Here we go!
I won't go on too long here in the intro, you know what this is about. This is Part 2 of my 2016 Mock Draft, where I will make my predictions from picks 11 through 20 at this years Entry Draft. If you missed out on Part One, where I covered the first 10 picks, all you have to do is click here to get caught up!
How about we get this going....
#11 - New Jersey Devils -- Clayton Keller
This has the chance to become an absolute gem of a pick for the Devils.
The New Jerseys Devils have not had someone take over the team as their standout player since Zach Parise left to Minnesota in 2012. Since then, they've been woefully void of a real pop-out player. While Keller is a little undersized at 168lbs, he may not see consistent NHL action for at least 2 more years. However, Keller does have the assets to be a go-to guy similar to how Johnny Gaudreau is in Calgary. New Jersey pounces on Clayton Keller at #11.
#12 - Ottawa Senators -- Logan Brown
The big man finds his home in Ottawa.
The Senators are a team that is very much on the playoff bubble. They've been in and out over the past few years, but they have just been too easy of a team to play against. Logan Brown will look to help change that as he develops within the Ottawa system. Not being the most menacing presence, even at 6 foot 6, being more of possession player that uses his massive frame to his advantage. Ottawa beefs up at #12.
#13 - Carolina Hurricanes -- Michael McLeod
He will go mid 1st round, but he is arguably the best skater available.
The Hurricanes upgraded their defence at last years draft, taking Noah Hanifin at #5, so they are going to go the forward route this year. Michael McLeod has rockets for skates, he is just plain fast. His speed allows him to gain the blueline as well as anyone else in this draft. He is also great at controlling his speed, helping him to find shooting and passing lanes. The Hurricanes will be happy with Mcleod at #13.
#14 - Boston Bruins -- Max Jones
Jones is all that the Boston Bruins are.
That is intimidating and downright annoying to play against. The Bruins already employ one of the better annoying players in the league with Brad Marchand, and they won't hesitate to stick with that formula. Max Jones is a driver in every sense of the word, a banging power forward with a shoot-first mentality. The Bruins missed the playoffs this year, and maybe the absence of Milan Lucic contributed to that. Max Jones will be available when the Bruins come up, and they will most definitely take him at #14.
#15 - Minnesota Wild -- Kieffer Bellows
Minnesota rolls the dice with Bellows.
This is perhaps the most difficult pick I had to make in this section of my mock draft. The Minnesota Wild are another one of those bubble teams that are bouncing in and out of the postseason, and they will decide to take the power forward outta the United States National Team Development Program (USNTDP). Bellows is a punishing presence on the ice that likes to shoot the puck. He has a strong release and can be an excellent one-time option on the powerplay. Minnesota will surprise a few people with this pick but, nonetheless, Bellows is Minnesota bound at #15.
#16 - Detroit Red Wings -- Jake Bean (D)
The Red Wings will continue drafting smart in 2016.
The NHL's most consistently successful franchise will continue to live up to their high standard of drafting with Jake Bean. A puck-moving defender playing alongside Travis Sanheim with the Calgary Hitmen this past year, Bean was able to help lift a depleted roster into a playoff berth. His most attractive attribute that he possess is his on-ice awareness, which is bar none at his young age. He is undersized, but there is no rush for him to be a regular NHLer. Detroit makes a solid pick at #16.
#17 - Nashville Predators -- German Rubtsov (C)
The first Russian League player goes to Smashville.
The Nashville Predators are known for one thing, their deep depth on the backend. What they aren't known for is their forward depth. Rubtsov will lead the charge to change that fact. Perhaps a little low because of the so called "Russian factor", Rubtsov is one of the more premier playmaking forwards in this draft and has fantastic on-ice awareness of where his teammates are. His calm demeanor with the puck limits his turnovers, and he plays a very balanced two-way game. Nashville is content with Rubtsov at #17
#18 - Philadelphia Flyers -- Charles McAvoy (D)
The Flyers are grateful to be able to steal McAvoy so late.
Already having drafted some great defensive prospects in Ivan Provorov and Travis Sanheim, the Flyers could opt to go with a forward but, with McAvoy still being on the board they won't pass up on him. Possessing the coveted right shot, McAvoy is at his best in the transition game. His exceptional pivots and edgework make him a very mobile guy on the backend. Not to mention a deadly shot. Flyers run away with McAvoy at #18.
#19 - New York Islanders -- Julien Gauthier
Another big man goes in the top 20.
The Islanders already have Josh Ho-Sang headlining their RW prospect list, but why not add to it? Julien Gauthier was one of the bright spots for the Canadian World Junior team this year and the Isles should like his game. He makes his living along the boards, being as strong and big as he is, he is great at winning those battles along the boards and is a beast in the corners. Combine that with some advanced vision and some great hockey sense, the Islanders got a keeper at #19.
#20 - Arizona Coyotes -- Alex DeBrincat
They took their D, Juolevi at 7, so now the Coyotes look to their offense
With their second 1st round pick in this years draft the Arizona Coyotes will take the skilled DeBrincat. He was one of the more threatening players for Team USA in the past few WJHCs and it's his mix of speed and skill that made him so dangerous. He is small in size at 5 foot 7, but he manages to be an impactful player game in and game out. Arizona will not regret adding him into a mix of what could be the next great NHL offence in the desert.
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This was much harder than the first part of my mock draft, that's for damn sure. Lots of research and scouting reports were read to compose this section. Anyways, that does it for pt. 2! I'll finish it off this weekend with picks 21-30!
Thanks for reading!
You can follow me on Twitter @PrestonKixFM!
