2012 NHL Mock Draft: Projecting Entire First Round

The NHL Entry Draft is always good for a few surprises along the way.

There can be no predicting which team will end up drafting which player because of the possibility of trades and the simple fact that no one who isn't in the room knows exactly what the teams' front offices are planning.

It's still fun to try, though. So let's see what the first round of this year's NHL Entry Draft might look like.

1. Edmonton Oilers

Pick: Nail Yakupov

Position: Right Wing

Shoots: Left

Height: 5'10"

Weight: 189

He suffered a concussion earlier in the year, which made for a bit more drama at the top of the board, but Yakupov is the top pick.

Even though this might not be the best pick for the Oilers, it's the one that they will most likely make.

2. Columbus Blue Jackets

Pick: Mikhail Grigorenko

Position: Center

Shoots: Left

Height: 6'3"

Weight: 200 pounds.

With the high likelihood that Rick Nash is done in Columbus, the Blue Jackets need to find another guy to build their franchise around, and Mikhail Grigorenko is the type of guy you can do that with.

His scouting report paints the picture of a scorer that never panics when he has the puck and can win games for his team:

"

He's the type of player that controls the whole pace of the game. He can play with the puck at the same pace he plays without the puck. He sees the ice and opportunities really well.

He can hang onto it longer than most players; some players might feel that they have to move it quickly, but Mikhail has the patience and the ability to see opportunities and let them develop, which is a special skill.

"

He's a good guy for Columbus to try and start again with.

3. Montreal Canadiens

Pick: Ryan Murray

Position: Defense

Shoots: Left

Height: 6'0"

Weight: 200 pounds

When someone's scouting report compares him to Scott Niedermayer because "he just does everything so well at such a high level and after a while, you don't even notice it," that player knows he's got a good future ahead of him.

Montreal sure could use a good amount of consistency and ability from a two-way defender, and Murray can give that to them.

4. New York Islanders

Pick: Griffin Reinhart

Position: Defense

Shoots: Left

Height: 6'4"

Weight: 207 pounds

Reinhart is, as he is described in his video, "a hulking d-man" that can produce points for his team.

This might be a bit of a surprise pick, but it would be one that would benefit the Islanders as they look to build their franchise into a playoff contender.

5. Toronto Maple Leafs

Pick: Alex Galchenyuk

Position: Center

Shoots: Left

Height: 6'0"

Weight: 198 pounds

A bit of a surprise, dropping down to the fifth pick, Alex Galchenyuk can turn into that top-level goal-scoring center that the Maple Leafs need.

He was slowed by a knee injury and missed the majority of this past season, but he has rebounded nicely and should be a able to be a big part of the Leafs going forward.

6. Anaheim Ducks

Pick: Filip Forsberg

Position: Center

Shoots: Right

Height: 6'2"

Weight: 181 pounds

Filip Forsberg has what it takes to become a dominant power forward in the NHL but is a little bit underweight.

Just check out the highlight reel, though: This guy has size and good hands, can play physically and is very energetic.

He could fit this Ducks system in a year or two and step right in with his size and playmaking abilities.

7. Minnesota Wild

Pick: Radek Faksa

Position: Center

Shoots: Left

Height: 6'3"

Weight: 202 pounds

Faksa is a big, strong player that likes to go to the front of the net and could provide the Wild with a strong secondary scoring presence.

He has good size for a young fellow and would give a better net-front presence than the Wild currently have.

8. Carolina Hurricanes

Pick: Matt Dumba

Position: Defense

Shoots: Right

Height: 6'0"

Weight: 183

Defense let the Hurricanes down for the last couple of years, and they haven't had a guy that really makes people think twice when coming across the middle and down low.

Dumba, though he isn't that large, packs a mean punch, and you can see that in the highlight reel.

He loves that physical style and also provides an offensive threat from the blue line. The Hurricanes could really use his depth and toughness.

9. Winnipeg Jets

Pick: Morgan Rielly

Position: Defense

Shoots: Left

Height: 6'0"

Weight: 190 pounds

The Jets are a team built around speed and skill, and they need a defenseman like Rielly who can lead the rush and sees his options before they come.

His scouting report compares him to a chess player, always thinking two moves ahead of what he actually sees.

