Juxtaposer
Outro: Divina Comedia
With the news that the Avs are strongly considering taking a forward at #1, I thought it might be fun to do a full first round with some serious surprises and fallers and risers and stuff, just based on things I've heard.
So shouldn't be taken that seriously.
1. Avalanche: C Nathan Mackinnon.
Avs decide to take what they see as the BPA. They can start him this year on the wing, and then trade Stastny or O'Reilly at the trade deadline and move Mackinnon to top-9 center.
2. Panthers: C Aleksandr Barkov Jr.
With Mackinnon off the board, Florida picks another guy who will be a #1C. While Barkov may not have Mackinnon's speed, shot, or explosiveness, he's big, highly intelligent, and a great playmaker. Teams with shoot-first #1C's tend to have less success than ones with playmakers.
3. Lightning: W Jonathan Drouin.
Despite Jones on the board, Yzerman can't pass up the ultra-talented playmaking winger who has accolades in the Q nobody since Crosby has earned.
4. Predators: W Valeri Nichushkin.
Shrugging off the Radulov incident as a single data point, the Preds take the young powerforward who will form a dangerous combination of size and speed with Forsberg on their future first line. Jones isn't a need with Weber and many other young D-men in the mold, and the Preds proven ability to develop defensemen in the later rounds.
5. Hurricanes: D Seth Jones.
Carolina is ecstatic to see Jones on the board. He gives the Canes a potential star #1 defenseman and potentially a top-4 guy as soon as this season starts.
6. Flames: C Sean Monahan.
The biggest piece of the Flames rebuild, Calgary takes a futures big playmaking two-way #1C who has a captain-like demeanor that will please the fans.
7. Oilers: D Darnell Nurse.
The one C that new GM Craig MacTavish fails to mention in his profession that he'll take a center is Elias Lindholm. That combined with a strong need for a #2 left-handed defensive defenseman and MacTavish's recent high praise of Nurse, they grab him at #7.
8. Sabres: D Rasmus Ristolainen.
Buffalo's D is looking pretty weak these days, with Myers' regression and the failure of some of their prospects to take steps forward. They have young C's in the system who are coming along nicely, so they take the big, mean defenseman who is very close to NHL-ready.
9. Devils: C Elias Lindholm.
Jersey needs help up front in a bad way. They get a smallish but talented center who is responsible in his own end and is a countryman of Adam Larsson to add to their forward corps.
10. Stars: C Max Domi.
With a big two-way guy in Jamie Benn as their #1C, they can take a smaller center who's insanely talented in the offensive zone, but couldn't give a **** about the defensive zone.
11. Flyers: D Shea Theodore.
I think Theodore will have a meteoric rise a la Derrick Pouliot, and the Flyers will be the lucky team that makes it. Theodore is a phenomenal offensive defenseman with great speed and size whose style makes me think of Brent Burns (as a defenseman, you tools). Still very young for his draft class and has a lot of filling out to do.
12. Coyotes: C Bo Horvat.
Horvat fits Phoenix's MO perfectly, with the bonus of great playmaking ability and shooting, as well as a physical edge. While they wish someone with more offensive upside were there, Horvat is the BPA.
13. Jets: C Curtiz Lazar.
Lazar's lack of production at the beginning of the year rocketed him down draft lists, but he picked up his goalscoring as the year progressed and continued his great defensive and physical play. Combine that with his great skating and he's a very low-risk prospect.
14. Blue Jackets: C Alex Wennberg.
Big lanky playmaker gets sapped up by Jarmo, who sees him as a versitile two-way threat that can play any forward position and in any game situation. Those guys are very valuable to an astute guys like Kekalainen.
15. Islanders: D Ian McCoshen.
The Isles talented forward corps finally put it together this season, with reinforcements still yet to come from the likes of Strome, Nelson, and Nino. Their defense needs a boost and it comes in the form of the smart, big, smooth-skating American two-way D. McCoshen's style is reminiscent of a guy they see very often: Ryan McDonagh.
16. Sabres (via Wild): W Adam Erne.
Erne may not have the highest upside, but he's got the size and skating that give him a very high floor. The Sabres are rumored to like the big American winger, whose already Grigorenko's teammate in junior.
17. Senators: W Anthony Mantha.
Say what you say about his work ethic or whatever, this kid can flat out score. He puts up shots at a better rate than guys like Mackinnon and Drouin and could end up a James Neal type. High upside.
