Number 4- Kirby Dach (Saskatoon WHL)
Kirby Dach is a big bodied center who will likely be selected 3rd or 4th in the draft, standing 6’4 and over 200lbs Dach is a prototypical center in the mold of some of the more dominant centers of the past decade. Dach isn’t a blazing skater, but he’s not a liability, he’s quicker than someone of his size would appear and he’s sneakily elusive. Dach may not be the prettiest skater but like Kevin Hayes, he will get where he needs to be.
Dach isn’t one who’s going to go out and score 40 goals for you, but I would not be shocked in the slightest if he managed to be one of the players with more gaudy assist totals as his career progresses. Dach isn’t the best in the faceoff dot, but playing alongside Ryan Getzlaf, and potentially a Ryan Kesler mentoring him would really go a long way to getting this young man to where he needs to be. He’s one you’d expect to be an ice general for your team, and play in all situations, I think he’ll be a force on the powerplay and will develop into a solid defensive player as well.
Team Fit- 10/10- I think he fits the team the best out of all the prospects, to be honest. He’s similar to the players this franchise has been built around for the last decade and would be a somewhat easy transition.
Likelihood- 4/10- The only way this one happens I think is if theAnaheim Ducks win the 3rd overall pick in the draft lottery. He’s not going to fall from 8-11th, and if you get a top two pick you take either Hughes or Kakko.
Comparable- Ryan Getzlaf. He’s molded his game in Getzlaf’s image, and it shows. He very likely will be Getzlaf’esque.
Number 3- Alex Turcotte (US NDTP)
Now getting into some of the more likely selections in my eyes. Alex Turcotte is currently ranked from 7th-10th overall in most mock drafts, he’s a center who is a slightly stalky frame, standing 5’11 but pushing 200lbs. Turcotte is a pass first guy who can make passes in tight areas and possesses some vision that is relatively unmatched.
Turcotte has some of the higher hockey IQ in the draft and can make plays at top speed. Turcotte is a good skater with solid top end speed, his stalkier build makes it harder to knock him off the puck. It’s not uncommon to see Turcotte work his way out of sticky situations and create scoring opportunities where none should be possible. Turcotte has a solid shot but not on the level of the elite scorers at this juncture.
Team Fit- 7/10- I’m not entirely sold that he’s going to be a number one center in the NHL, I think he projects better as a number 2 center but that’s not the end of the world. I don’t see him ending up as Getzlaf’s level but it’s not exactly miles off.
Likelihood- 7/10- I think he’s one of the 3 most likely players to be drafted by the Ducks, I think he’s not quite as high as the others as he’s projected slightly higher than the other 2 but he’s right there with them, and the Anaheim Ducks position overall is going to dictate the likelihood.
Comparable- The most common comparable I’ve seen to him is Logan Couture and I don’t disagree.