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Calgary Flames
Player Position Selection # HP Rank 1-100
Sven Bartschi Left Wing 13 18
Markus Granlund Center 45 69
Tyler Wotherspoon Defense 57 80
John Gaudreau Left Wing 104 N/A
Laurent Brossoit Goaltender 164 N/A
Day 1: I thought there were a couple of players I would have preferred other than Sven Bartschi at #13, but I don't really have a problem with this pick. It's somewhat safe, but there is above-average upside with Bartschi as well. Bartschi has good skills, is a top-level finisher and is a hard worker with a solid defensive game. He's not a cornerstone, but he's a nice building block and the Flames system needs whatever they can get, especially with prospect Tim Erixon gone.
The Rest: Despite what you may see on YouTube, Markus Granlund has nowhere near the flashy skills of his brother Mikael but he is an above-average passer and thinker, but with below-average size and skating. He's somewhat of a safe pick, and it's hard to see any real upside there. Tyler Wotherspoon is an even safer pick as a fine physical, defensive defender but looks like a low-tier defender at his peak. John Gaudreau showed solid progression as the season went on, and is a nice home-run pick with an above-average skill set but an extremely tiny frame.
Summary: I thought the Flames did all right. I don't think this is a class to really write home about, but it could produce a good top six forward in Bartschi and maybe one or two depth NHL regulars. The Flames seemed to be emphasizing getting players into the league through the draft as their priority and their selections showed that.
Colorado Avalanche
Player Position Selection # HP Rank 1-100
Gabriel Landeskog Left Wing 2 13
Duncan Siemens Defense 11 62
Joachim Nermark Center 93 89
Garret Meurs Center 123 92
Gabriel Beaupre Defense 153 N/A
Dillon Donnelly Defense 183 N/A
Day 1: If you read some of my work lately around here, you can probably take a guess about what I thought of this haul with a #2 and #11 overall pick. Gabriel Landeskog I didn't like that high for reasons I've stated before but I still think he'll be a below-average first line to above-average second line scoring power winger with great two-way contribution. The Duncan Siemens pick is the one I like the least. I get why the Avs could like Siemens in the physical tools, intangibles and skating ability, but there isn't enough to his skill set in my opinion to justify using an 11th overall pick on him. In a really perfect world he maxes out as an ok #3 to good #4 defenseman, in a somewhat perfect world he tops out as a below-average #4, and in a realistic world he's probably a good third-pairing type. Do I see the reason for optimism? Sure, but I also don't see enough possession tools here to ever get him beyond a certain ceiling and that limited ceiling isn't what I want of an 11th overall pick.
The Rest: Joachim Nermark fell off as the draft season went on after a stellar Ivan Hlinka tournament, but there are some decent tools there to take a chance on. Garret Meurs I've heard mostly negative comments on after he was projected to be a possible first rounder at the start of the year, but in games I watched of him I was somewhat impressed with his skills and vision, but he's not a center in the pros and has a fair amount of work to do. Gabriel Beaupre is an okay defensive defender with a good frame but is a fringe skater. Dillon Donnelly is a fine physical defender with good physical assets, but don't see many tools there.
Summary: This was a very safe draft class by Colorado that will likely generate around two NHL regulars and one pretty good player in Landeskog, but considering the assets they had, they had the potential to walk away from Minnesota with mountains of talent. Nermark and Meurs were not of the same safe variety but they were picked at the point where risky picks were in the "project prospect" range.
Edmonton Oilers
Player Position Selection # HP Rank 1-100
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins Center 1 1
Oscar Klefbom Defense 19 68*
David Musil Defense 31 30
Samu Perhonen Goaltender 62 N/A
Travis Ewanyk Center 74 90
Dillon Simpson Defense 92 88
Tobias Rieder Left Wing 114 70
Martin Gernat Defense 122 N/A
Frans Tuohimaa Goaltender 182 N/A
Day 1: *I thought the Oilers did the right thing with the first pick. They took the best player in the class, the one with the highest upside and the one who has a chance to not only be a great player, but an elite one if some things go right. On the other hand, I'm not an Oscar Klefbom fan to the degree others are and while I can see the love for the frame, skating and potential, I'm not sold on the hockey sense and think for where he is now he's more of a project than a top prospect. But based on conversations since my original ranking went up, I'd probably bump him up 10-12 spots in a re-rank.