I won't go on too long here in the intro, you know what this is about. This is Part 2 of my 2016 Mock Draft, where I will make my predictions from picks 11 through 20 at this years Entry Draft. If you missed out on Part One, where I covered the first 10 picks, all you have to do is click here to get caught up!
How about we get this going....
#11 - New Jersey Devils -- Clayton Keller
This has the chance to become an absolute gem of a pick for the Devils.
The New Jerseys Devils have not had someone take over the team as their standout player since Zach Parise left to Minnesota in 2012. Since then, they've been woefully void of a real pop-out player. While Keller is a little undersized at 168lbs, he may not see consistent NHL action for at least 2 more years. However, Keller does have the assets to be a go-to guy similar to how Johnny Gaudreau is in Calgary. New Jersey pounces on Clayton Keller at #11.
#12 - Ottawa Senators -- Logan Brown
The big man finds his home in Ottawa.
The Senators are a team that is very much on the playoff bubble. They've been in and out over the past few years, but they have just been too easy of a team to play against. Logan Brown will look to help change that as he develops within the Ottawa system. Not being the most menacing presence, even at 6 foot 6, being more of possession player that uses his massive frame to his advantage. Ottawa beefs up at #12.
#13 - Carolina Hurricanes -- Michael McLeod
He will go mid 1st round, but he is arguably the best skater available.
The Hurricanes upgraded their defence at last years draft, taking Noah Hanifin at #5, so they are going to go the forward route this year. Michael McLeod has rockets for skates, he is just plain fast. His speed allows him to gain the blueline as well as anyone else in this draft. He is also great at controlling his speed, helping him to find shooting and passing lanes. The Hurricanes will be happy with Mcleod at #13.
#14 - Boston Bruins -- Max Jones
Jones is all that the Boston Bruins are.
That is intimidating and downright annoying to play against. The Bruins already employ one of the better annoying players in the league with Brad Marchand, and they won't hesitate to stick with that formula. Max Jones is a driver in every sense of the word, a banging power forward with a shoot-first mentality. The Bruins missed the playoffs this year, and maybe the absence of Milan Lucic contributed to that. Max Jones will be available when the Bruins come up, and they will most definitely take him at #14.
#15 - Minnesota Wild -- Kieffer Bellows
Minnesota rolls the dice with Bellows.
This is perhaps the most difficult pick I had to make in this section of my mock draft. The Minnesota Wild are another one of those bubble teams that are bouncing in and out of the postseason, and they will decide to take the power forward outta the United States National Team Development Program (USNTDP). Bellows is a punishing presence on the ice that likes to shoot the puck. He has a strong release and can be an excellent one-time option on the powerplay. Minnesota will surprise a few people with this pick but, nonetheless, Bellows is Minnesota bound at #15.
#16 - Detroit Red Wings -- Jake Bean (D)
The Red Wings will continue drafting smart in 2016.
The NHL's most consistently successful franchise will continue to live up to their high standard of drafting with Jake Bean. A puck-moving defender playing alongside Travis Sanheim with the Calgary Hitmen this past year, Bean was able to help lift a depleted roster into a playoff berth. His most attractive attribute that he possess is his on-ice awareness, which is bar none at his young age. He is undersized, but there is no rush for him to be a regular NHLer. Detroit makes a solid pick at #16.
#17 - Nashville Predators -- German Rubtsov (C)
The first Russian League player goes to Smashville.
The Nashville Predators are known for one thing, their deep depth on the backend. What they aren't known for is their forward depth. Rubtsov will lead the charge to change that fact. Perhaps a little low because of the so called "Russian factor", Rubtsov is one of the more premier playmaking forwards in this draft and has fantastic on-ice awareness of where his teammates are. His calm demeanor with the puck limits his turnovers, and he plays a very balanced two-way game. Nashville is content with Rubtsov at #17
#18 - Philadelphia Flyers -- Charles McAvoy (D)
The Flyers are grateful to be able to steal McAvoy so late.
Already having drafted some great defensive prospects in Ivan Provorov and Travis Sanheim, the Flyers could opt to go with a forward but, with McAvoy still being on the board they won't pass up on him. Possessing the coveted right shot, McAvoy is at his best in the transition game. His exceptional pivots and edgework make him a very mobile guy on the backend. Not to mention a deadly shot. Flyers run away with McAvoy at #18.
#19 - New York Islanders -- Julien Gauthier
Another big man goes in the top 20.
The Islanders already have Josh Ho-Sang headlining their RW prospect list, but why not add to it? Julien Gauthier was one of the bright spots for the Canadian World Junior team this year and the Isles should like his game. He makes his living along the boards, being as strong and big as he is, he is great at winning those battles along the boards and is a beast in the corners. Combine that with some advanced vision and some great hockey sense, the Islanders got a keeper at #19.
#20 - Arizona Coyotes -- Alex DeBrincat
They took their D, Juolevi at 7, so now the Coyotes look to their offense
With their second 1st round pick in this years draft the Arizona Coyotes will take the skilled DeBrincat. He was one of the more threatening players for Team USA in the past few WJHCs and it's his mix of speed and skill that made him so dangerous. He is small in size at 5 foot 7, but he manages to be an impactful player game in and game out. Arizona will not regret adding him into a mix of what could be the next great NHL offence in the desert.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This was much harder than the first part of my mock draft, that's for damn sure. Lots of research and scouting reports were read to compose this section. Anyways, that does it for pt. 2! I'll finish it off this weekend with picks 21-30!
Thanks for reading!
You can follow me on Twitter @PrestonKixFM!