The third mock Hockey Buzz mock draft driven by the readers and a few special guests kicked off Monday. Representing the Rangers, I selected Alexis Lafreniere, which had an 88% approval rate out of 357 responses. The Kings' selected Quinton Byfield, which had an 77% approval rate, while the Senators' pick of Tim Sturzle was favored by 93% of voters. Detroit, represented by fed91stammer, made their pick below, with the Senators second pick in this round up next and Anaheim, with optimus-rein picking, on deck. Below are the voting polls, please weigh in with your view.
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: the team’s selector will email me at [email protected] their pick, rationale and any alternatives for that selection. I will post that pick and rationale on the site and create a voting poll. That poll will likely include alternatives that were considered with each voter allowed to select one option.
With the 4th Overall Pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, the Detroit Red Wings represented by fed91stammer, select Marco Rossi, C, Ottawa (OHL)
Rationale for the selection with scouting report along with alternatives considered (both players and trades):
With the “Big 3” off the board I consider Rossi the best player available. He is a complete and dynamic player that is expected to translate to center at the next level. The big reason he is considered to be in the next tier and not part of the “Big 4” is his size. Here’s a quick list: Marchand, P. Kane, Point, Konecny, Tatar, Gaudreau, and Schwartz. Who are these players? They are top 50 in scoring for 2019-20 and listed at 5’10” and under on Hockey Reference. What is interesting is when you look at putting a list like this together you start looking into guys you thought were small because of how they get pushed around on the ice, and then you find out they are 6’1”, so really anyone concerned with size here probably shouldn’t be in charge of an NHL team. Although the top 3 went as expected there was hope on of the “Big 3” would fall to 4 so you will see them listed in the players considered for that reason. Drysdale was never considered because with Hronek and Seider, I feel that RD is the one position that doesn’t need a major overhaul.
Players Considered:
Quinton Byfield: at 6’4” and 215 lbs., Byfield is a GMs dream center. Byfield has all the offensive tools and is a very great skater especially for his size. What might be most impressive is that he has elite draft year production while being one of the youngest players in the draft, which has led some to say he will end up being the best player from this draft. I won’t go much more in depth here because as you find style and skillset comparisons to Auston Matthews and Evgeni Malkin, it is very unlikely that Byfield falls to 4, which proved to be the case.
Marco Rossi: at 5’9” and 185 lbs., the biggest question surrounding Rossi is his size. Rossi is a top end skater with high end skill, which allows him to create a lot of offense as you can see by his stats. When you dig deeper, the more you like Rossi’s game. Despite his size he is strong on the puck and wins plenty of board battles. He plays an intense, never back down style of hockey. He has shown strong faceoff and PK abilities. While he does not have the ideal size, his ultimate competitor attitude, and skills make him a very interesting prospect. You will find that his game is comparable to Brayden Point, who is arguably the best forward in the playoffs right now. With the success yielded from drafting Point, Marco Rossi might be Yzerman’s number one target.
Cole Perfetti: at 5’11” and 175 lbs., the biggest question surrounding Perfetti is if he is a Center or Left Wing at the NHL level. Perfetti must improve his skating to be a Center at the next level. Perfetti is a high-end offensive player with an acumen for scoring goals, earning him the moniker of “Goal Perfetti”. While the OHL production has been very good you will see style comparisons to the likes of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Nick Suzuki, and to a lesser extent Jake Debrusk. These are all good players in their own right but are not necessarily the comparables you want to see when you are talking about the 4 th overall pick. What is important to note is that Kris Draper, current Director of Amateur Scouting for DET is very familiar with Perfetti. Draper’s son played with Perfetti in minor hockey, and Perfetti spent his OHL time not far from Detroit, in Saginaw. The familiarity might make Perfetti DET’s likely target at the 4 spot.
OHL Draft Year EV P1/GP Courtesy of Pick224.com
This list includes the top 10 prospects from the last 5 drafts in terms of EV P1/GP to give an idea on how good the 3 OHL prospects being considered are.
PlayerYear EV P1/GP
Connor McDavid 2015 1.3617
Quinton Byfield 2020 1.0444
Marco Rossi 2020 1.0357
Cole Perfetti 2020 1.0164
Andrei Svechnikov 2018 0.9773
Dylan Strome 2015 0.9559
Alex Debrincat 2016 0.8833
Mitch Marner 2015 0.8413
Owen Tippet 2017 0.7667
Adam Mascherin 2016 0.7538
Arthur Kaliyev 2019 0.7313
Gabriel Vilardi 2017 0.7143
Nick Suzuki 2017 0.7077
Tim Stutzle: at 6’1” and 185 lbs., Stutzle is likely the most dynamic skater in the entire draft. Pairing that skating ability with overall offensive skill, Stutzle was noticeable shift after shift during the World Juniors. Stutzle needs to work on his defensive game to become an elite player at the next level. Most likely Stutzle is not available at the 4 spot, which also proved to be the case, but you do get the sense that there is a little hesitance to take a player that high coming from the DEL. Yzerman of course would have no issues taking a player from the Mannheim organization as his most recent 1 st round pick, Moritz Seider was drafted from the same program. Stutzle has received style comparisons to Mitch Marner, so you know the offensive ability is there. Only time will tell how complete of a player he can develop into.
Yaroslav Askarov: at 6’2” and 175 lbs., the Russian Goalie is perhaps the most interesting prospect in the entire draft. The NHL has started seeing a wave of Russian Goalies with Andrei Vasilevskiy, Ilya Sorokin, Igor Shesterkin, and Ilya Samsonov, either becoming the starter or the heir apparent for their organizations. Askarov is a big athletic goalie with style comparisons to Vasilevskiy (another Yzerman draft pick) and Braden Holtby. Askarov had an underwhelming World Juniors and that has reduced a lot of the hype surrounding him. Goalies are voodoo and taking one in the top 10 is a tough pill to swallow, but if he can become a high-end starter for 10 seasons it would be well worth the pick. Realistically, although there is no promising long-term Goalie prospect in DET, Askarov will only be selected if Yzerman finds a trade he likes to move down a few spots.