The Rest: The Oilers got a ton of talent on Day 2 and really stocked their cupboards. David Musil is one of the best defensive defenseman in this class and if he irons out the issues with his skating he can really be a player. Samu Perhonen isn't a player I watched much, but is a decent goalie prospect and is commonly seen as the best goalie prospect coming out of Europe this season. Travis Ewanyk is a safe low-tier type prospect who's a notably advanced two-way center but doesn't have much of a ceiling. Dillon Simpson is a player and I saw him in North Dakota a lot; his skating is a major issue and his physical game is underwhelming but the smarts and puck-moving skills are there. Tobias Rieder was inconsistent in his first North American season but he has a pretty notable skill set and is a nice sleeper pick that late in the draft.
Summary: Aside from where they got Klefbom, I thought the Oilers did terrific throughout the draft and even the Klefbom pick has a fair amount of upside. They got talent, depth and covered it at all positions while getting the best player in the draft. This class could end up being a tremendous haul and could have a likely projection of one top tier producer, at least two significant producers and four NHL regulars wouldn't be a crazy proposition at all.
Minnesota Wild
Player Position Selection # HP Rank 1-100
Jonas Brodin Defense 10 17
Zack Phillips Center 28 24
Mario Lucia Left Wing 60 40
Nick Seeler Defense 131 N/A
Stephen Michalek Goaltender 161 N/A
Tyler Graovac Center 191 N/A
Day 1: I liked the Day 1 picks for Minnesota even though I thought that talent-wise Jonas Brodin was a bit of a reach at #10 especially with Murphy and Beaulieu still on the board. Zack Phillips went around where I thought his talent level suggested he should. Their system needed depth and players they think can make it as decent contributors. Their pipelines have somewhat dried up in Minny and with Granlund providing high-end upside getting these kind of prospects help stabilize the system.
The Rest: Mario Lucia is a nice physical package with solid goal-scoring upside and a decent overall skill set but nothing overly impressive. I don't have any information on any of the other players.
Summary: The Wild got some fine depth into their system, but not a ton of upside. It's very likely they will get two regular NHLers, while Brodin has the ability to be a very good second-pairing defender and in a perfect world might even push to be a below-average first-pairing player. I could very well see Lucia make it in a lower-tier role as well.
Vancouver Canucks
Player Position Selection # HP Rank 1-100
Nicklas Jensen Left Wing 29 25
David Honzik Goaltender 71 N/A
Alexandre Grenier Right Wing 90 N/A
Joseph LaBate Center 101 42
Ludwig Blomstrand Center 120 N/A
Frankie Corrado Defense 150 N/A
Pathrik Westerholm Center 180 64
Henrik Tommernes Defense 210 N/A
Day 1: I liked the Nicklas Jensen pick, as while there is a decent amount of upside and risk, he went roughly around where I thought his talent level suggested he should.
The Rest: I've heard good things about David Honzik, but while has the physical assets, I'm not really a fan of his game. I liked Jospeh LaBate in viewings; despite the frame, I don't see a ton of ceiling there, but he has the assets to be a decent prospect. Ludwig Blomstrand is a decent lower-role player, but I didn't really see much in terms of skill from at the Under-18's. Frankie Corrado has above-average mobility and a decent skill set, although he will need some improvements to his physical game to make it in the pros. I saw Pathrik Westerholm at the Jr. A Challenge and while I wasn't overly impressed, I saw enough decent skills and smarts from him that I thought he could be an average pro prospect. I heard rumors that Vancouver was considering taking his brother Pontus as well. Henrik Tommernes was a nice little sleeper pick in the seventh round as he really came on this year in the SEL showing above-average skating and fine offensive skills, although defensively he could use some work but wasn't horrid there.
Summary: I thought the Canucks did decent at the draft. I'm not really leaning in one particular direction as they mixed up their risk and projection picks but never made a handful of moves I truly applauded or disagreed with. Saying this was an average draft for them I think would be fair as there is a chance to churn two NHL regulars from this class and maybe one or two players here in an everything goes right scenario.
Corey Pronman is an author of Hockey Prospectus.
You can contact Corey by clicking here or click here to see Corey's other articles.
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