The Official 2014 (Annual) Habs Board Mock Draft (Done!)

[Whitesnake]

I really like Kempe, but in talking with several scouts..he may not even be a first round guy for some teams. There is some Eller in him..doesn't always see the ice the best or have much creativity. I had him top 20 for most of the season, but after scouting his U-18 and getting some more feedback, I dropped him to the 25-30 range for the Hockey News draft rankings.

Having said that....there is a wide divergence of opinion in this year's draft...not just at the top..but all the way through. I can't guarantee that Kempe won't be picked top 15....that's the beauty of the draft, especially this year.

Absolutely all over the place and really fun to see that. Though...no 2nd rounder...so far.... Obviously immensely lucky to be able to speak to scouts though to get an idea to not "Justin Jokinenizing" players.... But at least we have you....you're kinda our Bob McKenzie....you are the ears of the scouting community.

 

[Jeffrey]

I really like Kempe, but in talking with several scouts..he may not even be a first round guy for some teams. There is some Eller in him..doesn't always see the ice the best or have much creativity. I had him top 20 for most of the season, but after scouting his U-18 and getting some more feedback, I dropped him to the 25-30 range for the Hockey News draft rankings.

Having said that....there is a wide divergence of opinion in this year's draft...not just at the top..but all the way through. I can't guarantee that Kempe won't be picked top 15....that's the beauty of the draft, especially this year.

Indeed lots of divergence! I heard two weeks ago Bob McKenzie said that a scout compared Bleackley to a young Patrice Bergeron and you also wrote I think a couple weeks ago that Bleackley is too much of a passenger in the defensive zone...
It seems hard to get consensus this year...
Also on Kempe, is he comparable to De la rose?

 

[habsprospects]

Just read BG's write-up.

Dear lord , I stopped at "The Anaheim Mighty Ducks" to post and never went back to read his write-up.

This is must read.

 

[Grant McCagg]

Indeed lots of divergence! I heard two weeks ago Bob McKenzie said that a scout compared Bleackley to a young Patrice Bergeron and you also wrote I think a couple weeks ago that Bleackley is too much of a passenger in the defensive zone...
It seems hard to get consensus this year...
Also on Kempe, is he comparable to De la rose?

Bleackley changed my opinion somewhat with his work ethic at the U-18's....he had a solid tournament defensively, and skated back harder than he did in some Calgary games. However...I don't see that high a ceiling for Bleackley..he's not the skater Bergeron is...nor do I think he is a high-end offensive guy. He'd be a nice pick late in the first/early second.

There are some similarities with those two Swedes I'd say, but DLR would be a bit better skater and may have a higher offensive ceiling. Kempe is a tough guy to project because he's three days away from being eligible for the 2015 draft, but at this point he just doesn't look like he'll ever be a super skill guy.."just" a big, fast hard working, gritty two-way player.

 

[MarkovtoSubban]

The Columbus Blue Jackets would like to thank Marc Andre Fleury for gifting us our first home ice playoff victory.

At 17th overall the Jackets select from KalPa in the Finnish Liiga LW Kasperi Kapanen

Jarmo says: "A potential gamebreaker with an elite shot and elusive skating. Hockey is in his blood and he is a fierce competitor. When the best player available is a Finn this makes me very happy."

 

[Whitesnake]

Dear lord , I stopped at "The Anaheim Mighty Ducks" to post and never went back to read his write-up.

This is must read.

Thanks for saying it, just went to see it too....Good stuff BG. Good job Habsfan18 for bringing this guy in our mock....was already worth it.

 

[Natey]

Damn it Jarmo, that was only the 16th pick, not the 17th.

My pick is still so far away...

 

[WeThreeKings]

I really like Kempe, but in talking with several scouts..he may not even be a first round guy for some teams. There is some Eller in him..doesn't always see the ice the best or have much creativity. I had him top 20 for most of the season, but after scouting his U-18 and getting some more feedback, I dropped him to the 25-30 range for the Hockey News draft rankings.

Having said that....there is a wide divergence of opinion in this year's draft...not just at the top..but all the way through. I can't guarantee that Kempe won't be picked top 15....that's the beauty of the draft, especially this year.

Great pick WTK. I will be shocked if he still is available when the Habs will pick. That's about where I'd have him. Surely not after #20.

It was definitely a gamble. I think there's so many question marks with every player listed from Perlini on that I grabbed the one that I had the most exposure with and that I thought had the highest potential upside for the type of player I like for the Stars organization.

Kapanen was the other one I was debating between but there's a bit of an injury history starting to develop with him. I went with Kempe on the basis that I like his skill set, style of play, I like how young he is in comparison to other kids in the draft class and am hoping for a Teuvo Teravainen situation where he might not necessarily go as high as he should but emerge as a top player from the draft in the subsequent season.

 

[NLHabsFan]

I just woke up, I'll have my pick up in a few. Thanks to T&S for making my pick a much easier one now.

 

[NLHabsFan]

1st Round - 17th Overall

​

Let me begin by thanking HabsFan18 for another great draft event. And thanks to Charles Barkley for giving the Flyers some love and attention on TNT.

We are very surprised and happy to see this player still available at our pick, and proud to select from the USNTDP, Alex Tuch.

