S N Y P E R S 7

Logan Stankoven would be a steal in the second round. Love his hockey sense. Was a bit surprised to see McTavish so high up in the rankings, but hey he put on one hell of a show at the U18s. I also thought Pinelli would end up a bit higher in the final rankings, but meh.

Mason McTavish is looking like a great futures kind of pick. If he pans out, he could play that power game and help to create time and space for Pettersson and Boeser.

I mean, I saw Broberg compared to Virtanen in the way he thinks the game... I like him a lot, but he has to get smart.

Hypothetically Speaking Hughes goes first, Kakko goes second, Byram goes third, Dach goes fourth, Cozens goes fifth, Turcotte goes sixth, Boldy goes seventh, Caufield goes eighth, Podkolzin goes ninth... Who are you picking at 10?

I would be horrified if what Button's mock draft says comes to pass. Literally overlooking Turcotte, Krebs, Zegras, Newhook and Soderstrom for Harley... that would be a very disappointing day in Vancouver in my books.

What about who they take at 8? I could honestly see them picking Soderstrom or Broberg if Byram isn't around. Caufield would be my guess, though, simply because he does everything Kailer Yamamoto can but at a more proficient and consistent level.

I know this has been marked but goddamn. Last year Caufield had a combined 89 goals. Up until today, this year he's accumulated 109 goals. If he scores two more goals this year, he will have scored 200 goals combined in the last two seasons. He's 18 years old. His attitude and competitiveness are special too. Even when the team's down, he doesn't get frustrated or angry, he just ups his game. Oh yeah, my top 15 mock has been uploaded. Go check that out if you have time! http://www.mynhldraft.com/2019-draft/post-lottery-nhl-mock-drafts/

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Actually... He does. And he goes in and pins guys along the wall that are two times his size. I've been impressed with what he's willing to do, just as I wrote last year on Elias Pettersson's physical aggressiveness when he was a super lightweight. I see that fearlessness in Caufield, and a pretty well-rounded game. Pretty creative too with his puck movement and cycling. Now, if Krebs is available I'd rather have him. I feel like Pettersson and Boeser could use a similar guy but left shot over there on LW. Krebs might not be as good as Caufield will be, but he's a guy who would be able to make plays on their wing and finish on the odd occasion. We saw how limiting the right shot guy on that line was with Virtanen there. Yikes. Then again that miiight be because Virtanen's kind of... umm... dumb. But whatever.

I like this delineation. Think about it this way - if the NHL were based in Greece or Latvia, where the language is completely different and the cultures are different, where would you want to develop? There, where it's not as comfortable but the level of hockey is higher, or where you are situated, where you feel comfortable, things are familiar, the hockey style is familiar and you get to grow up properly and perhaps even get some education that will serve you post-career? I don't know. I'd take the latter, even though most of the more successful guys will take the first route. It also depends on the team drafting and the direction they want to take. Whoever drafts Podkolzin might want him to step in right away, which could create dissonance. He's an exceptionally talented two way player that can do it all and competes hard. Great vision, great feet, great sense.

My mock draft considering some of the U18 performances we've seen, as well as team need and major junior playoffs. 1. New Jersey: J. Hughes 2. New York: K. Kakko 3. Chicago: B. Byram 4. Colorado: K. Dach 5. L.A.: D. Cozens 6. Detroit: A. Turcotte 7. Buffalo: M. Boldy 8. Edmonton: C. Caufield (I'm so sorry buddy.) 9. Anaheim: V. Podkolzin 10. Vancouver: T. Zegras (Boston College.) 11. Philadelphia: P. Krebs 12. Minnesota: A. Newhook 13. Florida: V. Soderstrom 14. Arizona: P. Broberg 15. Montreal: A. Kaliyev

There hasn't been a whole lot of talk about swapping up or down. I'd think that, if Byram gets far enough down, say in the 6-8 range, Benning could package up a prospect like Juolevi and 10th to move up if the participating party is interested in a player around 10. There's also moving down. Guys like Samuel Poulin and Nils Hoglander could be amazing additions. Hoglander would add a little bit of nasty and a whole lot of skill to a Pettersson line.

I just saw this. I trust Malloy so much, like he taught me everything I know about evaluating prospects. I'd add Zegras to his list, but yeah it'll 90% be one of them. Soda, Boldy, Krebs, or, in my personal opinion, Zegras.

I like this idea. It doesn't matter how many goalies are in the system if none are ready to play, a la Mikey DiPietro. With more goaltending depth, injuries can be dealt with accordingly and situations like what happened earlier this year can be avoided. They've got Jake Kielly and DiPietro coming up, two solid prospects. Shoring up the position could be huge for them at the draft. I mean, if Spencer Knight is there in the second round I'm taking him without a doubt.

Canucks might like him, he almost came to prospects camp last year!

That'd be nice, and I mean some guys ranked around there don't even get drafted. Look at Nando Eggenberger for example, he's getting second looks. This might not even be Siedem's year. Who knows? Perhaps a year after going undrafted, he has a terrific freshman year at Harvard and he goes much higher than he would in this year's draft. For round two, wouldn't it be amazing if Samuel Poulin fell? That would be a blessing.

I love Ryan Siedem and Case McCarthy. Beecher would be a nice bottom 6 addition if he gets a bit quicker. I'd hope for Nick Robertson, but that's pretty unlikely. Dominick Fensore is tiny but one hell of a workhorse. I love his game and he's got some wicked offensive tools. Siedem would be a dollars and sense kind of pick though. He's a decent skater and he's got a great shot from the point. With some development he could be a potential top 4 guy, maybe complementing Olli Juolevi.

https://www.draftsite.com/nhl/mock-draft/2019/ These guys have: 1. Hughes 2. Kakko 3. Podkolzin 4. Cozens 5. Dach 6. Turcotte 7. Zegras 8. Soderstrom 9. Broberg 10. Bowen Byram 11. Boldy 12. Harley 13. Knight 14. Krebs 15. Lavoie Why in the world Edmonton would take Soderstrom there and why in the world Anaheim would take Broberg there?

I still think Oliwer Kaski is a sweet, unclaimed option that's open for business. That should definitely be explored, probably prior to the draft.

Levio? As in Wingardium Leviosa?

Pavel Dorofeyev is a really strong offensive player, but I wouldn't call him a surefire NHLer or someone whose game would translate well yet. He makes quality plays and makes a lot of hard passes look easy. He'll be readable in the NHL if he doesn't make decisions quicker though, as he needs to speed up his game a tad. Some of the things he's able to pull off in the MHL are unbelievable, but in pro leagues, they'd get him decked. He's not that far off, but he seems a bit floaty at times and I think more speed, agility and quicker decision-making could supplement, as you said, creativity in his game. He also needs to battle in the tougher areas. Heinola is good, I can see a bit of the comparison with Heiskanen. Heinola is a safe pick. He'll end up in the NHL, but it'll take some time. He has to refine his two-way game, but I think he has potential as a top 4 D that can put up points and get his stick in lanes. He's not as dynamic as some other guys, but he's super consistent and competitive. Would I rank him ahead of Spencer Knight? Probably not, as I think Knight has potential to be an elite, franchise-type goalie, but that area there is a bit iffy because of Broberg's slippage and how well Lavoie's been playing. If Broberg and Heinola are available, I'm picking Broberg. If Lavoie and Heinola are available, I'm picking on team need. It really depends, but Heinola has a case for being ranked a bit higher.

Oh this isn't a mock draft, I think I did one of those a while ago. This is just my best available.