Freaky Habs Fan
Registered User
Since many are starting to post their preview, here's my top 30, with a little explanation for everyone...hope it's accurate...anyways, enjoy!
***the bottom four teams pick the same player nomather where they draft...and please don't quote the whole thing...
1. Chicago : Patrick Kane will go first for two reasons. He’s probably the best player available with his offensive skills, and Chicago could use a scorer like that in a near future. He showed that he’s quite a scorer at every level he played, so there’s no reasons he will not be able to do the same at the NHL level.
2. Philadelphia : James Van Riemsdyk could be the logical choice for Philadelphia. They like big players, and this one can skate. He also have everything to be a good player at the NHL level. Big, strong, skilled, what more can you ask? Philadelphia already have a couple of good center for the future, and JVR will be an important piece of the team succes on the wing.
3. Phoenix : Kyle Turris will go third, as Phoenix can’t pass on the potential of Turris. Voracek could have been another option, but Turris will be better. Some can question the league he was playing in last year, but his skill level can’t be forgotten. He’ll grow up in his body and will be quite a player.
4. Los Angeles : The Kings now have Jack Johnson so they will pass on Alzner to pick the best sniper in the draft in Alexei Cherepanov. Already have Pavel Bure’s record in the RSL, and already nominated best forward at the last U-20, the Kings will believe they got a real good scorer who will be a game breaker someday. Will be their most offensive player of the future and will form an atomic duo with Kopitar.
5. Washington : If they can’t trade the pick, the Capitals will go with the best player available, and also with a need by drafting Karl Alzner. He could be NHL ready cause he’s skilled enough, fast enough, and he’s already big enough for the big league, which is rare for any draftees. He’s never going to be a spectacular player, but he will surely be a real good and safe defenceman.
6. Edmonton : They would have liked Alzner, but they will be happy to draft Jakub Voracek, the best two way forward of the draft. He was the best rookie in the Q and he was only getting better and better. Might never be a stud offensively, might never be a PK specialist, but he’ll be just a great two way player who will be use in every situation.
7. Columbus : With the bigger players already gone, Columbus will draft another small, fast and skilled center in Sam Gagner. Sam already made team Canada, which is impressive even if he didn’t played that good. He’s a skilled player, and could turn out better than some players in front of him. Not big, but he’s fast, and he’ll get bigger in the next few years. Will not step up right away for sure, but patience will pay! One of him and Brassard will be use as traiding bait in the future.
8. Boston : Boston will try to bring more speed in their team to compete with Ottawa, Buffalo and Montreal, all fast teams. That’s why they will draft Angelo Esposito. They will once again take the player who was supposed to go first who fell on draft day. He didn’t had a good season for his standard, but the potential his quite high, so Boston will not let him go further, like they didn’t let Kessel fell any longer last year.
9. St. Louis : Big questions here. Do they draft a wild card, a forward or a defenceman? After thinking long and hard on those questions, they will draft Keaton Ellerby to form a good blueline with future stud Erik Johnson. They will add another big and mobile defenceman who can control and feed the puck to the young guns of the organization.
10. Florida : They would like to add another defenceman to their depht chart, but nobody available will become better than Logan Couture, who will wear a Panthers jersey this June. He has everything, exept speed. He’s skilled enough to become a good top two center quite fast, and he’s a leader and a character player, a thing that Florida don’t have in high quantity.
11. Carolina : Caroline will be kind of surprised to see Kevin Shattenkirk still available and will draft him right away. While not great defensively, this small defenceman will be quite effective on a offensive mind team, feading the Staal and the Williams on the powerplay. Think about poor man Rafalski.
12. Montreal : Montreal would like to add another defenceman with potential, but will not want another project a la Fischer with this pick, so they will go with the best center available and draft Zach Hamill. At a young age, he already was able to end the last season as the best WHL scorer, in front of some great players. He was only getting better and better during the season, and he should become a good top two center in a couple of years. Could be Saku’s replacement when he’s ready to step in.
