The 2016 NHL Draft takes place June 24-25 in Buffalo, N.Y. at the First Niagara Center.
1. Toronto — Auston Matthews, center. While others debate whether Patrik Laine might be a better choice, we think the Maple Leafs have already decided Matthews is the guy they need. No. 1 centers are simply too tough to find. Tie goes to the center.
2. Winnipeg — Patrik Laine, left wing. You have to love a player who says he is never going to wash his Team Finland jersey because Alex Ovechkin hit him while he was wearing it. He will be a dominant NHL player. He’s going to score plenty of goals in this league.
3. Columbus — Jesse Puljujärvi, right wing. The way this draft has unfolded, Puljujärvi feels like a consolation prize. But he’s actually a high quality player who is going to be a big-time scorer in the NHL.
4. Edmonton — Matthew Tkachuk, left wing. It’s definitely a reach for the Oilers to consider taking a defenseman at this point, and we think it’s more likely the Oilers package this pick with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins or Nail Yakupov to deal for a veteran blueliner. But if they stay put, it would be awfully hard to pass on a gritty winger who can ride shotgun to Connor McDavid for the next decade.
5. Vancouver — Pierre-Luc Dubois, center. His desirability grew as the season wore on. He is 6-3 and scored 42 goals, plus it looks increasingly more likely that he’ll be able to stay at center in the pros.
6. Calgary — Logan Brown, center. He’s a 6-6 center, and the Flames want to be a big team that is difficult to play against. Can’t you see Brown playing for a Brian Burke team?
7. Arizona — Olli Juolevi, defenseman. The Coyotes desperately need another Oliver Ekman-Larsson on the back end to move the puck and start their transition game. This kid is a carbon copy of Ekman-Larsson, and the two of them would team up to give Arizona a tremendous power play point duo.
8. Buffalo — Clayton Keller, center. If he was 6-foot, he would be a top-five pick. But scouts are intrigued enough with his skill set to overlook his lack of size. He could be a smaller version of Jonathan Toews with his vision and hockey sense.
9. Montreal — Mikhail Sergachev, defenseman. He is a smooth, well-rounded two-way defenseman with size. He has a strong shot, and he’s hard to play against. It would not be surprising if he ended up being the best defenseman taken in this draft, and could be a perfect eventual replacement for Andrei Markov.
10. Colorado — Alexander Nylander, left wing. He has the skill package and the bloodlines to be an impact player. The Avalanche should be thrilled if he fell to them, but he may not.
11. New Jersey — Jakob Chychrun, defenseman. At the start of the season, he was a candidate to go in the top three. You can either ask yourself why he slid, or convince yourself you are getting major value with the 11th pick.
12. Ottawa — Tyson Jost, center. He was a 104-point scorer in the British Columbia Hockey League, and the Senators need more young forward prospects who can inject a healthy dose of speed and skill into their somewhat stale lineup.
13. Carolina — Kieffer Bellows, left wing. He has inherited his father Brian’s scoring touch, and will be a finisher at the NHL level. This is a logical pick for an NHL team that really needs some excitement and juice on the front end.
14. Boston — Charlie McAvoy, defenseman. Hey, he’s already playing about 15 minutes away (at Boston University) from the Bruins’ home rink, so you know they’ve got a good read on him. Boston has a lot of age to replace on the blue line over the next two years, and this kid might be a Ryan Suter-style defenseman: efficient, effective, does everything well. Will play at a high level for many, many years.
15. Minnesota — Luke Kunin, center. Talked to a scout recently who said the last time he saw Kunin play he reminded him of Dylan Larkin. That’s high praise, and reason to take him a few picks earlier than anticipated.
16. Detroit — German Rubtsov, center. With Pavel Datsyuk returning to Russia, why not replace him with another fine two-way Russian center. He’s not another Datsyuk offensively, but he’s sturdy, aggressive, and intelligent.
17. Nashville — Riley Tufte, left wing. He is 6-5 and has the kind of size/skill combination every team is searching for. The Preds have some top scorers with the big club, but could use a couple more in their pipeline.
18. Philadelphia - Michael McLeod, center. Could he be another Ryan O’Reilly? He skates better at this age and has a little more size. Shutdown centers who can contribute offensively have real value.
19. NY Islanders — Jake Bean, defenseman. The Islanders wind up with perhaps the biggest steal of the first round. There’s no way he should still be on the board, and the Isles can’t ignore a top pairing, top power play unit defenseman at this point.
20. Arizona (from NY Rangers) — Dante Fabbro, defenseman. The Coyotes already nabbed one strong puck-moving defenseman, but the value here is just too great to pass up.
21. Carolina — Boris Katchouk, left wing. They already added the big goal-scorer, now they look to inject some grit and spirit into a bland forward group. He may need added development time, but will end up being an important player to build a winning team chemistry.
22. Winnipeg — Julien Gauthier, right wing. Enormous and a good skater with the potential to become a 30-goal power forward.
23. Florida — Vitali Abramov, right wing. Yes, he’s on the small side, but he’s also feisty and fearless with dynamic skills and playmaking ability. When your leading scorer is 44 years old, maybe you want to spruce things up?
24. Anaheim — Lucas Johansen, defenseman. A lot of teams are quietly hoping to poach him towards the end of the first round. He just feels like the type of solid player on the upswing that Anaheim looks for.
25. Dallas — Max Jones, left wing. This late in the draft the Stars would be happy to land a player with a chance to become a quality power winger. He has the size, toughness, snarl, and attitude they could use to combat the other scary monsters in the Western Conference.
26. Washington — Tage Thompson, center. He’s 6-5, and he’s the son of a former NHL player and current coach. Has the size and hands, but still needs to grow into his body.
27. Tampa Bay — Pascal Laberge, center. Has speed and flow to his game, plus intriguing offensive instincts. Just needs to eat a little protein and put about 20 pounds on his skeleton frame.
28. St. Louis — Logan Stanley, defenseman. When you see a 6-7 defenseman playing major junior, it’s not hard to convince yourself that he will someday blossom into a monstrous force at the NHL level. You just call him a project, work with him, and hope nature takes its course. Hey, it worked for them with Colton Parayko, didn’t it?
29. Boston (from San Jose) — Wade Allison, right wing. He projects to be a rugged, pro style winger who can score and has lots of jam.
30. Anaheim (from Toronto via Pittsburgh) — Alex DeBrincat, center. The Ducks had trouble scoring beyond their first line last season. DeBrincat, who scored 51 goals in each of the past two seasons with Erie (Pa.), will provide them with secondary scoring.
