NHL Entry Draft: All 31 Picks By Each Team’s Biggest Need
6th Overall, Vegas Golden Knights – Timothy Liljegren, D
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The Golden Knights are about to have an influx of nine top 4 defensemen. Yet, they won’t have an influx of top-pairing defensemen. They’ll have Vadim Shipachyov to play first line center. They’ll have centers and wings able to play the rest of the positions on offense. But the Golden Knights have to plan for their future in this league.
And they do that through Timothy Liljegren. Despite a down season last year, Liljogren remains a dangerous defenseman. He’s capable defensively, and that’s something the Knights will need. He has yet to prove he can consistently score points, but if he can be a top 2 lockdown defenseman for Vegas at his peak, that’s a great addition.
7th Overall, Arizona Coyotes – Cale Makar, D
Besides the above Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Alex Goligoski, the Coyotes defense is lacking. While they have NHL-ready prospects on offense, the Coyotes are lacking on defense. In general, the Coyotes are lacking on defense. And that’s why they have to take a defenseman. After Heiskanen and Liljegren, Cale Makar is the best defenseman in this draft.
Especially offensively. In 54 games in the AJHL, Makar posted 75 points, including 51 assists. He has the ability to be a playmaker from the point, and that’s something the Coyotes are going to need. Makar is small and light, which means he’ll have to buff up and grow, but the Coyotes have some other short defensemen. Goligoski is only 5’11”.
If anybody will be able to overlook size for ability, it’s the Coyotes, who just plain out need that skill on the backend.
8th Overall, Buffalo Sabres – Juuso Välimäki, D
Rasmus Ristolainen is a great defenseman. He’s a point-producing dynamo, he’s great on the power play, and he can watch the blue line well. But he needs help, and right now, it’s not there in Buffalo. Adding Juuso Välimäki makes it more likely for that defensive assistance to be there in the future.
Välimäki is also offensively capable. He scored 61 points in 60 games in the WHL, including 42 assists. He can be a second-unit power play guy for the Sabres eventually, and for right now can learn from watching Rasmus and the Sabres other defensemen until he’s ready to join them.
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9th Overall, Detroit Red Wings – Casey Mittelstadt, C/LW
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Henrik Zetterberg is aging. Pavel Datsyuk has left the team and isn’t coming back. The Detroit Red Wings have one center of the future in Dylan Larkin. They should add a second, welcome back the golden age by bringing Larkin, the Datsyuk substitute, his future Zetterberg. Casey Mittelstadt is flexible, young, and big like Zetterberg used to be.
In 24 games in the USHL, Mittelstadt had 30 points, including 13 goals. Mittelstadt is hard working, smart, skilled and fast. And that perfectly compliments Dylan Larkin. Look out for the Detroit Red Wings power play in future years, cause who wants to deal with two versions of Larkin?
10th Overall, Florida Panthers – Elias Pettersson, C
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There is absolutely nothing wrong with having three scoring lines. And when Jonathan Marchessault, the leading goal scorer for the Florida Panthers last season, ended it on the third line, there’s gotta be a center there for him. Imagine having Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau, a healthy Nick Bjugstad, and Reilly Smith, and then Marchessault and a good center.
That’s where Elias Pettersson comes in. He’s got the same ceiling as Teuvo Teravainen – he’s a jack of all trades who’s just too skinny right now. With workout god Jaromir Jagr around, Pettersson could become bigger soon. And then he’s fast, large, smart, and athletic. And that’s a scary combination.
Also, Florida has a goaltender in James Reimer going forward. They have Aaron Ekblad, Alex Petrovic, and Keith Yandle. They have young defensemen in the pipeline, and they can get younger in the middle six.