FC’s 2019 NHL Draft Mock
How’s the 2019 NHL Draft going to play out?
In reality, we won’t find out until the whole show. Not the sexiest of answers, but one that proves true each and every year. Chasing a perfect bracket — or first round, in this case — typically tops out in the opening five or six picks.
That doesn’t discourage us, though. Future Considerations scouts are still keen to play out the opening rounds of the 2019 NHL Draft, held at Rogers Arena in Vancouver on June 21-22.
How close will they get? We’ll see.
But until then, here’s how they see the first round shaping up.
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With the first overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, the New Jersey Devils are proud to select from the USA NTDP, C Jack Hughes.
Summary (via Justin Froese): Although Kakko made an incredible push and won over some with over-analysis in the slow months leading into the draft, Hughes’ body of work over the last two years and his top-end potential won over the Devils and they are thrilled to add a corner player stone down the middle. New Jersey adds a dynamic offensive player who can dictate every facet of play and has superstar upside in terms of point production. With the pick, the Devils pass on a more groomed, NHL-ready player, but talent alone should allow Hughes to be in the Devils top-six next year and for the next 10-plus seasons.
With the second overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, the New York Rangers are proud to select from TPS, RW Kaapo Kakko.
Summary (via Donesh Mazloum): The Rangers scoop up Kakko without second thought and add him to a stable of young up and coming forward prospects that they hope to build around. Kakko has shown both his upside and readiness in his performance against men in the Liiga this season and his outstanding play at the World Championship more than cemented his status as one of the top two picks in this year’s draft. He will be penciled into the Rangers top-six from the get go and should be a serious contender for the Calder trophy next season.
With the third overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, the Chicago Blackhawks are proud to select from the Vancouver Giants, D Bowen Byram.
Summary (via Andy Lehoux) : With Hughes and Kakko off the board, the Blackhawks grab an elite defenseman with first-pairing upside in Byram. Although a range of prospects have displayed flashes of greatness, Byram’s play in the WHL Playoff has solidified his spot as the third-best prospect. He controls the play at both ends of the ice and can be a real game changer. Great puck-moving skills and tremendous offensive awareness. Byram will fit nicely with their already excellent group of young defensemen in Boqvist, Jokiharju, Beaudin, Mitchell and Krys.
With the fourth overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, the Colorado Avalanche are proud to select from the USA NTDP, C Alex Turcotte.
Summary (via Joseph Aleong): With the first of two first round picks, the Avalanche can afford to go for the player with the highest ceiling left on the board. The Avalanche have stockpiled young defenders in recent years, leaving them without much in the way of young impact prospects at forward. Turcotte’s elite skill level and ability to play center make him a perfect fit for Colorado at No. 4. While he’s committed to Wisconsin for next season, Turcotte’s ability to score in bunches could push him into the Avalanche lineup sooner rather than later.
With the fifth overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, the Los Angeles Kings are proud to select from Lethbridge Hurricanes, C Dylan Cozens.
Summary (via Miika Arponen): With Anze Kopitar and Jeff Carter aging, the Kings stack up their pool of big, tough centers with Cozens who is not only big and tough to play against but skates very well for a player his size. While still a long work ahead of him, Cozens has the potential to fill up Kopitar’s boots in a few years.
With the sixth overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, the Detroit Red Wings are proud to select from the USA NTDP, C Trevor Zegras.
Summary (via Dylan Galloway): With his first selection as the GM Steve Yzerman takes the, creative, two-way forward from the stacked NTDP. Zegras is incredibly mobile making him difficult to contain with the puck and has shown a knack for being able to finish himself or make creative passing plays to create chances on net. Zegras, who also played wing, would be an excellent fit for the rebuilding Red Wings who already boast a loaded cupboard of forward prospects including Zadina and Veleno.
With the seventh overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, The Buffalo Sabres are proud to select from SKA 1946 St. Petersburg, RW Vasili Podkolzin.
Summary (via Zack Thompson): Buffalo takes the best player on the board as Podkolzin is a skilled player who falls into their lap at No. 7, and Buffalo needs more skill on the wing in their top-six. Podkolzin would get the protection and guidance needed playing with solid veteran players in Buffalo’s top-six.
With the eighth overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, the Edmonton Oilers are pleased to select from the Saskatoon Blades, C Kirby Dach.
Summary (via Simon Rouillard): Newly hired GM Ken Holland jump on stage, take a swing at Dach, who brings to the table a nice blend of size, offensive awareness and hockey sense. Simply put, an organization can never have enough skills at center, and that is exactly what Dach will add to the Oilers. Best-case scenario, Dach ends up as the team’s second center. Worst-case scenario, he ends up on the wing and feeds either McDavid or Draisaitl with savant passes. Both scenarios look good.
