I am not sure about you, but the picture above does not look all that fun. Professional athletes are poked, prodded, tested, re-tested, examined in excruciating detail, given psychological examinations and interviewed by scouts and team management hoping to find the smallest defect in personality, physiology and intelligence. Ultimately, they use all that data along with their countless amount of hours spent scouting to assist them in their selections on draft day. The level of detail of these examinations never really hit me until I saw a draft day feature about the St. Louis Blues. At the time, the head of the Blues’ scouting department was Jarmo Kekkalainen who allowed NHL cameras to see that he even consulted with growth evaluators that would factor in bone measurements to attempt to determine a player’s potential at further advancements in height or whether they had already peaked. So imagine the sorts of thoughts that would go through one’s mind while some strange doctor is putting you through your paces to try determine factors that are basically entirely out of your control. So for a player like 2011 hopeful Gabriel Landeskog (seen above) being put through these kinds of trials is all a part of being high profile NHL prospect. But they’re just hockey players?!?! To you and I that is probably the case but to NHL owners these players are multi-million dollar investments and the short and long-term future of a franchise can be altered from a team’s ability to maximize the results of any given draft.
One or a few great drafts can become a team’s core that will keep the organization successful for years to come. Want an example, just look at what the 1989 draft did for the Detroit Red Wings. The Red Wings selected Mike Sillinger (11th Overall), Niklas Lidstrom (53rd Overall), Sergei Fedorov (74th Overall), Dallas Drake (116th Overall), and Vladimir Konstantinov (221st Overall). All of those players were successful NHL players, and Lidstrom, Fedorov and Konstantinov would be key components of the team’s steady rise to prominence. Too far back you say, well how about the 2003 draft for the San Jose Sharks where they drafted Milan Michalek (6th Overall), Steve Bernier (16th Overall), Matt Carle (47th Overall), and Joe Pavelski (205th Overall) and while that is not nearly as impressive of a group as Detroit’s bounty of 1989 it still gave the Sharks plenty of talent to turn its fortunes around and / or as valuable assets that were dealt for important pieces it would use for years to come. Simply put, quality teams are built through the draft and fans and hockey experts realize this which is why they spend lots of time speculating who will draft who. The league even has its own group of experts who join in the speculation.
Mike G. Morreale’s Mock Draft
Adam Kimelman’s Mock Draft
Steven Hoffner’s Mock Draft
Deven Persaud’s Mock Draft
Some other mock drafts that may interest you.
MyNHLDraft.com’s Mock Draft
First Round Bust’s Mock Draft Part I
First Round Bust’s Mock Draft Part II
First Round Bust’s Mock Draft Part III
First Round Bust’s Mock Draft Part IV
First Round Bust’s Mock Draft Part V
First Round Bust’s Mock Draft Part VI
Bleacher Report’s Mock Draft Slideshow
Draftsite.com’s Mock Draft
DraftRank.com’s Mock Draft – Final Version
TSN’s Mock Draft 1-10
TSN’s Mock Draft 11-20
TSN’s Mock Draft 21-30
TSN’s Mock Draft 31-40
TSN’s Mock Draft 41-50
TSN’s Mock Draft 51-60
The Hockey News’ Mock Draft – Ryan Kennedy
Just like a meteorologist, these experts take into account a team’s needs and attempts to predict which teams will pick which players based on when they think those players will be available in the draft. Just as it is with your local weather person if they get it wrong, oh well, its just an educated guess right? I have little doubt there will be trades and surprises as that is what makes the draft fun to watch. In fact I remember the Wild surprising a non-rioting Vancouver crowd back in 2006 that was a sign the team wanted to go in a new direction.
The State of Hockey News will offer up our own renditions of how we see the 1st round playing out. How do you think the 1st round will play out? As we have less than a week until the NHL Entry Draft’s opening night, the wait will soon be over but that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun guessing in the meantime.
Click on “Read More” for the rest of the article…
Derek Felska’s Mock Draft
1. Edmonton – Adam Larsson (D – Skelleftea) ~ Last year the team drafted its franchise go-to player in Taylor Hall and now it can grab its franchise defensive anchor; and it adds to a young core that already includes Jordan Eberle and Magnus Paajarvi.
