Habs First Round: Mock Draft 1st Edition

Examining who the Habs will pick in the draft by performing a Mock Draft

No one can really know what will happen on draft day or what trades may happen. But one of the best and most fun ways to determine who your team will draft is through a mock draft.

This mock will show who I think will be picked before the Habs pick at 9th overall and who I believe the Habs should pick.

Mock Draft

1st Overall: Toronto Maple Leafs select C Auston Matthews

No surprises here, Toronto takes the best player available in the draft in Auston Matthews. He has the potential to be an elite number one center for years to come.

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2nd Overall: Winnipeg Jets select RW Patrik Laine

Winnipeg takes Patrik Laine who will provide the Jets with great size at 6’4″ 206lbs, and offensive talent in terms of his goal scoring ability.

3rd Overall: Columbus Blue Jackets select C Pierre-Luc Dubois

Last season the Blue Jackets had Ryan Johansen as their number one center but traded him away for D Seth Jones. Now the Blue Jackets are able to replace Johansen with another great center. Pierre-Luc Dubois was rated the number 1 skater in North America.

4th Overall: Edmonton Oilers select RW Jesse Puljujarvi

The Oilers dilemma is whether to draft another forward or start filling some holes on the blue line. They ultimately decide Puljujarvi’s talent and potential playing next to Connor McDavid is just to good to pass up.

5th Overall: Vancouver Canuks select LW Matthew Tkachuk

Matthew Tkachuk will make an offensive impact for the Canucks down the road. Tkachuk was able to score 107 points in only 57 games last season playing with the London Knights. They will likely be ecstatic to see Tkachuk still available at this point.

6th Overall: Calgary Flames select D Jacob Chychrun

Selecting Jacob Chychrun from the Sarnia Sting allows Calgary to add a great two way defenseman to their future defensive corps. Dougie Hamilton and Chychrun could make an elite top pairing in a few seasons.

7th Overall: Phoenix Coyotes select C Logan Brown

Last year the Coyotes took 6’3″ Dylan Strome in the first round and this year they add another big center in 6’6″ Logan Brown. For years the Coyotes have been battling big centers in their division with the likes of Anze Kopitar, Ryan Getzlaf, Ryan Kesler, and Joe Thornton just to name a few. Now the Coyotes will have a big tandem down the middle for many years.

8th Overall: Buffalo Sabres select D Olli Joulevi

The Sabres have a developing nucleus of forwards and need to shore things up defensively. Olli Joulevi is a strong puck mover who will help the Sabres do just that.

Habs are on the clock

Left winger Alexander Nylander, who is a dynamic offensive play maker, has slipped a few spots as he was rated third overall in the North American skater rankings. Michael Mcleod, the big speedy center is also available, who was also Nylander’s teammate for the Mississauga Steelheads. McLeod could be a future replacement for the aging Tomas Plekanec. Also, the Habs could select a defenseman such as Mikhail Sergachev or Jake Bean, who are also available.

The Pick is in

9th overall Montreal Canadiens select LW Alexander Nylander

Analysis

The Habs are getting a dynamic play maker for the future. Alexander Nylander is an excellent skater who possesses a great shot and great passing ability. He isn’t overly big, but he isn’t small either at 6”0″ and weighing in at 179lbs. He should be able to get stronger as he continues to fill out his frame.

Notice some high praise from Steve Kournianos of The Draft Analyst

"He’s an excellent skater with a deadly shot, but he can score goals from in close thanks to a ridiculous set of hands. Nylander is able to make smart decisions as he maneuvers through traffic, and his ability to stickhandle in and around a dense field of sticks and skates while knowing exactly where his linemates will be makes him an indefensible threat on the rush. He’s impossible to prepare for, as he can beat you with his playmaking or his heavy shot. He can play either side of center ice, and kills penalties, so don’t you dare consider him a one-trick pony. Nylander should be considered one of the draft’s best goal scorers, but his ability to thread the needle and play selfless hockey makes him one of the few two-pronged threats available for 2016."

Next: Canadiens: A Case For Trading Down In The Draft

Nylander comes from great bloodlines as his Dad, Michael Nylander, was a former NHLer and his brother, William Nylander, currently plays for the Toronto Maple Leafs and is developing into an elite player. This pick could give the Leafs vs Habs rivalry a new and fun twist with the two brothers playing against each other multiple times throughout the year.

The Habs could have went in another direction, trading down, drafting a center or a defenseman, but Nylander’s talent is just to great to pass up on at this point in the draft. He will give the Habs a future top line player who can produce offensively at high level.

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