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| ROUND 1 | TEAM | ORIGINAL | PLAYER | DETAILS |
|---|
| 1 |  | - | Easy first pick, but I'd love to see a surprise pick of QB here. | |
| 2 |  | - | Kings are my favorite team and I follow them religiously. I realize they have wicked center depth, but there's no way they pass on this gifted athlete. "You can never have too many centers." Yes, Stutzle fits a need right now, but the Kings shouldn't be building for now. With the patience they've shown in recent years for their prospects, and given that next year is likely to be weird anyway, they are willing to wait a year for QB to mature, as opposed to going for the more NHL-ready Stutzle. Turcotte, Vilardi, and Quinton battle for the top 2 center positions over the next three years when Kopi then slides down to 3C. The odd-man out gets placed on the wing. My bet is that's Turcotte. | |
| 3 |  |  | Stutzle isn't QUITE the natural center that Ottawa was looking for when they started realizing they'd have two VERY high picks. But he's a guy that can be groomed to the center position, and he bring that elite skill level that every franchise covets. I love this player, and I would have loved him on the Kings. But not at #2. Ottawa might get the steal of the draft, but it's a gamble that the Kings aren't willing to make. | |
| 4 |  | - | I've been saying that Detroit should take Raymond since the draft lottery, arguing with a friend of mine who is a Detroit fan. I don't see them taking a center that's just going to play second fiddle to Larkin at the #4 spot. Not when there's a dynamic first line player to go with Larkin and Mantha. The flashiness and big-game ability seems to scream "Winged Wheel" to me. | |
| 5 | | - | To me, this is where the draft opens up. There are legitimate arguments for multiple players here, but I come down to two: Drysdale and Rossi. Looking at the defensive depth they have, and the fact that Stutzle isn't a guaranteed center, I decided to go with Rossi. I think a pretty decent defender can still be had at the Islander pick, if they want to go that route. | |
| 6 |  | - | As a Kings fans, it pains me to see the Ducks get exactly what they want. I'm sure when they dropped to 6, they were worried about not getting Drysdale. But in my view of the draft, he slides to them. Should be a very good pick-up, and it has me worried for future meetings between the Ducks and Kings. | |
| 7 |  | - | Holtz to New Jersey just makes too much sense. Elite shot with wicked accuracy, he'd look great next to either one of Hughes or Hischier. Think of it as a different Caufield for Hughes, especially. | |
| 8 |  | - | So many mock drafts I see have the Sabres picking a center because "they need to find a 2C behind Eichel." I don't get that train of thought because it's forgetting that Buffalo has Cozens marinating. The kid is going to be a monster. Here, I find Perfetti (who's listed as a C but can play wing) as a good compliment to a player like Cozens. Gives them the option of two face-off men on the same line, where one is an extremely cerebral player. I think Perfetti might surprise some people in redrafts three years down the road. The other option I see here would be Jack Quinn, which could be the first real big surprise in the draft. | |
| 9 |  | - | To me, Minnesota has seemed stuck in the middle for ages. A lot of drafts I've seen show them picking Lundell. And a center makes sense for the team. But I just don't see the upside in Lundell to warrant a top-10 pick. A guy who's billed as a reliable 2C when he reaches full potential is NOT what the Wild need to turn things around. For me, I think they swing for the fences here on a player with huge upside. The question is who? I've gone back and forth between players like Quinn, Jarvis, Zary, Holloway, and Sanderson. To me, the best fit is the right shooting Seth Jarvis as a hopeful candidate to play opposite to Kaprizov's left wing in a couple of years. This becomes the first real reach of my draft. | |
| 10 |  | - | There are only two real options for Winnipeg at this point: Sanderson or Lundell. The Finnish connection is too strong, and I think they go with Lundell. But man that blue line is looking pretty thin. Peg has had a tough go there the past couple of years. | |
| 11 |  | - | I think BPA here is a coin-toss between Sanderson and Jack Quinn. When it's that close, team need can take precedence. This team needs supplementary scoring, so Jack Quinn is my pick. | |
| 12 |  | - | Best case scenario for the Panthers. BPA and need align in a match made in heaven. Sanderson goes to a team that really struggled defensively. A safe bet for the top-4, he has potential to play alongside Ekblad in the future. | |
| 13 |  |  | One of my biggest questions in the draft is "Does Carolina pick something other than a forward?" They were quoted last year saying they'd never pick a defenseman in the first round while Dundon was the owner... That doesn't include goaltenders. So Askarov doesn't fall farther than 13, where a huge hole in the Hurricanes roster is filled. Seems to be a theme in my draft where BPA and team need align. | |
