My mock draft

[habscards]

Seeing as tomorrow is the NHL entry draft I just thought that I would shed some light on the way I think it will unfold. I will be very wrong by the way as I am every year. I follow prospects pretty closely so if you agree or disagree with anything just let me know.

1—EDM—Taylor Hall--LW
Hall is just the best player in the draft. Seguin is a close second but hall will be the face of the franchise and he is more of a sniper and he may be playing alongside Hemsky next season. He has one extra OHL season under his belt and World Junior Gold and two Memorial Cups where he was named MVP in both tournaments.

2--BOS(from TOR)—Tyler Seguin--C
Sorry but a lack of explanation here. He is the second best player in the draft and will go second.

3—FLO—Cam Fowler--D
So the Panthers will take a D man here and it is between the big three. I just think that Fowler is the best of them. Gudbranson could be picked here seeing as they drafted Kulikov last year and Fowler is more of an offensive defender while Gudbranson is more defensive and could be a better fit but sometimes you just got to take the best player.

4--CBJ—Erik Gudbranson--D
The Blue Jackets have stockpiled a bunch of really good young players so they go for the best player left. John Moore was their first rounder last year and made it to the last set of cuts. He plays a very offensive game and Gudbranson is a big boy who will be really solid shut down defender who will be able to contribute as well offensively.

5—NYI—Brett Connolly--LW
The guys is an absolute sniper. The Isles have Hamonic and de Haan coming in in the next few years and they go just a little off the board here and pass up Gormley for a goal scorer. Just imagine a Tavares-Okposo and a Bailey-Connolly duo in a few years when all those players are in their prime together. Plus the Islander have a tendency to go a bit off the board when they like someone.

6—TB—Brandon Gormley--D
Steve Yzerman was more looking for a great forward to build some more of his new team around but Gormley slipped and was supposed to go top five. Anyways a Hedman-Gormley duo will be very, very hard to play against in a few years. He does nothing special but everything right. He will be one of those guys who plays 20-25 minutes a game and you really do not notice him a whole lot.

7—CAR—Nino Niederreiter--LW
Most mock draft that I have read have him going here and so many trade rumors have teams trying to get this pick to get him. It all leads me to believe that he does get picked here. He was probably the best player at the World Juniors this past year and played an a not so great Swiss team.

8—ATL—Ryan Johansen--C
The second Portland Winterhawk drafted in a row. No one in this draft has came this far, this fast as Johansen has. He is a big boy who is a pass first type of player. I see a lot in his game that reminds me of Ryan Getzlaf. Now those are some lofty shoes to fill and their are very few Ryan Getzlaf’s in the NHL but I think that he has that potential.

9—MIN—Jack Campbell--G
He is the best goalie in the draft bar none and the only one who I think has the label of ‘franchise goalie’. Yes I do know that the Wild have Niklas Backstrom who is a great goalie but he is also 32 years old. Most goalies take at least 5-6 years before they are even good enough to be a starter in the NHL. That leaves plenty of time for Campbell to come along. Plus he may be going to the powerhouse Windsor Spitfires next year.

10—NYR—Jeff Skinner--C
Goes from one Ranger jersey to another. I live in Kitchener and I have had the joy of watching him play over the last two seasons and I have nothing but praise for him. Yes he may be a little small nut he looks on the ice to have a solid build and he may not be the fastest skaker but boy can that guy ever shoot the puck. He just gets it off so quick and accurate. He is the most pure goal scorer in this draft.

11—DAL—Mark Pysyk--D
The logical choice here is a defenceman. The Stars are lacking in all prospect areas but at least they have guys like Benn and Neal who are young and cracked the roster lately. Pysyk is probably the safest bet out of the top three defencemen in the draft. He plays a very simple game and will be one of those guys who plays twenty plus minutes a night and just goes unnoticed. If you are looking for a power play quarterback he is not your guy. If you are looking for a shut down D man he is not your guy. If you are looking for a second pairing power play and penalty kill guy who will just be a solid rock, than he is your guy.

12—ANA—Derek Forbert--D
He is six foot five and two hundred pounds. He is still very raw but has good offensive instincts and is a very, very good skater. He kinda fits the mold of a Tyler of a Tyler Myers. He is not as tall but whoever drafts him will be drafting him for his potential. If he fulfills his potential is the question though.

13—PHX(from CAL)--Alexander Burmistrov—C
So this is where the Russian factor plays a huge part. He should have been picked a while ago but he is Russian. He plays for the Barrie Colts in the OHL and he said that he wants to play in the NHL but others have done the same thing and bolted. If the Coyotes are looking for the best player they could have a steal here on their hands.

