NHL Mock Draft: Aly’s Pre-Draft Day Edition

2. player. 30. Laine has a shot that would be elite if he played in the NHL right now. He’s a great addition to the Jets offense, and could be a future 50 goal scorer. After all, he is being compared to <a href=. RW/LW. Tappara (SM-Liiga). Patrik Laine

LW. Cape Breton (QMJHL). Pierre-Luc Dubois. 4. player. 105. Dubois is exactly what Anaheim needs: a big, talented winger who can play alongside <a href=

LW. London (OHL). Matthew Tkachuk. 5. player. 104. Tkachuk is one of the hardest players to compete against in the draft. and that’s exactly what the Canucks need. He can play a tight checking, gritty game or a more skilled style. The Canucks could also use that side of his game, which he put to good use in London, racking up an absurd 107 points in 57 matches (albeit on a powerhouse team featuring numerous top prospects) and 11 points in 7 WJC games.

6. player. 112. Can you imagine a Gaudreau-Monahan-Nylander first line? Or Sam Bennet with Nylander? That’s a nice offense. Nylander is the skilled, speedy big-ticket winger Flames GM Brad Trevling has been looking for. Nylander will need to polish up his defensive skills, but he’s not a liability. Although of Swedish ethnicity, Nylander was born in Calgary in 1998.. LW/RW. Mississauga (OHL). Alex Nylander

player. 121. Juolevi fills a hole in the Coyotes blueliner and becomes co-star of the back end with <a href=. LHD. London (OHL). Olli Juolevi. 7

Ideally, in this scenario Sabres GM Tim Murray should look to trade down and get a winger. But, we can’t move everything around in this draft so why not go for Chycyrun? He’s had a rough draft year after being pegged as a franchise defender, but Chycyrun is still a solid prospect. He can do everything and put up a decent 49 points in 62 games with OHL Sarina.. LHD. Sarnia (OHL). Jakob Chychrun. 8. player. 12

Jost could turn out to be a steal. He’s risen up draft rankings all year and ended off in the best way possible, breaking <a href=. C. Penticton (BCHL). Tyson Jost. 9. player. 152

Windsor (OHL). Mikhail Sergachev. 10. player. 103. Sergachev is a calm, solid defender who  chips in some serious points. Out of Juolevi, Chycyrun and Sergachev, the Spitfires defender scored the most goals by far at 17. With a filled out frame and NHL-level skating, Sergachev could jump right in and replace <a href=. LHD

11. player. 85. This is a surprising pick, but Gauthier is the best fit for the Devils. He’s a beast at 6’4′ and 225 pounds (his father and grandpa were Mr. Canada winners) and he has decent speed. The Devils are loaded at centre so they are better of going with him than Logan Brown or Michael McLeod. Julien went from 35 assists last year to just 16 this year, but also scored a career high 41 goals.. RW. Val-d'or (QMJHL). Julien Gauthier

Who doesn’t want a 6’6′ centre? Brown is a welcome addition to the Senators, adding size to their speed. Brown also showed off his offensive flair, with an encouraging 12 points in 7 U18 games.. C. Windsor (OHL). Logan Brown. 12. player. 91

He has a thin frame and a concerning height of 5’10’, but he’s proven all the doubters wrong so far. He put up an absurd 107 points in 62 NTDP games,  not to far at all from <a href=. C. USNTDP. Clayton Keller. 13. player. 109

RHD. Calgary (WHL). Jake Bean. 14. player. 70. Bean is arguably the best offensive d-man in his draft class. He is an elite puck mover who also has a good shot from the point. He is also a solid defender who can play big minutes. Exactly what Boston needs.

98. McLeod and Mikkel Granlund look pretty good up the middle for the Wild when <a href=. C. Mississauga (OHL). Michael McLeod. 15. player

Max Jones. 17. player. 151. If anyone in this draft represents a power forward, it’s Max Jones. The Knights’ power forward is extremely similar to Lawson Crouse. Average point production, but good puck skills and a physical force. Preds need more forwards like him.. LW. London (OHL)

68. Tufte has the size and skill to become an elite NHL power forward, but he needs to fill out and could use a year or two of seasoning. He has good skating and an awesome shot, and obliterated the high school league (USHS) with 78 points in 25 games.. LW. Blaine (USHS). Riley Tufte. 18. player

Kieffer, son of former NHL player Bryan Bellows, is a pure goal scorer who projects as a 30 goal getter at the pro level. Bellows could end up being a steal. He looked like a top 10 player after scoring nearly a PPG in the gritty USHL at just 16, and it’s more the players that have improved around him than him lowering his stock. He was among the top scorers with the NTDP, scoring 50 goals and 81 points in 62 games and was a standout at the U18’s with 8 points in 7 games. Adequate frame.. LW. USNTDP. Kieffer Bellows. 19. player. 106

player. 121. Kunin joins Dylan Strome as a future one-two punch down the middle. Kunin won’t play in the NHL for a few years, but Arizona isn’t in any rush as <a href=. C. Wisconsin (NCAA). Luke Kunin. 20

109. Yet another sleeper. Thompson has elite size at 6’5′ but needs a couple of years to fill out and polish his game. When he gets to the pros, He has great hockey sense and was piling up the points with the Huskies, scoring 32 points in 34 games.. RW. UConn (NCAA). Tage Thompson. 21. player

RHD. Penticton (BCHL). Dante Fabbro. 22. player. 30. Fabbro is a Boston University commit, but could be ready for the NHL in the near future. He is a wizard offensively and is overall very solid defending. He had 8 points in 7 U18 games and he helped a dynastic Vees team achieve a 31 game win streak, chipping in an excellent 67 points in 43 games. His skating could use some improvement.

player. 87. After <a href=. G. Lulea (Sweden). Filip Gustavsson. 23

105. Howden plays a 200 foot game and has a mature game that will fit well in the competitive central division. He can be both gritty and offensive minded. He was given limited ice time with Moose Jaw, and showed his offensive prowess with 8 points in 6 U18 matches.. LW. Moose Jaw (WHL). Brett Howden. 24. player

25. player. 119. Buried beneath Mitch Marner, Matthew Tkachuk and 4 other OHL superstars, Pu is actually a great player but didn’t get nearly enough ice time to showcase his skills. With many players moving on next year, he’ll get a chance to break out. He does everything well, and can be played on the PP or PK.. C/RW. London (OHL). Cliff Pu

26. player. 19. The Capitals have no apparent weaknesses on paper, so why not take a chance on the small but talented Alex DeBrincat? The small 5’7′ forward will take time to develop but is a goal scoring monster. He opened the OHL season o pace for 70 goals and ultimately finished with 51 and 101 points in 60 games.. RW. Erie (OHL). Alex DeBrincat

70. McAvoy adds to the growing depth on the Islanders blueline, which is becoming an elite group. McAvoy will have plenty of time to develop in college and projects as a solid defender. He showed serious offensive skill with the Terriers, with 25 points in 37 games, but went pointless at the WJC. He has his ups and downs but is always hard to play against.. RHD. BostonU (NCAA). Charlie McAvoy. 27. player

23. Stanley is nothing special offensively, but he’s a defensive machine. At 6’6 he’s a nightmare for opposing teams along the boards and uses his body effectively.. LHD. Windsor (OHL). Logan Stanley. 28. player

99. Laberge became a name to remember among scouts with a 3 point performance in the CHL Top Prospects game. He has some offensive flair and needs to fill out. He plays 2 inches bigger than his 6’1′ frame, getting pushy in the corners.. C. Victoriaville (QMJHL). Pascal Laberge. 30. player