The Jets' offense would benefit from this greatly.

10. Tampa Bay Lightning

Pick: Cody Ceci

Position: Defense

Shoots: Right

Height: 6'2"

Weight: 207 pounds

Ceci is an offensively skilled defenseman that also has very good size.

Tampa is a team that thinks defense first but didn't really have too much of a secondary punch on the offensive side of things. The Lightning could use some scoring depth, especially from their blue line.

11. Washington Capitals (via Colorado)

Pick: Jacob Trouba

Position: Defense

Shoots: Right

Height: 6'2"

Weight: 193 pounds.

Big, mean, offensively gifted solid in his own end—there's a reason that Jacob Trouba is the top-ranked American defender in the draft.

Trouba has excellent leadership and the makings of a future NHL captain

Don't go in his corner unless you enjoy getting crushed.

12. Buffalo Sabres

Pick: Brendan Gaunce

Position: Center

Shoots: Left

Height: 6'2"

Weight: 215 pounds

The Buffalo Sabres are a small team and got even smaller after trading away Paul Gaustad, which also means that they are in need of another center.

Gaunce would bring good size and a solid two-way game to a team that desperately needs some size to go with their skill.

13. Dallas Stars

Pick: Olli Maatta

Position: Defense

Shoots: Left

Height: 6'2" 

Weight: 202 pounds

Easily the best player available at this point, Maatta brings some solid experience to the Stars.

He played pro in Finland before coming over to play juniors with the London Knights, and that experience has given him great composure with the puck.

He won't be overwhelmed by the limelight and might even be able to step in for the Stars right away.

14. Calgary Flames

Pick: Derrick Pouliot

Position: Defense

Shoots: Left

Height: 5'11"

Weight: 186

He's not that physical of a defender, but he is very skilled on the offensive side of the puck.

Calgary lacks depth in a bad way and needs some more production from the back end. Pouliot can help provide that.

He might be one of the more underrated players in the draft, even at 14th overall.

15. Ottawa Senators

Pick: Teuvo Teravainen

Position: Left Wing

Shoots: Left

Height: 5'10"

Weight: 165

Teravainen is not a big guy, but he has a nose for the net. His size may prevent him from making the jump to the NHL right away.

Teravainen may be able to come in and start making a difference for the Sens right around the time Alfredsson hangs things up for good.

16. Washington Capitals

Pick: Sebastian Collberg

Position: Right Wing

Shoots: Right

Height: 5'11"

Weight: 176 pounds

He is a fast forward that has a lot of offensive skill and would fit nicely with the rest of the talent on top of the Capitals' lines.

He may want to spend another year in Sweden, however, just to help get himself up to the necessary size.

17. San Jose Sharks

Pick: Stefan Matteau

Position: Center

Shoots: Right

Height: 6'2"

Weight: 210 pounds

With every year that goes by that the Sharks don't win the Stanley Cup, more and more people are going to start wondering when Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau are too old to get the job done anymore.

In order to address that lingering question, they need to find younger players that can eventually step in. Matteau is a perfect solution to that and brings an extra dimension of toughness that the Sharks have lacked in recent years.

Matteau has that scoring touch, but he also logged 166 penalty minutes in 46 games with the United States Under-18 Development Team.

18. Chicago Blackhawks

Pick: Malcolm Subban

Position: Goalie

Glove: Left

Height: 6'1"

Weight: 188 pounds

The Blackhawks need help in net, and they need to start figuring that out now. 

Malcolm Subban is the top-rated North American goalie in the draft and could help light a fire under in the Hawks' crease even if he didn't take on the job for a couple more years.

He's very athletic and shows fantastic potential for a Chicago team that needs to fix their net if they want to win another cup any time soon.

19. Tampa Bay Lightning (via Detroit)

Pick: Thomas Wilson

Position: Right Wing

Shoots: Right

Height: 6'4"

Weight: 203 pounds

Thomas Wilson is a big kid that can play a punishing game, as his 141 penalty minutes can tell you.

He won an OHL award for being the best body checker and was runner-up for the hardest worker award.

With a season that went the way the Tampa Bay Lightning's did, you want a kid who is going to work hard and knows how to hit. 

