NHL Mock Draft Version 3: It's a little man's game

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There's less than two weeks to go until the NHL draft, and so much is still in question after the first couple of no-brainer picks in Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel. The real monkey wrench in this entire first round will be potential trades taking place right before the draft that could really shake up the way the first round is expected to go down. 

Here is the 2015 NHL Mock Draft 3.0 during the season when everybody lies about which prospects they like, which ones they don’t like and which ones they might be motivated to move up for a chance at.

1. Edmonton – Connor McDavid (Erie): The generational prospect compared to Sidney Crosby will be the pick for the Oilers, and even went to Alberta for a special visit last week. It was a good choice to have the 6-foot-2-inch, 195-pounder visit Edmonton in June rather than four or five months ago. All that’s left is for the Oilers to say his name on draft night.

2. Buffalo – Jack Eichel (Boston University): The 6-2, 194-pound frame is an athletic beast and showed it during fitness testing at the combine. It may take him a bit to get the power game truly effective at the NHL level, but he’s going to be a dominant offensive player for a long, long time. The line of Evander Kane, Eichel and Matt Moulson will be fun to watch.

3. Arizona – Dylan Strome (Erie): The Coyotes need centers and Strome will fill that need in a big way should they hold onto the pick. The expectation is that the 6-3, 187-pound center fills out and makes good on those Joe Thornton comparisons. There is a good chance, though, that the Coyotes move this first rounder for an established NHL D-man or center, and try to appeal to the fan base now no matter where they’re playing next season.

4. Toronto – Mitch Marner (London): He looks like he’s about 14 years old and he definitely needs some time to fill out before he’s ready for NHL competition. But he is exactly the kind of speedy, playmaking center that the Leafs don’t currently have, and he’s got a bit of an edge to his game for a small fry as well. He’s also an Ontario kid with a bit of swagger, and they could use a young player like that after they clear out the toxic element from the dressing room. Oh, by the way he scored 44 goals and 126 points for the Knights last season. That’s pretty good.  

5. Carolina – Noah Hanifin (Boston College): The top-ranked defenseman in the draft and the third-ranked North American skater goes to a Hurricanes team that needs to replace Andrej Sekera. It will be interesting to see if the Canes immediately thrust the 6-2, 205-pound Hanifin into the NHL spotlight, or if he gets another year at Boston College to prepare for the NHL jump. The size, strength and skill package is there, but defenseman take time to develop fully. The Hurricanes will be bad enough, though, to allow Hanifin to make plenty of mistakes while learning at the NHL level.

6. New Jersey – Mathew Barzal (Seattle): The New Jersey Devils need some offensive jump, and it starts with the 5-11 play-making pivot from the Thunderbirds. Barzal had more assists (45) than games played this season, and immediately helps a Jersey team that needs to improve down the middle of the ice. His creativity and offensive instincts are among the best in the draft, but he’s also projected to be a good two-way center.

7. Philadelphia – Lawson Crouse (Kingston): The Flyers haven’t exactly been the Broad Street Bullies over the last few seasons, and they can get some of that back by selecting the nastiest power forward in the draft. The 6-4, 212-pound winger said he models his game after “a more-skilled Milan Lucic”, and has the offensive arsenal along with some snarl. He’s a perfect fit for the Flyers.  

8. Columbus – Ivan Provorov (Brandon): A 6-foot, 201-pound left-shot defenseman that’s solid at both ends of the ice, but really projects to be an extremely smooth, productive offensive D-man. He also doesn’t carry some of the normal Russian player caveats as he came to Pittsburgh when he was 14 years old to play North American hockey, and is fully immersed in the language and culture. Columbus needs good, young top-pairing defensemen. Mikko Rantanen would be the pick here if a forward is desired.

9. San Jose – Pavel Zacha (Sarnia): Doug Wilson adds the 6-3, 214-pound center to an impressive array of offensive talent with the Sharks, and continues to engineer the roster makeover in San Jose. Zacha was good, not great, in his rookie OHL season with the Sting, but the skills are all there to go along with a snarling attitude on the ice. Zacha also gives some needed youth up the middle with Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau starting to show their age. 

