2020 Mock Draft - 1st round with explanations - CapFriendly

Forums/Mock-Draft

Page 1 of 1

2020 Mock Draft - 1st round with explanations

Draft Class: 2020

Created By: Pazz29

Published: Sep. 2, 2020 at 12:27 p.m.

Description

This is my take on how the draft could shake out. I did a little bit of research on each teams needs.

Feel free to comment if you think I picked the wrong guy for your team.

DRAFT

TEXT-EMBED

Round 1
1. Alexis Lafrenière (New York Rangers).
2. Quinton Byfield (Los Angeles Kings).
3. Tim Stützle (Ottawa Senators from San Jose Sharks).
4. Cole Perfetti (Detroit Red Wings) (Details: Detroit needs a C behind Larkin. I'm a believer that if a team has a choice between a center and a winger, take the center. They can always be converted to the wing. Perfetti gives Detroit some insurance if Veleno doesn't cut it at C.).
5. Marco Rossi (Ottawa Senators) (Details: Another player for Ottawa to throw into the mix to be a top 6 center. I think Rossi is more likely to wind up on the wing, but gives Ottawa another player who they can easily convert to a winger if it's not working out at center.).
6. Jamie Drysdale (Anaheim Ducks) (Details: I think this is an easy decision for Anaheim. They have no top defensive prospects. They get lucky here and take Drysdale.).
7. Lucas Raymond (New Jersey Devils) (Details: New Jersey already has a solid 1-2 punch down the middle for years to come. They could definitely use some help on the blue line, but no one worth quite reaching for at this point. They take the BPA here and that's a solid pick up in Raymond who can be paired with Hischier or Hughes for years.).
8. Anton Lundell (Buffalo Sabres) (Details: Buffalo really wants to make sure they have 2C for the future with uncertainty of Cozens being able to handle the center position. Taking Lundell gives Buffalo the option to move Cozens to the wing.).
9. Alexander Holtz (Minnesota Wild) (Details: Minnesota wanted to take Lundell here, but get unlucky and he's not available. They settle for taking the BPA.).
10. Jack Quinn (Winnipeg Jets) (Details: Winnipeg takes Quinn. Another team that would have liked to take a center but didn't want to reach. They take who they think is the BPA and opens up some options for them as they can entertain moving Ehlers or Laine to help address their need a center and RD.).
11. Jake Sanderson (Nashville Predators) (Details: Nashville loves drafting solid defensive prospects. Being a little weak on the left side in the depth charts, they add a top piece for the future.).
12. Dylan Holloway (Florida Panthers) (Details: Another case of a team missing out on the player they wanted to draft. Florida would be a great landing spot for Sanderson, but just miss out on him. They take who they think is the BPA who isn't Askarov.).
13. Yaroslav Askarov (Carolina Hurricanes from Toronto Maple Leafs) (Details: Nedeljkovic seems to have fallen out of favour in Carolina. I think Carolina takes Askarov here. They will give Nedeljkovic another shot. If he falters, they have his replacement. If he succeeds, it gives them a large trade piece to help improve their forward group.).
14. Noel Gunler (Edmonton Oilers) (Details: A goal scorer who they will be able to imploy on the wing of either McDavid or Draisaitl. Just makes too much sense for them.).
15. Braden Schneider (Toronto Maple Leafs from Pittsburgh Penguins) (Details: Toronto's pick - Schneider fits well into what Toronto needs. I do not believe Toronto takes him at 15th overall. I think they will trade back in the draft to around 20th overall (give or take a spot or 2) and take Schneider there. But for this purpose, I will leave their pick at 15th and have them select Schneider still.).
