10:44pm ET - The San Jose Sharks took Ozzy Wiesblatt with the 31st overall pick. Wiesblatt is a small winger who is speedy and talented. The 18-year-old forward had 25 goals and 70 points in 64 games with Prince Albert last season. He looks comfortable on the power play and he should be able to contribute there in the NHL. Wiesblatt isn’t overly physical and his size is a bit of a concern (he’s listed at 5-foot-10, 183 pounds). He’ll need some time to fill out before he can compete for a job at the NHL level. The Sharks acquired this pick from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Barclay Goodrow.
And with that, the 2020 first round has concluded. There didn’t end up being any trades involving players during the draft, but there were certainly some surprises. The rest of the draft will be conducted on Wednesday and I’ll have a winners and losers column up after that. In the meantime, have a great night!
10:37pm ET - The Dallas Stars selected Mavrik Bourque with the 30th overall pick. Bourque uses his great hands and outstanding hockey IQ to make those around him better, which is evident from his 29-goal and 71-point campaign with the Shawinigan Cataractes in the QMJHL. The one knock on the slightly undersized forward (5-foot-10, 178 pounds) is his skating ability but he has shown signs of improvement and it is an area that can be improved on going forward.
10:30pm ET - With the 29th overall pick, the Vegas Golden Knights took Brendan Brisson. Brendan, the son of long-time NHL agent Pat Brisson, is an incredible skater who excels in the offensive zone. He mostly centered the Chicago Steel’s top line, finishing the 2019-20 campaign with 24 goals and 59 points in 45 USHL games. The next step of his career will be at the University of Michigan, where he will need to bulk up (5-foot-11, 177 pounds) and learn how to handle a more physical game.
10:24pm ET - For the third time tonight, the Ottawa Senators were on the board. They had the 28th overall pick from the New York Islanders as a result of the Jean-Gabriel Pageau trade and used it to select Ridly Greig. He’s one of those players who does everything well but does not excel at that one thing. He has been labeled a high-floor prospect, making him one of the safer picks and he has seen his draft stock rise of late. His strongest asset is his work ethic and he will stop at nothing to come away with the puck in the defensive zone. He has enough offensive upside (26-34-60) to be an effective middle-six forward at the NHL level.
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10:18pm ET - The Anaheim Ducks got the 27th overall pick from the Boston Bruins as part of the Ondrej Kase trade. The Ducks turned that selection into Jacob Perreault. The son of former NHLer Yanic Perreault, Jacob has really risen up the draft boards due to his shot that many have described as being one of the best of his draft class. He started his OHL career by hitting the 30-goal mark and he followed that up by scoring 39 goals and 70 points in 57 OHL games during the 2019-20 campaign. His biggest weaknesses are his inconsistent effort in the defensive zone, his vision and there have been mixed reviews on his skating.
10:13pm ET - The St. Louis Blues used the 26th overall pick to take Jake Neighbours. He’s a good passer who is hard to knock off the puck because of his size. The 6-foot, 200-pound forward doesn’t throw his weight around consistently, but he’s capable of being an effective forechecker. Even though his skating has improved, he still needs a lot of work in this area and that’s his number one issue going forward.
10:07pm ET - The Colorado Avalanche had the 25th overall pick and they used it on Justin Barron. Once projected as a top-15 pick, Barron has fallen down draft boards due to a complicated year that saw him miss the opening three months of the season for the Halifax Mooseheads. His offensive point totals regressed from 41 points in 68 games, to just 19 points in 34 games last season. Barron’s best tools are his skating and hockey IQ but there are question marks surrounding his health and offensive abilities at the next level. This might prove to be a very nice pick for the Avalanche.
10:00pm ET - The Calgary Flames finally made their pick. After trading down - twice - they selected Connor Zary with the 24th overall pick. A late September birthday makes Zary one of the older players of the draft but the Blazer offers plenty of skill that clubs would love to inject into their lineup. He’ll require some further refinement in junior to work on his skating and strength but Zary has all the tools to become an impact player at the NHL level. He had 38 goals and 86 points in 57 WHL games.
9:53pm ET - With the 23rd overall pick, the Philadelphia Flyers took Tyson Foerster. He exploded onto the scene in his second season with the Colts, more than tripling his goal and point totals from his rookie campaign. He can play both wing and center, with NHL size (6-foot-2, 194 pounds). However, like most junior players his size, Foerster will need to work on his skating but he has all the tools necessary to build upon his 36-goal and 80-point campaign with Barrie.
