Chris Peters unveils his latest Mock Draft, predicting all 32 picks in the first round.
www.flohockey.tv
Carbonneau and Boumedienne. Martone falls to 8 but that’s highly unlikely in this exercise as stated by Peters.
As we draw nearer to draft day, here's this year's edition of Pronman versus Wheeler.
www.nytimes.com
So, Corey, we’ll start with you this time: What makes you prefer Aitcheson to Mrtka?
**Pronman**: Aitcheson is a nearly 6-foot-2 defenseman who skates well, scored 26 goals in the OHL this season, 39 points the previous season, and offense isn’t his calling card. He’s a super physical and competitive player who provides a unique role. I think he, Mrtka and Jackson Smith project as second pair defensemen on good teams. Mrtka reminds me a lot of Simon Edvinsson and Dmitri Simashev. He’s an excellent all-around player, but the special part of his game is his frame. I would rather bet on the player whose special trait is his compete in Aitcheson.
Bultman: Scott, what elevates Mrtka for you?
**Wheeler**: I would rather bet on the high-end skating right-shot D in a nearly 6-foot-6 profile, and would argue that the special part of his game is the mobility as much as the size. He’s one of the better-skating D in the class for me, and the league is trending toward his profile. Despite Aitcheson’s high goal totals, I also have questions about just how much offense he’s going to have at the next level.
If they’re both top-four five-on-five guys, penalty killers and PP2 quarterbacks, I expect that Mrtka will have a higher impact in those kinds of minutes. I think he’s got a chance to develop into more than that, too. Mrtka is also a June ’07, whereas Aitcheson is a September ’06, and I think Aitcheson’s closer to maxing out in some areas than Mrtka is in terms of development.
**Pronman**: I don’t think Scott and I have seen Mrtka’s skating similarly in our conversations this season. He’s graded him as a premier skater. I think it’s good, but not elite feet — maybe it is for his size, but not overall.
On Prokhorov (I know he was mentioned recently)
I understand why teams covet the player type. I just wouldn’t use a first-rounder on a Toropchenko.
**Pronman**: My point was that I think he could at least be that. He reminds me more of Lawson Crouse than Toropchenko. When he played up age groups, for example, with Russia’s U20 team toward the end of the year, he looked like he had more than sufficient skill for the NHL. How much different is his profile from Charlie Stramel’s (Stramel a center, Toropchenko bigger)?
**Wheeler**: I think there are some similarities there as well. I didn’t have Stramel rated in the first round either, though.
