As you may or may not know, I am a huge NHL draft junkie. It's a close second to Christmas as my favourite day of the year, even when my Leafs don't have a first-rounder, which is way too often.
For the second straight year I've decided to post a mock draft on the blog, mainly because I can't wait for the draft to get here and have been running through various scenarios all week.
I really hope the Leafs wind up with Galchenyuk, but I'd be shocked if Montreal passes on him.
This is a mock draft taking team needs and past tendencies into consideration, not an overall ranking of the players. I'm not going to try to predict trades though.
1. Edmonton Oilers - Ryan Murray, D, Everett
2. Columbus Blue Jackets - Nail Yakupov, RW, Sarnia
*This can happen by either Columbus moving up or the Oilers taking Murray first. I've heard information about Yakupov that leads me to believe the Oilers may pass on him. And I wouldn't be completely stunned if both teams pass on him, and not because of the "Russian" factor.
3. Montreal Canadiens - Alex Galchenyuk, C, Sarnia
4. New York Islanders - Griffin Reinhart, D, Edmonton
5. Toronto Maple Leafs - Filip Forsberg, LW, Leksand
6. Anaheim Ducks - Mikhail Grigorenko, C, Quebec
7. Minnesota Wild - Matt Dumba, D, Red Deer
8. Carolina Hurricanes - Radek Faksa, C, Kitchener
9. Winnipeg Jets - Teuvo Teravainen, LW, Jokerit
10. Tampa Bay Lightning - Morgan Rielly, D, Moose Jaw
11. Washington Capitals - Jacob Trouba, D, USA U-18
12. Buffalo Sabres - Cody Ceci, D, Ottawa
13. Dallas Stars - Zemgus Girgensons, C, Dubuque
14. Calgary Flames - Olli Maatta, D, London
15. Ottawa Senators - Sebastian Collberg, RW, Frolunda
16. Washington Capitals - Tomas Hertl, C, Slavia
17. San Jose Sharks - Hampus Lindholm, D, Rogle
18. Chicago Blackhawks - Tom Wilson, RW, Plymouth
19. Tampa Bay Lightning - Andrei Vasilevski, G, Ufa
20. Philadelphia Flyers - Derrick Pouliot, D, Portland
21. Buffalo Sabres - Brendan Gaunce, C, Belleville
22. Pittsburgh Penguins - Slater Koekkoek, D, Peterborough
23. Florida Panthers - Brady Skjei, D, USA U-18
24. Boston Bruins - Matt Finn, D, Guelph
25. St. Louis Blues - Stefan Matteau, LW, USA U-18
26. Vancouver Canucks - Pontus Aberg, LW, Djurgardens
27. Phoenix Coyotes - Phillip Di Guiseppe, LW, Michigan
28. New York Rangers - Malcolm Subban, G, Belleville
29. New Jersey Devils - Oscar Dansk, G, Brynas
30. Los Angeles Kings - Dalton Thrower, D, Saskatoon