13. Toronto : Toronto is a big team, and a gritty team so there’s only one logical choice for them, and it’s Brandon Sutter. Some say he’s better than the other Sutter, some say he’s not, but one thing is for sure, he do have everything to succeed at the NHL level and become the future leader of the Leafs.
14. Colorado : Colorado will draft a player who’s going to play in this town next year, and who’s the fastest skater of the draft. Bill Sweatt is one of the most interesting prospect of the draft, as he’s fast, big and skilled. But the question is to know if he’s skilled enough to become a big time scorer in the NHL. It’s not a big gamble to take for them anyways, cause Sweatt’s speed alone will lead him in the NHL.
15. Edmonton (from Islanders) : They missed Alzner with their first pick and drafted a forward, so they will not wait any longer to draft a defenceman, and will pick a high reward project in Ryan McDonagh. Big, move well, and has puck skills, he’ll fit well in Edmonton. He will be an important part of the future of the team so they will not hurry him and he’ll play for a while in the States.
16. Anaheim (from Tampa) : Will create the first surprise of the day by drafting Logan MacMillan. This player will never be a stud in any way, but he’s gonna be the kind of player you win with. He can do it all and he’s a Burke type of player. He’s a riser since many months!
17. New York Rangers : The Rangers will hope to draft another Kopitar by taking Lars Eller. He’s not of the radar, but he’s not right on it either, and that’s why he’ll go that far despite his good two way game and his great offensive skills. Not from a big hockey country, but sometimes, it pay of to try it anyway.
18. Calgary : It’s Calgary, so got to go with their kind of players. They’ll go with Colton Gillies, a gamble that could pay off. He’s big, he’s tough, and he’s fast. He hits like a truck, he crashes the net, and he’s intimidating. But will he ever score goals? Everyone knows that potential is there, but will he finaly have a breakout? His team isn’t good right now, but things could change as soon as next year, and we could finaly see the real Gillies. At worst, Gillies will be a good grinder as a forward, or a defenceman.
19. Minnesota : Lots of hometown players in this draft, and some of them are good, and still available. One of them will be quite good, and could turn out as the best sniper of the draft. His name, Patrick White. His shot is great, his release is fast, his shot is deadly accurate. Add to that good skating, good two way game, and you have a complete player. Will need time to reach the NHL, but he’ll be a good one.
20. Pittsburgh : They have a load of talented forwards so it’s pretty obvious that they will choose a defenceman. They will also try to get a good two way defenceman, and Johnathan Blum will be the best option for the 20th pick. He could turn out to be one of the best, if not the best defenceman of the draft, but there’s a lot of if in his future. He should reach the NHL nomather what with his skill level, but how good will it be is the real question.
21. Phoenix (from Dallas) : The Coyotes will be shocked to see Mikael Backlund still on the board and they will annonce his name right away. Was supposed to be a top pick for this year, but injuries made him fell in the draft. Phoenix will have in their hands a good two way forward who have game breaking abilities. The choice of Backlund will mean that Turris, their first choice, will play as a winger.
22. Montréal (San Jose) : They took a forward with the first pick, and they have to draft many defenceman in this draft to have a great depht chart, so like last year, they will go a little off the board to choose Ian Cole, a big and strong defenceman who was simply great at the last U-18. He showed that with a good team, he can be great, and Montreal will hope to have the steady defenceman on their roster within a few years.
23. Philadelphia (from Nashville) : Hatcher is getting older, and he’s slow, so why not upgrade him with a similar player, but more skilled and younger? That’s right, the Flyers will draft Nick Petrecki with this pick, who is the most physical and intimidating defenceman of the draft. He can skate, and can shoot the puck, but some concerns are surrounding his hockey sence.
24. St.Louis (from Atlanta) : They have three first round pick so they can try anything. With this pick, the Blues will go with a forward in the name of Brett MacLean, who will fell in the draft because of some concerns about his skating ability, and to be successful without a stud like John Tavares. He’s not the fastest skater, and despite of his size, not really physical, but he’s skilled and he’s one of the best passer of the draft.
