The third mock Hockey Buzz mock draft driven by the readers and a few special guests kicked off two weeks ago. The first five selections 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 block of 10 selections followed by Jack Quinn, Dawson Mercer, Seth Jarvis, Ryan O'Rourke, Hendrix Lapierre, Dylan Holloway, Kaiden Guhle, Braden Schneider and Jacob Perreault . Picks 20-31 kicked off with Connor Zary, followed by Brendan Brisson, Justin Barron and JJ Peterka. The selections by Washington, with winerydog picking, and St. Louis, represented by jediman, are below. Anaheim, represented by optimus-reim, is on the clock as is Ottawa, with spatso picking. Below are the voting polls, please weigh in with your view.
Beginning with this blog, I am going with two picks per blog. The final blog, slated for about 5pm or so Friday, will hopefully have the final three picks, completing the mock draft. I am out of pocket then for the weekend due to the holiday, so if all goes according to plan, by Friday early evening, all 31 picks will be posted.
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 25th Overall Pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, the Washington Capitals, represented by winerydog, select Jan Mysak, C/LW, Hamilton (OHL)
Rationale for the selection with scouting report along with alternatives considered (both players and trades):
Mysak has been discussed here previously. He’s a player that is all over draft rankings from early teens into the 50s. What makes him so interesting is that he played parts of 2 seasons in the Czech Extraliga before coming over to Hamilton in the OHL and playing 22 games on the smaller North American ice. He racked up 25 points (15g, 10a) in those 22 games, and even quarterbacked their power play, showing a high hockey IQ. Several reports state that he displays hands and stickhandling skills that can speed up play or slow it down, when necessary. This, along with his ability to play the puck down low and set up his teammates for scoring chances, is why the Caps want him.
He’s very much like Backstrom in that regard, who plays that role currently. However, unlike Nik, he also has what scouts have termed a high end release, and a nasty wrist shot. He’s a little young for this draft so he may take longer to develop, but again, he’s played in a professional league for over 60 games, and on the smaller ice already and done well. His skating causes some disagreement among scouts, but he has above average speed once he gets going and the other areas can be worked on. While the window is closing for the Caps, there is certainly still time to have draft picks on ELC’s help them for a Cup run or 2. Connor McMichael, last year's 25th selection who had a great year in juniors with an almost 2 point per game avg, could be NHL ready next year. The selection of Mysak provides them another scoring forward option with "playmaker" traits and enough speed to handle the NHL, who could be ready sooner rather than later.
Other Prospects Considered:
Marat Khusnutdinov could just as easily be the pick here. He’s an elite skater and the big takeaway from their series with the Islanders this year was how slow they looked. He would certainly solve that. Mavrik Bourque and Noel Gunler were also considered… which leads to:
Trade considered:
The Capitals will certainly consider a trade down possibility at 25 in order to recoup some of the assets they gave up from the Brendon Dillon trade and with the depth of this draft, possibly get 2 players they really like. If a strong trade back scenario is offered, I’d bank on the Caps to move down.
With the 25th Overall Pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, the St. Louis Blues, represented by jediman, select Rodion Amirov, LW, UFA, (MHL)
Rationale for the selection with scouting report along with alternatives considered (both players and trades):
The Blues get a potential steal in Amirov as many experts have him going closer to the mid first round than the later. Already off to a solid KHL start with five points in eight games, Amirov put up 22 points in 17 games last year in the MHL. Offense is his game but he can play a 200 foot game and go to the net. The majority of St. Louis's core forwards are over the age of 28 and they are thin on the prospect side. Not scared to draft from Russia, the Blues grab easily the best forward still on the board.
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, (179/216, 83%)
18. New Jersey Devils (from Arizona) - redmonsters, Kaiden Guhle, D, Prince Albert, WHL (84/133, 63%)
19. Calgary Flames - deddie, Braden Schneider, D, Brandon WHL (82/109, 75%)
20. New Jersey Devils (from Vancouver via Tampa Bay) - redmonsters, Jacob Perreault, C/RW, Sarnia, WHL (60/137, 44%)
21. Columbus Blue Jackets, Thomas Townsend, Connor Zary, C, Kamloops, (97/118, 82%)
22. New York Rangers (from Carolina) - Jan, Brendan Brisson, C, Chicago USHL (40/82, 49%)
23. Philadelphia Flyers - Flyersfan328, Justin Barron, D, Halifax, QMJHL (66/145, 46%)
24. Colorado Avalanche - climbdenali12, JJ Peterka, LW, EHC München, DEL (30/66, 45%)
25. Washington Capitals - winerydog, Jan Mysac, C, Hamilton, OHL
26. St. Louis Blues, jediman, Rodion Amirov, LW, UFA, MHL
27. Anaheim Ducks (from Boston) - optimus-reim, Friday, Oct. 2 in am
28. Ottawa Senators (acquired from Islanders in JG Pageau deal) spatso, Fri, Oct 2 about 5 pm
29. Vegas Golden Knights - JRR1285, Josh Ruiz, Friday, Oct. 2 around 5pm
30. Dallas (Russ Cohen, sportsology), Friday, Oct 2 around 5 pm
31. San Jose (acquired from Tampa Bay in Barclay Goodrow deal (Jeremy Barber, user id: barberjw, email: barbjw26@gmail)- Friday, October 2 in pm
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 • 
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