2014 NHL Draft Tracker: First Round Picks & Profiles
Draft prospect profiles have been provided by Buzzing The Net blogger Neate Sager.
FIRST ROUND
The Pick: Aaron Ekblad, D, Barrie (OHL).
Details: A man-child who is a much better skater than any 18-year-old who is 6-foot-3½ and 220 pounds ought to be, Ekblad is head-and-shoulders the best blueliner available in the NHL draft class of 2014. In a plurality of scouts' eyes, Ekblad was the rare defenseman worth taking first overall, earning top spot in TSN commentator Bob McKenzie's ranking. Ekblad is probably not as close as Seth Jones, the first defenseman taken in '13, was to being a finished product. His mean streak is just starting to manifest itself and his footwork needs some fine-tuning.
Buzzing The Net: 5 Questions With Ekblad
The Pick: Sam Reinhart, C, Kootenay (WHL).
Details: Reinhart is inevitably a move and a beat ahead of his opponents on the ice, which was why seemingly every WHL defenseman gave him props as the smartest forward they faced all season. The center is one of the best below the dots in the offensive zone, whether it's dishing to a teammate, being Johnny-on-the-spot, or winning a puck battle in a confined space. The Kootenay star has also avoided the common prospect pratfall of being overly focused on offense, becoming reliable in all areas. He has first-line NHL potential.
Buzzing The Net: 5 Questions With Reinhart
The Pick: Leon Draisaitl, C, Prince Albert (WHL).
Details: ‘The German Gretzky’ has shone for two seasons in P.A. by using his “man strength” and superlative vision to buy time to make offensive plays. He simply cannot be denied below the dots at the junior level, where he counted 102 points this season. At the world junior, where the pace and tempo are much faster, Draisaitl had challenges creating as much offense. Nit-picking aside, all he needs is a quicker first few steps to become a beastly, classic power center in the pros.
Buzzing The Net: 5 Questions With Draisaitl
The Pick: Sam Bennett, C, Kingston (OHL)
Details: Bennett combined top-end offensive skill with dog-on-a-bone relentlessness this season to earn both NHL Central Scouting Service's and HockeyProspect.com's nod as the best North American draft hopeful. The crafty center's playmaking and his shot are very complementary, as it seemed like a shift seldom went by without him creating a scoring opportunity. He scored 91 points despite missing nearly one-sixth of the OHL schedule. Bennett's defensive awareness is also well ahead of the curve, which bolsters his chance of being a full-time NHLer before the end of his teen years.
Buzzing The Net: 5 Questions With Bennett
The Pick: Michael Dal Colle, LW, Oshawa (OHL).
Details: Dal Colle, hailed as the biggest offensive talent in the OHL's freshman class two seasons ago, lived up to that billing with a 39-goal, 95-point campaign. The 6-foot-2 winger has shown a sixth sense for finding open space in the offensive zone and either getting off a cannonading shot or sucking in defenders before making a pass to an open teammate. Dal Colle is much more of a work-in-progress between the red line and his own goal than many other high-end forwards, so more seasoning in Oshawa is probably in the offing.
Buzzing The Net: 5 Questions With Dal Colle
The Pick: Jake Virtanen, LW, Calgary (WHL).
Details: Virtanen is the steak with plenty of sizzle: a truly great skater, with great size, a great shot he will crank up from anywhere and a great lust for contact and after-the-whistle extracurriculars. The 6-foot, 213-pounder blossomed with a 45-goal campaign for the Hitmen and seems tailor-made to be an exciting power winger at the NHL level, a 21st-century twist on the 30-goal, 150-PIMs forward of yore. The only caveat is his ability to create chances for teammates; 26 assists for such a talented player, on a 100-point team, seems rather low.
Buzzing The Net: 5 Questions With Virtanen
The Pick: Haydn Fleury, D, Red Deer (WHL).
Details: The 6-foot-3, 198-pound defender who likens himself to Jay Bouwmeester removed a big potential red flag from his file by becoming nastier around his net and along the walls. Fleury has the potential to be a first-pairing shutdown defenseman in the NHL. His ceiling will depend on how he expands his offensive vision over the duration of his junior tenure.
Buzzing The Net: 5 Questions With Fleury
The Pick: William Nylander, LW, Modo (Swe.).
Details: Nylander is excitement personified when he has the puck on his stick and might be the most creative speedster in this draft class, if far from the most complete player. The son of ex-NHLer Mikael Nylander got in scoring range like clockwork while playing for Modo in Sweden's men's league, scoring 15 goals in 35 games as a 17-year-old. Other aspects of his game — a love for the solo rush, some perceived softness along the walls — raised the usual buzzkill questions about how his individual flair can fit within a team concept in the NHL. Still, teams might regret passing on him.
