Canes Country Mock Draft, Version Two - The New Guy's Picks
by Lee Phillips on Jun 21, 2011 3:30 PM EDT
in 2011 NHL Entry Draft
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As we all saw, Bob made his picks for the 2011 NHL Entry Draft yesterday. Today is my day to look like a genius (or a fool) as I attempt to predict how the draft will shake out.
There are definitely some picks of Bob's that I agree with, but maybe he was a little too concerned about his upcoming visits to Las Vegas and Minnesota to worry about our mock draft (hopefully trash talking is allowed here).
So without further ado, I will present you all with the Canes Country Mock Draft , Version Two:
1. Edmonton: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins I think it will be too tough for the Oilers to pass up a RNH, Taylor Hall combination in the years to come.
2. Colorado: Gabriel Landeskog This kid has some size (6' 0", 207 lbs.) and skill (36 goals in 53 games) and will compliment some of the Avs youth nicely.
3. Florida: Jonathan Huberdeau The Panthers need to start developing some consistant offense, help fans cope with the loss of Nathan Horton, Jay Bouweester, Olli Jokinen, etc.
4. New Jersey: Adam Larsson This is as far as the big defenseman falls and the Devils are loving it.
5. NY Islanders: Douglas Hamilton The Isles have some promising young offensive in Matt Moulson, John Tavares and Nino Niederreiter; Time for the focus to shift to defense.
6. Ottawa: Sean Couturier Possesses size and talent. Good in all aspects of the game and can help put some punch back in the once-feared Senators attack.
7. Winnipeg: Mika Zibanejab Intense and physical player who drives the net will help put fans in the seats (if there are any left over) in Winnipeg.
8. Columbus: Ryan Murphy With some talented forwards in the system already, the Blue Jackets take the puck-moving defensive Ryan.
9. Boston: Ryan Strome Scoring goals helped the B's when the Cup last year and that is something Strome certainly brings to the table.
10. Minnesota: Sven Bartschi Not the biggest or strongest player in the draft, but has the technical skills to boost his game. Has great instincts on the ice and is a gifted puck handler.
11. Colorado: Oscar Klefbom This kid is a beast. A puck moving defenseman who can quarterback the powerplay or crunch people into the glass.
12. Carolina: Joel Armia Excellent two-way player who possesses a great shot and has a good presence in the slot. He's a bigger player (listed as 6' 3", 191 lbs.) who can bring a physical edge to his game. Great addition to a rollar coaster powerplay as well.
13. Calgary: Jamie Oleksiak This year's version of Tyler Myers. The Flames will love his size (6' 7", 244 lbs.) and his passing ability.
14. Dallas: Rocco Grimaldi On the other hand, Grimaldi is listed as 5' 6", 163 lbs. but has drawn favorable comparisons to Martin St. Louis due to his stick handling and spunkiness.
15. NY Rangers: Mark Schiefete A very good player in all aspects of the game. John Tortorella will love his disciple and his offensive upside.
16. Buffalo: Nathan Beaulieu The Sabres have depth at nearly every position except for on defense. Beaulieu needs a little physical development, but beyond that he is a gifted prospect.
17. Montreal: Mark McNeill A strong, hard-nosed player who can also kill penalties.
18. Chicago: Duncan Siemens The Hawks have never gone wrong with a defenseman named Duncan before have they?
19. Edmonton: Joseph Morrow The Oilers second pick of the first round will be defensive. Morrow has a heavy shot and a powerful stride - he's been climbing up the rankings and could turn out to be a gem.
20. Phoenix: J.T. Miller Miller can get under the skin of his opponents and throw other teams off their games. Reminds some of Sean Avery - just without the sharp tongue.
21. Ottawa: Nicklas Jensen Big, versatile forward will help create some room for Spezza and Co.
22. Anaheim: Jonas Brodin Great skater, stay-at-home defenseman. Could pair well with Fowler someday.
23. Pittsburgh: Brandon Saad A prototypical Penguins player; Has speed, size and killer hands - plus he was grew up just down the road in Gibsonia, PA.
24. Detroit: Victor Rask The Red Wings get their guy. With Nick Lidstrom staying another year, the focus in Detroit once again comes down to offense (I've heard they're interested in some older Czech guy as well).
25. Toronto: Alexander Khokhlachev Smaller Russian sniper has good hands and quick feet. Needs to develop his all-around game better though.
26. Washington: Tomas Jurco Deciding on draft picks for the Capitals is like picking out a birthday gift for Mark Cuban. What do you get a team that already has everything? In short, you take the best player left on the board and that would be Jurco.
27. Tampa Bay: Connor Murphy A good showing at the Under 18 World Championships helped boost Murphy's stock after an injury-filled season.
28. San Jose: Matthew Puempel Has a great goal-scoring ability and is one of the top skaters in the draft, takes a lot of chances though.