9:46pm ET - The Washington Capitals used the 22nd overall pick to grab Hendrix Lapierre. Clearly they wanted him given that they traded up from the 24th pick to get him. Lapierre is an intriguing prospect. Heading into the 2019-20 season, some experts had him ranked as the second-best player in the draft class. Unfortunately, he suffered a neck injury that limited him to just 19 games last season. The 18-year-old has shown that, when healthy, he has the offensive ability to dominate games. He picked up 11 points in just five games for Canada at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup last year and he also managed to pick up 17 points in 19 games with Chicoutimi. Lapierre’s ceiling is sky-high, but there are legitimate concerns about his health. He’s a high-risk, high-reward prospect. If his injury issues are behind him, then the Capitals are getting a steal here.
9:42pm ET - The Calgary Flames are apparently in no hurry to pick. After trading down from 19th to 22nd, they have traded down again. This time they moved the 22nd overall pick to the Washington Capitals in exchange for the 24th and 80th overall picks. So for those keeping score, Calgary has moved down from 19th to 24th and gotten the 72nd and 80th overall selections as a result. Not bad.
9:38pm ET - There are examples of teams who took someone ahead of where he was expected to go, but the Columbus Blue Jackets blew them all out of the water with their 21st overall pick. They took Yegor Chinakhov, who I think it’s fair to say no one expected to go in the first round. He’s got a good hockey IQ and moves the puck well. He’s also off to a good start in the KHL this season with five goals and seven points in 12 contests. That said, TSN’s Craig Button ranked him 59th overall and Button was perhaps the most favorable on Chinakhov. Others didn’t even have him in their top-100 prospects. If nothing else, Columbus is being bold with this pick.
9:31pm ET - New Jersey selected Shakir Mukhamadullin with the 20th overall pick. He’s already holding his own playing against men with Ufa, appearing in 27 games during the 2019-20 campaign while picking up a single point. He was a dominant player at lower levels, showcasing some high-end potential. Mukhamadullin size (6-foot-4, 178 pounds) will catch your eye, but like most players at that height, he’ll need to work on his skating before making the jump across the pond. If he’s able to put it all together, you could be looking at a future top-pairing defenseman. This is the Devils second pick of the night. They got the 20th selection from Tampa Bay as part of the Blake Coleman trade. This pick is actually well traveled. It originally belonged to Vancouver, but the Canucks sent it to the Lightning in the J. T. Miller deal.
9:23pm ET - As noted below, the Rangers traded up to get the 19th overall pick from Calgary and they’ve used that selection on Braden Schneider. Although not a slouch offensively, Schneider’s best asset is his hockey sense in his own end. He has incredible awareness to cover all gaps and always seems to have his stick in the right place. He compares favorably to Boston’s Brandon Carlo, a defensive defenseman who can play the hard minutes against the opposition’s top forwards. Schneider’s skating remains his biggest weakness and will require improvement before he is able to make the jump to the next level.
9:16pm ET - The Calgary Flames had the 19th overall pick, but they’ve decided to trade down. The New York Rangers grabbed the pick in exchange for the 22nd and 72nd overall selections. We’ll find out shortly who the Rangers wanted to trade up for. It’s worth noting that the 22nd overall pick originally belonged to Carolina, but the Rangers owned it because of the Brady Skjei trade.
9:12pm ET - With the 18th overall pick, the New Jersey Devils took Dawson Mercer. He opened the season with an impressive 42 points in 26 games for Drummondville last season, but his production dipped after he was moved to Chicoutimi (18 points in 16 games). The 18-year-old isn’t just a point-producer though, as he’s able to win puck battles and face-offs on top of his offensive abilities. Even though he played a limited role with Team Canada at the 2020 World Junior Hockey Championship, the fact that he cracked the team at all was pretty impressive. He projects as a second-line forward at the NHL level. The Devils got this pick from the Arizona Coyotes as part of the Taylor Hall trade. Unless there’s another trade, we’ll see the Devils again in a moment because they also control the 20th overall pick.
