NHL Entry Draft: Full Second Round Mock Draft, Fourth Edition
NHL Entry Draft: 27 Team’s Positions Have Been Solidified in the Draft Order. So Let’s Jump Into Our Fourth Edition of our Second Round Mock Draft.
The NHL Entry Draft is just one month away which gives everyone a bunch of time to speculate on who their favorite team is going to select in the first round, but this time we’re doing the second round. With this year not being as deep as the years of yesterday, there are still some top notch guys available.
In this second round mock draft, I’m keeping the same order as the first round, and adjusting teams to their respective slots that they achieved through trade. There was a total of 10 deals made that affected teams in the second round. Carolina, Buffalo, and Montreal are the only teams who are gaining an additional pick. There are also a ton more picks but they are all conditional selections that have yet to be figured out due to the playoffs.
Next is the full rundown of all the deals that happened where teams gained an additional second round selection.
via (TSN)
via (TSN)
via (Sportsnet)
via (Sportsnet)
via (Sportsnet)
via (Sportsnet)
via (Sportsnet)
via (Wikipedia)
via (Sportsnet)
via (TSN)
ALL TRADE INFO COURTESY of Wikipedia, ALL DEALS COURTESY of TSN, Sportsnet and Wikipedia.
Tampa Bay’s 48th pick and Anaheim’s 50th picks are confusing ones. Here are the details for both.
The Toronto Maple Leafs’ second-round pick will go to the Tampa Bay Lightning as the result of a trade on February 27, 2017 that sent Brian Boyle to Toronto in exchange for Byron Froese and this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade).[13] The condition – Tampa Bay will receive the highest pick of Ottawa, San Jose or Toronto’s second-round picks in 2017[13] – was converted on April 23, 2017 when Toronto was eliminated from the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs, ensuring that Toronto’s second-round pick would be higher than San Jose or Ottawa’s second-round picks.
[Via Wikipedia.com]
The San Jose Sharks’ second-round pick will go to the Anaheim Ducks as the result of a trade on June 20, 2016 that sent Frederik Andersen to Toronto in exchange for Pittsburgh’s first-round pick in 2016 and this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade).[15] The condition – Anaheim will receive the middle pick of Ottawa, San Jose or Toronto’s second-round picks in 2017.[16] – was converted on May 9, 2017 when Ottawa advanced to the 2017 Eastern Conference Final. Ensuring that the Sharks second-round pick would be higher than the Senators’ and lower than the Maple Leafs’. Toronto previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on February 22, 2016 that sent Roman Polak and Nick Spaling to San Jose in exchange for Raffi Torres, a second-round pick in 2018 and this pick.[17]
[Via Wikipedia.com]
Now, let’s dive into the mock draft and see who lands where! I will have more draft’s coming for you very soon, with a full seven rounder coming after the playoffs.
Tommy Miller. 62. player. 91. So far Ottawa has selected depth scorer/grinder Matthew Strome, and depth center MacKenzie Entwistle to help the club up front. Another area of the ice that needs to be addressed is the backend and that’s why the choice of Tommy Miller was made. And let’s not forget he’s from the USA U18 development program which has pumped out a ton of amazing players.. D. Team USA U18 (USHL)
Swift Current (WHL). Aleksi Heponiemi. 61. player. 92. Despite being on the small side Aleksi Heponiemi has a tremendous skill set and can definitely help the Penguins down the middle. He definitely needs to add weight and height before he can play in the NHL since he’s a really small guy, but first round selection Henri Jokiharju will at least keep things in order on the backend.. C
151. In the first round, I had Nashville choosing top defenseman Urho Vaakanainen from the Finnish Elite League. Now with their only second round selection, I have chosen center Stelio Mattheos from the WHL since that’s an area the Preds need to address big time.. C. Brandon (WHL). Stelio Mattheos. 60. player
105. The Ducks didn’t have a single pick in the first round and now they have two in the second. With their first choice in the second round, I had chosen center Morgan Frost to help the team up front and down the middle. Another spot that needs a prospect badly is goaltending and that’s why I have the Ducks choosing Ian Scott from the WHL.. G. Prince Albert (WHL). Ian Scott. 59. player
152. Montreal has already selected Maxime Comtois to help up front and Jarret Tyszka to help on the backend, now with their second pick in the second round I have them choosing another key piece the club needs. They definitely need help down the middle whether it’s a number one center or a depth center and Jake Leschyshyn can help fill a bottom six role.. C/W. Regina (WHL). Jake Leschyshyn. 58. player
Lukas Elvenes. 57. player. 94. Chicago only had one selection in the first round and that was winger Kristian Vesalainen. Now for every good winger their needs to be a good center playing along with him, and that’s why the selection of Lukas Elvenes was made.. C/W. Rogle J20 (Superelit)
Seattle (WHL). Jarret Tyszka. 56. player. 152. In the first round, I had the Canadiens selecting winger Maxime Comtois to help up front, which is something he can definitely do. Now with the Habs first pick in the second round I have them choosing Seattle defenseman Jarret Tyszka since the Habs are quite thin on the backend when it comes to prospects.. D
David Farrance. 54. player. 12. I selected winger Eeli Tolvanen in the first round for the Sabres to help along the wings, and with their first pick in the second round, I had them taking center Robert Thomas to help down the middle and grow with Tolvanen. So what else could be addressed? Defense and I did that with the selection of USHL standout David Farrance.. D. Team USA U18 (USHL)
70. Boston had chosen center Lias Andersson in the first round and now with their only pick in the second, I have them selecting sniper Nikita Popugaev. These two will be able to grow together and mesh together and form a fantastic duo for the Bruins.. LW. Moose Jaw (WHL). Nikita Popugaev. 53. player
C. Sarnia (OHL). Adam Ruzicka. 52. player. 109. So far Carolina has been able to select Klim Kostin and Jesper Boqvist to help up front on the wings. Now with their second pick in the second round I have them choosing Adam Ruzicka from the Sarnia Sting. And while he’s not offensively loaded, he will provide some scoring and a lot of grit in a third to fourth line role.
