| 1 |  | - | | No brainer pick at #1 |
| 2 |  | - | | If they don't pick Byfield, they'll pick Stutzle and then the other will go 3rd |
| 3 |  |  | | High end offensive winger that the Sens sorely need |
| 4 |  | - | | Yzerman shocks the hockey world and takes the best forward available, even though he's not a centre |
| 5 |  | - | | A lot of people are saying Rossi's teammate Jack Quinn will go in this spot recently, but Rossi is the best player available for Ottawa at 5 |
| 6 |  | - | | Ducks get the best goalie in the draft and maybe the best one since Carey Price to enter the draft |
| 7 |  | - | | A young gifted defender to complement the core of young gifted forwards that have been accumulated in NJ |
| 8 |  | - | | Pure goal-scorer who plays a strong two-way game to play on Eichel's wing |
| 9 |  | - | | Future #1 centre to help rebuild under Bill Guerin |
| 10 |  | - | | Polished centre who can slot in behind Schiefle for years |
| 11 |  | - | | Swedish Ovechkin adds more firepower to the Preds lineup |
| 12 |  | - | | Strong defensive partner for former number 1 overall pick Aaron Ekblad |
| 13 |  |  | | Great WHL season helps Jarvis go in the top 15 |
| 14 |  | - | | Mercer joins the Oilers and gets to skate on either MVP Draisatl or MVP McDavid's wing for the rest of his career |
| 15 |  |  | | Leafs reach a tiny bit to get a defenseman with some size to stablize the backend |
| 16 |  | - | | Montreal accepts the injury risks and adds a French Canadian with a ton of upside to the middle of the ice |
| 17 |  | - | | Holloway brings speed and versatility to the Blackhawks prospect pool |
| 18 |  |  | | Devils double down on defence with their second first round pick and take the Swedish dynamo |
| 19 |  | - | | Calgary sticks with the WHL to take the extremely talented Zary who would be a top 10 pick any other year |
| 20 |  |  | | Devils get a solid winger at twenty who can pair with either of their two young centres in the future |
| 21 |  | - | | Bourque had a great draft year and it gets the attention of the Blue Jackets at 21 |
| 22 |  |  | | NYR gets the hulking Guhle at 22 to help grow their stable of young defenders |
| 23 |  | - | | Philly grabs the highly skilled Barron at 23 |
| 24 |  | - | | Capitals get a good young centre towards the end of round 1 who helps boost their organizational depth at the position |
| 25 |  | - | | Colorado goes for versatility in selecting the highly skilled forward out of the US |
| 26 |  | - | | St. Louis looks to grab a player with an NHL pedigree who can be ready to contribute in a few years when the club will be looking to keep their Cup window open |
| 27 |  |  | | Having passed on a defender earlier to grab Askarov, the Ducks grab the best defender available at 27 |
| 28 |  |  | | The Sens grab another German to help Stutzle acclimate to North America and in the hopes that their national team chemistry carries into the NHL |
| 29 |  | - | | The Knights go with a family they know well and take the younger Tuch at the end of the first round |
| 30 |  | - | | The Stars grab a skilled centre at the end of round one who can help them in a few years |
| 31 |  |  | | Amazingly, the team that finished third last doesn't pick until 31, and here they take their goalie of the future in Joel Blomqvist |