2. Colorado – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (C – Red Deer) ~ The Avalanche now have two great playmaking centers in Matt Duchene and Nugent-Hopkins. Hopkins is at least a full season from being NHL ready and Colorado will be willing to wait as he and Joey Hishon continue to ripen on the vine.
3. Florida – Gabriel Landeskog (LW – Kitchener) ~ The Panthers will love having this strong two-way center as they begin a long rebuild. Landeskog will remind some of Jonathan Toews in terms of his leadership qualities and that is precisely why Dale Tallon makes this pick.
4. New Jersey – Dougie Hamilton (D – Niagara) ~ The Devils have had a steady exodus of quality defenseman over the years and Hamilton is the stud defensive talent that can be a solid two-way component for a rebuild.
5. Islanders – Sean Couturier (C – Drummondville) ~ The Islanders will gladly take another skilled offensively gifted forward to go along with John Tavares, Josh Bailey, Kyle Okposo and Michael Grabner.
6. Ottawa – Jonathan Huberdeau (C – Saint John) ~ The Senators will gladly take the skilled scorer as they attempt to rebuild offensively as Daniel Alfredsson‘s career winds down. Perhaps the addition of Huberdeau finally marks the team’s best attempt to fill the offensive void left by the departures of Marian Hossa and Dany Heatley.
7. Winnipeg – Ryan Strome (C – Niagara) ~ Strome gives Winnipeg a great playmaking center that could eventually anchor the 1st line. Their prospect pool could use a good playmaker to go along with promising power forwards Patrice Cormier and Evander Kane.
8. Columbus – Ryan Murphy (D – Kitchener Rangers) ~ The Blue Jackets blueline has been craving an offensively gifted blueliner for years, Murphy is 100% offense and they won’t care that he doesn’t care too much about his defensive game as long as he can give their defensive corps the fast puck moving offensive dyanamo it has long been waiting for.
9. Boston – Nathan Beaulieu (D – Saint John) ~ The Bruins will see some changeover in its defensive core and it will relish the opportunity to acquire an incredibly skilled two-way defenseman in Beaulieu. First Tyler Seguin, now Nathan Beaulieu…pretty decent picks from the Phil Kessel trade.
10. Minnesota – Joel Armia (RW – Assat) ~ The Wild need scoring, and will be excited at the opportunity to draft the supremely skilled, 6’3″ Finnish-born goal scorer. With team captain Mikko Koivu already in the fold and the dimunitive but uber talented Mikael Granlund as Finnish stars I think the team will hope this will result in some extra special on-ice chemistry. (*This is not who I want but that’s who I think the team will draft. For who I want this team to draft you can see that here.)
11. Colorado – Mika Zibanejad (F – Djurgarden) ~ Colorado’s penalty kill was absolutely terrible. Zibanejad will give them a two-way forward who loves to be physical with his 6’2″ frame that can be used on both the power play and penalty kill and give them a player who some compare to Chris Stewart. Ironic they will be using the 1st rounder they acquired from the Blues to get a Chris Stewart-type player.
12. Carolina – Duncan Siemens ~ (D – Saskatoon) ~ The Hurricanes are pretty well set at forward but they would like to add a bit more sandpaper to its defense and Siemens gives them a mobile defenseman with an element of nasty to him to take some of the burden off of Tim Gleason.
13. Calgary – Sven Bartschi ~ (LW – Portland) ~ Bartschi doesn’t fit the classic Flames mold, but they need some offensive talent to replace aging scorers in Jarome Iginla and Olli Jokinen. Adding Bartschi to work with Swedish-born playmaker Mikael Backlund could make for an intriguing combination.
14. Dallas – Mark McNeill ~ (C – Prince Albert) ~ I think the Stars are going to be having lots of flashbacks about another kid they drafted from Prince Albert with their 1st round pick back in ’88 (cough Mike Modano cough) as they select the versatile Raiders power forward.
15. Rangers – Ty Rattie ~ (C – Portland) ~ The Rangers are looking to buyout Chris Drury and will be looking for skilled playmakers to replace him. Rattie could be a nice set up man for Brandon Dubinsky or Patrick Stepan, or speedy prospect Chris Kreider.
