Le Barron de HF
Justin make me proud
Hello all, as is tradition, I will be hosting the 2019 Mock Draft. Like previous years, I will prioritize those who participated in last year's mock. Thus, I will give them a week to confirm their spots in the mock. We will have a waiting list for those who would like to claim a vacant spot. We will start on April the 18th. I will assign the teams after every spot has been filled.
Participants (waiting for confirmation, please confirm):
@le_sean (Confirmed)
@zaluty (Confirmed)
@MarkovsKnee (Confirmed)
@Habs76 (Confirmed)
@Khabby (Confirmed)
@Fozz (Confirmed)
@calder candidate (Confirmed)
@OriginalCanadian (Confirmed)
@MarkovtoSubban (Confirmed)
@G0bias (Confirmed)
@Mrb1p (Confirmed)
@OB5 (Confirmed)
@sandviper (Confirmed)
@Pompeius Magnus (Confirmed)
@The Great Weise (Confirmed)
@Andrei79 (Confirmed)
@covfefe (Confirmed)
@jiboy (Confirmed)
@Yoshidas Island (Confirmed)
@Doublechin (Confirmed)
@WeThreeKings (Confirmed)
@TT1 (Confirmed)
@L4br3cqu3 (Confirmed)
@Janne Niinimaa
@Mathletic (Confirmed)
@Hope Of Glory (Confirmed)
@Toene (Confirmed)
@NotProkofievian (Confirmed)
@Natey (Confirmed)
@yoteshot (Confirmed)
Waiting list:
@Kobe Armstrong
@philipsson
Teams
Anaheim: @Andrei79
Arizona: @Toene
Boston: @WeThreeKings
Buffalo: @Doublechin
Calgary: @Fozz
Carolina: @zaluty
Chicago: @yoteshot
Colorado: @NotProkofievian
Columbus: @sandviper (sorry)
Dallas: @le_sean
Detroit: @MarkovtoSubban
Edmonton: @L4br3cqu3
Florida: @calder candidate
Los Angeles: @Mrb1p
Minnesota: @The Great Weise
Montreal: @jiboy
Nashville: @Janne Niinimaa
New Jersey: @sandviper
NYI: @Hope Of Glory
NYR: @OB5
Ottawa: @TT1
Philadelphia: @covfefe
Pittsburgh: @JeffreyLFC
San Jose: @Mathletic
St Louis: @Pompeius Magnus
Tampa Bay: @G0bias
Toronto: @Yoshidas Island
Vancouver: @Khabby
Vegas: @Habs76
Washington: @OriginalCanadian
Winnipeg: @MarkovsKnee
If you do not expect to be able to participate this year, now is the time to let us know. If you are aware that you will be on vacation during the mock, which will begin after the draft lottery, you can send me your list since I will not be participating.
Here's a quick reminder of the rules:
- For teams, I will use a randomizer.
- No trades as always.
- As always, please PM the next guy in the draft once you're done making your selection. Don't forget to tag them in this thread too.
- If you feel you may miss your selection, please PM myself or another active draft member with a list of players. If it's decided that you've taken too long and you're MIA, an auto-pick will be made for you.
- When making your selection, please include a gm or scout-like quote about that player stating why you selected him.
- As with the more recent drafts, we will begin the draft with no set time limit on the picks. We're all reasonably active posters, so let's try to make this a very active draft. We'll see how it goes and then make a decision if we have to. If a poster is taking too long, we'll shoot them a PM to see what's up. If we end up introducing a clock, it'll be a 8 hour one that is not active during midnight (EST) and 8 AM (EST) for the first two rounds, and then we will switch to a 6 hour class for the rest of the draft.
Cheers!
FIRST ROUND
1. New Jersey: Kaapo Kakko
2. New York Rangers: Jack Hughes
We nearly fell over when we realized he was falling to us at 2. Not a bad silver medal. Hughes brings dynamic acceleration, top-end speed, edgework, puck skills… I can keep going but you get the idea. He makes something happen every shift and competes hard to become the best player on the ice.
3. Chicago: Alex Turcotte
We thought long and hard about this pick ever since we learned of our team, but in the end, we feel like Turcotte is both a safe bet and a player with incredible potential at the next level, plus he's Chicago born and raised! He already plays a professional game and has all the abilities needed to succeed in the NHL. We are ecstatic to add him to our stable of talented forwards and feel like his verstatility is a huge plus going forward.
4. Colorado (via Ottawa): Bowen Byram
5. Los Angeles: Kirby Dach
6. Detroit: Vasili Podkolzin
New GM Steve Yzerman says: "He's a powerful winger with a great work ethic. He has a lot of skill and plays with a will to compete at everything he does. He fits in well with our prospect pool as a complement to our other strong, skilled net front players like Rasmussen and Zadina. The Red Wings have an organizational history of great Russian players and we can see him playing top line minutes with us in the near future. He's close to NHL ready but we're not going to rush him."
7. Buffalo: Dylan Cozens
8. Edmonton: Trevor Zegras
9. Anaheim: Matthew Boldy
10. Vancouver: Peyton Krebs
11. Philadelphia: Alex Newhook
Dynamic, dual-threat forward who plays with a unique combination of power and finesse. An excellent skater and puckhandler who is able to push the pace and beat opponents at speed. Strength on the puck aids him in coverage, on the cycle, and off the halfwall. Very creative and always looking to attack the net. Massive upside, though unproven against stronger competition.
Player comparable: a less physical Max Domi
12. Minnesota: Cole Caufield
13. Florida: Victor Soderstrom
“An under-six foot Swedish defender with terrific speed, balance and stick. Already has a two-way game and logs big minutes in the SHL. New age defender who displays high mobility and feet that don’t stop churning. His skating stride is built upon really deep knee bends that place him in a very low close to the ice skating stance. Can jump off on his edges if he’s a way through or to the puck. His hands may get a bit softer, but presently awfully good at controlling pucks when sending them away or when receiving them. Walks the blue line to the open soft spot when on the PP point”
14. Arizona: Arthur Kaliyev
As an organization that remains on the cusp of being competitive, a group with some good depth but that lacks true top-end talent upfront, our upcoming selection could be the piece that adds the potency we direly need offensively.
15. Montreal: Ville Heinola
16. Colorado: Pavel Dorofeyev
17. Vegas: Philip Broberg
18. Dallas: Philip Tomasino
We love everything about this kid. The skating, the skill, the compete. Tomasino played behind some great players in Niagara and still shined. 58 of his points were scored at even strength. 12 GWG. Late birthday. This kid is primed and ready to breakout in a big way next season.
19. Ottawa (from CBJ): Cam York
20. Anaheim (from STL): Bobby Brink
21. Carolina: Thomas Harley
22. New York Rangers (from WPG): Moritz Seider
He’s a 6-foot-4 defenseman who skates and moves the puck well, showing great poise and instincts. Defensively, he’s a rock with his wingspan, feet and defensive acumen, and projects as a tough minutes player in the NHL
23. Pittsburgh: Samuel Poulin
24. Los Angeles: Jamieson Rees
25. Buffalo (from SJ): Connor McMichael
26. New York Islanders: Raphael Lavoie
27. Boston: Lassi Thomson
"Lassi is a new breed defenseman who gambles on offense with incredible skating, smooth hands and a willingness to attack the net. Thomson has one of the best shots from the point in the draft and may be the most lethal goal-scoring defenseman as well. Some work will be needed in his own end but he is capable of being a three zone player who covers a lot of ice every shift."
28. Nashville: Matthew Robertson
"Strong and mobile two-way blue liner with a team-first attitude who handles both big minutes and big situations with maturity and confidence. Robertson is a throwback to the Western Canadian defensemen of old who were able to intimidate with physicality or their play with the puck."
29. Washington: Brayden Tracey
Tracy is the high riser of this years draft. As the rookie scoring leader in the WHL he has shown his offensive abilities and smarts. He may have played with Langan/Almeida at some points during the season but he wasn't just along for the ride. Tracey has shown his upside playing with his peers in the U18s and with his rapid improvement we are excited to see what he can do in the future.
