As you know by now, here at the Rig we ran a mock draft over twitter on Monday, June 6th. Jonathan McLeod, Wheatnoil, Supernova, Joey Degner, Alex Thomas, Jason Adams, Kris Hansen and I all rotated through the 1st and 2nd rounds of the draft order, selecting whom we thought that particular team would select.
Today I’ll be outlining the picks I made in the 1st round, why I made them and adding a little information on each player selected.
So without further ado, here are my selections…
My first selection is 6th overall, and with it the Flames select Alex Nylander – A skilled right-winger out of the OHL, Nylander represents offensive potential and a natural balance on the wing opposite Johnny Gaudreau.
With the Flames looking at picking last in the supposed “second-tier” of forwards available (Dubois, Tkachuk and Nylander), they arguably got the most pure skill, if one can have such a thing, in the diminutive winger (although, listed at 6’, 185lbs, he may not be as slight as some would imagine). His production across several leagues suggests he has a very good chance at becoming a top six winger in the NHL, with the potential yet to become a 1st line right-winger as he matures.
The Flames were extraordinarily fortunate last June when they were able to address their defensive future through the acquisition of Dougie Hamilton and the drafting of Oliver Kylington and Rasmus Andersson.
They have some size and skill mixed throughout their lineup, but Nylander represents that asset which teams covet – goal-scoring prowess.
Brian Burke teams are not averse to drafting skill early regardless of size, as the selection of Nazem Kadri 7th overall in 2009 demonstrates.
Nylander would likely return to the OHL for another season, although I believe that due to his previous seasons overseas he is eligible to go directly to the AHL where he could perhaps accelerate his development playing against men in a North American setting.
14th overall the Boston Bruins select Luke Kunin – Kunin is a skilled, intelligent center with offensive potential. He has just finished his first NCAA season at the University of Wisconsin where he finished just below 1.0ppg and nearly matched his penalty minutes to scoring point-for-point.
Boston is developing a stable of prospects, having added DeBrusk, Griffith, Khoklachev, Senyshyn, Kuraly, Donato, Forsbacka-Karlsson, Morrow, Carlo and Zboril more recently, Kunin adds to the organization’s prospect options down the road. In addition, Kunin becomes their 11th prospect scheduled to play in the NCAA this season, an area of significant investment for the Bruins’ amateur scouting department.
22nd overall, and with their 2nd selection in the 1st round of the draft, the Jets select Vitali Abramov – The Jets have significant strength down the center and the addition of Patrick Laine on the left wing is a tremendous boon that will help to push everyone else down the depth chart at that position once he reaches the NHL. The right side of their forward corps is lacking, however, after Marko Dano and Joel Armia (both acquired via trade) and Abramov could develop into a tremendous right-winger in several years’ time, behind Nikolaj Ehlers.
Though smaller in stature at 5’9” and 179lbs, Abramov’s offensive output in his first season in the QMJHL puts him in elite territory (38-55-93 in 68gp, +36, 13 pts in 10 playoff games).
30th overall, the Maple Leafs select Janne Kuokkanen – In a relatively short period of time the Leafs have almost entirely refurbished their prospect list with solid young players, both at the developing and NHL levels. Kuokkanen continues that trend as a versatile forward who can play center or wing. While not large, he is of reasonable size for today’s game and has some offensive touch, scoring at 1.23ppg in the Finnish Junior A league last season and scored at a point-per-game pace with the Finnish world junior U-18 team this season as well. He is a prospect that the Leafs can draft and stow away for a few seasons to mature overseas before bringing him over to acclimate to the North American game. They are under no pressure to turn him into an NHL-ready player anytime soon and the payoff could be significant with his speed and playmaking ability.
Next up will be my picks from the 2nd round where I select for Buffalo, Detroit and Pittsburgh.
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