10.  Colorado – Zach Werenski (University of Michigan): He was a standout defenseman for the Wolverines, and looked just as adept on the power play as he did leading the team in grit categories like blocked shots. The 6-2, 192-pounder would fit right in with the Avalanche as they continue searching for a No. 1 defenseman, and may not need too much more time with the Wolverines before he’s ready for duty.  

11. Florida – Mikko Rantanen (Finland): The top-rated European prospect lands just outside the top ten as the 6-4, 209-pound power forward with huge upside will fit in nicely with Florida’s growing roster of talent. He’ll also have a Finnish buddy in Aleksander Barkov, a selling point he said would really endear him to an NHL team that drafted him.

12. Dallas – Kyle Connor (Youngstown): The speedy, skilled scoring machine is exactly the kind of piece that could fit right in with the offensive powerhouse getting built in Dallas. Talk about the perfect fit as a possible center or winger with big scoring upside, and they’ll get to take their time, if they want, with Connor as he heads to the University of Michigan.

13.  Los Angeles – Timo Meier (Halifax): The word is that the Kings are high on Meier, who is becoming a rising Swiss star in the draft. One might expect the Kings may go defensemen here with Thomas Chabot instead, but it shouldn’t surprise to see them opt for the big, strong Swiss right wing that’s also a goal-scoring machine. He had 44 goals in 61 games for the Mooseheads last season, and will follow in the tradition of Swiss prospects Nino Niederreiter and Mika Zibanejad.

14.  Boston – Travis Konecny (Ottawa): The Bruins would love Meier at this spot, but will gladly settle for the feisty, skilled Travis Konecny. The right winger is only 5-9, 173 pounds and would have never been a first-rounder back in the Old Time Hockey days. But the NHL has become a playground for smaller, skilled wings, and Konecny has the skills, the moxie and hustle to become one of those small-man success stories like Johnny Gaudreau. Konecny put on a show at the NHL scouting combines, outdoing many of his bigger fellow prospects. He’s also pretty feisty and not afraid to get his nose dirty, and that will endear him to the B’s brass as a skill player.

15. Calgary – Nick Merkley (Ottawa): Merkley isn’t the biggest guy on the ice at 5-10, 188 pounds, but impressed with his skilled, tough and pugnacious play en route to the Rockets falling in the Memorial Cup final. The Calgary native may end up going higher than this spot given the way he performed on the big stage over the course of this season, and the high end creativity and play-making in his bag of tricks is something any team could use a little bit more of.   

16. Edmonton (original pick of Pittsburgh Penguins) – Ilya Samsonov (Russia) – The Russian goaltender is the top-ranked netminder in the draft, and the only one that’s got a shot at being a first-round pick. The size is impressive at 6-3 and 203 pounds, and the Oilers need to find themselves an answer at the position. This pick will either be a goalie or a D-man, or will be used to attain a veteran goalie or D-man.

17. Winnipeg – Paul Bittner (Portland): The Winnipeg Jets are starting to stockpile big, heavy bodies up front and in back to deal with the other titans in the Western Conference, and the smooth-skating 6-4 winger knocked home 30 plus goals in junior last season. They could use a big, skilled body to replace Evander Kane, and Bittner might be that guy.

18.  Ottawa – Jansen Harkins (Prince George): Harkins comes from great bloodlines with two uncles and a dad that played in the NHL, and he’s got all of the makings of a strong, skilled two-way center. The scoring is there, the hockey IQ is there and you just get the sense that this kid is going to make it to the NHL as part of the grand Harkins family tradition.

19.  Detroit – Jakub Zboril (Saint John): Detroit is looking for D-men with some edge to their play. The 6-1, 185-pound defenseman has a hard-nosed edge, moves swiftly on his skates, has good size and aggressiveness and is capable of putting up points on the power play. What’s not to like about his game? This is good value on Zboril, who could go earlier than this in the first round.  

