2013 NHL Mock Draft: Ducks Select Ian McCoshen

With the 26th selection in this year’s FanSided NHL Mock Draft, Pucks of a Feather has selected Ian McCoshen from the Waterloo Black Hawks of the United Statea Hockey League (USHL).

via futureconsiderations.ca

If you go to YouTube and try to look up some highlight videos of McCoshen, you won’t find any. He’s not a highlight reel type of player. He isn’t flashy offensively, but he does have an above-average slapshot. He also doesn’t really lay anybody out either. The 17-year-old is listed at 6’3″-207. So, he has great size for an NHL defenseman. However, like I said before, he doesn’t throw that weight around enough. He has a good reach with a long stick and uses that often (grow up). He doesn’t make many mistakes in his own zone. McCoshen was named to the inaugural All-American Top Prospects Game last year, along with being named to the 2013 USHL Top Prospects Game. The top prospect coming out of the USHL, McCoshen has committed to play for Boston College next year and they seem to know a little bit about hockey at BC.

Here is what prospect expert Corey Pronman has to say on McCoshen:

“McCoshen was an integral cog for a quality team in Waterloo. He is not a highlight-reel type of player, as he rarely makes great dekes or crushing hits, but he has a lot of good attributes. He projects as a two-way, tough minutes defenseman. He has above-average mobility in every direction, with good technique in his footwork, as he generates nice power from his strike. His best attribute is his hockey sense, which is arguably high end. McCoshen always seems to make the right plays in every end, with or without the puck. He has a very low level of panic with the puck. He knows how to make the basic plays, and he also possesses the awareness to try more difficult maneuvers when the opportunity presents itself. Despite his good frame and decent amount of bulk, he is not really a physical player. He prefers the stickcheck to taking the body.”via Corey Pronman’s Hockey Prospectus

This was a difficult decision. It came down to either McCoshen or forward Curtis Lazar. Lazar just seems to be the kind of forward that the Ducks love to draft, but the depth at the forward position kind of led me to select McCoshen. The Ducks have two very good defensive prospects in Hampus Lindholm and Sami Vatanen, but it really drops off there with a bit of a sleeper in Andrew Welinski being about it. There’s also the possibility of a Luca Sbisa trade at some point during the offseason also leads me to add depth to the blue line. Also, gotta go with my fellow mick!

Next up on the clock is the Columbus Blue Jackets!

Thanks for reading! Any questions? Contact us! Or follow us on twitter @PucksofaFeather! We’re back on Facebook, so like us!

Follow me on twitter @ducks_sean! Follow our Lead Editor on twitter @thekrishill! Follow my fellow Staff Writers on twitter @bauerhockeydude and @CamLanier