Banner Year for Americans with Nine First-Round Selections
Banner Year for Americans with Nine First-Round Selections
US National Team Development Program's unprecedented eight first-round picks leads the way
2019 NHL Draft in Vancouver: American hockey fans have already had a draft year for the books and only one round has been completed. From the first overall selection in forward Jack Hughes (NJD), to his six USA U18 teammates at the NTDP in the first fifteen selections, this was an extremely talented group of players at the top-end. There is still a wealth of American talent yet to be selected in the lower rounds. A down year for the Ontario Hockey League (four selections, all after pick #18), it was the first time in 33 years that the OHL didn’t have a player chosen in the first ten picks. It seems NCAA-bound hockey recruits, especially those from the NTDP, picked up the slack this year. Here are my notes from the first round.
Five Big Ten recruits picked in the first-round
F Alex Turcotte - USA U-18 (Wisconsin) - Los Angeles Kings, fifth overall
The Kings got a steal at fifth overall in Turcotte, a center with a terrific 1C ceiling and a high floor. The NHL draft analysts were describing him as sandpaper and silk, which is pretty apt. He attacks offensively and is a pain to play against as he always wants to recover the puck and make plays. He is the type of 18-year-old freshman who could motor Wisconsin into a big-time season this winter, which says it all really.
D Cam York - USA U-18 (Michigan) - Philadelphia Flyers, fourteenth overall
I wasn’t sure where in the first round York would go, he was my favorite defenseman of the draft-eligibles I watched, and I think he’s really tailor-made for the new NHL, as he checks all the boxes and offensively can shoot, set things up or salvage nothing-plays. Michigan lose Quinn Hughes but they add a player in York who makes sparks fly, if he can learn to ride the line and make those heady defensive reads that win games, I think he could be a top-pairing defender for the Flyers in three-to-five years.
F Cole Caufield - USA U-18 (Wisconsin) - Montreal Canadiens, fifteenth overall
One of the more famous prospects in the draft class, Caufield ‘fell’ to Montreal at fifteen, although that is the lower-bound of the range I indicated he would likely be selected in when I previewed the first round yesterday. There are many observers who think Caufield is another Alex DeBrincat, and I think while his draft stock clearly was high enough to warrant a mid-first round selection, teams were worried about over-correcting. I could have seen a team liking him enough for an early single-digit pick, but it really depends what else is available in the draft. When they kept panning to Caufield's face during his draft board ‘fall’, all I could think is that opposing goalies this season in the Big Ten are the ones that will pay for this. Then he goes to Montreal at fifteen and Craig Button aptly compares him to the Pocket Rocket. I love the pick, and I think he could be a huge piece for the Habs.
F John Beecher - USA U-18 (Michigan) - Boston Bruins, thirtieth overall
In some respects, I think his upside is similar yet higher compared with Trent Frederic, a former Wisconsin forward from the NTDP that the Bruins chose at 29th overall in 2016. Although come playoffs, they both add an all-around package that is very appealing. Beecher has speed, size and an under-rated mix of power and skill that could make 30th overall look like a steal. Of course, he has to realize all of that.
D Ryan Johnson - Sioux Falls (Minnesota) - Buffalo Sabres, thirty-first overall
I don’t think Johnson is the same kind of steal as Beecher, but they don’t grow on trees. Buffalo got a real solid 6’0 defender who keeps things moving and plays with poise. He won a Clark Cup title with Sioux Falls in the USHL and will look to make a big jump in the Big Ten with the Gophers this winter.
Comm Ave shows well: Eagles with three first-rounders, a Terrier at ninth overall
F Trevor Zegras - USA U-18 (Boston University) - Anaheim Ducks, ninth overall
His elite playmaking, hands and all-around upside pushed him into the single digits, though he might have gone even higher. There seems to be some risk to Zegras’ projection, but the offensive potential and skillset is off-the-charts.
F Matt Boldy - USA U-18 (Boston College) - Minnesota Wild, twelfth overall
The Wild secure a scorer with pro size headed to Boston College. This is a pretty solid pick in this range, where the ‘sure things’ disappear. He added length and has done nothing but put up points since joining this loaded NTDP team two years ago. Boldy scored some of the best goals I saw this year — he has a great feel for the puck and the offensive zone. Of note, the selection of Boldy is five years after selecting another Boston College-bound NTDPer at eighteenth overall in Alex Tuch.
G Spencer Knight - USA U-18 (Boston College) - Florida Panthers, thirteenth overall
I’m sure there were people who thought Spencer Knight could have gone higher, and you can count me in that group. Knight has been a blue chip, five-star, whatever you want to call it, the best goalie in the country and probably the entire age group for as long as anyone has been seriously tracking them. As close as a goalie can be to a sure thing, he’s a sure thing, but the question is whether he can be a difference-maker in the NHL to warrant the early-teens pick. I wouldn’t bet against it.
F Alex Newhook - Victoria (Boston College) - Colorado Avalanche, sixteenth overall
Newfoundland-born skater who played in the BCHL this year, his skating and processing speed has garnered rave reviews, his stats precede him: 126 points in 68 games. B.C. fans will be counting down the day for this freshman class to show what they can do in Hockey East this winter.
Other notes from the first round
Only watched a few clips of him this year, but I wasn't that surprised to see German defenseman Moritz Seider (Adler Mannheim) move up to where Detroit took him at six. The draft is all about trying to find value and he is a guy who shot up this year. A 6'4 right shot defenseman who can skate, playing pro in Europe. Sign me up. It’s hard to play defense at a pro level as a draft-eligible, whatever country. This could be a skater who eats major minutes for a decade-plus, and relatively soon.
After a lead-up where it seemed like the Hawks might take any of Alex Turcotte, Bowen Byram or even Trevor Zegras at #3, they ended up picking 6’4 Saskatoon Blades center Kirby Dach. So much for the new NHL where size, especially down the middle, isn’t at a premium.
Speaking of size, other than Jack Hughes and Alex Turcotte, there wasn’t a selection in the top ten who was listed under six-feet. Despite all the talk of the NHL getting smaller, there were only seven sub-six-footers among the next twenty picks: Alex Newhook (5’10), Peyton Krebs (5’11), Ville Heinola (5’11), Connor McMichael (5’11), Jakob Pelletier (5’9), Cole Caufield (5’7) and Cam York (5’11). It seems like the appetite for 5’11-ish skaters is very much there, but nearly everyone still has a preference for a six-foot-plus type in the first round if they can help it.
The other top international prospects to be selected early on were Swedish defenseman Philip Broberg (AIK), by the Edmonton Oilers at eighth overall, Russian forward Vasili Podkolzin (SKA-St. Petersburg) by the Vancouver Canucks at tenth overall, and another Swedish defenseman in Victor Söderstrom (Brynäs IF), by the Arizona Coyotes at eleventh overall.