With the ninth overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, the Anaheim Ducks are pleased to select from the Mississauga Steelheads, D Thomas Harley.
Summary (via Simon Rouillard): Let’s face it; the Ducks are aging out and they need to retool their prospects pool, especially on defense. With some of their best students at forward (Steel, Comtois, Jones, Terry, Lundestrom), and a defense corps that is no longer the envy of the other 30 teams (plus an offensive production that is among the worst of the entire league), Harley’s pick makes all sense in the world. Harley progression this year was phenomenal and his mobility will serve him well under the sun of California.
With the 10th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, the Vancouver Canucks are proud to select from Winnipeg ICE, C Peyton Krebs.
Summary (via Sergey Kuzin): Krebs is pretty skilled guy and it’s very surprising that he’s still available. He can play both winger and center, but Vancouver could prefer him to be winger. The Canucks already have Pettersson and Horvat at center, defense with Hughes, Tanev, Edler and Juolevi, but depth on the wing depth leaves something to be desired. the top-six needs another skilled guys like Krebs.
With the 11th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft the Philadelphia Flyers are proud to select from the USA NTDP, LW Matthew Boldy.
Summary (via Justin Froese): With some of the bigger names clearing out and no real surprise fallers, the Flyers grab a player who brings the skill, speed and gumption to be an effective and productive pro player. With Ron Hextall stocking the Flyers cupboard well before Chuck Fletcher’s arrival, the team stays the course of drafting the player with the highest potential and believe Boldy will be a talented power forward anchor on the wing down the road.
With the 12th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, the Minnesota Wild are proud to select from Brynas, D Victor Soderstrom.
Summary (via Zack Thompson): Minnesota grabs the young Swedish defenseman as part of there beginning of a re-tool on the back end. Picking Soderstrom here provides them with a young blueliner with a high ceiling who could round into a top-four defenseman in the next couple years and allow them to move out some of there current defenseman and help rebuild their team.
With the 13th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, the Florida Panthers are proud to select from Mannheim, D Moritz Seider.
Summary (via Dennis Schellenberg): The Florida Panthers believe that Seider is the best player still available. Seider is a complete package consisting of size, skill, defensive awareness and offensive upside. There is not much Seider can’t do. He might not be the most offensive defender in this draft class but his offensive skills are slightly underrated. Played very solid in Mannheim this season and dominant at international tournaments.
With the 14th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, the Arizona Coyotes are proud to select from the USA NTDP, RW Cole Caufield.
Summary (via Dylan Galloway): The Coyotes are familiar with selecting small, offensively gifted forwards from the NTDP, after taking Clayton Keller seventh overall in 2015 NHL. Keller, who held the all-time points record for the program, will now be joined by fellow Caufield who had an impressive career as well, collecting the records for most goals in a career, most goals in a single season, and most goals in a single tournament. The Coyotes need some help scoring goals and Caufield can certainly help them in that department.
With the 15th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, the Montreal Canadiens are proud to select, from the USA NTDP, D Cam York.
Summary (via Joseph Aleong): The Canadiens have done a nice job re-stocking their farm in the last couple of seasons, with OHL Playoff MVP Nick Suzuki leading the way. York is the best fit for Montreal left on the board, as his strong positional play at both ends and ability to contribute consistently on offense gives them a blue-chip defense prospect. While it might be tempting to pair Nick with his brother Ryan Suzuki, Montreal takes the player it believes is closest to making an impact at the NHL level.
With the 16th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, the Colorado Avalanche are proud to select, from Victoria, C Alex Newhook.
Summary (via Joseph Aleong): The Avalanche take a boom-or-bust prospect with their second first round pick, as Newhook would be in select company as a BCHL prospect taken in the first round. However, his play at the international level showed that he can shine when surrounded with the best players of his age group and his explosive offensive ability could be the secondary scoring boost that Colorado desperately needs. He might need a couple seasons to gain strength and develop his defensive game at Boston College, but Newhook has the highest ceiling left on the board.
With the 17th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, the Vegas Golden Knights are proud to select from Skelleftea AIK, D Philip Broberg.
Summary (via Justin Froese): After clearing out all first rounders but Glass from their inaugural 2017 draft in blockbuster deals, Vegas adds a potential cornerstone figure to their prospect group in the big and highly fluid Swede. Broberg checks a lot of the boxes of a puck moving defender and is a player who loves to join the rush and play active off the point. While he does tip the scale and play with risk elements he also has the groundwork laid out to be a simple and effective defender who uses his body. He does get a bad rap for being a short-sighted player at times, but will be afforded time to weed out nuances to his game that may cause him to be too volatile on an NHL blue line.