9:06pm ET - We’ve had some surprise picks already, but the Chicago Blackhawks are the first team to go completely off the board. They took Lukas Reichel with the 17th overall pick. His father, Martin, was a second-round draft pick of the Edmonton Oilers in 1992 and his uncle, Robert, played 830 games in the NHL. The 18-year-old produced 12 goals and 12 assists in 42 games while playing against men in the German League. He has good vision on the ice and he displayed that while serving as a middle-six forward for his club while also seeing some power play time. His play without the puck still needs some work, but he has plenty of time to improve in that area. A lot of projections pegged Reichel as a second-round pick, but the Blackhawks clearly valued him more than most and we’ll see if they’re right.
8:59pm ET - The Montreal Canadiens decided to take Kaiden Guhle with the 16th overall pick. Guhle, a former first overall pick from the WHL Bantam Draft is a smooth skating, defensive defenseman. He more than doubled his offensive output from his rookie season, finishing the 2019-20 season with 11 goals and 40 points in 64 games but many scouts don’t see that type of production translating to the NHL. What you get in Guhle is a player that knows how to use his 6-foot-2, 186 pounds size to his advantage, but it’s his skating that will likely get him to the NHL. His biggest area of improvement is his strength, but that will come with time. It was a bit of a reach for Montreal to take Guhle with this pick, but it’s in no way a big stretch.
8:53pm ET - The Toronto Maple Leafs didn’t control their own pick, but they got the 15th overall selection from the Pittsburgh Penguins as part of the Kasperi Kapanen trade. With that selection, Toronto grabbed Rodion Amirov. Even though the 19-year-old Amirov produced just two assists in 21 KHL games last year, many scouts believe that he has the ability to be an offensive player at the NHL level. Amirov produced 22 points in 17 games in the MHL (Russia’s junior league). The 6-foot, 180-pounder was one of the top forwards at the 2019 U-18 World Championship. He has good size and skating ability and he’s not shy about protecting the puck when it’s on his stick. Amirov needs to fill out, but he can be a top-six forward down the road. It will be interesting to see how he fits in with the Maple Leafs when he’s ready, given how many skilled forwards they already have.
8:49pm ET - With the 14th overall pick, the Edmonton Oilers took Dylan Holloway. He posted a modest eight goals and 17 points in 35 games during his freshman year with the Badgers, but his combination of size (6-foot-1, 195 pounds) and speed make him a solid prospect. He also plays a mature all-around game that NHL teams will appreciate. The 19-year-old still has some work to do before he makes the leap to the highest level, but he has all the tools to become a top-six forward. The Oilers need young forwards who can play alongside Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl and in a couple years, Holloway should get that opportunity.
8:41pm ET - The Toronto Maple Leafs gave up their first round pick to the Carolina Hurricanes back in the summer of 2019 so that they’d take the final season of Patrick Marleau‘s contract. The Leafs pick ended up being the 13th overall and the Hurricanes spent it on Seth Jarvis. He was a consistent point producer during the 2019-20 WHL season. The 18-year-old picked up 42 goals and 98 points in just 58 contests and he had point streaks of 10 and 11 games during the campaign. Jarvis isn’t big at 5-foot-9, 175 pounds, but he’s a complete player who competes in the offensive and defensive zones. He’s clearly one of the more dynamic offensive players in this draft class. Given his size, he’ll likely need to spend some more time in the junior ranks before he’s ready for the NHL. He has enough upside to develop into a first-line scoring forward.
8:35pm ET - The Florida Panthers controlled the 12th overall pick and they used it on Anton Lundell. He’s regarded as an all-around center who is capable of playing a 200-foot game. There are question marks surrounding his skill and offensive ceiling, but he still managed to put up a respectable 10 goals and 28 points in 44 games in Finland’s top division finishing seventh on HIFK in scoring. His foot-speed has also been questioned to varying degrees, but he always seems to be in the right place at the right time. Despite having just turned 19 earlier this month, Lundell has already been named an assistant captain for his team. Two-way centers with size are very valuable in today’s NHL and he should fit in well with the Panthers once he’s ready.
8:31pm ET - The first goaltender of the 2020 draft is off the board. The Nashville Predators have selected Yaroslav Askarov with the 11th overall pick. The next great Russian goalie, Askarov made his KHL debut at just 17 years of age, something that is almost unheard of for the goaltending position. What sets Askarov apart from his peers, is his terrific athletic ability, his reading of the game and his top-end rebound control for someone so young. Some scouts have questioned his glove hand, but he’ll have plenty of time to work on his few faults before he is able to make the jump to the NHL. In a few years, Askarov will be pushing Andrei Vasilevskiy as Russia’s top goaltender.
