THW’s 2016 NHL Draft Guide
Updated June 24th, 2016
The 2016 edition of the NHL Entry Draft takes place June 24th–25th at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, New York. This draft class possesses a plethora of talent with potentially franchise-altering players available led by American Auston “Powers” Matthews plus the fabulous Finns – Jesse Puljujarvi and Patrick Laine.
Consider this your live home page for information for the 2016 NHL entry draft. Bookmark and check back often as it will be constantly updated leading up to hockey’s version of Christmas. THW’s 2016 NHL Entry Draft Guide – The Next Ones is your quintessential draft resource featuring:
- Detailed unique prospect profiles in The Next Ones format
- Mock Drafts
- Exclusive rankings
- Fantasy-based rankings
- Team Previews
- Looking ahead to the 2017 draft and beyond
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Highlights – Just In:
The Next Ones Four Round NHL Mock Draft
NHL Draft 2016: Live Tracker
The Next Ones 2016 NHL Draft Final Rankings
Ready, Set, Draft!
- 5 Teams Most Likely to Trade Down in Draft
- 5 Teams Most Likely to Trade Up in Draft
- 5 Unspoken Swedish Next Ones
- One Monster Mock Draft: 5th Annual NHL Mock Draft: 2016
- 2016 NHL Draft War Room: Top 30 Impact Prospects
- 5 Potential Draft Surprises Nobody is Predicting
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Emptying The Combine Notebook
- 2016 Combine Heights & Weights
- 2016 NHL Draft War Room: Second Round Risers
Other Articles you just have to read:
- NCAA Hockey Could Replace The “Russian Factor”
- The NHL Draft & The Birth Of Champions
- Classic Draft Day Quotes
- Meet The Steal Of The 2016 NHL Draft
- 3 Super-Deep Sleepers For The 2016 NHL Draft
- Potential Shutdown Defenseman in the 2016 NHL Draft
- 5 Biggest Movers On Central Scouting’s Final List
Rankings
The Next Ones 2016 NHL Draft Final Rankings
- a.k.a. Chris’s List
- The Top 120
- Spreadsheet and PDF versions
- Prospect Profiler Notes on all players
Other THW Rankings:
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2016 NHL Draft War Room May Rankings (E-Mac)
- Downloadable spreadsheet/PDF formats
- NHL Central Scouting’s Final Rankings Combined
- 2016 NHL Draft Final Alternate Rankings – Pike’s Picks
- 2016 NHL Draft Final Consensus Rankings
- 2016 NHL Draft Midterm Consensus Rankings
- Top 2016 NHL Draft Eligible Prospects for Fantasy Hockey
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Mock Drafts
The Next Ones Four Round NHL Mock Draft
- 2016 NHL Mock Draft: The Next Ones Final Edition
- 5th Annual NHL Mock Draft: 2016
- NHL Mock Draft: May The Force Be With You Edition
- Round 2 Picks
- NHL Mock Draft: March Madness Edition
- 2016 NHL Mock Draft: The Next Ones Midterm Edition
- 2016 NHL Mock Draft: Fallout Edition
- 2016 NHL Mock Draft: The Next Ones Offseason Edition
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Prospect Profiles & Interviews
(Alphabetical order by surname: click on name/link for detailed prospect profiles)
Eligibility
- Players born between January 1, 1996, and September 15, 1998, are eligible for selection in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.
- Additionally, un-drafted, non-North American players born in 1995 are eligible for the draft
- As well, those players who were drafted in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, but not signed by an NHL team and who were born after June 30, 1996, are also eligible to re-enter the draft.
