NHL Draft 1st Round: 5 Takeaways From Friday Night

NHL Draft 1st Round: 5 Takeaways From Friday Night in Buffalo

NHL Draft kicked off on Friday night in Buffalo with the opening round. As expected, the annual event contained more than a few surprises. From risers to fallers, to a few interesting trades, fans were treated to an exciting night of entertainment.

The host team Buffalo Sabres made things interesting with their selection of Alexander Nylander at 8th overall. Brother of William (Toronto Maple Leafs), these two rebuilding franchise’s have a nice family rivalry to look forward to for years to come.

Heading into Saturday, fans can expect more of the same from day one. Trades should continue to roll in, although most will be flipping draft picks around. For those teams picking near the top of the 2nd round, several high quality prospects are still available.

Can teams such as Toronto and Edmonton pass on players like Alex DeBrincat or Rasmus Asplund in favor of filling a need (both teams need RH defenders)? We’ll find out soon enough.

Below are 5 takeaways from the 1st round of the NHL Draft on Friday Night.

Columbus Passes on Jesse Puljujarvi

Jun 24, 2016; Buffalo, NY, USA; Pierre-Luc Dubois poses for a photo with team officials after being selected as the number three overall draft pick by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first round of the 2016 NHL Draft at the First Niagra Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports /

For some reason, this feels as though Columbus passed on BAP (best available player) in hopes of filling a need.

Dubois is a great prospect, but it might be his center versatility that intrigued Columbus.

Otherwise, how do you explain passing on a prospect that some regarded as the second best, ahead of Patrik Laine?

Worst part, poor Jarmo Kekalainen gets to explain to Finn’s everywhere why he opted to pass on Puljujarvi. For the Blue Jackets sake, let’s hope this one works out.

Michael McLeod is Destined to Play RW in New Jersey

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This one might have been confusing on the surface to fans but if you take a step back and have a look, it makes sense.

New Jersey already have Travis Zajac, Adam Henrique, Pavel Zacha, and John Quenneville in the mix up the middle.

McLeod shoots right-handed, so unless they plan on trading/moving several players to the wing, it’s almost a certainty Michael McLeod is destined to fill that RW need the Devils desperately need to fill.

On a side note, GM Ray Shero should be feeling guilty of robbery. Why new GM Pierre Dorion thought for a second that New Jersey might be considering left-handed shooting Logan Brown is beyond me. The Sens gave up a third round pick for no reason.

Panthers-Bruins Go off the Board

Jun 24, 2016; Buffalo, NY, USA; Henrik Borgstrom walks to the stage after being selected as the number twenty-three overall draft pick by the Florida Panthers in the first round of the 2016 NHL Draft at the First Niagra Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports /

The first team to go a little bit off the board was Florida selecting Finnish center Henrik Borgstrom.

Known to be taking a more analytical approach these days, apparently the Panthers saw something in this prospect who entered the draft for a second time after not hearing his name called in 2015.

It’s difficult to call it going off the board at the end of the 1st round, but Boston felt compelled to take 47th ranked NA skater (NHL CSS Rankings) Trent Frederic.

While a quality prospect who could have a bright future, GM Don Sweeney could have easily selected Frederic later in the 2nd by trading down.

A Few Teams Add to Their Biggest Positional Strength

Jun 24, 2016; Buffalo, NY, USA; Jesse Puljujarvi poses for a photo after being selected as the number four overall draft pick by the Edmonton Oilers in the first round of the 2016 NHL Draft at the First Niagra Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports /

Edmonton Selects Jesse Puljujarvi – Difficult to blame Peter Chiarelli for this pick, even though a defender would have made more sense.

You can’t exactly pass up on NHL ready talent who tore apart the IIHF this past season. It does however leave them in a somewhat uncomfortable position.

Might be safe to assume that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Nail Yakupov are their most likely trade candidates to fetch a pair of quality blue liners.

Carolina Selects Jake Bean – The Hurricanes weren’t part of the list of teams who needed a RH defender. In fact, they were one of the last teams in need of defense period, but that didn’t stop Ron Francis and company from taking the BAP at 13th overall. The Canes also have Justin Faulk, Noah Hanifin, James Wisniewski, Ron Hainsey, Jaccob Slavin, Brett Pesce, Michal Jordan, Haydn Fleury, Roland McKeown, the list goes on for defense. Expect Carolina to be shopping some of those players for upgrades up front.

Jun 24, 2016; Buffalo, NY, USA; Dante Fabbro puts on a team jersey after being selected as the number seventeen overall draft pick by the Nashville Predators in the first round of the 2016 NHL Draft at the First Niagra Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports /

Nashville Selects Dante Fabbro – Another team that doesn’t need high-end defense, yet the Preds draft one of the top RH shots in this class.

Luckily, it sounds as though it could be 3-4 years of college hockey before he makes the jump to the NHL.

Tampa Bay Selects Brett Howden – It sounds as though the Brayden Point connection had a lot to do with this pick, but I’m not sure how you explain adding yet another potential top-six forward (third line center at the low-end).

With high picks spent in recent years on players such as Mitchell Stephens and Brayden Point, this one is a head scratcher when Lucas Johansen goes off the board one pick later. That’s a defenseman Tampa Bay should have coveted at 27th.

Plenty of Quality Talent Remains at Top of 2nd Round

Top 5 Remaining at Each Position

Center

1. Rasmus Asplund, Farjestad (Sweden)
2. Pascal Laberge, Victoriaville (QMJHL)
3. Jordan Kyrou, Sarnia (OHL)
4. Will Bitten, Flint (OHL)
5. Dillon Dube, Kelowna (WHL)

Left Wing

1. Boris Katchouk, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)
2. Adam Mascherin, Kitchener (OHL)
3. Tyler Benson, Vancouver (WHL)
4. Jack Kopacka, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)
5. Cameron Morrison, USNTDP

Right Wing

1. Alex DeBrincat, Erie (OHL)
2. Vitaly Abramov, Gatineau (QMJHL)
3. Carl Grundstrom, Modo (Sweden)
4. Taylor Raddysh, Erie (OHL)
5. Nathan Bastian, Mississauga (OHL)

Defense

1. Kale Clague, Brandon (WHL)
2. Filip Hronek, HR. Kralove (Czech)
3. Cam Dineen, North Bay (OHL)
4. Luke Green, Saint John (QMJHL)
5. Samuel Girard, Shawinigan (QMJHL)

Next: NHL Mock Draft 7.0: Final Rankings

Goalie

1. Evan Fitzpatrick, Sherbrooke (QMJHL)
2. Filip Gustavsson, Lulea (Sweden)
3. Carter Hart, Everett (WHL)
4. Tyler Parsons, London (OHL)
5. Zach Sawchenko, Moose Jaw (WHL)

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