16. Buffalo – Mark Schiefele ~ (C – Barrie) ~ Buffalo has been looking to add more size to its group of forwards. With Zach Kassian sure to get a shot soon, the 6’2″ Schiefele would be another step in that direction.
17. Montreal – Jamieson Oleksiak ~ (D – Northeastern) ~ The Habs system is fairly well loaded with talent, so I think they may take a chance on the draft’s biggest project in the 6’7″ mobile blueliner from Northeastern to go along with another towering blueline prospect Jarred Tinordi. In addition the Montreal scouting staff seems to like to select players that either are playing for or planning to play for American NCAA teams as previous selections Louis Leblanc and Danny Kristo would suggest.
18. Chicago – Oscar Klefbom ~ (D – Farjestad) ~ The Blackhawks were giving Nick Leddy lots of ice time in the playoffs in part because they did not have a lot of options defensively and the steady Swedish blueliner will give Chicago some much needed depth at defense.
19. Edmonton – Jonas Brodin ~ (D – Farjestad) ~ The Oilers have auditioned a lot of defenseman the last few seasons but haven’t been overly happy with most of them. I expect for the Oilers to hope two skilled Swedes in Larsson and Brodin can change that.
20. Phoenix – Matt Puempel ~ (LW – Peterborough) ~ The Coyotes are a team that could certainly use some goal scoring; and with talented playmakers like Mikkel Boedker, Kyle Turris they will certainly be able to set up the Petes’ sniper.
21. Anaheim – Vladislav Namestikov ~ (F – London) ~ The Ducks could use some secondary scoring as they were very reliant upon the production of their top 3, and Namestikov gives an element of versatility of being able to play all 3 forward positions but also be a skilled forward who has sublime offensive ability.
22. Pittsburgh – Brandon Saad ~ (F – Saginaw) ~ The Penguins would like to be a little tougher to play against; and Saad gives them a big-bodied two-way forward who has the strength to battle near the crease. It doesn’t hurt that he’s a Pennsylvania native either.
23. Ottawa – David Musil ~ (D – Vancouver) ~ Musil is a no-nonsense stay at home defenseman that will help fill out the Senators blueline which could use an overhaul, and Jared Cowen and Musil will help in that regard. Huberdeau fills the offensive need and Musil helps rebuild the blueline.
24. Toronto – Boone Jenner ~ (C – Oshawa) ~ Jenner is hard working, big bodied team-first center that can develop into a Top 6 to Top 9 forward and they need all of the skill and versatility they can get.
25. Detroit – Connor Murphy ~ (D – USNDT) ~ The son of former NHL’er Gord Murphy‘s is a two-way defenseman with a reasonable amount of grit. With Brian Rafalski‘s retirement and Niklas Lidstrom’s not too far away they will want to have some options for replacements.
26. Washington – Scott Mayfield ~ (D – Youngstown) ~ This raw and still somewhat unrefined defenseman has grit, mobility in a decent-sized frame. The Caps are looking to round out their defense and even though Mayfield is a few years away they have shown patience in developing defensive prospects as they did with Mike Green, Jesse Schultz, Karl Alzner and John Carlson.
27. Tampa Bay – Rocco Grimaldi ~ (F – USNDT) ~ With Martin St. Louis on their team, the Lightning understands just how good a diminutive but immensely skilled forward can be. In fact many believe if he was 5’11” he could have gone 1st Overall and could very well be the steal of the 2011 Draft.
28. San Jose – Tomas Jurco ~ (RW – Saint John) ~ In the absence of any glaring needs, the Sharks will simply take the best player available and it will be tough to pass up a skilled scorer like Jurco.
29. Vancouver – Alexander Khoklachev ~ (C – Windsor) ~ The Canucks have seen just how huge a smallish but determined forward can be, and Khoklachev may not be pretty but he works hard and would help Vancouver maintain its depth at forward.
30. Toronto – Nicklas Jensen ~ (RW/LW – Oshawa) ~ The Maple Leafs will add another versatile but enigmatic skilled forward in Danish-born forward Nicklas Jensen. They may not be Daniel and Henrik Sedin but Brian Burke will hope these Oshawa twins in Boone Jenner and Jensen who both have solid potential that will provide character and skill should help Toronto re-stock the prospect pool.
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