2006 Young Guns Hockey Mock Draft
"St. Louis is on the clock!"
Mock drafts are an inexact science, to say the least. NHL teams have regularly left observers scratching their heads trying to figure out why they made certain selections on draft day. Furthermore, one draft day trade is all it takes to throw off an entire mock draft. Still, we figured we would get in on the fun and weigh in with our own mock draft this year. Our scouts looked at past draft records. We looked for trends. In some cases, we played hunches. Remember, the following mock draft does not represent the Young Guns Hockey final rankings. Without further adieu, here's the 2006 Young Guns Hockey Mock Draft.
1) ST. LOUIS BLUES: ERIK JOHNSON USA US NAT'L U-18 3/21/88 6-4/222 D/R - If the Blues hold onto the top pick, they'll select Johnson. Blues fans who have had to watch Chris Pronger lead the Oilers through the 2006 playoffs can at least look forward to the day when the next Pronger helps lead their franchise to better days.
2) PITTSBURGH PENGUINS: PHIL KESSEL WCHA UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA 10/2/87 6-0/189 C/R - The Penguins never seem to have enough firepower and having visited the University of Minnesota frequently to check out the progress of 2004 draftee Alex Goligoski, they couldn't help but be impressed with his teammate Kessel. Let's just say it now. A powerplay that includes Crosby, Malkin and Kessel should be illegal.
3) CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS: JORDAN STAAL OHL PETERBOROUGH 9/10/88 6-4/215 C/L - The Blackhawks continue their recent trend of selecting North Americans early in the draft and take one of the most promising power forward prospects in the draft. Hawks fans need something to get excited about and the 6-4/215 pound Staal makes that happen.
4) WASHINGTON CAPITALS: JONATHAN TOEWS WCHA UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA 4/29/88 6-1.5/195 C/W/L - The Caps consider Backstrom but the slightly larger Toews is the Best Player Available on their draft board. Toews hails from Manitoba, just like Caps coach Glen Hanlon and with his selection he becomes the perfect compliment to Alexander Ovechkin.
5) BOSTON BRUINS: NICKLAS BACKSTROM SWE BRYNAS 11/23/87 6-0/183 C/L - Scott Bradley, the B's director of amateur scouting, preaches the "three S's" - spirit, skill and speed. Backstrom has all three and is the player the B's wanted to drop to them. Boston gets their man with the 5th overall pick.
6) COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS: BRYAN LITTLE OHL BARRIE 11/12/87 5-10/190 C/R - Columbus thinks about taking Nigel Williams or Derick Brassard but in the end, the pick is Little. The gritty point producer joins Rick Nash, Nikolai Zherdev, Gilbert Brule and Alexandre Picard to further bolster an impressive group of young forwards.
7) NEW YORK ISLANDERS: PETER MUELLER WHL EVERETT 4/14/88 6-2.5/205 C/R - After going European with three first round picks in a row, the Isles start a new trend. They follow up last year's selection of Ryan O'Marra with Mueller. Although not the flashy pick Neil Smith wanted to make with his first selection as Isles GM, he can't argue all the positive qualities Mueller brings to the table. After the selection, new Isles coach Ted Nolan is seen doing back flips on the floor of GM Place.
8) PHOENIX COYOTES: DERICK BRASSARD QMJHL DRUMMONDVILLE 9/22/87 6-0.5/172 C/L - No one appreciates the "New NHL" more than The Great One. It should come as a shock to no one that Gretzky's Yotes select the fleet, offensive catalyst from the Q.
9) MINNESOTA WILD: NIGEL WILLIAMS USA US NAT'L U-18 4/18/88 6-4.5/226 D/L - Picking Kyle Okposo would be a great local story and they think twice about passing over Jiri Tlusty and Michael Frolik. However, neither are the pick at this spot. In 2004, the Wild selected A.J. Thelen 12th overall. They like Nigel Williams more and he becomes the 9th overall pick in 2006.