30. Calgary: Ryan Suzuki
31. Tampa Bay: Nils Höglander
SECOND ROUND
32. Ottawa: Jakob Pelletier
33. Los Angeles: Ilya Nikolayev
34. New Jersey: Alex Vlasic
35. Detroit: Nick Robertson
GM says"He's a battler who competes all over the ice. Great skater who creates offence with speed and determination. One of the youngest players in the draft, needs work on his release and awareness on the ice but we think he has a high upside."
36. Carolina (from Buffalo): Egor Afanasyev
37. New York Rangers: Nathan Legare
He’s got one of the best shots in the draft. He’s scored a lot of goals this season, wiring shots from long distance off a post/crossbar or blowing it past a goalie. He’s a great scorer and that’s where he’ll make his money, but he’s also a very smart overall player. Legare can hit tight seams consistently and is very crafty overall with the puck.
38. Edmonton: Spencer Knight
39. Anaheim: Daniil Misyul
40. Vancouver: Mikko Kokkonen
41. Philadelphia: Tobias Bjornfot
42. Minnesota: Artemi Knyazev
43. Chicago: Albin Grewe
We think he could become a fixture in our middle-six, a fan favorite and a nightmare to play against, thanks to his intensity and skills.
44. Ottawa (from Florida): Brett Leason
45. Arizona: Patrik Puistola
Puistola is a dangerous forward with tremendous hand-eye coordination and a deceptive shot. Possessing great awareness, he loves to position himself in the slot and can stick-handle his way close to net, in traffic, to finish plays. Excellent in puck-battles, especially one-on-one, he's strong, solid on his skates for his age.
46. Montreal: Kaedan Korczak
"The 6-foot-2 blueliner is a very smooth skater who won’t wow you very often, but is more than capable at both ends of the ice. He has a strong first pass, is physical when he needs to be and can chip in offensively when called upon. Korczak is also a great 1-on-1 defender. This season, he was named the Rockets’ top defenceman"
47. Colorado: Robert Mastrosimone
48. Vegas: Yegor Spiridonov
49. New York Rangers (from Dallas): Anttoni Honka
Honka is very smart, and his skating and vision make him ideal to quarterback a power play. He's a great puck mover, and his skating is excellent.
50. Montreal (from CBJ): Samuel Fagemo
After scoring ten goals and adding four assists in eight games with Frölunda’s U20 team, he was promoted to the SHL. Samuel Fagemo didn’t disappoint.
Finishing sixth in team scoring for the Indians with 25 points in 42 games played, Fagemo averaged just under 14 minutes of ice per game and put 109 shots on net.
Fagemo’s calling card is his shot and offensive instincts, but in watching him play you notice positives about his decision-making (especially in traffic), and his ability to get to pucks first.
“I see this as my revenge after not being chosen in the draft last summer.
51. St. Louis: Nolan Foote
''We feel he fits our forward group pretty well with his size, north-south game and hands around the net. We hope he can become a Tkatchuk type for us that will open space up for his linemates and score big goals. He has slipped a bit on the rankings but we feel he's good value at our spot''
52. Carolina: John Beecher
53. Winnipeg: Vladislav Kolyachonok
Kolyachonok is an elite skater with wonderful offensive instincts. He is confident in possession of the puck whether moving it up ice or playing in the offensive or defensive zones. Because of his skating abilities, he's difficult to beat one-on-one as he can angle people off, he closes passing/shooting lanes quickly and is very active with his stick. At 6'2, he comes with good size too. Like all young D, he still needs some work in the defensive zone, but it's coachable. He also needs to be more consistent in his game, but he also played for a crap organization in Flint. Needs to gain weight/strength for sure (only around 180 at 6'2.).
Kolyachonok has 3-4 D upside. He can play both sides equally well, and is just growing into his game. This kid stepped straight into a rookie season in the OHL from Belarus and did so smoothly.
54. Florida (from PIT): Matvey Guskov
Highly skilled centre who already is playing his first North American season with The Knights this season. Displays a high skill level in all areas, and is ultra-effective playing at a high speed pace. Dynamic as a scorer and playmaker, he plays a 200 foot game and exhibits a level of hockey IQ and maturity. London strong line-up has him relegated in his initial North American season, but will eventually settle in to his centre position. He has an excellent shot but at this juncture looks like a perimeter player, doesn’t play the game in the high traffic greasy areas. Has a physical tools and a frame that will allow him to add muscle.
55. Toronto: Jordan Spence
56. Detroit (from SJ): Simon Holmstrom
He is an excellent skater, very nimble in tight quarters with superior vision. Has been the best player at the U18 for Sweden. A playmaker first but he has shown flashes of a sniper instinct when he has chances in front of goal. Needs to be more implicated physically.
57. Detroit (from NYI): Pyotr Kochetkov
We need a goalie in our pipeline and he is the best available in our opinion. Has the size and technical ability we are looking for and we liked the way he battled at the WJC with Russia.
58. New Jersey (from BOS): Jusso Parssinen
59. New Jersey (from NSH): Matias Maccelli
60. Washington: Shane Pinto
Pinto is a big bodied power forward who plays the game right. He wins board battles and can protect the puck using his large frame. He led all rookies in scoring this year in the USHL and put up eight points in three games during the playoffs. This kid has potential and should develop well at UND next season.
61. New York Islanders (from CGY): Ryan Johnson
62. New York Rangers (from TB): John Farinacci
A big right shot centre who passes the puck quick and effectively, uses his size to protect pucks and wins the battles along the boards. One of the best passers in high school as he puts but touch and zip on them.A really good skater for a large kid; he needs to work on his first step quickness, but once he is moving straight ahead, he is barreling freight coming down the track.
THIRD ROUND
63. Colorado (from Ottawa): Maxim Cajkovic
64. Los Angeles: Billy Constantinou
65. Philadelphia (from New Jersey): Samuel Bolduc
A big, smooth-skating, toolsy defender - Bolduc impressed at the TPG, and also showed very well in the performance testing. While he is still quite raw, he has the potential to become one of the year’s top defenders if his game rounds out.
66. Detroit: Marshall Warren
Yzerman says: "Sees the ice well and has good mobility. He's going to a good program at Boston College and he'll need a few years there. He likes the physical side of the game and once he fills out his frame he'll be able to win more of those battles."
67. Buffalo: Henry Thrun
68. New York Rangers: Michal Teply
Has a great shot and good vision. He’s a big goal-scoring winger with a right-handed shot, has a great selection of shots, has an amazing release, is capable of making plays.
69. Florida (from Edmonton): Jackson LaCombe
Made the transition for being a forward to a rushing defenseman. He has good size, wheels and offensive instincts that helped him amass 20 goals and 81 points in his 50 game season in his sophomore year of high school.
Committed to the University of Minnesota
70. New Jersey (from Anaheim): Tuukka Tieksola
71. Vancouver: Drew Helleson
72. Philadelphia: Vlad Firstov
73. Minnesota: Daniil Gutik
74. Arizona (from Chicago): Adam Beckman
75. Nashville (from Florida): Dillon Hamaliuk
76. Arizona: Leevi Aaltonen
77. Montreal: Marcus Kallionkieli
78. Colorado: Zachary Jones
79. Vegas: Yegor Serdyuk
80. New Jersey (from Dallas): Harrison Blaisdell
81. Columbus: Martin Hugo
Martin has good puck skills, a great shot and decent mobility for such a big kid. While not an overly physical player, his size will still allow him to manage board battles and keep the opposition out in the perimeter.
82. St. Louis: Henri Nikkanen
'' An injury shorten season saw him slip a bit but we like his all around game and potential. He's always been a point producer and he's got solid international experience already so we feel he's a pretty safe bet to improve. ''
83. Carolina: Mads Sogaard
84. Vegas (from Winnipeg): Kirill Slepets
85. Ottawa (from Pittsburgh): Ryan Siedem
86. Toronto: Albert Johansson
87. San Jose: Alex Beaucage
Scouting report: A nifty offensive player with great stickhandling abilities, Beaucage can both dish and finish. Has become a nice sized winger with his growth spurt and with it he has grown into a nice prospect flows with the games tempo all 200 feet. Quickly gets to open ice and displays light edging and makes himself available for receptions, and can gain inside position and cut hard to the net. Blocks shots. Has room to put more weight on his frame and he can get quicker as get comfortable with his taller / larger size. A finisher who was third on his team in scoring with 39 Goals, 79 Assist in 68 games. Handles the puck well at top gear and reads the ice well, usually anticipating a step ahead of the play. A longer term developmental guy whose needle is pointing upward.