29. Vancouver: David Musil As the Canucks found out the hard way, you can never have enough depth on the blueline. Musil needs to work on honing his physicality, but has the potential to be a regular defenseman at the next level.
30. Toronto: Scott Mayfield Had trouble with this pick, going back and forth between Mayfield and players like Ty Rattie and Zach Phillips. Ultimately, i went Mayfield because he is a big, mobile defenseman who really only lacks a standout offensive game (something that comes with time, effort and good coaching)
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I predict that your picks will be more popular than mine! Nicely done.
Editing Manager of Canes Country.com
+1. Good picks. Still don’t see all the love for Grimaldi. And Edmonton has a huge need for D help. They have a lot of talented forwards. Wonder if they take Larsson at #1.
ya tough call, RNH is tough to pass because he’s going to be awesome but at the same time they dmen. Plante, Petry, and Teubert are all close and should be regulars add Whitney, Gilbert, Foster, Smid, Chorney, and Peckham. Maybe they pass on Larsson, they’ve got a lot dmen in their system, quality is the issue, so it has to come down to where they get more bang for the buck, I’d probably go with RNH.
Wouldn't go that far!
This could be one of the most unpredictable drafts after you get past the top 5 or 6.
Follow me on Twitter @LeePhillips18
by Lee Phillips on Jun 21, 2011 10:43 PM EDT up reply actions
Good job!!
Can’t see any real fault with any of those picks! my mock had them all in the top 35 except Rask who i have at about 50. Of course there are about a million different combinations possible when you get by #9!!
I personally hope we get Klefbom!
I’d be surprised if Armia makes it past Minnesota. They are in love with their Finns and Armia could make a great big power-forward compliment to future star Mikael Granlund who is smaller (not to mention Koivu is reportedly the only untouchable on the team).
I think a big factor in who drops to the Canes will be whether Colorado takes a forward or D at #2 (and conversely the opposite at #11).
I’ll second that.
It might be wishful thinking that Armia drops into the Canes laps.
Couldn’t go wrong with a number of these picks though…
Follow me on Twitter @LeePhillips18
by Lee Phillips on Jun 21, 2011 10:39 PM EDT up reply actions
Like pick but don't think Canes will draft a European in 1st
More delays likely before player reaches NHL. Doesn’t seem like a Canes’ thing to do. They wait and sign Finns later.
by curiouscanesfan on Jun 21, 2011 6:13 PM EDT reply actions
Nice Job, Lee
The more I read scouting reports on this draft, the more I am convinced the Hurricanes would be well-served to package two second round picks to take a later round first round pick. Players like Jensen, Biggs, Rask, may all go somewhat late in the first round, but could really help a team.
Interesting thought…
I think that this is a very deep draft that could produce some quality players down the road.
Follow me on Twitter @LeePhillips18
by Lee Phillips on Jun 21, 2011 10:41 PM EDT up reply actions
Yes, very good!
Mock drafts are always difficult; today on XM 92 John Forslund said that Rutherford hinted that he might be willing to take a defenseman at #12. What Forslund didn’t mention was that Rutherford also said that he’d be willing to take a defenseman at #12 if Adam Larsson dropped that far, which could only happen if Rutherford had the first 11 picks— and even then, we’d all be on pins and needles as the player was being announced. And even if Rutherford did pick Larsson at #12, he’d probably rescind the pick, claiming that it didn’t count because he misspelled the name, “hey, wait, isn’t that Larson with two s’s, oh, well, I guess it doesn’t really count.” Yea, so we all know Rutherford doesn’t like D-Men in the 1st round. Anyway, I am sure Armia would be a great pick here, but the Canes already have a tall blond forward in Dalpe, so maybe we go in another direction. Who knows.
TSN seems to think that if D-man Nathan Beaulieu is still available at #12 the Canes should take him.
If we pick Beaulieu I think he is on the Canes next year. He is a proven winner and was a warrior in the Memorial Cup tournament. Has the size and skill already, so much for D-men not being ready until age 25.
Is Beaulieu really that good and that far along?
It would be pretty surprising for the 5th defenseman taken (in this mock draft and the TSN mock draft) to jump straight to the NHL. Red Line Report has him rated 18th and notes he tends to make risky decisions. If that’s at all accurate, it’s hard to see the Canes taking Beaulieu with the 12th pick and playing him immediately.
On the other hand, Button and McGuire on TSN have the Canes taking Beaulieu at 12 and note JR doesn’t like to draft defensemen this high but say Beaulieu is too good to pass up.
It’s amazing how varied the opinions are on this draft.
by curiouscanesfan on Jun 22, 2011 7:36 AM EDT up reply actions
Klefbom...
This is the guy we should take (if available)!! he’s the total package, big, strong, fast , etc. etc. etc. who could play in the NHL quite soon!! We don’t need another smallish D-man, especially when this big guy has all the tools!!
