WJC_Fan
Registered User
I have been watching several of these that are pretty similar to mine but I will post my opinions
1)Colorado: Seth Jones-D: I think Joe Sakic is playing poker with Florida. Florida wants a center and if Colorado can extract a pick from them (or Nashville), I think he makes a move. Colorado has a ton of great forwards but Jones gives them a #1 d-man. I know that they are saying Mackinnon or Barkov but in the end, if they keep the pick, I think that they go Jones
2) Florida: Nathan Mackinnon-C: Florida gets their man. Huberdeau and Mackinnon terrorize defenders for years to come.
3) Tampa Bay: Jonathan Drouin-LW: Probably could use a defender but unless they are willing to move to #1, it probably is not happening. Best case for them is Mackinnon/Barkov/Jones. They want Jones but Drouin is an elite offensive player that will fit with the existing offensive pieces
4) Nashville: Sasha Barkov-C: A team desperate for offense gets the strong talented center that they need and severely lack. Hockey sense is tremendous and pretty close to NHL ready
5) Carolina: Valeri Nichuskin-RW: Elite scorer who would be in the#1 discussion if not for him being Russian. Wants to play in the NHL. Carolina gambles and swings for the fences
6) Calgary: Elias Lindholm-C: Calgary starts the rebuild with a top two-way center. Could not decide between him and Monahan but decided to go with the Swede. Competitiveness and Hockey IQ is off the charts.
7) Edmonton: Darnell Nurse-D: I keep hearing that Edmonton will take the Monahan or Lindholm if available but I have Nurse ranked as #7 in the draft. He is big, mean and the offense is starting to come. A top pairing defender for the team overflowing with offense.
8) Buffalo: Sean Monahan-C: Winger makes better sense but Monahan is too good to pass up at eight. Buffalo takes the BPA and worries about needs later
9) New Jersey: Hunter Shinkaruk-LW: Dynamic offensive player. Who couldn't use that? Other then Boucher, New Jersey's wing prospects are not great. Hunter has top-line scorer potential
10) Dallas: Rasmus Ristolainen-D: Strong, puck moving defender. Already mature, playing against men in Finland.
11) Philadelphia: Nikita Zadorov-D: Big strong hitter. Skates well for his size. Big shot gives him some untapped offensive potential. Fills a need
12) Phoenix: Bo Horvat-LW: Shane Doan meets his replacement. Strong up/down winger. High compete level with leadership ability. Power, offensive player that Phoenix needs
13) Winnipeg: Max Domi-C: Strong offensive player that plays bigger then his size. Big game player. Strong work ethic.
14) Columbus: Ryan Pulock-D: Columbus adds a power play piece. Good defender with a booming shot. Good skater for size. Team needs forwards but Pulock is too good to pass on at this point
15) NY Islanders: Alex Wennberg-LW: The kind of forward that teams win with goes to the Isles. Good offensive skills but has high compete level too. The team that drafted all defenders last season switches it up this year.
16) Buffalo: Curtis Lazar-RW: Good 4-way skater. Physical for his size. Has solid offensive skills. A team that has a ton of defenders continues to add offense.
17) Ottawa: Josh Morrisey-D: Steady defender with high hockey IQ.Will play a long time in the NHL. Strong transitional game. Not flashy just gets the job done.
18) Detroit: Valentin Zykov-RW: Intense, speedy goal scorer. Not big but uses wide body to set up shop in the slot. D-zone needs improvement but the Detroit system will get him where he needs to be.
19) Columbus: Kerby Rychel-LW: Will bring size to the top-six of Columbus. Not a great skater but strong on his skates. Brings grit plus talent to the lineup. Not afraid to drop them or park in the crease.
20) San Jose: Frederick Gauthier-C: Sizable two-way center. Not sure if the offense will be there but he is big and skates well. Advanced defensive player. If San Jose prefers skill, maybe Mantha here also
21) Toronto: Adam Erne-RW: Good size. Top-six scorer. Very strong in front of the net and along the boards.
22) Calgary: Ryan Hartman-LW: Tough to play against. Not the biggest player but plays bigger then his size. Great forechekcer and a solid two-way game.
23) Washington: J.T. Compher-C: Competitive big-game player. Good skater.
24) Vancouver: Steve Santini-D: Physical leader. Could be Kevin Bieksa Jr. Vancouver needs help everywhere and they take a future steady stalwart for the blue line
25) Montreal: Anthony Mantha-LW: Good size but not very physical. Montreal needs size and offensive talent but he may not bring enoughgrit.One of my least favorite picks of this round. Maybe switching him with Gauthier would make sense. I would love some opinions on this one.
26) Anaheim: Samuel Morin-D: Incredible upside. Great size who can move the puck. Anaheim gambles on a defender. A forward might be the safer pick at this point
27) Columbus: Andre Burakovsky-RW: Columbus got Rychel, now they take a swing for the fences. High skill level but very inconsistent. Could turn into a real steal and makes sense for a team with three first rounders.
28) Calgary: Nic Petan-C: Lindholm and Hartman add the grit and two-way ability. Now, they draft a small, supremely skilled center. Great skater but size is an issue. Calgary needs skill and he will bring that
29) Dallas: Morgan Klimchuk-LW: Dallas could use a center but I would have to go down several spots to get to my next center(Hurley). Klimchuk is a scorer that Dallas could use
30) Chicago: Madison Bowey-D: Great skating defender. Solid defender but not a ton of offense at this point. This is the kind of pick that good organizations make at the end of the first round. Other option would be Shea Theodore.
Well that is it. I did not put Fucale in the first round. I think that he will go by pick #35. Also Muller slipped a little too. I look forward to everyone's opinion.
