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Mock Draft : Eleven - Fifteen |
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With only 9 days left before the draft I'm doubling up this day because...well I don't wish to run out of time. For those just reading, I'm doing the first three rounds of this draft with reasoning's and explanations for the choices. Feel free to disagree and call me an idiot.
For those in Southern Alberta, stay safe, that is some crazy stuff going on.
1-10
1. The Colorado Avalanche select Centre Nathan MacKinnon of the Halifax Mooseheads in the QMJHL.
2. The Florida Panthers select Centre Aleksander Barkov of Tappara in the SM-liiga.
3. The Tampa Bay Lightning select Defenseman Seth Jones of the Portland WinterHawks in the WHL.
4. The Nashville Predators select Left Winger Jonathan Drouin of the Halifax Mooseheads in the QMJHL.
5. The Carolina Hurricanes select Centre Elias Lindholm of Brynäs in the Elitserien.
6. The Calgary Flames select Centre Sean Monahan of the Ottawa 67’s in the OHL.
7. The Edmonton Oilers select Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen of TPS in the SM-liiga.
8. The Buffalo Sabres select Right Winger Valeri Nichushkin of Traktor Chelyabinsk in the KHL.
9. The New Jersey Devils select Winger Hunter Shinkaruk of the Medicine Hat Tigers in the WHL.
10. The Dallas Stars select Centre/Right Winger Alexander Wennberg of Djurgården in the Allsvenskan.
11. The Philadelphia Flyers select Defenseman Darnell Nurse of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in the OHL.
The Flyers are known for drafting the best available forward they can, and have generally been extremely successful for this. All you need to do is search the past 13 years of their drafting in the first round and there are enough All-Star forwards coming out of there to tell you that it isn’t luck. Having said that, they do seriously need top-end defense prospects, they are desperate for one. Nurse has been on the rise because of people feel he has some untapped offensive talent to go along with his already strong defensive abilities, size (6’4) and physical play. He logs tough minutes and has shown he can be a strong, hard hitting defensive dman. The interesting thing to note is that his 12 goals in the OHL aren’t really what you would expect, he has a pretty weak shot and most of his goals come off of wrist shots lobbed from the point, so while he has shown that his skating is good enough to be a puck mover, he’s not exactly a serious threat in the offensive zone. I struggled a lot since I wanted to put Ryan Pulock here, but in the end I went with Nurse who is the safer player and is expected to be a guaranteed NHL defenseman, whether it’s a top-4 two-way guy though will be up to his development.
12. The Phoenix Coyotes select Centre Bo Horvat of the London Knight’s in the OHL.
Knowing Maloney, drafting a forward might be wistful thinking as he has a major passion for two-way defensemen with size…though I can’t really blame him since OEL is a star, Gormley one of the top defensemen prospects in the league and Murphy…well ok he’s a bit of a question mark with all the injuries. So instead of a defenseman I picked Horvat, because Tippett is re-signed for 5 more years and Horvat is his kind of player. The 6’0 centre is extremely hardworking and is considered both a coach’s dream and a warrior. He had a breakout performance in the playoffs where he scored 16 goals on route to being named the OHL Playoffs MVP, and also had a very solid showing on the Knight’s second line in the Memorial Cup. He plays in all situations and is a tough customer. The major issues are his potential upside. Could he be a 2nd line all-purpose centre? Or will he simply be a top of the line 3rd line centre? It’s hard to say, but if he was there at 12, I can easily see the Coyotes grabbing him; it’s just too perfect a match.
13. The Winnipeg Jets select Defenseman Ryan Pulock of the Brandon Wheat Kings in the WHL.
The Jets aren’t really in the need for defensemen, nor are they in the need for a player like Pulock, but he’s got a really high ceiling with excellent upside. Like the rationale for drafting MacKinnon by the Avs, you can always make deals from a position of strength and with Big Buff, Enstrom, Bogosian, Trouba (oh man he’s nasty) and Postma going forward. Pulock has one of the best slap shots in the draft, being clocked at 103 mph officially. He’s a solid 6’0 209 already and plays with a physical edge. His offensive game is very well rounded, and he is considered a high-end thinker with a penchant for methodical puck moving. He led his team in points which is a rare feat by a defenseman and is a dangerous PP threat. Defensively he isn’t actually that bad and most note that his decision making skills are elite for a puck mover, and despite the odd brain cramp he’s very reliable in his own zone. The major issue is his average skating which can lead to slightly delayed puck rushing in an era where puck rushing is being done increasingly by quick start skaters. I really wanted to put him ahead of Nurse…but with skating be a concern vs. the safety of Nurse it was sort of 50/50. As an aside, I do feel they could really use some more forward picks.
14. The Columbus Blue Jackets select Defenseman Josh Morrissey of the Prince Albert Raiders in the WHL.
High-end puck rushing and high-end offensive ability are what make Morrissey one of the big risers in the draft. He excelled at the U18 and at the Ivan Hlinka tournament’s in which both times he was the highest scoring defenseman showing what he can do with elite talent around him at both even strength and on the PP. He’s a smart passer and an excellent shooter, but in all seriousness it’s his elite skating and puck movement that you have to love. Everything about his skating is elite. Defensively he’s good and has seen time killing penalties, but it’s not his forte at the moment, his skating is really his best defense on defense. He can be outmuscled on the boards so his speed is really necessary to get him out of trouble, yet despite being not really the strongest of players he’s shown that he likes to go for the big hit and really take people out when he gets a head start. Columbus has a strong defense unit, but with so many picks in this year’s draft I think they can afford to use one on a player with such high potential as Morrissey.
15. The New York Islanders select Defenseman Nikita Zadorov of the London Knight’s in the OHL.
Zadorov is all over the place in this draft from as high as 6 to as late as 25, mainly because of one reason, can that glimmer of offensive potential expand from his good short passing and strong puck rushing abilities and make him into a two-way threat. Defensively he’s very strong and can shutdown opponents while logging heavy minutes on the PK, he’s physically intimidating when he wants to be and has been known to pound forwards using that fairly ludicrous 6’5 230 frame of his. London uses more often than not 5 forwards on their PP so we have yet to see Zadorov in a real offensive role, added to this his little international experience for Russia and you need to wonder if that side of his game will come around. I will say this though; he does have a very heavy if not slightly erratic shot. Whoever drafts Zadorov will have a project of a player, but one with amazing ceiling and a very safe floor as even if his offensive game never emerges; he’s still very strong in his own end and can be a shutdown physical defenseman. I still think the Islanders need to improve that defense and continue to add to that solid young group of Hamonic, Reinhart, Pokka, Donovan, Mayfield, Pelech and Pedan. Before you say it guys, I know the Isles could really use winger prospects.
Thanks for reading.
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