Scouching's Post-Stanley Cup Final Mock Draft

Well well well, the Tampa Bay Lightning win the Stanley Cup again, and as is tradition, it is now officially draft season. The order is set, and here we are again. If you missed part 1, check it out here. I won't give you a giant preamble, but congratulations to both the Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens. That was one of the most entertaining playoffs I've seen in a while, and I get the feeling the draft will be no different.

So with that, enjoy the remainder of my mock draft! I'm expecting an insane roller coaster ride on draft day, so this will probably turn out to be extremely incorrect extremely quickly, but such is life when you try to analyze the NHL Draft.

1st Overall - Buffalo Sabres
Scouch's Pick - Matthew Beniers
Gut Pick - Owen Power
​2nd Overall - Seattle Kraken
Scouch's Pick - William Eklund
Gut Pick - Matthew Beniers
​3rd Overall - Anaheim Ducks
Scouch's Pick - Luke Hughes
Gut Pick - Brandt Clarke
​4th Overall - New Jersey Devils
Scouch's Pick - Brandt Clarke
Gut Pick - Luke Hughes
5th Overall - Columbus Blue Jackets
Scouch's Pick - Fabian Lysell
Gut Pick - William Eklund
6th Overall - Detroit Red Wings
Scouch's Pick - Owen Power
Gut Pick - Kent Johnson
7th Overall - San Jose Sharks
Scouch's Pick - Jesper Wallstedt
Gut Pick - Fabian Lysell
8th Overall - Los Angeles Kings
Scouch's Pick - Simon Edvinsson
Gut Pick - Dylan Guenther
9th Overall - Vancouver Canucks
Scouch's Pick - Kent Johnson
Gut Pick - Mason McTavish
​10th Overall - Ottawa Senators
Scouch's Pick - Mason McTavish
Gut Pick - Simon Edvinsson
11th Overall - Chicago Blackhawks
Scouch's Pick - Dylan Guenther
Gut Pick - Chaz Lucius
12th Overall - Calgary Flames
Scouch's Pick - Logan Stankoven
Gut Pick - Carson Lambos
13th Overall - Philadelphia Flyers
Scouch's Pick - Fyodor Svechkov
Gut Pick - Matthew Coronato
14th Overall - Dallas Stars
Scouch's Pick - Simon Robertsson
Gut Pick - Cole Sillinger
15th Overall - New York Rangers
Scouch's Pick - Aatu Raty
Gut Pick - Zachary L'Heureux

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16th Overall - St. Louis Blues
Scouch's Pick - Cole Sillinger
Gut Pick - Corson Ceulemans

Scouch's Take - I have a hard time seeing Sillinger legitimately slipping to the Blues here, but the questions around Sillinger's skating and objective issues this season fitting in as a linemate with Sioux Falls bump him down here, but I think this is a great fit for St. Louis. Sillinger has firepower, tight space skill, he's hard to knock off pucks, and his physical intensity at times was highly desirable. For a team that valued Jake Neighbours so highly last year, I could see them taking a high ceiling player with a physical edge that Sillinger has shown in my viewings. Lucius or Coronato comes to mind here as well, but with the projectable offensive weapons Sillinger brings, he's hard to let slip further.

Will's Gut's Take - The Blues at one time were absolutely loaded with rock solid, two-way defenders with some firepower. While they've evolved in recent years, Ceulemans is an option that may bring more stability in multiple scenarios defensively. While he's much lower on my list than this range, I do see the argument that Ceulemans could see large improvements in his development over the next few years. He has great North-South range with evasive skill in the offensive zone to create space for himself and challenge opponents, and his defensive game may be a bit mixed depending on the area of the ice you're looking at, but his ability to read opposing neutral zone breakouts and get into rushing lanes is admirable, he just has to do it against competition better than the AJHL. He isn't Cale Makar, but I do like him more than I did Michael Benning last year, and this could be a nice project pick for St. Louis to work with based on the defenders they've developed in the past.

17th Overall - Winnipeg Jets
Scouch's Pick - Carson Lambos
Gut Pick - Simon Robertsson

Scouch's Take - I've said a few times that Carson Lambos is the guy who I've looked back at my data and video and gone "huh" the most, and I may have been undervaluing him for large stretches this year. His ability to read rushes and use strong inside edges to move laterally and close gaps is rock solid, there's evasive skill to create space, and while his pure speed and high end offensive upside at 5v5 might be a bit limited, he's a reliable player that should be able to play solid defensive hockey with enough talent in his hands and brain to put points up once in a while. If that's the kind of defender you get in the back half of the first round, you could certainly do a lot worse, and if Lambos regains a bit of the form that was there before the pandemic, there could be great upside here, especially with Ville Heinola continuing to improve his game in Winnipeg.