18. Red Wings: D Ryan Pulock.
BPA for the Wings, who have talent at all positions. Pulock has a lazar shot and is captain material.
19. Blue Jackets (via Rangers): W Hunter Shinkaruk.
Reportedly Shinkaruk had some very bad interviews, but Jarmo doesn't care, just like he didn't care with the David Perron pick, who's an eerily similar player. High offensive upside with great skating and creativity.
20. Sharks: W Morgan Klimchuk.
Klimchuk is a speedy, creative sniper who carried the load on a bad Pats team. Knows the value of hard work, which is a quality on which the Sharks place great importance.
21. Maple Leafs: D Nikita Zadorov.
Leafs need a shutdown defenseman and Zadorov fits the bill perfectly. Size, skating, shutdown ability.
22. Flames (via Blues): D Josh Morrissey.
Another guy with high character and high upside. A real boom-bust type.
23. Capitals: C Frederik Gauthier.
Gauthier doesn't have really any flaws other then lack of great upside. Washington's still in search of a big two-way #2C, and they could get it in Gauthier. He played very hard minutes in the CHL and did very well with them. Jonathan Drouin specifically mentioned Gauthier as someone who's very hard to play against.
24. Canucks: W Kerby Rychel.
Gillis specifically mentioned wanting to get younger and bigger and tougher, so look no further than Rychel, who plays a powerforward's game. He needs a serious playmaker to be an effective scorer, but he's quite the finisher.
25. Canadiens: D Samuel Morin.
I honestly dunno but Habs fans seem to be obsessed with big defensive defensemen so here.
26. Ducks: W Ryan Hartman.
They love guys with Harts.
27. Blue Jackets (via Kings): W Andre Burakovsky.
High upside, like a Sasha Semin type of player. Great speed and playmaking from the wings, but needs to learn how to translate that into production.
28. Flames (via Penguins): Valentin Zykov.
Guy drives the net and backchecks well. Curious to see how much he can improve on the numbers he put up as a Q rookie.
29. Blackhawks: Nic Petan.
With a big two-way C like Toews, they can afford for their #2C to be smaller and less defensively inclined. Small playmaker with elusive skating.
30. Stars (via Bruins): Madison Bowey.
Can't really go wrong with a D from Kelowna. Smooth skater with great offensive upside and played a great U18.
Wow, I got really lazy at the end. But the first half was fun.
So shouldn't be taken that seriously.
1. Avalanche: C Nathan Mackinnon.
Avs decide to take what they see as the BPA. They can start him this year on the wing, and then trade Stastny or O'Reilly at the trade deadline and move Mackinnon to top-9 center.
2. Panthers: C Aleksandr Barkov Jr.
With Mackinnon off the board, Florida picks another guy who will be a #1C. While Barkov may not have Mackinnon's speed, shot, or explosiveness, he's big, highly intelligent, and a great playmaker. Teams with shoot-first #1C's tend to have less success than ones with playmakers.
3. Lightning: W Jonathan Drouin.
Despite Jones on the board, Yzerman can't pass up the ultra-talented playmaking winger who has accolades in the Q nobody since Crosby has earned.
4. Predators: W Valeri Nichushkin.
Shrugging off the Radulov incident as a single data point, the Preds take the young powerforward who will form a dangerous combination of size and speed with Forsberg on their future first line. Jones isn't a need with Weber and many other young D-men in the mold, and the Preds proven ability to develop defensemen in the later rounds.
5. Hurricanes: D Seth Jones.
Carolina is ecstatic to see Jones on the board. He gives the Canes a potential star #1 defenseman and potentially a top-4 guy as soon as this season starts.
6. Flames: C Sean Monahan.
The biggest piece of the Flames rebuild, Calgary takes a futures big playmaking two-way #1C who has a captain-like demeanor that will please the fans.
7. Oilers: D Darnell Nurse.
The one C that new GM Craig MacTavish fails to mention in his profession that he'll take a center is Elias Lindholm. That combined with a strong need for a #2 left-handed defensive defenseman and MacTavish's recent high praise of Nurse, they grab him at #7.
8. Sabres: D Rasmus Ristolainen.
Buffalo's D is looking pretty weak these days, with Myers' regression and the failure of some of their prospects to take steps forward. They have young C's in the system who are coming along nicely, so they take the big, mean defenseman who is very close to NHL-ready.
9. Devils: C Elias Lindholm.
Jersey needs help up front in a bad way. They get a smallish but talented center who is responsible in his own end and is a countryman of Adam Larsson to add to their forward corps.
