By: Matt Ederer
Welcome to Sportsfap’s first of many attempts to break a World Record that nobody cares about: we will attempt to become the first website to ever go perfect in a mock draft.
A perfect mock draft is like a perfect NCAA Tournament bracket: it somehow feels attainable, even though it has never come close to occurring in the recorded history of anything.
Now let’s acknowledge off the hop that we probably *won’t* be the first shitbag nobody blog to hit a perfect mock draft. But just because something is obviously and statistically impossible, doesn’t mean you should stop trying. The definition of insanity is giving up too early! We’re never going to die! Go Nordiques! *Buys Four Loko stock*
Sorry about that. We will be updating this post daily, so be sure to come back and check it out out hundreds of times a day before the NHL Draft, as more information leaks out and team plans begin to reveal themselves (/as we collectively decide the specific rumors we’re going to believe).
Don’t consider any of these picks (outside the top two) locked in just yet, we fully reserve the right to change these until 7:00 on Friday, June 21. However, if and when we do change anything, we will include an explanation as to why we did. In fact, there will be explanations for each pick at the end of the chart.
One last thing. There is a difference between a Mock Draft, and a “Big Board”:
Mock Draft = a prediction of where you think these players will actually be drafted
Big Board = a ranking of how good these players will actually turn out to be
Consider this, like most Mock Drafts, to be a series of educated guesses as to who each team will select, based on their draft history, their current prospect pipeline/team needs, and the pure arrogance of the writer.
| Pick # | Team | Player | Pos. | DOB | H/W | Current Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Jersey Devils | Jack Hughes | C | May 14 2001 | 5'10 / 165 | USNTD |
| 2 | New York Rangers | Kaapo Kakko | RW/C | Feb 13 2001 | 6'2 / 195 | TPS (Liiga) |
| 3 | Chicago Blackhawks | Alex Turcotte | C/LW | Feb 26 2001 | 5'11 / 185 | USNTD |
| 4 | Colorado Avalanche (via Ottawa) | Trevor Zegras | C/LW/RW | Mar 30 2001 | 6'0 / 170 | USNTD |
| 5 | Los Angeles Kings | Bowen Byram | D (Left Shot) | Jun 13 2001 | 6'0 / 195 | Vancouver (WHL) |
| 6 | Detroit Red Wings | Dylan Cozens | C | Feb 9 2001 | 6'3 / 185 | Lethbridge (WHL) |
| 7 | Buffalo Sabres | Cole Caufield | RW | Jan 2 2001 | 5'7 / 165 | USNTD |
| 8 | Edmonton Oilers | Kirby Dach | C | Jan 21 2001 | 6'4 / 200 | Saskatoon (WHL) |
| 9 | Anaheim Ducks | Philip Broberg | D (Left Shot) | Jun 25 2001 | 6'3 / 200 | Skellefteå AIK (SHL) |
| 10 | Vancouver Canucks | Peyton Krebs | C | Jan 26 2001 | 5'11 / 180 | Kootenay (WHL) |
| 11 | Philadelphia Flyers | Matthew Boldy | LW | Apr 5 2001 | 6'1 / 190 | USNTD |
| 12 | Minnesota Wild | Cam York | D | Jan 5 2001 | 5'11 / 175 | USNTD |
| 13 | Florida Panthers | Spencer Knight | G | Apr 19 2001 | 6'3 / 195 | USNTD |
| 14 | Arizona Coyotes | Alex Newhook | C | Jan 28 2001 | 5'10 / 195 | Victoria (BCHL) |
| 15 | Montreal Canadiens | Raphael Lavoie | RW/C | Sep 25 2000 | 6'4 / 195 | Halifax (QMJHL) |
| 16 | Colorado Avalanche | Vasili Podkolzin | LW/RW | Jun 24 2001 | 6'1 / 190 | SKA St. Petersburg (KHL/VHL/MHL) |
| 17 | Vegas Golden Knights | Thomas Harley | D (Left Shot) | Aug 19 2001 | 6'3 / 190 | Mississiauga (OHL) |
| 18 | Dallas Stars | Philip Tomasino | C/RW | Jul 28 2001 | 5'11 / 180 | Niagra (OHL) |
| 19 | Ottawa Senators (via Columbus) | Victor Soderstrom | D (Right Shot) | Feb 26 2001 | 5'11 / 180 | Brynas (SHL) |
| 20 | New York Rangers (via Winnipeg) | Moritz Seider | D (Right Shot) | Apr 6 2001 | 6'3 / 185 | Adler Mannheim (DEL) |
| 21 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Connor McMichael | C | Jan 15 2001 | 5'11 / 175 | London Knights (OHL) |
| 22 | Los Angeles Kings (via Toronto) | Bobby Brink | RW/C | Jul 8 2001 | 5'10 / 165 | Sioux City (USHL) |
| 23 | New York Islanders | Tobias Bjornfoot | D (Left Shot) | Apr 6 2001 | 6'0 / 200 | Djurgårdens IF (SHL) |
| 24 | Nashville Predators | Arthur Kaliyev | RW/C | Jun 26 2001 | 6'2 / 190 | Hamilton (OHL) |
| 25 | Washington Capitals | Ryan Suzuki | C | May 28 2001 | 6'0 / 180 | Barrie (OHL) |
| 26 | Calgary Flames | Samuel Poulin | LW/C | Feb 25 2001 | 6'1 / 200 | Sherbrooke (QMJHL) |
| 29 | Tampa Bay Lightning | John Beecher | C/LW | Apr 5 2001 | 6'3 / 210 | USNTD |
| 28 | Carolina Hurricanes | Vladislav Kolyachonok | D (Left Shot) | May 25 2001 | 6'1 / 185 | Flint (OHL) |
| 27 | Anaheim Ducks (via San Jose/Buffalo) | Ryan Johnson | D (Left Shot) | Jul 24 2001 | 6'0 / 175 | Sioux Falls (USHL) |
| 30 | Buffalo Sabres (via St. Louis) | Ville Heinola | D (Left Shot) | Feb 3 2001 | 5'11 / 180 | Luuko (Liiga) |
| 31 | Boston Bruins | Brett Leason | W/C | Apr 30 1999 | 6'4 / 200 | Prince Albert (WHL) |
THEORIES/PROOFS
1 – New Jersey – Jack Hughes, C
Proof: All of the internet/hockey media since June 22, 2018
2 – New York Rangers – Kaapo Kakko, W
Proof: See #1 ^
3 – Chicago Blackhawks – Alex Turcotte, C
Theory: The Hawks are fairly loaded on the back-end, with 20 Y/O Henri Jokiharju, 22 Y/O Gustav Forsling and 24 Y/O Carl Dahlstrom receiving meaningful NHL minutes already in their young careers. Alex Turcotte is a dynamic offensive player, and is a lifelong Blackhawks fan from nearby Island Lake, IL. The fact that he’s from Illinois is becoming a little overrated, and is hardly proof that this is pick set in stone. The Blackhawks could easily go with Bowen Byram here, who all things considered might be the best prospect outside the top two. However, we believe that with their pipeline being so stacked with D, the Hawks will make the PR-savvy decision to select the potentially game breaking Centre from 90 minutes down the road.
15 – Montreal Canadiens – Raphael Lavoie, RW
DONNE NOUS UN ETOILE FRANCAIS. *Chugs poutine gravy* *dies immediately, happy*
MORE TO COME