With the 18th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, the Dallas Stars are proud to select, from the Barrie Colts, C Ryan Suzuki.
Summary (via Derek Neumeier): The Stars have needed to add elite playmaking forwards to their prospect pool for years, so they finally make that happen with the addition of Suzuki. He’s near the top of this draft class when it comes to passing, offensive awareness and creativity, which should make him an ideal future linemate for the many big, fast forwards the team already has in the system.
With the 19th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, the Ottawa Senators are proud to select from Lukko, D Ville Heinola.
Summary (via Dylan Galloway): Though the Senators are full of elite defensive prospects, they opt to take the best player available and really lean into their defensive depth with Heinola. The poised puck mover will fit in nicely with the group of rising stars on the Senators blue line. Moving the puck out of their own zone and killing penalties are two areas that the Senators need help with and Heinola has proven to be proficient in those departments.
With the 20th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, the New York Rangers are proud to select from the Edmonton Oil Kings, D Matthew Robertson.
Summary (via Donesh Mazloum): After picking Kakko with their first selection, the Rangers look to shore up the back end with their second pick in the first round. Robertson’s combination of size and mobility is made for the modern NHL, and his steady presence could be the perfect foil for Fox and his offensive prowess. Add in Miller and the Rangers have to be pleased with the quality building blocks they have amassed on defense.
With the 21st overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, the Pittsburgh Penguins are proud to select from the Hamilton Bulldogs, RW Arthur Kaliyev.
Summary (via Donesh Mazloum): The Penguins select one of the more enigmatic talents in the draft, in Kaliyev. There are still questions surrounding his skating and compete level, however he is also perhaps the preeminent goalscorer in this year’s draft. The Penguins take a home-run cut with this selection banking on the hope that riding shotgun and learning from two of the greatest centres of this generation will mold Kaliyev into the best version of himself.
With the 22nd overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, the Los Angeles Kings are proud to select from Halifax Mooseheads, RW Raphael Lavoie.
Summary (via Miika Arponen): In Lavoie, the Kings get a sizeable forward capable of playing all three positions and providing a lot of strength and offensive abilities to their front-end. Lavoie is a mix of a goal-scorer and a playmaker. With his skating abilities and puck skills, the Kings believe they have got the best available player in this stage of the draft.
With the 23rd overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, the New York Islanders are proud to select from the Niagara IceDogs, C Philip Tomasino.
Summary (via Andy Lehoux): The New York Islanders add a dynamic and skilled offensive forward who can drive the play in transition. Tomasino is dangerous off the rush thanks to his explosive stride, great agility and excellent puck skills. He has a great motor and he brings energy to every shift. He has the potential to become an impact player at the NHL level.
With the 24th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, the Nashville Predators are proud to select from the USA NTDP, D Alex Vlasic.
Summary (via Miika Arponen): A hulking defender at 6-foot-6, Alex Vlasic is a defense-first guy with decent offensive skills. For a defender his size, Vlasic is pretty good skater and allows him to keep a good gap control.
With the 25th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, the Washington Capitals are proud to select from Metallurg Magnitogorsk, LW Pavel Dorofeyev.
Summary (via Sergey Kuzin): The Capitals haven’t spent a first round pick on forwards since 2014 and the system depth highly lacks high-end offensive talents. Dorofeyev is a bit of long-term prospect, but you can’t pass his talent. One-way winger, he could improve his defensive side of the game, but has full package of offensive skills that can be called high-end. He skates fine and truly has a top-six upside.
With the 26th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, the Calgary Flames are proud to select, from the Sioux City Musketeers, RW Bobby Brink.
Summary (via Derek Neumeier): The Flames have had very good luck with adding small forwards, so they’re not scared by Brink’s lack of size. A cerebral player with incredible puck skills, Brink will be able to learn a lot from Johnny Gaudreau.
With the 27th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, the Tampa Bay Lightning are proud to select from Rogle, LW Nils Hoglander.
Summary (via Dennis Schellenberg): The Lightning get an offensive-minded forward that reads the game well and has the ability to drive the net with the puck, despite being rather smallish. Hoglander is a smart player that thinks the game at a high level and could pan out to be a very nice second or third-line prospect.
With the 28th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, the Carolina Hurricanes are proud to select from the USA NTDP, C John Beecher.