88. Edmonton (from NYI): Nikita Alexandrov
"Alexandrov acts as a solid centreman for the Islanders. He doesn’t have the biggest frame at 6’0’’ and 179 pounds, nor is he the fastest skater around, but he is hard to knock off his skates and is at ease playing in heavy traffic.
His offensive game is based on driving the net. He doesn’t bulldoze his way there, but instead relies on a combination of physicality and awareness to slip through the defence to attack the doorstep. He protects the puck well with his body and he keeps his head up to find holes in the goalie’s coverage.
He flashes agile hands and will sometimes string together two or three moves to create space for himself. He can also be quite deceptive in those sequences, reading the defence and adjusting the position of the puck to keep possession under pressure. Beyond his net drives and board work, Alexandrov is also a smart passer with the vision to find his teammates in scoring areas. He can act both as a setup man and scorer.
Main knock on him is his inconsistency, as he shows flashes of skill that wows you, then revert to a more basic type of game for a long time." (David St-Louis, 2019 NHL Draft prospect profile: Nikita Alexandrov is a solid pivot who flashes high-level skill)
89. Boston: Sasha Mutala
"Mutala opened eyes at the Ivan Hlinka this year with his scrappy play. He showed a willingness to go to the front of the net to disrupt the goalie and tip picks. His non-stop motor made him an asset on the penalty kill where he brought energy to the team. Mutala has great speed and some offensive upside that we believe has been tempered or hidden on a Tri City team that was not very deep and didn't have a lot of offensive weapons. We see Mutala as a deluxe third liner at the next level."
90. Vegas (from Nashville): Kalle Loponen
91. Los Angeles (from Washington): Graeme Clarke
92. Calgary: Blake Murray
93. Tampa Bay: Case McCarthy
Swing for the fences is usually my motto but a defensive stud like McCarthy is impossible to pass at this point in the draft. In the Korczak mold, he's your prototypical physical shut down defenseman. Along with it comes excellent mobility and smarts in his end. Gets lost among all the talent on this year's NTDP but he managed to grab the spotlight at the U18s and out-shined most top rated Ds. Big riser on our list.
FOURTH ROUND
94. Ottawa: Josh Nodler
95. Los Angeles: Rhett Pitlick
"Rhett is one of the best skater in this draft, he can execute plays at high speed and he dominated every level he's been at. Long term project, but a great one. He is going to the University of Minnesota in the NCAA, which is a great program. He will play with other high end offensive player such as Blake McLaughlin and Sampo Ranta."
96. New Jersey: Alexander Campbell *
A quick riser in this draft, we feel Campbell has been overlooked due to Newhook’s production on the team. A Clarkson commit, our expectation is Alex will continue his development and mature as a player before making the next step.
97. Detroit: Dominick Fensore
GM says: "He's part of that new breed of defenders who can skate so well it doesn't matter how big they are. Going to Boston University program and has a chance to keep building up that lower body strength and quickness he'll need in the bigs."
98. Pittsburgh (from BUF): Karl Henriksson
99. Minnesota (from NYR): Ethan Keppen
100. Edmonton: Judd Caulfield
101. Anaheim: Carter Berger
102. Vancouver: Dmitri Sheshin
103. Philadelphia: Aliaksei Protas
104. Florida (from Minnesota): Oleg Zaitsev
Centre-wing with good size and powerful stride who plays strong on the puck. A very good small area passer and is committed to a 200 foot game player with really excellent North-South quickness. Very skilled with good anticipation, and good offensive instincts. He has been able to slide up and down the Red Deer lines and fill in all on-ice roles and situation on the PP or PK. He tracks loose pucks and can carry them and separate himself from the opposition's traffic. Can and will take shots, but is more of a playmaker, he displays good edging and reads plays well as a defender and is an agile attacker.
105. Chicago: Antti Tuomisto
Tuomisto is tall, rangy, a righty and has a lot of offensive potential that we feel he's only scratched at this point. We are ecstatic to grab him here.
106. Florida: Nando Eggenberger
Prototypical power wing with size, shot, balance, and nice North-South skating ability. Not pretty, just effective. Plays on special teams with success and has a great defensive presence at both ends. Wins puck battle on the wall and in the corners. A solid penalty-killer, has a goal scorers touch and is very difficult to move off the puck. Made the transition to the North Americia in the OHL. Unselfish and makes positive things happen when he is carrying.
107. Arizona: Samuel Hlavaj
108. Montreal: Ben Brinkman
A young player who left high school early to play in the NCAA (POEHLING STYLE) , he held his own in the NCAA.
"Brinkman moves around the ice well, using his explosive footwork to escape pressure and showed the ability to quickly turn plays out of his own end. Brinkman comes out of his own end with his head up and can buy time by using his skating and puck skills to gain zones until his forwards get open."
109. Nashville (from COL): Valentin Nussbaumer
110. Vegas: Dustin Wolf
111. Dallas: Michael Vukojevic
We love Michael’s size and skating ability. He is a very good defender with some offensive upside. He had a slow start to the season and turned it on in the second half. A June birthday, we see a lot of growth potential.
112. New York Rangers (from CBJ): Layton Ahac
Long lean defender who wasn’t afforded as much situational ice time to raise him to the upper echelons of the draft class, but he shows terrific feet, nice jump, very good offensive talents. Reads the ice and sees those hard to anticipate seam passes and pinpoints them, while in motion. Good size and athletic enough to continue to develop into a solid defender as well as a mailman. Might have the lightest edging in the class, he is a long term project that has a high water mark.
113. Toronto (from STL): Garrett Pinoniemi
114. Carolina: Pavel Gogolev
115. Winnipeg: Reece Newkirk
116. Florida (from PIT): Hunter Jones
117. Toronto: Joonas Oden
118. Buffalo (from SJ): Kim Nousiainen
119. New York Islanders: Antti Saarela
120. Chicago (from BOS): Ilya Konovalov.
He's not very large, but we love how he competes and how agile he is. At his age, we figure he'll probably stay in Russia a few years like other goalies recently, but we fully expect him to be part of our future, especially with how weak we are in terms of goalie prospects.
121. Nashville: Massimo Rizzo
122. Washington: Gianni Fairbrother
Gianni has taken his top 4 role in stride with Everett this year, contributing at both sides of the ice. This kid has a mean streak and isn't afraid to stick up for his teammates. We would prefer if he learned to pick his fights more sparingly, while continuing to bring that usual intensity. He is progressing similar to fellow Silvertip Wyatte Wylie who was taken by the Flyers last year. With an increase in minutes next season, we hope to see positive development
123. Los Angeles (from CGY): Martin Lang
124. Tampa Bay: Luke Toporowski
FIFTH ROUND
125. Ottawa: Mike Koster
126. Los Angeles: Semyon Chistyakov
127. New Jersey: Hugo Alnefelt
Hugo possesses a prototypical NHL-sized frame, with good positional instincts. While he moves around acceptability, we do feel he does rely on his size a little too much and believe he will need to improve on his overall quickness to reach the next level.
128. Detroit: Ryder Donovan
"He's a big rangy kid with room to grow. Captain of his High School team and part of that strong U of Wisconsin freshmen class. Maybe he'll get some time on the wing of Turcotte."
129. Washington (from BUF): Justin Bergeron
Justin is probably the youngest overager in this year's draft, meeting the cutoff of last year by one day. He has grown into a productive two-way defenseman, almost doubling his points from last year. His skating, passing ability and overall offensive instincts have made him invaluable to Rouyn-Noranda and their powerplay.
130. New York Rangers: Ethan Phillips
He’s a very good skater who is slick and is an adept stickhandler, which allows him to protect pucks.