Buzzing The Net: 5 Questions With Nylander
The Pick: Nikolaj Ehlers, LW, Halifax (QMJHL).
Details: ‘The Dashing Dane’ scored more goals (49) than any Quebec League rookie since someone named Sidney Crosby potted 54 a decade ago in Rimouski. Ehlers, in this draft class, is a speed merchant nonpareil who is also devastating at finishing plays. He tallied 104 points while often being separated from Jonathan Drouin in 5-on-5 situations as the Mooseheads were harder up for offensive balance than they were during their 2013 Memorial Cup season. Concerns about Ehlers' size (5-foot-11, 163 pounds) are the only reason he will not be a top-5 pick; his new team will need to keep him on the vine in junior for another season or two.
Buzzing The Net: 5 Questions With Ehlers
10. ANAHEIM DUCKS (from Ottawa)
The Pick: Nick Ritchie, LW, Peterborough (OHL).
Details: Ritchie has a wicked wrist shot, is a better distributor than he generally gets credit for and is hardly shy about throwing his 230 pounds around; what is not to like? The prototype power winger can impose his will on a game, as he did when helping Peterborough overcome a 3-0 deficit in the first round of the OHL playoffs. One counter-point that has been raised regarding Ritchie is that NHL teams sometimes overestimate players who thrive in junior thanks in part to superior size. Ritchie also came a long way with his consistency this season.
Buzzing The Net: 5 Questions With Ritchie
The Pick: Kevin Fiala, C, HV71 (Swe.).
Details: The Swiss center can push the pace and then pull off the high degree-of-difficulty scoring play, which is the litmus test for any smaller player trying to break into the top half of the first round. Fiala, listed at 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds, boasts the same combo of ever-flashing feet and puck-on-a-string skillset that made compatriot Sven Baertschi a No. 13 pick of the Calgary Flames in '11. He steadily improved throughout the season.
12. ARIZONA COYOTES
The Pick: Brendan Perlini, LW, Niagara (OHL).
Details: Smooth and swift 6-foot-3 sniper who might go off for 50-plus goals in one or both of his remaining two years as a junior. Perlini has a boatload of talent but isn't overly physical. Then again, neither is James van Riemsdyk.
Buzzing The Net: 5 Questions With Perlini
The Pick: Jakub Vrana, RW, Linkoping (Swe.).
Details: Already a two-time WJC competitor for the Czech Republic at 18 years old, Vrana variously burns defenders with his speed, skill and his shot. He is a treat to watch at this stage of his career; the big question is discerning whether he'll reach the level where he thrive an an offensive-minded NHLer like countryman Tomas Hertl.
14. DALLAS STARS
The Pick: Julius Honka, D, Swift Current (WHL).
Details: Gifted skater who, in his first North American season, often functioned as a fourth forward and might have usurped Anthony DeAngelo's status as the most promising offensive defenseman in the draft. Smart and quick defensively, but needs to add strength.
Buzzing The Net: 5 Questions With Honka
The Pick: Dylan Larkin, C, U.S. U-18 team (USHL)
Details: Someone has probably already pencilled in Larkin to be Captain America for Team USA at the 2016 world junior, assuming he's not a full-time pro by that point. The University of Michigan recruit has a great set of wheels that he uses while skating toward either goal, and defies being labelled as a finisher or as a setup guy. Larkin's selfless, team-oriented game was an X-factor for Team USA when it reclaimed the gold medal at the world under-18 championship. The center is a good, safe, secure pick.
The Pick: Sonny Milano, LW, U.S. U-18 team (USHL)
Details: In a word, Milano is dynamic. Not unlike New York Islanders prospect Ryan Strome, he is a multi-talented offensive weapon who also works very hard to take the puck back from opponents. The lightning-quick Boston College recruit is also an effective agitator.
Buzzing The Net: 5 Questions With Milano
The Pick: Travis Sanheim, D, Calgary (WHL).
Details: Sanheim truly started from the bottom, and now he's a first-rounder. The 6-foot-3 offensive defenseman, once he settled in Calgary following a slow start to his rookie season, gradually unveiled a great knack for picking his spots to pinch and rush the puck.
Buzzing The Net: 5 Questions With Sanheim
18. MINNESOTA WILD
The Pick: Alex Tuch, RW, U.S. U-18 team (USHL).
Details: The Boston College-bound Tuch was the worker bee as he, top 2015 prospect Jack Eichel and slippery Sonny Milano formed one of the best production lines in the annals of the U.S. under-18 team. Tuch, at 6-foot-3 and 216 pounds, can take pucks to the net and can use both brute force and his agility to drive to the net. Like the Washington Capitals' Tom Wilson, Tuch rates being a high pick since he's a breed apart as a skilled power forward with some surliness.