Auston Matthews (Dominik Hew/doem.ch)
- Vitali Abramov
- Frédéric Allard
- Joey Anderson
- Rasmus Asplund
- Travis Barron
- Patrick Bajkov
- Jake Bean
- Tyler Benson
- William Bitten
- Adam Brooks
- Logan Brown
- Brayden Burke
- Cole Candella
- Dennis Cholowski
- Jakob Chychrun
- Kale Clague
- Jonathan Dahlen
- Sean Day
- Alex DeBrincat
- Cam Dineen
- Dillon Dube
- Pierre-Luc Dubois
- Mitch Eliot
- Dante Fabbro
- Evan Fitzpatrick
- Adam Fox
- Trent Frederic
- Julien Gauthier
- Max Gerlach
- Noah Gregor
- Filip Gustavsson
- Brandon Hagel
- Libor Hajek
- Carter Hart
- Brett Howden
- Lucas Johansen
- Max Jones
- Tyson Jost
- Olli Juolevi
- Antti Kalapudas
- Boris Katchouk
- Evan Fitzpatrick
- Max Jones
- Clayton Keller
- Jack Kopacka
- Luke Kunin
- Chad Krys
- Jordan Kyrou
- Patrik Laine
- Ryan Lindgren
- Josh Mahura
- Kyle Maksimovich
- Adam Mascherin
- Mitchell Mattson
- Auston Matthews
- Charlie McAvoy
- Micheal McLeod
- Victor Mete
- Jacob Moverare
- Markus Niemelainen
- Markus Nurmi
- Tyler Parsons
- Andrew Peeke
- Rem Pitlick
- Clifford Pu
- Jesse Puljujarvi
- Matthew Phillips
- Taylor Raddysh
- Aapeli Rasanen
- German Rubtsov
- Dante Salituro
- Jordan Sambrook
- Zach Sawchenko
- Mikhail Sergachev
- Dmitri Sokolov
- Jordy Stallard
- Alexander Nylander
- Logan Stanley
- Sam Steel
- Jakob Stukel
- Tage Thompson
- Matthew Tkachuk
- Riley Tufte
- Carsen Twarynski
- Dylan Wells
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Historical Essential Reads
- 1990 NHL Re-draft: Possibly the Best Draft Class Ever (Part I of II)
- 1990 NHL Re-draft: Possibly the Best Draft Class Ever (Part II)
- Historical Analysis of the NHL Entry Draft- Part 1
- Could The Sabres’ Pick of Taro Tsujimoto Happen Today?
- Analyzing Detroit’s Draft History – Are the Red Wings Really the Best?
- 5 Years Later: Redoing the 2011 NHL Draft
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Team Specific Prospect Articles
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Anaheim Ducks:
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Arizona Coyotes
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Boston Bruins:
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Buffalo Sabres:
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Calgary Flames
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Carolina Hurricanes
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Chicago Blackhawks
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Colorado Avalanche
- Colorado Avalanche Draft Strategy
- Who Should the Avalanche Target at 10th Overall
- Colorado Avalanche Draft Steals
- The Colorado Avalanche’s Best Late Round Draft Picks
- The Avalanche’s Disappointing Draft Picks
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Columbus Blue Jackets
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Dallas Stars
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Detroit Red Wings:
- Wings Top 25 Under 25
- The Grind Line: Discussing Detroit’s Draft Strategy
- Top Class Scouting Keeping Detroit Alive
- Red Wings Draft Recap: 2008
- Determining Ken Holland’s Primary Draft Day Duties
- Analyzing Detroit’s Draft History – Are the Red Wings Really the Best?
- Late Draft Picks Lead to Red Wings’ Success
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Edmonton Oilers:
- The Edmonton Oilers 2016 NHL Draft Guide
- Oilers in Favourable Position Heading Into Draft
- Options Aplenty for the Oilers at 4th Overall
- Edmonton Oilers Top 20 Prospects
- What If The Oilers Use The 4th Overall Pick?
- One Year Later: Oilers Excellent 2015 NHL Draft Picks
- Striking Oil Late in the NHL Draft
- The 5 Biggest Draft Busts in Edmonton Oilers History
- Fire Up The Flux-Capacitor, Re-Drafting Oilers 2003 Picks
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Florida Panthers
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Los Angeles Kings:
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Minnesota Wild:
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Montreal Canadiens
- Montreal Canadiens: The Benefits of Trading at the Draft
- Looking at the Last Five Montreal Canadiens First Round Picks
- Canadiens Prospect Development Needs to Improve
- The Canadiens Could Trade Up At the Draft
- Montreal Canadiens: 2015 NHL Draft Review
- Stars the Montreal Canadiens Missed by a Draft Pick
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Nashville Predators:
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New Jersey Devils:
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New York Islanders:
- What Will the Islanders do at the NHL Draft?
