The third mock Hockey Buzz mock draft driven by the readers and a few special guests kicked off last Monday. The first five were Alexis Lafreniere, Quinton Byfield, Tim Sturzle, Marco Rossi and Cole Perfetti. Kicking off the next five was Anton Lundell followed by Alexander Holtz, Lucas Raymond, Jaroslav Askarov and Jaime Drysdale. Jake Sanderson was the first pick in the next round of selections followed by Jack Quinn, Dawson Mercer Seth Jarvis, Ryan O'Rourke and Hendrix Lapierre. The selection by Chicago, with Theo Fox picking, is below with New Jersey, represented by redmonsters, on the clock and Calgary, represented by deddie, on deck. Below is the voting poll, please weigh in with your view.
As a reminder, for each pick, included should be: a) Selection and reasoning/scouting report, and, b) Alternatives considered (both players and trades). Please provide me via email your pick with the aforementioned information following the posting of the prior pick on the site. If I become aware of a pick or a few picks in a row, I will email you to help facilitate moving the mock draft along. I will post the blog with the pick and the voting poll within each blog. In addition, after each pick in the summary below, I have added in the % that approved the pick in the poll and total number of votes.
Overall Rules and Process
As mentioned previously, there is a little kicker. After the pick or trade is made, a poll will be posted to rate the selection or deal. If the majority of people like the pick or trade, that selection stands and it moves on to the next team’s picks. If not, the majority rules and that’s what happens with that team and pick. I have the last right of refusal to keep everything on the up and up and avoid ballot box stuffing.
My request to you is that you take this seriously and not make a mockery of the mock draft, because that would be an insult to the others who are participating and makes the whole process a sham. But by playing this out, we get to have healthy debate and conversation to remain engaged up and possibly beyond the draft. If teams make deals and they occur before a team’s selection is due, that deal will play a part as to when each person’s selection occurs.
Here how this will work: the team’s selector will email me at [email protected] their pick, rationale and any alternatives for that selection. I will post that pick and rationale on the site and create a voting poll. That poll will likely include alternatives that were considered with each voter allowed to select one option.
With the 17th Overall Pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, the Chicago Blackhawks, represented by Theo Fox, select Dylan Holloway, C/LW, Wisconsin (NCAA)
Rationale for the selection with scouting report along with alternatives considered (both players and trades):
Holloway is an intelligent, physical forward prospect who is reliable in all zones due to his excellent hockey IQ, compete level, smooth skating, defensive awareness, and sound fundamentals. Not a fancy player by any means as he can be trusted to make the simple, smart play, but he is superb at stickhandling. His physical play is well timed so he’s making hits count and not pulling himself out of the play.
Scouting reports:
"Six foot 200 pound centre with soft hands and excellent vision. The former AJHL MVP and 2019 Canadian Junior Player of the year helped Team Canada win golds in the 2018 Ivan Hlinka Gretsky Cup. Possesses a high level hockey IQ, strong balance, lateral quickness and turning ability. Will need to get a quicker first step, and refine his play in his own end. Very creative pivot who plays to control the mid-ice. Has soft hands and passing ability and a strong wrist shot. Possesses tremendous puckhandling ability and lateral quickness that propel him through the defensive layers. Uses his top gear to drive from possession scrum to the next, and is great on the cycle. Always using his speed as a weapon and as a relentless checker and attacker, he creates space on zone entries. So strong in his stop and starts, but his best attribute may be his lateral quickness, where he turns in tight space and strings one move into a series that causes the opposition to leave their assignments and start running around. Will play both wing and centre as he climbs the rungs to the bigs." (DraftSite)
"Holloway’s game is founded on his smarts, instincts and two-way play. While his IQ is evident in his offensive game, it’s mostly put to work on the other side of the puck. He’s almost never out of position and makes the right defensive read just about every time. He’s a fantastic forechecker, finishes his hits and backchecks hard. These aren’t the plays that are going to wow fans, but they’re the ones that are going to earn the trust of his coaches as he advances to professional hockey. I doubt we’ll see Holloway as a true top line center in the NHL, but I can easily see him developing into a really good second liner. He also has the right skillset, IQ and 200-foot game to complement higher skill players on the top line to retrieve pucks, forecheck heavily and contribute offensively." (Recruit Scouting)
"Speedy center/left wing prospect. Physical when he needs to be and his stick-handling is impressive." (Dobber Prospects)
"He's best described as a complete package, which is what makes him such an attractive prospect in this draft...He understands the game very well and utilizes his skating, smarts and skills with a determination and passion that places him in the right position at the right time to make good plays. He's an ultimate team player with strong leadership attributes." (NHL Central Scouting)
Other Prospects Considered:
(listed alphabetically so no particular order of preference):
Mavrik Bourque, C, Shawinigan (QMJHL)
Kaiden Guhle, D, Prince Albert (WHL)
Hendrix Lapierre, C, Chicoutimi (QMJHL) - taken just before this pick
Jacob Perreault, C, Sarnia (OHL)
Braden Schneider, D, Brandon (WHL)
Connor Zary, C, Kamloops (QHL)
Trade considered:
No trade offer made. It may not be worth it in terms of additional assets given up for the Blackhawks to trade 1st rounders just to move up a spot or two. However, I would be in favor of acquiring another 1st rounder which would realistically be in the teens or 20s.
