[sureLoss]

Sportsnet 960 Mock Draft

Loubardias picks odd numbers.
Vickers picks even numbers.

1. McDavid - Lou thinks might be most talented player that he has seen since Gretzky. In terms of pure physical tools, not sure he has seen anything like him.
2. Eichel - Would be a 1st OA pick for the last few drafts. Tore up the NCAA - first freshman to win Hobey Baker since Paul Karyia. Will step right into Buffalo's roster.
3. Strome - First instinct is to go with Hanifin, but Coyotes' need for offense is why he went with Strome. Excellent playmaker. Comparisons to Getzlaf which might not be fair.
4. Marner - Leafs need everything everywhere. Outside of McDavid might not be a more dynamic forward in this draft. Only drawback is 5'11' 162lbs.
5. Hanifin - Carolina would probably love to have Marner. Barzal might be the next best center, but Hanifin's talents are too big. Beautiful skater, needs work defensively.
6. Barzal - More skilled play maker in the draft. Can be a cornerstone franchise player down the middle. Only downside is his willingness to go into tough areas.
7. Provorov - Like him too much not to take him in this spot. Not sure if Flyers see it that way. Does it all. Not the biggest guy. Only time Provorov Lou has seen him struggle was against Kelowna in the playoffs.
8. Werenski - can't have too many defencemen. Does everything well. Straight up fits in Columbus. Some compare him to Phil Housley. One of his knocks that he is too aggressive offensively.
9. Rantanen - Sharks would have loved Werenski according to some people Lou talked to. Not the most physical guy for his size. Excellent skater. High hockey IQ. If he can up his foot speed to him.
10. Connor - Would love a defenceman but still not prepared to move down to the next ledge to pick one up. Size, explosive skating, great hands. He has dynamic upside.
11. Zacha - Can play center, can play RW. Had some injury issues. High end skill, solid 2 way game, scouts love the way he competes. Big strong, talented and versatile forward.
12. Crouse - already have a heavy winger in Nichushkin, but lets add another one. May not have as much offensive upside as others. Big package with upside. You can win with Crouse, high IQ. Wouldn't shock to see him go high as 5 or 6.
13. Konecny - room to add speed up front, one area Kings need to add a little more. With Voynov's situation may need a defencemen. Highly tenacious. Terrific hands and goes to dirty areas. A bit of a reach at this point.
14. Merkley - versatile can play C or winger. Might be a little early for him. Some size concerns, not an elite level skater. Lou is a huge fan and was praying that he could pick him for Calgary next.




15. Lou's two guys on his board were Konecny and Merkley - thought there was a fit in RW, just downside in size.
Lou isn't ready to commit to a defenceman at 15, but if he was he would take Chabot.

Loubardis takes Meier. Good size. Concerns about physical conditon - which according to Hartley might be last guy they take. Was superb at WJC. Has size, excellent skill.

Vickers wouls also take Meier. Would like to see him more active defensively. Can't teach scoring the way he goes about it. Might be too heavy.

Loubardis and Boomer says Flames might still have some concerns about taking a Swiss players. Says the Flames will likely try everything they can to get one of the top 3 defencemen.

They would also feel a lot better moving back a few spots and maybe take a defenceman.




16. Chabot - Oilers may take Samsanov as he might not be there at their next pick. Excellent puck mover, can skate like the wind. Similarities to Alex Pietrangelo. Type of defender teams are going to put a premium on.
17. Bittner - Jets need some size in their system. When he engages he is a handful to deal with. Lots of upside. One question mark is that he doesn't take over games. Needs another year or two to work on skating.
18. White - Center does everything really good, but not exceptional. Will be a good 2 way forward for a decade. Can skate, good vision can skate. Safe pick.
19. Svechnikov - Detroit has had good luck with Russians. Really athletic player. Smooth skater. Lots of upside. Detroit will groom him and put him in a position to succeed. Big and can score. If you can round out his game into a 200 foot game you will be laughing.
20. Harkins - no explanation was given. Went strangely to commercial and then came back to 21.


Loubardias regrets the Meier pick now ... thinks there is little chance the Flames will take him.

21. Zboril - With Eichel and Reinhart down the middle. Got good prospects on winger. But room on defence. Really set the world on fire in the Ivan Hlinka. Upside is fantastic. Terrific frame. Shoots it exceptionally well. Does everything well. Shift to shift - might look like a world beater one shift than disappear the next few shifts. Like to see him more aggressive physically. Has some nastiness to him just needs to apply it to his overall game.
22. Sprong - not sold on going to Jeremy Roy yet. Polarizing player. Offensive and dynamic player. Issues playing from his blue line in. Selfish tag attached to him. If you can round out his bumps will be a great player. Comparisons to Phil Kessel. His offensive tools might be so good that teams might overlook his warts.
23. Kylington - fabulous skater. Best skating defender in draft. If he ever figures it out Canucks will be very happy adding a fast puck moving defender. Biggest risk/reward player. He is trending down because he hasn't shown consistency this season.
24. Carlo - off the board a little bit. Big nasty physical blue liner. One of the fleetest of foot for Defencemen in the draft. Top lines don't want to see him. Never going to put big points up. If you are going to pick him here, he better be a #4 defenceman at the next level.
25. DeBrusk - no comparison to Dad. Terrific point producer. Can play C or W. He is a late "grower". Makes players around him better. Has good consistency and trending up in his development.
26. Guryanov - J. Roy continues to fall. If he was John Smith from Toronto, he would have gone higher in the draft (top 10). No commitment either way to the NHL. High end skills, plays hard. Could be the biggest wild card of the draft.
27. Bracco - If the Ducks had not upgraded their D-core at the trade deadline would have taken J. Roy (wouldn't shock if they still did). Broke Patrick Kane's record in points. He is Johnny Gaudreau lite. Because of the need for speed and the Ritchie selection last year, Ducks take Bracco.
28. Roy
29. Boeser
30. Dunn