Something Different
...How about an early top-14 mock? Here's how I see things breaking down:
1. Colorado - D Seth Jones ... the most obvious choice at #1 for the last little while ... won't be much surprise here.
2. Florida - C Nathan MacKinnon ... have to think Florida will love this guy's potential, right alongside Huberdeau.
3. Tampa Bay - LW Jonathan Drouin ... heir apparent to Marty St. Louis, perfect fit alongside Steven Stamkos
4. Nashville - C Aleksander Barkov ... BPA, Nashville needs to re-stock the cupboards in any way possible.
5. Carolina - LW Valeri Nichuskin
... Carolina has the luxury of time for this player to develop, and his upside is huge. Alexander Semin in the lineup may help convince the Canes to pick him, and the player to come over.
6. Calgary - C Elias Lindholm ... Again, BPA for a team that needs to rebuild. Already with a young Scandinavian presence in their room.
7. Edmonton - D Darnell Nurse ... perfect fit to grow with the young team. This is the player they covet, and may move up a spot or three to get.
8. Buffalo - C Sean Monahan ... Solid pickup for a team looking to get bigger and more skilled.
9. New Jersey - LW Hunter Shinkaruk ... Plenty of history taking this kind of player, the Devils are thrilled if Shinkaruk goes this far. I don't see them passing him up, unless one of the players above is left on the board.
10. Dallas - F Alexander Wennberg ... Typical Dallas pick, this is one I actually agree with Craig Button on. Fairly low risk/decent sized reward player.
11. Philadelphia - D Rasmus Ristolainen ... Philly is a wild card, as they could take any number of players here. Ristolainen is the best of the lot, in my book.
12. Phoenix - LW Anthony Mantha ... Size, skill up front ... two things Phoenix has missed for years.
13. Winnipeg - C Max Domi ... a nice infusion of youthful exuberance, Domi is the kind of player that excites the fans in Winnipeg, and would be a nice fit in their system.
14. Columbus - ??? ... I leave this blank so as to not anger the masses. In my book, the best players left are defensemen (Pulock, Zadorov) ... I wouldn't touch Zadorov, so if I were going BPA, it's Pulock here. Jarmo has already mentioned that he'll be picking for offense though, so the likely pick for me would have to be either Bo Horvat or Adam Erne. These are players that fit into our style of play, and could develop into second line players. I'd be extremely happy to see any number of the guys above "fall" to us ... but time will tell.