12 For 12 Mock Draft Blowout

With the Draft just a few days away, I'll give the 1st round a go; since there's an element of unpredictability every year, I won't even bother imagining trades.

1. New York Islanders - Victor Hedman, D, MODO (Sweden) This is a no-brainer to me, and all I got to say is look at how well it worked for the Islanders when they took Denis Potvin at #1 in 1973.
2. Tampa Bay Lighting - John Tavares, C, London The easiest pick in the Draft; take whoever is left of Hedman/Tavares. I wouldn't be surprised if Tampa trades this pick if Hedman does go to New York.
3. Colorado Avalanche - Matt Duchene, C, Brampton The next easiest pick to make; taking Duchene if he's not a surprise pick at 1 or 2. There are whisperings he might end up being the most complete all-around player to come out of this Draft.
4. Atlanta Thrashers - Brayden Schenn, C, Brandon Apparently Don Waddell said its either Schenn or Evander Kane here at 4, and he goes with Schenn.
5. LA Kings - Evander Kane, C, Vancouver LA adds yet another blue-chipper to the stable with a kid who can play any role.
6. Phoenix Coyotes - Magnus Paajarvi-Svenson, LW, Timra (Sweden) A hard-charging skilled winger who will reap the benefits of Peter Mueller putting the puck on his stick.
7. Toronto Maple Leafs - Jared Cowen, D, Spokane Brian Burke likes skill...and Mean. And the concept of having the luxury of having Cowen and Luke Schenn patrol Toronto's back end for years.
8. Dallas Stars - Dmitri Kulikov, D, Drummondville Enter cliched "heir apparent to Sergei Zubov" comment here.
9. Ottawa Senators - Jacob Josefson, C, Djurgardens (Sweden) The Swede's game should translate well to the North American game.
10. Edmonton Oilers - Scott Glennie, RW, Brandon Versatile, Glennie makes his own breaks and will play well both ways. A Patrick Sharp type of player.
11. Nashville Predators - Louis Leblanc, C, Omaha Fast, skilled, and aggressive; dominated the second half of his season.
12. Minnesota Wild - Oliver Ekman-Larsson, D, Leksand How he falls this far, I don't know. Blew away Scouts at the U-18's, which coincidentally is something which resonates with Minnesota scouts in recent Drafts (Sheppard, Cuma, Gillies, Scandella.)
13. Buffalo Sabres - Ryan Ellis, D, Windsor The most offensively gifted D in the Draft, just pair him with Tyler Myers and watch the Sabres go.
14. Florida Panthers - Nazem Kadri, C, London Peter DeBoer knows how to get the most out of him, so they relish this; I wonder if they'd be willing to trade up to get this wild card.
15. Anaheim Ducks - Zach Kassian, RW, Peterborough Aggressive, skilled, and full of intangibles; sounds like a Duck to me.
16. Columbus Blue Jackets - John Moore, D, Chicago The best skater in the Draft, a kid they kept an eye on whenever he came into town to play Columbus' USHL team. Huge ceiling for this kid.
17. St. Louis Blues - Jordan Schroeder, C, Minnesota The Blues saw enough of what Schroeder could do at Minnesota while checking in on Jay Bariball and Cade Fairchild, so they add him to their stable of young, ultra-skilled forwards.
18. Montreal Canadiens - Jordan Caron, RW, Rimouski The Habs take a power forward prospect who is still a little rough around the edges.
19. New York Rangers - Jeremy Morin, LW, USNTDP A "poor man's John Tavares", as funny as that sounds, but he's got serious goal scoring ability- his skating needs work however.
20. Calgary Flames - Landon Ferraro, C, Red Deer Nothing like a homegrown prospect right in New Coach Brent Sutter's toy box- the Red Deer Rebels.
21. Philadelphia Flyers - Zach Budish, C, Edina HS A gamble here in the sense that he's lost a year of development; but the NHL-ready body and upside is there.
22. Vancouver Canucks - Calvin de Haan, D, Oshawa You just teach patience and poise, and de Haan has that. He'll run the Nucks' PP for years.
23. New Jersey Devils - Drew Shore, C, USNTDP Shore's got the size and the skill, and the Devils have the patience to let a kid develop the NCAA route.
24. Washington Capitals - David Rundblad, D, Skelleftea (Sweden) Rundblad gives Washington another offensive option when Mike Green isn't on the ice.
25. Boston Bruins - Kenny Ryan, RW, USNTDP A non-stop motor combined with some goal-scoring ability that will fit in on the wing of a David Kreijci or Marc Savard.
26. New York Islanders - Chris Kreider, C, Phillips Andover HS The second pick in the 1st round is a luxury pick in the sense that the Isles can take a kid who's got potential and just let him develop without rushing him. I think they'll move up however.
27. Carolina Hurricanes - Nick Leddy, D, Eden Prairie HS Leddy has Duncan Keith-like mobility, and isn't afraid to work- he added 15 pounds of muscle last summer in preparation for his senior year at EP.
28. Chicago Blackhawks - Carl Klingberg, LW, Frolunda (Sweden) Bullish, but is just scratching the surface of his offensive potential. Sounds like I'm talking about Dustin Byfuglien or Akim Aliu...
29. Detroit Red Wings - Dylan Olsen, D, Camrose Rough and rugged, the Wings grab a D with the skill set to be a good 2-way D.
Pittsburgh Penguins - Carter Ashton, RW, Lethbridge He's got some power forward upside, but ultimately is a complimentary guy...which works when you have guys like Crosby and Malkin.


There you go- I really feel though that Minnesota will trade down, because:
a.) they really like a guy who is rated higher. And based off what I have heard, Nick Leddy could be that guy. They supposedly have a "higher opinion of him than the pundits do"- to me that means that most services have Leddy ranked in the high 20's to early 30's, so I think they got him penciled into the teens somewhere.
b.) Chuck Fletcher wants some assets as well; extra picks, prospects, players. If they have targeted Leddy, there may be teams who want a crack at a guy like Scott Glennie, or John Moore.

I feel we'll go D in the first round, simply because I think that for the most part the D have higher upsides than the forwards who should be available when we pick. But this is just prognostication- the fun part is watching it unfold Friday Night.