Grand Larsson-y: NHL 2011 Mock Draft – Holiday Edition
Is Adam Larsson destined for first overall in 2011? (Photo: Wikimedia Commons - CanadaHky)
As I summed up in my preliminary 2011 Draft Rankings before the puck dropped in the regular season:
Is it ever too early to think about the NHL’s next entry draft?
Many shots will be taken. Many saves will be made. Many hits will be dished out. Many battles for loose pucks will be fought. Many passes will be delivered. Many savvy puck moves will be executed. Many coach tirades will fall on deaf ears.
All before the 2011 NHL Entry Draft takes place on June 24-25 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Once again, I love the dates – the 24th and 25th representing hockey’s version of Christmas!
Today’s article embarks on my first mock draft of the season – Holiday Edition. The first-round results are revealed in this article, with the second round to follow.
Notes:
- At this point in the season, the mock is, for the most part, based upon teams taking best player available (BPA).
- Draft order is based on the NHL standings as of the morning of Dec. 17. Standings and thus team drafting positions will obviously fluctuate on a day-to-day basis from here on end.
- Shots From The Slot is a brief rationale for each selection.
- The table is “sortable” – that is, if you click on any of the headings it will sort them.
- The table is also searchable (top right hand corner of table).
- Just under the title, you can click “Show” and change the quantity you show on one page or you can simply click on the bottom right-hand corner of table to scroll through the rankings.
| Pick | Team | Name | Pos. | DOB | League | Nation | Shots From The Slot (Rationale) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NYI | Adam Larsson | D | 12-Nov-92 | Elitserien | SWE | Total package potential franchise blueliner; Oilers likely offer #5 pick plus young forward |
| 2 | NJD | Sean Couturier | F | 07-Dec-92 | QMJHL | CAN | Big and talented center is a blend of Eric & Jordan Staal; skills will be on display at WJCs |
| 3 | BOS* | Ryan Murphy | D | 31-Mar-93 | OHL | CAN | Exceptionally gifted smallish blueliner has a magical aura about him; going to Bruins - seems fitting |
| 4 | FLO | Ryan Nugent-Hopkins | F | 12-Apr-93 | WHL | CAN | Panthers get gift; RNH "has some Sakic in him." Crafty puckhandling and playmaking ability |
| 5 | EDM | Duncan Siemens | D | 11-Sep-93 | WHL | CAN | Oilers hope to strike gold with big & skilled d-man from the Dub. |
| 6 | BUF | Gabriel Landeskog | F | 24-Nov-92 | OHL | SWE | Talented Swede plays North American pro game; could go top 3 |
| 7 | MIN | Joel Armia | F | 31-May-93 | U20 | FIN | Big forward is lighting up Finlands top league; Wild hope he follow's Koivu's footsteps |
| 8 | CGY | Ryan Strome | F | 11-Jul-93 | OHL | CAN | Making exponential leaps and bounds this season; dynamic player Flames in desparate need for |
| 9 | OTT | Brandon Saad | F | 27-Oct-92 | OHL | USA | Budding prototypical power forward |
| 10 | CAR | Dougie Hamilton | D | 17-Jun-93 | OHL | CAN | Canes normally don't draft d-men in first round but make exception for this blue chip blueliner |
| 11 | CLB | Mark McNeill | F | 22-Feb-93 | WHL | CAN | Maybe not the "sexy pick" but 2-way potential power forward has NHL calibre shot release |
| 12 | PHX | Sven Bärtschi | F | 05-Oct-92 | WHL | SUI | Portland beomcing factory for talented Swiss forwards; shifty forward made smooth trasition to NA game |
| 13 | STL | Victor Rask | F | 01-Mar-93 | Allsven. | SWE | Two-way skilled forward has dropped some in rankings, but Blues jump on chance to land him. |
| 14 | LAK | Jonathan Huberdeau | F | 04-Jun-93 | QMJHL | CAN | Needs to develop physically, extremely smart and talented player; could move into top 10 by season's end |
| 15 | BOS | Matt Puempel | F | 24-Jan-93 | OHL | CAN | One of best pure goal scorers available in the draft would fit nice on Seguin's flank |
| 16 | CHI | Alexander Khokhlachev | F | 09-Sep-93 | OHL | RUS | One of the youngest prospects eligible; impressive offensive talent. |
| 17 | SJS | David Musil | D | 09-Apr-93 | WHL | CZE | Son of Frank; skilled big and mobile stalwart on the back end. |
| 18 | ANH | Jamie Oleksiak | D | 21-Dec-92 | USHL | USA | From Valabik to Chara: Ducks hope they uncover a closer to Chara/Myers type blueliner; +6 on a mostly minus Northeastern squad |
| 19 | TBL | Myles Bell | D | 13-Aug-93 | WHL | CAN | Stocky puck moving d-man can get it done in his own zone as well; 24 Pts in 34 games thus far |
| 20 | VAN | Adam Clendening | D | 26-Oct-92 | NCAA | USA | Slightly undersized mobile 2-way QB blueliner |
| 21 | ATL | Michael St. Croix | F | 10-Apr-93 | WHL | CAN | 43 Pts in 33 Games & +14 in Dub thus far; Slick & talented forward slightly undersized but high hockey IQ |
| 22 | DAL | Nathan Beaulieu | D | 05-Dec-92 | QMJHL | CAN | Well-rounded smooth skating blueliner has upped his physical game this year |
| 23 | WSH | Daniel Catenacci | F | 09-Mar-93 | OHL | CAN | Super quick and tenacious; prehaps the most complete forward in draft next to Landeskog |
| 24 | COL | Ty Rattie | F | 05-Feb-93 | WHL | CAN | Offensive strengths likely outweigh weaknesses but has bouts with inconsistency and intensity |
| 25 | MTL | Seth Ambroz | F | 01-Apr-93 | USHL | USA | Strong prototypical power forward has great size with a cannon shot; skating needs work; stock slipping |
| 26 | NSH | Vladislav Namestnikov | F | 22-Nov-92 | OHL | RUS | Excellent skater, ultra-skilled playmaker and productive finisher |
| 27 | NYR | Tomas Jurco | F | 28-Dec-92 | QMJHL | SVK | Dazzling puckhandler has to work on consistency |
| 28 | DET | Oscar Klefbom | D | 20-Jul-93 | SWE-3 | SWE | Big blueliner is an excellent skater who has a penchant for the offensive game; defensive play needs work |
| 29 | PIT | Dmitrij Jaskin | F | 23-Mar-93 | Extraliga U20 | CZE | Big frame with tremendous offensive upside |
| 30 | PHI | Boone Jenner | F | 15-Jun-93 | OHL | CAN | "Complete" forward with good size and skating averaging nearly a PPG in OHL |
* Boston received Toronto’s 2011 First-Round Pick, 2010 First- and Second-Round Picks for Phil Kessel
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