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The NHL Entry Draft is here, and with it comes the requisite daydreaming about the future potential of the players your team will be picking. Will your team be picking the next Connor McDavid, or will the worst case scenario come true, and that first round pick turns out to be more Patrik Stefan than Patrick Kane?
The Toronto Maple Leafs won this year’s draft lottery, and with the first pick selected Joe Veleno from the St. John Sea Dogs. Playing in the QMJHL, Veleno netted 40 goals and dished out 62 assists in 62 games this year and was widely regarded as the can’t-miss prospect of 2018.
The rest of the top 5 played out as such:
2 - Florida Panthers select D Ty Emberson (10-40-50 in 50 games in the NAHL last year)
3 - Pittsburgh Penguins select C Jack Hughes (20-30-50 in 66 games in the OHL)
4 - New Jersey Devils select RW Andrei Svechnikov (42-44-86 in 52 games in the USHL)
5 - LA Kings select D Bode Wilde (19-42-61 in 50 games in the USHL)
The Golden Knights had the 22nd pick in the first round, and selected RW Mikhail Bitsadze from Russia with their pick. Bitsadze has been playing in the VHL, the KHL’s minor league, and is being brought along slowly - in his age 17 year, he average 8:21 of ice time per game, and that increased only to 10:52 in his age 18 year. GM Dan Hampton praised Bitsadze’s playmaking ability and looks forward to bringing the Russian over within the next couple of years.
In the second round, Vegas picked up QMJHL LW Brandon Brown. Brown sported a 31-61-92 line in his first year of action in the Q, and seems poised to turn into an offensive force in the league in the years to come. Scouts praise his ability to find the open man, and his ability to come through when his team needs it most. The team’s 3rd round pick was seen by some as a slight reach - Swiss winger Nando Eggenberger. Nando’s goalscoring ability is his strongest trait, but he slipped from what most thought would be a late 1st/early 2nd round selection to the 3rd because there is some concern that he will not be coming over any time soon - he’s locked up with HC Davos through 2021.
The team used their two 4th round picks on defensemen - Nikita Solopanov from Russia, and Emil Wiman from Sweden. Both are seen as strong bets to develop into good players, but as with Eggenberger, the concern is their desire to come across and play in the NHL. Vegas finished their first entry draft with two players who would seem not to have that issue - C Akil Thomas from the OHL’s Niagara Ice Dogs, and D Wyatt Aamodt from the Maine Black Bears. Thomas profiles as a fringe player with the ceiling of a 3rd liner, while Aamodt profiles similarly to a player like Dennis Seidenberg - a solid defensive presence with little scoring touch.
As always with the draft, the GMs of the league worked the phones and several high profile trades came about, including the rare Rangers-Islanders trade - the Isles send G J.F. Berube across the Brooklyn Bridge in exchange for D Nick Holden. The biggest names moved, however, were in Western Canada as the Edmonton Oilers sent RW Jordan Eberle to the Canucks for goalie prospect Thatcher Demko; the Calgary Flames answered by moving Roman Josi and the rights to college D Adam Smith to the Avs for G Calvin Pickard and RW Jannik Hansen.
We’re a week away from free agency - we’ll check back before the frenzy hits with a recap of any player movement between now and 12:01 AM July 1st!
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