2019 NHL Draft: Grading each team’s draft class
Atlantic Division
Boston Bruins
Favorite prospects: John Beecher deserved more playing time than he got in his draft season. It’s hard to get playing time when the options over you include Jack Hughes and Alex Turcotte. Beecher has a nice skill set, he’s fast, and he’s big. In short, he’s a perfect Boston Bruins forward. I think he’ll be a top-nine forward.
Least favorite prospects: Just about everyone else they picked.
Grade: D+. There were better players to be had at the end of the first round than Beecher. The Bruins only had two picks in the top 100, so this was always going to be a rough draft from them.
Buffalo Sabres
Favorite prospects: The Buffalo Sabres practically sprinted to the podium after the Detroit Red Wings reached off the board with Moritz Seider. They got Dylan Cozens, who should an impact forward for them.
Least favorite prospects: Lukas Rousek isn’t the kind of player you should draft in the seventh round. There were more interesting prospects with higher upsides than Rousek, who is a double overager who didn’t even put up good numbers.
Grade: C. Cozens will define this draft for the Sabres.
Detroit Red Wings
Favorite prospects: Robert Mastrosimone probably should have been a first-round pick. Instead, the Detroit Red Wings got him in the second round. Mastrosimone’s goal scoring is something their system really needs.
Least favorite prospects: Moritz Seider was drafted way too high with the sixth pick. Dach was at least projected as a top-five pick – I understand why the Blackhawks picked him. But the Red Wings wasted a top-six pick on someone they could have easily gotten later. They really could have used an impact forward and there were several on the board.
Grade: B-. I think they got at least three NHL guys from this draft, which is pretty darn good.
Florida Panthers
Favorite prospects: Spencer Knight’s a terrific goaltender. They probably reached for him a bit at 13, though. I don’t agree with the Panthers drafting Knight that early, but I can see why they did it. Defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok has a very high hockey IQ and does a lot of good things with and without the puck.
Least favorite prospects: John Ludvig probably isn’t going to be an NHLer. I don’t like his skill set, nor do I like his lack of offense. Ludvig isn’t a good enough defender to get by on just that, either.
Grade: C-.
Montreal Canadiens
Favorite prospects: You’ve probably heard enough about Cole Caufield, so let me tell you about Rhett Pitlick, their fifth-round pick. He’s undersized like Caufield. And just like him, the sky is the limit with his offensive upside. Every time I watched Pitlick (which admittedly didn’t happen as often as I wanted), he left a good impression.
Least favorite prospects: They reached a bit on defenseman Jayden Struble in the second round. Though he’s a decent guy to bet on with his physical tools, I wonder if his hockey IQ is good enough to make it in the NHL.
Grade: A-. The Canadiens got this grade because of sheer quantity, though drafting Caufield and Pitlick certainly helped. They added some really fascinating guys to their system and might have one of the best prospect pools in the NHL.
Ottawa Senators
Favorite prospects: Mats Sogaard is what Gumby would look like in real life. He’ll be the tallest goalie in NHL history at 6’8″ when he makes his NHL debut. I had him as the fourth-best goaltender prospect in the draft, but I know people who had him as high as right behind Spencer Knight. First-round pick Lassi Thomson was a second-round talent in my book, but he has some nice tools.
Least favorite prospects: Shane Pinto is a fine player, but how did the Senators not go with Bobby Brink or Arthur Kaliyev with the first pick in the second round?
Grade: C-.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Favorite prospects: I had their third-round pick Maxim Cajkovic graded as a first rounder. As I anticipated, he fell because his stats didn’t look good since he was on a terrible QMJHL team. Cajkovic has a ton of skill and he should be one of the best values in the draft.
Least favorite prospects: Hugo Alnefelt doesn’t do it for me.
Grade: C. Nolan Foote wasn’t a good first-round pick, but I love Cajkovic and I think Mikhail Shalagin, their seventh-round pick, is a terrific player to bet on because of his ability to score goals.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Favorite prospects: Anyone who knows me knows I’ve been pumping Nicolas Robertson’s tires for a while now. He’s such a fun player. Not only is Robertson extremely skilled, but he also plays with so much emotion. I’d probably have him as the Leafs best forward prospect right now. Mikko Kokkonen is a terrific pick as well.
Least favorite prospects: I’m not a huge fan of Nicholas Abruzzese’s game. That said, drafting him in the fourth round is fine.
Grade: A-. If I was grading on a curve, they’d get an A+ because they didn’t even draft until the 52nd pick, yet they still added a ton of talent to their pipeline.