NHL Mock Draft 2013 – Pre-WJC edition

Montreal Canadiens picks Seth Jones with the 3^rd overall pick

1. C Nathan MacKinnon (5'11" - 179 lbs) Halifax Mooseheads - QMJHL
Outside of Baertschi, this franchise is aging and needs a new face once Iginla will be gone. MacKinnon will attract crowds and will be the cornerstone of this franchise. He is a combination of explosiveness and quick release; reminds a lot of a Marian Gaborik.
2. LW/C Jonathan Drouin (5'11" - 185 lbs) Halifax Mooseheads - QMJHL

With President John Davidson on board, Howson and company will have their elite forward in Jonathan Drouin. Hands of a magician combined with a tireless work ethic, Drouin is part of the rebuilding with Rick Nash departure. Resembles Claude Giroux and Patrick Kane a lot.

3. D  Seth Jones (6'4" - 205 lbs) Portland Winterhawks - WHL

Jones is the missing key of the Bleu-Blanc-Rouge’s franchise. The son of former NBA player Popeye Jones brings the defensive pool of the Habs to a whole new level and will be a deadly combo with PK Subban in the future. Trevor Timmins will finally have a joy drafting a premier product of the USNDTP. Unlike the comparison to Chris Pronger, Jones could become a player similar to Alex Pietrangelo or a meaner version of Dougie Hamilton.

4. C Aleksander “Sasha” Barkov Jr (6'2" - 205 lbs) Tappara - SM-liiga

At this spot, many will consider Barkov as the steal of the draft, and with reason. Since Teemue Selanne and Saku Koivu, nobody has seen a 17 years old dominating this much in the SM-liiga till Barkov. Tavares-Barkov will be a very strong 1-2 punch centers.
5. C Sean Monahan (6'2" - 170 lbs) Ottawa 67's - OHL

Some considered the best 2-way forward in the draft, Monahan is exactly what Brian Burke will want in building his franchise. Monahan will be well complemented one day in the NHL with Kessel and JVR.

6. C Elias Lindholm (6'0" - 192 lbs) Brynäs - Elisterien

With Parise’s departure, the franchise needs a new elite forward to help the offense that is rejuvenating with Adam Henrique, the young Swedes Tedenby, Josefson and Larsson. Ilya Kovalchuk will be well centered with Lindholm.

7. LW Hunter Shinkaruk (5'10" - 161 lbs) Medicine Hat Tigers - WHL

The Jets are in need of offense desperately and Hunter Shinkaruk is the perfect choice for them. He is a combination of goal scoring and speed. A poor man's Phil Kessel in the making playing on a line with Evander Kane will be deadly.

8.  D Ryan Pulock (6'0" - 209 lbs) Brandon Wheat Kings - WHL

Despite not having the 1^st overall pick for a 4^th year, the Oil Country will gladly welcomed Ryan Pulock from Manview Manitoba. Captain of his team, Ryan is a pure offensive defenseman that has one of the hardest slap shot of the draft.

9. RW Adam Erne (6'1" - 196 lbs) Quebec Remparts - QMJHL

Colorado needs to add offense to their roster and Erne is the premier powerforward with good agility that will complement well in their top 6. The kid is gifted with extremely quick hands, both for deking and releasing.

10. D Rasmus Ristolainen (6'3" - 207 lbs) TPS - SM-liiga

Now that Ryan Suter has packed his bags to the State of Hockey, David Poile won’t hesitate to pick the best defenseman available and Rasmus is their man.

11. D Robert Hägg (6'2"-201 lbs) MODO - Elisterien

With Justin Schultz signing with the Edmonton Oilers and having success with the Barons, the Ducks need to replace his departure. Hägg is already dominating in the Swedish Junior League with MODO and will replace Anaheim's 2012 1st rounder Hampus Lindholm at the WJC. Hägg possesses a very good skating and has tremendous offensive upside.

12. C Curtis Lazar (5'11" - 194 lbs) Edmonton Oil Kings - WHL

Curtis was not able to show his offensive toolset this year. His production is not on par with the other top prospects, but we cannot deny his strong 2-way playing style and his dominating playoffs last year as well as his Memorial Cup run with the Oil Kings.

13. G Zachary Fucale (6'1" - 171 lbs) Halifax Mooseheads - QMJHL

Lalime, Hasek, Emery, Elliott, Leclaire, Anderson, Auld… the list goes on and on. It is time for the Sens to finally have a franchise goalie in their system and Fucale is the best goaltender available in this year’s draft, and might be the best goalie of the QMJHL since Marc-André Fleury.

14. D Josh Morrissey (6'0" - 183 lbs) Prince Albert Raiders - WHL

Although his stock is falling a bit, Morrissey remains a very good puck moving defenseman and is capable of delivering big open ice hits as well. The Stars need more capable 2-way defensemen on their roster.