Will's Gut's Take - Where Simon Robertsson goes on draft day will be interesting. His J20 data ​was extremely impressive, his time in the SHL showcased a lot of areas on his feet where he was much more comfortable than others, and his time in the HockeyEttan was a tough read. Some believe his skating holds him back, but I feel that's about the only thing that he doesn't have in spades. His brain for puck possession, skill to evade pressure, and ability to connect on passes in transition are all high level, and his offensive tools are definitely there. For Winnipeg, I think Robertsson is a strong, high ceiling pick who could easily plug into a role similar to a Nik Ehlers, just further down the lineup, and I don't think you can have enough players like what Robertsson could be in an NHL lineup.

18th Overall - Nashville Predators
Scouch's Pick - Chaz Lucius
Gut Pick - Fyodor Svechkov

Scouch's Take - I'm fully expecting Lucius to be gone by this pick. I have questions that just bump him a bit lower for me than the tippy top of this draft. How much did his injury factor into his game as he was this year? I was never enamored with the projectability of his scoring at the same level, I was never enamored with his pace of play and ability to push the game rather than react to it extremely well, and none of those things really changed for me this season. He's extremely inactive defensively from my data, but one of the better raw chance creators through both passes and shots I've tracked. A great tight space player who will probably be more of that JVR-brand of goal scorer, rather than a Kyle Connor, but being in the right place at the right time, and being able to get any kind of chance under heavy pressure can land easy ones, and around this range, I think he's a great get for the Predators. If there was another gear that never came out this year, I'd believe it, it's just a matter of me not having team-level resources to really dig into that, and he could be gone well before this. From what I've seen, tracked, and who I've liked just a bit more, Lucius just ends up on the tail end of an interesting top 20 or so names here.

Will's Gut's Take - Even though he had a strong U18 tournament, I still don't see much hoopla about Fyodor Svechkov, and I think it's entirely possible the Predators do their homework and understand just how good this guy is. Their 2020 1st rounder Yaroslav Askarov is a future teammate with SKA St. Petersburg, and getting as far away from Togliatti as possible will do Svechkov good. He's so smart, responsible, and evasive with projectable instincts going both ways, and offensive tools that came out in flashes that he could be a fantastic add at 18. If Nashville is in the early days of a teardown and 2022/2023 are their years to pick up core pieces, Svechkov could be an excellent secondary option at forward, capable of playing any position with both offensive and defensive benefits. I've been on the Svechkov ​for a while this year, and Nashville building a little pipeline of SKA players doesn't sound too bad to me.

19th Overall - Edmonton Oilers
Scouch's Pick - Matthew Coronato
Gut Pick - Jesper Wallstedt

Scouch's Take - I just feel like Coronato would be a really interesting Oiler. He's a legitimately talented, intelligent 200 foot player who has played every forward position this year with room to grow if his footwork and speed generation can be improved at Harvard. His brain for the game grows on you, he's a warrior under pressure, and he generates chances for himself extremely well while using linemates in open ice intelligently. He may not be a 1st line scorer, but he could certainly add some much needed legitimate middle lineup depth to an Oilers team that has struggled to lock down a strong full lineup in recent years, as well as be a scoring threat on the power play.

Will's Gut's Take - ​You might laugh at the idea that Wallstedt could slip here, but there's talk of him being a guy who could slip on draft day for a few reasons, and it doesn't take much for a goalie to not be a team's top option. I love watching Wallstedt play, and there should be a great goalie here, and I think Edmonton doesn't think twice, and focuses on swinging big with the rest of their picks. Wallstedt will probably be an NHL goalie while Edmonton's two great players are still in their prime, and if the Oilers can build a strong team in front of him, this could be an excellent pick for them.

20th Overall - Boston Bruins
Scouch's Pick - Scott Morrow
Gut Pick - Francesco Pinelli

Scouch's Take - The idea of the Boston Bruins taking the skilled prep school defender half the scouting world is down on, and turning him into the potentially great defenseman Scott Morrow could be is so Bruins to me. The mobility, skill, and aggressive mindset feel like something that would stick out, and if the Bruins can shore up the defensive side of the game and putting in the same effort without the puck that he puts in with it, he could be a tidy pickup with patience for the Bruins as their core continues to age out.