The Pick: Anthony DeAngelo, D, Sarnia (OHL).
Details: Rushing defensemen can be polarizing at draft time; DeAngelo is no exception after a year where he put up 71 points over 51 games, but occasionally had turnovers while playing on a basement dweller. A suspension for violating the OHL's diversity policy raised concerns.
Buzzing The Net: 5 Questions With DeAngelo
20. CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS (from San Jose)
The Pick: Nick Schmaltz, C, Green Bay (USHL).
Details: The younger brother of St. Louis Blues first-rounder Jordan Schmaltz (25th overall in 2012) lit it up at showcases such as the Ivan Hlinka under-18 tournament and the World Junior ‘A’ challenge. Schmaltz, who's committed to joining his brother at the University of North Dakota, pushes the pace with his speed and reads the ice like no one's business when he’s on his game.
21. ST. LOUIS BLUES
The Pick: Robby Fabbri, C, Guelph (OHL).
Details: Fabbri is like a jewel thief with the way he can into the dirty areas and pull off the heist (i.e. create a goal) before anyone realizes what is happening. The center’s rare blend of anticipation and acceleration made him, at age 17, the catalyst of a Storm squad that scored more goals than any OHL team this millennium. Being 5-foot-10 and 170 pounds makes him a pick that a head scout might have to stake his job on, but he's long been proving doubters wrong.
Buzzing The Net: 5 Questions With Fabbri
The Pick: Kasperi Kapanen, RW, KalPa (Fin.).
Details: The quintessence of the all-around Finnish player who has more than modicum of creativity, good enough size (6-foot, 180 pounds) and asserts himself on the forecheck. The son of former NHLer Sami Kapanen has straight-line speed and is lso quick laterally, which will help him adapt to the NHL in due time. One mark against him has been consistency, but at his peak he's a good 200-foot player.
The Pick: Connor Bleackley, C, Red Deer (WHL).
Details: A rare 17-year-old captain, Bleackley profiles as a safe pick by virtue of his high motor, powerful legs and acumen at setting up his teammates. If he doesn't blossom as a scorer at the next level, he should be able to fall back on being a solid third-line defensive player.
Buzzing The Net: 5 Questions With Bleackley
24. VANCOUVER CANUCKS (from Anaheim)
The Pick: Jared McCann, C, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL).
Details: Started the season strongly after coming back from a concussion sustained in March 2013. Capable scorer with good spatial sense in the offensive zone and he’s excellent on faceoffs. Has potential to become an offensive catalyst in the Soo over final two OHL seasons.
Buzzing The Net: 5 Questions With McCann
25. BOSTON BRUINS
The Pick: David Pastrnak, RW, Sodertalje (Swe.).
Details: An offensive specialist at this point, Pastrnak can make everyone who plays with him better and has a hair-trigger shot that keeps defenders from overplaying the pass. How an undersized, playmaking winger projects to the NHL remains to be seen, though.
The Pick: Nikita Scherbak, RW, Saskatoon (WHL) .
Details: Russian winger showed no fear while stepping right into the Dub, putting up 69 points over 54 games for the rebuilding Blades. Scherbak has one of the best shots in the WHL and he’ll go to the dirty areas. He could make teams look bad for passing on him.
27. SAN JOSE SHARKS (from Chicago)
The Pick: Nikolai Goldobin, LW, Sarnia (OHL).
Details: Shifty and speedy, Goldobin is a two-time 30-goal scorer who can step up his game to match other skilled players. The drawback is that he rarely engages physically and may never have the bulk to do so in The Show, even sporadically. He’s an exciting player to have in the pipeline, though.
28. NEW YORK ISLANDERS (from Tampa Bay from NY Rangers)
The Pick: Josh Ho-Sang, C, Windsor (OHL).
Details: Off-the-charts offensive talent whose 85 points were fifth-most among OHL sophomores. Concern about his all-around game, maturity and attention to detail might have cooled the clamor for teams to draft him, but he has big-time NHL potential if he walks the line.
Buzzing The Net: 5 Questions With Ho-Sang
The Pick: Adrian Kempe, LW, Modo (Swe.).
Details: A good low-risk choice by virtue of having developed a pro-style game built around functional strength, a powerful skating stride and excellent defensive awareness. Good at forcing turnovers and igniting counter-attacks. Projected as a third-liner in the NHL.
The Pick: John Quenneville, C, Brandon (WHL).
Details: The 6-foot-1 center broke out in Brandon, averaging close to a point per game before leading his team in playoff scoring. Quenneville, who is a second cousin of Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville, is patient with the puck; creating offense from defense may come in time for him.