Trades Considered:
The following trade ideas are based on the pick valuations found here:
http://statsportsconsulting.com/main/wp-content/uploads/Schuckers_NHL_Draftchart.pdf
New Jersey: Detroit trades 4OA and 32OA for 7OA and 18OA. In this scenario NJ would need to be interested in moving up to the 4th spot. At 7 DET would select one of the players considered from above, with Askarov being the player most likely still available. At 18 DET would look at Connor Zary, Rodion Amirov, Dylan Holloway, Mavrik Bourque, and Jan Mysak.
Anaheim: Detroit trades 4OA and 32OA for 6OA and 27OA. Again, in this scenario ANA would need to be interested in moving up to the 4th spot. At 6 DET would select one of the players considered from above, with Askarov being the player most likely still available. At 27 DET would look at Seth Jarvis, Jacob Perreault, John Peterka, or any of the players listed above in reference to the 18th selection that might still be available.
Winnipeg: (Disclaimer: This one is a little insane and the value probably isn’t fair) Detroit trades 4OA, 32OA, 45OA and Joe Veleno for 10OA, Patrik Laine, and Bryan Little. This trade really comes down to how bad WPG wants to move Laine, how bad WPG wants to get out of the Little contract, and how much WPG values Veleno. Before you roast this trade in the comments, keep in mind I went back and forth on even putting this idea in this post because I’m not sure the value is there from what DET is sending to WPG, but I reminded myself that GMs consistently move high end offensive players for seemingly underwhelming returns. In this scenario DET gets a true sniper to help the atrocious PP and at 10 they take any of the players considered that are still available, or look at Lucas Raymond, Alexander Holtz, and Anton Lundell, if they are still on the board.
2020 NHL DRAFT FIRST-ROUND ORDER AND GMs
1. New York Rangers - Jan Levine - Alexis Lafreniere, LW, Rimouski, QMJHL
2. Los Angeles Kings - Kooleus, Quinton Byfield, C, Sudbury, OHL
3. Ottawa Senators (via San Jose Sharks) - spatso, Tim Stutzle, C, Mannheim, DEL
4. Detroit Red Wings - fed91stammer, Marco Rossi, C, Ottawa, OHL
5. Ottawa Senators - spatso, Walter Clare, Wednesday, Sept. 16 am
6. Anaheim Ducks - optimus-reim, Luke Herrington, Wednesday. Sept. 16 pm
7. New Jersey Devils - redmonsters, Kevin Barrett, Thursday, Sept 17 am
8. Buffalo Sabres - KilkennyDan, Dan Sovocol, Thursday. Sept. 17 pm
9. Minnesota Wild - dudestar, Nicholas Plazio, Friday. Sept. 18 am
10. Winnipeg Jets - Ross77, Darren Ross, Friday, Sept. 18 around 6pm, then a break
11. Nashville Predators - slimtj, TJ Reilly, Monday, Sept. 21 am
12. Florida Panthers - jimbo, Jimmy Reilly, Monday, Sept. 21 pm
13. Carolina Hurricanes (via Toronto Maple Leafs) - Bingo, Chris Cote, Tuesday, Sept. 22 am
14. Edmonton Oilers - maximumbone, Silas Bengtsson, Tuesday, Sept. 22 pm
15. Toronto Maple Leafs (via Pittsburgh Penguins) - Michael Augello, Leafs blogger on site, Wednesday, Sept. 23 am
16. Montreal Canadiens - Vivian Lapeirre, bi-lingual, Wednesday, Sept. 23 pm
17. Chicago Blackhawks - Theo Fox, Chicago blogger on site, Thursday, Sept. 24 am
18. New Jersey Devils (from Arizona) - redmonsters, Kevin Barrett, Thursday, Sept. 24 pm
19. Calgary Flames - deddie, Dan Ethier, Friday, Sept. 25 am
20. New Jersey Devils (from Vancouver via Tampa Bay) - redmonsters, Kevin Barrett, Friday, Sept 25 pm
21. Columbus Blue Jackets, Thomas Townsend, Columbus blogger on site, Sunday, Sept. 27 am
22. New York Rangers (from Carolina) - Jan, Tuesday Sept. 29 am
23. Philadelphia Flyers - Flyersfan328, Phil Brunner, Tuesday Sept. 29 pm
24. Colorado Avalanche - climbdenali12, Ryan Armstrong, Wednesday, Sept. 30 am
25. Washington Capitals - winerydog, Wednesday, Sept. 30 pm
26. St. Louis Blues, jediman, Brendan Smith, Thursday, Oct. 1 in am
27. Anaheim Ducks (from Boston) - optimus-reim, Luke Herrington, Thursday, Oct. 1 in pm
28-31. Pick order TBD - picks will be Friday, Oct. 2 in am, Friday, Oct 2 around 5 pm, - Monday Oct 5 in am and Monday, Oct 5 inpm
Dallas (Russ Cohen, sportsology)
Vegas (JRR1285, Josh Ruiz)
Ottawa (acquired from New York Islanders in JG Pageau deal - spatso)
San Jose (acquired from Tampa Bay in Barclay Goodrow deal (Jeremy Barber, user id: barberjw, email: barbjw26@gmail) -
Looking forward to running this again. We had a ton of fun last season. That should be the same again this year with New York having the first and 22nd picks in the first round.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
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