16. Connor Zary (Montreal Canadiens) (Details: Back to my philosophy that teams should take a C over a W. Habs take Zary and potentially move him to LW. Gives them options again if any of the C prospects don't quite cut it down the middle.).
17. Seth Jarvis (Chicago Blackhawks) (Details: Chicago looks to be set down the middle for the next few years with Toews, Dach, and Strome. Adding another scoring winger just makes sense for them. Also too much of a reach to add a LD that they also need to look to add.).
18. Justin Barron (New Jersey Devils from Arizona Coyotes) (Details: With their first pick they took the BPA. WIth their second pick, they are going to address an area of need at RD.).
19. Jan Mysak (Calgary Flames) (Details: Bit of a work in progress when it comes to his skating, but think Calgary can overlook that to see what he brings offensively to the table.).
20. Hendrix Lapierre (New Jersey Devils from Vancouver Canucks) (Details: NJ has 3 picks in the top 20. When you have that many picks in the first round, you can take a gamble on one of your picks. I think they take a chance on Lapierre and his injury concerns. If it pans out, this pick could be a huge draft steal down the road.).
21. Dawson Mercer (Ottawa Senators from New York Islanders) (Details: Ottawa takes the BPA).
22. Mavrik Bourque (Columbus Blue Jackets) (Details: Columbus could definitely add a defender to their prospect pool but don't want to reach with their pick. They take Bourque here who will battle with Foudy for the 2nd line C position. The loser gets moved to the wing.).
23. Brendan Brisson (New York Rangers from Carolina Hurricanes) (Details: I believe the Rangers would be targeting Bourque here as they want to address their 2C spot. They'll end up taking a chance on Brisson to hopefully develop into the 2C role.).
24. Thomas Bordeleau (Dallas Stars) (Details: Dallas doesn't want to get burned by the Russian factor again, so they take the best forward available not from Russia.).
25. Rodion Amirov (Washington Capitals) (Details: Washington is the opposite of Dallas and has had some luck with their Russians. They take Amirov who falls into their laps.).
26. Jérémie Poirier (St. Louis Blues) (Details: St. Louis has solid depth up front. Look to add a big offensive defenseman that can be a game changer if they can work on his defensive mistakes.).
27. Jacob Perreault (Anaheim Ducks from Boston Bruins) (Details: Took a defender with their first pick, now they look to take the BPA at forward.).
28. Tyson Foerster (Philadelphia Flyers) (Details: Looking to add to the right side of their forward group. Foerster looks to be a solid offensive piece that a few teams would be looking to add around this point of the draft.).
29. Lukas Cormier (Vegas Golden Knights) (Details: Hard to say who Vegas will target here. Could very well go BPA, but I think they should target someone like Cormier who has a solid 2-way style of game from the blue line.).
30. Lukas Reichel (San Jose Sharks from Tampa Bay Lightning) (Details: San Jose is lacking depth all through their system. Really not sure who they would take here, but if I was them, I'd be looking at Reichel.).
31. John-Jason Peterka (Colorado Avalanche) (Details: Colorado is set on the blue line for the next few years, no need to add there. They look to add another forward who could be a top winger.).