99. St. Louis has had two picks already, both in the first round. Number one was goaltender Jake Oettinger from the NCAA, and then depth scorer Isaac Ratcliffe. Now with their third choice, I have them selecting another depth scorer in Grant Mismash.. LW. Team USA U18 (USHL). Grant Mismash. 51. player
With Anaheim’s first selection of the draft, I have them choosing depth center Morgan Frost from the OHL. Now while he’s a year or two away from NHL play, he can easily fill a bottom six role with the club.. C/W. Sault Ste. Marie (OHL). Morgan Frost. 50. player. 105
D. University of Michigan (NCAA). Luke Martin. 49. player. 85. New Jersey has definitely helped the front of the organization with the choices of Nolan Patrick and Ivan Lodnya, now they can help the backend with the choice of NCAA defenseman Luke Martin.
With both of the center positions taken care of with the selections of Martin Necas and Jaret Anderson-Dolan the Lightning can now address another situation and that’s the backend. Defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph definitely puts Tampa Bay in a good position moving forward.. D. Charlottetown (QMJHL). Pierre-Olivier Joseph. 48. player. 23
In the first round, I had Ottawa selecting depth grinder/scorer Matthew Strome from Hamilton of the OHL. Now with their first pick in the second round I have them selecting fellow teammate MacKenzie Entwistle who fills much of the same role.. C. Hamilton (OHL). MacKenzie Entwistle. 47. player. 91
With the Islanders first selection I had them choosing high scoring winger Kailer Yamamoto, now if he isn’t NHL ready next season he can definitely grow with someone down the middle for him to mesh with. That’s why the selection of Sasha Chmelevski is a solid choice for the Islanders.. C/W. Ottawa (OHL). Sasha Chmelevski. 46. player. 106
23. Now when Martin Necas was selected in the first round by the Lightning that was to help fill a void left by Brian Boyle and Valtteri Filppula. Now with one spot filled down the middle, the selection of Anderson-Dolan will help fill another.. C. Spokane (WHL). Jaret Anderson-Dolan. 45. player
Kole Lind. 44. player. 68. Philadelphia had the second overall selection in the first round to take Nico Hischier to help up front. And since the Flyers need one more person up front to fill a depth role in the future that also scores goals, Kole Lind is the perfect fit.. RW. Kelowna (WHL)
Acadie-Bathurst (QMJHL). Antoine Morand. 43. player. 30. In the first round, the Jets selected top defensive prospect, Nicolas Hague, now in the second round I have them choosing someone who will help the front end in a bottom six role.. C/W
42. player. 109. The Hurricanes are loaded on the backend with prospects, so why not fill the cupboards up front right? In the first round, Klim Kostin was selected and with the Canes first pick in the second round I have them selecting left winger Jesper Boqvist.. LW. Brynas J20 (Superelit). Jesper Boqvist
player. 67. In the first round, I had selected defenseman Jusso Valimaki for the Kings since they don’t have many prospects who play defense. Now with their second round selection, I have them selecting Max Gildon’s teammate Scott Reedy who can fill a bottom six role down the middle.. C/W. Team USA U18 (USHL). Scott Reedy. 41
40. player. 87. Florida’s first pick was center/winger Gabe Vilardi to help up front, now to help the back end I have them selecting Max Gildon from the USHL. He’s coming from the USA U18 Development Team which has provided the NHL with a ton of great prospects as of late.. D. Team USA U18 (USHL). Max Gildon
C. HK MVD (MHL). Alexei Lipanov. 39. player. 119. Dallas was given the third pick in the first round due to the lottery selection, and with that choice defenseman, Cale Makar was selected. They also received Anaheim’s first round pick due to them advancing to the Western Conference finals and selected center Marcus Davidsson. Now with their third selection, I have them choosing another center in Alexei Lipanov, these two centers will help Dallas big time down the middle.
Robert Thomas. 37. player. 12. When Buffalo selected right winger Eeli Tolvanen to help boost the right side, they could definitely use a piece to help boost the middle. And selecting Robert Thomas from the London Knights may just be that guy.. C. London (OHL)
player. 85. The Devils won the draft lottery which means they get to select franchise center Nolan Patrick, and why not have someone who can help contribute and grow with him on the right side with Ivan Lodnya.. RW. Erie (OHL). Ivan Lodnya. 36
G. HPK U20 (Liiga Jrs). Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. 35. player. 121. In the first round, Arizona selected defenseman Miro Heiskanen and forward Ryan Poehling. Now in the second round, they can help their goalie situation with the highest ranked goalie that is aimed for round two.
Next: First Round Mock Fourth Edition
104. Shane Bowers is a decent sized guy that after another year in the United States would be a perfect fit for the Canucks since they definitely need more help down the middle.. C. Waterloo (USHL). Shane Bowers. 33. player
Robin Salo. 32. player. 103. Colorado had the fourth overall selection in the first round and are now given the first in the second. With the selection of Owen Tippett up front, the Aves can now take someone to help their backend and that’s the highest ranked defenseman in the second round.. D. Sport (Liiga)