25. Vancouver : They will pick a forward from Europe, and it will be Simon Hjalmarsson. They like Oscar Moller, but felt that Simon has more potential with his great showing at the U-18. He can do it all as a scorer even if he’s not big. He will fit quite well with the Sedins in a couple of years.
26. St.Louis (from New Jersey) : With that pick and Hjalmarsson gone, they will draft another player from Sweden who could become as good as Simon, and his name is Oscar Moller. He’s quite creative and he can do it all on the ice, but will he become a better finisher, or will he be the next Jan Bulis?
27. Florida (from Detroit) : They are not happy that Luongo is gone, they are not happy with Auld, and they don’t have anybody in the system, so they will simply pick the best goaltender available in Jeremy Smith. He had a great rookie year in the OHL and he will only get better and better. He’s not big, but he’s skilled, and will get a tad bigger.
28. Ottawa : It’s already been said that Ottawa really liked Esposito, but he was far from available, but there’s another player from the Q who will interest Ottawa, and it’s David Perron. He’s older than most first rounder, but he’s quite good offensively, with Datsyuk’s like hands. Still need to improve on a few things, but he could turn out to become a really good player.
29. Edmonton (from Anaheim) : They badly need more defenceman and they were not able to get the best one with their first pick, but they believe that Alex Plante could turn out to be a great player for them. The potential is there, but will he be able to reach it? Good offensively, good skater, and great NHL ready size. Watch for this kid, he could be a gem in the first round..
30. Washington (from Buffalo) : So many possibilities with the last pick of the first round, and with all the Russian players on the team, they will draft another one. Maxim Mayorov is quite skilled, and is it wasn’t of the non signature of the international agreement, he could have went earlier. Good size, good puck protection, the potential is there, and with Ovechkin and Semin, he will have a better time in North America.
Subject to make the first round : Nick Ross, Max Pacioretty, Luca
i and Dana Tyrell.
Subject to miss the first round : Colton Gillies, Maxim Mayorov, Jeremy Smith and Logan MacMillan.
***the bottom four teams pick the same player nomather where they draft...and please don't quote the whole thing...
1. Chicago : Patrick Kane will go first for two reasons. He’s probably the best player available with his offensive skills, and Chicago could use a scorer like that in a near future. He showed that he’s quite a scorer at every level he played, so there’s no reasons he will not be able to do the same at the NHL level.
2. Philadelphia : James Van Riemsdyk could be the logical choice for Philadelphia. They like big players, and this one can skate. He also have everything to be a good player at the NHL level. Big, strong, skilled, what more can you ask? Philadelphia already have a couple of good center for the future, and JVR will be an important piece of the team succes on the wing.
3. Phoenix : Kyle Turris will go third, as Phoenix can’t pass on the potential of Turris. Voracek could have been another option, but Turris will be better. Some can question the league he was playing in last year, but his skill level can’t be forgotten. He’ll grow up in his body and will be quite a player.
4. Los Angeles : The Kings now have Jack Johnson so they will pass on Alzner to pick the best sniper in the draft in Alexei Cherepanov. Already have Pavel Bure’s record in the RSL, and already nominated best forward at the last U-20, the Kings will believe they got a real good scorer who will be a game breaker someday. Will be their most offensive player of the future and will form an atomic duo with Kopitar.
5. Washington : If they can’t trade the pick, the Capitals will go with the best player available, and also with a need by drafting Karl Alzner. He could be NHL ready cause he’s skilled enough, fast enough, and he’s already big enough for the big league, which is rare for any draftees. He’s never going to be a spectacular player, but he will surely be a real good and safe defenceman.
6. Edmonton : They would have liked Alzner, but they will be happy to draft Jakub Voracek, the best two way forward of the draft. He was the best rookie in the Q and he was only getting better and better. Might never be a stud offensively, might never be a PK specialist, but he’ll be just a great two way player who will be use in every situation.
