Basterd Scouting – Season 29 Mock Draft Y29 – Finals Edition
- Updated: February 14, 2020
And its that time of year again, time to look forward to the draft as the finals are in progress. For now, I’m predicting the Senators to win the DHL Cup and pick 30th. Basterd Scouting had already provided a top 20 list to help create this mock draft though there are some changes.
It seemed that everyone was rooting for the rebuilding Ducks to win the lottery and thats exactly what happened this time around. Kakko should be a great piece for Anaheim to build around. The big surprise of the lotto was Boston moving up to #2 from #5 though the pick has already been traded to St. Louis as part of a blockbuster trade. The Oilers moved up 1 spot to #3 and the Canes got the shaft dropping from last to #4. Tampa rounds out the top 5 as they dropped 2 spots as well.
So now to the pick predictions:
- Anaheim – RW Kaapo Kakko (Consensus top pick in this draft so its the smartest selection Lance could possibly make)
- St. Louis (via Boston) – D Bowen Byram (Honestly, I expect this pick to be traded again rather than the Blues taking Byram but no reason to go off the board at this spot either)
- Edmonton – D Moritz Seider (Rod the Bod has made it known already that he’s interested in the big German)
- Carolina – C Alex Newhook (I dont think the Canes are very happy at #4 so I could see them trying to move up, especially with the prospect pool being deep at center for the Hurricanes)
- Tampa Bay – LW/RW Vasili Podkolzin (The Bolts could use another top 6 wingers to go with Svech. I think this is the last of the top 5 picks for the Lightning the way things are looking for them.)
- Calgary – LW Matthews Boldy (This likely is where I would expect the Flames to actually move up but will leave Boldy here as I would expect this to be where he ends up getting selected)
- Toronto (via Buffalo) – LW Nils Hoglander (A breakout performance in the WJC, I’m expecting someone to take Hoglander this early even though from draft results it would be much earlier than expected)
- Islanders – RW/LW Rafael Lavoie (A talented player that the Isles could use moving forward with their rebuilding plan)
- Philly – LW/C Philip Tomasino (Tomasino has had a pretty impressive D+1 season that he could go even earlier but this is about where I would expect him to go)
- Rangers – D Ville Heinola (A safe pick here as he made the Jets opening night roster, though they sent him back to develop further. Rangers could use a guy like him in this spot too)
- Columbus (via Dallas) – LW Samuel Fagemo (Another WJC standout that will go higher than originally drafted. Kris would be smart to start off his rebuild with this goal scoring winger)
- Vancouver – LW Jakob Pelletier (A player that projects to be similar to Marchand that this could be a great value pick for the Canucks if that does happen)
- Detroit – RW Shane Pinto (His play this season has made him a real breakout candidate and a good building block for the Wings)
- Chicago – C Bobby Brink (A bit small for center but these days, size doesn’t matter in the NHL and I think Brink could be a sneaky player once he does reach the NHL)
- Winnipeg – D Cam York (A very risky pick but York has been playing great this season trying to replace Q.Hughes at Michigan so he should be fine for the Jets long term)
- Florida – D Philip Broberg (Taking a chance on the falling Broberg seems like a no brainer for the Panthers who could use any of the d-men that fall this far)
- New Jersey – D Thomas Harley (A player that likely deserves to go much higher based on his D+1 stats and results thus far, he’s gonna be a sim beast for the Devils)
- Anaheim (via Pittsburgh) – C Ryan Suzuki (I figured with the Ducks landing a top line winger, they could use some more depth up front in the form of a center)
- Montreal – C Jamieson Rees (Rees is a guy who can be divisive to a degree but I think he’s gonna fit in well with the Habs long term)
- Detroit (via Washington) – D Tobias Bjornfot (After selecting a good top 6 forward candidate, the Wings luck out and get a top 4 d-man candidate as well)
- Columbus (via Vegas) – RW Brett Leason (While an overager, I think Leason would be a great fit with the Jackets in a few seasons)
- San Jose – LW Robert Mastrosimone (His play at BU has been solid in his freshman year so this seems as good a place as any for him to be selected)
- Colorado – D Jayden Struble (Though he just got injured, I think Struble will be a good top 4 d-man so long as you can wait for him to fully develop and the Avs seem like a great spot for him to land in)
- Nashville – C John Beecher (This big tall centerman would be a great fit for the Preds long term. Doesn’t have the highest ceiling but a great floor at least)
- Rangers (via Minnesota) – C Nikita Alexandrov (Playing in his 3rd season in the Q, the kid is just consistent and can produce so he’s a safe pick this last in the first round)
- Toronto – LW Vladislav Firstov (As Alex continues to have a powerhouse team, he can take some chances late in the draft on a Russian winger like Firstov, though he’s playing NCAA so safer than most Russians)
- Edmonton (via St. Louis) – D Artemi Kniazev (I could see Rod moving this pick either by trading up or down as he doesn’t likely need another defender and needs more offensive prospects)
- Anaheim (via LA) – D Vladislav Kolyachonok (After picking up a winger and a center, the Ducks would be happy to select this d-man at this spot in the draft)
- Florida (via Columbus) – D Mattias Norlinder (The Panthers prospect pool is going to be stocked well for the future on the blueline by adding this Swede)
- Ottawa – RW Nathan Legare (About where I expect him to go, I think he’s a player that everyone will ask why he fell so far when all is said and done)
This is one of the tougher drafts to put together a full 30 picks. I don’t know if this is how it will all end up but I think it was a draft that you can safely project these guys where I’ve got them.
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