A Draft Prediction

I'm probably going to be way off on this but predicting things, especially things as wide open as this, can be fun.  Last year's draft was fairly wide open with a couple players falling well below where they were projected to go such as Cam Fowler dropping from the top 3-4 to 12 and a couple of players jumping up such as McIlrath at 10 and the Avs own Hishon who was project in the second round but went to them at 17th overall.

This year's draft has a top end guy but isn't a consensus #1, then there is a top 5 or 6 with a couple of players just outside that making the first 9 picks in some order fairly agreed upon in mocks and by experts, though that can certainly end up having a wrench thrown in it (see Fowler last year again).  After those top 9 or so players though it is really wide open.  In fact, if you go to random experts and mocks drafts you can find perhaps 30-40 different players in the next 20 spots in all sorts of orders, just depending on which mock or which expert you're looking at.  That makes things this year much more open than in some years.  I'll do my best to predict the first round however (not taking into account potential trades)...

1) Edmonton Oilers - Ryan Nugent-Hopkins : While the Oilers could use a defenseman and could take Larsson they could also use a center and with the talent of RNH sitting there and being the best player available the Oilers can't pass on him.

2) Colorado Avalanche - Gabriel Landeskog : A tough choice, especially for me as an Avs fan, the Avs could go for the top line defenseman Larsson, the offensively skilled center/winger Huberdeau, but in the end will likely take the slightly less skilled winger who has a more complete package, is more physical, and is chock full of intangibles, work ethic, and leadership.  Any of those three, or RNH should Edmonton pass, and I'll be happy.

3) Florida Panthers - Jonathan Huberdeau : Already with young talent on the blueline the Panthers take the offensively gifted Huberdeau over Larsson.

4) New Jersey Devils - Adam Larsson : The Devils get a bit of a gift as Larsson falls from the top three right into their laps and will patrol their blueline for a long time. 

5) New York Islanders - Sean Couturier : The Islanders get the guy who started the season as the #1 pick all the way down at 5 to center their 2nd line and work with Tavares, making their young forwards even better.

6) Ottawa Senators - Ryan Strome : With good defensemen in the system the Senators take a chance with a forward in Strome who will provide them a young bluechip guy at forward.

7) Winnipeg ? - Dougie Hamilton : Winnipeg gets a very good two-way defenseman with their first pick back in their new city.

8) Columbus Blue Jackets - Ryan Murphy : Columbus could use a puck moving defenseman and with this pick they get the best skilled offensive defenseman in the draft.

9) Boston Bruins - Mika Zibenajad : Bruins will be able to pick up a guy with good offensive skills that should be able to contribute down the road.

10) Minnesota Wild - Sven Bartschi : Wild add a talented winger that should help them get a few goals in the upcoming years.

11) Colorado Avalanche - Jamie Oleksiak : Avs likely look at guys like Armia, McNeil, and Phillips up front and Beaulieu and Seimens on the blueline but then take a chance with the massive defenseman Oleksiak in hopes of developing their own Chara down the road.

-At this point I'm going to stop giving reasoning and just list players.  ;) -

12) Carolina Hurricanes - Nathan Beaulieu

13) Calgary Flames - Duncan Siemens

14) Dallas Stars - Joeseph Morrow

15) New York Rangers - Mark McNeil

16) Buffalo Sabres - Joel Armia

17) Montreal Canadians - Mark Scheifele

18) Chicago Blackhawks - Jonas Brodin

19) Edmonton Oilers - Oscar Klefbom

20) Phoenix Coyotes - Zack Phillips

21) Ottawa Senators - Boone Jenner

22) Anaheim Ducks - Tomas Jurco

23) Pittsburgh Penguins - Matt Puempel

24) Detroit Red Wings - David Musil

25) Toronto Maple Leafs - Tyler Biggs

26) Washington Capitals - Vladislav Namestikov

27) Tampa Bay Lightning - JT Miller

28) San Jose Sharks - Rocco Grimaldi

29) Vancouver Canucks - Brandon Saad

30) Toronto Maple Leafs - Ty Rattie

I'm probably way off on many of these, and that's ok.  As I stated earlier other than a top 8 or 9 give or take the next 30-40 picks are really all over the board depending on the scouting service, the mock draft, or the expert that you check out.  On one mock a guy at 11 might be at 23 on another and not even in the top 30 on yet another ... and that is very common once you hit about number 10.  Over 10 mocks you could probably find 35 different names in those 10-30 slots pretty easily.

Just a few more days and we'll see how it all shakes out.  I for one am looking forward to having a few new names to cheer for next season and to follow as they continue to develop, both for the Avs and in general.