20. Philadelphia Flyers

Pick: Hampus Lindholm

Position: Defense

Shoots: Left

Height: 6'2"

Weight: 196

Lindholm is the top-ranked European defender coming into this year's draft.

With the Flyers potentially losing some of their better defensive talent, re-stocking the shelves, so to speak, with the best defender available at this point in the draft is not a bad idea.

21. Buffalo Sabres (via Nashville)

Pick: Zemgus Girgensons

Position: Center

Shoots: Left

Height: 6'2"

Weight: 198 pounds

Continuing their effort to get bigger, the Sabres get a good pick late in the first round with Girgensons (which might be one of the most frightening hockey names I've ever heard).

Another big body on the Sabres will help free up some ice for their smaller guys.

22. Pittsburgh Penguins

Pick: Colton Sissons

Position: Center

Shoots: Right

Height: 6'1"

Weight: 189 pounds

This is an under-the-radar player in the draft who doesn't have a ton of people talking but provides valuable depth for an NHL team.

Sissons is a solid two-way player who has strong leadership abilities.

His numbers aren't flashy, but the way he plays the game is sure to catch the eye of several NHL scouts.

23. Florida Panthers

Pick: Matthew Finn

Position: Defense

Shoots: Left

Height: 6'0"

Weight: 195 pounds

Depth on the blue line is never a bad thing in the NHL, and Finn provides that for the Panthers.

Finn provides a solid two-way game where he can produce some good offense. He's also trending in the right direction as he improved his point production a total of 35 points in Guelph.

24. Boston Bruins

Pick: Andrei Vasilevski

Position: Goalie

Glove: Left

Height: 6'3"

Weight: 204 pounds

Out with the old, in with the new. Tim Thomas has gone off, and the Boston Bruins need to move on.

They're set for the coming couple of years with Tuukka Rask, but young stud Andrei Vasilevski could put some serious competition in that crease in the coming years.

He's a big kid that plays positionally strong, is good post-to-post and has a sick glove hand.

25. St. Louis Blues

Pick: Tomas Hertl

Position: Center

Shoots: Left

Height: 6'2" 

Weight: 198 pounds

Hertl is a big Czech star with sweet hands in around the net.

He can help add some offensive depth to a team that didn't score a ton of goals. 

26. Vancouver Canucks

Pick: Slater Koekkoek

Position: Defense

Shoots: Left

Height: 6'2"

Weight: 184 pounds

Vancouver is a pretty deep team and has a good system going. Slater Koekkoek will have plenty of time to develop in Vancouver's system.

Koekkoek could have gone higher but for a shoulder injury that kept him out of a good portion of the season.

He's a work-horse style of defender that could develop into an elite defender.

27. Phoenix Coyotes

Pick: Tanner Pearson

Position: Left Wing

Shoots: Left

Height: 6'0"

Weight: 198 pounds

Phoenix could use a bit more offense in their system, and the best offensive player available at this time is Tanner Pearson.

Pearson could be a steal in the draft at this point. He's got 91 points in 60 games, a near 50-point improvement from a season ago.

28. New York Rangers

Pick: Martin Frk

Position: Right Wing

Shoots: Right

Height: 6'0"

Weight: 204 pounds

Frk had a tough season with injuries. Otherwise it was quite possible for him to go much higher in the draft.

He's still an impressive talent and could develop into a strong power forward.

Frk might be a diamond in the rough.

29. New Jersey Devils

Pick: Brandon Whitney

Position: Goalie

Glove: Left

Height: 6'5"

Weight: 193 pounds

With the near retirement of Martin Brodeur, the Devils really need to begin considering who their goalie of the future.

The movement in the NHL right now is towards big goalies, and Brandon Whitney is just that at 6'5" and 193 pounds.

With a bit more time to develop, Whitney could be able to step into the crease for the Devils.

30. Los Angeles Kings (optional to Columbus Blue Jackets)

Pick: Mike Winther

Position: Center

Shoots: Left

Height: 5'11"

Weight: 175 pounds

Offensively gifted player with speed and a nose for the net, Winther scored 32 goals for Prince Albert this season.

Winther needs a bit of time to put on some muscle, but he could develop into quite a scoring threat in the NHL.