Winnipeg Hockey Talk Mock Draft #1

Winnipeg Hockey Talk Mock Draft: Edition 1

Picks 1-12

I will probably do one or two more of these before the NHL Entry Draft on June 30

#	Player	Nationality	NHL Team	College/Junior/Club Team
1	Seth Jones	USA	Colorado Avalanche	Portland
2	Nathan MacKinnon	Can	Florida Panthers	Halifax
3	Jonathon Drouin	Can	Tampa Bay Lightning	Halifax
4	Aleksander Barkov	Fin	Nashville Predators	Tappara
5	Elias Lindholm	Swe	Carolina Hurricanes	Brynäs
6	Sean Monahan	Can	Calgary Flames	Ottawa
7	Darnell Nurse	Can	Edmonton Oilers	Sault Ste. Marie
8	Ryan Pulock	Can	Buffalo Sabres	Brandon
9	Valeri Nichushkin	Rus	New Jersey Devils	Chelijabinsk 2
10	Hunter Shinkaruk	Can	Dallas Stars	Medicine Hat
11	Nikita Zadorov	Rus	Philadelphia Flyers	London
12	Bo Horvat	Can	Phoenix Coyotes	London
13			Winnipeg Jets
14			Columbus Blue Jackets
15			New York Islanders
16			Buffalo Sabres via (Minnesota)
17			Detroit Red Wings
18			Ottawa Senators
19			Columbus Blue Jackets via (N.Y.R.)
20			San Jose Sharks
21			Toronto Maple Leafs
22			Washington Capitals
23			Columbus Blue Jackets via (L.A.)
24			Vancouver Canucks
25			Calgary Flames via (St. Louis)
26			Boston Bruins
27			Montreal Canadiens
28			Anaheim Ducks
29			Calgary Flames via (Pittsburgh)
30			Chicago Blackhawks

I think the draft starts at the #7 pick. Edmonton should take a defenceman and it should be Darnell Nurse. It is not a stretch to think they might opt for the offence of a Pulock or Morrissey or Ristolainen. Do you see how the dominoes start to fall? Buffalo’s pick now sets the tone for the next 5 or 6 teams. If the top 7 picks don’t go the way I’ve listed them here, it means those players fall down the list. Is that possible? Sure is!!!

A Look At The Draft Floor

If Buffalo takes either Pulock or Ristolainen, that leaves the other for the next 4 or 5 teams. Some interesting options for New Jersey, Dallas and Philly. I think Dallas is looking for a forward while NJ or Philly could go either way. No way Phoenix picks a D and I would be surprised if Winnipeg drafted a defenceman also. If Ristolainen was available they might be tempted.

The one player I could see dropping big-time that has been ranked in the top 10 is Valeri Nichushkin. He has been ranked as high as #4 but not playing in North American might hurt him more than a Barkov or Lindholm.

Draft picks 6- 13 could be a matter of team preference and/or organisational need. There is not a lot of difference in the quality of these players but a smorgasbord of different attributes. I really believe there are no losers in this bunch. There are defencemen and forwards with different size and skill levels to meet a teams needs.

I wonder how many Jerseys with different “name-plates” on them the top 15 teams are bringing with them to the draft.

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