The fourth mock Hockey Buzz mock draft driven by the readers and a few special guests is underway. Hank Bailing did not go off the board with the Sabres pick, selecting Owen Power first overall, while Sean Maloughney took Matthew Beniers as the first ever Seattle draft pick and Ryan Armstrong completed the Michigan trifecta with Kent Johnson. Zabber selected Luke Hughes with the Devils' pick. Slimtj selected Simon Edvinsson for Columbus with fed91stammer's grabbing William Eklund for Detroit.
Hockeygm traded San Jose’s pick to Ottawa, who, represented by optimus-rein, selected Dylan Guenther. Dudestar's pick for LA was Brandt Clarke. Nucker101's selected Mason McTavish for Vancouver while Hockeygm's pick for San Jose was Cole Sillinger and Theo Fox's pick for Chicago was Chad Lucius, ShallowLarynx's pick for Calgary is below while Flyersfan328 is up for Philly. Below is the voting poll, please weigh in with your view
First, some logistical information just for this blog: Thanks to all who have agreed to participate. Almost all teams are spoken for, meaning we have close to a full complement of General Managers, but need a few more. As a reminder, when you have your pick, rationale for the selection, who else you considered and if you weighed a trade, please send that to me via email to
[email protected]. As said previously, for those who agree to participate, please make sure I have your real name to go with your Hockey Buzz ID.
The draft is July 23 and we will start the draft July 8 in the morning. That will give us 15 days or so to complete the draft, even factoring in the Sabbath. For weekdays and Sunday, I will post a pick in the am, theen a second in the pm with voting in between, for around the first 20 picks. The last 11, we will run three per day so we get all 31 picks by or on July 23.
As a reminder, for each pick, included should be: a) Selection and reasoning/scouting report and b) Alternatives considered(both players and trades). Please provide me via email your pick with the aforementioned information following the posting of the prior pick on the site. If I become aware of a pick or a few picks in a row, I will email you to help facilitate moving the mock draft along. I will post the blog with the pick and the voting poll within each blog.
Overall Rules and Process
As mentioned previously, there is a little kicker. 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 seriously 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 will work: each morning and evening (for now, two picks per day, but we will go to three when we get to latter third of the mock draft, so that we complete on time) the team’s selector will email me at [email protected] their pick and their rationale for that selection. 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 will post that pick and rationale on the site and create a voting poll. For now, I was thinking solely 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 12th Overall Pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, the Calgary Flames, represented by Shallow Larynx, select Fabian Lysell, RW, Luleå HF (SHL).
Rationale for the selection with scouting report along with alternatives considered (both players and trades):
I was hesitant to take Lysell as I honestly don’t see him dropping to #12 in the draft. However, if he is available the Flames would be crazy to pass him up. He is a right-shot right winger that has elite speed, puck handling, and passing abilities. He is the type of player that makes plays that bring the fans out of their seats. His skating has been described by some scouts as “near perfect” (Elite Prospects). He also has a strong defensive game. He backchecks hard, has an aggressive stick, and has the speed to back track deep into his own zone and still be up ice quick on offence. The big knock on Lysell is his lack of an elite shot.
Neither his wrist shot or slap shot have developed to match his elite stick handling and skating. That said, he often skates around defenders and puts himself in a position where he doesn’t need a great shot to put the puck in the net. He has consistently played above his age group and performed at a high level. He projects as a first line playmaker. Scouts have compared Lysell to NHLers like Mitch Marner and Artemi Panarin. Those are pretty lofty comparisons, but if he comes even close to that level the Flames will be thrilled to steal him at 12.
Some might point out his low numbers in the SHL this past season (3 points in 26 games), but he received mostly 4th line time and almost no PP time as an 18-year-old in Sweden’s top professional league. The Flames already have a strong contingent of Swedes - Lindholm, Backlund, Andersson, Kylington (pending expansion), and Markstrom so he would have support integrating into the North American game and lifestyle.
I know many expect the Flames to go with a center with this pick, but with names like Sillinger, Mactavish, Johnson and Lucias off the board it is a bit of a stretch to dip down into the next tier of centers with guys like Stankhoven, Bourgault, Penelli, and Samskonvich.
Also Considered:
Fyodor Svechkov (C) - Defensive-minded Center that sees the ice well and is rarely caught out of position. Has some offensive touch, but is not an elite scorer. Could develop into a Baklund type of player.