| 14 |  | - | This is the section of the draft where I start to fall off of my knowledge of the players. With some decent defense prospects in the pipeline, I see Edmonton trying to supplement scoring. Zary, Holloway, Gunler all fit here. I'll go Holloway, a player that can play multiple positions, which will be useful when their lineups get shuffled around in games to put Drai next to McJesus. | |
| 15 | |  | Toronto's pick... at the moment. We'll see if they trade it, but for the moment we'll pretend they keep it. Big question here is does the organization succumb to the public demand for a better defense, or do they go best player available. With Robertson in the system, I think they talk themselves into the first option. Schneider fits too well to not pick him. Not projected to be NHL ready right off the bat, but hey neither was Ville Heinola for Winnipeg or Tobias Bjornfot for LA. Both of whom are closer than originally thought. | |
| 16 |  | - | With Kotkaniemi and Suzuki as their up-and-coming centers, I'm looking at the Canadians taking the best player available while also trying to bulk up a bit. Cole Caufield plays the right, so really like Rodion Amirov in the spot. High upside, lethal left winger to complement one of those top two lines. | |
| 17 |  | - | I don't think Gunler slips past Chicago, though I could also see them possibly looking at a Justin Barron. A scary but aging offense with Kane/Toews continues its youth movement, supplementing Dach, Kubalik, and Debrincat with the crafty Gunler | |
| 18 | |  | With their second pick of the draft, I think New Jersey continues to try to build it's offense. Two high scoring wingers in Holtz and Mercer will certainly help. | |
| 19 |  | - | Zary goes to Calgary in my draft. With questions surrounding many of their forwards this offseason and moving forward, this pick seems to make sense to me. | |
| 20 | |  | Man I wish the Kings had even a second pick in the first round, but here we are with New Jersey's third (probably, if Vegas completes the series). Time for someone not a forward as they try to round out their team. Guhle's my guy here. | |
| 21 | |  | Adding a right-handed defenseman to the mix is never a bad thing. Ottawa walks out of the first round with Stutzle, Rossi, and Barron. Pretty solid haul for a rebuilding team. | |
| 22 |  | - | To be honest, I have absolutely no idea what Columbus needs in their system. I'd love some input from Blue Jackets fans. PLD seems to have had a breakout post-season, but other than that I'm not too familiar with their younger guys. I'll pick Mysak just cuz. | |
| 23 | | | With the need for a good center, I see the Rangers taking a flyer on Lapierre. Yes, he's got his injury history. But with Lafreniere in the bag, it's time to take a home-run swing on a guy who's potential could be top-15 in the class... if he stays healthy. | |
| 24 |  | - | I think Bourque makes sense here. Aging offense needs to help the young Hintz and Gurianov. | |
| 25 |  | - | Brendan Brisson just sounds like a Washington Capitals name, let's be honest. | |
| 26 |  | - | Unfortunately, I don't see Lukas Reichel slipping out of the first round. I think he's very underrated and will surprise many when he gets picked in the first 31. He's a guy that I REALLY want on the Kings, but I feel as if we'll need to trade up to get him. Not exactly sure what the Blues need in their system, but this is where I'll put Reichel. | |
| 27 | |  | The Ducks have two picks in the first round... Ugh. I see them going for BPA here, and that happens to be Bordeleau. | |
| 28 |  | - | Again, another team I'm not all that familiar with in regards to their prospect pool. If you're a Flyer's fan reading this, let me know who you think goes here out of the people I haven't picked yet. I'll say a defenseman for the sake of picking someone. | |
| 29 |  | - | Vegas is kind of an enigma. I don't think they have all that many high-end defenseman in their prospect pool, but they're relatively young on the blue line. Cody Glass and Peyton Krebs in the system have them fairly well positioned up front. So here, I think they go for whoever they think is BPA. Another thing to consider is that defenseman always get snapped up earlier than we think. My guess is that combo happens here. | |
| 30 | |  | San Jose has a lot of holes in its prospect pool I think Perreault falling just a little bit to them makes them pretty happy. | |
| 31 |  | - | Capfriendly with the bold Colorado Stanley Cup win. Not looking too hot at the moment, but the's go with it. I still think they have a few question marks with their middle/bottom 6. A shooter like Foerster makes sense for them here, I think. Maybe a bit of a reach, but I like the pick. |
BuckoJoyde and PuckLuck_77 liked this.
PuckLuck_77 liked this.PuckLuck_77 liked this.PuckLuck_77 liked this. 
It's just part of the fun of a rivalry. That being said, to answer your question I disagree a bit when you say Raymond doesn't have scoring touch. He has shown up in big moments and has shown a deceptively good wrist shot. I agree it's not his best attribute, but his shiftiness and stickhandling are probably 3rd in the draft to me, behind Lafreniere and Stutzle. Add in that he's a great skater and has a lot of room for development, I just get the feeling that he's going to be sneaky good. brendenjakob and BuckoJoyde liked this.
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