1 | | - | | A no-brainer pick. A lot compare him to Jonathan Huberdeau. An elite playmaker who can also score. |
2 | | - | | The Kings have a lot centers (Vilardi, Turcotte, and Kupari), so it wouldn’t make sense to draft Byfield here. Even though Stutzle is a center, he can also play on the wing. Plus, the Kings have gained more interest in Stutzle. He is often compared to Jonathan Drouin. |
3 | | | | Byfield would be the obvious pick here, but since Rossi plays in Ottawa, the Senators would know his game a lot more than Byfield. Dominated in the OHL by putting up big point totals. Rossi is compared to Brayden Point, just a great playmaker. |
4 | | - | | The Red Wings get a gift in drafting Byfield. Whatever Detroit does, it will affect the whole draft. Yzerman likes Perfetti, but I feel like he is a bust. Plus, if Byfield falls, there is no reason you pass up on him at this point. A lot compare him to Malkin, but I think he is more like Getzlaf because of the big size. |
5 | | - | | THIS IS THE JETS PICK!!!! THIS IS THE JETS PICK!!! Dorion said that he is willing to use one of their first-round picks in a trade. This is something that the Jets need. Assuming the Winnipeg-Carolina trade actually happens, the Jets future six defenseman would be Hamilton, Bean, Heinola, Morrissey, Pionk, and Drysdale. They would be set up for the future. Drysdale is often compared to Ryan Ellis, but I disagree. Drysdale would be more comparable to Cale Makar because of his abilities offensively. |
6 | | - | | The Ducks have a young group of forwards (Steel, Comtois, Terry, Lundestrom, and Milano). At this point, they need defenseman. They take the BDA (best defenseman available), and that is Sanderson. He is often compared to Suter. |
7 | | - | | The Devils have a trend of drafting centers and defenseman, so going with a winger would be ideal. They could go with Askarov, but Blackwood improved his game and took the No. 1 role from Schneider. So Raymond, who is often compared to Marner, is the safest pick. |
8 | | - | | Holtz, who is often compared to Laine, would be a great goal-scorer alongside Eichel. Their top priority is keeping Eichel happy, not rebuilding. A Skinner-Eichel-Holtz line in the future is very nasty. |
9 | | - | | This is something that Minnesota needs badly. Perfetti would the obvious pick, but I feel like he’s a bust. Some scouts even say that Lundell can be NHL-ready next season. Lundell is often compared to O’Rielly. The Wild lost Staal in the Buffalo-Minnesota trade as well as they will lose Koivu in free agency. Guerin said that Koivu won’t be returning to the Wild next season. |
10 | | - | | THIS IS THE SENATORS PICK!!! This is a very cool pick because of the connection between Quinn and Rossi. Both players play in Ottawa. They would provide great chemistry together. A line of Tkachuk-Rossi-Quinn in the future would be dangerous. Quinn could be the future Pastrnak. |
11 | | - | | With Pekka Rinne aging, the Predators need a young goaltender. Askarov can fill in Rinne’s duties in the future. This is another cool pick because I heard that Askarov is compared to Rinne. |
12 | | - | | I was originally thinking Jarvis or Perfetti, but in the long run they will be busts. Florida didn’t really have a great penalty kill and drafting Mercer would prevent that from becoming an issue. Mercer is compared to JT Miller. |
13 | | | | Waddell said that the Hurricanes would use their first-round pick on a forward. Gunler is an underrated offensive player. Is mostly known for scoring goals. Gunler is often compared to Hoffman. |
14 | | - | | We finally have Perfetti being drafted here. I have a feeling that he will fall. Some people are saying that he is bust, which I do agree with. His skating needs work, but the creativity with the puck is there. Compared to Nick Suzuki. |
15 | | | | I am confident that Liljegren and Sandin will develop into good players, so I don’t have the Leafs taking Schneider, which everyone thinks. I personally think that the Leafs will take a project in Amirov because they are deep offensively. Amirov is compared to Gallagher. |
16 | | - | | I’ve seen Drouin play on the wing when he was with Tampa Bay. When Lapierre comes in, he will most likely play on the wing. Montreal is also Lapierre’s hometown team, so it would be the perfect fit for him. He is often compared to Nugent-Hopkins. |
17 | | - | | Logically the Blackhawks take Holloway. But I think he could be a bust. Plus the Blackhawks have a lot of offensive forwards (DeBrincat, Strome, Kane, Toews, and Kubalik), so I think they go with a defensive forward. Mysak utilizes in every scenario. |
18 | | | | Like I said before, Holloway could be a bust, but the Devils are in a situation where they take the BPA (best player available). At this point, it is Holloway. Assuming the Devils take Raymond beforehand, they can afford to take their time with Holloway since they have young talent in forwards. Holloway is often compared to Schenn. |
19 | | - | | This may be off-the-board, but I think most guys ahead of him would be busts in the future (Zary and Jarvis). There are defenseman ranked ahead of him (Barron, Schneider, and Guhle), but the Flames are set there. Bordeleau can potentially replace Monahan if he gets traded. I feel at this point, there are either be steals or off-the-board picks. In this case, Calgary goes off-the-board with taking Bordeleau. |
20 | | | | The Devils have taken forwards so far, so drafting defenseman would be ideal. Once again, I feel like in the future, Barron and Guhle would be busts. Schneider is often compared to Lindell. |
21 | | - | | The logical pick is Zary, but I feel like he is a bust. The Blue Jackets need scoring help, and I feel like they could draft either Peterka or Foerster. Peterka is ranked higher, so I feel like he is the better pick. Often compared to Rakell, this is another off-the-board pick. |
22 | | | | After taken LaFreniere, the Rangers would draft by position. There are defenseman that are ranked higher than Wallinder, but they are busts. I would call this another off-the-board pick, but Rangers showed they are willing to take risks, doing so with Kravtsov. Wallinder is often compared to Klefbom. |
23 | | - | | Another bust here. The Flyers are a deep team, so I think they can afford to take a bust. Plays with a lot of grit as well as he is hard-working on the power play and penalty kill, but he is inconsistent with point production. Jarvis is compared to William Nylander. I don’t see Jarvis falling any further, he is a steal. |
24 | | - | | We finally have Zary being drafted. Like the Flyers, the Avalanche have a deep team so they can also afford to take a bust. But they need depth. Zary is compared to Reinhart. I would definitely call this a steal. |
25 | | - | | Once again, another bust. Barron is injury-prone but I can’t see him contributing offensively. But the Capitals are another deep team. He is often compared to Ekholm. |
26 | | - | | The Blues are in a situation where they need the best defenseman available. Even though Guhle is a bust, I can’t see him dropping any further than this. He is currently the top WHL prospect defenseman in the draft. |
27 | | | | Along with the Ducks issues defensively, they also have issues scoring. Foerster is an underrated goal-scorer. The cool thing about this pick is that Foerster is compared to Corey Perry, who used to play for the Ducks. |
28 | | | | At this point, Ottawa takes the best player available. I wouldn’t call this a drop for Perreault, but this is lowest I’ve seen him go. He is often compared to Palmeri. |
29 | | - | | With Vegas being such a deep team, they can afford to go off-the-board. |
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