#32 Nolan Allen: Projected to go as high as 40 and as low as 101. Apparently he already has NHL calibre and skating, defense, and positioning so thats good and probably why we chose him so high. But apparently he has 0 offensive upside. Some scouts said thats because the coaches of the Raiders told him to play a that way but who knows. All the analysts said they were surprised by this pick as a bit of a reach and it looks that way. Elite prospects description: "Allan’s value comes from skating and defence. He’s already an NHL-calibre skater with projectable posture (knees over toes, hip flexion, chest up), lateral and backwards quickness, and separation through punch turns exited with crossovers. From that base, Allan defends the rush with NHL-ready fundamentals and a suffocating mentality."
(6'2 192 lbs, D, Left handed)

#62 Colton Dach: Projected to go as high as 50 and as low as 95 so probably picked slightly before he should have but someone else probably would have gotten him before the hawks next pick. A feel good story for the hawks and god knows we needed one, Colton Dach is good and in his own words is a shoot first type of player unlike Kirby. He's got mostly the same playstyle and body frame as dach so it might be confusing when watching them play. Somebody check up on Hatter to see if hes okay with this pick. Elite prospects description: "Dach’s one of the better shooters in the draft from a mechanical standpoint. He pushes hands in front of body, lifts the top arm elbow to his shoulder or higher, and creates distance between his feet despite skating limitations to generate downward force. He uses his condor-like wingspan to reach around sticks (hook pass) or pull the puck in and pass under them (slip pass)."
(6'4, 205 lbs, C/LW, Left handed)

#91 Taige Harding: A huuuge player at 6'7 and nobody had him in their drafts? Confused by this since we moved our own third to take this and Canes will probably be making a better selection in the mid 80s next year. Seems to fit with Stans MO of picking huge dman over the last few seasons.
(6'7, 236 lbs, D, Left handed)

#105 Ethan Del Mastro: Projected to go as high as 52 and as low as 98. Really like this pick all the analysts said he was ahrd to play against and if you played on Canadas U18 and scored a couple points and a gold medal you have to be doing something right. Heres elite prospects description: "He uses his pocket when handling, rapid support of his partners, constant activations -- you name it. With his long reach, four-way mobility and, above all, his physicality, Del Mastro could play the role of the ‘’engager’’ on an NHL pairing. He likes to work opponents 1-on-1."
(6'4, 209 lbs, D, Left handed)

#108 Victor Stjerneberg: Projected to go as high as 43 and as low as 71. Probably my favorite pick of the draft his s description on Elite prospects is promising: "Stjernborg has one of the biggest and best motors in the draft. He can run up and down the ice, cover its width a few times, and still have energy for one last rush, one last desperate backcheck or race to a loose puck before a change. He plays with control. He applies himself in his every defensive technique -- angling, shot-blocking, shoulder-checking, puck-sealing." He was captain, CAPTAIN of the J20 Swedish team last year which means he was chosen as a 17/18 in a team of 18/19 year olds. Not to mention that he played in the mens league SHL and managed to put up a couple points. Very exciting stuff.
(5'11, 203 lbs, C/LW, Left handed)

#172 Ilya Safonov: Ranked 54th among EU skaters by NHL central scouting and 173rd by FC hockey. Surprise! Another 6'4 player. Played in the KHL and managed to score 4 points which is pretty good for a young kid with little ice time. He was up there in scoring among other top Russian prospects on the international stage with the likes of Podkolzin, Amirov, Chayka, Afanasyev. Granted it was only 3 games but a 6th round pick among first and second round picks seems to be a good indication. Is 20 and passed on in the first few drafts but the 6th round is where youre able to gamble a bit more with your picks. We took another overager in Chad Yetman and he immediately went to the AHL to play maybe thats also in the books with Safonov.
(6'4, 205 lbs, C, left handed)

#204 Connor Kelley: Has never put up big up big points but played for the USDP and had more games under hid belt than some other players that went earlier in this round. Seems like a shut down dman and (so far) our only right handed shot this draft. Seems like a safe pick for the later rounds. Currently playing for University of Minnesota-Duluth as a first year putting up a respectable 5 points. Elite prospects description: "Does anyone talk about him? Played #2. He takes good angles to seal off players. He's fast. He blows up plays before they develop. Is playing a role this year, has been an offensive defenseman every step of the way before the NTDP."
(6'1, 190 lbs, D, Right handed)

#216 Jalen Luypen: Ranked 189 by FC hockey and 133 among NA skaters by NHL central scouting. Is a more than a ppg player for the Oil Kings and top 3 in scoring in the shortened season. Another overager at 19 years old but seems pretty solid. any player that scores over a ppg seems worth taking and again late round picks is where youre able to gamble. He was less impressive in his draft year only putting up 18 points in 64 games. That along with being slightly on the small size for hockey standards is probably why he was overlooked for last years draft but theres some debrincat vibes going on with this pick.
(5'11, 150 lbs, LW, Left handed)

Overall this draft is kinda eh. We didnt blow it out of the water but it also wasnt a complete disaster. Having Sillinger would have been nice and definitely improved the quality but alas we have Jones. Allen was a reach, C.Dach was a slight reach with upside, Harding was a HARD reach especially with next year being a much better draft year. Most of the picks I was excited for came from the mid rounds. Del Mastro seems promising, Stjernberg is probably my favorite pick from this draft and Safonov will probably be able to play in Rockford soon. Kelley and Luypen were good picks for late in the round but nothing jaw dropping. Bowman keeps loading up with big dman for the future maybe thats the play? Overall I'd say the Hawks grade for this draft was pretty average I'd grade it a C and probably ranks in the lower half amongst all the other teams.

Drafting Dach was such a good idea