7. Columbus : With the bigger players already gone, Columbus will draft another small, fast and skilled center in Sam Gagner. Sam already made team Canada, which is impressive even if he didn’t played that good. He’s a skilled player, and could turn out better than some players in front of him. Not big, but he’s fast, and he’ll get bigger in the next few years. Will not step up right away for sure, but patience will pay! One of him and Brassard will be use as traiding bait in the future.
8. Boston : Boston will try to bring more speed in their team to compete with Ottawa, Buffalo and Montreal, all fast teams. That’s why they will draft Angelo Esposito. They will once again take the player who was supposed to go first who fell on draft day. He didn’t had a good season for his standard, but the potential his quite high, so Boston will not let him go further, like they didn’t let Kessel fell any longer last year.
9. St. Louis : Big questions here. Do they draft a wild card, a forward or a defenceman? After thinking long and hard on those questions, they will draft Keaton Ellerby to form a good blueline with future stud Erik Johnson. They will add another big and mobile defenceman who can control and feed the puck to the young guns of the organization.
10. Florida : They would like to add another defenceman to their depht chart, but nobody available will become better than Logan Couture, who will wear a Panthers jersey this June. He has everything, exept speed. He’s skilled enough to become a good top two center quite fast, and he’s a leader and a character player, a thing that Florida don’t have in high quantity.
11. Carolina : Caroline will be kind of surprised to see Kevin Shattenkirk still available and will draft him right away. While not great defensively, this small defenceman will be quite effective on a offensive mind team, feading the Staal and the Williams on the powerplay. Think about poor man Rafalski.
12. Montreal : Montreal would like to add another defenceman with potential, but will not want another project a la Fischer with this pick, so they will go with the best center available and draft Zach Hamill. At a young age, he already was able to end the last season as the best WHL scorer, in front of some great players. He was only getting better and better during the season, and he should become a good top two center in a couple of years. Could be Saku’s replacement when he’s ready to step in.
13. Toronto : Toronto is a big team, and a gritty team so there’s only one logical choice for them, and it’s Brandon Sutter. Some say he’s better than the other Sutter, some say he’s not, but one thing is for sure, he do have everything to succeed at the NHL level and become the future leader of the Leafs.
14. Colorado : Colorado will draft a player who’s going to play in this town next year, and who’s the fastest skater of the draft. Bill Sweatt is one of the most interesting prospect of the draft, as he’s fast, big and skilled. But the question is to know if he’s skilled enough to become a big time scorer in the NHL. It’s not a big gamble to take for them anyways, cause Sweatt’s speed alone will lead him in the NHL.
15. Edmonton (from Islanders) : They missed Alzner with their first pick and drafted a forward, so they will not wait any longer to draft a defenceman, and will pick a high reward project in Ryan McDonagh. Big, move well, and has puck skills, he’ll fit well in Edmonton. He will be an important part of the future of the team so they will not hurry him and he’ll play for a while in the States.
16. Anaheim (from Tampa) : Will create the first surprise of the day by drafting Logan MacMillan. This player will never be a stud in any way, but he’s gonna be the kind of player you win with. He can do it all and he’s a Burke type of player. He’s a riser since many months!
17. New York Rangers : The Rangers will hope to draft another Kopitar by taking Lars Eller. He’s not of the radar, but he’s not right on it either, and that’s why he’ll go that far despite his good two way game and his great offensive skills. Not from a big hockey country, but sometimes, it pay of to try it anyway.
18. Calgary : It’s Calgary, so got to go with their kind of players. They’ll go with Colton Gillies, a gamble that could pay off. He’s big, he’s tough, and he’s fast. He hits like a truck, he crashes the net, and he’s intimidating. But will he ever score goals? Everyone knows that potential is there, but will he finaly have a breakout? His team isn’t good right now, but things could change as soon as next year, and we could finaly see the real Gillies. At worst, Gillies will be a good grinder as a forward, or a defenceman.
19. Minnesota : Lots of hometown players in this draft, and some of them are good, and still available. One of them will be quite good, and could turn out as the best sniper of the draft. His name, Patrick White. His shot is great, his release is fast, his shot is deadly accurate. Add to that good skating, good two way game, and you have a complete player. Will need time to reach the NHL, but he’ll be a good one.
