The fourth mock Hockey Buzz mock draft driven by the readers and a few special guests is underway. Hank Bailing did not go off the board with the Sabres pick, selecting Owen Power first overall, while Sean Maloughney took Matthew Beniers as the first ever Seattle draft pick and Ryan Armstrong completed the Michigan trifecta with Kent Johnson. Zabber selected Luke Hughes with the Devils' pick. Slimtj selected Simon Edvinsson for Columbus with fed91stammer's grabbing William Eklund for Detroit.
Hockeygm traded San Jose’s pick to Ottawa, who, represented by optimus-rein, selected Dylan Guenther. Dudestar's pick for LA was Brandt Clarke. Nucker101's selected Mason McTavish for Vancouver while Hockeygm's pick for San Jose was Cole Sillinger and Theo Fox's pick for Chicago was Chaz Lucius. ShallowLarynx selected Fabian Lysell for Calgary while Flyersfan328 pick for the Flyers was Aatu Ray and NYRangers1124’s choice for Dallas was Matthew Coronato. My pick for the NY Rangers at 15 was Fedor Svechkov and Tommycasino's selection for St. Louis at #16 was Xavier Bourgault.
Ross77 traded Winnipeg's pick to Columbus, represented by Slimtj, who selected Jesper Wallstedt for the Blue Jackets. Russ Cohen's pick for the Predators was Carson Ceulemans while maximumbone, Silas Bengtsson's, pick for the Oilers was Sebastian Cossa and Anthony Travaglia selected Zachary Bolduc for Boston to close out the next 10 picks. Jryan88's pick for Minnesota to kick off the last 11 picks was Carson Lambos while fed91stammer's pick for the Red Wings at #22 was Logan Stankoven.
Jimbo's pick for the Panthers was Brennan Othmann while Ross77 selected Sasha Pastujov for Winnipeg and jryan88 added Nikita Chibrikov for Minnesota. Bingo's pick for Carolina was Zachary L'Heureux while TommyGTrain's selection for Colorado was Francesco Pinelli. Zabber's pick for New Jersey was Daniil Chayka while Burnt_Juice, Clay Arseniuk's pick for Vegas was Mackie Samoskevich while Karine Hains' selection for Montreal was Colton Dach while dross77's pick for Winnipeg to close the mock draft is below as is the voting poll, please weigh in with your view..
First, some logistical information just for this blog: Thanks to all who have agreed to participate. Almost all teams are spoken for, meaning we have close to a full complement of General Managers, but need a few more. As a reminder, when you have your pick, rationale for the selection, who else you considered and if you weighed a trade, please send that to me via email to
[email protected]. As said previously, for those who agree to participate, please make sure I have your real name to go with your Hockey Buzz ID.
The draft is July 23 and we will start the draft July 8 in the morning. That will give us 15 days or so to complete the draft, even factoring in the Sabbath. For weekdays and Sunday, I will post a pick in the am, theen a second in the pm with voting in between, for around the first 20 picks. The last 11, we will run three per day so we get all 31 picks by or on July 23.
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.
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: each morning and evening (for now, two picks per day, but we will go to three when we get to latter third of the mock draft, so that we complete on time) the team’s selector will email me at [email protected] their pick and their rationale for that selection.
If making a trade, the same applies, and all the selectors have been listed below along with their screen name if from this site or their twitter handle if external to help facilitate making trades. I will post that pick and rationale on the site and create a voting poll. For now, I was thinking solely just a yes or no vote for the poll, but if people want me to list other options for the selection at that pick number in cases of a no vote, I am happy to do so, to help make it more robust.
With the 31st overall selection in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, the Winnipeg Jets, represented by Ross77, select Zach Dean, C, Gatineau-QMJHL
Rationale for the selection with scouting report along with alternatives considered (both players and trades):
Rationale: there were a lot of excellent picks here and it was hard to pass on Olausson, Rosen and I strongly considered reaching for either Morrow or Peart on D but in the end went with a Center.
