1 | | - | | Consensus BPA, we've seen the importance of defense in the playoffs, and especially big defenseman, a 6'6" mobile D who can do everything at a high level is a great 1st overall pick. I don't think he'll become the next Hedman, but he should be a solid top pair guy for the next 15+ years. |
2 | | - | | I don't see an expansion team using their 1st pick in team history on a winger or goalie because of how important C and D are, so Beniers is a pretty safe pick. Not the most dynamic, but very responsible at both ends of the ice. Likely a good 2C at worst, potentially could be Toews or RoR. |
3 | | - | | Arguably the best shot in the draft. Would look excellent next to Zegras and Comtois on Anaheim's top line. |
4 | | - | | LD isn't a huge need with Smith and Mukhamadullin in the system, but it would make Jack happy and a lot of their picks recently seem to have been made with that thought in mind. An excellent skater and lock to be a top 4 D, probably top pair, he's not an out of place pick at 4oa. It's not unheard of for a leftie to play the right side, and there's a good argument that Hughes is the BPA at 4oa. |
5 | | - | | CBJ desperately needs depth up the middle, and McTavish is the 2nd best centre in the draft imo. He plays hard and had a great showing at the U18s that raised his stock considerably. I'm not sure if he'll be a bona fide 1C but he'll most likely be at least a good, skilled, physical 2C and a nice pickup for Columbus. |
6 | | - | | I think the 3 guys Detroit would be targeting at 6oa would be McTavish, Eklund, and Edvinsson. It’s difficult to pass on Eklund, but I think Edvinsson gives you the long term top pair LD and partner for Moritz Seider that Detroit needs, and really solidifies their back end (they have a lot of LD prospects but none of them project higher than a 2LD at best imo). Detroit should remain mediocre next year, and will be able to pick up a franchise centre if they wind up with a top 3 pick, to complement their solid contingent of wingers (Raymond, Zadina, Vrana, Bertuzzi). Adding the 1C next year likely completes their rebuild now that they have a goalie, and Larkin can get pushed down to 2C, he’s young enough to still be good in their window as a more veteran guy. |
7 | | - | | BPA can’t pass on him anymore. |
8 | | - | | LA picks up a nice winger to complement their deep C pipeline. They have Doughty, Roy, Walker, Faber, Grans, and Spence on the right side so no need for Clarke. |
9 | | - | | Clarke is the BPA and the Canucks are pretty slim on the right side so they’re happy to take him. |
10 | | - | | Sens need centres and they need right shots. A pure goal scorer like Lucius is a perfect fit to play alongside Stutzle, even if he slides over to RW at the NHL level. |
11 | | - | | Choix au repêchage retiré |
12 | | - | | Wallstedt is so good and so highly thought of that I kinda think he’ll go before this (Sens, Sharks, even the Kings are potential takers). Chicago needs a goalie of the future though, Commesso is good but he’s no guarantee and they don’t have much else. |
13 | | - | | A centre with a good shot is exactly what the Flames need, he’ll provide a good injection of youth and offense in a year or two. |
14 | | - | | This is the Sabres pick now. I had Philly taking Ceulemans but I’m too lazy to change it, and it works anyway. Dahlin-Jokiharju and Power-Ceulemas would be a solid top 4. Possible they take a guy like Othmann, Coronato, or Lysell. |
15 | | - | | Stars have Harley and Heiskanen and not much else on the back end in the future. Lambos is a solid D with top 4 potential who could help solidify that, and step in to replace Klingberg or Lindell in a few years. |
16 | | - | | No brainer here, the Rangers need centres and Svechkov is the BPA imo. Great 2-way guy who can hang with skilled wingers, he’d be a perfect fit in New York to complement their stable of elite young wingers. Future top line of Lafreniere-Svechkov-Kakko would be lethal. At worst Svechkov will be a Backlund-esque 3C. |
17 | | - | | I think the Blues would like a D, but with Lambos and Ceulemans off the board anyone else is a reach. Coronato had a fantastic USHL season. |
18 | | - | | Winnipeg has a few good young D and picked up a promising centre in Perfetti, so they take another offensive piece to start taking the load off of guys like Wheeler in the future. |
19 | | - | | They just dealt Arvidsson and might lose Forsberg. For a team that has always struggled to score, that’s a problem. I see them swinging for the fences on a guy like Lysell with extremely high offensive upside and skill. |
20 | | - | | They need a young goalie of the future and a goalie now lol. Can’t solve both with this pick, but Cossa, who plays in Edmonton in the WHL, can solidify them long term between the pipes. |
21 | | - | | Bruins definitely need LD. They take the small, mobile American that can run a power play over the big, defensively inclined Russian (Chayka). |
22 | | - | | Minnesota could use another centre to complement Rossi and Eriksson Ek in the top 9. With Kaprizov, Fiala, Greenway, Foligno, and Boldy on the wings they should be mostly set there for a while. I imagine they use both 1sts on centres, and if both work out they’ll shift someone to the wing, that’s generally a fairly straightforward transition. Raty still has all the tools and high upside, he’s a nice sleeper at 21. |
23 | | | | They could use a C like Bolduc, but I think it’s hard to pass on L’Heureux anymore. Their right side is set with Raymond and Zadina. L’Heureux gives them a Tkachuk/Marchand-esque LW for the top 6. |
24 | | - | | Florida desperately needs D so they take the big Russian here. |
25 | | | | After taking McTavish they solidify their offense further with Olausson, a big kid with skill who is good at skating. Probably a steal here. |
26 | | | | I think Samoskevich plays centre, not sure though. If he doesn’t they probably go with Bolduc or something but Samoskevich is a really solid pick with good upside for this draft slot. |
27 | | - | | Carolina needs a goalie, but there are no good ones that could be had at this slot without reaching. They have so many good forwards that they might as well add something to the back end. |
28 | | - | | Avs could lose a couple wingers this off-season (Donskoi gone, Saad/Landeskog UFAs) so they take the high upside Chibrikov here. |
29 | | | | After solidifying their blueline with L. Hughes, they take another scoring winger to support J. Hughes/Hischier. |
30 | | - | | Vegas still needs help up the middle, Patrick has question marks and Krebs might be better as a LWer. Bolduc gives them some organizational depth there. |
31 | | - | | Robertsson is fast and works hard. He’s pretty much good at everything, at both ends of the ice, a jack of all trades, master of none type. He’d be a good depth piece for the Habs to bring in as a potential middle six guy. |
32 | | | | After taking two forwards,I think Columbus will use their last 1st on a D. The right shot Morrow is a solid prospect to bring in to solidify the depth on that side after losing Savard and likely Jones. |