14—STL—Mikael Granlund—C
So the Blues are so please to have Granlund fall this far. It is a really deep draft and others will fall as well but Granlund is a potential top ten pick. He may be small but he is skilled and supposed to be the smartest player in the draft. His game reminds me a lot of Saku Koivu. Please remember too that when Saku was younger he was a really good top line center and then the injuries just hit him and slowed his career down.

15—FLO(from BOS)—Nick Bjugstad—C
With already drafted Cam Fowler the Panthers are looking for a forward. Bjugstad is a tall skinny kid who will be going to University of Minnesota next year. He will be a hit of a project but the Panthers will pick him and try to replace Nathan Horton with him. The only problem is that I can see him taking four or five years to make an impact in the NHL. He was also named Mr. Hockey for the State of Minnesota.

16—OTT—Emerson Etem—C
So he may be a bit of a wild stallion but you know that if you can tame him he will be a stud. He may be the fastest skater in the draft. He has 37 goals in his rookie season in the WHL but what scares a lot of people is his play away from the puck. He is a true darkhorse in this draft.

17—COL—Calle Jarnkrok—C
So how often is it that their is no Swede drafted in the top ten? Not very often. He is the best of their bunch this year and it is a bit of an off year for them. The Avalanche go a bit off the board with this pick but he will surprise people down the road. He just has to put some weight on.

18—NAS—Quinton Howden—LW
He is a bigger boy at six foot two but only weighing 185 pounds yet. He will fill out quite a bit more and be a good power forward one day. His biggest strength is his two way game. He was almost a point per game player in the WHL but is one of the best defensive forwards in the draft as well.

19—LA—Austin Watson—RW
I was not sold on him until he got traded at the OHL trade deadline. When he got to Peterborough he was a two pint per game player for the Petes. He has some good size and is solid defensively as well. He is I think your prototypical second line winger who has size and an offensive touch and can be reliable defensively. The player who jumps out at me for him is Jochen Hecht. Just a guy who is bigger and will compliment linemates well.

20—PIT—Kirill Kabanov—LW
Lots of attitude problems with him leaving the Colts mid season to go back to Russia with some more problems. He said that his goal is the play in the NHL so take that at what it is worth. The Penguins really shoot for the stars here as Kabanov has top end talent and should really be a top five pick. If he is told that the plans are to play him on a line with either fellow countryman Evgeny Malkin or Sidney Crosby how could someone not take that chance. The rich just keep on getting richer.

21—DET—Jon Merrill—D
He is another big defenceman at six three and almost two hundred pounds. He skates well and moves the puck well. He has not yet hit his stride and he is more less getting drafted based upon his potential but you know that the Wings do not rush their prospects so he fits that mold very well. He would be considered a project and will take a while to develope but the wait may be worth it in spades.

22—PHX—Dylan McIlrath—D
Every single team in this draft how that he falls to them. Only problem is that no team should really be willing to use a high pick on him. He is more of a shut down defenceman with a tad of an offensive upside. Not a lot but a tad. He is the best fighter in the draft and one of the top few in the WHL. He is a very safe pick but I worry that he is a 5th/6th D man in the NHL.

23—BUF—John McFarland—C
So if this draft was two years ago he would have been a for sure top five pick. If this draft was last year he would have been a top 15 pick. As time has gone on he has just slipped and his numbers have just slipped. He still has massive potential and all the tools but he just can not put it all together. The Sabres have prospect depth at all positions so they can afford to take a high risk-high reward player.

24—CHI(from ATL, from NJ)—Vladimir Tarasenko—RW
So this is where the Russian factor has played in the most so far. He has top end talent level but he is still playing in the KHL. The Hawks do not have that much depth in terms of prospects but sometimes you just got to swing for the fences. The Hawks may end up having the steal of not only the first round, but the entire draft here. Time will only tell.

25—VAN—Justin Faulk—D
So the Canucks go a little off the board here. They would like a defenceman and the best one left is Timordi but he is more of a big shut down guy and those guys can be a dime a dozen. Faulk moves the puck and is willing to join the rush. At six feet, two hundred pounds it is not as if he is lacking in size for a scoring D either. He had 9 goals in 21 games for the US Under 18 team.

26—WAS—Evgeny Kuznetsov—C
Yeah, yeah, yeah the Russian factor again but at least Russians thrive in Washington. He is a very Jeckyl and Hyde type of player. One game he will be the best player on the ice and the next you do not even realize that he is playing. I see him as a Maxim Afinogenov type of player. His last five years he has had 73, 61, 28, 20 and 61 points. You are never quite sure if you are getting that 60 plus point player of that guy who disappeared.