Zachary L’Heureux (C) - Undersized power foward type of player that plays with a high level of physicality. He does not hesitate going anywhere on the ice and can chip in goals from dirty areas. 12th overall is just too early for this player. I could see him being available late in the first round, early in the second. Calgary could be a player if they trade down (or up in the second round).
Matthew Coronato (LW) - This guy exploded for 85 points in 51 USHL Games in 2020-21. His 57 PIMs show he isn’t afraid to get physical and mix things up. I think the Flames would be comfortable with picking him, but have depth on LW and can’t pass up Lysell. Also concerning is the one year explosion...in 2019-20 he tallied 40 points in 45 USHL Games. Is he a player that has found his game, or just outgrown his level of competition?
2021 NHL DRAFT ORDER
1. Buffalo Sabres - Hank Bailing, Owen Power, D, Michigan (73%, 267 votes)
2. Seattle Kraken - Sean Maloughney, Matthew Beniers, C, Michigan (85%, 144 votes)
3. Anaheim Ducks - climbdenali12, Ryan Armstrong, Kent Johnson, C, Michigan (20%, 192 votes)
4. New Jersey Devils - Zabber, Luke Hughes, D, USDP (U-18) (81%, 239 votes)
5. Columbus Blue Jackets, slimTJ, TJ Reilly, Simon Edvinsson, D, Frolunda (49% of 140 votes)
6. Detroit Red Wings - fed91tstammer, William Eklund, LW, Djurgardens (SHL) (72%, 162 votes)
7. San Jose Sharks - hockeygm, pick traded to Ottawa who selects Dylan Guenther, RW, Edmonton (WHL) (83%, 82 votes)
8. Los Angeles Kings - dudestar, Nicholas Plazio, Brandt Clarke, RHD, HC Nove Zamhy (87%, 130 votes)
9. Vancouver Canucks - Nucker101, Mason McTavish, C, Peterborough (89%, 168 votes)
10. San Jose from Ottawa- hockeygm, Cole Sillinger, C, Sioux Falls (59%, 68 votes)
11. Chicago Blackhawks - Theo Fox, Blackhawks blogger from site, Chaz Lucius, C, US-NTDP (50%, 109 votes)
12. Calgary Flames - ShallowLarynx, Fabian Lysell, RW, Luleå HF (SHL).
13. Philadelphia Flyers - Flyersfan328, Phil Brunner, Wednesday, July 14 pm
14. Dallas Stars - NYRangers1124, Thursday, July 15, am
15. New York Rangers - Jan Levine, Thursday, July 15 pm
16. St. Louis Blues - Tommycasino, Tom Dueck, Friday, July 16 am
17. Winnipeg Jets - Ross77, Darren Ross, Friday, July 16 pm
18. Nashville Predators - Russ Cohen, Saturday, July 17 pm
19. Edmonton Oilers - maximumbone, Silas Bengtsson Sunday July 18 am
20. Boston Bruins - Anthony Travalgia, Bruins blogger on site, Sunday, July 18 afternoon
21. Minnesota Wild - jryan88 - Sunday, July 18 pm
22. Detroit Red Wings (from Washington Capitals) - fed91tstammer, Monday, July 19 am
23. Florida Panthers - jimbo, Jimmy Reilly - Monday, July 19, afternoon
24. Columbus Blue Jackets (from Toronto Maple Leafs) - slimTJ, TJ Reilly, Monday, July 19, pm
25. Minnesota Wild (from Pittsburgh Penguins) - jryan88, Tuesday, July 20, am
26. Carolina Hurricanes - Bingo, Chris Cote, Tuesday, July 20, afternoon
27. Colorado Avalanche - TommyGTrain, Tuesday, July 20, pm
28. New Jersey Devils (from New York Islanders) - Zabber, Wednesday, July 21, am
29. Las Vegas Golden Knights - Burnt_Juice, Clay Arseniuk, Wednesday, July 21, afternoon
30. Montreal Canadiens - Karine Hains, Montreal blogger on site, Wednesday, July 21, pm
31. Columbus Blue Jackets (from Tampa Bay Lightning) - slimTJ, TJ Reilly, Thursday, July 22, am
Looking forward to running this again. We had a ton of fun the last few seasons. That should be the same again this year with New York having the 15th pick in the first round.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
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