10) FLORIDA PANTHERS: JONATHAN BERNIER QMJHL LEWISTON 8/7/88 5-11.5/177 G/L - The Panthers are thrilled to see the goalie they have rated the highest still on the board at #10. They think about Okposo and Chris Stewart (brother of Anthony Stewart, their second first rounder in 2003) but in the end, Bernier provides too much value to pass up. Roberto Luongo may not be around in a year. Heck, he might not be around in a month! The Panthers do well to add a top goalie prospect to their organization.
11) LOS ANGELES KINGS: RIKU HELENIUS FIN ILVES 3/1/88 6-3/202 G/L - After selecting Lauri Tukonen and Anze Kopitar at 11th overall in the last two drafts, it's too easy to pencil in Frolik as their 2006 first rounder - so we won't! Not to mention, the Kings are not as high on Frolik as they were on either Tukonen or Kopitar. The Kings have needed stability in net for some time now and although Helenius is a few years away, new GM Dean Lombardi is on board with the selection of their highest rated netminder. Previous selections like Yutaka Fukufuji (238th overall last year) are not the answer.
12) ATLANTA THRASHERS: CHRIS STEWART OHL KINGSTON 10/30/87 6-1.5/228 RW/R - Atlanta's past three first round selections have been Braydon Coburn, Boris Valabik and Alex Bourret. They're all either huge or nasty - or both! Stewart keeps the trend going with an above average skill set in an intimidating package.
13) TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS: JAMES SHEPPARD QMJHL CAPE BRETON 4/25/88 6-1.5/204 C/L - Although some fans would prefer the Leafs tab Tlusty or Frolik in order to add some greater skill to the organization, it's hard to argue with the selection of a Canadian power forward prospect.
14) VANCOUVER CANUCKS: KYLE OKPOSO USHL DES MOINES 4/16/88 6-0/195 RW/R - The Canucks figured they would be selecting one of either Patrik Berglund, Ben Maxwell or Ty Wishart and pinch themselves when Okposo is still unclaimed. He becomes the first Vancouver draft pick from the USHL since 2002's late round selection of Matt Gens. With Todd Bertuzzi's Vancouver future cloudy, Okposo is a tantalizing potential future replacement.
15) TAMPA BAY: PATRIK BERGLUND SWE VASTERAS 6/2/88 6-4/187 C/L - With Bernier already selected the Lightning do what they always do, use their first selection on a player with skill and size. This time it's 6 foot 4 inch Patrik Berglund. We compared Berglund to a young Vinnie Lecavalier in our 2006 Young Guns EDGe (our NHL entry draft guide). Looks like the Lightning agreed with that assessment.
16) MONTREAL CANADIENS: JIRI TLUSTY CZE KLADNO 3/16/88 6-0/196 C/W/L - The Canadiens think defense in the form of Wishart and Dennis Persson but cannot pass up Tlusty's combo of work ethic and skill. More than one Young Guns scout has compared Tlusty to a young Saku Koivu. Could there be a better fit?
17) MINNESOTA WILD: CARL SNEEP USHSW BRAINERD 11/5/87 6-4/210 D/R - The Wild make up for previously passing up homegrown product Okposo by selecting Sneep. They go back to back with first round defense selections. Sneep becomes this draft's Devin Setoguchi - a player everyone except Young Guns expected to go lower (we've got him at #18 overall in our 2006 Top 100).
18) COLORADO AVALANCHE: MICHAEL FROLIK CZE KLADNO 2/17/88 6-1/185 C/W/L - New GM Francois Giguiere gets a housewarming gift in the form of Michael Frolik. Once touted as a possible #1 overall selection, Frolik slides to 18 on draft day and the Avalanche acquire a potential successor to Milan Hejduk.
19) ANAHEIM MIGHTY DUCKS: TY WISHART WHL PRINCE GEORGE 5/19/88 6-4.5/205 D/L - The temptation to select Bobby Ryan's Owen Sound teammate Bob Sanguinetti is there but the Ducks decide to go with Wishart. The defensive stalwart adds to an impressive and varied group of young blueliners in the Anaheim pipeline.
