mold. I could see him going 5-8 spots higher, but I don't see him slinding much past here.
20. Pitt - Brett McLean
Pittsburgh adds a goal scorer to their young stable of forwards. If he could improve his skating a little bit he could become a point a game player in the NHL playing on a line with one of Pittsburghs great centres. Has shown the ability to ride shotgun fairly successfully already with a potential superstar, so...
21. Phx - Maxim Mayorov
Could see this guy go anywhere from 8th to 38th. Has the combination of size and skill that is so conveted, so if will be interesting to see where he goes. Have a hard time seeing him fall too much father then this though. Would be a good first round for Gretz and crew if they could nab Maxim and Van Riemsdyk with their two picks.
22. Mtl - David Perron
At first I didn't even look at this as a choice for Montreal, but after looking at the remaining names available this one started to make more sense. Highly skilled player with a good upside...and it doesn't hurt that he is from Quebec.
23. Nsh - Oscar Moller
A rather safe pick for a team in turmoil. This team is going to need some NHL ready forwards in the next couple of years, and this guy might just fit the bill.
24. Stl - Kevin Shattenkirk
I think St. Louis would be happy as a pig in sh...well lets say really happy to nab Shattenkirk at this point in the draft. I wouldn't be surprised if he goes higher than this, but with all the 1st round worthy dman available this year, it's hard to say which guy is going to go where and when.
25. Van - Jonathan Blum
I would imagine Vancouver has scouted this kid as much as any other NHL club, and if they liked what they saw, this would be the time to nab him. Good skills, a little small, but in the new NHL the former outweighs the latter, so.....
26. Stl - Akim Aliu
This kid might not go anywhere in the first 40 or so picks, but when a team has three first rounders, they could be the team that decided to take an early gamble with a potential huge payout, so why not.
27. Det - Tommy Cross
A bit of a project, but the payout could be there. Sounds like a Detroit type pick to me.
28. Wsh - Alex Plante
This kid could go anywhere between 15-50, but I would imagine he has to be rated at least this high on a few teams list. Can't recall who it was on TSN that said that a couple teams had him in their top 15, so it wouldn't be much of a surprised to see him go here. If he skating could improve slightly, he could be one of the safer picks on the board.
29. Ott - Thomas Hickey
Could go higher..could go lower, but I think the Sens would be quite happy to add this skilled of a dman this late of the first round of what is supposed to be a fairly weak draft.
30 Edm - Jeremy Smith
With their first pick, Edmonton gets the top dman, with their second pick, they land a Sutter, why not add the top draft eligible goalie with the third pick. This could be a stretch, but any team looking to add a goalie at this draft would have to have this kid somewhere around this point, so....
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