NHL Mock Draft 2017: Initial Post-Lottery Predictions

For a brief period Saturday, the focus of the NHL shifted from the postseason to the 2017 NHL draft as the draft lottery sorted out the first 15 selections.

According to Tankathon, the Colorado Avalanche had the highest odds of landing the first overall pick (18.0 percent), followed by the Vancouver Canucks (12.1 percent). The expansion Vegas Golden Knights and Arizona Coyotes tied for the third-best chance (10.3 percent).

Following the lottery, the New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia Flyers and Dallas Stars will be the first three off the board June 23, per the NHL's official Twitter account.

With the first half of the first round set, below is a mock for the first round of the 2017 draft and a breakdown for four of the top players available.

NHL Mock Draft

Pick	Team	Player
1	New Jersey Devils	Nolan Patrick, C, Brandon
2	Philadelphia Flyers	Nico Hischier, C, Halifax
3	Dallas Stars	Gabriel Vilardi, C, Windsor
4	Colorado Avalanche	Michael Rasmussen, C, Tri-City
5	Vancouver Canucks	Owen Tippett, RW, Mississauga
6	Vegas Golden Knights	Cale Makar, D, Brooks
7	Arizona Coyotes	Casey Mittelstadt, C, Eden Prairie
8	Buffalo Sabres	Miro Heiskanen, D, HIFK
9	Detroit Red Wings	Klim Kostin, LW/C, Dynamo Moscow
10	Florida Panthers	Martin Necas, C, Brno
11	Los Angeles Kings	Eeli Tolvanen, RW, Sioux City
12	Carolina Hurricanes	Timothy Liljegren, D, Rogle
13	Winnipeg Jets	Cody Glass, C, Portland
14	Tampa Bay Lightning	Juuso Valimaki, D, Tri-City
15	New York Islanders	Kristian Vesalainen, LW/RW, Frolunda
16	Nashville Predators	Callan Foote, D, Kelowna
17	Calgary Flames	Lias Andersson, C, HV 71
18	Toronto Maple Leafs	Nicolas Hague, D, Mississauga
19	Boston Bruins	Elias Pettersson, C, Timra
20	Ottawa Senators	Ryan Poehling, C, St. Cloud State
21	San Jose Sharks	Kailer Yamamoto, RW, Spokane
22	St. Louis Blues	Nick Suzuki, C, Owen Sound
23	New York Rangers	Maxime Comtois, LW, Victoriaville
24	Edmonton Oilers	Kole Lind, RW, Kelowna
25	Montreal Canadiens	Isaac Ratcliffe, LW, Guelph
26	Anaheim Ducks	Shane Bowers, C, Waterloo
27	Arizona Coyotes (via Wild)	Urho Vaakanainen, D, JYP
28	Columbus Blue Jackets	Nikita Popugayev, LW, Prince George
29	Chicago Blackhawks	Erik Brannstrom, D, HV 71
30	Pittsburgh Penguins	Pierre-Oliver Joseph, D, Charlottetown
31	St. Louis Blues (via Capitals)	Grant Mismash, LW, USA U-18

Top Prospects

Nico Hischier, C, Halifax

Claus Andersen/Getty Images

If anybody other than Nolan Patrick goes first overall, then Nico Hischier will almost certainly be the No. 1 pick instead.

"Patrick has been a bit underwhelming," an anonymous NHL executive said in an interview with the Hockey News' Ryan Kennedy. "Hischier has gone in the other direction. He has the benefit of coming from behind. And Hischier's projection...he just doesn't disappoint."

In 57 games on loan for the Halifax Mooseheads in 2016-17, Hischier scored 38 goals and assisted on 48 more. He also registered seven points in six playoff games as Mooseheads exited the QMJHL in the first round.

"Nico is an incredible player," Halifax forward Maxime Fortier said of his teammate, per NHL.com's Guillaume Lepage. "He does everything well. He is so strong offensively and defensively, with or without the puck. He's also very smart and you can see that on the ice."

Not only is Hischier extremely skilled with the puck, he can also contribute on both ends of the ice. The opportunity to select the 18-year-old is a solid consolation prize for the Flyers after failing to luck out and get the top pick.

Nolan Patrick, C, Brandon

Mathieu Belanger/Getty Images

There's no question Patrick had a disappointing 2016-17 season, in large part due to injuries. Limited to 33 regular-season games for the Brandon Wheat Kings, he finished with 20 goals and 26 assists, down from 41 and 61 respectively a year ago.

Wheat Kings coach David Anning thought the injuries exacerbated the pressure Patrick felt by virtue of being considered one of the top players in the 2017 draft class.

"He had to work his way through it both physically and mentally to get back in the right frame of mind," Anning said, per the Global News' Mitch Rosset.

NHL Central Scouting director Dan Marr argued Patrick's health problems shouldn't create doubt over his standing with regard to the incoming rookie class, per NHL.com's Mike G. Morreale:

"

Injuries are part of hockey and it's unfortunate for Nolan that he's having to miss playing due to injury during his draft year. The injuries Nolan incurred require time to heal and rehabilitation. He is expected to fully recover. [...]

He has more than proven over the last three years that he is the real deal and he will be an impact NHL player.

"

Still only 18, Patrick shows a wisdom well beyond his age on the ice. It's one thing to be a skilled prospect. It's another to not only have the necessary skills but also the intuition for how best to utilize those skills to maximum effect in real-time situations.

The Devils would be foolish to let the last season color their judgment too much in their assessment of Patrick. Passing on him with the first pick would be a big mistake. 

Owen Tippett, RW, Mississauga

Claus Andersen/Getty Images

The Mississauga Steelheads offered a glimpse of what's to come when they shared a replay of Owen Tippett's goal against the Oshawa Generals on April 13:

At 6'0" and 200 pounds, Tippett will have the size to hold his own in the NHL when he arrives. As the above video shows, he's also agile and fast enough to elude opposing defensemen.

Whatever team selects Tippett won't have to worry about whether he'll deliver in the goals category. In his first season in the Ontario Hockey League, he scored 15 times in 48 games. In 2016-17, his goal total jumped to 44 in 60 appearances.

Gabriel Vilardi, C, Windsor 

Claus Andersen/Getty Images

While a talented scorer himself, Gabriel Vilardi's playmaking ability is what sets him apart from many of the centers in the 2017 draft class. In each of the last three years, his assists have outpaced his goals. Vilardi had 46 goals and 53 assists in 111 games for the Windsor Spitfires between 2015 and 2017.

Dispossessing the 6'3", 201-pound Canadian is difficult enough because of his size. His puck-handling makes the task doubly difficult.

Vilardi isn't afraid to use his imposing frame for defensive purposes, either. Mitch Brown, a data tracker for the Steelheads, shared a clip of a check by Vilardi to London Knights defenseman Brandon Crawley:

From a physical perspective, Vilardi is built for the NHL right now. With a year or two under his belt to adjust to the speed of the NHL, he should become a valuable member of his team's forward line.