yoteshot
Lazy Habs fan
Hey guys,
Like every year since 2007, I've been working on my mock draft for the upcoming NHL Entry Draft and my 1.0 version was just completed. I usually publish the long version with write-ups on a French sports site, but I'd like to get comments from the fanbases prior to publishing the final version if you guys don't mind.
So here it is, with a quick summary of the write-up. The complete text is nearly 7 000 words so I won't be translating it, not this year.
1. NJ – Patrick : I prefer Hischier, but if they are convinced Patrick is healthy, I believe he is their guy.
2. PHI – Hischier : Perfect match and easiest pick of the draft. Just love the whole package Hischier is.
3. DAL – Vilardi : Skating issues are overblown. Very young and has all the tools to be a 1C (or great 2C in Dallas)
4. COL – Heiskanen : If he is there and they don’t pick him, I just don’t… Top-pairing D for a team sorely needing it.
5. VAN – Glass : Rumblings of Pettersson here, but they might as well trade down. I think they take the Western boy.
6. LV – Pettersson : I love him. Long term project, but checks all the boxes. At 165 lbs, not as light as thought. McPhee loves his Swedes.
7. ARI – Makar : BPA? I think so. Also a huge area of need and a swing for the fences for a team with lots of prospects depth up front.
8. BUF – Tippett : Worst case scenario top 7 for Buffalo? Tippett is close to the NHL and would be deadly on ROR or Eichel’s wing.
9. DET – Necas : Heard they love him and for good reason. His creativity would be a solid addition to their forwards staple.
10. FLA – Suzuki : One of my favs in this draft. Florida has enough big bodies, they can take a shot at the smaller forward with off the charts hockey IQ.
11. LA – Mittlestadt : Unlikely he falls this far, but he did not impress me. Not the pull-up thing, but the lack of dedication it shows. Add to that, the High School decisions and it brings up question marks.
12. CAR – Rasmussen : Probably not the pick you want, but one that makes a ton of sense (size, goes to dirty areas, scoring ability), plus I don’t think Rasmussen falls further than 12.
13. WIN – Valimaki : That’s the popular pick around here, but it just seems like a perfect match, if Buffalo doesn’t pick Valimaki that is.
14. TB – Kostin : Valimaki is an easy pick if he’s here. Otherwise, Stevie Y might trade down. If not, they’ve had success with Russians and Kostin is the total package.
15. NYI – Tolvanen : Might as well just go BPA. I think Tolvanen brings something new to their prospect pool and if they manage to keep Tavares, would look good on his wing (if that pick is not traded).
16. CGY – Thomas : They love picking in the OHL in the first round and that’s what gave the edge to Thomas over Andersson in my mock draft. Adds leadership and skill to their forward group.
17. Toronto – Liljegren : RHD fills a huge need, but most of all, Toronto will be looking for a home run on defense and Liljegren brings that more than Hague or Foote could.
18. Boston – Vesalainen : I like Andersson here, but Vesalainen brings something new to their pool and IMO is probably the BPA too as he could go as high as 10.
19. San Jose – Andersson : They value character very highly and Andersson has it in spades. Also brings a high level of skill to an offense that will need some fresh legs soon.
20. St.Louis – Foote : I feel he could go to Toronto at 17, but also an interesting pick for the Blues as I feel his style works better for the Western conference.
21. NY Rangers – Timmins : I don’t know why he isn’t ranked higher, but I really like him. Hard to get tendencies from the Rangers who have not picked high recently, but Timmins seems to fill a need and works with their speedy style of play.
22. Edmonton – Brannstrom : They want to add speed and skill and the best value at this place is on D with Brannstrom would could become the QB of a deadly PP in a few years.
23. Arizona (MIN) – Hague : I know, that would give them 2 D, but that would quickly turn an area of weakness into a strength. They would love to add a Parayko-type to their D.
24. Columbus (LV?) – Poehling : Still the Jackets pick as of now and Poehling just makes too much sense as a Kesler-type player to add to their centre pool.
25. Montreal – Norris : I’d love Timmins here, but Norris just checks all the boxes for a Montreal pick, even more so than Robertson or Boqvist. Could be a good 2C in the future.
26. Chicago – Vaakanainen : They always pick USHL so I guess Bowers is an option, but I think Vaakanainen has been rising enough and if they decide to take a D, he’s the best option here.
27. St.Louis (WSH) – Robertson : His stats are very impressive on a very weak offense, but he needs to work on explosiveness. To me, he’s the best forward available around here for sure.
28. Ottawa – Oettinger : Not just a gimmick pick, I think he is the best goalie in the draft and deserves a first round selection. They will not risk Dallas picking him at 29 or 33. In fact, I could see a team trading up for him.
29. Dallas (ANA) – P-O Joseph : Oettinger would be great, but they settle on the slick skating defensive rearguard. Jokiharju would bring more of what they already have, but Joseph would be a great partner to a Klingberg or Honka.
30. Nashville – Yamamoto : That pick could be traded, but in any case, I like Yamamoto at the tail-end of the first round. Very small yes, but just so much skill, a team will have to bite.
31. Pittsburgh – Jokiharju : Best value is on a defenceman here as I’m not sold on Ratcliffe’s or Bowers’ offensive potential. Jokiharju has a great first pass and is a RHD which boosts his value somewhat.
