2020 NHL Mock Draft: New York Rangers add Alexis Lafreniere

The Montreal Canadiens already have Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Nick Suzuki at center. They’ll likely have either Philip Dannault or Max Domi there too. But the Canadiens need some scoring help and Connor Zary has the tools to provide that. His skating is a bit of a question mark, but he has a terrific shot.

The Blackhawks need better center depth in their organization, especially if they don’t re-sign Dylan Strome to a long-term deal. Mavrik Bourque will take a little bit longer than the guys picked before him to develop, but I think he has the potential to be a second-line center. I’m a big fan of his hockey IQ and vision. His skating is definitely a concern, though.

Though the New Jersey Devils have an impressive core of young players, they could use another defenseman in their prospect pool. I’m a huge fan of Ty Smith and Reilly Walsh, but I’m still not sold on Kevin Bahl yet. William Wallinder has the potential to be a top-four defenseman and a great power-play quarterback. His defense needs some work, but the Devils can afford to be patient.

The Calgary Flames have been avoiding drafting defensemen as of late. It stops here, as the Flames will draft Braden Schneider, who has the potential to be an impressive top-four defenseman. He’s a bit of a safer pick than Wallinder, as he has a higher floor, but slightly lower ceiling. Schneider is surprisingly mobile and effective in all three zones.

I’m curious to see what the New Jersey Devils will do with their third first-round pick. They’ve already got a potential game-changing forward (Rossi) and a potential game-changing defenseman (Wallinder). I think they swing for the fences and go with Henrik Lapierre, who has a ton of upside. The main concern with Lapierre is his health, as he recently had three concussions in less than 12 months. But man, when he’s healthy, he is very, very good.