Will's Gut's Take - Pinelli, relative to the names available, just feels like a Bruin. I don't see huge upside with Pinelli, but I do see a player. He's aggressive on the puck with flashes of physicality, gifted processing play on the fly and selflessly driving play up the ice, and no-nonsense playmaking offensively. I'm not the biggest Pinelli fan, but I see why others might be. If the skating can improve, and the processing of the game can keep up with those improvements, he could have a higher ceiling, but in any case, the Bruins land a perfectly fine auxiliary building block that feels potentially up the same alley as previous high Bruins picks.

21th Overall - Minnesota Wild
Scouch's Pick - Sebastian Cossa
Gut Pick - Sebastian Cossa

Scouch's Take - I like Kaapo Kahkonen as much as anyone, and he does have an A+ name, but for some reason I just get the feeling that the Minnesota Wild, with multiple first round picks, may feel confident enough to take the plunge on a giant CHL goalie who put up objectively great results, even when looking relative to his workload. To my untrained eye, there's a lot of the technical and biomechanical efficiency that Jesper Wallstedt displays, just on a larger frame, and relative to other players in the range, there may be other bets that could be middle of the lineup scorers, but Cossa has a strong track record of stopping pucks, and even though his team was a powerhouse, outperforming his expected goals against is promising to say the least. It wouldn't take much for me to pass on the goalie, but two first round picks makes it more tolerable to take the plunge here.

Will's Gut's Take - I agree, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Cossa go pretty close to the range Wallstedt goes, but he might be #2 on enough lists to land him here.​

22th Overall - Detroit Red Wings
Scouch's Pick - Isak Rosen
Gut Pick - Aatu Raty

Scouch's Take - Detroit likes their Swedes, and they seem to like good Swedes, even if they're raw. Rosen is a guy where I'm not sure what his NHL career looks like, but his confidence with the puck, pace of his offensive attacks, and ability to drive dangerous shot attempts in impressive. His game in the SHL changed pretty significantly relative to the J20, and his U18 was another change, and I've been pulled in all kinds of directions with him. He's likely a supplementary scorer, but I've seen him flash some real talent, even in the SHL being hard on pucks and trying to get pucks in front. If he can combine that trait from the SHL and gain the confidence to attack the net with the puck like he did in the J20, there could really be something with Rosen, and I trust the Red Wings to bring him along. Power/Rosen ain't a bad haul based on where their picks are.

Will's Gut's Take - Enough is enough. Raty has been through enough. Kent Johnson and Aatu Raty in the first round is a hilarious pair to add together, and I'd be thrilled to see Raty in Red Wings Red. There's a ton of evidence that his mediocre results weren't really attributed to him as much as you'd think, and I've seen what he did when he went back to play junior competition. There's a potentially great player here in Raty, I just think he needs a reset mentally, and Detroit could give that to him. Filip Zadina, Joe Veleno, Lucas Raymond, Jonatan Berggren, Kent Johnson, and now Aatu Raty is only the beginning of what their future forward group could include, which is wonderful to me.​

23th Overall - Florida Panthers
Scouch's Pick - Oskar Olausson
Gut Pick - Brennan Othmann

Scouch's Take - The new Panthers regime seems to have a type in the NHL Draft after just one year. Multiple players drafted are hard working, physical players with side orders of offensive upside, and if you want more of that, Oskar Olausson could fit the bill. He's a smart, effective player with great patience and deception with the puck, but nice power generation on his turns to apply himself physically at higher levels. I think there's a nice floor with Olausson driven through his well rounded profile with his flashes of puck skill in transition, and for the type of player Florida seems to latch onto, he's one I feel I'd push for, and one I think that could be a fit.

Will's Gut's Take - While I agree with Will, I get the feeling Brennan Othmann may not have the same level of patience and skill with the puck, he does bring a bit more of that intensity and hard work that Florida seems to like. He can shoot, he battles hard, his ceiling may not be super high, but I think as an auxiliary and versatile high work rate player in your lineup, Florida could do much worse than Othmann.

24th Overall - Columbus Blue Jackets
Scouch's Pick - Nikita Chibrikov
Gut Pick - Matthew Samoskevich

Scouch's Take - Chibrikov is another one of these guys where once in a while, I saw some real high end skill, creativity, and even physicality, but it only came out rarely, and when it wasn't out, he could've been anyone else on the ice. I think this is the right range to swing big on his upside and let him develop with SKA. I get the feeling Columbus really likes how Kirill Marchenko has come along with that program, and I don't believe they're afraid of swinging on upside. Chibrikov is a player who shows strong creative skill, a quality shot that he frustratingly uses from everywhere, but clear potential that may be gone before 24, but with enough question marks to me that other teams may just let him slip a bit. Lysell at 5 to Columbus might be a galaxy brain relative to where he goes on draft day, but Lysell/Chibrikov are two very solid pieces to land before their last 1st round pick.

