HFNHL Vegas Golden Knights 2021 Draft Review

Lord Stanley

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Feb 24, 2003
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1st Round 4th overall: Luke Hughes, D
Leading up to the draft we were fairly certain how the first 3 picks were going to play out and we were really happy to have a chance to pick Hughes. He’s one of the youngest players in the draft and we feel that eventually Luke may be the best defender to come out of this draft. He’s a great skater like his brothers and very smart. Currently his offensive game is ahead of his defensive game but with all the young talent we have on the blue line he has time to work on that. He’s heading to the University of Michigan this year.

1st Round 21st overall: Fyodor Svechkov, F

This is a player that we were extremely high on, having ranked him 11th on our list. We had a deal in place with the Flames for 24th overall, but it became apparent that if we wanted Svechkov we’d have to get him here. Svechkov was impressive at the U-18’s as the first line center for the silver medal winning Russians. He’s got some good skill, can skate well and is amongst the best defensively up front in this draft. It remains to be seen how much offensive upside he really has but we think it’s more than most people think. He should spend the year next year in the KHL with SKA St.Petersburg.

2nd Round 43rd overall: Prokhor Poltapov, F

After moving our 2nd round picks to acquire the 21st overall pick we wanted to get back into the 2nd round. Carolina approached us with an opportunity to move some later pick and we jumped at it. We were debated between Poltapov and Svozil as we had them ranked 35 and 36 on our list. In the end we stuck with the higher ranked Poltapov. He showed some dynamic speed and skill this year and even debuted as a 17 year old in the KHL no small feat. It’s no guarantee where Poltapov will play next year, but we expect to see him back in the CSKA system.

3rd Round 74th overall: Colton Dach, F

We had Dach ranked 50th on our list, maybe higher than most others did. He’s a big forward that can play center or the wing. He put up a point per game in the shortened WHL season for the Blades, and we feel that he could be a candidate for a big breakout this coming season. How much he develops offensively will determine if he ends up as a top 6 or bottom 6 guy. Should be back with Saskatoon next year.

3rd Round 89th overall: Aiden Hreschuk, D

Smooth skating well rounded defender, that can play up and down the lineup currently. We had him ranked 62nd on our list, so we were excited to have the chance to select him in the late 3rd round. I don’t think he’ll ever be mistaken for a top pairing defender, but he does have the skating and hockey sense to be a solid middle pairing defender at some point down the line. He’s headed to Boston College in the fall and hope with our depth on the back end he spends a few seasons there working on his game.

After day one of the draft we pulled off a trade with Montreal, moving out a plethora of late round picks in exchange for Erik Karlsson a 2nd and 4th round pick in 2022. While there were lots of players left which we were excited about, we felt that adding a higher pick next year would provide better value. Also gambling on Karlsson providing some future value via trade would only be an added bonus if that indeed pans out at some point this year or next.

4th Round 100th overall: Oliver Kapanen, F

Kapanen was our highest ranked player (65th) left on our draft board after day 1 of the HFNHL draft. I wasn’t sure if he’d make it to us after also being the highest ranked player available on Bob McKenzies list. In the end he did slip to us and we are very excited for that. He’s one of the young players in the draft doesn’t turn 18 until July 29th. He brings a lot of energy from shift to shift, a good skater and isn’t afraid of the dirty areas. He is very similar to his uncle Sami and would be happy to get a player like that in the 4th round of the draft. Expected to play for KalPa in Liiga next year a team owned by his uncle.

4th Round 106th overall: Roman Schmidt, D

The 3rd defender selected from the USNTDP U18 program for us this draft. Schmidt is a towering 6’6 defender and moves well for a young kid that size. He’s raw offensively but there is some upside there, more than likely though his future is that of a shutdown defender. We had him ranked 73rd overall and the 3rd highest player available on our board for day two. Schmidt has also decided to forgo his NCAA eligibility and play for the Kitchener Rangers in the OHL next year.

5th Round 132nd overall: Niko Huuhtanen, F

Our final pick of the draft vaulted up our rankings when we found out he had committed to playing for the Everett Silvertips in the WHL. Niko is a goal scoring winger with some size, he needs some work and attention to detail on the defensive side of the puck where he can look disinterested at times. He’s got some really good skill and led the Finnish junior league in goals and put up almost a point per game as a 17 year old. We hope that he follows a similar development curve as Matias Maccelli whom we drafted in a similar spot a couple years ago.

All in all I’m happy with the draft, we started off with 18 picks in total and after 3 trades, ended up with just 8. All of our picks we had ranked inside our top 100 draft board. We obviously have high hopes for Hughes and Svechkov as they are arguably now our top prospects on both forward and defence.
 
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MatthewFlames

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Jul 21, 2003
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Love this draft - even though it meant I didn’t get to trade down a bit from 24. You gotta go for the players you love. Your 3rd and 4th rounders could all end up being 2nd rounders in the NHL draft. Had every player you drafted on my lists, except Svechkov - but I didn’t watch Russia much during the U-18’s
 
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Ohio Jones

Game on...
Feb 28, 2002
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I love this draft for Svechkov and Schmidt alone. Will be interesting to see what kind of player Hughes turns into, but the elements are there to be a potent force. And Dach’s journey will be interesting as well, I agree could be due a breakout next year.
 
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Zack22

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Dec 6, 2016
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Really loved the Svechkov pick. If I stayed at 17 he would’ve been my choice. Also liked Poltapov and he was on my short list for 47.
 
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Hossa

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Feb 27, 2002
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I like this draft a lot too, although not for Schmidt - although on value, it seems like a great pick, given all the other GMs who like him.

Hughes and Svechkov is a great pair though. You want to take centres and defence in the first, to the extent possible, and you're mixing upside and floor nicely there.

And the others are good as well. I liked Poltapov and would have targeted him in the second if I had a pick. Kapanen was my top pick for day two, and with a better, healthier U18s, I doubt he would have been there.

Hreschuk was a confusing one to me. Not good at the U18s, better in the USHL, but like a lot of mid-level defence at the NTDP of late, didn't seem to quite know what he was an individual player vice a member of a deep team unit. I'm curious to see how he does in college and whether he starts to pop like Faber or blend into the background again like Truscott or Warren.
 
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