Round #1, 18th overall: F Jett Luchanko
NHL: PHI 13th overall
I had Luchanko 16th on my list and he was a no-brainer at 18. Outlash by the Flyers fan base was loud enough after the pick, but there is so much room to grow with this kid. Very young for the draft class, he carried a challenged Guelph team into the playoffs and looks like a player who will be able to play any position up front on an nhl team, on any line. Flyers have already signed him to an ELC.
Round #2, 50th overall: F Raoul Boilard
NHL: NYR 119th overall
I liked (and still do) the overall talent level Boilard displays. Got size, smarts, skating, offensive instincts. Will need to play more in traffic though.
Round #2, 57th overall: D Leon Muggli
NHL: WSH 52nd overall
It's a serious accomplishment for a 17 year old to play a regular shift in the NLA, especially on defense. My last swiss pick was Janis Moser, and Muggli will work out just as well. Already signed to an ELC by Washington.
Round #3, 82nd overall: D Tomas Galvas
NHL: undrafted
Even though he went undrafted, there's hope that his talent level brings him to the big league down the road. He is not tiny, but small for a defenseman - and rail thin. He consistantly outperformed Adam Jiricek whenever i watched them play though, so there's that.
Round #4, 114th overall: F William Zellers
NHL: COL 76th overall
Nice surprised to see him picked that high. High schoolers are always a bit of an unknown in the draft, but Zellers does have quite a bit of potential in him.
Round #4, 126th overall: F Ethan Procyszyn
NHL: ANA 68th overall
Another rather surprising high pick, I really like his size and projectability. Anaheim has a lot of forwards like him in the system, so he will need to develop a defining trait to stick out of the masses, but the foundation is in place.
Round #6, 178th overall: F Luca Testa
NHL: undrafted
I did not expect him to get drafted, I still like what he brings though. Injured often and inconsistant when not, the flashes he displayed are showing his talent level. Time will tell.
After the draft the Nashville prospects rank as follows:
1 Canada Mavrik Bourque (F) Dallas Stars NHL 2002-01-08 178 84 R
2 USA Rutger McGroarty (F) Univ. of Michigan NCAA 2004-03-30 185 93 L
3 Canada Easton Cowan (F) London Knights OHL 2005-05-20 180 84 L
4 Canada Oliver Bonk (D) London Knights OHL 2005-01-09 187 81 R
5 Canada Jett Luchanko (F) Guelph Storm OHL 2006-08-21 180 85 R
6 Canada Tanner Molendyk (D) Saskatoon Blades WHL 2005-02-03 183 82 L
7 Sweden Isak Rosén (F) Rochester Americans AHL 2003-03-15 183 79 L
8 Italy Damian Clara (G) Färjestad BK SHL 2005-01-13 197 97 L
9 Canada Owen Pickering (D) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 2004-01-27 196 84 L
10 Sweden Dennis Hildeby (G) Toronto Marlies AHL 2001-08-19 200 101 L
11 Slovakia Adam Gajan (G) Univ. of Minnesota-Duluth NCAA 2004-05-06 190 85 L
12 Canada Étienne Morin (D) Moncton Wildcats QMJHL 2005-03-09 183 84 L
13 Canada Raoul Boilard (F) Baie-Comeau Drakkar QMJHL 2006-01-07 185 86 L
14 Switzerland Leon Muggli (D) Hershey Bears AHL 2006-07-09 185 80 L
15 Russia Dmitri Buchelnikov (F) Vityaz Moscow Region KHL 2003-09-06 179 77 R
16 Sweden Joel Nyström (D) Färjestad BK SHL 2002-05-14 189 79 R
17 Czechia Tomas Galvas (D) Bílí Tygři Liberec Czechia 2006-02-11 178 69 L
18 Canada Michael Buchinger (D) Springfield Thunderbirds AHL 2004-04-25 183 86 L
19 Canada Francesco Pinelli (F) Ontario Reign AHL 2003-04-11 185 84 L
20 USA Tyler Boucher (F) Belleville Senators AHL 2003-01-16 185 93 R
21 Canada Kyle Masters (D) Iowa Wild AHL 2003-04-09 183 80 R
22 Finland Aleksi Heimosalmi (D) Ässät Liiga 2003-05-08 181 82 R
23 Austria Vinzenz Rohrer (F) ZSC Lions NL 2004-09-09 178 73 R
24 USA William Zellers (F) Shattuck St. Mary's 18U Prep USHS-Prep 2006-04-04 180 77 L
25 Canada Ethan Procyszyn (F) North Bay Battalion OHL 2006-07-11 189 86 R
26 Sweden Theodor Niederbach (F) MoDo Hockey SHL 2002-02-25 180 78 R
27 Canada Luca Testa (F) Brantford Bulldogs OHL 2006-04-10 183 75 L
28 USA Gavyn Thoreson (F) St. Cloud State Univ. NCAA 2004-10-30 173 81 L
29 Finland Benjamin Rautiainen (F) Tappara Liiga 2005-06-12 183 79 L
30 Sweden Oskar Magnusson (F) AIK HockeyAllsvenskan 2002-01-31 179 75 L
NHL: PHI 13th overall
I had Luchanko 16th on my list and he was a no-brainer at 18. Outlash by the Flyers fan base was loud enough after the pick, but there is so much room to grow with this kid. Very young for the draft class, he carried a challenged Guelph team into the playoffs and looks like a player who will be able to play any position up front on an nhl team, on any line. Flyers have already signed him to an ELC.
