[devo22]

#3 C Cayden Lindstrom | Medicine Hat Tigers, WHL

By far the most difficult draft pick in my time as a CPHL GM. I expected Demidov to go at 2, so that left me with a lot of options at 3. I don't know how often I flip-flopped between Lindstrom and Levshunov today, let alone the past few days. I had some discussions about potentially trading down a spot or two, but it didn't come together and so in the end, I had to make a choice.

I've been Lindstrom fanboy for a very long time, and without his injury concerns, this wouldn't have been a tough call for me. But, the issues are there and you can't ignore them. From what I could gather from the chatter around the combine, teams appear to be comfortable with his medical situation, and so I took the risk. If teams are comfortable with his back, I fully expect him to go in the top 4 or 5 next week.

I'm aware this is a swing for the fences, but I think players who offer such an enticing combination of size, skill, competitiveness and hockey smarts are pretty rare. If he stays healthy, I have zero doubts that this is a good pick. If he doesn't, I'll have to take my lumps.

#25 C Sacha Boisvert | Muskegon Lumberjacks, USHL

I wanted another 1st round pick and I really liked some guys in that 20-25 bracket. simmer2 and I agreed to a conditional deal for 25th overall a few days ago, depending on how the board would fall, and we ultimately ended up making the deal today. And although some of the guys I had circled for this pick (namely Luchanko, admittedly a long-shot, and Jiricek) were gone, I still had two guys to choose from that I had zeroed in on here. I ended up taking Boisvert over Parascak.

There's a lot to like when it comes to Boisvert: good size, great shot, decent speed and a lot of intangibles. 36 goals in the USHL as a 17 year old is nothing to sneeze at, and because of his all-around game, I think it's easy to project him to be a middle-six center when developed correctly. He still has to put on some more weight, but going the college route, he'll have time to do that. He's committed to North Dakota in the fall.

#75 C Raoul Boilard | Baie-Comeau Drakkar, QMJHL
#83 C Christian Humphreys | USNTDP, USHL

Another pair of centers in the 3rd and 4th round. I actually wanted to get another defenseman or a goalie here, but the blueliners I liked flew off the board just before I was on the clock at #75. Boilard didn't do a lot in the BCHL last year, but he had a good season in the QMJHL with 22 goals and 62 points. Good size, decent hands, solid all-around game, so I'm happy I got him here. Humphreys was a 2nd rounder in many lists early in the season, but ultimately dropped a bit, also because of an injury (from which he returned and looked fine). He may ultimately end up being a right winger, also because of somewhat limited size. He's another one that will benefit from going the college route, and having committed to a great program in Michigan in the fall, I expect him to be developed correctly.

#85 C Simon Zether | Rögle BK, SHL
#90 D Noel Fransen | Färjestad BK, SHL

Finished things off with two Swedes. Being a bit of an older prospect in this class (October birthday) and having decent size, Zether spent most of the season playing in the SHL already (42 games). Played some U20 hockey for Rögle too, scoring at a 1.5 ppg clip. Probably more of a high floor, 3rd line C profile, but I like what I've read. Wheeler had him at 46, so who knows. And finally a defenseman in Fransen, and he's an interesting one too. He's got great offensive skills (20 goals and 44 points in 45 games in the U20 for Färjestad), but his defense needs some work. Decent size (6'1 187), but not the best skater. There's certainly something there if developed correctly, but it might take some time.

Didn't expect this draft to end up being so center heavy, but that's simply how the board fell for me this time. And you can never have enough centers anyway, right? Ultimately, the Lindstrom pick will obviously define this class for me, and it's going to be interesting for me to see how it all shakes out. Fingers crossed.