10. Stars: C Max Domi.
With a big two-way guy in Jamie Benn as their #1C, they can take a smaller center who's insanely talented in the offensive zone, but couldn't give a **** about the defensive zone.
11. Flyers: D Shea Theodore.
I think Theodore will have a meteoric rise a la Derrick Pouliot, and the Flyers will be the lucky team that makes it. Theodore is a phenomenal offensive defenseman with great speed and size whose style makes me think of Brent Burns (as a defenseman, you tools
). Still very young for his draft class and has a lot of filling out to do. 12. Coyotes: C Bo Horvat.
Horvat fits Phoenix's MO perfectly, with the bonus of great playmaking ability and shooting, as well as a physical edge. While they wish someone with more offensive upside were there, Horvat is the BPA.
13. Jets: C Curtiz Lazar.
Lazar's lack of production at the beginning of the year rocketed him down draft lists, but he picked up his goalscoring as the year progressed and continued his great defensive and physical play. Combine that with his great skating and he's a very low-risk prospect.
14. Blue Jackets: C Alex Wennberg.
Big lanky playmaker gets sapped up by Jarmo, who sees him as a versitile two-way threat that can play any forward position and in any game situation. Those guys are very valuable to an astute guys like Kekalainen.
15. Islanders: D Ian McCoshen.
The Isles talented forward corps finally put it together this season, with reinforcements still yet to come from the likes of Strome, Nelson, and Nino. Their defense needs a boost and it comes in the form of the smart, big, smooth-skating American two-way D. McCoshen's style is reminiscent of a guy they see very often: Ryan McDonagh.
16. Sabres (via Wild): W Adam Erne.
Erne may not have the highest upside, but he's got the size and skating that give him a very high floor. The Sabres are rumored to like the big American winger, whose already Grigorenko's teammate in junior.
17. Senators: W Anthony Mantha.
Say what you say about his work ethic or whatever, this kid can flat out score. He puts up shots at a better rate than guys like Mackinnon and Drouin and could end up a James Neal type. High upside.
18. Red Wings: D Ryan Pulock.
BPA for the Wings, who have talent at all positions. Pulock has a lazar shot and is captain material.
19. Blue Jackets (via Rangers): W Hunter Shinkaruk.
Reportedly Shinkaruk had some very bad interviews, but Jarmo doesn't care, just like he didn't care with the David Perron pick, who's an eerily similar player. High offensive upside with great skating and creativity.
20. Sharks: W Morgan Klimchuk.
Klimchuk is a speedy, creative sniper who carried the load on a bad Pats team. Knows the value of hard work, which is a quality on which the Sharks place great importance.
21. Maple Leafs: D Nikita Zadorov.
Leafs need a shutdown defenseman and Zadorov fits the bill perfectly. Size, skating, shutdown ability.
22. Flames (via Blues): D Josh Morrissey.
Another guy with high character and high upside. A real boom-bust type.
23. Capitals: C Frederik Gauthier.
Gauthier doesn't have really any flaws other then lack of great upside. Washington's still in search of a big two-way #2C, and they could get it in Gauthier. He played very hard minutes in the CHL and did very well with them. Jonathan Drouin specifically mentioned Gauthier as someone who's very hard to play against.
24. Canucks: W Kerby Rychel.
Gillis specifically mentioned wanting to get younger and bigger and tougher, so look no further than Rychel, who plays a powerforward's game. He needs a serious playmaker to be an effective scorer, but he's quite the finisher.
25. Canadiens: D Samuel Morin.
I honestly dunno but Habs fans seem to be obsessed with big defensive defensemen so here.
26. Ducks: W Ryan Hartman.
They love guys with Harts.
27. Blue Jackets (via Kings): W Andre Burakovsky.
High upside, like a Sasha Semin type of player. Great speed and playmaking from the wings, but needs to learn how to translate that into production.
28. Flames (via Penguins): Valentin Zykov.
Guy drives the net and backchecks well. Curious to see how much he can improve on the numbers he put up as a Q rookie.
29. Blackhawks: Nic Petan.
With a big two-way C like Toews, they can afford for their #2C to be smaller and less defensively inclined. Small playmaker with elusive skating.
30. Stars (via Bruins): Madison Bowey.
Can't really go wrong with a D from Kelowna. Smooth skater with great offensive upside and played a great U18.
Wow, I got really lazy at the end. But the first half was fun.