Round #2, 50th overall: F Raoul Boilard
NHL: NYR 119th overall
I liked (and still do) the overall talent level Boilard displays. Got size, smarts, skating, offensive instincts. Will need to play more in traffic though.
Round #2, 57th overall: D Leon Muggli
NHL: WSH 52nd overall
It's a serious accomplishment for a 17 year old to play a regular shift in the NLA, especially on defense. My last swiss pick was Janis Moser, and Muggli will work out just as well. Already signed to an ELC by Washington.
Round #3, 82nd overall: D Tomas Galvas
NHL: undrafted
Even though he went undrafted, there's hope that his talent level brings him to the big league down the road. He is not tiny, but small for a defenseman - and rail thin. He consistantly outperformed Adam Jiricek whenever i watched them play though, so there's that.
Round #4, 114th overall: F William Zellers
NHL: COL 76th overall
Nice surprised to see him picked that high. High schoolers are always a bit of an unknown in the draft, but Zellers does have quite a bit of potential in him.
Round #4, 126th overall: F Ethan Procyszyn
NHL: ANA 68th overall
Another rather surprising high pick, I really like his size and projectability. Anaheim has a lot of forwards like him in the system, so he will need to develop a defining trait to stick out of the masses, but the foundation is in place.
Round #6, 178th overall: F Luca Testa
NHL: undrafted
I did not expect him to get drafted, I still like what he brings though. Injured often and inconsistant when not, the flashes he displayed are showing his talent level. Time will tell.
After the draft the Nashville prospects rank as follows:
1 Canada Mavrik Bourque (F) Dallas Stars NHL 2002-01-08 178 84 R
2 USA Rutger McGroarty (F) Univ. of Michigan NCAA 2004-03-30 185 93 L
3 Canada Easton Cowan (F) London Knights OHL 2005-05-20 180 84 L
4 Canada Oliver Bonk (D) London Knights OHL 2005-01-09 187 81 R
5 Canada Jett Luchanko (F) Guelph Storm OHL 2006-08-21 180 85 R
6 Canada Tanner Molendyk (D) Saskatoon Blades WHL 2005-02-03 183 82 L
7 Sweden Isak Rosén (F) Rochester Americans AHL 2003-03-15 183 79 L
8 Italy Damian Clara (G) Färjestad BK SHL 2005-01-13 197 97 L
9 Canada Owen Pickering (D) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 2004-01-27 196 84 L
10 Sweden Dennis Hildeby (G) Toronto Marlies AHL 2001-08-19 200 101 L
11 Slovakia Adam Gajan (G) Univ. of Minnesota-Duluth NCAA 2004-05-06 190 85 L
12 Canada Étienne Morin (D) Moncton Wildcats QMJHL 2005-03-09 183 84 L
13 Canada Raoul Boilard (F) Baie-Comeau Drakkar QMJHL 2006-01-07 185 86 L
14 Switzerland Leon Muggli (D) Hershey Bears AHL 2006-07-09 185 80 L
15 Russia Dmitri Buchelnikov (F) Vityaz Moscow Region KHL 2003-09-06 179 77 R
16 Sweden Joel Nyström (D) Färjestad BK SHL 2002-05-14 189 79 R
17 Czechia Tomas Galvas (D) Bílí Tygři Liberec Czechia 2006-02-11 178 69 L
18 Canada Michael Buchinger (D) Springfield Thunderbirds AHL 2004-04-25 183 86 L
19 Canada Francesco Pinelli (F) Ontario Reign AHL 2003-04-11 185 84 L
20 USA Tyler Boucher (F) Belleville Senators AHL 2003-01-16 185 93 R
21 Canada Kyle Masters (D) Iowa Wild AHL 2003-04-09 183 80 R
22 Finland Aleksi Heimosalmi (D) Ässät Liiga 2003-05-08 181 82 R
23 Austria Vinzenz Rohrer (F) ZSC Lions NL 2004-09-09 178 73 R
24 USA William Zellers (F) Shattuck St. Mary's 18U Prep USHS-Prep 2006-04-04 180 77 L
25 Canada Ethan Procyszyn (F) North Bay Battalion OHL 2006-07-11 189 86 R
26 Sweden Theodor Niederbach (F) MoDo Hockey SHL 2002-02-25 180 78 R
27 Canada Luca Testa (F) Brantford Bulldogs OHL 2006-04-10 183 75 L
28 USA Gavyn Thoreson (F) St. Cloud State Univ. NCAA 2004-10-30 173 81 L
29 Finland Benjamin Rautiainen (F) Tappara Liiga 2005-06-12 183 79 L
30 Sweden Oskar Magnusson (F) AIK HockeyAllsvenskan 2002-01-31 179 75 L
