Our Mock Draft

Pick	Team	Player Selected	Player’s Position	Player’s Junior Team	Analysis
1.		Taylor Hall	Left Wing	Windsor Spitfires (OHL)	Watch Hall just once and he removes all doubts. This guy is absolutely electric. His speed is other-wordly; when he’s skating with the puck, he seems to be travelling through a different dimension. He’s led his junior team to back-to-back Memorial Cup championships.
2.	(From Toronto)	Tyler Seguin	Center	Plymouth Whalers (OHL)	Seguin plays both ways (get your head out if the gutter), and is a fantastic playmaker. He is a unique talent in that he can also put the puck in the net at a solid clip. Essentially, he makes everyone around him better.

Ryan Johansen

CenterPortland Winterhawks (WHL)The Panthers are weak at center and Johansen can help solve that problem. He’s been compared to Eric Staal and for the Panthers,that’s a very good thing.4.

Cam Fowler

DefensemanWindsor Spitfires (OHL)Fowler was a member of Team USA when they upset Canada at the World Junior Championships and he’s a central figure on the Memorial Cup winning Windsor Spitfires. He’s got some offensive skills as his 55 points in 55 games illustrates, but remains defensively responsible (+38 in the regular season)

5.		Erik Gudbranson	Defenseman	Kingston Frontenacs (OHL)	A 6 foot 3 – 201 pound defensemen from Kingston in the OHL, is the type of physical specimen that should be a mainstay for any team. Strength and power, with a touch of finess, Erik can be a Chris Pronger like player for the Islanders, who would welcome him to the fold.
6.		Brandon Gormley	Defenseman	Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL)	While taking another D-man might seem like overkill after drafting Victor Hedman in 2009, the Bolts cannot pass up the chance to add Gormley. He has the ability to be a true two way player from the blueline, with the ability to score points along with his high level defensive skills.
7.		Brett Connolly	Left Wing	Prince George Cougars (WHL)	Connolly could be the future winger to play beside Eric Staal. He’s a big strong forward who is hard to knock off the puck. With all the defensman already taken he’s the best avaliable.
8.		Nino Niederrieter	Left Wing	Portland Winterhawks (WHL)	Atlanta needs scoring after Ilya Kovalchuk was traded away and Nino can provide that, as he has all the tools you want. El Nino as he is called could be the perfect answer to making the Thrashers a playoff contender.
9.		Kirill Kabanov	Left Wing	Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL)	This pick could be a stroke of genius or a total disaster. Kabanov, skill-wise, is right up there with Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin, but he’s tanked on most team’s draft board because of series of horrible decisions he made this season that saw him abandon his junior team to play for Russia’s Under-18 World Championships team, only to then get dumped by the Russian squad and discover he wasn’t welcome back in Moncton anymore.
10.		Quinton Howden	Left Wing	Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)	He’s a reach here, but the Rangers desperately need wingers, especially with size.
11.		Derek Forbort	Defenseman	United States National Development Program	He has the size and good movement for a big defender, something the Stars need both now and in the coming years. He is showing the ability to not only be a force in the defensive end, but also contribute with the offense.
12.		Mathieu Corbeil-Theriault	Goalie	Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)	MCT – the 6’5” (or 6’6” or 6’7” depending on the website you visit) goaltender from the Halifax Mooseheads! A kid who is ready to grind it out and prove himself. In every comment I’ve read about Corby (yes, I’ve already given him a nickname), the observers have said they can’t believe how a kid that is this big can move so fast. He’s definitely channeling Jiggy with his ability to fill up the net, take away the corners and is utterly flop-tastic.
13.	(From Calgary)	Nick Bjugstad	Center/Right Wing	Blaine High School	Minnesota’s Mr. Hockey probably will be a wing in college and the pros as he is a good but not elite skater. So rather than being a slow centre he will probably be one of the better skating wingers. At 6’5″, Bjugstad has a great frame that should fill out, allowing him to score some more garbage goals, but his main asset as a player is his rocket of a shot, which is one of the best in the entire draft.
14.		Jeff Skinner	Center	Kitchener Rangers (OHL)	An elite goal-scoring forward remains the Blues biggest need. They have spent many of their past 1st round draft picks on defensemen as they have picked Erik Johnson, Alex Pietrangelo, Ian Cole, and David Rundblad all in the first round since 2006. They also have a #1 goalie in the system in Jake Allen. This year they struggled to score goals so now the need is a scoring threat to help them out in the future. And Skinner is a very good threat. He has lit up the OHL as he scored 90 pts. in 60 games this year. He’s a great center and is a projected top-10 pick by many so this would be a steal at #14 overall.td>
15.		Vladimir Tarasenko	Right Wing	Novosibirsk	Most mock drafts have the Bruins going with a defenseman with their second pick of the first round. While that would make sense, since their first selection is going to be a forward, I elected to go with another forward and pick based on potential. Tarasenko is a good skater with great acceleration. His quick hands and ability to score goals would make him an asset to the offensively-challenged Bruins. After all, Seguin is going to need guys to distribute the puck too, and a Seguin-Tarasenko first round for the B’s gives them offensive fire power that they currently lack.td>
