Basterd Scouting – Season 28 Mock Draft v1.0 (Lotto edition)

By Rich
Updated: July 17, 2019

And its that time of year again, time to look forward to the draft for the non-playoff teams. To continue the trend started last year, Basterd Scouting has decided to do a simulated lottery as well. So lets take a look at who got lucky and who didn’t (for those wondering, I used the following site to generate the results: http://www.draftpicklottery.com)

5. Anaheim (via LA) (-1)

4. Tampa Bay (no change)

3. Calgary (-1)

2. Edmonton (+6)

1. Carolina (+1) The Canes are the lucky winners this year moving up 1 spot to win the Hughes sweepstakes.

The Hurricanes have finally got their tanking to pay off after 3 straight seasons of being out of the playoffs. Landing a talent like Hughes should help speed up that rebuilding process. While not the greatest year to only move up to 2nd, the Oilers made the biggest move having only a 3% chance of winning the lottery but moved up the 6 spots. Calgary and Anaheim (via LA) both moved down 1 spot while Tampa remained at #4.

So now to the pick predictions:

Carolina – C Jack Hughes (Do I really need to say anything about this pick? Consensus top player in the draft and gives the Canes a 1C to build around)
Edmonton – C Alex Turcotte (The Oilers have just started a rebuild this season so a talent like Turcotte will fit in nicely. Rod has some interesting names to go around Turcotte in the future)
Calgary – C Kirby Dach (Flames continue to rebuild adding another talented forward. At some point, Smallz is gonna need to turn the corner and stop perpetually waiting for these prospects. Though he’s frequently traded out of draft spots so he could be moving down with this pick)
Tampa Bay – C Dylan Cozens (Probably not the most ideal spot for the Bolts but Cozens could look pretty good alongside Svechnikov if everything pans out well)
Anaheim (via LA) – LW/C Peyton Krebs (While the Achilles injury did drop him down in the NHL draft, he’s likely a top 5 talent in the DHL draft. The Ducks can take a chance here with having other picks later on, including 2 picks later)
Philly – RW Cole Caufield (Add 3-4 inches to Caufield and I think he easily goes 2nd in this DHL draft. While the size is concerning, the goal scoring ability is impossible to disregard. The Flyers need to swing for the fences with this pick and land a true superstar…or try to use this pick with the plethora of others to move up)
Anaheim – C Trevor Zegras (A NHL Ducks prospect ending up with the DHL Ducks is just too much like fate, especially at this spot. A playmaker like Zegras should fit well in the future Anaheim lineup)
Buffalo – D Victor Soderstrom (As Adam’s defensive prospects are starting to all graduate, this would be a good spot to pick Soderstrom who could end up pairing with Dahlin in the DHL)
Rangers – G Spencer Knight (Long term, the Rangers need a starting goaltender in the pipeline. I know many will yell about not taking a goalie this early but he’s likely the BPA at this point in the draft
Boston – Connor McMichael (Bruins go a bit on the safer side but I think a forward is just what the B’s need. But Juliet has been unconventional at times and could go a bit off the board here instead)
Dallas – D Lassi Thompson (The Stars are already pretty deep on defense but the Finnish blueliner is just a safe choice here. Chris may go in another direction but as the BPA here, its not a bad pick)
Vegas – RW Simon Holmstrom (Mike’s prospect pool is pretty shallow after making the playoffs the previous year as an expansion team. Holmstrom gives him another RW prospect that could be a top 6 winger)
Toronto (via Islanders) – RW Samuel Poulin (A complementary type player that should fit well with Alex’s superstar laden lineup. Alex could also move back in the draft as he continues to focus on building a dominant team in the East)
Buffalo (via Minnesota) – LW Nolan Foote (Foote gives the Sabres a big body though likely a few years away from having ratings. He can be patient and hope Nolan follows in his brother Cal’s footsteps and takes another leap forward in his development)

Basterd Scouting hopes you enjoyed the list and expects to publish a final mock once the playoffs are over and all of the draft positions are decided.