With the NHL Draft approaching, the Anaheim Ducks will have an important decision to make with the sixth-overall pick. I wrote an article in June, which highlighted seven players who the Ducks could select with the sixth-overall pick and over the next week or so, I’ll be doing individual player profiles on them. This article will focus on Lucas Raymond.
Raymond did have just four goals and 10 points in 33 SHL games but if you go back to the 2018-19 season, he and Alexander Holtz had nearly identical stats playing in the Under-20 SuperElit. Like Cole Perfetti, Raymond is a bit of a wildcard in the top-10 and while he’s ranked by many to go as early as fourth (or even third) overall, others have him going as late as ninth overall.
He has a great work ethic and is always involved, trying to be a difference-maker in the game. Raymond has excellent stickhandling abilities and is able to get around defenders on the rush with some great moves. He’s also a very strong skater, a great passer and has a fairly hard, accurate shot. He’s got a bit of everything to work with and to me, unlike with players like Holtz and Jack Quinn, Raymond doesn’t have one specific standout area in his game but instead, can do everything well.
Raymond projects as a top-six winger and would be great playing with a goal scorer on his line that he can work with. Like was the case with pretty much every prospect I’ve done a player profile for so far, I think it’ll come down to who’s available in regards to whether or not the Ducks take Raymond.
Like most players in the top-10 this year, he’s certainly a safe bet to be effective in the NHL, especially considering he doesn’t really have any major weak spots in his game.
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Here’s today’s poll question (results and discussion will be posted in a future article):
Would you be in favour of the Ducks selecting Lucas Raymond with the sixth-overall pick?