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Mockable Mock Draft : Halfway There, We're Reaching I Swear (Picks 13-15) |
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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
11. The New York Islanders - Ty Smith
12. The New York Islanders - Vitali Kravtsov
13. The Dallas Stars
Martin Kaut, Right Winger, 6’1 174lbs, 18 Years Old, HC Dynamo Pardubice in the Czech Extraliga
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There were some concerns after the combine after doctors appeared to have found a heart condition. This was recently cleared up and Kaut is allegedly symptom free. Obviously the tragic ghost of Cherepanov has forever darkened the idea of disease and conditions when it comes to the hockey world, but this doesn’t appear to be serious. Ergo, I don’t think it will change his draft rankings too much and if it does…well a team later on will be very lucky.
Kaut’s year has been one of consistent improvement. He started the year as a relative unknown and has continuously improved his draft stock. This includes the U20 WJC and how he went from the third line right winger on his domestic club to their first line right winger down the stretch and into the playoffs. He was one of the standout draft eligible players at the U20’s. He finished with 7 points in 7 games. He played on one of the best lines in the tournament with Necas and Zadina. The trio were electric with great chemistry. Kaut was a major factor in the Czech’s managing to get the farthest they’ve gotten in the U20’s since 2004.
Kaut is a speedy smart two-way winger. A player who excels in particular on the Power Play. He’s a volume shooter and triggers a lot of rebounds, but his playmaking is nothing to scoff at. He showed that when a more talented shooter is available (Zadina) he has the ability to find him in tight spaces. Teams looking for a responsible winger who shows flashes of elite scoring would do well to look to Kaut.
A valid comparison to 2017’s Martin Necas of the Hurricanes is quite valid. However the main difference for me is that Necas was much more consistent throughout the year as his squad’s third line centre, whereas Kaut was able to acquire more responsibility from his teams as the year went on.
Kaut is a prospect on the rise and one that I am very intrigued to see more of. All of my experience watching him is based on the WJC and Czech hockey writers garbled through google translate. Dallas is a team that has never been shy to take the player they want to take. It may seem early to take Kaut, but he is a very strong prospect and an exciting young winger.
Potential : Top-6 Two-Way Winger
NHL Comparable : Jacob Silfverberg
14. The Philadelphia Flyers
Barrett Hayton, Centreman, 6’1 185lbs, 18 Years Old, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in the OHL
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This past season Hayton played on the second and third lines to Morgan Frost for the powerhouse Greyhounds. Hence why his stats don’t pop out at you. Morgan Frost in his draft year played on the second line, now he’s on top of the OHL. Who took Frost thinking he had more room to grow when given the chance? The Flyers. I think they go to this well again especially as the Flyers have a very good group of young players coming through, plus a second first rounder. It also helps that Hayton is one of the few centremen with high upside.
We happy few on the internet always prefer the homeruns or the underdogs. The youngest player in the draft or the smallest. NHL teams are different, whether it is right or wrong. Hayton fits comfortably in the safer mode. He is a very talented skater. A hard working player that never takes a shift off. He is a strong special team’s player. His defensive ability to go along with signs of good vision and a tendency to put the puck on the net should have teams knowing they are at the very least getting an NHL level player.
Two-way centremen are always coveted and always in demand. Hayton has a lot of potential upside that could manifest itself as early as next year in an expanded role. He’s an extremely intelligent player, much like Ty Smith both on and off the ice. It’s important to note as well how well he fared in the Ivan Hlinka Tournament. He managed to put up 6 points for the Gold Winning Team Canada while also being a part of their main shutdown line.
Potential : Top-6 Two-Way Centre
Comparable : Bo Horvat
15. The Florida Panthers
Mattias Samuelsson, Left Defenseman, 6’4 216lbs, 18 Years Old, USNTDP Juniors in the USHL
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All we ever hear from the media is how sad Dale Tallon was at losing Gudbranson. That he wants a meaner and bigger team. Few players are bigger or meaner than Samuelsson in this draft. Every year there is that reach on a player due to his size. Most think that this years will be Serron Noel. I think it will be Samuelsson. At 6’4 he basically towers over all of the other highly thought of defensemen. He’s an excessively physical player and if you watched the U18’s, a nightmare for players who find themselves on the forecheck. While he’s a large bodied player, he’s surprisingly mobile and moves well in the offensive zone when setting up the power play (he plays left point, Wahlstrom plays right).
He has a very heavy wrist shot. It’s his usual go to move from the point. Not much on the slap shot game oddly enough for a player so strong for his age. I’d like to see more creativity out of him, but I think that is wishful thinking for a player whose primary identity is a defense first defenseman. Hence the heavy penalty killing minutes he plays.
His strong showing at the U18’s as America’s top minute munching defenseman should help his stock raise.
The biggest concern for me is his offensive upside. In the USHL and USDP he plays on the power play a lot. In the NHL, I think he could easily find himself losing that job to a more effective player. Similar to what has happened to Darnell Nurse (as an example). The defensive game, physicality and hard wrist shot are all still there, but he likely won’t be more than a 30 point defenseman at best sans PP time. Right or wrong, GM’s love big, physical defenders. It also doesn’t hurt that he’s the son of ex-NHL defenseman Kjell.
Potential : Top-4 Physical Two-Way Defenseman
NHL Comparable : Josh Manson
Thanks for reading.
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