Toronto Maple Leafs: 2019 NHL Mock Draft Part 1 – Picks 1-15
The Toronto Maple Leafs and the rest of the NHL will be in Vancouver this weekend for the NHL Entry Draft.
The Toronto Maple Leafs obviously don’t have a first round pick this year, but the draft is still an exciting time.
The story of this year’s draft is the one-two punch of Jack Hughes, a small but incredibly talented centre, and Kaapo Kakko, a pure goal scorer hailing from Finland.
Without a first rounder, the Leafs will likely be quiet, but that doesn’t detract from the fun of draft night. The stars of tomorrow will be selected, and there will is always the chance of a trade – or ten!
Despite the Leafs having no pick, the first round of the NHL Entry Draft is must-watch TV and one of the highlights of the NHL schedule.
The Leafs should do OK despite having no pick, since they are sure to hit on some talent in later rounds, and could possibly even make a trade to get back into the opening round.
Note please that statistics for this article come from eliteprospects.com and hockeydb.com.
Without further ado, here’s a look at how I believe the first round of the draft will go.
1. New Jersey Devils – Kaapo Kakko (RW, TPS Turku, SM-Liiga)
This might be one of the hottest takes I’ve made since I started writing.
Hughes has been the consensus first overall pick in many mock drafts for a couple of years now, but over the last few months, I started to believe there might be a chance Kakko goes first overall.
At the World Hockey Championships, Kakko played a huge part in Finland’s success with a six goal and seven point performance over 10 games.
Hughes on the other hand struggled offensively and finished the tournament with only three assists over seven games. Kakko has also proved already that he can compete effectively against grown men, putting up 38 points in 45 games for TPS Turku.
On another note, Hughes skipped out on fitness testing at the NHL Scouting Combine, saying he was worried about getting injured and said it would be “like going into a test you didn’t study for.
Hughes is still going to be an incredible player, but with the Devils having found their star centre in Nico Hischier, the opportunity to pick Kakko at first overall would give them an absolutely deadly one-two punch on the top line.
2. New York Rangers – Jack Hughes (C, USNTDP, USHL)
If I’m somehow right here and the Devils do end up taking Kakko at first overall, then the Rangers will be the proud owners of one of the best possible consolation prizes.
Hughes lit up the USHL this year to the point where it almost seemed boring, putting up a monstrous 112 points in 50 games.
He has elite puckhandling skills and great vision on the ice, leading to a surplus of assists.
The Rangers don’t really have an elite centre prospect, so if Hughes were to fall to second overall, they would be making out like gangbusters with this pick.
Regardless of whether Hughes goes first overall or Kakko, both the Rangers and the Devils will be selecting a future cornerstone piece for their respective franchises.
3. Chicago Blackhawks – Alex Turcotte (C, USNTDP, USHL)
After the big two in Hughes and Kakko are off the board, it’s honestly a wild card as to who will go where.
In this draft, however, I believe the Hawks will take Alex Turcotte, another small American centre.
Like Hughes, Turcotte absolutely killed it for the USNTDP this season, putting up 62 points in 37 games for the US U18 team.
He also made a statement representing the States at the U18 World Juniors, tallying nine points in seven games.
Turcotte committed to play for the University of Wisconsin next year, but could make a case to start the season in the NHL next season regardless of who drafts him.
It also helps that Turcotte is a Chicago native, so it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see the Hawks take him.
4. Colorado Avalanche – Bowen Byram (D, Vancouver Giants, WHL)
The Avalanche may have found their future franchise defenseman back in 2017 when they selected Cale Makar, who also happened to be taken at fourth overall.
He debuted in this year’s playoffs and looked fantastic. The Avalanche are building quite the team.
With that being said, it wouldn’t at all be a surprise to see the Avs pounce on Byram to compliment the right-handed shooting Makar.
Byram lit it up for the Giants this season, putting up 71 points over 67 games.
He’s been described as an excellent skater who plays without panic and can be effective at both ends of the ice.
If the Avs can manage to put together a future top pairing of Makar and Byram, the Western Conference will have to be on the edge of their seats.
5. Los Angeles Kings – Dylan Cozens (C, Lethbridge Hurricanes, WHL)
After being known as a defensive and physical team during the past decade, the Los Angeles Kings have started to put together a solid prospect pool on the offensive side with talent including guys like Rasmus Kupari and Gabriel Vilardi.