Klefbom is 6’4", 200 lbs
Beaulieu is 6’3", 190 lbs
Not too much of a size difference. I have read a lot of places that Beaulieu looks NHL ready and if he could make the NHL it could very likely be for the Canes who have one of the weakest D corps in the league.
The Hurricanes articles hit all the finer points on Beaulieu… He is from a hockey family (Dad is a CHL coach), he is already a proven CHL champion and was one of the best players on the team (17 points in 19 games good for 4th on the team and 1st among D), he outplayed highly touted D prospect Simon Despres who is looking to make the jump to the NHL next year, went +44 last season (led the league among D), is a PMD that can QB a PP, and would have had an even better season if he wasn’t overthinking his first half of the year. I saw him during the Memorial Cup tournament and he was a beast.
The Hurricanes articles hit all the finer points on Beaulieu
Just remember, the Hurricanes didn’t do a profile on Skinner last year, I wouldn’t be surprised if they did the same again this year to keep from showing their hand.
Is there anyone they didn’t profile that is even in our range? Armia and McNeill I think they missed, that is about it. I don’t think Armia makes it past Minnesota for a second, but Id be fine with McNeill.
We need to start taking top rated D though if we ever hope to field a competitive squad. I think its a safe assumption that the Canes will never be ones to pay market value to a #1 or #2 UFA.
by JussiJuice on Jun 22, 2011 9:51 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
David Hanssen closely follows European players and had this to say about Klefbom, which is why I have my concerns about him:
""Klefbom seems a bit like a boom or bust player. The differential between THN ranking him as an early second rounder and ISS putting him as the tenth best skater kind of shows how disparate the views are on what type of player he will be. He’s 17, will turn 18 in July. He’s big but outside of 23 games in the Elitserien and the WJC-U18, is relatively untested. He was chosen over more highly ranked players (Like his teammate Brodin) to captain Sweden’s U18 team, so there are leadership qualities present. At the same time Farjestad kept him off the playoff roster while Brodin played in all 14 games on their march towards the championship. He could be a very good two way defenseman with size. Or he could wind up being a 6’3" road cone. Is it enough to gamble a high pick on him? Or trade picks to move into the middle-late part of the 1st round and pick him a la de Haan two years ago?"
The views on Beaulieu across almost all analysts is consistent and most have him as a top 10 talent, maybe falling to 10 to 15. Why I like Beaulieu more is that although he has decent size, shot, etc., he is also a good skater. Klefbom has at times looked slow to me and I saw guys with speed get around him.
nice write-up, I don’t follow the kids in Europe or know much about the rigors of playing over there in any of their U-20 programs so I always defer to the CHL/college bound kids because of what a test it is to excel in those leagues, which I argue are the toughest in the world, especially the CHL. This maybe unfair and biased, but I’ve played in a couple of junior tournaments in Europe (Czech & Germany) and found there to be a large disparity in talent per team, I’m sure this has changed, so for me it’s always better to take a kid that’s been under the microscope since he was 14 versus a kid that we know a lot less about, especially with 1st round picks.
I watched Beaulieu live a couple games this year and a few games on the internet and he doesn’t seem ready to play in the NHL next year. He could likely start in the AHL though.
You can’t go to the AHL as a North American right out of the draft. It’s NHL or back to junior.
by Cory Lavalette on Jun 22, 2011 10:07 AM EDT up reply actions
Not to knock Armia, but he has been said to lack that killer instinct and drive. I know a lot of kids his age lack that and it comes with maturation; still a concern though.
The one player I really want is defenseman, Mike Reilly from Shattuck Saint Mary’s. Scouts are saying he has exceptional vision and passing skills, second to none in this draft. The knock on him is that he is very slight; 5’ 10" and only 150 lbs.
Add some meat on those bones and he could turn out to be better than Ryan Murphy. Seems like a legit sleeper and Shattuck’s lineage helps; they produce epic NHLers, even if Jack Johnson did burn us.
Interesting Sleeper… Says he grew 5 inches very recently and still hasn’t really filled out. Shattuck is certainly a breeding pool for NHL players.
My sleeper is Zach Yuen. Has one of the highest plus/minuses among D in the Draft, former figure skater, nice bulk at 6’0", 205 lbs, quietly does his job and has excelent defensive IQ (althought not much of an offensive guy). Reportedly very coachable and has a hard-working approach to the game. Would be a great 3rd Round pick.
No love for goalies
I don’t think I’ve seen any mock drafts with a goalie going in the first round…
John Gibson could sneak into the first … Hockey News had him and Christopher Gibson in the top 30.
by Cory Lavalette on Jun 22, 2011 10:09 AM EDT up reply actions
Thanks Lee
and i think Bob might be right…you’ll do better over all…but we shall see what we shall see huh ?? thanks again…
What did you do during the summer when the playoffs are over ?
Go Canes & Checkers !!
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