2009 SBN NHL Mock Draft: Day 4: Oilers make Ellis their man
by James Mirtle on Jun 19, 2009 5:00 AM CDT
15 comments
Welcome to Day 4 of SB Nation's mock draft, where three more teams have taken the floor as we head into the heart of the first round. The Oilers and stats whiz Jonathan Willis have the high pick of the hour and go with dynamo defenceman Ryan Ellis at 10th overall, while the Wild go way off the board for a beefy local high schooler:
| # | Team | Pick | Blogger's notes | More analysis: |
| 1 | N.Y. Islanders | John Tavares, London (OHL) | The sexy pick, the consensus pick, the right pick. He's what this team and franchise needs most. Get ready for "Islanders goal scored by #91..." because they're coming in bunches. | Lighthouse Hockey |
| 2 | Tampa Bay | Victor Hedman, Modo (Swe) | A boy playing among men in the Swedish Elite League (and thriving) the past two seasons, Hedman starts immediately on the TB blueline and can contribute at both ends of the ice. | Raw Charge |
| 3 | Colorado | Matt Duchene, Brampton (OHL) | No big surprise here; we’ll take whichever of the big 3 is available and immediately offer them a position as GM & coach. | Mile High Hockey |
| 4 | Atlanta | Evander Kane, Vancouver (WHL) | Named after Atlanta boxing legend Evander Holyfield, Kane adds some scoring punch to Atlanta's top six — perhaps as early as this fall. | Bird Watchers Anonymous |
| 5 | Los Angeles | Braydon Schenn, Brandon (WHL) | Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson is the popular pick here, seeing as how the Kings need a left winger badly, but I'm counting on Dean Lombardi's love of grit and distaste for Swedes to influence his decision here. Plus, I really wanted to upset Toronto fans. |
Battle of California |
| 6 | Phoenix | Jared Cowen, Spokane (WHL) |
The Coyotes are deep on forward prospects and badly need young defensemen. Cowen is a beast who could play in the NHL very soon if his recently repaired knee doesn't hamper him. | Five For Howling |
| 7 | Toronto | Magnus Pääjärvi-Svensson, Timra IK (Swe) |
Most of Canada already hates him, so he'll fit in just fine. Plus he provides the high-end Swedish forward that the Leafs have been missing since last April. | Pension Plan Puppets |
| 8 | Dallas | Oliver Ekman-Larssen, Leksand IF (Swe-2) |
Dallas is fortunate to not only draft the best player available but also pick a defenseman that fills a glaring need in the Stars' system. |
Defending Big D |
| 9 | Ottawa | Nazem Kadri, London (OHL) |
With Ottawa's recent emphasis on drafting skilled defencemen, Kadri gives the Senators a good skilled forward to fill out the team's development systems — maybe even one of those ever-elusive top-six forwards. | Silver Seven |
| 10 | Edmonton | Ryan Ellis, Windsor (OHL) | No 17-year old defensemen has ever led the OHL in assists — not even Bobby Orr. That is, no one has done it until Ryan Ellis did this year. The only thing keeping him out of the top three is his height. | Copper & Blue |
| 11 | Nashville | Jordan Schroeder, University of Minnesota (NCAA) |
He may be short in stature, but he's long on talent and strength. Just as he played alongside Colin Wilson at the World Juniors, he projects to be the next top Predators prospect to come out of collegiate hockey. | On The Forecheck |
| 12 | Minnesota | Zach Budish, Edina Minnesota (USHS) |
After missing last season for the Hornets with a torn ACL from his football playing days, Budish has added size and strength during his rehab. Now at 6'3" and 229 pounds, Budish is the type of power forward the Wild have always lacked. | Hockey Wilderness |
| 13 | Buffalo | |||
| 14 | Florida | |||
| 15 | Anaheim | |||
| 16 | Columbus | |||
| 17 | St. Louis | |||
| 18 | Montreal | |||
| 19 | N.Y. Rangers | |||
| 20 | Calgary | |||
| 21 | Philadelphia | |||
| 22 | Vancouver | |||
| 23 | New Jersey | |||
| 24 | Washington | |||
| 25 | Boston | |||
| 26 | N.Y. Islanders | |||
| 27 | Carolina | |||
| 28 | Chicago | |||
| 29 | Detroit | |||
| 30 | Pittsburgh |
Head on over to Die By The Blade (Sabres), The Litter Box (Panthers) and Battle of California (Ducks) to join the discussion on who will be picked 13th through 15th tomorrow.
