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NHL Draft 2019 Thoughts and Preview

June 20, 2019, 10:32 AM ET [36 Comments]
Peter Tessier
Winnipeg Jets Blogger •Winnipeg Jets Writer • RSSArchiveCONTACT
I'm out in Vancouver now for the 2019 NHL Entry Draft- this is the first draft I've ever attended so it's fun to be here and participate. I've been trying to have some fun with it so I have the hashtag #NHL2019Draftjourney in my tweets if you care to follow along.




The dry projected to be a rather mellow thing for the Winnipeg Jets this year after they traded their first overall pick but after acquiring it back from the New York Rangers in exchange for Jacob Trouba there's a bit more interest in tomorrow's first round for Jets' fans. Add the 5th round pick they received for Kevin Hayes' right to Philadelphia and the Jets went from 3 picks this draft up to 5 with two in the 5th round and none in rounds 6 and 7.

The question becomes- just what should the Jets do with that pick?

They are at the mercy of nineteen other teams and their decisions but there is still some intrigue into what they could acquire. I participated in Jan Levine's mock draft that he is running which you can read HERE. I turned down a trade request for Tyson Barrie late last night- the offer was Barrie at 50% retained for the 2019 20th and a 2020 1st that is lottery protected.

The player I chose based on how the mock draft went was Ryan Suzuki of the Barrie Colts. Back to the old familiar well with this one.

Thinking about the draft and the first round that goes tomorrow night live from Rogers Arena it makes you wonder how the Jets will approach the player they take. Much depends on who is available at pick 20 and if one of the 'balls in the air' that Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff has referred to recently is that draft pick.

When looking at many mock drafts or projections of draft order there are a lot of options when it comes to pick number 20 as so much depends on what happens before. Below is a list of possible players available at 20 based on published lists across the hockey-sphere.

Antonni Honka RHD JYP/Jukurit
Ville Heinola D Luukko-Liiga
Thomas Harley D OHL Steelheads
Ryan Suzuki C OHL Colts
Victor Soderstrom D SHL Brynas
Ryan Johnson D USHL Sioux Falls
Jacob Pelletier LW QMJHL Wildcasts
Phillip Tomasino C OHL Ice Dogs

Our of those players the two most consistently available players at the 20t position are Harley and Soderstrom. Now a lot of this is guessing and ranking players based on where scouting reports suggest to someone that a certain player should be not necessarily what the Jets want or need. That is the questions.

With the departure of Trouba does the need to add defence become a primary issue or is the consistent trading for a centre to work between Laine and Ehlers an area that has to be addressed. One thing that could happen is trading down or putting the pick in play as part of another deal involving roster players.

My initial thinking is that the draft goes like this:

If the right player(s) drop the Jets will take them at 20
Do they go forward or defence if one or more players are available.
The Jets will go to add to centre depth if a C is there and then D if that's it and probably going best player available if the desired player or position is not there.

Small chance of trading down.
Larger chance of trading pick if a bigger deal is there.

Stay tuned and follow on Twitter for photos, thoughts and takes from the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.
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