131. Montreal (from EDM): Aku Raty
"Räty is a complementary offensive player who can both make plays and finish them. He has decent size (6-0, 170), and he plays a reliable defensive game. He’s also capable of killing penalties if needed. "
132. Anaheim: Nikola Pasic
133. Vancouver: Nolan Maier
134. Philadelphia: Cole Mackay
135. Vegas (from MIN): Keean Washkurak
136. Montreal (from CHI): Simon Lundmark
137. Florida: Radek Muzik
Captained the Czech Republic team at the Five Nations U-18 who has size puck-handling skills and some edge. Plays off wing and is still growing into his big frame. Needs to us his physical gifts on the forecheck.
138. Montreal (from ARI): Josh Williams
139. Vegas (from MTL): Yevgeni Oksentyuk
140. Colorado: Xavier Simoneau
141. Vegas: Jake Lee
142. Dallas: Luka Burzan
Good motor and a good skater, Luka should have been drafted last year and is showing teams why they made a mistake ignoring him.
143. Detroit (from CBJ): Jack Malone
"He's a big RH Center who plays a solid 200 ft game. Has taken some big leaps forward this year in terms of generating offence. Heading to a good program at Cornell next year and we'll probably leave him there a few years and let him develop."
144. St. Louis: Filip Cederqvist
''He played half the season on the big team and did very well for himself. He's got a good frame and a pretty good all around toolbox . Plays a fairly mature game already so we think he can transition to the next level without too much trouble. ''
145. Carolina: Adam Edstrom
146. Winnipeg: Mikhail Abramov
147. Pittsburgh: Isaiah Saville
148. Toronto: Filip Prikryl
149. San Jose: Max Wahlgren
A forward who plays a complete game. Still young and raw.
150. New York Islanders: Roman Bychkov
151. Boston: Arseny Gritsyuk
152. Nashville: Braden Doyle
153. Minnesota (from WSH): Patrick Moynihan
154. Calgary: Trevor Janicke
155. Chicago (from TB): Valeri Orekhov
SIXTH ROUND
156. Vancouver (from OTT): Danil Antropov
157. Los Angeles: Jayden Struble
158. New Jersey: Christopher Merisier-Ortiz
Christopher is a good skater and has a real knack for finding and setting up his teammates. His defensive abilities are a work in progress and his weakest area which is further compounded by his smaller frame. That said, the organization feels there's potential for a great reward with Christopher should he be able to put it all together.
159. Detroit: Bryce Brodzinski
"He's part of a hockey dynasty. Great hockey family in Minnesota, he even has a brother named Easton. Will be on the Gophers' freshmen class next year so will need to fight for ice time but we think he'll find a spot."
160. Buffalo: Colten Ellis
161. New York Rangers: Cole Moberg
Only two days away from the 2018 draft, Moberg probably would’ve gone undrafted last year, however with a greater role and more offensive freedom he’s playing well for Prince George.
162. Edmonton: Voytech Strondala
163. Anaheim: Lucas Feuk
164. Vancouver: Grant Silianoff
165. Philadelphia: Ilya Altybarmakyan
166. Minnesota: Ilya Mironov
167. Chicago: Kristian Tanus
This Finn has been passed over last year, but he's an August kid so he's barely older than some players of the 2019 crop. Though small, his vision and creativity really set him apart from his peers and we hope his offensive skill can land him a role with our team someday.
168. Florida: Henry Rybinski
169. Philadelphia (from ARI): Ronnie Attard
170. Montreal: Wiljami Myllylä
171. Colorado: Cole Schwindt
172. Minnesota (from VGK): Arvid Costmar
173. Dallas: Anthony Romano
174. Arizona (from CBJ): Iivari Rasanen
175. Anaheim (from STL): Simon Gnyp
176. Carolina: Billy Moskal
177. Buffalo (from WPG): Brady Meyer
178. Arizona (from PIT): Alexei Tsyplakov
179. Buffalo (from TOR): Alex Brannstam
180. San Jose: Mattias Norlinder
Great skater with good offensive instincts. Has a great first pass and good shot from the point. Uses his skating ability and good hands to get the puck into the offensive zone. Not that physical in the defensive zone but uses his positioning and stick work to solve defensive situations.
181. New York Islanders: Albin Sundsvik
182. Boston: Nikita Nesterenko
"Nesterenko is one of those kids who were always talked about in High School Hockey as 'talented but too small'. He finally hit a growth spurt and has put on a lot of height. With that height, his skills blossomed, an agile skater with good skills, Nikita put up near a goal a game in High School Hockey and got the attention to attend Brown University next year."
183. Nashville: Trent Miner
184. Vancouver (from Washington): Xavier Parent
185. Carolina (from CGY): Tag Bertuzzi
186. Tampa Bay: Quinn Schmiemann
SEVENTH ROUND
187. Ottawa: Michael Gildon
188. Los Angeles: Cameron Rowe
189. New Jersey: Nikita Okhotyuk
To put it simply, we feel incredibly fortunate to be able to pick Nikita this late in the draft. Solidly built and physical by nature, Nikita is the type of defenceman who will keep opponents on their toes should they skate in head down. That said, we recognize his offensive upside is very much a work in progress and despite the lack of offense, there are concerns about his defensive zone control as well. However, we feel Nikita's mobility and physical play is too hard to ignore in this final round of the draft.
190. Detroit: Ethan Haider
"He's a big kid headed to a solid program in Clarkson. He'll probably play there 4 years and then we'll see what we've got."
191. Buffalo: Marc Del Gaizo
192. Boston (from NYR): Jami Kranilla
"Kranilla is a small pivot in the USHL coming over from Finland. He is a very strong and agile skater. He displays good defensive awareness and effort despite his lack of physical stature. The strength of his game is in his hockey sense and playmaking ability."
193. Edmonton: Mason Primeau
"One of the youngest players in the draft, Primeau has some interesting bloodlines. Already huge at 6'5, he plays a power game, and has a nice enough skillset to envision him at the next level. A project through and through, he will need time to fill out that frame and to develop correctly."
194. Chicago (from Anaheim): Yaroslav Likhachyov
He's a guy we have been able to watch a lot this year and although he might never put it all together, we feel like he has the offensive skill to be a great player, like he showed at the last Hlinka tournament. His first year in the Q was very disappointing, but he's one of the younger players in this draft and we hope he can take the next step and dominate this league starting next year.
195. Vancouver: Marcel Barinka
Once slated to be a mid round pick, Barinka had a disappointing first season away from home in the QMJHL. During the Mooseheads playoff run, they opted to let Barinka join the U18 tournament in which Barinka put up a good showing and was a point per game for his country. If Barinka can improve his game next season to how he played in the U18, we believe this could be good value for a 7th round pick.
196. Philadelphia: Brendan Bowie
197. Minnesota: Taylor Gauthier
198. Tampa Bay (from CHI): Eric Ciccolini
199. Florida: Matej Blumel
"One of the most impressive Czech player in the Five Nations U-18 a year ago. He is an explosive skater, works hard and use his speed to separate, find seams and forecheck. His shot is coming along and is a dangerous player when on the ice in short-handed situations. Committed to the University of Connecticut."
200. Arizona: Sean Larochelle
201. Philadelphia (from MTL): Matthew Steinburg
202. Colorado: Jacob LeGuerrier
203. Pittsburgh (from VGK): Aaron Huglen
204. Toronto (from DAL): Alfred Barklund
205. New York Rangers (from CBJ): Yegor Chinakhov
206. St. Louis: Mitchell Brewer
'' He was picked 15th overall out of Ontario midget hockey and we like his toolbox quite a bit. He fits into the modern defenseman mold with his speed and position oriented game but he's got a nice frame too and he's not afraid to use the body when the situation presents itself. The production hasn't quite materialize yet but we feel he's something of an hidden gem at this spot''
207. Calgary (from Carolina): Matias Mäntykivi
208. Montreal (from WPG): Keighan Gerrie
He is a longshot and a typical project but he has a lots of skills. Need to see how he adjusts to div 1 men hockey next year.
209. Pittsburgh: Tomas Mazura
210. Toronto: Nicholas Porco.
Porco was selected 4th overall in the 2017 OHL draft. He has a well-rounded game with very strong separation speed which makes him a dangerous threat every time he steps on the ice. Due to the depth of this season Saginaw Spirit, Porco was pushed into a defensive role, we expect a big jump in his production next season as he gets more ice time and more opportunities to play on the power play. His game which is centered around speed should translate well to professional hockey.
