Here’s the mock draft I recently completed and first posted over at the CBJ Board on HF. Nobody will likely agree with all of the picks, but I’d love to hear what you think in the comments!
1)
– C John Tavares
2) Tampa Bay- D Victor Hedman
3) Colorado- C Matt Duchene
4) Atlanta- C Evander Kane
5) Los Angeles- LW Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson
6) Phoenix- D Jared Cowen
7) Toronto- C Brayden Schenn
8) Dallas- D Oliver Ekman-Larsson
9) Ottawa- C Nazem Kadri
10) Edmonton- RW Zack Kassian
11) Nashville- RW Jordan Schroeder
12) Minnesota- D Ryan Ellis
13) Buffalo- D Dmitry Kulikov
14) Florida- D John Moore
15) Anaheim- C Jacob Josefsen
16) Columbus- D David Rundblad
17) St. Louis- C Scott Glennie
18) Montreal- C Louis Leblanc
19)
– C Kyle Palmieri
20) Calgary- LW Carter Ashton
21) Philadelphia- D Calvin deHaan
22) Vancouver- D Simon Despres
23) New Jersey- C Drew Shore
24) Washington- C Chris Kreider
25) Boston- RW Landon Ferraro
26) Islanders- D Stefan Elliott
27) Carolina- D Nick Leddy
28) Chicago- C Ryan O’Reilly
29) Detroit- D Tim Erixon
30) Pittsburgh- D Dylan Olsen
Notes:
– I think the first three picks are obvious.
– Atlanta needs a table-setting offensive forward to play with Kovalchuk (assuming he stays with the
), hence Kane
– The
take a top offensive forward now that they have their D set for years to come.
– Toronto gets to unite the Schenn brothers, mainly because Brayden is the top forward available at their pick.
– Dallas needs help everywhere, but with an aging defense, and their penchant for taking Scandinavians, Ekman-Larsson goes here.
– Ottawa gets a minor steal with Kadri.
– Edmonton is too small, so they take Kassian, a physical beast who could be the best power forward in the draft. Many may think that Kassian is going a bit high, but he makes sense for the Oil.
– Minny needs to add to their D prospect pool, and Ellis is a great fit for them.
– Buffalo needs young blueliners, Kulikov will be great for them.
– The
need a replacement for Sami Pahlsson as their checking centre, Josefsen is a natural replacement.
– The Jackets get Rundblad, exactly the kind of high-end offensive blueliner they need.
– At the risk of seeming cliche, the Habs get a great offensive forward in Leblanc. The fact he’s a French Canadian will drive the Bell Centre nuts. (In a good way)
– Despres falls to the
, and this could lead to a natural pairing in the future with the Canucks drafting Despres’s teammate in Saint John
in last year’s draft.
– Drew Shore makes sense for the
with
looking like he’s leaving.
– Washington gets a ton of speed with Kreider. The Caps can afford to let him develop slowly.
– Detroit gets Erixon, another great Swedish defenseman to add to Lidstrom, Kronwall and Ericsson.