Summary (via Dennis Schellenberg): In Beecher, the Hurricanes get a power forward type of player. Beecher is a powerful skater, who possesses good overall speed. Very strong on the puck and on skates, he’s hard to separate from the puck and has all attributes that make a successful power forward.
With the 29th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, the Anaheim Ducks are proud to select from Prince Albert Raiders, RW Brett Leason.
Summary (via Simon Rouillard): The upsurge of the Calgary native is the improvement of his skating abilities, what made him one of the most dangerous players in all the CHL in 2018-19. He has intriguing physiognomy at 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds, and the Ducks will sure hope he becomes a key cog as one of the next young pieces on a team with aging forwards like Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry.
With the 30th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, the Boston Bruins are proud to select from the Moncton Wildcats, LW Jakob Pelletier.
Summary (via Donesh Mazloum): One of the downsides of being a consistent cup contender is that the prospect cupboard is often fairly bare. With no glaring need, the Bruins go with the best player available in Pelletier. While his size doesn’t scream Bruins hockey, his speed, tenacity, and work ethic certainly do. As a player with few weaknesses and who is just scratching the surface of his skillset, the Bruins are hoping they are taking the next Brad Marchand with this selection.
With the 31st overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, the Buffalo Sabres are proud to select from the London Knights, C Connor McMichael.
Summary (via Zack Thompson): Buffalo picks McMichael to add to their earlier selection of Podkolzin. McMichael brings the Sabres someone who can play down the middle in a second or third line, possess hockey smarts on the ice and knows where to be to be a scoring threat and could be used on the PP. Buffalo really gets a steal here, and with them getting both McMichael and Podkolzin really add a nice set of tools to their cupboard of prospects.
With the 32nd overall pick, the Ottawa Senators select from the Peterborough Petes, LW Nicholas Robertson. (Galloway)
With the 33rd overall pick, the Los Angeles Kings select from Kelowna Rockets, D Lassi Thomson. (Arponen)
With pick 34th overall pick, the New Jersey Devils select from USA NTDP, G Spencer Knight. (Froese)
With the 35th overall pick, the Detroit Red Wings select from the Flint Firebirds, D Vladislav Kolyachonok. (Galloway)
With the 36th overall pick, the Carolina Hurricanes select from Djurgarden, D Tobias Bjornfot. (Schellenberg)
With the 37th overall pick, the Carolina Hurricanes select from HV71, RW Simon Holmstrom. (Schellenberg)
With the 38th overall pick, the Edmonton Oilers select from the Kelowna Rockets, D Keadan Korczak. (Rouillard)
With the 39th overall pick, the Anaheim Ducks select from the Sarnia Sting, C Jamieson Rees. (Rouillard)
With the 40th overall pick, the Vancouver Canucks select from Sherbrooke Phoenix, RW Samuel Poulin. (Kuzin)
With the 41st overall pick, the Philadelphia Flyers select from the Baie-Comeau Drakkar, RW Nathan Legare. (Froese)
With the 42nd overall pick, the Minnesota Wild select from the Chicago Steel, LW Robert Mastrosimone. (Thompson)
With the 43rd overall pick, the Chicago Blackhawks select from Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, D Daniil Misyul. (Lehoux)
With the 44th overall pick, the Ottawa Senators select from Tappara, RW Patrik Puistola. (Galloway)
With the 45th overall pick, the Arizona Coyotes select from the Moose Jaw Warriors, LW Brayden Tracey. (Galloway)
With the 46th overall pick, the Montreal Canadiens select from Saint John, RW Maxim Cajkovic. (Aleong)
With the 47th overall pick, the Colorado Avalanche select from Jokerit, D Mikko Kokkonen. (Aleong)
With the 48th overall pick, the Vegas Golden Knights select from Jokerit, D Anttoni Honka. (Aleong)
With the 49th overall pick, the New York Rangers select from the Sioux Falls Stampede, D Ryan Johnson. (Mazloum)
With the 50th overall pick, the Montreal Canadiens select from Lokomotiv, C Ilya Nikolayev. (Froese)
With the 51st overall pick, the Winnipeg Jets select from the Muskegon Lumberjacks, LW Egor Afanasyev. (Thompson)
