As a rule, I never really did mock drafts before, too much variance, too much noise and too much guessing. However, this is one of those thing all the cool kids are doing and I have always been a fan of jumping off bridges.
It being my way, I am throwing a little gravy on this, a little somthin’ somthin’ for the homies. Not only am I making a feeble attempt to get inside the heads of 15 NHL GM’s and guess what they are going to pick, I am also going to tell them all how stupid they are and who the should pick instead. Oh, and I am not going to bother with the top 3. We all know how that is going to go down, no point in spilling that ink.
4th – Edmonton – Matthew Tkachuk
Both the Oilers and newly minted GM Chia tend to be consensus guys and Tkachuk is, for better or worse, pretty consensus at this point. He also possesses the hard nosed game that the organization is really in to these days. They’re gonna try and make fetch happen.
But who should they pick? – Jacob Chychrun
His tumble down many of the scout rankings isn’t totally without merit, but I still think he’s the best D in the draft, top notch tool kit being over shadowed by a ‘what have you done for me lately?’ mentality
5th – Vancouver – Pierre-Luc Dubois
Jim Benning will be all over PLD, but for all the wrong reasons. He’s big, he’s rough, he’s tumble and that’s what Jim Benning likes. He also scores like the dickins.
But who should they pick? Dubois, like I said, weren’t you paying attention? Benning falls back asswards into the right pick.
6th-Calgary – Alex Nylander
I am a big fan of Nylander the younger, he’s a less flashy more focused (if not as creative) version of big brother, plus he’s Calgary born and who won’t love that narrative?
But who should they pick? – Matthew Tkachuk. Simply because if by chance the teams above pass on him, Tkachuk is the best prospect available.
7th – Phoenix – Oli Juolevi
The Yotes have done very well with their forward prospects and should be looking to bolster their back end to compliment it. With a guy like OEL in the system, they know the value of a smooth, scoring defender and Juolevi is a perfect fit
But who should they pick? Like Vancouver, they nail this one, but for the right reasons.
8th – Buffalo – Jacob Chychrun
Sabres management will be drooling at this point, not so long ago this kid was slated to go 2nd over all and here he is, all the way down at 8th. Call it compensation for losing out on McDavid in the lotto, call it the electric boogaloo, doesn’t matter, Buffalo get’s a great prospect way lower than his station
But who should they pick? The Sabres are the first to not benefit from my wisdom, Chychrun is long drafted, but they do get a very nice runner up prize with Clayton Keller
the next 5 coming soon
jaredfromlondon 