Anaheim Ducks: 2019 Top 10 Early NHL Mock Draft
For fans of non-playoffs teams, like the Anaheim Ducks, there’s not much to look forward to between the 82nd game of the season and the off-season.
The NHL is right in the thick of the playoff race right now, with round 2 right around the corner. However, for teams who missed the playoffs, like the Anaheim Ducks, the 2019 NHL Entry Draft is going to be the highlight of their summer. With the draft a little less than two months away, let’s take a look at how things could possibly pan out for the team drafting in the Top 10 on June 21, 2019.
After a pretty lousy season, the Anaheim Ducks won’t be selecting in the Top 5. Nevertheless, they did get the 9th overall pick, which is what most fans will be looking forward to. With that being said, let’s take a look at what we can expect on the road to 9th overall.
1st Overall: New Jersey Devils
1st Overall. Pick Analysis. Center. Jack Hughes. USA U18. player. 85. Scouting Report
While there is certainly an argument to be made for the Devils to take the player I think will go 2nd overall, given their recent draft history, I think the appeal of Jack Hughes will be too much for them to pass up. Jack Hughes has been the consensus first overall pick for quite some time and unlike the last time the Devils picked first overall (Nico Hischier) Hughes hasn’t fallen out of favor the way that Nolan Patrick did in his draft year.
Hughes is the total package and will be a massive difference maker in the NHL that will have Devils fans singing his praises for years to come. He can do it all, with the only real concern posed being his relatively small stature standing only 5’10 and pushing 170lbs.
2nd Overall: New York Rangers
Right Wing. Kaapo Kakko. player. Pick Analysis. TPS. 2nd. 95.
The Rangers lucked out moving up 4 slots from 6th overall to 2nd overall and will be handsomely rewarded with the name that has only risen in value from the beginning of the season. Kaapo Kakko is a bigger body than Hughes, standing 6’4 and over 200lbs, but that doesn’t mean he’s slow or lacks the foot-speed to be dynamic.
He’s not on the same wave-length speed-wise as some of the smaller forwards in this draft, but he makes up for it with agility that makes it difficult to pinpoint what he will do when he has the puck.
Kakko will join a team ripe with young forward talent ready to take the next step and his high-end hockey IQ will only help make the likes of Filip Chytil, Lias Andersson, and Brett Howden better overall. Picking up a player the caliber of Kakko puts the Rangers’ rebuild on the fast track to completion and fans should (and are) over the moon excited about what this team’s future holds.
3rd Overall: Chicago Blackhawks
Pick Analysis. 94. Defense. Vancouver (WHL). Bowen Byram. 3rd. player.
Chicago was the envy of the fans of teams in the NHL Draft Lottery, moving up all the way from 12th into the 3rd slot is something most fanbases can only daydream about but for the Central Division Blackhawks, that is a reality. The next 3-4 prospects are a bit of a blender, there’s no real consensus on who will go where, or which player is drastically better than the ones before and after them, so I think a lot of it will come down to which player the team selecting them likes best and positional need first and foremost.
Chicago could go either way in regards to positional need, they have young stud forwards in Dylan Strome who’s career resurgence once being traded to Chicago was remarkable and Alex DeBrincat who continues to show the league that just because you’re small doesn’t mean you can’t score 30 goals and I think they have something in .
While on the blue-line they have something in Mackenzie Entwistle who was a 3rd round pick for Arizona in 2017. On the defensive side of things, they have their first-round pick from last year Adam Boqvist who was taken 8th overall, Henri Jokiharju who was taken at the tail end of the 1st round in 2017.
Overall I think that while the Blackhawks have some solid prospects at both forward and defense, they don’t have a defender the caliber of Bowen Byram in their system. Byram is a special player who has the characteristics of a future captain. He’s level headed and carries himself in a way that commands respect.
