Late May Mock Draft with comments - 2 rounds

Very well wrote. I hate San Jose’s picks but still good mock

I mean, I could see the Hawks taking Sanderson, but not Lundell or anyone else. We aren't exactly loaded on top LD prospects. We have a few but nobody that stands out in a crowd. But to me Askarov definitely makes the most sense

Always a fun read, I'll have to ping you when I'm done mine (doing mine in current points projection order based on team needs)

Now my opinions on your draft:

Pick 4: Raymond is the BPA, Ottawa (or LA) is still likely a bottom of the league team next year and its a draft class stacked with defense. They also already have some solid RD prospects coming up. I think passing up the chance to have a first line of Tkachuk - Byfield - Raymond/Stutzle is way too good. I pick the Marner-esque player here for sure. LA too, getting an eventual first line with Raymond on the wing is more important then Drysdale for their rebuilds.

Pick 5: I can't imagine Anaheim not picking Drysdale with thing pick if he's available

Pick 7: I think especially after the comments made today Buffalo needs the most NHL ready player available, IMO that's Lundell. He also fills their depth needs too for a more defensive minded player.

Pick 12: Vancouver is really not in need of center's probably their last worry (Point Projection has them picking 17th though and Devils getting the pick), I see them going for Quinn or Mercer if they have 12 OA.

Pick 15: There is some logic behind Calgary getting a RD but none of the players around that pick range will be NHL ready for at least 3 years. I think Flames should be looking to stock up their empty center prospect pool with that pick, 3 years from now Backlund probably isn't 2C caliber anymore and Monahan might want to walk. They are also known for drafting NHL caliber defense in later rounds too.

Pick 18: In my draft I don't see any way Ottawa passes on the forward prospects with their first 2 picks, I would have them go for a RD here. Schneider, Grans, Barron, whoever's available.

Pick 22: Grans is a wild card to me, he has a much lower ceiling then the players around him but a higher floor too. Pretty much a lock for the NHL but could max out as a 3rd pair guy. Safe pick overall but could easily fall to the 2nd round.

Pick 23: I don't think there's any way Mercer falls out of top 20. Fast skater, great work ethic, 2-way player. Very similar to Kapanen.

Pick 37: Ok Lapierre is not falling to the 2nd round, he has the talent to be a top 10 pick this draft. It was recently revealed that his most recent injury was a cervical dysfunction, nothing to do with a concussion. With the ray talent and potential this kid has, I could 100% see a top 20 team taking the risk on him.

I need to do some more research on the lower first round players so i can't really make comments on them as of now.

Bruins should take Ozzy Wiesblatt. They need RW prospects big time. And RD prospects. Ozzy has a high compete level. Great attitude and character player.

I don’t see Poirier, Tuch, Wiesblatt and Cuylle all making it to round 3. That would be great for teams like Detroit and Ottawa.

Colorado definitely won't go with a C here. They are very deep at C (i.e. Newhook, Jost, Bowers, Kamenev, Compher). Order of priority: RHD > FWD > LHD > C.

Hawks won't pass on Lundell at the 9 spot, a 1 2 center punch of Lundell and Dach is too good to pass up. Goalies just don't have the value that top centers, defenseman and even elite wingers do

They have Makar, Johnson, Timmins..

They need elite goalie and Askarov is elite goalie prospect.

Free agency or trades is a better option then spending a top 10 pick. Over the last 30 years, only 3 goalies in the first round have lived up to expectations. Goalies are the hardest to predict especially top 10 draft picks. In the last 30, how many top 20 draft picks in goalies have won a cup? Compare that to forwards or defenseman and it's not close. Beyond that, goalies take 4 to 6 or 7 years and Askarov is 17 years old...he's at least 4 years away. Hawks can do better...Askarov will fall outside the top 10.

Johnson is declining gradually and by the time Johnson's contract expires in 2023 we're going to need a replacement. So a RHD drafted this year would have 3 years to develop which is ideal.

The organisation is super high on Timmins, but the reality is that he's had concussion problems and so putting all our eggs in that basket would be a risk. There should also be a few really good RHD options at pick #29, such as Schneider, Barron, Niemela, Grans, and Villeneuve (though the latter might be a slight reach).

I think they go with BPA forward or center in 1st and possibly later pick D. Also next year would be super good for defenseman

Always great to read your evaluations, Sammy! Thanks a lot.

I'm going to tag a couple of youngsters to alert them to this (as well as some of the comments).

@Shesterkin_next_GOAT
@Mitch1_6

Personally I think Reichel and Niemela would both be BPA over Bourque at 29, and also fit Colorado's needs better. Reichel is a bit of a project 3-4 years away, but he has legit 1st line upside. If Colorado go for a forward then I would be thrilled if they grabbed one of the two Germans.

Good job! You have to think why SJS didn’t top-10 protect their pick

Reichel and JJ Peterka are 1st round locks. Foerester and Lapierre are also almost 1st round locks. Perreault is not the BPA at 20.

this is good content

For me, Perreault is BPa at 20 and BPA at 15. I have him 12th in my final rankings. NHL teams would have him lower but not that much lower. But I mean I was surprised by stupidity of teams before so wouldnt surprise me if he falls too.

Reichel, Peterka, Foerster and Lapierre are all guys who are not even close to locks for 1st round, some of them would be selected there, some of them might not. Could all 4 of them be 1st round picks? Absolutely! Are they locks? No.

Imo one of the teams with 2 picks in the first round takes a swing at Lapierre - rangers or wild and possibly the wings at pick 32
I don’t know why some are high on Thomas Bordeleau at 5ft 9 he’s an undersized Centre ranked 29 th North American by central scouting with probably 16-20 euros ahead of him suggests he will picked 45-50 but I think Habs can do better at pick 40 With Peterka or Neighbours or Simontoval
A lot of people like Antonio Stranges for the 2nd round

Lapierre has top 10 upside but I think teams will wait until top 20 to pick him. Foerster is ranked by many as a late 1st prospect. Reichel is the only one who I could see fall into the early 2nd. JJ Peterka is playing solid minutes for a top DEL team and is producing relatively well. Perreault is an amazing scorer don't get me wrong, he's one of my personal favorites but he's not going to go any higher than the last couple picks of the 1st round. His defense is not sound, other players just skate by him.

Lapierre might fall to 2nd. His injury concerns are huge. But he is generally Id say top-20 talent (not top-10). Reichel and Peterka both are generally ranked in early to mid 2nd, I have them that way too. Foerster likely goes in 1st, but he is not a lock at all. The only logical lock for 1st round is Lapierre. Could all 4 be first rounders? Yeah.. Im not saying they arent..

Really nicely done! this thread perfectly shows why Capfriendly is so fun

Not all of them are 100% 1st round locks. But Lapierre is probably 90% a lock, if that makes sense. He is top 10 talent, if his season had continued at the pace which it was going prior to his first concussion he would've scored about 110 points, which would've put him in the same place as Perfetti (who he performed well with at the Hlinka-Gretzky).