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Mockable Mock Draft : Even More Mockery (Picks 10-12) |
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What came before.
1. The Buffalo Sabres - Rasmus Dahlin
2. The Carolina Hurricanes - Andrei Svechnikov
3. The Montreal Canadiens - Noah Dobson
4. The Ottawa Senators - Filip Zadina
5. The Arizona Coyotes - Quinn Hughes
6. The Detroit Red Wings - Jesperi Kotkaniemi
7. The Vancouver Canucks - Evan Bouchard
8. The Chicago Blackhawks - Brady Tkachuk
9. The New York Rangers - Oliver Wahlstrom
10. The Edmonton Oilers
Adam Boqvist, Right Defenseman, 5’11 165lbs, 17 Years Old, Brynäs IF in the Elitserien
15gp 0g 1a 1p
Arguably the biggest wildcard in this draft, the August born undersized Swede is the most boom/bust player in the top-10. Right off the bat you need to take 1 point in 15 games as moot. Like most top prospects in Sweden he ended up playing in three separate leagues to increase his number of games. His 24 points in 25 games (15 goals) in the SuperElit as well as 2 assists in 7 games in the Allsvenskan more accurately reflect the offensive awareness that Boqvist brings.
Boqvist is an elite skating defenseman that pivots and changes direction in a flash. Skating is by far his best asset and has allowed him to dominate the competition at every level he finds himself in (other than the Elitserien). He’s a fantastic playmaker and an even better shooter. He has a big slapshot despite his size and that innate ability to wrist pucks in similar to OEL. He’s very much in the style of where the modern defenseman appears to be going. He’s an elite puck possessor that does the majority of his damage through the neutral zone.
Defensively…well that’s a different matter. Being manhandled by 18 year olds isn’t a great sign, but he is a player that is a few years from the NHL who can grow. At the U18’s Boqvist was an offensive force scoring 6 points and being named the Best Defenseman of the Tournament. An honour shared almost exclusively by NHL defenseman. It was well earned. He was all over the ice and in a sloppy tournament like that he was cutting through teams neutral zones like a hot knife through butter.
Edmonton has a need for speedy skilled forwards and mobile defense. Boqvist is the epitome of mobile defenseman and if he is there at 10, even Chiarelli can’t mess this up. Fun fact. Boqvist’s PPG in the SuperElit is just .1 off of Erik Karlsson’s in their respective draft years.
NHL Potential : Number Two Offensive Defenseman
Comparable : Shayne Gostisbehere
11. The New York Islanders
Ty Smith, Left Defenseman, 5’10 170lbs, 18 Years Old, Spokane Chiefs in the WHL
69gp 14g 59a 73p
Shockingly overlooked, Smith is highly underrated in this draft despite having a gaudy season. While his size and numbers suggest an offense only defender, that simply isn’t the case for the dogged style of smart defending Smith provides. If not for his size, he would be the definition of the ideal “two-way” defenseman. The Islanders are desperate for smart and mobile defenders. Smith is the poster boy for those traits. He was named the Scholastic Player of the Year and brings intelligence on and off the ice. His positioning is spot on and his puck retrieval is top notch. He finished second in the WHL in scoring by a defenseman and finished third on his team.
Elite skating is a big reason for his success and he proved to be almost impossible to get past in the U18’s where he deferred the offensive side of the game to Merkley. Playing the majority of the time starting in his own end and playing a key role on Canada’s Penalty Kill. I think this is very important to point out. During the U18’s Smith was deployed as Canada’s defensive specialist. He did it without complaint and did it very well. To think that a guy with 73 points in 69 games is asked to do the heavy lifting defensively and doesn’t complain? That shows character in my books.
Smith fits comfortably in a glut of defensemen just outside the “consensus” elite at the top. His ranking is all over the map from 9th to 17th. He’s easily the best prospect this year coming out of the WHL, though this is probably the thinnest crop of WHL prospects in a decade.
At the end of the day with a second first round pick, the Islanders can afford to take a risk on a highly talented guy who might be overlooked due to his size.
Potential : Top-4 Two-Way Defenseman
NHL Comparable : Jared Spurgeon
12. The New York Islanders
Vitali Kravtsov, Right Winger, 6’2 182lbs, 18 Years Old, Traktor Chelyabinsk in the KHL
35gp 4g 3a 7p
Kravtsov has earned his massive run through the draft rankings through an eye opening campaign capped off by an historic playoff performance for a player of his age. Kravtsov played in the three major leagues in Russia, but primarily played in the KHL under the Chelyabinsk franchise. Having all three of their teams located in the same city allowed him to play in between KHL games in the VHL. One of the reasons for his lack of exposure and name recognition until so recently is due to never representing Russia in a major tournament. An odd omission for a player that has been dominant throughout their various development leagues. In this scenario I have the Islanders taking Smith and then gambling on Kravtsov. They’ve had some misses in the first round with Reinhart and Dal Colle, not to mention the up in the air situation with Ho-Sang, but Kravtsov is only a gamble due to the Russian factor. He plays a fairly effective North-South game and covers lanes well in his own end.
Blessed with blistering speed and great size, Kravtsov plays his off wing for maximum shooting ability. The KHl Rookie of the Year had a very strong season and his elite offensive skills became apparent whenever he played the lesser competitions of the V and MHL.
Kravtsov has proven to be quite the playoff performer with a flair for the dramatic. In the MHL playoffs he has 10 points in 7 games. He has the dubious distinction of being the youngest player in KHL history to score a goal in the playoffs. Lastly there were the playoffs this year. He scored 6 goals and 11 points in their 16 game run. That was good for third on the team in scoring. His 11 points makes him the highest scoring U20 skater in KHL Playoff history.
If there are no unknown red flags like “I want to stay in Russia my whole life” I think any team would love to add a prospect of his caliber. The Islanders would be a good fit.
Potential : Top-6 Scoring Winger
Comparable : Rickard Rakell
Thanks for reading.
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