This page will be continually updated as mock drafts become available.
The 2013 NHL draft is coming and there's no shortage of "experts" taking their crack at how the first round will unfold. Specific attention will be paid to the Sabres and the two picks surrounding their present position.
The days leading up to and including the draft day are said to be ripe for movement, but one thing that may not change all that much is the overriding consensus that that top-five picks will include Nathan MacKinnon, Seth Jones, Jonathan Drouin, Alexsander Barkov and Valeri Nichushkin.
Here's how the scribes see the first round (more specifically the first 17 picks) unfold:
***Kris Baker of sabresprospects.com via sabres.com mock:
Top-five intact, Sean Monahan 6th.
7. Rasmus Ristolainen, D
8. Elias Lindholm, C
9. Bo Horvat, C
15. Curtis Lazar, C
16. Steve Santini, D
17. Ryan Pulock, D
Bakes has been covering "The future of the Blue and Gold" for a decade and his extensive Draft Preview is in-depth and a joy to read for Sabres fans.
It's safe to say that one of Ristolainen, Lindholm and Horvat will be available in the 8th slot. His pick is Lindholm based upon the organizational need for upper-end skill at forward, which is very sound.
Lindholm is a solid pick who has a strong, edgy two-way dimension to his game.
Bakes also, admittedly, reaches a bit for Santini. He likes his overall game and how the defensive defenseman projects out a few years down the road. Most, though, have Santini in the lower parts of the first round.
As mentioned here, it wouldn't be a bad thing for the Sabres to have three 1st-round picks this year. Should they land an extra pick in the 20's, perhaps they would go with another forward at 16 then go after Santini later in the round.
***Craig Button, TSN:
Top-five intact with Elias Lindholm 6th
7. Darnell Nurse, D
8. Valeri Nichushkin, RW
9. Zach Furcale, G
15. Anthony Mantha, W
16. Mirco Mueller, D
17. Nikita Zadarov, D
Has Bo Horvat dropping to Detroit at No. 18.
Former GM Button has Nichushkin sliding to the Sabres at No. 8, and were that the case the Sabres brass would probably jump all over him at that spot. Not hard to envision Nichushkin's "balls to the wall" north-south game and corner work blending with fellow Russian, center Mikhail Grigorenko.
The Sabres have been known for drafting "puck-movers" on the back end for years. But they've said that they now want to get "bigger, faster, tougher." Can't see how a puckmover like Mueller, who's projected to go anywhere from lower-first to lower second, should supplant a mobile, gritty 6'5", 230 lb. defenseman like Zadarov.
***Kyle Woodlief, USA Today via azcentral.com:
Top-five intact, Monahan 6th
7. Bo Horvat, C
8. Darnell Nurse, D
9. Max Domi C,
Has Elias Lindholm going 11th to Philadelphia and Ryan Hartman 10th.
15. Curtis Lazar, C
16. Josh Morrissey, D
17. Alex Wennberg
Three weeks ago, Woodlief was enamored with the top-10 forwards in this draft. He has Lindholm ranked 6th ahead of both Horvat and Domi yet has him dropping to Philly at 11, saying Lindholm would be a great replacement for Mike Richards, who was traded.
Cannot see the Sabres passing up Lindholm in favor of Nurse, much less Lindholm dropping to 11th.
Nurse at No. 8 for the Sabres is very reasonable, although I tend to believe that they rank Ristolainen higher and would draft him before Nurse if they were going defense there.
In sticking with the belief that the Sabres still covet a Brian Campbell-like offensive-puckmover, Woodlief has them picking Morrissey at 16.
With all the forward strength as well an array of styles with which to choose from, it's hard to believe that they'd be going defense with both of their first rounders.
***Mike Morreale, NHL.com:
Top-five intact, Monahan, 6th.
7. Darnell Nurse, D
8. Elias Lindholm, C
9. Hunter Shinkaruk, C
15. Max Domi, C
16. Mirco Mueller, D
17. Alexander Wennberg, C
Most see the Sabres as having many needs, and they'd be correct, and most have them going with some combination of a forward and d-man with their two picks.
