This was a big draft for all lottery teams, the chance to land McDavid. Sadly the lottery balls didn't bounce my way so I went into this draft with the 6 pick hoping to add another key piece to my rebuild.
As draft day rolled around I had been in talks with the Stars about a big trade to land the 5th pick as well. The trade wasn't finalized until the last second, where Dallas technically picked my player for me, but I'll cover it here and take credit!
1.5 - Dylan Strome - C
Status: NHL player
I wanted to add another premier offensive player to my prospect base and was happy with the options available at the top of the draft so I sent Hertl, Lack and the 25th pick (used to draft Paul Bittner) to Dallas for the rights to Dylan Strome and some other picks. Strome was a very intriguing package and I figured if he could improve his skating just a little bit he would be a great NHL player. In the end, as is often the case, that hasn't really happened, and I may have traded the best player in the deal away (Hertl) where patience may have been the better play. Strome has finally established himself as a NHL player, just not the star I hoped he would become. Eventually Strome was packaged up in the blockbuster to land me the #2 pick of the 2016 draft.
1.6 - Ivan Provorov - D
Status: #1 D
To go along with the big offensive player I was trying to acquire in the top 10 of this draft, I also wanted to land one of the top available D. Provorov checked a lot of boxes for me as a late rising super solid all around defender in the WHL. My memory tells me he was my guy all along, mostly because he's Russian, but looking back at my draft board I actually had Hanafin ranked one spot ahead of him. Noah has turned into a fine NHL player but I'm super happy with what I ended up with here.
2.46 - Jacob Larsson - D
Status: NHL player (mostly)
Larsson was mostly a value pick for me at the time. He was a borderline 1st round pick in a lot of guides that I didn't expect to be available so when he was sitting there at 46 I scooped him up. He was a smooth skating two-way defender with good size that seemed like a "safe" pick. He wasn't a star at anything but could do it all. He's bounced between the AHL & NHL his whole career but stuck for 60 games last season so has hopefully made it full time now. I eventually traded him in a deal for Jake Gardiner.
3.69 - Erik Foley - W
Status: Career ending injury
I loved this pick. He was a sleeper candidate with ISS & Redline at the time and I was all over getting him. Slightly undersized but played a very aggressive, pro style game. He could be a grinder and play physical but also chip in with offense. He was always a leader and great team player. Definitely not a top line player, but a middle 6 guy that teams need to win. After a solid NCAA career and eventual NHL trade to St. Louis his time had come to turn pro. During camp with the Blues before the 2019 season he suffered a concussion and hasn't played hockey since. At this point I'm not sure that he's officially retired but it seems pretty clear he needs to focus on his health and hockey is likely not in the cards for him.
3.89 - Julius Nattinen - C
Status: Quality Liiga player
Another value pick. He was in the 60's on my draft board and wound up a late 2nd round pick in the NHL so he seemed like a draft day steal. After being drafted he was taken in the CHL Import Draft and came over to spend two strong seasons in the OHL. He had good size, good offensive skills and great hockey sense but just didn't seem to cut it in North America. After one AHL season he returned home to Finland and just lead his team in scoring with 33 goals & 55 points in 54 games. I traded him to the Sharks in the dreaded Tyler Toffoli deal.
4.93 - Gabriel Gagne - W
Status: AHL player
A year after drafting Anthony Mantha...who couldn't have used another Manthaesque type player in the middle part of the draft? He had the size, the shot, and questionable work ethic that one comes to expect from QMJHL snipers. Another NHL riser, when he was taken in the 2nd round I thought I had a diamond in the rough. He scored 20 goals in his second AHL season and seemed like he might have a chance but never progressed beyond that.
5.123 - Pius Suter - W
Status: Quality Swiss league player
After being passed over in the 2014 draft, this OHL Import player had a spike in production in 2015 and came onto the radar of many draft guides. I liked the skill as a late pick and was happy to snag him. Little did I know, he had already committed to returning home to play in the Swiss league, and has never come back. His name has come up in NHL rumours the last couple summers, and coming off his best season yet (30g, 23a in 50 games), they're sure to be back again whenever hockey resumes. I haven't given up on him yet.
5.151 - Colton White - D
Status: AHL player, borderline NHL prospect
I targeted him because he played a nice all around game but was buried on a deep OHL team, hoping that given an increased role the following season, he would blossom. The offense never came but his play improved over his OHL career and he's now turned himself into a solid AHL player. He's been given 9 NHL games the last two seasons but there just might not be enough there for him to land a full time gig.
7.208 - Dmitri Osipov - D
Status: AHL player
Strictly a fun pick. He was a former #1 overall KHL Rookie Draft and CHL Import Draft player on my hometown Vancouver Giants. He had a good frame and played a very solid, physical game that I always enjoyed watching but never really showed enough to be on the NHL draft radar. I snagged him just to have him should he figure it all out...sadly he never did.
In the end, the Provorov pick alone makes this draft class for me as he's anchored my top pair with Seth Jones the last few seasons. From there it's a bit of a mixed bag. Strome hasn't turned into a 1C yet but he did serve a purpose to land me Laine the following draft. A couple disappointments were mitigated by timely trades and Foley was a case of a career ended too early. If Pius Suter ever comes over and turns into a middle 6 skill player I'll come out of this class in pretty good shape.