1)Colorado: Seth Jones-D: I think Joe Sakic is playing poker with Florida. Florida wants a center and if Colorado can extract a pick from them (or Nashville), I think he makes a move. Colorado has a ton of great forwards but Jones gives them a #1 d-man. I know that they are saying Mackinnon or Barkov but in the end, if they keep the pick, I think that they go Jones
2) Florida: Nathan Mackinnon-C: Florida gets their man. Huberdeau and Mackinnon terrorize defenders for years to come.
3) Tampa Bay: Jonathan Drouin-LW: Probably could use a defender but unless they are willing to move to #1, it probably is not happening. Best case for them is Mackinnon/Barkov/Jones. They want Jones but Drouin is an elite offensive player that will fit with the existing offensive pieces
4) Nashville: Sasha Barkov-C: A team desperate for offense gets the strong talented center that they need and severely lack. Hockey sense is tremendous and pretty close to NHL ready
5) Carolina: Valeri Nichuskin-RW: Elite scorer who would be in the#1 discussion if not for him being Russian. Wants to play in the NHL. Carolina gambles and swings for the fences
6) Calgary: Elias Lindholm-C: Calgary starts the rebuild with a top two-way center. Could not decide between him and Monahan but decided to go with the Swede. Competitiveness and Hockey IQ is off the charts.
7) Edmonton: Darnell Nurse-D: I keep hearing that Edmonton will take the Monahan or Lindholm if available but I have Nurse ranked as #7 in the draft. He is big, mean and the offense is starting to come. A top pairing defender for the team overflowing with offense.
8) Buffalo: Sean Monahan-C: Winger makes better sense but Monahan is too good to pass up at eight. Buffalo takes the BPA and worries about needs later
9) New Jersey: Hunter Shinkaruk-LW: Dynamic offensive player. Who couldn't use that? Other then Boucher, New Jersey's wing prospects are not great. Hunter has top-line scorer potential
10) Dallas: Rasmus Ristolainen-D: Strong, puck moving defender. Already mature, playing against men in Finland.
11) Philadelphia: Nikita Zadorov-D: Big strong hitter. Skates well for his size. Big shot gives him some untapped offensive potential. Fills a need
12) Phoenix: Bo Horvat-LW: Shane Doan meets his replacement. Strong up/down winger. High compete level with leadership ability. Power, offensive player that Phoenix needs
13) Winnipeg: Max Domi-C: Strong offensive player that plays bigger then his size. Big game player. Strong work ethic.
14) Columbus: Ryan Pulock-D: Columbus adds a power play piece. Good defender with a booming shot. Good skater for size. Team needs forwards but Pulock is too good to pass on at this point
15) NY Islanders: Alex Wennberg-LW: The kind of forward that teams win with goes to the Isles. Good offensive skills but has high compete level too. The team that drafted all defenders last season switches it up this year.
16) Buffalo: Curtis Lazar-RW: Good 4-way skater. Physical for his size. Has solid offensive skills. A team that has a ton of defenders continues to add offense.
17) Ottawa: Josh Morrisey-D: Steady defender with high hockey IQ.Will play a long time in the NHL. Strong transitional game. Not flashy just gets the job done.
18) Detroit: Valentin Zykov-RW: Intense, speedy goal scorer. Not big but uses wide body to set up shop in the slot. D-zone needs improvement but the Detroit system will get him where he needs to be.
19) Columbus: Kerby Rychel-LW: Will bring size to the top-six of Columbus. Not a great skater but strong on his skates. Brings grit plus talent to the lineup. Not afraid to drop them or park in the crease.
20) San Jose: Frederick Gauthier-C: Sizable two-way center. Not sure if the offense will be there but he is big and skates well. Advanced defensive player. If San Jose prefers skill, maybe Mantha here also
21) Toronto: Adam Erne-RW: Good size. Top-six scorer. Very strong in front of the net and along the boards.
22) Calgary: Ryan Hartman-LW: Tough to play against. Not the biggest player but plays bigger then his size. Great forechekcer and a solid two-way game.
23) Washington: J.T. Compher-C: Competitive big-game player. Good skater.
24) Vancouver: Steve Santini-D: Physical leader. Could be Kevin Bieksa Jr. Vancouver needs help everywhere and they take a future steady stalwart for the blue line
25) Montreal: Anthony Mantha-LW: Good size but not very physical. Montreal needs size and offensive talent but he may not bring enoughgrit.One of my least favorite picks of this round. Maybe switching him with Gauthier would make sense. I would love some opinions on this one.
26) Anaheim: Samuel Morin-D: Incredible upside. Great size who can move the puck. Anaheim gambles on a defender. A forward might be the safer pick at this point
27) Columbus: Andre Burakovsky-RW: Columbus got Rychel, now they take a swing for the fences. High skill level but very inconsistent. Could turn into a real steal and makes sense for a team with three first rounders.
28) Calgary: Nic Petan-C: Lindholm and Hartman add the grit and two-way ability. Now, they draft a small, supremely skilled center. Great skater but size is an issue. Calgary needs skill and he will bring that
29) Dallas: Morgan Klimchuk-LW: Dallas could use a center but I would have to go down several spots to get to my next center(Hurley). Klimchuk is a scorer that Dallas could use
30) Chicago: Madison Bowey-D: Great skating defender. Solid defender but not a ton of offense at this point. This is the kind of pick that good organizations make at the end of the first round. Other option would be Shea Theodore.
Well that is it. I did not put Fucale in the first round. I think that he will go by pick #35. Also Muller slipped a little too. I look forward to everyone's opinion.
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