20) SAN JOSE SHARKS: TOMAS MARCINKO SVK KOSICE 4/11/88 6-4/187 C/R - In 2003 and 2004, the Sharks selected talented Czech forwards, Milan Michalek and Lukas Kaspar. In 2006, they return to the Czech Republic to select the talented Marcinko. Fear not Sharks fans, it's early and San Jose still has plenty of time to select Felix Schutz or Christoph Gawlik.
21) NEW YORK RANGERS: NICK FOLIGNO OHL SUDBURY 10/31/87 6-0/188 LW/L - The Rangers look at other options such as Jamie McGinn, Yuri Alexandrov, Dennis Persson, Oskar Osala and Ben Maxwell but in the end select Foligno who has everything they've been looking for in recent first round selections: heart, character and a well-rounded game. Foligno also has some sandpaper to compliment his skill and that combo is something the Rangers have been short on.
22) PHILADELPHIA FLYERS: BOBBY SANGUINETTI OHL OWEN SOUND 2/29/88 6-1/174 D/R - The Flyers look at Shawn Matthias, Mark Mitera and Trevor Lewis but decide to go with a close-to-hometown kid in Jersey's Bobby Sanguinetti. It's no secret the Flyers blueline needs some young blood. Sanguinetti furthers that goal.
23) WASHINGTON CAPITALS: BEN SHUTRON OHL KINGSTON 6/14/88 5-11.5/186 D/R - The Caps think about big boys Simon Danis-Pepin and Eric Gryba. They also think about reuniting Ovechkin with a fellow countryman like Alexander Vasyunov and Vladimir Zharkov but, in a move reminiscent of the Caps selection of Chris Bourque in 2004, George McPhee calls out a name we wouldn't have selected for another couple of rounds. In Shutron, McPhee gets an offensively skilled blueliner with a canon of a point shot and a chip on his shoulder.
24) BUFFALO SABRES: BEN MAXWELL WHL KOOTENAY 3/30/88 6-0.5/177 C/L - Michael Grabner, Bryce Swan and Codey Burki are possibilities but, when the moment of truth arrives, the Sabres select Maxwell. He is the type of overachieving player the Sabres seem to thrive with.
25) NEW JERSEY DEVILS: MICHAEL FORNEY USHSW THIEF RIVER FALLS 5/14/88 6-2/185 LW/R - The Devils attempt to move up to select Forney but they are unable to swing a deal. This time, the draft comes to them and they wind up with this very promising high school sniper.
26) CALGARY FLAMES: JAMIE MCGINN OHL OTTAWA 8/5/88 5-11.5/179 LW/L - Everyone seems to expect the Flames to draft Ryan White. They consider it. They also consider Shawn Matthias, Cal Clutterbuck and Leland Irving (Kipper won't be around forever!). When it's their turn, the Flames call on McGinn - a player who never stops competing and is clutch. He is also one of the youngest players eligible in the draft. One of our scouts compared him to Chris Drury and it fits.
27) DALLAS STARS: RYAN WHITE WHL CALGARY 3/17/88 5-11.5/200 C/R - Mitera and Persson are on the Stars' brain but Calgary's loss is Dallas' gain. The Stars organization could use some Western Canadian flavor and White fits the recipe.
28) OTTAWA SENATORS: ALEXANDER VASYUNOV RPL YAROSLAVL 2 4/22/88 6-0/189 LW/R - Ottawa plays the Best Player Available game as well as any organization and this time they wind up with a potential sniper. The rich get richer.
29) DETROIT RED WINGS: DENNIS PERSSON SWE VASTERAS 6/2/88 6-1/181 D/L - What a shocker, the Wings draft a player hailing from Sweden! Persson is one of our favorite defensive prospects in this draft. Unlike last year's selection of Jakub Kindl, the Wings get this one right.
30) ST. LOUIS BLUES: DAVID FISCHER USHSW APPLE VALLEY 2/19/88 6-3/185 D/R - The Blues hoped one of the high schoolers they had their eyes on would be here at the end of the first round and they waste little time in selecting Fischer. Tony Lagerstrom is also on their radar and could hear his name called to start the second round.
The 2006 NHL Entry Draft is right around the corner. Enjoy the draft!
And remember, there's no such thing as a weak draft...just weak scouting.