If the Hawks are trading the 17th pick for another 1st rounder, it should be that pick + assets to get into the top 10. Again, though, it depends what those other assets would be to sweeten the deal.
2020 NHL DRAFT FIRST-ROUND ORDER AND GMs (plus yes votes/total votes, % of votes that agreed with selection)
1. New York Rangers - Jan Levine - Alexis Lafreniere, LW, Rimouski, OMJHL (349/398, 88%)
2. Los Angeles Kings - Kooleus, Quinton Byfield, C, Sudbury, OHL. (405/566, 76%)
3. Ottawa Senators (via San Jose Sharks) - spatso, Tim Stutzle, C, Mannheim, DEL (310/332. 93%)
4. Detroit Red Wings - feds91stammer, Marco Rossi, C, Ottawa, OHL, (116/235, 52%)
5. Ottawa Senators - spatso, Cole Perfetti, LW, Saginaw, OHL (102/289, 35%)
6. Anaheim Ducks - optimus-reim, Anton Lundell, C, HIFK, LIIGA (62/222, 28%)
7. New Jersey Devils - redmonsters, Alexander Holtz, RW, Djurgarden, SHL (183/333, 55%)
8. Buffalo Sabres - KilkennyDan, Lucas Raymond, RW, Frolunda, SHL, (191/266, 72%)
9. Minnesota Wild - dudestar, Jarsolav Askarov, G, SKA-NEVA, VHL (73/142, 51%)
10. Winnipeg Jets - Ross77, Jamie Drysdale, D, Erie, OHL (278/305, 91%)
11. Nashville Predators - slimtj, Jake Sanderson, D, NTDP-U18, USDP (121/163, 74%)
12. Florida Panthers - jimbo, Jack Quinn, RW, Ottawa, OHL (110/138, 80%)
13. Carolina Hurricanes (via Toronto Maple Leafs) - Bingo, Dawson Mercer, C, Chicoutimi, QMJHL (124/193, 64%)
14. Edmonton Oilers - maximumbone, Seth Jarvis, RW, Portland, WHL, (210/277, 77%)
15. Toronto Maple Leafs (via Pittsburgh Penguins) - Michael Augello, Ryan O'Rourke, D, Sault Ste Marie, OHL (107/423, 25%)
16. Montreal Canadiens - Vivian Lapeirre, Hendrix Lapierre, C, Chicoutimi, QMJHL, (109/239, 45%)
17. Chicago Blackhawks - Theo Fox, Dylan Holloway, C/LW, Wisconsin, NCAA
18. New Jersey Devils (from Arizona) - redmonsters, Kevin Barrett, Thursday, Sept. 24 pm
19. Calgary Flames - deddie, Dan Ethier, Friday, Sept. 25 am
20. New Jersey Devils (from Vancouver via Tampa Bay) - redmonsters, Kevin Barrett, Friday, Sept 25 pm
21. Columbus Blue Jackets, Thomas Townsend, Columbus blogger on site, Sunday, Sept. 27 am
22. New York Rangers (from Carolina) - Jan, Tuesday Sept. 29 am
23. Philadelphia Flyers - Flyersfan328, Phil Brunner, Tuesday Sept. 29 pm
24. Colorado Avalanche - climbdenali12, Ryan Armstrong, Wednesday, Sept. 30 am
25. Washington Capitals - winerydog, Wednesday, Sept. 30 pm
26. St. Louis Blues, jediman, Brendan Smith, Thursday, Oct. 1 in am
27. Anaheim Ducks (from Boston) - optimus-reim, Luke Herrington, Thursday, Oct. 1 in pm
28. Vegas Golden Knights - JRR1285, Josh Ruiz, Friday, Oct. 2 in am
29. Ottawa Senators (acquired from New York Islanders in JG Pageau deal) spatso, Friday, Oct 2 around 5 pm
30-31. Pick order TBD - picks will be Monday Oct 5 in am and Monday, Oct 5 in pm
Dallas (Russ Cohen, sportsology)
San Jose (acquired from Tampa Bay in Barclay Goodrow deal (Jeremy Barber, user id: barberjw, email: barbjw26@gmail)
Looking forward to running this again. We had a ton of fun last season. That should be the same again this year with New York having the first and 22nd picks in the first round.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»