Comments?
Like every year since 2007, I've been working on my mock draft for the upcoming NHL Entry Draft and my 1.0 version was just completed. I usually publish the long version with write-ups on a French sports site, but I'd like to get comments from the fanbases prior to publishing the final version if you guys don't mind.
So here it is, with a quick summary of the write-up. The complete text is nearly 7 000 words so I won't be translating it, not this year.
1. NJ – Patrick : I prefer Hischier, but if they are convinced Patrick is healthy, I believe he is their guy.
2. PHI – Hischier : Perfect match and easiest pick of the draft. Just love the whole package Hischier is.
3. DAL – Vilardi : Skating issues are overblown. Very young and has all the tools to be a 1C (or great 2C in Dallas)
4. COL – Heiskanen : If he is there and they don’t pick him, I just don’t… Top-pairing D for a team sorely needing it.
5. VAN – Glass : Rumblings of Pettersson here, but they might as well trade down. I think they take the Western boy.
6. LV – Pettersson : I love him. Long term project, but checks all the boxes. At 165 lbs, not as light as thought. McPhee loves his Swedes.
7. ARI – Makar : BPA? I think so. Also a huge area of need and a swing for the fences for a team with lots of prospects depth up front.
8. BUF – Tippett : Worst case scenario top 7 for Buffalo? Tippett is close to the NHL and would be deadly on ROR or Eichel’s wing.
9. DET – Necas : Heard they love him and for good reason. His creativity would be a solid addition to their forwards staple.
10. FLA – Suzuki : One of my favs in this draft. Florida has enough big bodies, they can take a shot at the smaller forward with off the charts hockey IQ.
11. LA – Mittlestadt : Unlikely he falls this far, but he did not impress me. Not the pull-up thing, but the lack of dedication it shows. Add to that, the High School decisions and it brings up question marks.
12. CAR – Rasmussen : Probably not the pick you want, but one that makes a ton of sense (size, goes to dirty areas, scoring ability), plus I don’t think Rasmussen falls further than 12.
13. WIN – Valimaki : That’s the popular pick around here, but it just seems like a perfect match, if Buffalo doesn’t pick Valimaki that is.
14. TB – Kostin : Valimaki is an easy pick if he’s here. Otherwise, Stevie Y might trade down. If not, they’ve had success with Russians and Kostin is the total package.
15. NYI – Tolvanen : Might as well just go BPA. I think Tolvanen brings something new to their prospect pool and if they manage to keep Tavares, would look good on his wing (if that pick is not traded).
16. CGY – Thomas : They love picking in the OHL in the first round and that’s what gave the edge to Thomas over Andersson in my mock draft. Adds leadership and skill to their forward group.
17. Toronto – Liljegren : RHD fills a huge need, but most of all, Toronto will be looking for a home run on defense and Liljegren brings that more than Hague or Foote could.
18. Boston – Vesalainen : I like Andersson here, but Vesalainen brings something new to their pool and IMO is probably the BPA too as he could go as high as 10.
19. San Jose – Andersson : They value character very highly and Andersson has it in spades. Also brings a high level of skill to an offense that will need some fresh legs soon.
20. St.Louis – Foote : I feel he could go to Toronto at 17, but also an interesting pick for the Blues as I feel his style works better for the Western conference.
21. NY Rangers – Timmins : I don’t know why he isn’t ranked higher, but I really like him. Hard to get tendencies from the Rangers who have not picked high recently, but Timmins seems to fill a need and works with their speedy style of play.
22. Edmonton – Brannstrom : They want to add speed and skill and the best value at this place is on D with Brannstrom would could become the QB of a deadly PP in a few years.
23. Arizona (MIN) – Hague : I know, that would give them 2 D, but that would quickly turn an area of weakness into a strength. They would love to add a Parayko-type to their D.
24. Columbus (LV?) – Poehling : Still the Jackets pick as of now and Poehling just makes too much sense as a Kesler-type player to add to their centre pool.
25. Montreal – Norris : I’d love Timmins here, but Norris just checks all the boxes for a Montreal pick, even more so than Robertson or Boqvist. Could be a good 2C in the future.
26. Chicago – Vaakanainen : They always pick USHL so I guess Bowers is an option, but I think Vaakanainen has been rising enough and if they decide to take a D, he’s the best option here.
27. St.Louis (WSH) – Robertson : His stats are very impressive on a very weak offense, but he needs to work on explosiveness. To me, he’s the best forward available around here for sure.
28. Ottawa – Oettinger : Not just a gimmick pick, I think he is the best goalie in the draft and deserves a first round selection. They will not risk Dallas picking him at 29 or 33. In fact, I could see a team trading up for him.
29. Dallas (ANA) – P-O Joseph : Oettinger would be great, but they settle on the slick skating defensive rearguard. Jokiharju would bring more of what they already have, but Joseph would be a great partner to a Klingberg or Honka.
30. Nashville – Yamamoto : That pick could be traded, but in any case, I like Yamamoto at the tail-end of the first round. Very small yes, but just so much skill, a team will have to bite.
31. Pittsburgh – Jokiharju : Best value is on a defenceman here as I’m not sold on Ratcliffe’s or Bowers’ offensive potential. Jokiharju has a great first pass and is a RHD which boosts his value somewhat.
Comments?
