The clock is ticking down to Friday's NHL entry draft and since we've already given you the Consolidated Prospect Rankings, our FHS Rankings and our Fantasy Draft Rankings its time for us to make our selections and give you the Fantasy Hockey Scouts 2009 NHL Mock Draft. Below we make a mockery of mock selections which are mostly based on who we think the teams will select looking at the team's needs and reviewing their draft history with a little of what we would do if we were in each of the GM's shoes thrown in for good measure... add in a splash of alcohol and here's what we came up with.
| Pick | Team | Needs/Tendencies | |||
| #1 | New York Islanders | Most pressing need is a new arena | |||
| Ideally… | They won't mess this one up | ||||
| Considered | Tavares, Hedman, Duchene | ||||
| Selection | John Tavares | ||||
| #2 | Tampa Bay Lightning | Dman, who's willing to takes roles in horror movies over cash | |||
| Ideally… | JT goes to the Isles and this makes it an easy choice | ||||
| Considered | Hedman, may consider trading the pick (hopefully not) | ||||
| Selection | Victor Hedman | ||||
| #3 | Colorado Avalanche | Their prospect pool has dried up | |||
| Ideally… | Hedman would fall to them | ||||
| Considered | Duchene | ||||
| Selection | Matt Duchene, the consensus #3 prospect in the draft | ||||
| #4 | Atlanta Thrashers | D is a need but 1st line talent is always welcome | |||
| Ideally… | A ready-made forward who can step in and help Kovalchuk | ||||
| Considered | Kane, Schenn, Paajarvi-Svensson | ||||
| Selection | Evander Kane | ||||
| #5 | LA Kings | Could use a top-6 F and aren't afraid to go "off-the-board" | |||
| Ideally… | They'd get a forward with a with "a little jam" as Pierre McGuire would/will say | ||||
| Considered | Schenn, Paajarvi-Svensson, trading down? | ||||
| Selection | Brayden Schenn | ||||
| #6 | Phoenix Coyotes | They need a new owner/location, but they'll settle for D | |||
| Ideally… | Dmitri Kulikov seems to fit with Wayne's Russian fetish | ||||
| Considered | Kulikov, Cowen, Ekman-Larsson | ||||
| Selection | They like to do the unexpected (see Wheeler), so we're betting on Jared Cowen | ||||
| #7 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Need some of everything | |||
| Ideally… | Burke would get more air time and trade up for Tavares/Hedman/Schenn | ||||
| Considered | Kulikov, Paajarvi-Svensson | ||||
| Selection | M.Paajarvi-Svensson… maybe we're dreamin but Burke's had luck with Euro's before | ||||
| #8 | Dallas Stars | Most people think D is #1 need but we're not sure | |||
| Ideally… | They'd get a Swede with many names like MPS or OEL | ||||
| Considered | Kulikov, Ekman-Larsson, Schroeder | ||||
| Selection | Had luck lately with Swede's so... Oliver Ekman-Larsson | ||||
| #9 | Ottawa Senators | Top line talent and a tough dman | |||
| Ideally… | Given their needs they'd take both of Kadri and Kulikov | ||||
| Considered | Kadri, Kulikov | ||||
| Selection | Harder to find elite talent so... Nazem Kadri | ||||
| #10 | Edmonton Oilers | Size is lacking, especially at F | |||
| Ideally… | They'd move up and grab Schenn | ||||
| Considered | Kulikov, Kassian, Glennie | ||||
| Selection | A bit of a reach at #10 but he meets their needs… Zach Kassian | ||||
| #11 | Nashville Predators | Stacked with D so looking for top line F, shy away from Euro's | |||
| Ideally… | Happy to see Dallas pass on Schroeder as he should fall to #11 | ||||
| Considered | Schroeder, Glennie | ||||
| Selection | They prefer NA (especially Yanks)/small/NCAA players… Jordan Schroeder | ||||
| #12 | Minnesota Wild | Tired of being boring… looking for F with skill | |||
| Ideally… | The home-state boy Schroeder would fall to them | ||||
| Considered | A falling Kulikov, Glennie, trading down? | ||||
| Selection | Scott Glennie | ||||
| #13 | Buffalo Sabres | Need size & history shows they prefer Euro or NCAA players | |||
| Ideally… | They'd clone Tyler Myers as he looks like a good one at #12 last year | ||||
| Considered | Kulikov, Moore, Ellis | ||||
| Selection |
Dmitri Kulikov, this year's Cherepanov as some project him to go as high as #6 |
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| #14 | Florida Panthers | More skill can't hurt | |||
| Ideally… | They'd draft Bouwmeester's name on a contract | ||||
| Considered | Josefson, Moore, Rundblad | ||||
| Selection | John Moore as he'll try to replace what they're losing with J-Bo | ||||
