13th Overall: Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers are a team on the rise. They recently hired a high profile coach, they have one of the most potent forward lines in the league and some promising young forwards on the way, their defense, on the other hand, is lacking. Now that we approach the middle of the 1st round, we drop into a point where a lot of the prospects have similar skill levels and there’s more “boom or bust” picks and more “play it safe” players available.
I think Broberg is the former. He has quite possibly the best skating ability among defenders in this draft, he’s also a big player, having both size and skating ability isn’t exactly a given making him a commodity based on that alone. Personally, I’m not a fan of Broberg’s game. He is, no doubt, physically gifted and he uses those tools well, but I find myself wanting more from his game on a mental level.
It’s not uncommon to see him drift out of position or over-commit to a forward he’s pressing, and while his skating is top notch and he uses it to carry the puck through the neutral zone remarkably well, he doesn’t exactly knock it out of the park once in the offensive zone. His shot and playmaking ability are average at best and he seems to get a bit flustered when he has the puck for too long. Don’t get me wrong, he has a lot of potential, but if he doesn’t develop into that dynamic puck-moving defender I think he’s going to end up a liability more than an effective player.
14th Overall: Arizona Coyotes
The Coyotes are a team just waiting to break out. They find themselves year after year going on these asinine hot and cold streaks where they look like the best team on the planet one night and the worst ever the next. The Coyotes find themselves riddled with key players being injured every season and it hinders their potential immensely. They have one of the more exciting forward corps on paper for the future and their defense still has promise despite aging.
I think the Coyotes could use an influx of defense more than forwards at this point and for that reason, I think they’ll take the kid from Anaheim, Cam York. York is quite possibly the most exciting defender in this draft to watch. Explosive every time he touches the ice, constantly making plays, a great shot and a good skating ability.
York’s got some concerning habits on defense, however. He often finds himself put into bad positions due to his aggressiveness and isn’t exactly the best shutdown guy in his own end. York has probably the highest offensive ceiling for a defender in this draft and I think that’ll be too enticing for the Coyotes to pass up.