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Kassian’s there! Go get him, D.O.!
"Hey! Farmboy! Maybe you can't count, but there are four of us and one of you."
"So get some more guys and then it'll be an even fight."
by Afino on Jun 19, 2009 7:27 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Hey, taking high schoolers from Edina is infringing on the Habs’ protected territory!
Hockey blogging can't get any flatter.
by saskhab on Jun 19, 2009 9:53 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
The only thing keeping him (Ellis) out of the top three is his height.
And then Jordan Schroeder goes right after. I think the top 3 this year is pretty solid… maybe the top 5 is more accurate here. Schroeder would definitely be going higher if he wasn’t 5’8", and IMHO he should still be a top 10 guy.
Hockey blogging can't get any flatter.
by saskhab on Jun 19, 2009 10:17 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
I love that smaller players aren’t taboo in the draft anymore. It used to be that those guys would slip to the sixth round based on height alone.
Blogging on hockey at fromtherink.com
by James Mirtle on Jun 19, 2009 10:54 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Unless your Toni Rajala….rather generously listed at 5’8"
From the Penalty Box to the Blog Box! Check it out at Isles Official's Outlook!
by IslesOfficial on Jun 19, 2009 12:45 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Darcy Regier’s been subscribing to that since…..well…..forever.
He may have taken the tallest player in last year’s draft in Tyler Myers, but he then took Tyler Ennis, who was 5’9, 146 when drafted.
The Sabres are well known for their “mighty mite” farm system (Paul Byron, Nathan Gerbe, Ennis, etc)
by Afino on Jun 19, 2009 1:22 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
It’s also probably the result of where they pick in the draft, too. They don’t have too many high picks, mainly middle picks, and at that point all the bigger talented guys are gone. If you want talent, you’ll have to take smaller guys.
Hockey blogging can't get any flatter.
by saskhab on Jun 19, 2009 2:59 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I think they like the name Tyler too
by LetsGoDevils on Jun 20, 2009 8:05 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Hey! Leave Schroeder and Budish alone! I’m counting on them this year.
by J. Michael Neal on Jun 19, 2009 4:03 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Any chance Fletcher trades up for Schroeder?
I’m not sure Gaborik is worth much, but what about swapping picks with Ottawa as part of a Heatley/Smith/Auld-for-Koivu/Gaborik/Burns/Harding type of package?
I was a little surprised to see Schroeder fall to 11th behind OEL, and would be blown away to see him drop to 12th. If Bryan Murray can get a good return for Heatley and still draft 12th, he obviously would take it. The only question is, does he consider such a package to be a good return?
Or would MN be satisfied with Budish, rather than Schroeder? (Neither guy will make the jump this year, so you can still see them play on the cheap).
by TD O'Dell on Jun 19, 2009 6:35 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Budish Allready!??
That’s awfully early for a kid who played just 9 games this year and isn’t known for his skating skills.
THN has him ranked 44th meaning the wild COULD even nab him with their 2nd rounder (although I think they traded it for Zidlicky).
Central Scouting has him 22nd among NA skaters.
It screams hometown homestate bias to pick this guy at 12th.
"It's a great day for hockey" - BBJ
by jealous broadcaster on Jun 19, 2009 6:54 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
You know, if he had chronic knee problems, I could justifiably call him this year’s Adrian Foster!
Devils in my heart! Devils in my mind! Devils in my eyes! Devils until I die!
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by John Fischer on Jun 19, 2009 9:53 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
The Wild will more than likely trade down to nab a 2nd/3rd pick and will still have a chance to get budish. if he’s available when they pick they should take him. if he isn’t they’ll just take the best available player
by JeffE on Jun 23, 2009 11:56 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
For what it’s worth, TSN has him listed at 42nd. I have to say this is quite a reach, I would be surprised if this actually happens. Interesting thought though… a good thing about mock drafts like this with so many participants is the outside-the-box thinking.
Being a Leaf fan here requires one to be sufficiently lubricated!
by stucky on Jun 25, 2009 9:21 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
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