2022 VHL Mock Draft Part 2
Jun 28, 2022 12:35:58 GMT -5
Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers, and 4 more like this
Post by Florida Panthers on Jun 28, 2022 12:35:58 GMT -5
The much anticipated second part of the VHL Mock Draft is finally here!! Let's not waste any time and get things going!!!
17. Tampa Bay Lightning via Washington Capitals - Lian Bischel
Tampa Bay has a loaded roster, and can really go anywhere with this pick. They already have Byram, Hughes, and Brannstrom on the way to supplement a D core including Werenski, Weegar, Klingberg, and Andersson once guys like Weber and Suter retire. But they are also loaded up front, and even a little bit younger on average with Kaprizov, Aho, Barzal, Forsberg, Lindholm, and Kyrou in place and Sillinger, Boqvist, Zary, and Stankoven on the way. All of this to say...Tampa really has no clear needs so they're gonna take a guy that probably should have gone in the top 16 now that we've seen the public draft boards develop over time.
18. Vancouver Canucks via @brad - Pavel Mintyukov
Vancouver took another D man (Jiricek) with their 1st pick and now they select another, hopefully solidifying their top pair for years to come. Mintyukov is an extremely intriguing prospect, he has size and raw talent on both ends of the ice. Often times he will be the first player in on his teams forecheck and then will use his powerful skating to get to his proper defensive positioning. There is still plenty of work to be done, especially in the defensize end but Mintyukov will make plays that will leave your jaws on the floor. He boasts a very high upside so don't be surprised if he goes earlier on draft day.
19. Minnesota Wild - Kevin Korchinski
Minnesota doesn't have much coming down the pipeline at any position, but that's particularly a concern with an aging defense. Korchinksi is a high upside pick that has the potential to significantly lessen those concerns. The question marks around him come on the defensive side of the puck, with many questioning his compete level and physicality in his own end. If that's something he can figure out, he has all the tools - and the size - to be a remarkable two-way defenseman.
:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70995103/1229506779.0.jpg)
20. Nashville Predators via Vegas Golden Knights - Gleb Trikozov
Nashville is back on the clock with their 2nd of 4 1st round picks in the 2022 draft. I could see this pick being dangled for a young roster player to get their rebuild moving quicker but if they choose to keep this pick I believe they will take a big swing at a high risk high reward player...enter Gleb Trikozov. A favourite of the online scouting community, Trikozov is ranked all over the place on lists this year. He's a goal scoring machine, putting up solid numbers in the MHL, that loves to get into the dirty areas and use his big body to out muscle the defending team. If he hits he has all of the makings of a top 6 power forward, but Gleb doesn't come without risks. He is known to not compete night in night out and his defensive game leaves a lot to be desired, that plus the Russian factor could scare teams off so don't be shocked to see Gleb fall as far as the 3rd round.
21. Utah Hockey Club -Nathan Gaucher
The Coyotes enter the board as a big question mark, and a possible turning point of this draft. Arizona has depth at every position, both on the pro roster and in the prospect pool, but they severely lack a game breaking talent. This is a team that needs to shoot for the stars with this pick, and hope they can land a star late in the first round. With that in mind, they go with Nathan Gaucher out of the QMJHL. The big 6'3" centre has some work to do to get faster and work on his edge control, but has the upside of a top-six centre.
22. Los Angeles Kings via St. Louis Blues - Issac Howard
LA could potentially go with defence here to balance out their draft but ultimately we believe they will go with the best player available, in this case it's American goal scorer Issac Howard. Howard has a deadly shot that he can get off from just about anywhere. Originally slated to go a little later in the draft, Howard had a very strong showing at the U-18's which raised his draft stock. Don't be too surprised if he goes a little earlier than this, goal scoring like this isn't easy to come by.
23. Philadelphia Flyers via Dustin Mooy - Owen Pickering
The erratic and unpredictable Flyers have their second pick of the first round. Hold onto your butts everybody. The Flyers shock everyone again, this time by...playing it safe? With a bevy of young offensive talent in Hughes, Stutzle, Boldy, Sillinger, and Podkolzin, they need to stat focus on adding some defensemen. Although his offensive upside is limited, Pickering projects as a shut down defender.
24. Pittsburgh Penguins - Jagger Firkus
Pittsburgh is a team on the cusp of being a true contender, with a new GM in town I wouldn't be shocked if this pick is dangled for a roster player to help push them over the hump. With that being said their prospect pool is relatively thin, so what do they do here? They go with the best name available and that's Jagger Fucking Firkus!!! Firkus's name alone makes him worthy of a 1st round selection, the scoring and 2 way ability is just the icing on the cake.
25. Toronto Maple Leafs via Chris Groenink - Rutger McGroarty
The Leafs have a strong young core, but not a lot prospect depth at any particular position. As a team likely hoping to compete soon, McGroarty probably provides help in the near term as a complimentary piece, and hopefully provides more down the road. Not to mention...an immediate top 5 name in hockey.
26. Where Did Max Go? via Anaheim Ducks - Ryan Chesley
Detroit is up with their 3rd pick of the draft, after going with two forwards with their first two picks they take a different route here and select Ryan Chesley. Chelsey is a very strong defensive d man that does have some untapped offensive potential, just how much is heavily debated among scouts. In the end he's a safe bet to be an NHLer, we aren't sure on how much of an impact he will make though.
27. Nashville Predators via Buffalo Sabres - Lane Hutson
Nashville is strongest at forward, with some big names on the way, and two forwards already drafted in this mock. They have their goalie of the future in Sebastian Cossa, so a defenseman has to be the priority at this point in the draft. Nashville is going to take a big swing here, drafting a 5'8" defenseman. Hutson is arguably the smartest player in the draft, and defends extremely well for his size at the junior level. How his size translates to the NHL is a huge risk - there are not many 5'8" defensemen in NHL history - but he could be a massive success.
28. Edmonton Oilers via Tampa Bay Lightning - Liam Öhgren
The Oilers have begun to rebuild and are slowly re stocking their prospect cupboard. They don't over complicate things here and draft the best player available, and that player is Liam Öhgren. Öhgren absolutely tore up the J20 league over in Sweden putting up 58 points in 30 games. There is no doubt that he plays an NHL style game and should carve out a solid career, the big question is can he become a top 6 threat? Some scouts doubt his potential but with 33 goals in 30 games we think there is an upside there, and with a high floor it's worth taking a shot on.
That's it for part 2 of our VHL Mock Draft! I'd like to thank @brad once again for helping me out, stay tuned for part 3!!
