The Hockey Buzz Mock Draft rolls on. After Rasmus Dahlin went first to Buffalo, Andrei Svechnikov to Carolina and Filip Zadina to Montreal. Ottawa's pick is below. Arizona is now on the clock.
Consensus was that Zadina was the right selection, with 79%% of the approximately 900 votes as of press time of this blog saying they agreed with the pick.
Overall Rules and Process :
After the pick or trade is made, a poll will be posted to rate the selection or deal. If the majority of people like the pick or trade, that selection stands and it moves on to the next team’s picks. If not, the majority rules and that’s what happens with that team and pick. I have the last right of refusal to keep everything on the up and up and avoid ballot box stuffing. My request to you is that you take this serious and not make a mockery of the mock draft, because that would be an insult to the others who are participating and makes the whole process a sham. But by playing this out, we get to have healthy debate and conversation to remain engaged up and possibly beyond the draft. If teams make deals and they occur before a team’s selection is due, that deal will play a part as to when each person’s selection occurs.Here how this is working: each evening (for now, one pick per day, but we will go to two when we get to second half of the mock draft and possibly even before that, so that we complete on time) the team’s selector emails me their pick and rationale for that selection to jan.levine@gmail.com. If making a trade, the same applies, and all the selectors have been listed below along with their screen name if from this site or their twitter handle if external to help facilitate making trades. I am posting that pick and rationale on the site and create a voting poll. For now, we are using just a yes or no vote for the poll, but if people want me to list other options for the selection at that pick number in cases of a no vote, I am happy to do so, to help make it more robust.
With the 4th Overall Pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, the Ottawa Senators, represented by nyrangers9479, select Noah Dobson.
Rationale for the selection: While Tkachuk and Wahlstrom were other possibilities the Senators need to add some defenseman to the system especially with the looming exit of Erik Karlsson. Dobson is possibly the best defensively in the draft while still contributing on the offensive end. He has great size at 6’3 but needs to add some muscle.
The Senators top prospects are all forwards outside of Thomas Chabot, who played 63 games last year for the Sens. The Sens have only drafted one defenseman in the last 2 years and after acquiring Duchene last year they are ok up front for now with Duchene, Hoffman, Stone and Dzingel.
Not including Chabot the Sens next 9 top prospects are 7 forwards 1 defenseman and 1 goalie. 1. Brown (C) 2. White (C/RW) 3. Batherson (C) 4. Gustavsson (G) 5. Formenton (LW) 6. Chlapik (C) 7.Jaros (D) 8. Gagne (RW) 9. Paul (LW/C). They change that this year by adding a defenseman that can play in all situations along with being able to match up one on one against other teams top lines.
Up for the fifth pick in the draft are the Arizona Coyotes and selecting for the Yotes will be pet.m.d, who is on the clock
Lottery teams : Buffalo - Rasmus Dahlin Carolina - Andrei Svechnikov Montréal – Filip Zadina Ottawa - Noah Dobson (nyrangers9479 will be up again later with pick 22) Arizona -pet.m.d Detroit- Pete V (picks 6 and either 30 or 31) Vancouver - Leftcoaster Chicago - Panarin27 (picks 8 and 27) Rangers - Tom Burton (picks 9, 26 and 28) Edmonton - Slimtj100 Islanders (2x) -Chiefs Dallas - tumbleweed Philadelphia- jmatchett383 (picks 14 and 19) Florida - jimbo
Non-lottery teams : Colorado - Ranger71 New Jersey - Todd Cordell (Devils blogger on site) Columbus - Paul Berthelot (Jackets blogger on the site) Los Angeles - Steve Kournianos (@thedraftanalyst) San Jose- Sharksfan68 Toronto - Matt1337 Anaheim - Climbdenali12 Minnesota - Dan Wallace (Wild blogger on site) St. Louis - Isles (Vukota) Washington - Russ Cohen (@sportsology)