211. San Jose: Liam Ross
Ross has great work ethic and is a very intelligent defender. Defense first guy, but he's been taking a bigger role in the offensive zone. The skating will be the area that holds him back but he has already improved his mobility.
212. New York Islanders: Lukas Wernblom
213. Carolina (from BOS): Anthony Popovich
214. Nashville: Maxence Guenette
215. Washington: Santeri Hatakka
After drafting Bergeron for his offensive prowess, we decided to pick up a defenseman that we can trust in our own end. Hatakka showed that he can handle skilled competition when playing at the World Juniors this year. He was one of Finland's more responsible defenders. Ideally we hope that he can find an offensive side to his game, but we won't be upset if he keeps to his mold.
216. Columbus (from CGY): Maxim Denezhkin
Good hands and shows flashes of skill but needs work to get to the next level. Max is a hard worker though and we are hopeful of him to eventually become a contributor to the club.
217. Tampa Bay: Vladimir Alistrov
Surprised he was gonna go undrafted, in retrospect I should've taken him earlier but had no idea he was still on the board. Owns plenty of skill in a good sized frame, Alistrov is among the new wave of Belorussians making very good impressions at the international stage, had some success at U20s and last year's U18s.
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If you do not expect to be able to participate this year, now is the time to let us know. If you are aware that you will be on vacation during the mock, which will begin after the draft lottery, you can send me your list since I will not be participating.
Here's a quick reminder of the rules:
- For teams, I will use a randomizer.
- No trades as always.
- As always, please PM the next guy in the draft once you're done making your selection. Don't forget to tag them in this thread too.
- If you feel you may miss your selection, please PM myself or another active draft member with a list of players. If it's decided that you've taken too long and you're MIA, an auto-pick will be made for you.
- When making your selection, please include a gm or scout-like quote about that player stating why you selected him.
- As with the more recent drafts, we will begin the draft with no set time limit on the picks. We're all reasonably active posters, so let's try to make this a very active draft. We'll see how it goes and then make a decision if we have to. If a poster is taking too long, we'll shoot them a PM to see what's up. If we end up introducing a clock, it'll be a 8 hour one that is not active during midnight (EST) and 8 AM (EST) for the first two rounds, and then we will switch to a 6 hour class for the rest of the draft.
Cheers!
FIRST ROUND
1. New Jersey: Kaapo Kakko
2. New York Rangers: Jack Hughes
We nearly fell over when we realized he was falling to us at 2. Not a bad silver medal. Hughes brings dynamic acceleration, top-end speed, edgework, puck skills… I can keep going but you get the idea. He makes something happen every shift and competes hard to become the best player on the ice.
3. Chicago: Alex Turcotte
We thought long and hard about this pick ever since we learned of our team, but in the end, we feel like Turcotte is both a safe bet and a player with incredible potential at the next level, plus he's Chicago born and raised! He already plays a professional game and has all the abilities needed to succeed in the NHL. We are ecstatic to add him to our stable of talented forwards and feel like his verstatility is a huge plus going forward.
4. Colorado (via Ottawa): Bowen Byram
5. Los Angeles: Kirby Dach
6. Detroit: Vasili Podkolzin
New GM Steve Yzerman says: "He's a powerful winger with a great work ethic. He has a lot of skill and plays with a will to compete at everything he does. He fits in well with our prospect pool as a complement to our other strong, skilled net front players like Rasmussen and Zadina. The Red Wings have an organizational history of great Russian players and we can see him playing top line minutes with us in the near future. He's close to NHL ready but we're not going to rush him."
7. Buffalo: Dylan Cozens
8. Edmonton: Trevor Zegras
9. Anaheim: Matthew Boldy
10. Vancouver: Peyton Krebs
11. Philadelphia: Alex Newhook
Dynamic, dual-threat forward who plays with a unique combination of power and finesse. An excellent skater and puckhandler who is able to push the pace and beat opponents at speed. Strength on the puck aids him in coverage, on the cycle, and off the halfwall. Very creative and always looking to attack the net. Massive upside, though unproven against stronger competition.
Player comparable: a less physical Max Domi
12. Minnesota: Cole Caufield
13. Florida: Victor Soderstrom
“An under-six foot Swedish defender with terrific speed, balance and stick. Already has a two-way game and logs big minutes in the SHL. New age defender who displays high mobility and feet that don’t stop churning. His skating stride is built upon really deep knee bends that place him in a very low close to the ice skating stance. Can jump off on his edges if he’s a way through or to the puck. His hands may get a bit softer, but presently awfully good at controlling pucks when sending them away or when receiving them. Walks the blue line to the open soft spot when on the PP point”
14. Arizona: Arthur Kaliyev
As an organization that remains on the cusp of being competitive, a group with some good depth but that lacks true top-end talent upfront, our upcoming selection could be the piece that adds the potency we direly need offensively.
15. Montreal: Ville Heinola
16. Colorado: Pavel Dorofeyev
17. Vegas: Philip Broberg
18. Dallas: Philip Tomasino
We love everything about this kid. The skating, the skill, the compete. Tomasino played behind some great players in Niagara and still shined. 58 of his points were scored at even strength. 12 GWG. Late birthday. This kid is primed and ready to breakout in a big way next season.
19. Ottawa (from CBJ): Cam York
20. Anaheim (from STL): Bobby Brink
21. Carolina: Thomas Harley
22. New York Rangers (from WPG): Moritz Seider
He’s a 6-foot-4 defenseman who skates and moves the puck well, showing great poise and instincts. Defensively, he’s a rock with his wingspan, feet and defensive acumen, and projects as a tough minutes player in the NHL
23. Pittsburgh: Samuel Poulin
24. Los Angeles: Jamieson Rees
25. Buffalo (from SJ): Connor McMichael
26. New York Islanders: Raphael Lavoie
27. Boston: Lassi Thomson
"Lassi is a new breed defenseman who gambles on offense with incredible skating, smooth hands and a willingness to attack the net. Thomson has one of the best shots from the point in the draft and may be the most lethal goal-scoring defenseman as well. Some work will be needed in his own end but he is capable of being a three zone player who covers a lot of ice every shift."
28. Nashville: Matthew Robertson
"Strong and mobile two-way blue liner with a team-first attitude who handles both big minutes and big situations with maturity and confidence. Robertson is a throwback to the Western Canadian defensemen of old who were able to intimidate with physicality or their play with the puck."
29. Washington: Brayden Tracey
Tracy is the high riser of this years draft. As the rookie scoring leader in the WHL he has shown his offensive abilities and smarts. He may have played with Langan/Almeida at some points during the season but he wasn't just along for the ride. Tracey has shown his upside playing with his peers in the U18s and with his rapid improvement we are excited to see what he can do in the future.
30. Calgary: Ryan Suzuki
31. Tampa Bay: Nils Höglander
SECOND ROUND
32. Ottawa: Jakob Pelletier
33. Los Angeles: Ilya Nikolayev
34. New Jersey: Alex Vlasic
35. Detroit: Nick Robertson
GM says"He's a battler who competes all over the ice. Great skater who creates offence with speed and determination. One of the youngest players in the draft, needs work on his release and awareness on the ice but we think he has a high upside."
36. Carolina (from Buffalo): Egor Afanasyev
37. New York Rangers: Nathan Legare
He’s got one of the best shots in the draft. He’s scored a lot of goals this season, wiring shots from long distance off a post/crossbar or blowing it past a goalie. He’s a great scorer and that’s where he’ll make his money, but he’s also a very smart overall player. Legare can hit tight seams consistently and is very crafty overall with the puck.
38. Edmonton: Spencer Knight
39. Anaheim: Daniil Misyul
40. Vancouver: Mikko Kokkonen
41. Philadelphia: Tobias Bjornfot
42. Minnesota: Artemi Knyazev
43. Chicago: Albin Grewe
We think he could become a fixture in our middle-six, a fan favorite and a nightmare to play against, thanks to his intensity and skills.
