The Vegas Golden Knights held their expansion draft last night, and in addition to claiming players via that route, General Manager George McPhee managed to add a pair of first round picks from Columbus and the Islanders.
These trades, along with a swap of picks with the Jets and the order being finalized post-Cup, has seen my mock differ from version one earlier this month.
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Some notes:
- I’ve moved Elias Pettersson into the top ten, going to the Sabres at eight.
- I still have Klim Kostin to the Panthers at 10: I don’t see Florida being afraid of the (very real) Russian factor, getting him in this slot is a minor steal.
- I liked Necas to the Bruins as a Krejci replacement, but he’s been moving up rankings and I can see the Knights adding another center to compliment the earlier choice of Cody Glass.
- With their third first rounder, the Knights should spread the wealth and draft a defender after going center with their first two picks. Cal Foote is rugged and has the obivous pedigree.
- My first new addition to this draft is Josh Norris, and I have him rocketing up to the Rangers. He’s a polarizing player, but his great showing at the combine has led me to giving him a big bump.
- Defender Urho Vaakanainen enters the fray, going to the Coyotes after they added Casey Mittelstadt earlier in the draft.
- I was back-and-forth on a goalie going in the first round, and in the end I decided the Preds at 29 made sense. /
The Jackets will not be picking until round three, unless Jarmo Kekalainen can pull off a deal. Something tells me he’ll find a way to get back into one of the first two rounds.