- Islanders Remain in Great Shape After Reinhart Trade (2015)
- Analyzing Isles GM Garth Snow’s Past Drafts
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New York Rangers:
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Ottawa Senators:
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Philadelphia Flyers:
The Philadelphia Flyers have used just one primary logo – THIS logo, in fact – in franchise history.
- Flyers 2016 Draft Targets: Jake Bean
- Philadelphia Flyers’ Goalie Prospects Fly Under The Radar
- Philippe Myers: Flyers Defensive Prospect On The Rise
- Philadelphia Flyers Draft Class Of 2013: Where Are They Now?
- A Closer Look into Ron Hextall’s Draft Weekend Magic (2015)
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Pittsburgh Penguins
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San Jose Sharks:
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St. Louis Blues:
- St. Louis Blues Draft Expectations
- 5 Blues Prospects That Could Take Advantage of a New-Look Roster
- St. Louis Blues Positional Strengths and Weaknesses
- All Time Top 5 St. Louis Blues NHL Drafts
- History: Unbreakable Records: The St. Louis Blues and the 1978 NHL Draft
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Tampa Bay Lightning:
- NHL Draft Rewind: Lightning’s Top Five Picks of All-Time
- NHL Entry Draft Rewind: Nikita Kucherov
- Tampa Bay Lightning Draft Review (2015)
- The 2015 Draft for the Tampa Bay Lightning
- Jonathan Drouin, Seth Jones and the 2013 NHL Entry Draft
- Tampa Bay’s Transformation: The Yzerman Effect
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Toronto Maple Leafs:
- Toronto Maple Leafs 2016 NHL Draft Preview
- Auston Matthews in Toronto Vital to NHL’s Success
- Maple Leafs NHL Draft Plan
- Who Should the Leafs Draft with Pittsburgh’s Pick?
- Toronto Maple Leafs 2015 Draft Review
- Draft Schmaft: The Toronto Maple Leafs in the NHL Entry Draft First Round (I)
- Draft Schmaft – The Maple Leafs First Round Draft 1968-70: Part II Selwood and Sittler
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Vancouver Canucks:
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Washington Capitals:
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Winnipeg Jets:
- Winnipeg Jets Set For Massive 2016 NHL Draft
- The Winnipeg Jets at the Draft: Kale Clague
- The Winnipeg Jets at the Draft: Riley Tufte
- The Winnipeg Jets at the Draft: Jesse Puljujärvi
- The Winnipeg Jets at the Draft: Brett Howden
- The Winnipeg Jets at the Draft: Logan Stanley
- Enough Debate, Patrik Laine Will be a Jet
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The Next, Next Ones – Beyond the 2016 Draft:
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Extra Reading:
- Book Review: The Art of Scouting by Shane Malloy
- Essential Hockey Read: Behind The Moves
- Late Round Larceny: THW’s Shawn Reznik looks at the dubious task of drafting goalies.
- Draft Day: The Curse of the Sixth Pick
- The Age Old Question: CHL vs. NCAA?
- The Russian Non-Factor – NHL Theory May Become Obsolete
- What’s the best round to draft a goalie? by Ryan Pike
- The Best Late Round Gems Of The NHL Entry Draft Since 2000 (Part I – ’00-’02 Drafts)
- Translating AHL Success To The NHL
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THW The Next Ones Draft Guide Archives:
For prior year’s detailed draft previews/guides:
- 2015 NHL Draft Guide: The Next Ones
- 2014 NHL Draft Guide: The Next Ones
- City of Brotherly Love Edition
- 2013 NHL Entry Draft Preview
- 2012 NHL Entry Draft Preview
- 2011 NHL Entry Draft Preview
- 2010 NHL Entry Draft Preview
- 2009 NHL Entry Draft Preview
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Special thanks to fellow THW writers, prospect profilers, integral contributors:
- Eldon MacDonald
- RYAN PIKE
- DENNIS SCHELLENBERG
- MARK SCHEIG
- ANDREW FORBES
- JOSEPH ALEONG
- Ross Bonander
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THW’s The Next Ones prospect profile template design architect: Chris Ralph