NHL 2020 Mock Draft

By: Adamo Marinelli

April 18th, 2020

     The remainder of the 2019-20 NHL season may be canceled, but the draft will still happen, whether it be live from Las Vegas or in an online format. Let’s examine this year’s best prospects hoping to take the NHL by storm. 

     The draft lottery has not happened yet, so the draft order is not set in stone. Therefore, I will assume when each team gets to pick using statistical odds and percentages.

According to Tankathon, the Detroit Red Wings have an 18.5% chance to get the first overall pick. The Ottawa Senators have a 13.5% chance to get the first overall pick; but they also own the San Jose Sharks' lottery pick. The Sharks have an 11.5% chance to get the first overall pick. Therefore, the Senators have a 25% chance to get the first overall pick, the Red Wings only have an 18.5% chance. The Senators get the first overall pick, the Redwings get the second overall pick. The Los Angeles Kings have a 9.7% chance to get the third overall pick, the Senators have a 12.3% chance. The Senators get the third overall pick, the Kings get the fourth overall pick, and then it is pretty straightforward from there. So without further ado, let's get started.

     With the first overall pick of the 2020 NHL draft, the Ottawa Senators will select Alexis Lafreniere, a left-winger from the Rimouski Oceanic. The Senators have been in a rebuild ever since they were one goal away from a Stanley Cup appearance in 2017. Lafreniere is the consensus #1 pick in this year’s draft and can produce at ease. He has recorded back-to-back 100 point seasons with the Oceanic and leads the QMJHL in scoring. 

     With the second overall pick, the Detroit Red Wings will select Tim Stützle, a left-winger from the Mannheim Eagles, who play in a German league. Stützle is arguably the best European player in this year’s draft. He is very fast, has good hands, can move the puck and make plays very easily. He is only 18 and putting up decent numbers against full-grown men. That is impressive! He had 0.83 points per game, a record in the DEL.

     With the third overall pick, the Ottawa Senators, after receiving this pick from the San Jose Sharks will select Quinton Byfield, a center from the Sudbury Wolves. Byfield did not have his best performance at the skills combine, but is still a talented athlete. He is a big and physical center and can match up with the best centers in the league with his speed, his innate playmaking ability, and his high hockey IQ. The Senators will be a playoff contender in the East with their current core if they can add these two all-stars.

     With the fourth overall pick, the Los Angeles Kings will select Jamie Drysdale, a defenseman for the Erie Otters. He is a physical defenseman, even though his frame is not the biggest, and he knows how to get the puck to his teammates and contribute offensively. He has a lot of speed, is explosive and his back-peddling and lateral crossovers are elite. He is arguably the best defenseman in the draft.

     With the fifth overall pick, the New Jersey Devils will select Marco Rossi, a center for the Ottawa 67s. The Devils were one of the worst teams in the league this year, mainly because of their inability to score. They do have offensive talent with guys like Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier, but with Rossi’s innate ability to shoot, score and create chances offensively with speed and creativity - he leads OHL with 120 points - the Devils will improve.

     With the sixth overall pick, the Anaheim Ducks will select Cole Perfetti, a left-winger for the Saginaw Spirit. He is a skilled, physical center-wing who always finds himself in the middle of the offensive and defensive zones, where the puck is the most. He is an incredible playmaker, has great hands and rarely loses control of the puck by carrying it close to his body. He can stop on a dime and consistently make a great pass to set up a teammate.

     With the seventh overall pick, the Buffalo Sabres will select Alexander Holtz, a right-winger in the SHL. Buffalo has a lot of talent down the middle with guys like Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart, but they could bolster their depth on the wing with Holtz. He is a purebred scorer, has great stickhandling skills and excellent vision to find and expose weak spots in opposing defenses. He is 6’0’’ tall, 183 pounds, physical and helps out on defense.

     With the eighth overall pick, the Montreal Canadians will select Lucas Raymond, a left-winger for the Frolunda HC. Many compare him to Mitch Marner; he has the speed, footwork and stick handling to generate continuous scoring chances. He is efficient on both the powerplay and penalty kill. He could help to bolster Montreal’s mediocre offensive unit.

     With the ninth overall pick, the Chicago Blackhawks will select Jake Sanderson, a defenseman playing for the University of North Dakota. He is a big defender, almost 6’2” tall and 186 lbs. His well-built physique allows him to get to 200+lbs. He is an offensive-minded defenseman with a rocket of a shot, and a great ability to pass the puck. He is fast, agile and has a high hockey IQ. He has the tools to be an elite defenseman but lacks physicality for a near 200-pound defender.

     With the 10th overall pick, the New Jersey Devils will select Yaroslav Askarov, a goalie in the MHL. Askarov is the best goalie prospect the NHL has seen in nearly a decade. He is a butterfly-style goalie, with extraordinary reflexes. He has an elite glove hand, but it is on his right hand, not very common for NHL goalies. He is very agile and his excellent mobility and anticipation help him track pucks with ease. His big frame takes away a lot of the net. 