Morreale's mock is pretty solid. Although he has Bo Horvat going 21st to Toronto. If Horvat is available at 16 for the Sabres, he'd be hard to pass up there.
Landing both Lindholm and Horvat--both generally regarded as top-10 picks--would really bolster the organization.
***Adam Kimelman, NHL.com:
Has Nurse going to Carolina at #5, Nichushkin dropping to #7 and Monahan at #6.
7. Nichushkin, LW
8. Hunter Shinkaruk, C
9. Elias Lindholm, C
15. Valentin Zykov, LW
16. Ryan Hartman, RW
17. Max Domi, C
Although hailed as a "pure scorer" by Kimelman, Shinkaruk's skills may not translate fully to the NHL. His less than ideal NHL has kept his draft ranking in that 10-20 range.
Hartman looks to be a solid NHL'er, but Kimelman has the Sabres passing on Domi and defenseman Nikita Zadarov to pick him.
"Bigger, stronger, faster," Mr. Kimelman. That's how the Sabres are approaching their team building.
***Steven Hoffner, NHL.com:
Top-five intact, Monahan 6th.
7. Darnell Nurse, D
8. Ryan Pulock, D
9. Hunter Shinkaruk, C
15. Bo Horvat, C
16. Adam Erne, LW
17. Kerby Rychel, LW
Pulock has good size, is mobile, can work the powerplay and has a cannon for a shot, but Hoffner has the Sabres really reaching for him with the 8th pick here. It's possible that the Sabres could be looking at him with the 16th pick, which is about where he's generally rated.
Erne would be a solid pick for the Sabres in that slot. He's got some serious power forward traits and had played with Mikhail Grigorenko last season on the Quebec Remparts.
Had he slotted Lindholm at eight and Erne at 16, I believe Hoffner would nail it for the Sabres.
***Kevin Allen, USA Today:
Top-five intact, Monahan, 6th.
7. Darnell Nurse, D
8. Elias Lindholm, C
9. Hunter Shinkaruk, C
15. Adam Erne, LW
16. Bo Horvat, C
17. Josh Morrissey, D
I love this. Landing both Lindholm and Horvat without any trade up would be huge, as those are my two favorite players within Buffalo's reach. Allen has some interesting picks in the second half of the first round and if you want to roll through a slide show, complete with ads every three or four pages, go right ahead.
There's nothing more hated or annoying to me than lumbering through a slide show. You can have 'em (Bleacher Report.)
***The Hockey News
Top-four intact, Darnell Nurse to Carolina, Elias Lindholm 6th to Calgary.
7. Sean Monahan, C
8. Valeri Nichushkin, RW
9. Max Domi, C
15. Nikita Zadarov, D
16. Ryan Pulock, D
17. Anthony Mantha, C
The Hockey News offers nothing earth-shattering in their mock. Pretty sure the Sabres would be pleased to land the north/south Nichushkin while Pulock is a highly regarded defenseman.
***Chris Peters, Eye On Hockey, cbssports.com
Top-five in place, Monahan 6th.
7. Elias Lindholm, C
8. Rasmus Ristolainen, D
9. Max Domi, C
15. Anthony Mantha, RW
16. Adam Erne, LW
17. Ryan Pulock, D
Hard to argue with these selections for the Sabres. Ristolainen is said to be NHL-ready, playing an all-around game and Erne would be a solid pick.
Peters, like Baker, presents a solid mock draft with reasonable picks for each team.
***Patrick King, sportsnet.ca
Top-four in place, Lindholm at No. 5 and has Calgary taking G, Zach Furcale 6th in a major surprise.
7. Sean Monahan, C
8. Max Domi, C
9. Darnell Nurse, D
15. Andre Burakowsky, LW
16. Hunter Shinkaruk, C
17. Alexander Wennberg, C
King blows up all expectations with this mock after his first five picks.
Yes, Flames GM Jay Feaster is fully capable of doing something crazy like drafting Furcale at No. 6, but even he's not that stupid. Domi to the Sabres at No. 8 isn't likely, see Kevin Devine's "bigger, stronger, faster" edict.