Byram plays a mature game playing a responsible, yet potent offensive game while also maintaining high-end defensive tendencies. Byram projects as a top line defender and will likely be the QB of a team’s powerplay for years to come. At the end of the day, I think that the idea of Boqvist and Byram taking the reigns as the future Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook for the Blackhawks will be far too much to pass up and they will take the top-ranked defender in the draft.
4th Overall: Colorado Avalanche
Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Center. Lethbridge (WHL). 4th. player. Dylan Cozens. 103
The Colorado Avalanche are in a position that should be the envy of every fan in the league. They have just about everything, they have a dynamic 1-2 punch at forward (Nathan Mackinnon and Mikko Rantanen), they have a stud defender who is just now breaking into the league and is already making an impact (Cale Makar) and several other young players who seem poised to make an impact in the future. That’s not even mentioning the fact they’re picking 4th overall while waiting patiently for the 1st round of the playoffs to conclude to find out who their 2nd round opponent will be.
So, what do you buy the team who has everything? More top end talent slightly different than the top end talent you already possess. Dylan Cozens brings that to the Avalanche, a taller, lankier version of Mackinnon who possesses high-end speed, slick puck-handling ability, smooth passing, and a laser of a shot, while not shying away from a hit. Cozens has it all and will add another dimension to a forward corps that is already making noise in the playoffs.
5th Overall: Los Angeles Kings
. Pick Analysis. Right Wing. Russia U18. player. 67. Vasili Podkolzin. 5th
While the previous 4 entries should be quite happy with where they’re drafting, the Kings and the team that follows them are likely quite disappointed. Falling 3 spots in the draft due to the lottery (Colorado did as well, but since they acquired their pick in a lopsided trade they were kinda playing with house money) Los Angeles and Detroit were looking to cash out after disastrous seasons and fate just wasn’t on their side.
The Kings do get quite the consolation prize, however, scooping up the winger from Russia, Vasili Podkolzin, who is ranked as the 3rd best prospect in the draft by most. The reason I think Podkolzin will fall a bit is due to the fact he is under contract in the KHL for another 2 years and being a native Russian, you always run the risk of him not fully committing to a North American game, but if he does… watch out.
A forward who plays hard in all 3 zones, possesses a skill set that makes scouts salivate, high-end offensive abilities, high-end defensive abilities and a physical edge that will make him a force to play against. Podkolzin is ranked as the 3rd best prospect for a reason and Los Angeles needs a player with the talent that he possesses.
6th Overall: Detroit Red Wings
Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Defender. 6th. Brynas J20 (Superelit). Victor Soderstrom. player. 72
Time for a bit of an off the board pick. Detroit could badly use a high-end defenseman here, and while they’re probably praying that Byram will fall to them, assuming he doesn’t, I think Victor Soderstrom will be their man. The Wings have a glut of offensive talent under the age of 23 and it’s only going to get better with the likely addition of Filip Zadina and Michael Rasmussen next season (Not to mention an off-season headed by who I think is the best GM in the entire NHL Steve Yzerman).
The defensive side of things though isn’t quite as certain. They have early season wonder Dennis Cholowski who played 52 games for the Wings this season, making a major name for himself in the early stages of the season before simmering down a bit. They also have Jared McIssac and Gustav Lindstrom both 2nd round picks in 2018 and 2017 respectively. But, they lack a true blue-chip prospect and I think Victor Soderstrom could be that for them.
A two-way defender who has great offensive ability while also maintaining a firm grasp on the defensive side of things, Soderstrom I don’t think is the best player available but I do think he’s the type of player that Yzerman will covet and would make a good first pick for the newly named GM.
7th Overall: Buffalo Sabres
Right Winger . USA U18. 7th. player. 12. . Pick Analysis. Cole Caufield
Quite possibly the fastest rising prospect in the entirety of the NHL draft, Cole Caufield has been making a name for himself every time he’s touched the ice for the last couple months, routinely putting up hat-tricks and drawing the attention of scouts. It seems that every time a new draft rankings list comes out Caufield moves up a few spots and I don’t see a way that he drops out of the top 10 anymore.