With the 52nd pick, the Florida Panthers select from Magnitogorsk, C Yegor Spiridonov. (Schellenberg)
With the 53rd pick, the Toronto Maple Leafs select from Djurgårdens, RW Albin Grewe. (Neumeier)
With the 54th pick, the Detroit Red Wings select from the Kingston Frontenacs, D Billy Constantinou. (Galloway)
With the 55th pick, the New Jersey Devils select from Shattuck St. Mary’s, D Jackson Lacombe. (Froese)
With the 56th pick, the Washington Capitals select from the Spokane Chiefs, C Adam Beckman. (Kuzin)
With the 57th pick, the New York Islanders select from the Moncton Wildcats, D Jordan Spence. (Lehoux)
With the 58th pick, the New York Rangers select from Medicine Hat, G Mads Sogaard. (Mazloum)
With the 59th pick, the Carolina Hurricanes select from the USA NTDP, D Henry Thrun. (Schellenberg)
With the 60th pick, the Detroit Red Wings select from the Saginaw Spirit, LW Nicholas Porco. (Galloway)
With the 61st pick, the New Jersey select from the Kelowna Rockets, LW Nolan Foote. (Froese)
With the 62nd pick, the St. Louis Blues select from the USA NTDP, D Drew Helleson. (Neumeier)
With the 63rd pick, the Colorado Avalanche select from the Dexter School, C John Farinacci. (Aleong)
With the 64th pick, the Los Angeles Kings selects from Frölunda, LW Samuel Fagemo. (Arponen)
With the 65th pick, the Philadelphia Flyers select from the Vancouver Giants, G Trent Miner. (Froese)
With the 66th pick, the Detroit Red Wings select from Bili Tygri Liberec, LW Michal Teply. (Galloway)
With the 67th pick, the Buffalo Sabres select from the Waterloo Blackhawks, LW Vladislav Firstov. (Thompson)
With the 68th pick, the New York Rangers select from Karpat, RW Tuukka Tieksola. (Mazloum)
With the 69th pick, the Florida Panthers select from Frolunda, C Karl Henriksson. (Schellenberg)
With the 70th pick, the New Jersey Devils select from the Chicoutimi Sagueneens, D Artemi Knyazev. (Froese)
With the 71st pick, the Vancouver Canucks select from Kelowna Rockets, D Jake Lee. (Kuzin)
With the 72nd pick, the Philadelphia Flyers select from Farjestad, D Albert Johansson. (Froese)
With the 73rd pick, the Minnesota Wild select from the London Knights, C Matvei Guskov. (Thompson)
With the 74th pick, the Arizona Coyotes select from the Flint Firebirds, LW Ethan Keppen. (Galloway)
With the 75th pick, the Nashville Predators select from Ässät, D Antti Tuomisto. (Arponen)
With the 76th pick, the Arizona Coyotes select from the Oshawa Generals, RW Danil Antropov. (Galloway)
With the 77th pick, the Montreal Canadiens select from Loko Yaroslavl, LW Daniil Gutik. (Aleong)
With the 78th pick, the Colorado Avalanche select from the Tri-City Americans, RW Sasha Mutala. (Aleong)
With the 79th pick, the Vegas Golden Knights select from USA NTDP, D Dominick Fensore. (Froese)
With the 80th pick, the New Jersey Devils select from the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, RW Alex Beaucage. (Froese)
With the 81st pick, the Columbus Blue Jackets select from Tappara Jr., D Martin Hugo Has. (Thompson)
With the 82nd pick, the Vegas Golden Knights select from the Kelowna Rockets, LW Dillon Hamaliuk. (Froese)
With the 83rd pick, the Ottawa Senators select from the Ottawa 67’s, RW Graeme Clarke. (Galloway)
With the 84th pick, the Toronto Maple Leafs select from the Tri-City Storm, C Shane Pinto. (Neumeier)
With the 85th pick, the Edmonton Oilers select from Ryazan, G Pyotr Kochetkov. (Rouillard)
With the 86th pick, the Vegas Golden Knights select from the Everett Silvertips, G Dustin Wolf. (Froese)
With the 87th pick, the Los Angeles Kings select from the USA NTDP, RW Judd Caulfield. (Arponen)
With the 88th pick, the Calgary Flames select from the Tri-City Storm, D Ronnie Attard. (Neumeier)
With the 89th pick, the Tampa Bay Lightning select from the Shawinigan Cataractes, C Valentin Nussbaumer. (Schellenberg)
With the 90th pick, the Carolina Hurricanes select from the Ottawa 67s, D Nikita Okhotyuk. (Schellenberg)
With the 91st pick, the San Jose Sharks select from Ilves, C Antti Saarela. (Arponen)
With the 92nd pick, the Boston Bruins select from the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, D Samuel Bolduc. (Mazloum)
With the 93rd pick, the St. Louis Blues select from the Sudbury Wolves, C Blake Murray. (Neumeier)