This year, I have them adding to that pattern and selecting a big centre in Cozens.
Cozens spent this season with the Lethbridge Hurricanes and put up an impressive 84 points in 68 games.
He also represented Team Canada at the U18 World Juniors and put up nine points over seven games.
It’s not going to be easy for the Kings to eventually replace franchise centre Anze Kopitar once he retires, but things could look very promising for the team should they head forward with a top two of Vilardi and Cozens.
6. Detroit Red Wings – Vasili Podkolzin (RW, SKA St. Petersburg, KHL)
The Red Wings were cheering in the streets last season when consensus top three pick Filip Zadina slipped down to sixth overall, but I’m not about to pretend that Hughes or Kakko will fall to sixth this season.
With that, I have a feeling that the Wings could end up with a very solid forward in Vasili Podkolzin instead.
According to many scouts and experts, the Moskva native has every quality that you would want in a winger.
He’s an offensive juggernaut, plays a solid defensive game, and also has an edge to his game and good discipline to compliment it.
He essentially split this season between Russia’s three major leagues in the KHL, VHL, and MHL, and will likely remain in a development stage for a few more years before making the NHL, but the prize should be well worth it in the end for the Wings if it plays out like this.
7. Buffalo Sabres – Kirby Dach (C, Saskatoon Blades, WHL)
The Sabres haven’t had much NHL success in the past decade, but they’ve had some very solid draft picks over the past few years to make up for it.
They selected a franchise centre in Jack Eichel back in 2015 and a franchise defenseman in Rasmus Dahlin last year, and could have the opportunity to take another powerful forward at eighth overall this season.
Dach has everything you would want in a top-six centre, including great offensive instincts, a good physical game and good size to go with it, standing at 6’4 and 198lbs.
Should Dach be on the board when the Sabres are on the clock, they will have the opportunity to create a deadly one-two punch up the middle with him and Eichel.
8. Edmonton Oilers – Cole Caufield (C, USNTDP, USHL)
While having a top ten pick is entertaining, the Oilers and their fans must be getting tired of always being at the top of the board.
They’ve had four first overall picks and have only selected outside of the top ten once since 2008. Be that as it may, having a top ten pick means having the option to select a very talented player for your organization, and the Oilers may have their guy in Cole Caufield.
The first thing you’ll notice about Caufield is his incredibly small stature.
He stands at 5’7 and 165lbs, but his offensive game is good enough to have him ranked as high as fifth overall by some experts. He put up 100 points in 64 games for the US U18 team this season and absolutely tore up the U18 World Juniors, scoring 14 goals and putting up 18 points over seven games for the States.
He’s drawn comparisons to Chicago Blackhawks star Alex DeBrincat (surprise, also 5’7), and if the Oilers have the chance to add someone like DeBrincat to their team, they will be more than happy to announce his name on Friday.
9. Anaheim Ducks – Trevor Zegras (C, USNTDP, USHL)
With Hughes, Turcotte, Caufield, and now Zegras too, it’s safe to say that the 2019 draft class is a good one for Americans.
The Ducks had an incredibly disappointing season based on their standards this season, but if there’s any light to the situation, they have a chance to select a top-end player at ninth overall.
Enter Trevor Zegras.
Based on his scouting reports, Zegras is every coach’s dream player. He can play all three forward positions and doesn’t lack any aspect to his game.
He can score goals and prevent them, and knows how to throw the body around. In 60 games for the US U18 team, he put up 87 points and also put up an additional nine points in five games at the U18 World Juniors.
If he’s available at ninth overall, the Ducks should not hesitate to pounce on him.
10. Vancouver Canucks – Matthew Boldy (LW, USNTDP, USHL)
While the Canucks didn’t make the playoffs this season, they proved that they’re one of the most exciting up and coming teams in the west and shouldn’t be taken lightly.
Between elite forwards Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser and potential franchise defenseman Quinn Hughes, the Canucks have a top-end core in the making.
So why not add to it while they still have the chance? Enter Matthew Boldy.
Boldy is..surprise! Another American. It’s certainly a good year for American prospects, and while Boldy may not receive the same attention as guys like Hughes and Turcotte, he shouldn’t be underrated.