It makes sense that the Predators took this route. Pekka Rinne is in the twilight of his career and while Juuse Saros might prove to be a worthy successor, Nashville couldn’t put all their eggs in that basket.
8:22pm ET - Cole Perfetti had been slipping in the draft until the Winnipeg Jets scooped him up with the 10th overall selection. Perfetti finished second in OHL scoring last year, as he put up 37 goals and 111 points in only 61 contests. The 18-year-old has a high Hockey IQ and he’s loaded with skill and a good shot. At 5-foot-11, 180 pounds, you’d expect him to be a little bit faster than he actually is, but his skating ability isn’t really a concern. Perfetti may not be ready to make the leap to the NHL right away, but he has all the tools to become a high-end scoring forward with the Jets. Winnipeg might have gotten a bit of a steal here.
8:15pm ET - With the ninth overall pick, the Minnesota Wild took Marco Rossi. He certainly isn’t tall at 5-foot-9, 187 pounds, but that didn’t stop him from leading the OHL in scoring last year, with 39 goals and an incredible 120 points in 56 contests, becoming the league’s Most Outstanding Player in 2019-20. The 19-year-old isn’t just an offensive wizard, he also plays an incredibly steady two-way game. The Austrian forward isn’t the biggest prospect in the draft, but he has enough lower-body strength to compete at the NHL level. Given his skill-set and advanced age, he could be ready for the NHL as soon as next season. The Wild got a really nice pick here.
8:10pm ET - The Buffalo Sabres have opted to take Jack Quinn with the eighth overall pick. That’s also something of a surprise as many publications had Quinn going later than this. That said, Quinn is a high-end scorer in the OHL, as he put up an incredible 52 goals in just 62 games, finishing second to Maple Leafs prospect Nick Robertson. His 89 points allowed him to finish in the top 10 in OHL scoring. Quinn had just 12 goals and 32 points in 61 games the previous year. The 19-year-old is older than most of these draft-eligible prospects in 2020, but that doesn’t take away from the number he posted in 2019-20. In the long run, the Sabres could be getting a 25-35 goal scorer. Don’t count on him getting to that level anytime soon though.
8:03pm ET - The New Jersey Devils surprisingly ended up taking Alexander Holtz over Cole Perfetti with the seventh overall pick. Holtz is coming off a season in Sweden that saw him score nine goals and seven assists in 35 games. He also added three goals and two assists for Sweden at the 2020 World Junior Hockey Championship. The 18-year-old has an impressive wrist shot that should allow him to score at a high rate at the highest level. He’s a project and shouldn’t be expected to play in the NHL next season, but in a few years he could be a top-line winger.
7:56pm ET - The Senators decided to pass on Jamie Drysdale, instead opting to take Jake Sanderson over him, so the Anaheim Ducks grabbed him with the sixth overall selection instead. Drysdale combines his smooth skating with an incredible hockey sense to jump start offense from all three zones. He is equally adept at running a power play as he is shutting down the opposition’s best player. Drysdale does have shot accuracy concerns, especially on the power play where a wayward shot has led to odd-man rushes for the other team. That is an area he’ll need to work on but it won’t stop Drysdale from being an impact defender at the NHL level. It will be interesting to see who ends up being better between Drysdale and Sanderson years from now. Regardless, both blueliners are projected to have great careers.
7:49pm ET - We got a bit of a surprise from Ottawa with the fifth overall pick. The Senators decided to take Jake Sanderson despite fellow defenseman Jamie Drysdale still being on the board. Jake, is the son of former NHLer Geoff Sanderson. Sanderson is great on his skates and excels at controlling the tempo of the game, two skills that are highly coveted amongst NHL defensemen. Although not as offensively gifted as Jamie Drysdale, Sanderson possesses a more all-around game that will likely lead to a long NHL career. Don’t take that to mean Sanderson doesn’t possess offense (2-12-14 in 19 game played for the USNTDP), he just likely won’t develop into a power play quarterback. Fortunately the Senators already have Thomas Chabot to serve as their top power-play defenseman for years to come.
