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| ROUND 1 | TEAM | ORIGINAL | PLAYER | DETAILS |
|---|
| 1 |  | - | Not too much suspense here. The Red Wings need help at every position on the ice, so they’ll take the consensus No. 1 player in the draft and be on their way. Adding a talent of Lafreniere’s caliber is a massive building block for the Red Wings’ rebuild, which is far from over, but gets one of the hardest-to-attain pieces in a potential star. | |
| 2 |  | - | Byfield has the potential to become a No.1 center in the NHL and adding him to the fold could help the Senators truly become a contender. They have a number of center prospects, but nobody with the without-a-doubt skill to be a top-line centerman. He’d look pretty good with Brady Tkachuk. | |
| 3 | |  | I was really tempted to go off the cuff here and select Jamie Drysdale third overall. The Senators really need more depth on right defense, but GM Pierre Dorion has said the team would select the best players on the board rather than drafting by position, and Stutzle would probably be that player in the third slot. The Senators have lacked high-end skill, and Stutzle would bring that to the table at forward. | |
| 4 |  | - | Much like the Senators, the Kings could use some high-end talent on right defense in support of Drew Doughty. They’ve done an excellent job of restocking the pipeline up front, so it’s time to turn attention to this particular area. You’ll remember last year that defenseman Bowen Byram was my mock draft pick for the Kings on several occasions, so the choice to go with the top-rated defenseman shouldn’t come as a surprise. | |
| 5 |  | - | Since LA snapped up the consensus best defenseman in the draft – a young RHD power-play performer that fills a critical need within the Anaheim organization – it makes sense to grab the top scorer in all of Canadian major junior hockey, especially with Lafreniere, Byfield and Stutzle off the board. You can never be too deep at center and Rossi, who had 120 points in 56 games for the Ottawa 67s, offers dynamic puckhandling, playmaking and vision; while also possessing an accurate NHL-level shot that can beat goalies. Just imagine Rossi and the imaginative Trevor Zegras as linemates or possibly slotted as Anaheim’s top two centers. Rossi’s small size doesn’t scare me, especially when you need more pure talent. | |
| 6 |  | - | The Devils need more impact talent at nearly every position. Drysdale would have been tempting, and it’s hard to imagine any team other than the Senators having a better read on Rossi considering New Jersey has four prospects on the Ottawa 67s. But taking those two off the board makes this a little easier. It comes down to Holtz or his world juniors teammate Lucas Raymond. That’s a tough call (I said easier, not easy). I’m going with Holtz because he profiles as more of a goal scorer and is a little bit bigger. He seems like a natural fit next to Jack Hughes or Nico Hischier in the very near future. | |
| 7 |  | - | It’s probably easy to say the Sabres will default to taking Swedes at this point, but there aren’t a lot of players that can do what Raymond does. He finds teammates with ease, he’s able to find areas in the offensive zone left unguarded, and he uses that time to create chances and score goals. Holtz would’ve been an ideal fit as a winger with size and a shot to match, but size can go both ways. Small and skilled works well with players that have Raymond’s ability. Buffalo needs offense in the system in the worst way and he can provide it. | |
| 8 |  | - | Le Canadien d’Athlétique Montréal est fier de sélectionner – we are proud to select – Cole Perfetti. Unlike Paul Simon, it won’t take Perfetti four days to hitchhike from Saginaw. I think that within a year or two, he will provide more of the finishing ability this team has been lacking for years. Yes, he’s another undersized forward – and we can expect some pushback from the fanbase – but this pick, in a way, doubles down on the Cole Caufield selection last year. Between the two Coles, chances are at least one will become an impact player who can put pucks in the net. Perfetti was once considered one of the better goal scorers in this class; his significant increase in assists this season is a testament to his playmaking ability. Montreal is all in on players who process the game fast and that’s what Perfetti does, even if he’s not necessarily the best skater. | |
| 9 |  | - | Lundell is one of the more NHL-ready players in this draft. He may not make the jump next season, but he certainly fits in the time frame if the Blackhawks are looking to add another high-end, responsible forward to play around Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane in the near future. If you add Lundell to Kane, Toews, Kirby Dach, Alex DeBrincat, Dylan Strome, Dominik Kubalik and Brandon Saad, the Blackhawks have to like how their top nine would be shaping up in the short- and long-term. Lundell’s skating is a bit of a concern, but what he’s done in Liiga at his age is undeniably impressive. Only Jesse Puljujarvi was a better possession player this past season in Finland. Lundell plays the type of two-way game the Blackhawks can use more of in their lineup. | |
| 10 | |  | This is all about the board. I’m sure the Devils will hope that one of the other top-nine guys slips to them at this spot to pair with Holtz. If not, Askarov has been one of the best players in this draft class for two years. Mackenzie Blackwood has established himself as the No. 1 guy this season, but few goalies can match Askarov’s upside. It feels like taking one of the defensemen would be a reach here, so maybe a trade back is an option. If not, take the best player available and figure it out later. Having three picks in the top 17 mitigates some of the risk of taking a goaltender this high. | |
| 11 |  | - | The Wild suddenly have a number of forwards coming down the pipeline like Kirill Kaprizov, Alex Khovanov, Adam Beckman and Matt Boldy. They are probably weakest up the middle and on the blue line when it comes to prospects, and there are some intriguing names still on the board. But it drives me crazy how historically the Wild pass over goal scorers in the first round, and Quinn is a pure one at the junior level. The 5-foot-11¾ right wing (he’s 6-foot on a good day) finished second in the OHL with 52 goals. The Ottawa 67 is just the 10th Canadian Hockey Leaguer in the past 20 years to hit the 50-goal mark during his NHL draft year. Some others: Sidney Crosby, Kane, Steven Stamkos, John Tavares, Jeff Skinner, Anthony Mantha and DeBrincat. Enough said. | |
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