His size is likely a deterrent for some teams, but I don’t see the Sabres falling into that trap, the Sabres had a chance to take Alex DeBrincat in 2016 and passed on him, I don’t think they’ll make that mistake again by passing on a carbon copy of him. The Sabres possess high-end young centers in Jack Eichel, Casey Mittelstadt and Sam Reinhart (Who is arguably better as a winger) and a couple of players coming up through the minor-leagues who have high potential.
Not to mention having someone considered a franchise defender in Rasmus Dahlin on the back end. The Sabres will likely be looking for a true winger to score some goals for them and Cole Caufield fits the bill perfectly.
8th Overall: Edmonton Oilers
Saskatoon (WHL). 8th. player. Pick Analysis. Center. Kirby Dach. 148.
The Oilers continue to disappoint their fans every season, being in what would seem is a perpetual rebuild, every time you think they’re ready to turn the corner and exit the highway they turn off their blinker and get back in the middle lane to drive full-speed ahead in the rebuild.
They’ll likely (although it is Edmonton so who knows they might hire a “Ghost of Christmas Past”) have a new GM at the helm eager to make his mark on a team, while inheriting who many consider is the best player on the planet in Connor McDavid.
I predict they’ll take Kirby Dach, the big center from the WHL, reminiscent of the Anaheim Ducks own Ryan Getzlaf who has given the Oilers fits for the past decade, getting a big-bodied playmaker like Dach is a move that could pay dividends into finally helping the Oilers get out of their decade long rut.
A 1-2 punch of McDavid and Dach has the potential to terrorize opponents for years to come while taking a load off of Leon Draisatl and allowing him to do what he does best. Having Dach dish the puck to Draisatl or Jesse Puljujarvi could be a recipe for success for a team that hasn’t had any in recent memory.
9th Overall: Anaheim Ducks
Center. Trevor Zegras. 9th. . USA U18. player. 105. Pick Analysis
Finally, we make it to the Anaheim Ducks. The Ducks are at a crossroads with their franchise and it seems that GM Bob Murray is set to take the road less traveled by, AKA a re-tool (And hopefully it makes all the difference). With an aging forward corps and top two pivots reaching the tail end (or possibly the entire end in the case of Ryan Kesler) of their careers the Anaheim Ducks will likely be looking to replace them.
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The Anaheim Ducks have centers Sam Steel and Isac Lundestrom in their prospect pool already but both projects as 2nd or 3rd line centers and the Ducks don’t really have anyone to fill the void of “franchise centerman” that Getzlaf has held down for the past decade.
This seems to be the draft for the Anaheim Ducks to try and find that player, and in a rare top 10 pick for the team, Trevor Zegras might fall right into their laps. Zegras is a pass-first center who could be a great addition to the Ducks young stable of forwards, thinking about him dishing the puck to Max Jones, Troy Terry or Ondrej Kase is something to get excited about.
10th Overall: Vancouver Canucks
Scouting Report. 10. player. Matthew Boldy. 104. Pick Analysis. Left Winger. USA U18
Rounding out the top 10 is the Vancouver Canucks, who took a big step in the right direction this season, mainly due to the emergence of Elias Pettersson as a potential franchise centerman. The Canucks are set up down the middle for the foreseeable future with Pettersson and Bo Horvat, but their winger depth isn’t quite as promising (although not terrible). Getting a player like Matthew Boldy is terrifying for a fan of a rival of the Canucks.
A bigger bodied winger who puts the puck in the net with relative ease could be playing with a center who can seemingly make a pass on target from a mile away, that’s not good for the rest of the Pacific division but is very, very good for the Canucks fans.
Overall I’m very excited about the upcoming draft, one of the very few times of the year where every team is optimistic about what their teams will do. What do you think about this draft? Who do you think will fall or rise? Let us know in the comments below!
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