20. Pittsburgh : They have a load of talented forwards so it’s pretty obvious that they will choose a defenceman. They will also try to get a good two way defenceman, and Johnathan Blum will be the best option for the 20th pick. He could turn out to be one of the best, if not the best defenceman of the draft, but there’s a lot of if in his future. He should reach the NHL nomather what with his skill level, but how good will it be is the real question.
21. Phoenix (from Dallas) : The Coyotes will be shocked to see Mikael Backlund still on the board and they will annonce his name right away. Was supposed to be a top pick for this year, but injuries made him fell in the draft. Phoenix will have in their hands a good two way forward who have game breaking abilities. The choice of Backlund will mean that Turris, their first choice, will play as a winger.
22. Montréal (San Jose) : They took a forward with the first pick, and they have to draft many defenceman in this draft to have a great depht chart, so like last year, they will go a little off the board to choose Ian Cole, a big and strong defenceman who was simply great at the last U-18. He showed that with a good team, he can be great, and Montreal will hope to have the steady defenceman on their roster within a few years.
23. Philadelphia (from Nashville) : Hatcher is getting older, and he’s slow, so why not upgrade him with a similar player, but more skilled and younger? That’s right, the Flyers will draft Nick Petrecki with this pick, who is the most physical and intimidating defenceman of the draft. He can skate, and can shoot the puck, but some concerns are surrounding his hockey sence.
24. St.Louis (from Atlanta) : They have three first round pick so they can try anything. With this pick, the Blues will go with a forward in the name of Brett MacLean, who will fell in the draft because of some concerns about his skating ability, and to be successful without a stud like John Tavares. He’s not the fastest skater, and despite of his size, not really physical, but he’s skilled and he’s one of the best passer of the draft.
25. Vancouver : They will pick a forward from Europe, and it will be Simon Hjalmarsson. They like Oscar Moller, but felt that Simon has more potential with his great showing at the U-18. He can do it all as a scorer even if he’s not big. He will fit quite well with the Sedins in a couple of years.
26. St.Louis (from New Jersey) : With that pick and Hjalmarsson gone, they will draft another player from Sweden who could become as good as Simon, and his name is Oscar Moller. He’s quite creative and he can do it all on the ice, but will he become a better finisher, or will he be the next Jan Bulis?
27. Florida (from Detroit) : They are not happy that Luongo is gone, they are not happy with Auld, and they don’t have anybody in the system, so they will simply pick the best goaltender available in Jeremy Smith. He had a great rookie year in the OHL and he will only get better and better. He’s not big, but he’s skilled, and will get a tad bigger.
28. Ottawa : It’s already been said that Ottawa really liked Esposito, but he was far from available, but there’s another player from the Q who will interest Ottawa, and it’s David Perron. He’s older than most first rounder, but he’s quite good offensively, with Datsyuk’s like hands. Still need to improve on a few things, but he could turn out to become a really good player.
29. Edmonton (from Anaheim) : They badly need more defenceman and they were not able to get the best one with their first pick, but they believe that Alex Plante could turn out to be a great player for them. The potential is there, but will he be able to reach it? Good offensively, good skater, and great NHL ready size. Watch for this kid, he could be a gem in the first round..
30. Washington (from Buffalo) : So many possibilities with the last pick of the first round, and with all the Russian players on the team, they will draft another one. Maxim Mayorov is quite skilled, and is it wasn’t of the non signature of the international agreement, he could have went earlier. Good size, good puck protection, the potential is there, and with Ovechkin and Semin, he will have a better time in North America.
Subject to make the first round : Nick Ross, Max Pacioretty, Luca
i and Dana Tyrell.Subject to miss the first round : Colton Gillies, Maxim Mayorov, Jeremy Smith and Logan MacMillan.
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This would pretty much be my dream 1st round for Edmonton - leaving trades out of the equation.
