This is my best reading of the tea leaves, with some fingers crossing as well:
1 NJ Hughes
2 NYR Kakko
———————-
3 Chi Byram -> defense is an .org strength but feels BPA
4 Col Dach -> have heard forwards for Col even if Byram is available so I don’t think it is too dependent on what Chi does. Could be Turcotte but feel like Dach’s 6’4 frame and skill set combo will sell them on him.
5 LA Podkolzin -> LA is tough to read and they could easily go for Turcotte or Cozens here but I feel like they’ll lean towards a power forward type who fits their heavy style and Podkolzin still has a lot of fans in the scouting world. Being a winger hurts him but his intensity is something NHL scouts and GMs drool over.
6 Detroit Turcotte -> A small fall for Turcotte who could go as high as #3 but I feel a bit of size bias could tumble him to #6, which makes Detroit scuttle plans to take Zegras and opt for Larkin 2.0 instead.
7 Buffalo Cozens -> Tough to project what Buffalo will do but based on the board so far Cozens seems like a reasonably likely outcome. Size, pace, and ability to play wing with Eichel or Mittelstadt. Could also see Boldy or Caufield going here, probably not Zegras though.
8 Edmonton Broberg -> As per heavy speculation. If Broberg goes earlier I feel like Krebs could be their next choice, depending on his medical prognosis.
9 Anaheim Seider -> This one is a true guess, but I feel like Anaheim will be the wildcard of the top 10. With several tantalizing forward options like Boldy, Zegras, Krebs, Newhook, and Caufield available, they surprise and take a right-handed Hampus Lindholm clone to rebuild their no-longer-young-and-deep defense core. With the trades of Vatanen and Montour in recent years, their right side looks depleted and Seider has immense potential.
All this creates a path for Vancouver to have its choice of:
Zegras (their top target IMO)
Newhook (their possible #2)
Krebs (a possible option pending medical reports)
Boldy (unclear as to their interest but fits the recent “all things being equal we’d like to draft size” comments)
Soderstrom (if their opt for positional need over BPA)
I agree with your Vancouver priority order. I think they like Krebs more than Boldy. Just a hunch.
CHI - I think they take Turcotte. With things being even, I think they go with a building block up front and figure out their defense elsewhere.
COL - Jumps at taking Byram. This is exactly what they are looking for.
LA - I think they go with Cozens. Size and speed with a good shot. Plays centre. So they get to push their recent mantra of getting faster all while most of their older target criteria are satisfied.
DET - They take Dach. Yzerman went after CHLers and Russians with is first picks in Tampa. Podkolzin is also the other option, but I think they see a positional fit with Dach. Big and skilled centres are hard to come by.
BUF - Boldy all the way. The fact that he played centre before this year clinches it. If they need to push Mittlestadt to wing, they can move Boldy to centre. Otherwise, he checks off every box for them.
EDM - Broberg. Agreed. Too much smoke.
ANA - Initially I would have said Krebs. Yes, even before Zegras. Now, I think it's Podkolzin. Bob Murray hasn't shown a predisposition to taking Russians, but the value of this player being available at #9 is too much to forgo. ANA takes the faller. Seider is a good guess too. He along with Suzuki confirmed that they had interviewed with ANA.
VAN - Zegras.
Of course, ANA could take Zegras and crush hopes...
Generally, I think Dach and Cozens are gone in the 5-7 spots. The remaining team will take on of Podkolzin/Boldy. Then, EDM follows with Broberg. After them, it's the faller of Boldy/Podkolzin, or an off the board pick like Seider. Then VAN takes their BPA.