He’s a physical goal-scoring forward who has good hands and showcased his skills all season long with the US U18 team, putting up 81 points in 64 games.
If the Canucks take him, it’s possible they could eventually form a power line of Pettersson, Boeser, and Boldy. Should this happen, the Western Conference will have to watch out.
11. Philadelphia Flyers – Peyton Krebs (C, Winnipeg Ice, WHL)
The Flyers have formed one of the most dangerous young defensive cores in the league over the past few years.
With guys like Ivan Provorov, Travis Sanheim, Robert Hagg, and Philippe Myers. With so much talent on the back end, why not add a skilled forward in Peyton Krebs?
Krebs spent this season playing for the Kootenay Ice (known as the Winnipeg Ice effective next season) and captained the team at the young age of 17 to go along with 68 points in 64 games.
He isn’t the biggest guy on the ice, standing at 5’11 and weighing in at 181lbs, but he’s a fearless forward who isn’t afraid to go to the dirty areas and has a great offensive game to go with it. All in all, he would be a great pick for the Flyers at 11th overall.
12. Minnesota Wild – Philip Broberg (D, AIK, Allsvenskan)
The Wild have been back and forth between taking forwards and defensemen in recent years.
After taking a number of forwards since 2015 including Joel Eriksson Ek, Jordan Greenway, and Luke Kunin, they switched things up and took a defenseman last year in Filip Johansson.
Johansson unfortunately had a down year last season, so the Wild might try their luck again on the back end and take someone like Philip Broberg.
Broberg’s rankings this season have been odd. Some have him ranked as high as ninth overall, some have him going as late as 29th.
I have him going at 12th for the sole reason that he’s an incredible skater. Scouts have deemed him as one of the best skaters in his draft class, and when you pair this with the fact that he’s 6’3 and 203lbs, he could become a total threat on the back end in the pros.
He has good reach and put up nine points over 41 games for AIK this year, so the Wild would be wise to take him if he’s around at 12th.
13. Florida Panthers – Alex Newhook (C, Victoria Grizzlies, BCHL)
The Panthers are poised to have a busy off-season with speculation that they could sign a pair of Russian superstars in Sergei Bobrovsky and Artemi Panarin. They’ve done a great job at developing talent over the years, and they have another opportunity here in Alex Newhook.
Newhook spent this season with the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies and strikes me as a very similar player to Colorado Avalanche forward Tyson Jost, who’s similar in size and put up similar totals in the same league in his draft year.
Newhookis committed to play for Boston College next year and could see some extra development time there, but if the Panthers have the chance to take him at 13th, he could eventually turn into a high-reward type of player for them.
14. Arizona Coyotes – Spencer Knight (G, USNTDP, USHL)
The Coyotes had a very good run at the end of last season that gave their fans some hope, but it wasn’t enough to secure themselves a playoff spot.
If anything, it showed that things are looking up for the organization and that they could become one of the better teams in the west over the next few seasons. The one issue is that the Yotes’ don’t really have a cornerstone goaltending prospect.
With that said, Spencer Knight could be their guy.
Goalies going in the first round, let alone in the top 15 is incredibly rare.
But the fact that Knight is a projected first rounder almost everywhere says a lot about him as a prospect. He absolutely killed it for the US U18 team this year, putting together a record of 15-1-0 with a GAA of 2.21 and a save percentage of .903, likely due to the fact that the US Juniors were unstoppable this year.
The Coyotes don’t really have a top-end goalie prospect in the organization, so this would be a very wise pick for them.
15. Montreal Canadiens – Raphael Lavoie (C, Halifax Mooseheads, QMJHL)
While everybody thought the Habs were going to take either Filip Zadina or Andrei Svechnikov at third overall last season, they went a little off the board and took Finnish centre Jesperi Kotkaniemi.
Their fans weren’t happy about it at first, but after seeing his talents last season they began to warm up to the idea of having him there.
This year, they have a chance to add another solid centre from their draft slot.
It may seem cliché for the Habs to take a French forward, but be that as it may, the Habs would be getting a potential top-six piece to their core should they take Lavoie.
Leafs Top Ten Prospects. dark. Next
The 6’4 centre is a Montreal native and put up 73 points over 62 games for Halifax, and could provide for a great pairing up the middle with Kotkaniemi.
This concludes part 1 of the Mock Draft. Tune in tomorrow for part 2.