NHL Mock Draft: Joun’s Final Full First Round Mock of 2016

Patrik Laine. 2. player. 30. Although the most dynamic scorer in this year’s draft, Laine will have to be content as the second man picked at the draft, edging fellow Finn Jesse Puljujarvi after starting the year slightly behind in the rankings. Great scorer who will give the Jets their own Alex Ovechkin in the years to come. Maybe they won’t miss captain Andrew Ladd after all.. RW. Tappara, Liiga

4. player. 148. The Oilers are thin on the blueline. They are going to trade a winger to get that blueliner. They are going to be a winger short. Who do you draft? The OHL’s playoff superstar Matthew Tkachuk. Thachuk is Edmonton the edgy forward who can complement McDavid to higher glories and do the dirty work below the dots to make McDavid that much better.<br /> Also, watch for this pick to be moved. Though the Oilers have pursued Shea Weber and P.K. Subban with this pick, players like Kevin Shattenkirk could add to a deal to pry this pick away from Edmonton’s hands.. LW. London, OHL. Matthew Tkachuk

Cape Breton, QMJHL. Pierre-Luc Dubois. 5. player. 104. The Vancouver Canucks will be mighty happy with the selection of Pierre-Luc Dubois, the man who fits the “Jim Benning” model to the very fine details. He scores, he skates, he hits, and he is a center who can play the two-way game. Especially with Jared McCann gone, Dubois will look to take over a top-six role in the near future, perhaps even as Henrik Sedin’s successor. That will be a Benning legacy to make a Benning team.. LW/C

The Calgary Flames have tremendous talent up front with the likes of Sean Monahan, Sam Bennett, and Johnny Gaudreau. Their defense looks decent with T.J Brodie and Dougie Hamilton set on the top pairing. For that matter, this pick is more of a best-play-available pick than a pick-by-need. The Flames are getting the best defenseman available in this year’s draft, the most offensively complete one who has great hockey IQ and great untapped potential. A fair use of the No. 6 pick.. D. London, OHL. Olli Juolevi. 6. player. 112

player. 121. Mikhail Sergachev has quietly surfaced in scouts’ top-ten lists. The defenseman is viewed as the most NHL-ready defenseman in the draft, which is precisely what the Coyotes need right now. Sergachev’s mix of size, speed, and skill is too good to pass by for a blueline-hungry team like the Coyotes, who would be passing on flashy winger Alex Nylander to make this pick. That being said, Nylander is just as good a pick at number seven as Sergachev is.<br /> If the Coyotes indeed attempt to draft Arizona-native Matthew Tkachuk, expect this pick to be in play.. D. Windsor, OHL. Mikhail Sergachev. 7

player. 12. After months of being ranked sixth-overall on scouts lists, Nylander wasn’t able to wrap up his season in finesse to “wow” the NHL. The Sabres, though, will be getting a treat with this pick. His skill and Hockey IQ is one of the best in the draft, something that the Sabres need right now — Buffalo did not have a winger with more than 35 points this past season.<br /> Drafting a defenseman is the best way to go for the Sabres, but Nylander is too good to pass by. Chychrun is a definite possibility here.. W. Mississauga, OHL. Alex Nylander. 8

152. The Canadiens would have loved to jumped into the top-three, perhaps to use the pick to draft Dubois. But here they are, with a pick to draft a big forward that they really need. Brown has been great in the second half of the season. The big man skates well with soft hands that are good for high-end playmaking. For a Canadiens team known for their small wingers up and down the lineup (Gallagher, Desharnais, Byron) a Brown is a great pivot who will complement those craft wingers very well. Brown is a wild card. Some have him as high as number five.. C. Windsor, OHL. Logan Brown. 9. player

Sarnia, OHL. Jakob Chychrun. 10. player. 103. Rounding out the top ten is defenseman Jakob Chychrun, the physical defenseman who skates beyond his years. Chychrun was supposed to challenge Matthews for the top seed coming into this year, but here he is, lucky to be picked in the top ten. The Colorado Avalanche wants to give their defense a real good shake and insert physicality to the top-four in the coming years. Why do you think Tyson Barrie’s name was so naturally in the trade market?<br /> Patrick Roy likes big skaters. Although Bean may be more offensively talented than Chychrun is, the untapped potential is Chychrun is just another reason for the Avalanche to draft Chychrun, who already has the abilities that the Avalanche are looking for.. D

US National U18. Kieffer Bellows. 17. player. 151. Think that Nashville is enjoying Filip Forsberg? How about making that a duo with a pure scorer in Kieffer Bellows? The Preds have a blueline stacked with young players who will only get better. The goal scoring is still an issue, however, despite the addition of Mr. Ryan Johansen. Keiffer should be a left winger copy of Forsberg. A line of Forsberg-Johansen-Bellows would be insanely intimidating a scoring force. Good pick with the 17th overall selection, where anyone is up for grabs. They have taken the best forward available.. LW

D. Penticton, BCHL. Dante Fabbro. 18. player. 68. It is true that the Flyers have many blueline prospects with great upside. With Mark Streit set to leave, however, the Flyers would not be doing themselves any harm by picking the best player available in BCHL’s Dante Fabbro. Fabbro is a calm mind on the blueline who can dictate the tempo of the play. His offensive upside is also seismic. Craig Button saw him as a type of Travis Hamonic.