Between getting Sanderson and Tim Stutzle, the Senators have already drastically boosted their prospect pool tonight and they’re not done yet. Ottawa also has the 28th overall pick in the draft.
7:42pm ET - The Detroit Red Wings had the best odds to win the 2020 NHL entry draft lottery, but they ended up falling to fourth overall. That’s a blow to their rebuilding efforts, but they still got an amazing player in Lucas Raymond. Raymond is arguably the best skater in the entire draft class, as he has no problem beating his opponents with speed. His hands are also as quick as his feet. Thanks to his supreme skill, Raymond has the ability to set teammates up with glorious scoring opportunities. He’s capable of putting the puck in the net himself, but he seems more comfortable creating for his linemates. He picked up a respectable four goals and 10 points in 33 games as a teenager in the Swedish Hockey League.
7:39pm ET - The San Jose Sharks gave up their 2021 first overall pick to the Ottawa Senators as part of the Erik Karlsson trade. At the time, the Sharks were expected to be serious contender in 2019-20, but it ended up being a disastrous campaign for them. As a result, Ottawa came into this draft with the third pick and the fifth pick. With that third overall pick, Ottawa selected Tim Stutzle. The 18-year-old has hockey smarts and puck skills to spare. The fact that he’s such a smooth skater doesn’t hurt his chances of becoming one of the top talents in the NHL down the road. Some scouts have compared his game to Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner, who has become one of the premiere point producers in the NHL at a young age. Stutzle had seven goals and 34 points in 41 German League games last season. He projects as a top-line player for the Senators. If all goes well, he’ll be a major pillar of the Senators’ rebuild.
7:27pm ET - Everyone knew Lafreniere would go first overall, but there was some debate about who would be taken second. The Los Angeles Kings had that selection and opted to take Quinton Byfield. He offers that rare combination of size and skill that general managers desire. The 6-foot-4, 215-pounder has the ability to beat you with skill or he can run you over as well. The 18-year-old had 32 goals and 82 points in 45 OHL games with Sudbury last season and he was able to crack Canada’s U20 World Junior team at 17 years old. During a conference call in April, Byfield admitted that he models his game after Penguins star Evgeni Malkin. If he comes anywhere close to having the type of career Malkin has had, he’ll be a superstar in the league for a while. Like Lafreniere, there is a very good chance Byfield will dress for the Kings next season. He might even serve as their second-line center right off the bat. Byfield also made some history by being the highest drafted black player.
7:21pm ET - To the surprise of no one, the New York Rangers have taken Alexis Lafreniere. But hey, everyone was anticipating this for a reason. Lafreniere was the consensus first overall pick in 2020. He’s a dynamic winger with speed and skill to develop into one of the premiere wingers in the NHL. The 18-year-old put up 35 goals and 112 points in just 52 games with Rimouski last season and he added four goals and six assists in five games for Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship. It wouldn’t be at all surprising if he was wearing a Rangers jersey at the start of next season.
7:16pm ET - The NHL draft is officially underway and the New York Rangers are on the clock. They won the draft lottery, so they have the right to take Alexis Lafreniere, which will happen shortly unless they want to shock everyone.
7:07pm ET - Welcome to the 2020 NHL entry draft. Obviously this is another in a string of unusual events this year. The entry draft is taking place around when the 2020-21 would have started if not for the pandemic forcing everything to change. Speaking of the 2020-21 campaign, we got an update on that just before the draft started from NHL commission Gary Bettman. The league is now targeting Jan. 1 for the start of the season instead of Dec. 1.
We also got a major trade earlier today. The Montreal Canadiens acquired Josh Anderson from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Max Domi and a 2020 third-round pick (78th overall). Although Anderson has the potential to be a great power forward, it’s still surprising to see both teams regarding Domi’s trade value as being below Anderson’s (given that Montreal is the team that had to throw in a pick). Domi is just a year removed from his 72-point campaign and while he did significantly worse in 2019-20, Anderson is coming off a very disappointing season as well - albeit with Anderson’s problem being more injury-related than Domi’s. My initial thinking is that the Blue Jackets got the better half of this trade, but we’ll see.
At any rate, this likely won’t be the last trade of the day. We usually see some moves during the draft itself and sometimes those trades are big. I’ll be reacting to whatever trades might happen tonight while also discussing every first round selection, as they happen.