     With the 11th overall pick, the Minnesota Wild will select Jack Quinn, a right-winger for the Ottawa 67s. The Minnesota Wild are in dire need of a right-winger who can shoot, score and set up plays. Zary is their guy. His recent performance has upped his value in the draft from a 3rd rounder to a mid 1st round pick. His aggressive offensive style and his speed allows him to get open and finish his offensive chances. He is a weapon on the powerplay with a huge one-timer. He finished 2nd in the OHL with 52 goals and 89 points in 62 games. He’s an incredible scorer.

     With the 12th overall pick, the Winnipeg Jets will select Dylan Holloway, a left-winger from the University of Wisconsin. He is a 6 foot, 200 pound center with excellent vision and a great stick-handling ability. He was the 2019 AJHL MVP and helped Team Canada win gold in the 2018 Ivan Hlinka Gretzky Cup. He has a high hockey IQ, good balance, a strong wrist shot and amazing lateral quickness. He uses his speed and physicality to win puck battles. 

     With the 13th overall pick, the New York Rangers will select Connor Zary, a centerman from Kamloops in the WHL. Zary is a talented center with a high hockey IQ, a great character and a willingness to compete. He has amazing stickhandling abilities, is excellent in the faceoff dot, and sees plays before they come into fruition. He is a smart playmaker and an accurate precision passer. He will be a threat on both the power play and penalty kill, as he was among the WHL leaders in special teams points. He is an excellent playmaker but is always willing to shoot. 

     With the 14th overall pick, the Florida Panthers will select Kaiden Guhle, a defenseman from Prince Albert. Guhle is a bigger defender, but is very coordinated and has excellent footwork, great puck-handling skills. He skates well, in all four directions, and it does not take more than a couple steps to reach full-speed. He is able to close gaps with his big body, is physical in puck battles and angles attackers to the outside or towards the boards. He is a great passer too.

     With the 15th overall pick, the Columbus Blue Jackets will select Anton Lundell, a center from HIFK Helsinki. Lundell is a well-rounded center with good vision, puck handling savvy and ability to make the soft pass. He isn’t the most flashy player but is effective, especially on the power play and penalty-kill. He has a strong stride, which helps his speed and is good with faceoffs. He has a good balance for his size, but leg strength is an area that needs improvement.

     With the 16th overall pick, the Calgary Flames will select Dawson Mercer, a right-winger for Drummondville in the QMJHL. The Flames need help on right-wing after not addressing it at the trade deadline. He is a natural sniper who always has his stick on the ice surface close to the net. He will catch goalies off guard by shooting from anywhere in the offensive zone. He isn’t shy in the corner or along the boards and will take the puck away. He creates offense by scoring frequently but does act as a playmaker with his accurate passes. His high-end anticipation allows him to always go to where the puck will be.

     With the 17th pick, the New Jersey Devils will select Ridly Greig, a left-winger for the Brandon Wheat Kings in the WHL. The Devils could add more depth on the left-wing and Greig is a center-wing who plays both on the left-wing and at center. He is a strong and fast skater, and is an amazing playmaker - he can thread the needle through seams in traffic with his accurate touch pass. He is not the biggest player but will use his body to separate the puck from opponents. He is a pest to opposing players, like Alex Galchenyuk. 

     With the 18th overall pick, the Nashville Predators will select Noel Gunler, a right-winger for the Lulea HF in the SHL. He is a pure shooter and an established scoring machine. He has a strong wrist and snapshot and sets up on the right wall on the powerplay because of his left-hand shot. He is an excellent finisher who can always get open for one-timers. He is a quick skater, but needs to add more muscle and can improve his speed a bit more. This is what the Predators need. 

     With the 19th overall pick, the Carolina Hurricanes will select Mavrik Bourque, a center for the Shawinigan Cataractes of the QMJHL. He is the type of center who controls the pace of games using his speed and hands. His hard but accurate passes make him an excellent playmaker. His fast hands and reflexes make him a weapon in the faceoff dot and he isn’t afraid to get physical. He is a speedy center and doesn’t need that much time to reach full stride. He has a hard slapshot and gets pucks to the net.

     With the 20th overall pick, the Edmonton Oilers will select Seth Jarvis, a center for the Portland Winterhawks in the WHL. At only 5’10”, 175 pounds, he is an undersized centerman who will be challenged by bigger opponents but his incredible speed and innate ability to find open zones on the ice will make him a threat in the open ice and a player who will be able to control the tempo in the offensive zone. He is a natural scorer and defenders respect his speed, which gives him time and space to shoot or make a precise pass in traffic.

