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2020 NHL Mock Draft picks 1-3 |
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(This is the first in a three-part series mocking the first 10 picks in the 2020 NHL Draft.)
The annual NHL Draft on October 6? Really? That's usually about the time that every NHL team has completed their first game of the new season. Right?
Welcome to the world of Covid-19.
Kudos to the NHL for pulling off a finish to the regular season (the qualifying round) even if it really was an expanded playoffs as they had five-game series to determine which four teams in each conference would join the four best teams in the conference quarterfinals. Commissioner Gary Bettman and his staff really stepped up and delivered the best bubble experience one could hope for while the players on the ice played the games with typical Stanley Cup playoff intensity despite no fans in the stands.
No asterisk from this writer to whomever--Dallas or Tampa--hoists the Stanley Cup. It's the opinion here that the winner will have deserved the prize regardless of the circumstances the 2020 playoffs were played under.
The NHL even lucked out a bit with the Draft Lottery. All teams eliminated in the qualifying round had an equal chance (12.5%) in the second phase of the lottery which, because of how the first phase unfolded, offered one of those eight teams the opportunity to draft first overall. Bettman could have had an egg on his face if teams like Edmonton or Pittsburgh (both with the fifth best records in their conference) or Nashville (6th,) or Toronto (8th,) all of them playoff teams in a normal season, had lost their play-in but won the lottery. As it turns out, the NY Rangers, who along with the Chicago Blackhawks were the last teams to join the expanded field of 12 in each division, won the lottery so at least an actual non-playoff team will draft first overall.
As for the Buffalo Sabres, they missed out on the playoffs for a league-long ninth consecutive season and because the lottery balls didn't go their way, they dropped from the No. 7 slot down to No. 8. Sabres fans have had an extra long time (nearly seven months) to mull over draft possibilities, including various trade scenarios and it would be safe to say that they're ready for the draft to commence so they can start throwing haymakers on social media attacking whatever Buffalo's management does.
So far new Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams has made one trade which looks very promising as he acquired center Eric Staal from the Minnesota Wild for forward Marcus Johansson. However, this draft may become interesting as owners Terry and Kim Pegula shredded the Sabres management, scouting and development staffs to the tune of 22 hockey department employees being lopped off of the payroll in one fell swoop. The general consensus is that Covid-19 decimated the bottom line of their umbrella company, Pegula Sports and Entertainment (which includes their hockey team,) and belt tightening was inevitable. Plus there are question marks concerning the 2020-21 NHL season as well as the American Hockey League season and in a sport driven by box office revenue, no fans in the seats mean a severe loss on the balance sheet. That said, an argument can also be made that those departments under three different GM's haven't been as productive as one would have liked so a house cleaning may have been in order anyway.
Ten days from now Buffalo will jump on their socially distanced zoom call for Round-1 of the 2020 NHL Draft. So onward we go with a mock draft in what has become the strangest hockey year that has ever been seen.
1. NY Rangers--LW, Alexis Lafreniere
At least a playoff team didn't win the #1 overall pick this year as the NY Rangers would have clearly missed the playoffs in a normal season. Because the NHL decided to go with conference seeding, New York beat out the Buffalo Sabres for the 12th and final conference spot and because they lost in the play-in but won phase two of the lottery, the Rangers really had the best of both worlds. Although the second round of the draft lottery was considered sketchy at best, it was what it was and New York has the opportunity to land Lafreniere, a true superstar in the making. If the Rags talent on the left side--Artemi Panarin, Chris Kreider and now Lafreniere--were their pivots, oh my would they have something. As it stands they have Mika Zibanejad, RFA Ryan Strome and 21 yr. old Filip Chytil, down the middle which isn't the greatest but is good enough to take advantage of the incredible skill on the left side. They dream big in The Big Apple, and Tampa Bay Lightning superstar Steven Stamkos' name seems to have made it's way to the fore again. Why Stamkos would want to leave Tampa is another story but the Lightning needs cap space and the Rangers, who also own the 22nd-overall pick in this draft as well as one of he best groups of prospects in the league, could put together and impressive package. Hmmmm.
2. Los Angeles Kings--C, Quinten Byfield
We move from the east coast to the left coast for pick No. 2 and if you haven't been paying attention, Los Angeles has spent the last few years acquiring young talent and draft picks as they continue to move on from an aging roster that won two Stanley Cups (2012, 2014.) Heading into the draft the Kings have 11 picks in the first three rounds over the next two drafts (3 firsts, 5 seconds, 3 thirds) to use as they please and they are loaded with forward prospects led by Alex Turcotte, Arthur Kailev, Sam Fagemo, Gabe Vilardi and Rasmus Kupar. Even if they didn't move up from fourth to second via Lottery-1, Los Angeles would still be in great shape but at No. 2 they have the opportunity to add a skilled, high-end prospect in Byfield who has the ability to take his 6'4 215lb. frame directly to the NHL. Byfield checks off all the boxes (skill, skating, hockey-IQ, etc.) and will have the opportunity to learn the NHL game from two-time Cup-winning centers Anze Kopitar and Jeff Carter.
3. Ottawa Senators--C, Tim Stuetzle
Tough luck for the Sens as they entered the draft lottery with two chances at the No. 1 overall pick, their own as the second-worst team in the league (13.5% chance) and the fifth-best courtesy of the Anaheim Ducks (8.5%.) Dreams of drafting 1-2 or even 1/3 overall dissipated as the final five picks unfolded but their "consolation prize" of not landing Lafreniere despite the best odds is Stuetzle, a dynamic center who many envision playing next to Brady Tkachuk in the not too distant future. The Senators organization has taken a lot of grief lately (and rightfully so) but one cannot argue with their rebuild. As of now Ottawa boasts top young talent in Tkachuk (21 yrs. old) and a defensive superstar in the making in Thomas Chabot (23,) both of whom are already making their mark in the NHL. Ottawa also boasts a solid prospect pool featuring RW, Drake Batherson and D, Eric Branstrom so adding Stuetzle (or even Byfield if L.A. goes in a different direction) immediately takes that pool to the next level. Add in the fifth-overall pick and if they don't have the best prospect pool in the league after this draft, they soon will. If you thought Los Angeles had it made, the Sens boast 14 picks in the first three rounds of the next two drafts--four first round picks (three this year, one next,) seven total 2nd rounders (4+3) and three 3rd-rounders (2+1)--providing plenty of organizational flexibility.
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