16.		Emerson Etem	Center	Medicine Hat Tigers	Although I’m tempted with Jack Campbell and Mikael Granlund, the Senators need a pure scorer here, and Emerson Etem is that guy. Etem has a knack for the net and smooth skating abilities, but you can’t let this guy open. He should play with the U.S. in the World Juniors this coming December, and in the long run the best player Ottawa can take here.
17.		Jack Campbell	Goalie	United States National Development Program	The Colorado Avalanche believe that Campbell is the best goalie in the draft. Choosing a goaltender in the 1st round is always risky, but the Avs feel it’s worth it to shore up their most glaring organizational weakness with Campbell, a big-game goalie with a preternatural ability to win gold medals.
18.		Austin Watson	Right Wing	Peterbrough Petes (OHL)	Though this draft is fairly deep defensively, Nashville really needs to build the wings, especially with Sullivan and Arnott entering final year of contract.
19.		Mikael Granlund	Center	HIFK (FEL)	The Kings need some offensive punch, and while they might be more tempted to go with a larger (North American?) body, if Granlund slips this far, they’ll almost have to snap him up. Lacking a bonafide scorer, Granlund could provide some additional goals while contributing some good old fashioned heart to the team.
20.		John McFarland	Left Wing	Sudbury Wolves (OHL)	The Penguins try to address their most-pressing need – a scoring winger who can play on one of the top two lines. John McFarland, a former first overall pick in the OHL draft, is the best available at #20. He’s scored 41 goals in two seasons with Sudbury, and he’s represented Canada in the last two Under-18 World Championships. A good skater with a hard wrist shot, McFarland is also a solid two-way player who can kill penalties.
21.		Detroit Red Wings	Right Wing	Traktor Chelyabinsk (KHL)	I picked him because he’s a 172 lb forward that should add some grit to the 3rd or 4th line. He’s also Russian so should feel at home next to Datsyuk.
22.		Riley Sheahan	Center	Notre Dame (CCHA)	Sheahan didn’t have the greatest debut at Notre Dame and there are some off-ice issues as he was recently arrested, but he has the potential to be a great two way centre. Offensively his ceiling isn’t terribly high but he has Selke potential defensively. Grabbing a Jordan Staal or Ryan Kesler at 22 suits us just fine.
23.		Alexander Burmistrov	Center	Barrie Colts (OHL)	We made this selection because of the Sabres need for some depth at the center position, and his matching the build of the team, at 5 11, he is smallish, and needs to bulk up to play in the NHL successfully, but he is already being compared to the likes of Igor Larianov and Pavel Datsyuk, which is the caliber of player the Sabres are looking for. Very skilled with the puck, scouting reports have compared him to a water spider while skating, and a viper when attacking. Agility and deadly accurate. Hands down why he will work out well in the Sabres organization.
24.	(From New Jersey)	Dylan McIlrath	Defenseman	Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)	Dylan and Zach Bogosian on the same D pairing would make a hell of a backline for years to come. Plus any kid this big that comes from the WHL has to be good. Could be the next Dion Phanuef!
25.		Mark Pysyk	Defenseman	Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL)	With the barrage of injuries their defense corps has faced over the last couple of seasons, the Canucks need to have more defenders in the system, especially ones with a penchant for a physical style of defense.
26.		Tyler Pitlick	Center	Minnesota State (WCHA)	Capitals would like to add some depth up the middle, and Pitlick has decent size, is defensively responsible, and would be a good leadership addition to the team for the future.
27.		Brock Nelson	Center	Warroad High School	Although Montreal’s magical run was inspiring, there were things Montreal could have done better, including having a big body presence. Brock Nelson is the big man from Warroad who not only has a big frame, but also has some skill in those hands of his. Nelson should be able to provide grit for a team lacking a lot of it.
28.		Jon Merril	Defenseman	United States National Development Program	Rob Blake is set to hang up his skates and the Sharks will need a future defenseman with some offensive skills. Merrill is already big at 6″3 200lbs and can only get bigger, so he can also a physical force that the Sharks can mold for the next few years until he is NHL ready.
29.	(From Philadelphia)	Petr Straka	Right Wing	Rimouski Oceanic (QMJHL)	Positives: Great, heads-up skater, always aware of everything around him, appears bigger and more menacing than he actually is which distracts the opposition and at times they forget he actually is a very good sniper. Also a chatterbox and has the potential of being a pretty good Pest. Negatives: Hesitancy. Still occasionally plays as if he feels like he hasn’t quite made it to the NHL level yet. He definately needs to ramp up his intensity if he’s going to make it.Watch the youtube video of him against Halifax when he scores on my goaltender pick!
30.		Tyler Toffoli	Center	Ottawa 67’s (OHL)	He’s not very big, but he can get a shot off in a hurry and has a great amount of skill. I saw him play on NHL Network, and I’m actually surprised he lasted this long. However, he’s not very defensive-minded, so this is a total offensive pick who will be hitting the NHL in the middle of Toews’ and Kane’s contracts. He’ll be a good third-line spark plug — much like a Kris Versteeg.

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