| #15 | Anaheim Ducks | Skilled F, they typically look for size and character | |||
| Ideally… | May look to trade down as there's a lot more dmen available at this point | ||||
| Considered | Trading down, Josefson, Leblanc, Holland, Ashton | ||||
| Selection | Peter Holland, may be questioned by some but he fills a need | ||||
| #16 | Columbus B-Jackets | Offensive dman… they've needed one for eternity | |||
| Ideally… | Kulikov would keep sliding, may be tempted to try to move up | ||||
| Considered | Ellis, Rundblad, Despres | ||||
| Selection | Would probably have a hard time passing on Ryan Ellis | ||||
| #17 | St.Louis Blues | Stay-at-home dman or power F | |||
| Ideally… | A giant Swedish stay-at-home dman magically appears | ||||
| Considered | Josefson, Despres, Rundblad | ||||
| Selection | In a 1st round light on defensive dmen, they'll take one in Simon Despres | ||||
| #18 | Montreal Canadiens | F with size and skill | |||
| Ideally… | Someone who meets their needs & is French-Canadian | ||||
| Considered | Leblanc, Josefson, Kreider | ||||
| Selection | Louis Leblanc may not be ideal but he speaks the right language | ||||
| #19 | New York Rangers | Physical W, they tend to go for size or busts | |||
| Ideally… | Kreider seems to be perfect for them here | ||||
| Considered | Kreider, Josefson, Ashton or any other potential busts | ||||
| Selection | Chris Kreider… and the Hugh Jessiman comparisons begin immediately | ||||
| #20 | Calgary Flames | Talented top-6 F and preferably Western Canadian | |||
| Ideally… | They'd draft a Sutter | ||||
| Considered | Ashton, Ferraro, Josefson | ||||
| Selection | Size makes Ashton tempting but the Red Deer link makes Landon Ferraro the pick | ||||
| #21 | Philadelphia Flyers | Prefer F and lean towards CHL players | |||
| Ideally… | There'd be a top-flight goalie available | ||||
| Considered | Josefson, Ashton, Werek | ||||
| Selection | Carter Ashton looks like their type of player | ||||
| #22 | Vancouver Canucks | Skilled D or F with character | |||
| Ideally… | They'll be happy that Rundblad falls | ||||
| Considered | Rundblad, Josefson, Elliott | ||||
| Selection | They've had success with Swedish dmen… David Rundblad | ||||
| #23 | New Jersey Devils | Probably looking to a F, trend is to take small Euro F's | |||
| Ideally… | Do well with hidden gems so they will be happy a talent like Josefson falls | ||||
| Considered | Josefson, Palmieri, Morin | ||||
| Selection | Won't let Jacob Josefson fall any further | ||||
| #24 | Washington Capitals | Physical D or W... they tend to favour size | |||
| Ideally… | Hoping that a big winger like Ashton would fall | ||||
| Considered | Trading up, Shore, Caron, Werek | ||||
| Selection | Jordan Caron | ||||
| #25 | Boston Bruins | Skilled D or W | |||
| Ideally… | In a good spot where they'll have their choice of a group of 2nd tier offensive dmen | ||||
| Considered | Elliott, de Haan, Erixon, Morin | ||||
| Selection | Stefan Elliott gives them a skilled dmen to replace Matt Lashoff | ||||
| #26 | New York Islanders | A goalie would be nice or a skilled dman | |||
| Ideally… | Their D is in shambles so anything would help | ||||
| Considered | de Haan, Erixon, Leddy, Olsen, O.Roy | ||||
| Selection | Calvin de Haan looks like an underrated pick | ||||
| #27 | Carolina Hurricanes | They tend to select F's early typically from the CHL | |||
| Ideally… | A forward with size and scoring ability would be gravy | ||||
| Considered | Werek, Morin, O'Reilly, Palmieri | ||||
| Selection | Ethan Werek | ||||
| #28 | Chicago Blackhawks | Could use a tough dman or a checking C | |||
| Ideally… | Less than ideal spot as there's not a lot of tough dmen in this draft | ||||
| Considered | Olsen, Shore, Palmieri | ||||
| Selection | Dylan Olsen would be a nice project to take on | ||||
| #29 | Detroit Red Wings | Skilled F or D and they definitely lean towards the Euros | |||
| Ideally… | They'd unearth another great gem | ||||
| Considered | Erixon, Morin, Palmieri | ||||
| Selection | We have a hard time seeing them pass on a talented Swede like Tim Erixon | ||||
| #30 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Quick, scoring W or a skilled D | |||
| Ideally… | They'd get a finisher like Morin but with more speed | ||||
| Considered | Morin, Shore, Palmieri, Leddy | ||||
| Selection | Can't pass on one of the best finishers in the draft… Jeremy Morin | ||||