CapFriendly.com User-Generated Mock-Draft

ROUND 1	TEAM	ORIGINAL	PLAYER	DETAILS

1	-	Alexis Lafrenière
2	-	Quinton Byfield
3		Tim Stützle
4	-	Cole Perfetti	Detroit needs a C behind Larkin. I'm a believer that if a team has a choice between a center and a winger, take the center. They can always be converted to the wing. Perfetti gives Detroit some insurance if Veleno doesn't cut it at C.
5	-	Marco Rossi	Another player for Ottawa to throw into the mix to be a top 6 center. I think Rossi is more likely to wind up on the wing, but gives Ottawa another player who they can easily convert to a winger if it's not working out at center.
6	-	Jamie Drysdale	I think this is an easy decision for Anaheim. They have no top defensive prospects. They get lucky here and take Drysdale.
7	-	Lucas Raymond	New Jersey already has a solid 1-2 punch down the middle for years to come. They could definitely use some help on the blue line, but no one worth quite reaching for at this point. They take the BPA here and that's a solid pick up in Raymond who can be paired with Hischier or Hughes for years.
8	-	Anton Lundell	Buffalo really wants to make sure they have 2C for the future with uncertainty of Cozens being able to handle the center position. Taking Lundell gives Buffalo the option to move Cozens to the wing.
9	-	Alexander Holtz	Minnesota wanted to take Lundell here, but get unlucky and he's not available. They settle for taking the BPA.
10	-	Jack Quinn	Winnipeg takes Quinn. Another team that would have liked to take a center but didn't want to reach. They take who they think is the BPA and opens up some options for them as they can entertain moving Ehlers or Laine to help address their need a center and RD.
11	-	Jake Sanderson	Nashville loves drafting solid defensive prospects. Being a little weak on the left side in the depth charts, they add a top piece for the future.
12	-	Dylan Holloway	Another case of a team missing out on the player they wanted to draft. Florida would be a great landing spot for Sanderson, but just miss out on him. They take who they think is the BPA who isn't Askarov.
13		Yaroslav Askarov	Nedeljkovic seems to have fallen out of favour in Carolina. I think Carolina takes Askarov here. They will give Nedeljkovic another shot. If he falters, they have his replacement. If he succeeds, it gives them a large trade piece to help improve their forward group.
14	-	Noel Gunler	A goal scorer who they will be able to imploy on the wing of either McDavid or Draisaitl. Just makes too much sense for them.
15		Braden Schneider	Toronto's pick - Schneider fits well into what Toronto needs. I do not believe Toronto takes him at 15th overall. I think they will trade back in the draft to around 20th overall (give or take a spot or 2) and take Schneider there. But for this purpose, I will leave their pick at 15th and have them select Schneider still.
16	-	Connor Zary	Back to my philosophy that teams should take a C over a W. Habs take Zary and potentially move him to LW. Gives them options again if any of the C prospects don't quite cut it down the middle.
17	-	Seth Jarvis	Chicago looks to be set down the middle for the next few years with Toews, Dach, and Strome. Adding another scoring winger just makes sense for them. Also too much of a reach to add a LD that they also need to look to add.
18		Justin Barron	With their first pick they took the BPA. WIth their second pick, they are going to address an area of need at RD.
19	-	Jan Mysak	Bit of a work in progress when it comes to his skating, but think Calgary can overlook that to see what he brings offensively to the table.
20		Hendrix Lapierre	NJ has 3 picks in the top 20. When you have that many picks in the first round, you can take a gamble on one of your picks. I think they take a chance on Lapierre and his injury concerns. If it pans out, this pick could be a huge draft steal down the road.
21		Dawson Mercer	Ottawa takes the BPA
22	-	Mavrik Bourque	Columbus could definitely add a defender to their prospect pool but don't want to reach with their pick. They take Bourque here who will battle with Foudy for the 2nd line C position. The loser gets moved to the wing.
23		Brendan Brisson	I believe the Rangers would be targeting Bourque here as they want to address their 2C spot. They'll end up taking a chance on Brisson to hopefully develop into the 2C role.
24	-	Thomas Bordeleau	Dallas doesn't want to get burned by the Russian factor again, so they take the best forward available not from Russia.
25	-	Rodion Amirov	Washington is the opposite of Dallas and has had some luck with their Russians. They take Amirov who falls into their laps.
26	-	Jérémie Poirier	St. Louis has solid depth up front. Look to add a big offensive defenseman that can be a game changer if they can work on his defensive mistakes.
27		Jacob Perreault	Took a defender with their first pick, now they look to take the BPA at forward.
28	-	Tyson Foerster	Looking to add to the right side of their forward group. Foerster looks to be a solid offensive piece that a few teams would be looking to add around this point of the draft.
29	-	Lukas Cormier	Hard to say who Vegas will target here. Could very well go BPA, but I think they should target someone like Cormier who has a solid 2-way style of game from the blue line.
30		Lukas Reichel	San Jose is lacking depth all through their system. Really not sure who they would take here, but if I was them, I'd be looking at Reichel.
31	-	John-Jason Peterka	Colorado is set on the blue line for the next few years, no need to add there. They look to add another forward who could be a top winger.