Tonight is the special night for 30 young hockey players who will get the call to join an NHL franchise.
The preparation and anticipation has built and is about to commence in Buffalo. As always, there are many exciting prospects looking for a home, which is sure to create drama and excitement as teams vie for the services of these talented young men.
As part of Flyerdelphia's extensive coverage, we've put together a mock draft for tonight's first round. This is based on the top prospects in the draft as well our series on the prospects eligible for this year's draft.
Our series began on May 24 and featured 25 players. It's time to see how we think the picks play out. [Note: This is assuming no trades occur in the first round and all teams retain their scheduled picks.]
- Toronto – Auston Matthews – Much like last year’s Draft, the first overall selection was and remains a given. Matthews was on the radar of international teams before he even saw his NHL career truly begin. Toronto gets a potential franchise player.
- Winnipeg – Patrik Laine – He made a bid to be the best player in the draft and could very well end up being the most successful. His play at the World Junior Championships turned heads and cemented his place behind Matthews.
- Columbus – Jesse Puljujarvi – He’s an offensive powerhouse and it showed at WJC. Among the complete players in the draft, Columbus adds a potential star to their system.
- Edmonton – Matt Tkachuk – The Oilers really need help on the blue line, but hold the keys to either getting one of the best offensive players in the draft or making a move for a king’s ransom to let some other team get him. If the Oilers can’t get that kind of package for the pick, they’ll just take the scorer.
- Vancouver – Olli Juolevi – There is really no defenseman singled out as the best in the draft. Juolevi got some extra exposure close to the draft in the London Knights, and that may just elevate him into a higher draft pick as the first defenseman taken.
- Calgary – Pierre-Luc Dubois – With Laine, Puljujarvi and Tkachuk all playing the wing, the second-best center in the draft goes to an offense loaded with young talent.
- Arizona – Jakob Chychrun – The Coyotes are working on building a solid nucleus with the emergence of several young forwards in the system. With their first pick in 2016, they could be adding the franchise defenseman.
- Buffalo – Alex Nylander – Nylander could go as high as fifth overall, which is why the Sabres will be thrilled to snag him at eight and pair him with the likes of last year’s second overall pick, Jack Eichel.
- Montreal – Tyson Jost – This tough center with good playmaking skills will look to usher in a new era of Canadiens hockey. He has the tools to be the complete package.
- Colorado – Mikhail Sergachev – Highly regarded as the most NHL ready defenseman in the draft, the Avalanche are looking to bolster the blue line and would definitely consider taking the Russian defenseman with their first round pick, especially with the likelihood that he could help them as soon as the 2016-17 season.
- New Jersey – Logan Brown – He has a lot of size, speed and skill mixed in with his hockey smarts. Given the way that New Jersey defends, Brown should be a fit with the Devils.
- Ottawa – Michael McLeod – Among the best two-way players in the draft, McLeod brings great hockey smarts and a complete package of size, speed and power.
- Carolina – Clayton Keller – A small forward but with a lot of heart and dynamic scoring ability.
- Boston – Jake Bean – Boston is looking to bolster defensively and they can do that by grabbing Bean at 14. An offensive defenseman with tremendous upside, this one's really a no-brainer.
- Minnesota – Kieffer Bellows – The Minnesota kid goes home. The 50-goal scorer for the US U-18 team brings great scoring ability and hockey sense to his home state of Minnesota with the Wild.
- Detroit – Dante Fabbro – The Red Wings need to start building a future on their blue line and take a great step by drafting Fabbro.
- Nashville – Julien Gauthier – It's tough to say which of the next two picks is truly the more coveted, so we'll go with the player that seems to be the more natural goal scorer.
- Philadelphia – Max Jones – The Flyers get their winger, the complete package of a power forward.
- NY Islanders – Charles McAvoy – A strong mobile blue liner, the Islanders add to the pipeline on the back end.
- Arizona (from NY Rangers) – German Rubtsov – A high talent that has the potential of slipping due to the Russian factor, Rubtsov falls to Arizona.
- Carolina (from Los Angeles) – Logan Stanley – A good two-way defenseman with offensive ability, good skating skills and strong smarts.
- Winnipeg (from Chicago) – Riley Tufte – A skilled forward, Tufte needs time to develop, but will eventually join Laine among the top scoring players on the Jets.
- Florida – Luke Kunin – A player who can command the game, Kunin joins a great up-and-coming group in Florida.
- Anaheim – Boris Katchouk – A nice complimentary piece for the Ducks, who add Katchouk, a character player with the talent to potentially be a star.
- Dallas – Tage Thompson – The Stars get this work in progress with a lot of raw talent to become a great scorer.
- Washington – Jacob Moverare – Good size, good stick work and good positioning make Moverare a good prospect for the Capitals to develop while they wait for spaces on a crowded blue line to open up.
- Tampa Bay – Alex DeBrincat – A small but skilled winger who has been at the center of attention around top prospects from the 2015 Draft and as a central part of the US World Junior team. He'll fit right into a threatening offense like Tampa's.
- St. Louis – Brett Howden – Howden is a bit of a mystery. He has the tools to be a solid scorer in the league, but needs to establish a physical edge. He may fit into a high-powered offense like St. Louis has as a nice complimentary player.
- Boston (from San Jose) – Vitali Abramov – A playmaker with great smarts for the game, Abramov can fall right into the Bruins system as one to watch among the forward group.
- Toronto (from Pittsburgh) – Dennis Cholowski – A bit of a first-round sleeper, don't be surprised if the Maple Leafs take a chance on Cholowski, a strong skater with good size on the back end.
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