27—MON—Calvin Pickard—G
So with the Habs trading Halak Montreal only has Carey Price and Cedric Desjardins who I am not a hundred percent sold on. Once again goalies take five six years to develope and who knows what happens in that amount of time. The draft is about two things, picking up the best player or stocking up your weakest position. The Habs have help coming from the farm so the go with what they need the most.

28—SJ—Beau Bennett—RW
He has just risen up and up this whole year. He had the most points out of anyone in this whole draft this past year. Too bad that he was only playing Junior A though. He will be playing at Denver next year so do not expect him in the NHL anytime soon. He will be a work in progress and the Sharks do not mind that sort of thing. They really do not rush their players very much.

29—ANA(from PHI)—Brock Nelson—C
The Ducks like their forwards big and full of skills. Well that is exactly what Nelson is. Only problem was that he was only playing high school hockey this past year. He did manage 95 points in 31 games though. Heck even if someone plays pickup hockey and can get three points a game they are a solid hockey player. He is six foot three and 205 pounds so he is prospect to watch out for.

30—CHI—Riley Sheahan—C
The Hawks already took a gamble on Tarasenko so they go the easy route here and pick Sheahan. He is most likely the very best defensive forward in the draft. At six-two, 205 he could be that premier shut down third line centre that has size that every team wants. He is one of those players where team hope that he slips to them in the second round cause they don’t want to use a first rounder on him based upon his lack of offensive upside.


So with all of this being said I think that this draft is a really open draft compared to the last few years. I could have listed 40-45 players here who all have a legit shot at being picked in the first round. I am guessing that since their is very little set order that some teams will have a player ranked #15 while another team may have that player ranked #45. I would assume that their will be a lot of action with a bunch of trades with teams moving up to select their guy.

Honorable Mentions:
Tyler Pitlick—C—Has good size and not a whole lot of skill. Will be more of a grinder but a really solid safe bet for third line duty.
Jarred Tinordi—D—Big hulking defenceman who can skate but really lacks a physical game for a big guy. If he was mean and physical he is a sure fire first rounder.
Alex Petrovic—D—Another big hulking defenceman but Petrovic was pegged as a first rounder for most of the year and he kept on dropping. He did not have a bad year, he just did not have a good one.
Jaden Schwarz—C—Small and full of skill. If a team likes his offensive potential than he goes in the first round. Smaller players are really making their marks now in the NHL so you never know.
Ludvig Rensfeldt—LW—Big Swede had a bit of a bad year and could not make the SEL and played in the Jr. League. He is a guy who could be a solid winger but he has just not had his offense break out yet.
Charlie Coyle—RW—He has size and a bit of skill. More of a guy who will not take a shift off and works his butt off every game.
Martin Marincin—D—Tall and lanky Slovak defenceman who is very raw yet. He would be very much a project but at six foot five he may be worth a shot.
Ryan Spooner—C—He has a great rookie season two years ago in the OHL with 30 goals but missed half of this season with a broken collarbone. If not for injuries he could be in the #20ish slot.
Stanislav Galiev—C—A Russian who is playing in the Q. He has some top end offensive game but away from the puck he is a liability. Players like that usually see bottom six minutes which if that happens he could go back home.
Joey Hishon—C—One more small and skilled player. He only played 36 games this year due to injury. Last year he was pegged as a top 15 pick though.
Tyler Toffoli—RW—If he is not scoring than he is not doing his job. Luckily for him he is very good at getting points. He is one of those guys who either make it as a skilled guy in the NHL or a AHLer for life.
Jordan Weal—C—Another small guy and actually the smallest of the bunch. Five nine and 162 pounds only. 102 points in the WHL this past season though. Tons of potential.
Brad Ross—LW—Played on a line with Nino Niederreiter and Ryan Johansen so his numbers may be a little inflated. He is the best pest in this draft though getting 203 penalty minutes to go along with his 68 points in 71 games.

[oilfan10]

I like your #5 pick for very selfish reasons lol. Nice analysis, pretty similar to what mine looks like.

[habscards]

I like your #5 pick for very selfish reasons lol. Nice analysis, pretty similar to what mine looks like.

I am just not sold on Gormley. I mean he is one heck of a good defenceman but not fifth overall. I guess it is just he is a guy you win with but he will not win you games himself.

[Rookiesorbust]

Nice MD. I think that Connolly will slide a bit more based on injuries and TB would likely go the way of Niedereiter in the 6 slot, even if a good d-man is available.