The draft is a few days away. You already seen my top prospect rankings, now we’re gonna pick where they will go to start their careers. I’m sure they’re will be trades involving picks during the draft, but we’re just gonna select without any movement on the board.
1. San Jose Sharks: Macklin Celebrini
San Jose gets a #1 centre they can build around. With last year’s 1st round pick Will Smith on the way as well, the Sharks have a 1-2 punch down the middle for the next 15 years. Not a bad start to their rebuild.
2. Chicago Blackhawks: Artyom Levshunov
Of course Ivan Demidov would be a no brainer at this spot, but it’s hard for the Blackhawks to pass up a right shot defenceman that can come in right away. With Connor Bedard as their franchise centre, I easily see the Blackhawks picking their franchise defenceman in Levshunov.
3. Anaheim Ducks: Anton Silayev
The way general manager Pat Verbeek is building the Anaheim Ducks, there’s one common theme with his approach: Size! Leo Carlsson, Mason McTavish, Pavel Mintyukov, etc, and Silayev fits that theme. At 6’7, he joins a crop of young defencemen and can partner with one of Mintyukov or Zellweger with their offensive ability.
4. Columbus Blue Jackets: Sam Dickinson
I think Sam Dickinson just makes too much sense here. With how new general manager Don Waddell operated in Carolina, he likes his big players. Cayden Lindstrom would’ve been the pick here if not for the back injury, instead, they go with the big defenceman with huge upside in Dickinson. With Zach Werenski there, David Jiricek and Denton Mateychuk on the way as well, Dickinson will just add to a very promising core in Columbus.
5. Montreal Canadiens: Ivan Demidov
Montreal finally nabs that game breaking talent they’ve been searching for. Yes, they could’ve picked Michkov last year, but Reinbacher will be a very good defenceman for years to come. Now, they’ll have to wait a year for Demidov to come over from Russia, but they won’t mind that at all.
6. Utah HC: Carter Yakemchuk
Same as Anaheim, General Manager Bill Armstrong likes to build a big lineup, as shown with his previous draft selections. Dmitri Simashev, Conor Geekie, Danil But, Maveric Lamoureux, and now Carter Yakemchuk. The size, the offensive ability he has will complement well with Jan Moser and Victor Soderstrom on the back end.
7. Ottawa Senators: Zayne Parekh
With Thomas Chabot and Jake Sanderson on the left side, Ottawa doesn’t have much on their right side aside from Artem Zub, so picking Zayne Parekh just adds that offensive punch needed from the back end.
8. Seattle Kraken: Zeev Buium
I still believe Zeev Buium will be the best defenceman out of this draft, and Seattle sees that as well. Aside from Vince Dunn, there’s not a lot of depth in the pipeline of Seattle’s defence, so this is an excellent pick for them.
9. Calgary Flames: Tij Iginla
His hall of fame dad had his best years in Calgary, so why not continue the family legacy. After trading Matthew Tkachuk, Calgary lost some of that bite he brought on a nightly basis, and Tij brings bite along with his goal scoring.
10. New Jersey Devils: Cayden Lindstrom
Crazy to think Lindstrom would fall this far, and New Jersey nabs the best player available at this spot. The blend of size and speed will help that forward group a lot.
11. Buffalo Sabres: Cole Eiserman
Yes, Buffalo selects yet another forward, but they can’t ignore the best goalscorer in the draft. Eiserman with Zach Benson and Tage Thompson on the same line? That would be fun to watch
12. Philadelphia Flyers: Beckett Sennecke
Flyers grab a rangy two way forward with insane skill. He fits into what the Flyers are building in Philadelphia.
13. Minnesota Wild: Berkly Catton
With Marco Rossi potentially on the move this year, Minnesota grab his potential replacement. With Joel Eriksson Ek there, Catton adds elite playmaking to a Wild team that badly needs it.
14. San Jose Sharks (From Pit): Adam Jiricek
With San Jose already picking a centre, why not go for a right shot defenceman that was once pegged in the top 5 before his injury.
15. Detroit Red Wings: Konsta Helenius
Detroit gets a solid two-way player, and possibly the smartest player in the draft. With Larkin there, Helenius will complement that centre group, along with Marco Kasper and Nate Danielson.
16. St.Louis Blues: Stian Sohlberg
Doug Armstrong likes to build from the back end, and Sohlberg fits what St.Louis is looking for. Big, physical and underrated offence.
17. Washington Capitals: Liam Greentree
They drafted Ryan Leonard last year, and now they draft a similar player in Greentree.
18. Chicago Blackhawks (From NYI): Trevor Connelly
Connelly would go much higher if not for his off-ice antics, but the skill is too good to pass up. Connelly on Bedard’s wing would absolutely terrify opponents with his playmaking ability.
19. Vegas Golden Knights: Michael Hage
Vegas is getting a little bit older in the centre department, so why not reinforce it? Hage is a skilled centre with a good shot and great playmaking ability.
20. New York Islanders (From TB): Igor Chernyshov
Islanders grab a skillful winger at this spot. With some of their older players’ contracts running out soon, they have to restock the forward pipeline.
21. Los Angeles Kings: Michael Brandsegg-Nygard
The kings need help on the wings, and Nygard can help them. With Byfield and Kopitar, Nygard can add to that.
22. Nashville Predators: Cole Beaudoin
Beaudoin seems like a Barry Trotz player. Physically he’s ready for the NHL, but one more year in junior and he’ll make some noise.
23. Toronto Maple Leafs: EJ Emery
With what they already have up front, EJ Emery just makes too much sense here. The leafs badly need to address the defence, and this is one step towards rectifying it.
24. Colorado Avalanche: Terik Parasak
Parasak would be a good get for Colorado, a good goal scorer who can crack the top 6.
25. Ottawa Senators(From Bos): Andrew Basha
A slippery winger with some bite. Ottawa grabs a good top 9 forward with top 6 potential.
26. Montreal Canadiens (From Win): Yegor Surin
Surin is a bulldog, a motor that doesn’t stop running. They have that in Arber Xhekaj on defence, they could use it at forward with Surin
27. Carolina Hurricanes: Cole Hutson
The younger brother of Lane goes to Carolina to run their powerplay that’s already lethal.
28. Calgary Flames(From Van): Charlie Elick
Calgary won’t have to look far to find a defenceman. Charlie Elick playing in Brandon and with picking Iginla earlier, they grab a potential top 4 defender.
29. Dallas Stars: Emil Hemming
With Joe Pavelski on the verge of retiring, the stars will have to add some scoring to their top 9, and Hemming provides that in spades.
30. New York Rangers(From Edm): Ryder Ritchie
Rangers grab one of the better players still available at the end of the first round. Ritchie got injured earlier in the year, and was one of the best players in the WHL before his injury.
31. Anaheim Ducks: Dean Letourneau
Another unicorn, Anaheim likes the potential of Letourneau. If he hits, oh man he’s going to be tough to stop.
32. Philadelphia Flyers (From Flo): Marek Vanaker
A riser over the course of the year, Vanaker lands in Philly at the end of the first round.
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