Mocking Valeri Nichushkin at No. 13 because of "the Russian factor" is a little low for top-five talent.
From No. 6 to No. 16, there's a randomness to Kings picks and although there will be surprises in that range, he's a little extreme here. But he does make it interesting.
***Fox Sports
Top-four in place, has defenseman Darnell Nurse at No. 5 to Carolina and Monahan No. 6.
7. Valeri Nichushkin, RW
8. Elias Lindholm, C
9. Hunter Shinkaruk, C
15. Ryan Pulock, D
16. Max Domi, C
17. Curtis Lazar, C
Having Nurse going to the 'Canes is no real surprise as the defenseman is considered the second-best d-man behind Seth Jones.
Everything else pretty much falls in line in Fox's mock although Domi may not fall that low and the Sabres. Despite Domi's skill level, it's doubtful that Buffalo would add another smallish player to the organization with Tyler Ennis, Nathan Gerbe and Daniel Catenacci already there, even at No. 16.
If the draft unfolds like Fox has it, the Sabres might be better off looking to Calgary in a trade back scenario landing the 22nd and 28th for the 16th, allowing the Flames to land Furcale.
***Sam Cosentino, sportsnet.ca
Top-five intact, Monahan 6th to Calgary.
7. Nikita Zadarov, D
8. Elias Lindholm, C
9. Darnell Nurse, D
15. Samuel Morin, D
16. Mirco Mueller, D
17. Kerby Rychel, LW
Cosentino has a pretty straightforward mock without any real surprises and says that the Buffalo Sabres "will be overjoyed when Mueller falls to their lap here."
Mmmmm. Maybe.
Ryan Pulock, who he has going No. 20 to San Jose', may be more to the Sabres liking than Mueller. Then again, they might eschew both if they are in this spot and opt to trade down for an extra first rounder or in the very least another second-rounder.
Sabres director of amateur scouting Kevin Devine says that the 10-20 range, maybe even the lower-mid 20's, is the fourth cut-off point in the first round.
The Jackets and Flames both have three first round picks and both have two after the Sabres pick at 16--Columbus Nos. 19 and 27; Calgary Nos. 22 and 28--and both could be looking to grab top goalie prospect Zach Furcale in one of those spots.
To assure that they land him with their second 1st round pick, they may be interested in trading up with Buffalo (or someone else.)
Provides an interesting trade-down scenario for the Sabres.
***Allan Muir, SI.com
Top-four in place, Elias Lindholm 5th, Monahan 6th. Muir essentailly has Carolina trading out of the five-slot and that team picking Lindholm. Also of note, he has Seth Jones falling to Tampa with the third pick.
7. Darnell Nurse, D
8. Valeri Nichushkin, LW
9. Max Domi, C
15. Zach Furcale, G
16. Samuel Morin, D
17. Alexander Wennberg, D
Another mock draft that has Nichushkin dropping to the Sabres at No. 8 and Muir doesn't break any new ground after the top-five, an area which has some interesting and very plausible twists.
With a forward at No. 8 and a defenseman at No. 16., Muir's mock follows a trend amongst "mocksters" that see the Sabres with a lot of holes and a balanced approach to filling them--one forward, one defenseman in no particular order in the first round.
What Kevin Devine and Co. are probably really looking at with the 16th pick is how many of those "fourth-tier" first rounders are on that board when they're up. That will tell them how many spots they could trade down while still getting a player within their rankings. He has alluded to a drop-off after the top-two, a drop-off after the 5th pick and another drop-off around nine or 10. He has also said that the next tier extends down to around 20 and has said that there may not be much of a difference between the 20th pick and the 10th or 11th pick.
Things can get really weird in the teens of a draft as well as GM's start to out-think themselves and their draft-board.
It's conceivable that Buffalo could drop six slots all the way down to No. 22 and still have two or three players on their draft board at that slot.
In that case picking up a latter first-rounder or another second-rounder would be a bonus.
No comments:
Post a Comment