Will's Gut's Take - Yeah ok, Chibrikov would be cool, but what about that kind of a profile, but ramped up even more? Columbus is no stranger to swings on high end individual traits, and Samoskevich may be one of the best combinations of skill and pace outside the top group of this year's draft. He's inconsistent, and seemingly focused on the offensive game and moving pucks on his own stick, leading to offensive creation, but when it works, it works. He's a ton of fun to watch and to me was one of the few non-NTDP players who shined well at the Biosteel game. If you're feeling fancy, this is a nice area of the draft to bet on him, and Columbus seemingly likes to feel fancy on draft day.​

25th Overall - Minnesota Wild
Scouch's Pick - Olen Zellweger
Gut Pick - Logan Stankoven

Scouch's Take - "Olen Zellweger, meet Jared Spurgeon, captain of the Minnesota Wild. You are now roommates for training camp. Learn everything you can from this guy." The potential with Zellweger is enormous in my opinion, and the potential for him with Minnesota just seems like a match. They've got some more dynamic physical presences in Dryden Hunt and Ryan O'Rourke from last year, but Zellweger brings an exciting, shifty offensive approach to the game that's a ton of fun to watch. He's among the youngest players in the draft, and to me really only has to work on his mobility on his feet defensively to really round things out nicely. He's small, but has trouble managing gaps and pressuring quick forwards driving wide, often linked to a shorter reach and not being the strongest undersized guy, but the potential is massive here with patience and the right expectations, which I think the Wild can be entrusted with.

Will's Gut's Take - I want this to happen so, so, so bad. They took my guys Marco and Marat last year, and Logan is my guy this year. I may be wrong, but I want this to happen so bad that, as a gut, it's overwhelming me. I gushed about Logan in part one, but I just can't help myself. He's small, but doesn't play small, he's got an unbelievably quick release, great elevation on his shot, but an underrated playmaking side from a variety of spots on the ice and great pace up the ice in transition. I don't think he'll be a massive two-way impact player, but he'll put in the work to try. I feel like the more you believe in a guy like Logan, let him learn through playing time, and put him in potential offensive situations, you'll be rewarded greatly.

26th Overall - Carolina Hurricanes
Scouch's Pick - Ville Koivunen
Gut Pick - Nikita Chibrikov

Scouch's Take - Carolina is not dumb. Ville Koivunen is very good. Tom Dundon is on record saying defensemen are out of the picture in round one, but I wouldn't push for one here anyways. Koivunen plays on the same program as Sebastian Aho did, and like Aho, is pretty underrated. Now, Koivunen is not Sebastian, but he's such a rock solid player that makes the game easier for everyone around him that with more development, he's just going to continue to improve. There's nothing low-end in his game, and while there's nothing elite, I think there's enough "very good" that he could pretty much turn into anything. He's a mystery box, but one you'd probably want to bet on, and I just feel like the Hurricanes are the right team to take the plunge,

Will's Gut's Take - High skill, if inconsistent is something Carolina isn't afraid of, and Chibrikov could be a great pickup. He's good value if you believe what he is at his best here, and Carolina seems to be one of the teams that is part of that ethos.

27th Overall - Colorado Avalanche
Scouch's Pick - Mackie Samoskevich
Gut Pick - Scott Morrow

Scouch's Take - hahaha as if Colorado needs more pure skill players with a side of speed, eh? Well, here comes another one in Samoskevich. The idea of Jean-Luc Foudy one day streaking down the ice in supplementary minutes with what Mackie Samoskevich could be just feels like something the Avs would deploy. Samoskevich is a ton of fun to watch with projectable skill and playmaking ability, and I feel as though he'd be a nice late first round option for Colorado to bring along patiently and help supplement their core as they get a bit older in a few seasons.

Will's Gut's Take - Cale Makar, Bowen Byram, Sam Girard, Devon Toews, maybe a bit of Justin Barron, then add the potential of Scott Morrow. Not sure what else you want me to say. Morrow is a risk, but there​ is so, so much potential there with the pure skill and aggressive offense he brings. Three of the defensemen I mentioned all bring an aggressive mindset to playing defense, and it's paid off for the team nicely, so it may just be that Morrow is the next option on a strong backend. Maybe they don't need more defenders, but many teams should be interested in a defender like Morrow, especially in this range.

