2009 NHL Mock Draft: The First Round in Pictures

GM: Garth Snow

What they should do

The Isles need a face, a reason for fans to get excited and spend their hard-earned money to come watch the Isles play. They should draft the player with the biggest hype and most flash, and who is also arguably the best player available: John Tavares.

What they will do

Garth Snow is an enigma. He usually does the unexpected. Toss in Isles owner Charles Wang, and you have two gentlemen who are unorthodox in their approach to say the least. I believe they will draft the sure thing here and take Sweden’s Victor Hedman.

Scouting Report

Hedman is an intimidating presence, standing at 6'7" and weighing in at a not-too-shabby 230 pounds. He is as smooth-skating as they come, which is hard to find in a defenseman as big as he is.

He isn’t all defense, though, as his hockey IQ is outstanding, and as such, he is able to jump into the play on offense, rarely making a bad pinch.

Hedman is a sure thing in this draft, like Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin before him were sure things. He will be a top-two defenseman in the NHL on any team. Will he be a league-wide top-five D-man in the league?

Time will tell, but he can step in right away and play big-time minutes, something that the Isles desperately need.

GM: Brian Lawton

What they should do

With Hedman gone already, and already possessing an A+ offensive prospect in Steven Stamkos and having arguably the third-best forward in the league in Vincent Lecavalier, they should trade down from this spot to either No. 6, 7, or 8, where a few good defensive prospects lie.

That will go a long way to replacing what they lost when they dealt Dan Boyle. Plus, if they do this, they should be able to get a top-three D-man along with the swapping of the picks.

What they will do

The Lightning will draft John Tavares and trade Vincent Lecavalier.

Scouting Report

Tavares could be the next Mario Lemieux, but he may also be the next Alexander Daigle. He disappeared in the playoffs thanks to an injury, but every other time he was counted on he came through.

His skating is so weak and his defensive play is so nonexistent that if the Lightning are not patient with him, he may never become much of anything.

I believe he will be a great player in the league, but his skating REALLY bothers me. The fact is he is cheap for three years and Vinny is not.

GM: Francois Giguere

What they should do

Draft Matt Duchene.

What they will do

Draft Brampton Battalion centre Matt Duchene.

Scouting Report

Joe Sakic may be on the way out, but this kid should step right in and fill his place in a few years. Duchene is fast, smart, defensively responsible, offensively gifted, grounded, and a leader.

After reading that last sentence, you may be wondering why he is not slated to go first overall. Good question! There are some that believe the Islanders will take Matt first overall.

The problem is there is a Matt Duchene every draft. He is a top-three player any year—Kyle Turris, Jonathan Toews, Stamkos to name a few recent ones—but he does not have the upside of the previous two players already selected.

He won’t be a 60-goal scorer or a 60-point, 30-minute, Norris-winning defenseman. He will, however, be a Mike Richards-type player, and what team could not use one of them?

GM: Don Waddell

What they should do

They need to draft a forward that is gritty and can play in the top-two lines with Bryan Little and Ilya Kovalchuk.

What they will do

Draft forward Evander Kane.

Scouting Report

This is exactly the player Atlanta needs—a versatile forward who is gritty but has hands as soft as Charmin toilet paper.

The nice thing about Kane is, he can come in as a 19-year-old and play 14 minutes on the third line. He is responsible enough defensively and is more than gritty enough.

He is a top-six forward, and that’s why we are drafting him in this spot, but to get his feet wet and not overwhelm him, this is what I would do.

He is a centre now, but there is no doubt after watching him play with the Canadian World Junior team that he is able to play the wing and in two years. He will be a great compliment to Little and Kovalchuk.

GM: Dean Lombardi

What they should do

Trade down (most likely with the Leafs) and ask for a top-two D-man.

What they will do

Rumours are running rampant, and the Kings seem to be in all of them. LA is getting Rob Blake, LA is getting Mike Komisarek, and LA is getting Vinny Lecavalier.

What they do on that front will drastically affect whether they have a pick in the first round and who they will take if they keep it.

To get Lecavalier, they will definitely be giving up the fifth pick. Getting Komisarek depends on if they are trading Alexander Frolov.

Getting Blake won’t require much, and it shouldn’t. I believe Lombardi has the assets to get Vinny, and they will do the deal.

The No. 5 pick will then be traded to Tampa, and Tampa will flip it to Toronto for the seventh pick and their second-round pick.

The Leafs will then draft Brayden Schenn (Schenn will be taken here by LA as well, but if Tampa selects, then they will take Jared Cowan, especially if they already have Tavares).

Scouting report

Luke’s little brother is a fantastic player and is very different from his older brother Brayden. He is a born leader and a pure goal scorer with a nose for the net like no other prospect in some time. He lacks speed but is strong on his feet.

He is a true power forward, and Leaf fans may get all riled up, but he can be compared to a Wendel Clark-type player. I prefer to compare him to Todd Bertuzzi (pre-Steve Moore incident).

GM: Don Maloney or the NHL, depending on how you look at it.

What they should do

Draft Jared Cowen.

What they will do

Draft defenseman Jared Cowen.

Scouting Report

Cowen is a future shutdown defenseman—this year's Luke Schenn. His offensive game was smothered in Spokane, and I would expect his production to go up once he goes pro.