Scoring report from Corey Pronman
Dean didn’t put up as big numbers (20 points in 23 games) as you would have thought he could after his big 16-year-old season, but he did a lot of the things that make you like him as a prospect. Dean is a well-rounded hockey player. He brings NHL-caliber skill to the table to go along with quality skating ability and a high work level. He can beat opponents not only with his hands, but also by taking the puck wide and making a hard play to the net. He wins a fair number of battles and creates turnovers with his hustle. I wouldn’t call him a dynamic playmaker. He can make plays with pace and has the vision to create at even strength at the NHL level but doesn’t do so consistently. In a sentence, Dean projects to be a middle-six NHL forward at center or the wing who can bring speed, grit and some scoring.
2021 NHL DRAFT ORDER
1. Buffalo Sabres - Hank Bailing, Owen Power, D, Michigan (73%, 267 votes)
2. Seattle Kraken - Sean Maloughney, Matthew Beniers, C, Michigan (85%, 144 votes)
3. Anaheim Ducks - climbdenali12, Ryan Armstrong, Kent Johnson, C, Michigan (20%, 192 votes)
4. New Jersey Devils - Zabber, Luke Hughes, D, USDP (U-18) (81%, 239 votes)
5. Columbus Blue Jackets, slimTJ, TJ Reilly, Simon Edvinsson, D, Frolunda (49% of 140 votes)
6. Detroit Red Wings - fed91tstammer, William Eklund, LW, Djurgardens (SHL) (72%, 162 votes)
7. San Jose Sharks - hockeygm, pick traded to Ottawa who selects Dylan Guenther, RW, Edmonton (WHL) (83%, 82 votes)
8. Los Angeles Kings - dudestar, Nicholas Plazio, Brandt Clarke, RHD, HC Nove Zamhy (87%, 130 votes)
9. Vancouver Canucks - Nucker101, Mason McTavish, C, Peterborough (89%, 168 votes)
10. San Jose from Ottawa- hockeygm, Cole Sillinger, C, Sioux Falls (59%, 68 votes)
11. Chicago Blackhawks - Theo Fox, Blackhawks blogger from site, Chaz Lucius, C, US-NTDP (50%, 109 votes)
12. Calgary Flames - ShallowLarynx, Fabian Lysell, RW, Luleå HF (SHL) (77%, 121 votes)
13. Philadelphia Flyers - Flyersfan328, Phil Brunner, Aatu Raty, C, Oulun Kärpät (Liiga) (58%, 172 votes)
14. Dallas Stars - NYRangers1124, Matthew Coronato, LW, Chicago Steelheads (51%, 43 votes)
15. New York Rangers - Jan Levine, Fyodor Svechkov, C, Ska-1946 (Russia) (59%, 67 votes)
16. St. Louis Blues - Tommycasino, Tom Dueck, Xavier Bourgault, C, Shawinigan (39%, 46 votes)
17. Columbus Blue Jackets (from Winnipeg Jets) - slimTJ, TJ Reilly, Jesper Wallstedt, G, Lulea (61%, 122 has Winnipeg winning deal) (67%, 66 votes)
18. Nashville Predators - Russ Cohen, Corson Ceulemans – Defense – Brooks Bandits – AJHL (45%, 47 votes)
19. Edmonton Oilers - maximumbone, Silas Bengtsson, Sebastian Cossa, Goalie, Edmonton Oil Kings (81%, 64 votes)
20. Boston Bruins - Anthony Travalgia, Bruins blogger on site, Zachary Bolduc, C, Rimouski (QMJHL) (55%, 53 votes)
21. Minnesota Wild - jryan88, Carson Lambos, LHD, Winnipeg Ice (75%, 28 votes)
22. Detroit Red Wings (from Washington Capitals) - fed91tstammer, Logan Stankoven, (48%, 33 votes)
23. Florida Panthers - jimbo, Jimmy Reilly, Brennan Othmann, LW, Flint (OHL) (79%, 24 votes)
24. Winnipeg Jets (from Columbus Blue Jackets from Toronto Maple Leafs) - Ross77, Darren Ross, Sasha Pastujov, RW, U.S. NTDP-USHL (68%, 28 votes)
25. Minnesota Wild (from Pittsburgh Penguins) - jryan88, Nikita Chibrikov RW SKA Saint Petersburg (73%, 22 votes)