28th Overall - New Jersey Devils
Scouch's Pick - Francesco Pinelli
Gut Pick - Daniil Chayka

Scouch's Take - Pinelli is a perfectly reasonable Swiss Army Knife forward. I've seen him at centre, on the wings with a strong mind for the game, with a bit of physicality to go with everything. I just feel like as a supplementary option around the core the Devils have built, Pinelli is a nice add with potential upside if there's improvement to his pace of play over time.

Will's Gut's Take - The once top ranked Chayka has slipped and slipped all year. He objectively was not Guelph Daniil Chayka in the KHL/VHL, so the question is... what is he? I get the feeling the Devils see his frame, solid mobility, and puck carrying potential, and we see an echo of the value they attributed to Shakir Mukhamadullin in 2021. Chayka will probably gone by this point in the draft, but I could see him slip simply due to the complete dropoff in his game year over year. He struggles in close quarters defending, he had almost zero offensive involvement outside of point shots, but I still saw flashes of the player I saw in Guelph. If he's a guy that slips a bit this year, I feel as though the Devils will capitalize on the "what if he's 2019-20 Daniil Chayka" potential, combined with "he's huge" and just pick him with an acquired pick and see what happens.

29th Overall - Vegas Golden Knights
Scouch's Pick - Corson Ceulemans
Gut Pick - Isak Rosen

Scouch's Take - I'm not the biggest Ceulemans guy, but I see the appeal around this range. He's a nice blank slate with a solid combination of skill and straight line mobility that he applies both offensively and defensively. He's got room to grow defensively, and could round things out a bit more than he has, and Vegas seems to know what they're doing with young defenders.

Will's Gut's Take - ​Rosen should probably be gone by now, and Vegas isn't afraid of drafting on skill and potential, and Rosen has potential as one of a variety of offensive players. He can shoot, he's got great weight shifting to cut into the middle of the ice, and in the SHL he seemed to gain a work rate and intensity without the puck that I didn't see in the J20. He isn't a massive upside scorer, but he could slot in a variety of roles to supplement a strong Vegas future.

30th Overall - Montreal Canadiens
Scouch's Pick - William Stromgren
Gut Pick - Oskar Olausson

Scouch's Take - Stromgren might be one of the biggest boom or bust guys available around here. He's  big, has plenty of skill, and high skill at his high pace play, but it is far too sparse to put him higher. At his best, he could easily be considered in the first 20 picks of the draft in my opinion. The Habs seem to love physically gifted players, but also seem to prefer skill and potential at some picks. With Stromgren's size and skill combination, there's lots to work with as he gets older, stronger, and more experienced against men. I like the upside here, and I feel that he'd be a good fit with what the Canadiens seem to aim at.

Will's Gut's Take - See all that I wrote about Stromgren, but add in some consistency, a bit more physical play, but less flash. He's a well rounded package of traits I think stick out to a team like Montreal, and late in the first, he's a good bet to be one of those players filling a role like Artturi Lehkonen down the lineup, but useful nonetheless. 

31st Overall - Columbus Blue Jackets
Scouch's Pick - Ayrton Martino
Gut Pick - Kalle Vaisanen

Scouch's Take - Batter up, here comes the Columbus Blue Jackets with the last pick of the first round, and once again, they go with high upside and raw skill. Ayrton Martino is just so exciting. His creativity and vision offensively is remarkable, as well as his ability to get a jump on opponents. His defensive game is a bit of a work in progress but there were signs of improvement over the course of the year. He was one of the best offensive analytical cases I tracked this year, and with improvements to his skating and defensive pursuit ability, he could be a heck of a get. Lysell, Chibrikov, and Martino aren't bad offensive pieces to build around. Perhaps a defenseman is in the mix somewhere, but for me, these guys all resonate with me strongly for Columbus.

Will's Gut's Take - Oh yeah, well here comes the actual Columbus Blue Jackets you coward. Columbus drafted two guys off TPS's junior team last year, and Vaisanen is one of the few players I've seen combine physicality, skill, and creativity in as much of a positive way as Vaisanen. He's active in transition going both ways, can absolutely crush the opponent, and once he fills out a bit, if he can also build some better speed, he could be one of a rare breed of legitimate power forwards in the NHL that can punish an opponent one shift, and set up a nice play from physical play along the boards on another. His patience with the puck to pull it into open space in the middle of the ice has come out often, and as the year wore down in Finland, he was playing centre here and there, and while unrefined, his profile leads me to believe it's a possibility for him. I wouldn't be shocked to see this be the guy Columbus pulls out of their hat.​