44. Ottawa (from Florida): Brett Leason
45. Arizona: Patrik Puistola
Puistola is a dangerous forward with tremendous hand-eye coordination and a deceptive shot. Possessing great awareness, he loves to position himself in the slot and can stick-handle his way close to net, in traffic, to finish plays. Excellent in puck-battles, especially one-on-one, he's strong, solid on his skates for his age.
46. Montreal: Kaedan Korczak
"The 6-foot-2 blueliner is a very smooth skater who won’t wow you very often, but is more than capable at both ends of the ice. He has a strong first pass, is physical when he needs to be and can chip in offensively when called upon. Korczak is also a great 1-on-1 defender. This season, he was named the Rockets’ top defenceman"
47. Colorado: Robert Mastrosimone
48. Vegas: Yegor Spiridonov
49. New York Rangers (from Dallas): Anttoni Honka
Honka is very smart, and his skating and vision make him ideal to quarterback a power play. He's a great puck mover, and his skating is excellent.
50. Montreal (from CBJ): Samuel Fagemo
After scoring ten goals and adding four assists in eight games with Frölunda’s U20 team, he was promoted to the SHL. Samuel Fagemo didn’t disappoint.
Finishing sixth in team scoring for the Indians with 25 points in 42 games played, Fagemo averaged just under 14 minutes of ice per game and put 109 shots on net.
Fagemo’s calling card is his shot and offensive instincts, but in watching him play you notice positives about his decision-making (especially in traffic), and his ability to get to pucks first.
“I see this as my revenge after not being chosen in the draft last summer.
51. St. Louis: Nolan Foote
''We feel he fits our forward group pretty well with his size, north-south game and hands around the net. We hope he can become a Tkatchuk type for us that will open space up for his linemates and score big goals. He has slipped a bit on the rankings but we feel he's good value at our spot''
52. Carolina: John Beecher
53. Winnipeg: Vladislav Kolyachonok
Kolyachonok is an elite skater with wonderful offensive instincts. He is confident in possession of the puck whether moving it up ice or playing in the offensive or defensive zones. Because of his skating abilities, he's difficult to beat one-on-one as he can angle people off, he closes passing/shooting lanes quickly and is very active with his stick. At 6'2, he comes with good size too. Like all young D, he still needs some work in the defensive zone, but it's coachable. He also needs to be more consistent in his game, but he also played for a crap organization in Flint. Needs to gain weight/strength for sure (only around 180 at 6'2.).
Kolyachonok has 3-4 D upside. He can play both sides equally well, and is just growing into his game. This kid stepped straight into a rookie season in the OHL from Belarus and did so smoothly.
54. Florida (from PIT): Matvey Guskov
Highly skilled centre who already is playing his first North American season with The Knights this season. Displays a high skill level in all areas, and is ultra-effective playing at a high speed pace. Dynamic as a scorer and playmaker, he plays a 200 foot game and exhibits a level of hockey IQ and maturity. London strong line-up has him relegated in his initial North American season, but will eventually settle in to his centre position. He has an excellent shot but at this juncture looks like a perimeter player, doesn’t play the game in the high traffic greasy areas. Has a physical tools and a frame that will allow him to add muscle.
55. Toronto: Jordan Spence
56. Detroit (from SJ): Simon Holmstrom
He is an excellent skater, very nimble in tight quarters with superior vision. Has been the best player at the U18 for Sweden. A playmaker first but he has shown flashes of a sniper instinct when he has chances in front of goal. Needs to be more implicated physically.
57. Detroit (from NYI): Pyotr Kochetkov
We need a goalie in our pipeline and he is the best available in our opinion. Has the size and technical ability we are looking for and we liked the way he battled at the WJC with Russia.
58. New Jersey (from BOS): Jusso Parssinen
59. New Jersey (from NSH): Matias Maccelli
60. Washington: Shane Pinto
Pinto is a big bodied power forward who plays the game right. He wins board battles and can protect the puck using his large frame. He led all rookies in scoring this year in the USHL and put up eight points in three games during the playoffs. This kid has potential and should develop well at UND next season.
61. New York Islanders (from CGY): Ryan Johnson
62. New York Rangers (from TB): John Farinacci
A big right shot centre who passes the puck quick and effectively, uses his size to protect pucks and wins the battles along the boards. One of the best passers in high school as he puts but touch and zip on them.A really good skater for a large kid; he needs to work on his first step quickness, but once he is moving straight ahead, he is barreling freight coming down the track.
THIRD ROUND
63. Colorado (from Ottawa): Maxim Cajkovic
64. Los Angeles: Billy Constantinou
65. Philadelphia (from New Jersey): Samuel Bolduc
A big, smooth-skating, toolsy defender - Bolduc impressed at the TPG, and also showed very well in the performance testing. While he is still quite raw, he has the potential to become one of the year’s top defenders if his game rounds out.
66. Detroit: Marshall Warren
Yzerman says: "Sees the ice well and has good mobility. He's going to a good program at Boston College and he'll need a few years there. He likes the physical side of the game and once he fills out his frame he'll be able to win more of those battles."
67. Buffalo: Henry Thrun
68. New York Rangers: Michal Teply
Has a great shot and good vision. He’s a big goal-scoring winger with a right-handed shot, has a great selection of shots, has an amazing release, is capable of making plays.
69. Florida (from Edmonton): Jackson LaCombe
Made the transition for being a forward to a rushing defenseman. He has good size, wheels and offensive instincts that helped him amass 20 goals and 81 points in his 50 game season in his sophomore year of high school.
Committed to the University of Minnesota
70. New Jersey (from Anaheim): Tuukka Tieksola
71. Vancouver: Drew Helleson
72. Philadelphia: Vlad Firstov
73. Minnesota: Daniil Gutik
74. Arizona (from Chicago): Adam Beckman
75. Nashville (from Florida): Dillon Hamaliuk
76. Arizona: Leevi Aaltonen
77. Montreal: Marcus Kallionkieli
78. Colorado: Zachary Jones
79. Vegas: Yegor Serdyuk
80. New Jersey (from Dallas): Harrison Blaisdell
81. Columbus: Martin Hugo
Martin has good puck skills, a great shot and decent mobility for such a big kid. While not an overly physical player, his size will still allow him to manage board battles and keep the opposition out in the perimeter.
82. St. Louis: Henri Nikkanen
'' An injury shorten season saw him slip a bit but we like his all around game and potential. He's always been a point producer and he's got solid international experience already so we feel he's a pretty safe bet to improve. ''
83. Carolina: Mads Sogaard
84. Vegas (from Winnipeg): Kirill Slepets
85. Ottawa (from Pittsburgh): Ryan Siedem
86. Toronto: Albert Johansson
87. San Jose: Alex Beaucage
Scouting report: A nifty offensive player with great stickhandling abilities, Beaucage can both dish and finish. Has become a nice sized winger with his growth spurt and with it he has grown into a nice prospect flows with the games tempo all 200 feet. Quickly gets to open ice and displays light edging and makes himself available for receptions, and can gain inside position and cut hard to the net. Blocks shots. Has room to put more weight on his frame and he can get quicker as get comfortable with his taller / larger size. A finisher who was third on his team in scoring with 39 Goals, 79 Assist in 68 games. Handles the puck well at top gear and reads the ice well, usually anticipating a step ahead of the play. A longer term developmental guy whose needle is pointing upward.
88. Edmonton (from NYI): Nikita Alexandrov
"Alexandrov acts as a solid centreman for the Islanders. He doesn’t have the biggest frame at 6’0’’ and 179 pounds, nor is he the fastest skater around, but he is hard to knock off his skates and is at ease playing in heavy traffic.
His offensive game is based on driving the net. He doesn’t bulldoze his way there, but instead relies on a combination of physicality and awareness to slip through the defence to attack the doorstep. He protects the puck well with his body and he keeps his head up to find holes in the goalie’s coverage.
He flashes agile hands and will sometimes string together two or three moves to create space for himself. He can also be quite deceptive in those sequences, reading the defence and adjusting the position of the puck to keep possession under pressure. Beyond his net drives and board work, Alexandrov is also a smart passer with the vision to find his teammates in scoring areas. He can act both as a setup man and scorer.
