The SB Nation NHL’s annual Mock Draft covers the opening round of the entry draft, which this year includes 32 prospects for the first time, after the Arizona Coyotes were forced to give up their selection before the 32nd event. teams from last year. This blocks the options that different sites will refer to now and in the future.
However, as the Montreal Canadiens have the first choice for the second round and will have significant time to discuss the options between when the opening round ends on Thursday night and the second day begins at 11:00 am on Friday , we decided to expand unofficially. the draft of one more selection to get an idea of what the Habs will look like as they are called up for the first of the 12 elections on the second day, at this time.
The complete list of 32 potential customers selected by the different SB Nation sites was as follows:
-
Shane Wright – Montreal Canadiens
-
Logan Cooley – New Jersey Devils
-
Juraj Slafkovsky – Arizona Coyotes
-
Simon Nemec – Seattle Kraken
-
David Jiricek – Philadelphia Flyers
-
Cutter Gauthier – Columbus Blue Jackets (from Chicago Blackhawks)
-
Joakim Kemell – Ottawa Senators
-
Matthew Savoie – Detroit Red Wings
-
Conor Geekie – Buffalo Sabers
-
Kevin Korchinski – Anaheim Ducks
-
Jonathan Lekkerimäki – San Jose Sharks
-
Frank Nazar – Columbus Blue Jackets
-
Marco Kasper – New York Islanders
-
Danila Yurov – Winnipeg Jets
-
Liam Ohgren – Vancouver Canucks
-
Brad Lambert – Buffalo Sabers (of Vegas Golden Knights)
-
Pavel Mintyukov – Nashville Predators
-
Lian Bichsel – Dallas Stars
-
Isaac Howard – Los Angeles Kings
-
Denton Mateychuk – Washington Capitals
-
Ivan Miroshinichenko – Pittsburgh Penguins
-
Rutger McGroarty – Anaheim Ducks (by Boston Bruins)
-
Jiri Kulich – St. Louis Blues
-
Gleb Trikozov – Minnesota Wild
-
Noah Östlund – Toronto Maple Leafs
-
Jagger Firkus – Montreal Canadiens (from Calgary Flames)
-
Lane Hutson – Arizona Coyotes (from Carolina Hurricanes to Montreal Canadiens)
-
Seamus Casey – Buffalo Sabers (of Florida Panthers)
-
Jimmy Snuggerud – Edmonton Oilers
-
Filip Mesar – Winnipeg Jets (from New York Rangers)
-
Owen Beck – Tampa Bay Lightning
-
Luca Del Bel Belluz – Arizona Coyotes (from Colorado Devessall)
With dozens of groups making decisions on behalf of their team, this is a decent representation of what the actual draft might look like, leaving us with some realistic options at 33 years old. We chose Jagger Firkus at 26 because we liked his potential to become. a great NHL side scorer, and we had our eye on one of the defenders, ideally one of the right shooting options, still available after making that selection.
In the last six simulated draft picks, two of those defenders, Lane Hutson and Seamus Casey, were eliminated from the board in the next two picks, followed by four strikers. When the first round was over, we still had Calle Odelius and Owen Pickering as left shooting options, and Ryan Chesley, Mattias Hävelid, Tristan Luneau, Ty Nelson and Sam Rinzel playing on the right side. We included some of the strikers of that rank in our staff debate, especially Nathan Gaucher and David Goyette, but in the end we chose Hävelid.
Place of birth: Täby, SwedenDate of birth: 1 January 2004 Shots: Right Position: DefenseHeight: 5’10 “Weight: 172 lbs. Equipment: Linköping HC (SHL)
If you missed our profile on Hävelid, we looked at a player more inclined to the offensive part of the game from the bottom, but who can still play well his defensive responsibilities.
This season he didn’t get a point in the SHL, alternating the men’s team and the under-20s throughout the season. Just getting that professional experience as a 17-year-old is a success in itself, and letting him see what he has to work on to find success in the professional ranks.
At the other levels, his offensive talents were evident: three points in just two games in the under-18 category that were too easy for him, 19 points in 29 games at the junior level that convinced the management staff to take him in the category. top level for 23 games, and an incredible display at the Under-18 World Championships with four multipoint outings in six competitions, included in the Gold Medal Game.
It’s only 5’10 “, which is lower than the typical defenses that had been selected before him (five of the eight blue players in the top 32 were at least 6’1”; only Hutson was lower), and he will have some difficulties in the NHL with this size. It would be a bigger concern if it were the best defense system the Canadians were trying to build, but they loaded more important players during Marc Bergevin’s tenure and can adopt a more complementary profile.
Joel Edmundson, Alexander Romanov, Kaiden Guhle and Jordan Harris carry their own brand of defensive play on the left side. The right-back is made up of David Savard, Chris Wideman, Justin Barron, Logan Mailloux and Jeff Petry, who may no longer be with the team after Thursday’s first round. There is room to bet on another offensive player like Barron or Mattias Norlinder, and Hävelid adapts to the bill.
Classifications
Elite Prospects: # 26HockeyProspect: # 63FCHockey: # 42McKeen’s: # 42Bob McKenzie (TSN): # 38NHL Central Scouting: # 19 (European Skaters) Corey Pronman (The Athletic) # 49Scott Wheeler (The Athletic): # 41
Most outlets have Hävelid below position 33, but he probably won’t be on the board yet when the Habs plan to select, at 62nd. If they want to add it to the group, they will need to bring it to that site or possibly change it and add another asset if they think a few options will be available later. We were happy to spend the first selection of the second round on a player who could become a key part of the team’s attack in the future.
It will be a while before he joins the NHL team. His SHL track record is a test that still has work to do to translate his game to the highest levels. You have to work on making decisions and it would be more of a threat to better skating, but these are things you could develop over the next few years.
He may never get to the NHL because he doesn’t take those crucial steps, but maybe he does and adds a necessary element to the current construction of the organization’s defensive depth. It’s a risk worth taking on for a team that has 14 draft picks, and while most of these types of players may not be successful, seeing two or three of them graduate to key offensive roles with the Habs would make it a successful draft.
We did a survey along with our mock selection of Jagger Firkus to see who they wanted to pick our readers in 26th place overall. While the winner of this poll, Jimmy Snuggerud with 17% of the vote, was taken by the Edmonton Oilers in the draft, the number two option, Nathan Gaucher (16%), was still available once they were made the 32 selections. Using all the same options from this poll (in addition to Owen Pickering, which was omitted), except for players who are no longer available at age 33, we will conduct a new poll for the initial selection of the second round.
Poll
Who would have been your choice in 33rd place overall?
-
34%
Nathan Gaucher (138 votes)
-
3%
Mattias Hävelid (14 votes)
-
15%
Tristan Luneau (60 votes)
-
16%
Owen Pickering (67 votes)
-
1%
Others (pay attention to comments) (5 votes)
398 votes in total Vote now
The history of SB Nation NHL Mock Draft Eyes On The Prize selections
2022: Jagger Firkus (26th) 2022: Shane Wright (first) 2021: Xavier Bourgault (31st) 2020: Mavrik Bourque (16th) 2019: Thomas Harley (15th) 2018: Filip Zadina (third) 2017: Urho Vaakanainen) 20125th): Tyson Jost (ninth) 2015: Thomas Chabot (26th) 2014: David Pastrnak (26th) 2013: Josh Morrissey (25th) 2012: Mikhail Grigorenko (third) 2011: Mark Scheifele (17th) 2010: Ryan Spooner (27th) 2009: Scott Glennie (18th)