     With the 21st overall pick, the Ottawa Senators will select Ryan O’Rourke, a defenceman for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. He displays a nice set of stick handling skills, agility, and physicality. He is physical and never backs down from a puck battle in the corner or along the boards, despite his smaller size. His speed gets him to the area the puck is in quickly. He gets involved on offense and can apply pressure in the offensive zone by taking point shots.

     With the 22nd overall pick, the Dallas Stars will select Braden Schneider, a defenceman for the Brandon Wheat Kings. He is an offensive-minded defenseman and excels on both even strength and on the powerplay. He is fast for his size, is good at pivoting, can move the puck efficiently with his stickhandling and is a skilled passer in transition. He unloads a nasty body check and he moves his stick actively on the ice surface to disrupt passing lanes. 

     With the 23rd overall pick, the New York Rangers will select John-Jason Peterka, a right-winger for the Salzburg Red Bulls, from Austria. He is a right-winger that is viewed as a pure scorer. But he is improving his passing and becoming a decent playmaker. He is also working on improving his physicality which has helped build his defensive game. His agility is good but he needs to be quicker up ice. His accuracy is improving but could be even better.

     With the 24th overall pick, the Minnesota Wild will select Jacob Perrault, a center for the Sarnia Sting. Perrault is very creative offensively: he knows how to get open, by using his speed, and can capitalize on the majority of his offensive opportunities. He scored 39 goals in 57 games for the Sting last season. He is a hard worker and has a great character. He has a good shot and can set up his teammates with crisp passes in open ice or in traffic. He’ll go well with Jack Quinn.

     With the 25th overall pick, the Philadelphia Flyers will select Vasily Ponomaryov, a left-winger for the Shawinigan Cataractes of the QMJHL. He is a well-conditioned left-winger who is able to succeed on both ends of the ice with his excellent work ethic. He is an agile skater who can spin away from hip-checks and outmuscle defenders when carrying the pucks in the attacking zones. He is always looking for rebounds in the slot. He also helps out on defense with his big frame. 

     With the 26th overall pick, the San Jose Sharks will select Justin Barron, a defenceman for the Halifax Mooseheads of the QMJHL. With Brent Burns and Marc Edouard Vlasic aging and Eric Karlsson dealing with nagging injuries, the Sharks could use help defensively. He is a big, strong shut-down defender who plays many minutes with the Mooseheads. He is physical, takes away passing and shooting lanes with his 6’2”, 189lbs frame. He has a high hockey IQ, with good defensive fundamentals. He is not yet an active attacker, his point shot can improve. 

     With the 27th overall pick, the Colorado Avalanche will select Hendrix Lapierre, a center for the Chicoutimi SaguenEens of the QMJHL. He is an innate playmaker and you cannot argue with his superior ability to distribute the puck. He is very agile which helps his puck handling skills and he doesn’t take more than a few strides to reach full speed. He’s able to adjust his body to find the openings on the ice and angles himself away from opponents. His shot needs work. 

     With the 28th overall pick, the Vegas Golden Knights will select Rodion Amirov, a center for the Tolpar UFA in the MHL. The Knights could always use more depth at center and Amirov will prove to be that. The 6-foot, 167-pound Russian winger has exhibited speed, skill and offensive ability in his time rising through the ranks. He scored a couple of points in 21 games for Ufa in the KHL and had a dominant 10 goals and 22 points in 17 games with the Ufa junior team. After some development in the AHL, he’ll have the potential to succeed in the NHL.

     With the 29th overall pick, the Washington Capitals will select Shakir Mukhamadullin, a defenceman for the Tolpar UFA in the MHL. He is a defenceman that gets involved in all three zones, a strong skill set, a powerful one timer, and can deliver a big hit when needed. He is calm when possessing the puck in the defensive end and can make crisp, accurate passes through the neutral zone. He is fast and uses tight cuts to the inside to win races to the puck. A good pick. 

     With the 30th overall pick, the St. Louis Blues will select Tyler Kleven, a defenceman in the US under 17 National Development Program. He is a highly skilled and disciplined defender with terrific speed, can skate very well both forwards and backward, has excellent footwork and who is calm when carrying the puck. He is a very hard hitter and is not afraid to join an offensive attack. Committed to University of North Dakota. 

     With the 31st overall pick, the Anaheim Ducks will select Jake Neighbours, a left winger for the Edmonton Oil Kings in the WHL. The Ducks need serious help at left wing and another talented player in addition to Perfetti gives the Ducks potential to have one of the best left-wing cores in the league. He has a great shot, can make amazing passes look easy and has a strong presence around the net. When coming into the attacking zone, he reads what the defender will do before making the decision to pass or shoot. He has a high hockey IQ. 

     This draft is filled with many skilled hockey players of all positions. Many teams are licking their chops for a chance to draft one or more of these future superstars to improve their roster and look to contend for a Stanley Cup.