#6 Simon Edvinsson - I like the pick, our backend is shaping up to be pretty damn strong. They have to be very confident taking him over Eklund with possible input from guys like Kronwall & Lidström in Sweden, I trust that decision.
#15 Sebastian Cossa - Sounds like a very talented goalie, never seen him play. Cossa vs Wallstedt will be the storyline for the next 5-7 years. I like Wallstedt but again the Wings have such a strong presence in Sweden that I find it very difficult to judge their evaluations of Swedes especially at crucial picks. But to be honest, I'm already getting some flashbacks of McCollum vs Markström.
#36 Shai Buium - Big d-man with skill going to Denver in the 2nd round, Tuomisto 2.0? His skating isn't too strong and it affects his defensive game, however in the few clips I've seen it didn't look
that bad on the rush (similar to Tuomisto actually). His production towards the end of 2020-2021 is a very positive sign. Improve his quickness and we could have a really interesting big two-way d-man in 3-5 years. I like the pick.
#70 Carter Mazur - Hard to say much more than that they obviously like him a lot to take him at 70. He seems to have taken pretty big steps this past year in strength and skating which shows in his stats. Expectations for top-100 guys are of course higher so hopefully he can keep developing into a valuable two-way winger. In general I don't mind going somewhat off the board in the 3rd round. Suspicious but hopeful.
#114 Red Savage - Strong two-way center with leadership qualities and seemingly all the tools required to be an NHLer one day. Sounds like a player every team wants but why was he available at #114? I guess it's easy for a guy like this to get stuck behind more prolific offensive guys on the NTDP (Larkin, anyone?). Top-3 at faceoffs at the U18's in a middle-6 role. Anyway, I like the pick and hopefully he can develop into more of an impact center in college.
#134 Liam Dower Nilsson - Poor man's Theodor Niederbach? Not as mobile and relies more on others (has played a lot with Lysell) which gives some Axel Holmström vibes, though skating is better. He has some
sneaky playmaking skills, very good hockey sense and a strong work ethic. His stint with Hanhals was promising and he'd probably be ready for a role in the Allsvenskan but doubtful Frölunda will loan him out. Was on my short wish list of Euros, so two thumbs up from me.
#155 Oscar Plandowski - Sounds like a Nick Jensen type. Useful in the bottom-4 but with average size won't make a big impact unless his puck skills catch up to his great skating ability. On one hand, I'm sceptical because the QMJHL must have been scouted quite heavily this year (plus from a hockey family), but on the other hand he wasn't a top pair guy so may have been somewhat held back. He's shown some offense in the past so hopefully a bigger role with Charlottetown and PP time will help bring out those skills. Neutral feeling.
#166 Pasquale Zito - I'm generally against spending any late round picks on guys from the overscouted CHL (I guess that should apply to Plandowski too...), but this year I'll give them a pass. But it's a wishful pick based on factors other than the eye test, while there were guys from Europe with up to date evaluations. Brock Otten had some
good things to say but
questions the upside. Would have preferred a more skilled long shot.
I'd give our draft a B+, maybe A- if we weigh the top picks more. We improved our system a lot and are pretty much set at D and G. Mostly avoided guys with little upside and got one kid from my wish list. Liked Edvinsson, Cossa, Buium, Savage and Dower Nilsson. Mazur is questionable and would have preferred a more skilled long shot over Zito as well as maybe Plandowski.