1 | | - | | Absolute no-brainer here. Far and away the best player in the draft class. It's all but a given that he goes number one, to whichever team is lucky enough to land him. |
2 | | - | | This pick is interesting: The Habs don't really need a future #1 center with Suzuki already on the team. That being said, you can't pass up an opportunity to get a prospect like Logan Cooley. And, who knows? With the new regime in Montreal, they may want a new face of the franchise. |
3 | | - | | I think that Matt Savoie is the better prospect right now over Nemec, but the Kraken have a forte #21 Center and don't have much of anything on defense in terms of prospects. Nemec can be the face of their blue line very soon. |
4 | | - | | The Senators have pretty much everything in terms of prospects, they go BPA. Savoie is an obvious pick. |
5 | | - | | I think that there are better winger prospects at this spot in the draft, but none of the other guys available or worth taking at this spot provide the Flyer's style of player like Slafkovsky. They will have to wait a couple of years I think, but the potential is definitely worth it. |
6 | | - | | The injury concerns around Jiricek worry me, but not too much to warrant this pick being someone else. The Devils desperately need need right-shot defenders in their prospect pool. Jiricek has the upside to be a future top pair guy. Perfect pair of team and player. |
7 | | | | It's not that the Blue Jackets necessarily need another winger, but how do you let a top prospect continue to slip past you? You don't. The prospect of having Bjorkstrand, Laine, Chinakhov, Kemell, and Kent Johnson as future wingers on your team should be more than enough food for thought to warrant making this selection. |
8 | | - | | The Sabres have no real needs in terms of prospects, so take the guy who can do pretty much everything. It's not really BPA; there are guys who I'd value higher than Nazar at this spot. But his versatility and well-rounded game make him an easy player to slot in to the lineup that will be full of top prospects in a couple of years. |
9 | | - | | I was torn here between Yurov and Lambert. Decided on Lambert because I think that the youth on the left wing is weaker than on the right wing in Detroit's system. Lambert fills that hole. |
10 | | - | | Yurov adds an element of physicality and sandpaper to a forward group of mainly skilled players. This is a pick that's both BPA and fills a need. Perfect match. |
11 | | - | | Some people will call this pick a reach: I think that Mateychuk is a top 10 player in this class. And besides Ferraro, the Sharks need reinforcements on that left side of defense. |
12 | | - | | The Isles are an older team going head-first into a rebuild. They don't really have anybody to be a future top left winger for them. Howard fills that need. I probably would've preferred a left-shot defender at this pick, but there's no one left worth taking this high with Mateychuk off of the board. |
13 | | - | | The Blue Jacket's first pick filled a position that was more of a surplus, going with the BPA. This pick fills an actual need. McGroarty and Sillinger as the future 1-2 punch down the middle will be formidable and will be more than enough to help the Blue Jackets back into the playoff picture. |
14 | | - | | With rumors swirling around Boeser's future with the Canucks, they won't have a replacement winger on that right side (Podkolzin is better as a left winger). Lekkerimaki will fill that role, and has the ability to play center as well if need be. |
15 | | - | | Jets need to go defenseman with this pick: their forwards are good enough, but their pipeline on the blue line is weak. Nelson will provide them with a great prospect to groom into a future top 4 role. |
16 | | | | The Sabres can go BPA with this pick, they double up at forward with this pick. Geekie adds some size and physicality to their future forward group. |
17 | | - | | This pick would be considered a reach to most, including myself. But, the Stars only really need right-shot defenders in their pipeline, and Chesley is the best one of the remaining group. |
18 | | - | | The Oilers need defensemen, Bichsel is the best one left available. Easy pick. The future left side of Bribers and Bichsel on their top 4 is enticing for the Oilers to consider. |
19 | | - | | I had the Kings go best non-center available. To me, that's Persson. No real explanation for the pick, that's it. |
20 | | - | | Mintyukov fills the Blues' need for defensemen in their system, and will provide a nice 1-2 punch on that left side with Perunovich. |
21 | | - | | Predators need a future top six center to pair with Svechkov. Del Bel Belluz, despite a more recent run of poor offensive form, is still the best center available in my opinion, making this pick rather easy to make. |
22 | | - | | The Capitals need pretty much everything in their system, as they've been competitive for so long, they don't have much talent in their prospect pool. I think that is especially true on the defensive side of their prospects. Forsmark projects as a future middle pair defenseman. You can ask for much better than that at this stage of the first round. |
23 | | - | | The Wild don't really need much of anything in their prospect pool. So, BPA. That's Kasper in my opinion. |
24 | | | | Wasn't sure what to do with this pick, opted for another gritty, sansdpaper-type winger that will add another element to Anaheim's forward group. He could go even higher than this if he closes out the season as well as he's been playing for the past month or so. |
25 | | | | Dumais may be considered a reach to some at this spot, but not to me. He's lit up the QMJHL this year, and despite his size, I think he will be an effective top six NHL winger. And Right wing is currently the weakest position group the Habs have in terms of youth (No one of note outside of Caufield). I don't think that Martin St. Louis will mind picking up an undersized but extremely skilled winger. |
26 | | - | | Personally, I have Pickering as more of a second-round talent, not because of the upside but because he is extremely raw. But the Leafs need defenders in their prospect pool, especially left-shot ones. There may be guys who will be NHL ready sooner (Duda, Kyrou, Koromyslov, etc.) but Pickering's size makes him enticing at this spot. |
27 | | - | | The Penguins need pretty much everything, as they've been near or at the top of the league for the past decade plus. Ostlund is a step in the right direction for their youth, he can replace Malkin as the future 2C. |
28 | | - | | The Lightning don't have much of anything in terms of prospects, so they go BPA. That's Ohgren if you ask me. |
29 | | - | | The Rangers don't need any particular prospect to fill a need, so they go BPA. Trikozov is the guy. |
30 | | | | The Yotes go ballsy with this pick, going with the overaged Robertson. His game shows no weaknesses that make me believe that he isn't NHL ready right now. The Coyotes need players to get excited about, Robertson could come in and be one of those guys on day one. |
31 | | | | With the Sabres third and final pick of the first round, they go best defender available. That's Duda. |
32 | | | | With back to back picks. the Yotes go with two very high upside, but raw talent Russian wingers in Dolzhenkov and Miroshnichenko. The plan should be to get both of these guys over to North America asap and develop them in the smaller rinks. |