20. Minnesota – Colin White (USNTDP): White may be taken as early as Edmonton’s 16th pick, but this spot makes a lot of sense for a player ready to grow his game at Boston College. He’s got speed, clutch goal-scoring and impressive athleticism, and he wants to play the two-way game. He’ll also going to a great program at BC, and is already very good friends with Wild forward Charlie Coyle. The stars may be aligned on this one.

21.  Buffalo (original pick of New York Islanders) Evgeny Svechnikov (Cape Breton): The big (6-3, 205-pound) right wing has a sizzling shot, and has added quite a bit of muscle to his frame over the last year. He’ll fit right in with the collection of impressive prospects that the Sabres have acquired over the last few years.  

22. Washington – Oliver Kylington (Sweden): Some have made comparisons to fellow Swede Erik Karlsson in terms of his skating and skill set, and the Capitals would seem like a natural landing spot for that kind of slick offensive D-man. He has all the skill, but some question his decision-making on the ice and that may cause him to slide as it probably already has outside the top 10 picks.

23. Vancouver – Brock Boeser (Waterloo): The North Dakota-commit had 35 goals in 57 games at the USHL level, and has one of the best goal-scoring shots in the entire draft. There are some other areas of his game he’ll need to improve at the NCAA level, but he can put the puck in the net. He has been compared to Patrick Sharp in terms of scoring ability, and that’s a department that the Canucks would like to stock up in. Don’t rule out the Bruins taking him much earlier if guys like Meier and Konecny have already been taken by the 14th pick.  

24. Toronto (original pick of Nashville Predators) -- Brandon Carlo (Tri-City): The 6-5, 199-pound defenseman still has plenty of developing to do, but could be the kind of defensive beast that the Leafs have been searching for all over. He clearly has the size, but he also posted four goals and 25 points last season while showing some offensive upside for a stay-at-home type.

25.  Winnipeg (original pick of St. Louis Blues): Denis Gurianov (Russia): A 6-2, 187-pound left winger has overwhelming speed, ideal size and a great deal of potential in his game. He’s the seventh-ranked European prospect on the NHL Central Scouting list, but has a chance to be the best player produced in his draft class if he can continue refining his all-around game.   

26. Montreal – Thomas Chabot (Saint John): Chabot could be tapped as early as the 13th pick by the Los Angeles Kings, but will instead go here to a Canadiens team looking for young defensemen to stock their organization. The 6-foot, 180-pounder is consistent and solid, but not flashy. That may be why he slips a bit in a strong draft class of defensemen.  

27.  Anaheim – Jordan Greenway (U.S. NTDP): The production numbers aren’t there, but you can’t teach being 6-5 and 222 pounds as a teenager. That’s a project ready for some team to take a chance with, and Anaheim loves big and strong.

28. Tampa Bay (original pick of New York Rangers) – Joel Eriksson Ek (Sweden): He’s a 6-2, 180-pound center that really caught fire at the end of the season, and plays a strong puck possession game. He might not be the fastest skater around, but Tampa already has plenty of those guys. They could use a little more size and strength in a European talent like this guy.

29.  Philadelphia (original pick of Tampa Bay Lightning): Jake DeBrusk (Swift Current): The son of NHL player Louie DeBrusk, who is considered something of a blue-collar forward willing to play the price around the net. It never hurts to have NHL bloodlines when it comes to draft weekend, and he’s exactly the kind of player the Flyers traditionally appreciate.  

30.  Arizona (original pick of Chicago Blackhawks): Jeremy Roy (Sherbrooke): He’s got average size at only 5-11, 189 pounds, but he’s also got a well-rounded game with a maturity and leadership component that’s impressed many scouts. The 43 points in 45 QMJHL games also reveal a talented offensive defenseman with plenty of skill to spare, and Arizona needs that with Keith Yandle gone

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