As draft day rolled around I had been in talks with the Stars about a big trade to land the 5th pick as well. The trade wasn't finalized until the last second, where Dallas technically picked my player for me, but I'll cover it here and take credit!
1.5 - Dylan Strome - C
Status: NHL player
I wanted to add another premier offensive player to my prospect base and was happy with the options available at the top of the draft so I sent Hertl, Lack and the 25th pick (used to draft Paul Bittner) to Dallas for the rights to Dylan Strome and some other picks. Strome was a very intriguing package and I figured if he could improve his skating just a little bit he would be a great NHL player. In the end, as is often the case, that hasn't really happened, and I may have traded the best player in the deal away (Hertl) where patience may have been the better play. Strome has finally established himself as a NHL player, just not the star I hoped he would become. Eventually Strome was packaged up in the blockbuster to land me the #2 pick of the 2016 draft.
1.6 - Ivan Provorov - D
Status: #1 D
To go along with the big offensive player I was trying to acquire in the top 10 of this draft, I also wanted to land one of the top available D. Provorov checked a lot of boxes for me as a late rising super solid all around defender in the WHL. My memory tells me he was my guy all along, mostly because he's Russian, but looking back at my draft board I actually had Hanafin ranked one spot ahead of him. Noah has turned into a fine NHL player but I'm super happy with what I ended up with here.
2.46 - Jacob Larsson - D
Status: NHL player (mostly)
Larsson was mostly a value pick for me at the time. He was a borderline 1st round pick in a lot of guides that I didn't expect to be available so when he was sitting there at 46 I scooped him up. He was a smooth skating two-way defender with good size that seemed like a "safe" pick. He wasn't a star at anything but could do it all. He's bounced between the AHL & NHL his whole career but stuck for 60 games last season so has hopefully made it full time now. I eventually traded him in a deal for Jake Gardiner.
3.69 - Erik Foley - W
Status: Career ending injury
I loved this pick. He was a sleeper candidate with ISS & Redline at the time and I was all over getting him. Slightly undersized but played a very aggressive, pro style game. He could be a grinder and play physical but also chip in with offense. He was always a leader and great team player. Definitely not a top line player, but a middle 6 guy that teams need to win. After a solid NCAA career and eventual NHL trade to St. Louis his time had come to turn pro. During camp with the Blues before the 2019 season he suffered a concussion and hasn't played hockey since. At this point I'm not sure that he's officially retired but it seems pretty clear he needs to focus on his health and hockey is likely not in the cards for him.
3.89 - Julius Nattinen - C
Status: Quality Liiga player
Another value pick. He was in the 60's on my draft board and wound up a late 2nd round pick in the NHL so he seemed like a draft day steal. After being drafted he was taken in the CHL Import Draft and came over to spend two strong seasons in the OHL. He had good size, good offensive skills and great hockey sense but just didn't seem to cut it in North America. After one AHL season he returned home to Finland and just lead his team in scoring with 33 goals & 55 points in 54 games. I traded him to the Sharks in the dreaded Tyler Toffoli deal.
4.93 - Gabriel Gagne - W
Status: AHL player
A year after drafting Anthony Mantha...who couldn't have used another Manthaesque type player in the middle part of the draft? He had the size, the shot, and questionable work ethic that one comes to expect from QMJHL snipers. Another NHL riser, when he was taken in the 2nd round I thought I had a diamond in the rough. He scored 20 goals in his second AHL season and seemed like he might have a chance but never progressed beyond that.
5.123 - Pius Suter - W
Status: Quality Swiss league player
After being passed over in the 2014 draft, this OHL Import player had a spike in production in 2015 and came onto the radar of many draft guides. I liked the skill as a late pick and was happy to snag him. Little did I know, he had already committed to returning home to play in the Swiss league, and has never come back. His name has come up in NHL rumours the last couple summers, and coming off his best season yet (30g, 23a in 50 games), they're sure to be back again whenever hockey resumes. I haven't given up on him yet.
5.151 - Colton White - D
Status: AHL player, borderline NHL prospect
I targeted him because he played a nice all around game but was buried on a deep OHL team, hoping that given an increased role the following season, he would blossom. The offense never came but his play improved over his OHL career and he's now turned himself into a solid AHL player. He's been given 9 NHL games the last two seasons but there just might not be enough there for him to land a full time gig.
7.208 - Dmitri Osipov - D
Status: AHL player
Strictly a fun pick. He was a former #1 overall KHL Rookie Draft and CHL Import Draft player on my hometown Vancouver Giants. He had a good frame and played a very solid, physical game that I always enjoyed watching but never really showed enough to be on the NHL draft radar. I snagged him just to have him should he figure it all out...sadly he never did.
In the end, the Provorov pick alone makes this draft class for me as he's anchored my top pair with Seth Jones the last few seasons. From there it's a bit of a mixed bag. Strome hasn't turned into a 1C yet but he did serve a purpose to land me Laine the following draft. A couple disappointments were mitigated by timely trades and Foley was a case of a career ended too early. If Pius Suter ever comes over and turns into a middle 6 skill player I'll come out of this class in pretty good shape.
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