1st Round
Preferred Pick- Callan Foote
Good mix of mobility and stay-at-home defense. Only complaint is that we already have a few good right skating defenders, though that arguably makes a Hamonic trade more feasible.
Timothy Liljegren- Reading his profile remind me a lot of Leddy. He's already a successful skater in the SHL, which at his age is noteworthy. We'd have to trade up to get to him, but it just might be worth trading up. We all know Snow loves to jump around the draft board, so if Liljegren slips, I could see Snow lunging for a earlier pick.
Klim Kostin- Past Ho-Sang, we don't have any good RW prospects, and we have NO power forwards in our system. Enter Klim Kostin. He's a checking forward with a pass first mentality, but is still very hard to move off the puck. He also liked driving play all the way to the net. With the KHL struggling to pay its players (Russian economy lulz) the usual concern about drafting KHLers is non present.
2nd Round
Kasper Kotkansalo- Physical defenseman with a big slap shot and an effective power play one-timer. Call me old fashioned, but I'll take this one.
Matthew Strome- To be fair, we are looking for physical forwards and family connections aside, I could see his play style complementing Ryan's. Might have to reach to get him though, so I don't know about that...
Josh Norris- With Tavares and Barzal being our top Centers of the future, both of whom are offense minded, a Two Way C3 might be a good investment. From what I read he sounds like a guy who focuses on keeping his team in possession of the puck, which is invaluable from a deep stats point of view.
3rd Round
Ostap Safin- Another big power forward selection. 6'4", 194 lb., very big frame to fill in to. If taught to be more aggressive with his body, he could make an excellent bottom 6 bruiser.
Dylan Samberg- An already decorated high schooler, delivers big hits and plays a full 2 way game. Once he fills out, he could add some physicality to a defense that, in my opinion has been very lacking in hits.
Nicolas Henry- Not a physical choice like my other picks, but he is noted for his toughness. Add that alongside his speed and passing ability, he could make a good 3rd line playmaker. I think he'd pair well with a pure goal scorer like Kieffer Bellows.
5th round (no 4th pick)
Dylan Fergusson- Showed up the best goaltender in this draft at the world Juniors. He's a well rounded goaltender and performs well even in games where he faces 40 shots. Once we keep/trade Sorokin/Soderstrom, this guy could make a gritty choice for back up.
Michael Pastujov- Gritty, high energy right winger. It's said he could make the NHL, though it'd take him longer than most to do so. With so many prospect projecting to be ready so soon, that might be a good trait.
Shawn Boudrias- Aside from "lulz he's a Charlottetown Islander lulz", he plays arguably the most physical brand of hockey in the draft. He has little offensive skill though, so that's why he's here.
I couldn't find enough information on 6th and 7th rounders to make three informed picks.
Isles have Otto Koivula, compared to Lee, won SHL Rookie of the Year this year in their system and I don't see them drafting a defenseman with their already strong depth there. Especially not Liljegren who if I had to guess will be taken at 8 by Buffalo.
Pulock, Wotherspoon, Pelech, Mayfield, Toews, Quenneville, Vande Sompel are all NHL caliber defensemen in time.
I do think if they keep the pick they're going to draft a forward and I personally would like them to take on of Tolvanen, Suzuki, Vesalainen or Andersson
Isles have Otto Koivula, compared to Lee, won SHL Rookie of the Year this year in their system and I don't see them drafting a defenseman with their already strong depth there. Especially not Liljegren who if I had to guess will be taken at 8 by Buffalo.
Pulock, Wotherspoon, Pelech, Mayfield, Toews, Quenneville, Vande Sompel are all NHL caliber defensemen in time.
I do think if they keep the pick they're going to draft a forward and I personally would like them to take on of Tolvanen, Suzuki, Vesalainen or Andersson
All very good points, but I think this team really needs more physicality in the pipelines. Hence the several RW power forwards. While we do have a good quantity of defensive prospects, I don't think any of those are top 4 material outside of Pulock. If we had another top 4 projected defenseman, I think we'd have a complete prospect system.
Isles have Otto Koivula, compared to Lee, won SHL Rookie of the Year this year in their system and I don't see them drafting a defenseman with their already strong depth there. Especially not Liljegren who if I had to guess will be taken at 8 by Buffalo.
Pulock, Wotherspoon, Pelech, Mayfield, Toews, Quenneville, Vande Sompel are all NHL caliber defensemen in time.
I do think if they keep the pick they're going to draft a forward and I personally would like them to take on of Tolvanen, Suzuki, Vesalainen or Andersson
All very good points, but I think this team really needs more physicality in the pipelines. Hence the several RW power forwards. While we do have a good quantity of defensive prospects, I don't think any of those are top 4 material outside of Pulock. If we had another top 4 projected defenseman, I think we'd have a complete prospect system.
I personally don't think at their pick in the draft they're gonna get a top 4 guy and I also think Wotherspoon has a legit shot at being a top 4 guy, Vande Sompel and Toews on the bubble. Maybe next year in a stronger draft but I can't really see it happening this year