Alex has progressed very well this year and his stock has continued to rise in our eyes. He already has NHL size and he plays prototypical Flyer hockey: strong and aggressive. He is a good skater for his size with a nice scoring touch and has a high hockey IQ. He will continue his development with Boston College where he will physically mature, work on his first step quickness and offensive abilities.

PMing next GM now.

 

[Blind Gardien]

Thanks for saying it, just went to see it too....Good stuff BG. Good job Habsfan18 for bringing this guy in our mock....was already worth it.

Well, he kempe'd on trying every year. Hopefully I'll be back mccann next year.

 

[yoteshot]

Perlini at 13 surprises me. I was torn between him and Virtanen at 9, liked Virtanen's top potential better.
Would have taken both before Ritchie I think.

Fleury at 11 is great value though, as is Kapanen @16

 

[QuebecPride]

Perlini at 13 surprises me. I was torn between him and Virtanen at 9, liked Virtanen's top potential better.
Would have taken both before Ritchie I think.

Fleury at 11 is great value though, as is Kapanen @16

I think after the top10 or so, there's no clear cut choices. I personally haven't been impressed by Perlini in my viewings.

Chose McCann, prefered him by a hair over Fabbri and Kapanen.

 

[Natey]

This feels so slow this year.

This is like 3rd/4th round pace. Ugh.

We were at the 50th pick already by this time last year.

 

[Whitesnake]

This feels so slow this year.

This is like 3rd/4th round pace. Ugh.

We were at the 50th pick already by this time last year.

True. Come on people...put your frustration in this thread...and make your picks.

 

[Account Terminated]

This feels so slow this year.

This is like 3rd/4th round pace. Ugh.

We were at the 50th pick already by this time last year.

Once again; Playoffs.

Last year, the Habs were done and we had been scouting for quite some time.

 

[Natey]

Once again; Playoffs.

Last year, the Habs were done and we had been scouting for quite some time.

What do the playoffs have to do with anything?

No, no we weren't.

It was 1-0 in the series against Ottawa by the time the 50th selection was made (May 3rd).. and we won the game that night making the series 1-1.

We weren't done until May 9th last year.

There were 90 selections made before we were beat out last year.

 

[Account Terminated]

What?

No, no we weren't.

It was 1-0 in the series against Ottawa by the time the 50th selection was made.. and we won the game that was exactly 1-year ago (today), making the series 1-1.

We weren't done until May 9th last year.

I'm confusing last year with two years ago. My bad.

Still though, we're in round two and the Habs are playing the Bruins to a 1-1 split. We're a group of thirty and the majority of us are quite active in GDTs and PGTs. No real surprise, given the circumstances.

 

[Natey]

I'm confusing last year with two years ago. My bad.

Still though, we're in round two and the Habs are playing the Bruins to a 1-1 split. We're a group of thirty and the majority of us are quite active in GDTs and PGTs. No real surprise, given the circumstances.

We were the second best team in the East last year too though.

 

[Monctonscout]

With the 18th pick in the 2014 NHL Mock Draft, the New York rangers are proud to select, from the Moncton Wildcats...Ivan Brabashev...

"we are very happy Ivan made it to us, he brings an excellent all around game, as he can generate offense as well as play a grinding physical game. we also feel his ability to play both center and left wing is also an asset. We feel he will be a key part of our core going forward"

 

[Natey]

3 picks today! On FIRE!

 

[Grant McCagg]

It was definitely a gamble. I think there's so many question marks with every player listed from Perlini on that I grabbed the one that I had the most exposure with and that I thought had the highest potential upside for the type of player I like for the Stars organization.

Kapanen was the other one I was debating between but there's a bit of an injury history starting to develop with him. I went with Kempe on the basis that I like his skill set, style of play, I like how young he is in comparison to other kids in the draft class and am hoping for a Teuvo Teravainen situation where he might not necessarily go as high as he should but emerge as a top player from the draft in the subsequent season.

I hear ya, but there's no comparison between the two players' skill sets. TT dropped because of size/toughness concerns...Kempe will not be drafted high because he doesn't have TT's offensive skills. Kempe is not a highly creative player, nor a great stickhandler, unlike TT. There are players ahead of him with question marks, but not regarding their offensive skills..thus they will go before Kempe. If Adrian had Perlini's shot and offensive skills he'd be a top 5 pick.

There is a North American forward everyone is underrating I see that will definitely get picked before Kempe..he was excellent at the U-18's. As soon as he's picked I'll be sure to heap some praise. Mind you at the pace this thing is going that might be sometime next year.

 

[NLHabsFan]

3 picks today! On FIRE!

What's wrong, you don't like the idea of the real draft racing us?

 

[Grant McCagg]

Great! When do we find out which team is lucky enough to get me as GM.

Maatta in 2012-claims best dman in the draft. Outcome: Valid.

Nichushkin in 2013-claims best player in the draft. Outcome:Valid.

LOL...Valid in what sense? Get back to us in 15 years..not 15 months. There's been no indication yet that Nichushkin will be a better NHLer than any of the top five picks.

 

[Natey]

What's wrong, you don't like the idea of the real draft racing us?

2014 has us beat. Maybe we'll get to round 3 by the time Conner McDavid is drafted.