Main knock on him is his inconsistency, as he shows flashes of skill that wows you, then revert to a more basic type of game for a long time." (David St-Louis, 2019 NHL Draft prospect profile: Nikita Alexandrov is a solid pivot who flashes high-level skill)
89. Boston: Sasha Mutala
"Mutala opened eyes at the Ivan Hlinka this year with his scrappy play. He showed a willingness to go to the front of the net to disrupt the goalie and tip picks. His non-stop motor made him an asset on the penalty kill where he brought energy to the team. Mutala has great speed and some offensive upside that we believe has been tempered or hidden on a Tri City team that was not very deep and didn't have a lot of offensive weapons. We see Mutala as a deluxe third liner at the next level."
90. Vegas (from Nashville): Kalle Loponen
91. Los Angeles (from Washington): Graeme Clarke
92. Calgary: Blake Murray
93. Tampa Bay: Case McCarthy
Swing for the fences is usually my motto but a defensive stud like McCarthy is impossible to pass at this point in the draft. In the Korczak mold, he's your prototypical physical shut down defenseman. Along with it comes excellent mobility and smarts in his end. Gets lost among all the talent on this year's NTDP but he managed to grab the spotlight at the U18s and out-shined most top rated Ds. Big riser on our list.
FOURTH ROUND
94. Ottawa: Josh Nodler
95. Los Angeles: Rhett Pitlick
"Rhett is one of the best skater in this draft, he can execute plays at high speed and he dominated every level he's been at. Long term project, but a great one. He is going to the University of Minnesota in the NCAA, which is a great program. He will play with other high end offensive player such as Blake McLaughlin and Sampo Ranta."
96. New Jersey: Alexander Campbell *
A quick riser in this draft, we feel Campbell has been overlooked due to Newhook’s production on the team. A Clarkson commit, our expectation is Alex will continue his development and mature as a player before making the next step.
97. Detroit: Dominick Fensore
GM says: "He's part of that new breed of defenders who can skate so well it doesn't matter how big they are. Going to Boston University program and has a chance to keep building up that lower body strength and quickness he'll need in the bigs."
98. Pittsburgh (from BUF): Karl Henriksson
99. Minnesota (from NYR): Ethan Keppen
100. Edmonton: Judd Caulfield
101. Anaheim: Carter Berger
102. Vancouver: Dmitri Sheshin
103. Philadelphia: Aliaksei Protas
104. Florida (from Minnesota): Oleg Zaitsev
Centre-wing with good size and powerful stride who plays strong on the puck. A very good small area passer and is committed to a 200 foot game player with really excellent North-South quickness. Very skilled with good anticipation, and good offensive instincts. He has been able to slide up and down the Red Deer lines and fill in all on-ice roles and situation on the PP or PK. He tracks loose pucks and can carry them and separate himself from the opposition's traffic. Can and will take shots, but is more of a playmaker, he displays good edging and reads plays well as a defender and is an agile attacker.
105. Chicago: Antti Tuomisto
Tuomisto is tall, rangy, a righty and has a lot of offensive potential that we feel he's only scratched at this point. We are ecstatic to grab him here.
106. Florida: Nando Eggenberger
Prototypical power wing with size, shot, balance, and nice North-South skating ability. Not pretty, just effective. Plays on special teams with success and has a great defensive presence at both ends. Wins puck battle on the wall and in the corners. A solid penalty-killer, has a goal scorers touch and is very difficult to move off the puck. Made the transition to the North Americia in the OHL. Unselfish and makes positive things happen when he is carrying.
107. Arizona: Samuel Hlavaj
108. Montreal: Ben Brinkman
A young player who left high school early to play in the NCAA (POEHLING STYLE) , he held his own in the NCAA.
"Brinkman moves around the ice well, using his explosive footwork to escape pressure and showed the ability to quickly turn plays out of his own end. Brinkman comes out of his own end with his head up and can buy time by using his skating and puck skills to gain zones until his forwards get open."
109. Nashville (from COL): Valentin Nussbaumer
110. Vegas: Dustin Wolf
111. Dallas: Michael Vukojevic
We love Michael’s size and skating ability. He is a very good defender with some offensive upside. He had a slow start to the season and turned it on in the second half. A June birthday, we see a lot of growth potential.
112. New York Rangers (from CBJ): Layton Ahac
Long lean defender who wasn’t afforded as much situational ice time to raise him to the upper echelons of the draft class, but he shows terrific feet, nice jump, very good offensive talents. Reads the ice and sees those hard to anticipate seam passes and pinpoints them, while in motion. Good size and athletic enough to continue to develop into a solid defender as well as a mailman. Might have the lightest edging in the class, he is a long term project that has a high water mark.
113. Toronto (from STL): Garrett Pinoniemi
114. Carolina: Pavel Gogolev
115. Winnipeg: Reece Newkirk
116. Florida (from PIT): Hunter Jones
117. Toronto: Joonas Oden
118. Buffalo (from SJ): Kim Nousiainen
119. New York Islanders: Antti Saarela
120. Chicago (from BOS): Ilya Konovalov.
He's not very large, but we love how he competes and how agile he is. At his age, we figure he'll probably stay in Russia a few years like other goalies recently, but we fully expect him to be part of our future, especially with how weak we are in terms of goalie prospects.
121. Nashville: Massimo Rizzo
122. Washington: Gianni Fairbrother
Gianni has taken his top 4 role in stride with Everett this year, contributing at both sides of the ice. This kid has a mean streak and isn't afraid to stick up for his teammates. We would prefer if he learned to pick his fights more sparingly, while continuing to bring that usual intensity. He is progressing similar to fellow Silvertip Wyatte Wylie who was taken by the Flyers last year. With an increase in minutes next season, we hope to see positive development
123. Los Angeles (from CGY): Martin Lang
124. Tampa Bay: Luke Toporowski
FIFTH ROUND
125. Ottawa: Mike Koster
126. Los Angeles: Semyon Chistyakov
127. New Jersey: Hugo Alnefelt
Hugo possesses a prototypical NHL-sized frame, with good positional instincts. While he moves around acceptability, we do feel he does rely on his size a little too much and believe he will need to improve on his overall quickness to reach the next level.
128. Detroit: Ryder Donovan
"He's a big rangy kid with room to grow. Captain of his High School team and part of that strong U of Wisconsin freshmen class. Maybe he'll get some time on the wing of Turcotte."
129. Washington (from BUF): Justin Bergeron
Justin is probably the youngest overager in this year's draft, meeting the cutoff of last year by one day. He has grown into a productive two-way defenseman, almost doubling his points from last year. His skating, passing ability and overall offensive instincts have made him invaluable to Rouyn-Noranda and their powerplay.
130. New York Rangers: Ethan Phillips
He’s a very good skater who is slick and is an adept stickhandler, which allows him to protect pucks.
131. Montreal (from EDM): Aku Raty
"Räty is a complementary offensive player who can both make plays and finish them. He has decent size (6-0, 170), and he plays a reliable defensive game. He’s also capable of killing penalties if needed. "
132. Anaheim: Nikola Pasic
133. Vancouver: Nolan Maier
134. Philadelphia: Cole Mackay
135. Vegas (from MIN): Keean Washkurak
136. Montreal (from CHI): Simon Lundmark
137. Florida: Radek Muzik
Captained the Czech Republic team at the Five Nations U-18 who has size puck-handling skills and some edge. Plays off wing and is still growing into his big frame. Needs to us his physical gifts on the forecheck.
138. Montreal (from ARI): Josh Williams
139. Vegas (from MTL): Yevgeni Oksentyuk
140. Colorado: Xavier Simoneau
141. Vegas: Jake Lee
142. Dallas: Luka Burzan
Good motor and a good skater, Luka should have been drafted last year and is showing teams why they made a mistake ignoring him.
143. Detroit (from CBJ): Jack Malone
"He's a big RH Center who plays a solid 200 ft game. Has taken some big leaps forward this year in terms of generating offence. Heading to a good program at Cornell next year and we'll probably leave him there a few years and let him develop."
144. St. Louis: Filip Cederqvist
''He played half the season on the big team and did very well for himself. He's got a good frame and a pretty good all around toolbox . Plays a fairly mature game already so we think he can transition to the next level without too much trouble. ''
145. Carolina: Adam Edstrom
146. Winnipeg: Mikhail Abramov
147. Pittsburgh: Isaiah Saville
148. Toronto: Filip Prikryl
149. San Jose: Max Wahlgren
A forward who plays a complete game. Still young and raw.