player. 106. What is with the Logan’s of the Windsor Spitfires? They are massive! Following his teammate Brown’s top-ten pick, Stanley is a good blueliner with top-four potential that never seems to stop growing. His shutdown abilities is just sublime. The New York Islanders will be happy with this pick, a player who Button sees as a Erik Gudbranson-type of a blueliner. . D. Windsor, OHL. Logan Stanley. 19

121. The Arizona Coyotes missed out on drafting a top left winger in Tkachuk, and they addressed the most needy position on the blueline with a Juolevi selection at number seven, ignoring the highly-touted Mr. Nylander. Max Jones should be sufficient for the desert dogs as the left winger will be a physical power forward similar to Dustin Brown. Max Domi and Anthony Duclaire will be deadly if they play with an intimidating player like Jones. Starting with this pick, the draft becomes a sea of dozen players who all have the potential to make the late first round and fall as low as the mid-seconds.. LW. London, OHL. Max Jones. 20. player

F. University of Wisconsin, NCAA. Luke Kunin. 21. player. 109. As a second attempt to re-vamp their scoring prowess, the Hurricanes will be doing themselves good by taking a top-six do-it-all player in Luke Kunin. Kunin is an offensively flashy prospect with a lot of things to like about. His character is second to none. Although he does not have the most complete defensive game, his work ethic and on-ice accountability makes him the coach’s delight. Because of his determination, he can be played in all forward positions and do just about everything well.

30. Dennis Cholowski has quietly risen up the ranks as one of the WHL’s top draft-eligible defensemen. He projects as a decent top-four defenseman who plays a calm, effective game with his good skating abilities. He seems like the smart player who will need some time to develop into an NHL defenseman but will thrive when given the time to get stronger. He is committed to the NCAA, so the Jets will not have to worry too much. He should fill in nicely when Dustin Byfuglien’s prime starts to close in Winnipeg. After picking offense, there isn’t a need for more scorers. The next player is also a good option for WPG.. D. Chilliwack, BCHL. Dennis Cholowski. 22. player

Kale Clague is a Ben Hutton-like player. His is slightly undersized but poised at all times, always having the presence of mind to find a good passing lane. For the Panthers who are loaded up front with great talent including Jared McCann, Clague will follow in Aaron Ekblad’s footsteps to be a part of a solid top-four.. D. Brandon, WHL. Kale Clague. 23. player. 87

Riley Tufte is a wild card. While his big frame at 6-foot-5 is certainly what Randy Carlyle and the Mighty Ducks want, his unexpected emergence to the scene has scouts wondering if he is the right pick to make in the first round. He dominated in the high school ranks scoring at a three-points-per-game , but what does that mean when put into comparison with the CHL, the NCAA, and the international ranks? The Ducks have two picks close together at the end of the first round and it will be worth it to use one on a wild card, especially with the Ducks being quite full on the blueline.. LW. Blaine, USHSW. Riley Tufte. 24. player. 105

109. Rubtsov does not deserve to fall so low in the rankings, but with the “Russian Factor” weighing him down amongst a tight race for the bottom half of the 1st round, he falls into the hands of the Dallas Stars. He is just a very capable all-around player with good hands and great playmaking traits.. C. Team Russia U18, MHL. German Rubtsov. 25. player

player. 19. Boris Katchouk is another name that has surfaced in scouts’ first rounds after starting out as a top-80 player. He, like Kunin, is a do-it-all player who figures to be a bonafide option as a middle-six winger. He is not the biggest player but has the bite to his game that the Washington Capitals wouldn’t mind having behind Mr. Ovechkin. Katchouk is also a great leader.. LW. Saulte-Ste. Marie, OHL. Boris Katchouk. 26

23. Brett Howden figures to be a solid pick who will become a good middle-six forward in the NHL. His work ethic, his versatility, and his consistency will allow him to perhaps grow into a defense-first utility center of Brock Nelson’s caliber.. C. Moose Jaw, WHL. Brett Howden. 27. player

player. 99. With the St. Louis Blues looking to move Kevin Shattenkirk out and add inexpensive pieces to the lineup, Ryan Johansen’s younger brother Lucas may be a solid pick at 28. He currently projects as a potential top-four defenseman who moves the puck like Ben Hutton, with the poise and calmness. His downside, however, is the lack of strength and muscle to compliment his height. With an AHL-seasoned frame, he could be a solid top-four defender.. D. Kelowna, WHL. Lucas Johansen. 28

70. There is a lot to like about Tage Thompson, including his 6-foot-5 frame at 195 pounds. He could be the next middle-six utility player for the Boston Bruins, embodying the very essence of being the “Big Bad Bruins”. As a physical hard-working forward, Thompson will look to go in the late first round.. F. University of Connecticut, NCAA. Tage Thompson. 29. player

D. Mississauga, OHL. Sean Day. 30. player. 105. And with the very last pick of the draft, the Ducks may take a swing at another big-body wild card, but this time at a defenseman. Sean Day is an absolute thrill to watch. He is a fantastic skater. He can make the moves, the passes, and the shots. The biggest issue for the 228-pound blueliner is his consistency and his mental readiness. He breaks down when pressure comes at him. His decision making becomes questionable. He tries to do too much and not use his big body to advantage by simply being in the right position. The Ducks might like the big frame he brings, but it will be crucial for them to make him work. He was ranked as low as 58th by TSN.