Hello and welcome to the final Mockable Mock Draft. A series I started here on HB several years ago. Prospects are a passion of mine and nothing makes me happier than watching junior hockey in any form (don’t make the joke you bums). While primarily I’ve gotten to see the MHL as my main conduit to junior hockey, whenever I can get a stream to the CHL I use it. The variation is so interesting and the unpolished play adds a level of excitement that can be lacking at the pro level. If you’ve ever watched the U17 tournament…man, it’s like shinny on steroids. Nobody seems to know what they are doing, but they’re all filled with talent and enthusiasm. My Mockable Mock Drafts are a mix of where I think the player will go and why the team might pick them. More importantly though is that this series is about getting to know players that might not be well known. That’s why I usually go past the third round. It’s impossible to predict, so it’s all about getting to know the players.
If you were wondering why this will be the final part in the series, then you obviously made the mistake of actually reading this and not simply skipping to the part where the numbers and players names are to criticize everything. This will be the last culmination of work I do on Hockeybuzz. So I’m hoping to go out with a sigh and a whimper!
Congratulations to Chicago on their Cup victory, I’m sure next year will be just as fun as LA wins it just to spite them. Conn Smythe finally going to a defenseman, what a novel concept. All he had to do was put up nearly a PPG, it’s like the Norris voting all over again.
1. The Edmonton Oilers Select Centre Connor McDavid from the Eerie Otters in the OHL
6’1 187lbs, 18 years old
47gp 44g 76a 120p
While it would make a lovely story for Eichel to pass McDavid, it simply isn’t happening. Even the media that loves to make everything a dog race or a fight gave up on that angle in December. It’s all about Strome/Marner now! McDavid is the consensus number one pick. To this date no Exceptional Status player has been drafted outside of First Overall and this trend will not stop until next year with Sean Day. He is so dominant that people claim that he was shutdown in the playoffs by Oshawa…with a measly 7 points in 5 games. Such is his overwhelming prowess that that is legitimately shutting him down. Oshawa’s Bradley Latour had the defensive series of his life shadowing McDavid and that’s pretty much what is expected. McDavid is going first overall and that is final.
NHL Comparable : Connor McDavid?
Potential : Franchise Centre
2. The Buffalo Sabres Select Centre Jack Eichel from Boston University in the NCAA
6’2 196lbs, 18 years old
40gp 26g 45a 71p
The only draft eligible Hobey Baker winner since Paul Kariya is one of the nicer consolation prizes in years. Very reminiscent of Ovechkin/Malkin…though let’s hope Hanifin isn’t a Barker and that the rest can turn out a little better than that 2004 draft. Hilarious articles about Eichel being better than McDavid because he is physically stronger aside, Eichel is a serious prospect. So caught up in the hype of “the next one,… we forget that Eichel is also doing things nobody else has. His NCAA credentials are legendary, his performance for Hockey USA has been outstanding (even though his meltdown against Russia was slightly embarrassing) and he just continues to impress. Hell he’s even showing he has a personality unlike the automatons poor Canadian stars are expected to be when the camera is on them. Power and size mixed with an undeniable skill level and intensity. You have to love it.
NHL Comparable : Jamie Benn (In game style)
Potential : Franchise Centre
3. The Las Vegas Gamblers/The Phoenix Risers/The Arizona Homeless Select Centre/Right Winger Mitchell Marner from the London Knights in the OHL
5’11 164lbs, 18 years old
63gp 44g 82a 126p
To be honest, I’m 99% sure Arizona selects one of Strome or Marner. Hanifin might be the third ranked player, but they aren’t selecting him. Nothing against him, but at some point they have to get picking a forward right. Marner feels like a good fit for Arizona for many reasons. Familiarity with fellow prospects Dvorak and Domi. At various points this year Marner has played with both. Originally centering a line with Domi and McCarron before finding his place on the wing beside Dvorak and Rupert. His tenacity. A lot of people talk about Strome being the “big centre… teams are looking for. It would also be very stereotypical of a Western team to be looking for their big centre to match against Getzlaf/Toews/Thornton/Kopitar etc. Despite the size difference it is Marner that plays the “big game.… It’s clichéd as hell, but his motor doesn’t stop. Not a lot of people talk about his defensive game, especially since he is likely to end up a winger in the NHL, but it’s good. He plays both the PP and PK to perfection and is a dangerous player on both. An injury cut short his dominating playoff performance, though in the interest of fairness he was playing Kitchener for 6 of the 7 games he saw. I’m probably wrong about this one and they will select Strome, but it seems so right. Also I think it’s important to note that when Domi and the rest of the players headed to the WJC left, Marner not only improved his performance, and he was downright unstoppable. He had a PPG of 2.77 with a disgusting 25 points in those 9 games. Small sample size no doubt, but conversely Strome was having less of a good time without McDavid in front of him with only (Only? It’s crazy to say that, but that’s the nature of the beast) a 1.66 PPG which was considerably lower than his overall season totals. Marner also managed to make up 46.84% of the Knights team point percentage. He carried them.
NHL Comparable : Patrick Kane (I hate comparing players to Kane especially after any playoff performance)
Potential : Top-Line Winger
Thanks for reading.