150. New York Islanders: Roman Bychkov
151. Boston: Arseny Gritsyuk
152. Nashville: Braden Doyle
153. Minnesota (from WSH): Patrick Moynihan
154. Calgary: Trevor Janicke
155. Chicago (from TB): Valeri Orekhov
SIXTH ROUND
156. Vancouver (from OTT): Danil Antropov
157. Los Angeles: Jayden Struble
158. New Jersey: Christopher Merisier-Ortiz
Christopher is a good skater and has a real knack for finding and setting up his teammates. His defensive abilities are a work in progress and his weakest area which is further compounded by his smaller frame. That said, the organization feels there's potential for a great reward with Christopher should he be able to put it all together.
159. Detroit: Bryce Brodzinski
"He's part of a hockey dynasty. Great hockey family in Minnesota, he even has a brother named Easton. Will be on the Gophers' freshmen class next year so will need to fight for ice time but we think he'll find a spot."
160. Buffalo: Colten Ellis
161. New York Rangers: Cole Moberg
Only two days away from the 2018 draft, Moberg probably would’ve gone undrafted last year, however with a greater role and more offensive freedom he’s playing well for Prince George.
162. Edmonton: Voytech Strondala
163. Anaheim: Lucas Feuk
164. Vancouver: Grant Silianoff
165. Philadelphia: Ilya Altybarmakyan
166. Minnesota: Ilya Mironov
167. Chicago: Kristian Tanus
This Finn has been passed over last year, but he's an August kid so he's barely older than some players of the 2019 crop. Though small, his vision and creativity really set him apart from his peers and we hope his offensive skill can land him a role with our team someday.
168. Florida: Henry Rybinski
169. Philadelphia (from ARI): Ronnie Attard
170. Montreal: Wiljami Myllylä
171. Colorado: Cole Schwindt
172. Minnesota (from VGK): Arvid Costmar
173. Dallas: Anthony Romano
174. Arizona (from CBJ): Iivari Rasanen
175. Anaheim (from STL): Simon Gnyp
176. Carolina: Billy Moskal
177. Buffalo (from WPG): Brady Meyer
178. Arizona (from PIT): Alexei Tsyplakov
179. Buffalo (from TOR): Alex Brannstam
180. San Jose: Mattias Norlinder
Great skater with good offensive instincts. Has a great first pass and good shot from the point. Uses his skating ability and good hands to get the puck into the offensive zone. Not that physical in the defensive zone but uses his positioning and stick work to solve defensive situations.
181. New York Islanders: Albin Sundsvik
182. Boston: Nikita Nesterenko
"Nesterenko is one of those kids who were always talked about in High School Hockey as 'talented but too small'. He finally hit a growth spurt and has put on a lot of height. With that height, his skills blossomed, an agile skater with good skills, Nikita put up near a goal a game in High School Hockey and got the attention to attend Brown University next year."
183. Nashville: Trent Miner
184. Vancouver (from Washington): Xavier Parent
185. Carolina (from CGY): Tag Bertuzzi
186. Tampa Bay: Quinn Schmiemann
SEVENTH ROUND
187. Ottawa: Michael Gildon
188. Los Angeles: Cameron Rowe
189. New Jersey: Nikita Okhotyuk
To put it simply, we feel incredibly fortunate to be able to pick Nikita this late in the draft. Solidly built and physical by nature, Nikita is the type of defenceman who will keep opponents on their toes should they skate in head down. That said, we recognize his offensive upside is very much a work in progress and despite the lack of offense, there are concerns about his defensive zone control as well. However, we feel Nikita's mobility and physical play is too hard to ignore in this final round of the draft.
190. Detroit: Ethan Haider
"He's a big kid headed to a solid program in Clarkson. He'll probably play there 4 years and then we'll see what we've got."
191. Buffalo: Marc Del Gaizo
192. Boston (from NYR): Jami Kranilla
"Kranilla is a small pivot in the USHL coming over from Finland. He is a very strong and agile skater. He displays good defensive awareness and effort despite his lack of physical stature. The strength of his game is in his hockey sense and playmaking ability."
193. Edmonton: Mason Primeau
"One of the youngest players in the draft, Primeau has some interesting bloodlines. Already huge at 6'5, he plays a power game, and has a nice enough skillset to envision him at the next level. A project through and through, he will need time to fill out that frame and to develop correctly."
194. Chicago (from Anaheim): Yaroslav Likhachyov
He's a guy we have been able to watch a lot this year and although he might never put it all together, we feel like he has the offensive skill to be a great player, like he showed at the last Hlinka tournament. His first year in the Q was very disappointing, but he's one of the younger players in this draft and we hope he can take the next step and dominate this league starting next year.
195. Vancouver: Marcel Barinka
Once slated to be a mid round pick, Barinka had a disappointing first season away from home in the QMJHL. During the Mooseheads playoff run, they opted to let Barinka join the U18 tournament in which Barinka put up a good showing and was a point per game for his country. If Barinka can improve his game next season to how he played in the U18, we believe this could be good value for a 7th round pick.
196. Philadelphia: Brendan Bowie
197. Minnesota: Taylor Gauthier
198. Tampa Bay (from CHI): Eric Ciccolini
199. Florida: Matej Blumel
"One of the most impressive Czech player in the Five Nations U-18 a year ago. He is an explosive skater, works hard and use his speed to separate, find seams and forecheck. His shot is coming along and is a dangerous player when on the ice in short-handed situations. Committed to the University of Connecticut."
200. Arizona: Sean Larochelle
201. Philadelphia (from MTL): Matthew Steinburg
202. Colorado: Jacob LeGuerrier
203. Pittsburgh (from VGK): Aaron Huglen
204. Toronto (from DAL): Alfred Barklund
205. New York Rangers (from CBJ): Yegor Chinakhov
206. St. Louis: Mitchell Brewer
'' He was picked 15th overall out of Ontario midget hockey and we like his toolbox quite a bit. He fits into the modern defenseman mold with his speed and position oriented game but he's got a nice frame too and he's not afraid to use the body when the situation presents itself. The production hasn't quite materialize yet but we feel he's something of an hidden gem at this spot''
207. Calgary (from Carolina): Matias Mäntykivi
208. Montreal (from WPG): Keighan Gerrie
He is a longshot and a typical project but he has a lots of skills. Need to see how he adjusts to div 1 men hockey next year.
209. Pittsburgh: Tomas Mazura
210. Toronto: Nicholas Porco.
Porco was selected 4th overall in the 2017 OHL draft. He has a well-rounded game with very strong separation speed which makes him a dangerous threat every time he steps on the ice. Due to the depth of this season Saginaw Spirit, Porco was pushed into a defensive role, we expect a big jump in his production next season as he gets more ice time and more opportunities to play on the power play. His game which is centered around speed should translate well to professional hockey.
211. San Jose: Liam Ross
Ross has great work ethic and is a very intelligent defender. Defense first guy, but he's been taking a bigger role in the offensive zone. The skating will be the area that holds him back but he has already improved his mobility.
212. New York Islanders: Lukas Wernblom
213. Carolina (from BOS): Anthony Popovich
214. Nashville: Maxence Guenette
215. Washington: Santeri Hatakka
After drafting Bergeron for his offensive prowess, we decided to pick up a defenseman that we can trust in our own end. Hatakka showed that he can handle skilled competition when playing at the World Juniors this year. He was one of Finland's more responsible defenders. Ideally we hope that he can find an offensive side to his game, but we won't be upset if he keeps to his mold.
216. Columbus (from CGY): Maxim Denezhkin
Good hands and shows flashes of skill but needs work to get to the next level. Max is a hard worker though and we are hopeful of him to eventually become a contributor to the club.
217. Tampa Bay: Vladimir Alistrov
Surprised he was gonna go undrafted, in retrospect I should've taken him earlier but had no idea he was still on the board. Owns plenty of skill in a good sized frame, Alistrov is among the new wave of Belorussians making very good impressions at the international stage, had some success at U20s and last year's U18s.
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