15. LW Anthony Mantha (6'4" - 187 lbs) Val-d'Or Foreurs - QMJHL

Under the radar at the beginning of the season, Val-D’Or’s 5^th round pick in the Q draft is now on list to become a NHL 1^st rounder. The big winger has a tremendous knack for goals and is gifted with a strong wrist shot and a high offensive awareness.

16. LW Valeri Nichuschkin (6'4" - 196 lbs) Traktor Chelyabinsk - KHL

With his 3 year extension in the KHL, Nichushkin will scare off many NHL teams, but the Capitals will not let go of this talented Russian player. They will have all 3 greats Russians in the future with Ovy, Kuznetsov and Nichushkin.

17. LW/RW André Burakovsky (6'1" - 176 lbs) Malmö - Allsvenskan

Swedish left winger played great at the Ivan Hlinka tournament this year, however he wasn’t invited to the Swedish Junior Team. He is already playing against men in the Allsvenskan in Sweden.

18. C/W Jacob de la Rose (6'2" - 183 lbs) Leksand - Allsvenskan

de la Rose has demonstrated that he can run a penalty kill by himself in the WJC pretournament games against Canada and the USA. Detroit aren’t afraid to take Swedish forwards, especially the ones that can play a 2-way game.

19. C William Carrier (6'0" - 196 lbs) Cape Breton Screaming Eagles - QMJHL

With GM Dale Tallon, the Panthers organization isn’t afraid to go pick in the QMJHL and Carrier fits perfectly the bill. A big strong 2-way centerman that has offensive potential that is very underrated. Think a Phillip Danault, but bigger and stronger.

20. D Darnell Nurse (6'3" - 185 lbs) Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds - OHL

Tampa Bay needs defense and Darnell is a very well rounded defenseman with size. With Koekkoek in the system, Nurse and him will be a good pairing in the future.

21. LW Anthony Duclair (5'11- 182 lbs) Quebec Remparts - QMJHL

What the Sharks defensive prospect pool needs the most, is an electrifying forward that could be a top 6 NHLer in the future. Duclair has missed a number of games with the Remparts, but Patrick Roy’s young star is a combination of speed and goal scoring ability. He might be the fastest skater in the draft.

22. LW/RW Arturri Lehkonen (5'10" - 152 lbs) KalPa - SM-liiga

The Wild were never afraid to pick a undersized Finnish forward in the past, why not continue in the same direction with Lehkonen. He will have the chance to demonstrate his talent during the next World Juniors belongside Aleksander Barkov Jr.

*23. D Nikita Zadorov (6'5" - 229 lbs) London Knights - OHL

Left off the Russian WJC roster unfairly, Zadorov is playing great hockey with the London Knights of the OHL and his stock has been continuously rising. Big stay at home defenseman with very good mobility.

24. D Eric Roy (6'3" - 187 lbs) Brandon Wheat Kings - WHL

The Flyers wants replacement for their aging defensemen and Roy is exactly what they need, a big 6ft3 dmen with great skating and offensive potential too.

25. C Frédérik Gauthier (6'5" - 205 lbs) Rimouski Océanic - QMJHL

When they had the chance to pick either Forsberg or Grigorenko in last year’s draft, they won’t hesitate this year to pick a forward and Gauthier can become a very strong top 9 player for them. The 6ft5 centerman has seen his stock rising since the beginning of the season.

26. C/LW Max Domi (5'9" - 194 lbs) London Knights - OHL

Well, Domi ended up with the big bad Bruins. He fits perfectly with their playing style and reminds a lot of Brad Marchand. Unlike his dad Tie, Max likes to shoot the puck a lot and possesses good offensive qualities.

27. RW Nick Sörensen (6'1" - 172 lbs) Quebec Remparts - QMJHL

Patrick Roy has decided to let go of Kucherov because he judged that Sörensen could bring more to the table. Nick is a strong 2-way player and with #33’s coaching, he will become even more of a hockey player.

28. LW Kerby Rychel (6'0" - 185 lbs) Windsor Sptifire - OHL

Vancouver lacks of offense and the twins won’t be there forever. Rychel will bring a goal scoring touch to the Canucks offense in the future.

29. C/LW Alexander Wennberg (5'11" - 157 lbs) Djurgården - Allsvenskan

Jarmo Kekäläinen, the Blues ex-director of scouting and now Jokerit’s GM, will be proud to see the Blues select Wennberg. A speedy winger with tons of offensive skills will be a strong player for the Blues.

*30. C Joseph Taylor "JT" Compher (6'0" - 161 lbs) USNDTP

The USNDTP product plays with a lot of heart and drive that even coach Don Granato recognizes. The University of Michigan commit is a high energy player that can shoot the puck as well and is very strong on the puck. He'll complement well with the Jackets young core of Jenner, Johansen, Murray, Moore, Savard, etc.

*23.  

receives Los Angeles' 2013 1st round pick and Jack Johnson for Jeff Carter.






*30. 

receives the NY Rangers 2013 1st round pick, Brandon Dubinsky, Tim Erixon and Artem  Anisimov for Rick Nash, Steve Delisle and a conditional 3rd round pick.