He is a defensive cornerstone you can build a championship team around. He doesn’t have much of a mean streak and is pretty soft-spoken, but he can bring it big time.

GM: Brian Burke

What they should do

Move up without sacrificing Luke Schenn.

What they will do

Burke will make a splash and the Leafs will move up, but let’s say they don’t. I believe they will actually be all right in selecting Magnus Svensson Paajarvi.

Scouting Report

Paajarvi should be spelled F-A-S-T. He is the fastest top prospect, and there isn’t even a close second. He is not a player who will be thrashing in the corners fighting for loose pucks, and he will more than likely shy away from any physical contact.

He is a pure goal scorer who likely has only seen his own end five times this season. All joking aside, he will not be the guy who back checks hard to take away a two-on-one.

What is very interesting is his breakaway prowess. He will be a guy you can’t pass up in your shootout lineup either.

GM: Joe Nieuwendyk

What they should do

Take the best player available.

What they will do

Take the best player available. At this point, that is Oliver Ekman-Larsson.

Scouting Report

Larsson is a mobile defenseman, but he is lacking in physicality and size. His 6'0", 165-pound frame is very small—too small to play in the NHL next year.

He has very soft hands for a defenseman and has great hockey sense. He also has the best first pass of any defenseman in the draft.

GM: Bryan Murray

What they should do

Take a forward.

What they will do

Draft London Knights forward Nazem Kadri.

Scouting Report

Kadri is a gifted skater and is very creative. He is a great passer who sees the ice well and loves having the puck on his stick.

If everything goes well, he should be a good playmaking No. 2 centre, but his size might hold him back. Maybe he should give Patrick Kane a call for a little pep talk.

When you get this far down in the draft, you are drafting projects. Kadri is 2-3 years away.

GM: Steve Tambellini

What they should do

Draft a defenseman to grow with their young forwards.

What they will do

Draft Dmitry Kulikov.

Scouting Report

Smooth is the best way to describe Kulikov. He is a point-scoring machine, and his mobility and puck-moving ability will fit very nicely in Edmonton.

When he grows into his body, he will be a great defenseman. Having him this low is really indicative of other teams' needs, not his play.

GM: David Poile

What they should do

Draft a forward.

What they will do

Draft Jordan Schroeder

Scouting Report

He is a natural playmaker who can shoot the lights out and make passes in his sleep. He has a hard time with the physical aspect of the game and may not be an eight-pint player, but he should be a decent top-six forward who gets you the 65 points you want out of a player in the spot.

GM: Chuck Fletcher

What they should do

Draft a puck-moving defenseman.

What they will do

Draft WJHC standout Ryan Ellis from the Windsor Spitfires.

Scouting report

Ellis is the quintessential power play quarterback. He moves the puck well, has a deceiving shot, and has a real knack for keeping pucks in.

The big knock is his size. He is 5’9”, and I think that might be generous. This is a very risky pick. If he is unable to learn how to play five-on-five, he will be useless, but if he is able to even be an OK even-strength player, then the Wild will get a steal here.

GM: Darcy Regier

What they should do

Draft a defenseman.

What they will do

With Ellis gone, they will take John Moore from the USHL’s Chicago Steel.

Scouting Report

Moore is a gifted skater, and when he plays in Detroit or Edmonton, the fans there may mistake him for Paul Coffey. He is a minute-eater on the back end and will be a very serviceable blue liner, and at 13, what else are you looking for?

He will be a Kitchener Ranger next season, and hopefully he will get challenged more defensively. He is 2-3 years out, but when he makes it, he will be one of those 12-15 year pros.

GM: Undecided (Neil Smith probably)

What they should do

Draft the best player available, because they really need everything.

What they will do

Take centre Scott Glennie

Scouting Report

Glennie has this innate ability to disappear out there. You don’t see him, then the next thing you know, the red light comes on and Scott Glennie has scored.

He has a great shot, is a decent skater, and can find open ice like Brett Hull. Glennie is a linemate of Brayden Schenn, and most expect the two of them to be back in Brandon next year because the Wheat Kings are hosting the Memorial Cup.

GM: Bob Murray

What they should do

Draft a forward.

What they will do

Draft Carter Ashton.

Scouting Report

Ashton is a big frame with an eye for the net. From the circles in, he is dangerous. He plays the game with lots of intensity, and he battles very well. Thirty goals as a 17-year-old in the Western Hockey League is no easy task.

16) Columbus Blue Jackets: Dylen Olsen

17) St. Louis Blues: Jacob Josefson

18) Montreal Canadiens: Louis Leblanc

19) New York Rangers: Jeremy Morin

20) Calgary Flames: Kyle Polmieri

21) Philadelphia Flyers: Calvin de Haan

22) Vancouver Canucks: Chris Kreider

23) New Jersey Devils: Zack Kassian (pictured)

24) Washington Capitals: Stefan Elliott

25) Boston Bruins: Landon Ferraro

26) New York Islanders, from Ottawa, from Tampa Bay, from San Jose: Peter Holland

27) Carolina Hurricanes: Charles Roussel

28) Chicago Blackhawks: Nick Leddy

29) Detroit Red Wings: Ethen Werek

30) Pittsburgh Penguins: Zach Budish