26. Carolina Hurricanes - Bingo, Chris Cote, Zachary L'Heureux, LW, Halifax (89%, 28 votes)
27. Colorado Avalanche - TommyGTrain, Francesco Pinelli C/W HDD Jesenice (57%, 21 votes)
28. New Jersey Devils (from New York Islanders) - Zabber, Daniil Chayka D, CSKA (64%, 28 votes)
29. Las Vegas Golden Knights - Burnt_Juice, Clay Arseniuk, Mackie Samoskevich, RW, Chicago (USHL) (29%, 14 votes)
30. Montreal Canadiens - Karine Hains, Montreal blogger on site, Colton Dach, C/W, Saskatoon (86%, 35 votes)
31. Winnipeg Jets (from Columbus Blue Jackets from Tampa Bay Lightning) - Ross77, Darren Ross, Zach Dean, C, Gatineau-QMJHL
Thank you to everyone who participated, especially those who made the picks. Hopefully it was interesting and fun and gave you a better sense as to the draft prospects.
Frank Seravalli on the Rangers:
One team to watch is the New York Rangers. GM Chris Drury has multiple irons in the fire – well aside from the new deal for two-time Stanley Cup champion Barclay Goodrow we reported on Monday. Here are some of the things we’re hearing connected to the Broadway Blueshirts:
Sources said the Kraken were underwhelmed with the options at center presented in the Expansion Draft, so they may pursue bulking up at the position via the trade market. Ryan Strome has been linked to the Kraken. Would Strome make any sense in Vegas, who is also looking for centers?
The Rangers have attempted to move arbitration-eligible RFA Pavel Buchnevich for weeks now.
New York has been seeking a suitor for goaltender Alexandar Georgiev. The ask is believed to be a first-round pick.
> All of which has teams wondering: Are the Rangers the leading contender to acquire Jack Eichel? Sources say the Rangers have quietly checked with each of the teams holding a pick inside the Top 10 of Friday’s Draft, inquiring about the price to acquire it. (New York’s first-round pick is No. 16 overall.) The belief is the Rangers would like to package that pick in a transaction for Eichel, as the Sabres are reportedly seeking another lottery-range pick to go with their No. 1 overall selection.
Teams in conversation with the Sabres have said the asking price for Eichel is “astronomical.” Buffalo is looking for a futures-type deal with multiple prospects and picks involved. A team like the Minnesota Wild, for instance, that would be interested in Eichel doesn’t necessarily have the ability to pull off that type of transaction because they would be relying on their prospects and picks in a couple years to help them through their ‘dead cap era’ looming from the buyouts to Ryan Suter and Zach Parise.
The Rangers first rounder is certainly in play, especially as a package to move in the draft to get a top-10 pick to move in an Eichel trade. In addition, Serevelli noted: "Just a hunch, but is Vince Dunn another candidate to flip? He is a pending RFA with arbitration rights. Teams were interested in him in St. Louis but felt the ask from the Blues was too high. Plus, if Mark Giordano, Jamie Oleksiak, Adam Larsson and Carson Soucy are all staying, there doesn’t appear to be much room in the Kraken top four." With Gio likely out of the equation, one of Dunn - an issue since he will need a new deal - or Soucy, possibly more likely and less costly, could be a target. A first for Geiorgiev, anything is possible, but I view that as doubtful.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»