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Now that the Stanley Cup has been won, I will be releasing the second round of my 3rd annual NHL mock draft.
For those who haven’t read the LWOS mock before here are the rules.
1) No trades except for those that have already been made by NHL teams.
2) A two-round Mock draft will be done in four parts. The first two parts (ie the first round) are published. The next two parts (ie the second round) will be done today and tomorrow.
3) Clicking the Player’s name will bring you to a full scouting report.
You can click here for part 1 (1-15)
You can click here for part 2 (16-30)
So with that out of the way, I present.
The LWOS 2014 NHL Mock Draft Second Round
(Picks 31-45)
31. Buffalo Sabres –Nick Schmaltz, C, Green Bay Gamblers, USHL
Previous Selection: Sam Reinhart
The Buffalo Sabres have had a ton of early picks in recent drafts, and have also picked up other teams’ prospects in some shrewd trades. They are also well stocked in picks for 2015 and beyond. As a result they will go pure best player available here, not worried that they already took a centre in round one. It only makes sense when you have a deep prospect poolat every position to keep adding to it with the BPA.
32. Florida Panthers – Thatcher Demko, G, Boston College Eagles, NCAA-Hockey East
Previous Selection: Aaron Ekblad
The Panthers also have a deep prospect system, and addressed the need for a high-end defenceman with Aaron Ekblad with the first overall pick in the draft. Here they take the first goalie off the board, and get the best goalie in the draft. Yes, I know they just traded for Roberto Luongo, but this is a long term pick as for most goalies it takes about four years between when they are drafted and ready for full-time NHL action.
33. St. Louis Blues (from Edmonton) – Jack Dougherty, D, US NTDP, USHL
Previous Pick: Nickolay Goldobin
The Blues grab another young and mobile two-way defenceman. This team clearly believes in building a strong blueline, and with another good one in their range, they grab him. Heading the college route, there is no need to rush Dougherty and the Blues can take their time waiting for him to develop.
34. Calgary Flames – Travis Sanheim, D, Calgary Hitmen, WHL
Previous Pick: Nick Ritchie
Looking at my list, I’ve got Sanheim ranked much lower than other services (and probably too low to be honest as I’ve seen a few more of his recent games (via the joys of streamed video on demand) more recently. He really improved in the second half of the year, and should be higher. The Flames saw this improvement as he is playing in the Saddledome right under their noses, and they could use a young two-way defender of his skill after adding Ritchie to the forwards in the first round.
35. New York Islanders – Brendan Lemieux, LW, Barrie Colts, OHL
Previous Pick: Michael Dal Colle
The Islanders looked for a winger to play with their talented centres in the first round and do the same in the second round, grabbing the talented, and gritty Lemieux out of the OHL. The son of Claude Lemieux, the apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree with this player in that he’s got the same super-pest mentality as his father.
36. Vancouver Canucks – Alexis Vanier, D, Baie-Comeau Drakkar, QMJHL
Previous Pick: Leon Draisatl
New Canucks GM Jim Benning wants to use the Boston Bruins as a model for his rebuild of the Canucks. Vanier has great size, and plays a very physical game on the blueline, something that we’ve seen in Boston over the years. Vanier has been compared to Samuel Morin who went 11th overall to Philadelphia last year. I don’t think Vanier is as good as Morin was, but he’s not far behind either.
37. Carolina Hurricanes – Mason McDonald, G, Charlottetown Islanders, QMJHL
Previous Pick: William Nylander
The Hurricanes really need a goalie prospect as they lack depth in prospects at the position, with only Daniel Altshuller as a realistic future option. They take the second goalie off the board in McDonald. It really could be any one of a number of goalies here, but I put McDonald as most of my colleagues see him as the second best goalie in this draft (I’ve got him a little lower as the 6th best), but thats the differences between my rankings and a mock draft. One is a personal feeling on viewing the player, and the other is a prediction.
38. Anaheim Ducks (From Toronto) – Brycen Martin, D, Swift Current Broncos, WHL
Previous Picks: Brendan Perlini, Robby Fabbri
The Ducks have accumulated a plethora of 2014 draft picks and got two high-end forwards with their first two picks. They grab a two-way defenceman with this pick, acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for 2009 first rounder Peter Holland.
39. Buffalo Sabres (From Winnipeg via Minnesota) – Anton Karlsson, RW/LW, Frolunda, SHL
Previous Picks: Sam Reinhart, Nick Schmaltz,
Oh look, the Sabres are back with another pick. Again its best player available here. Karlsson likely could have gone higher if not for a very disappointing tournament (no points) at the Under-18s. Still the Sabres GM Tim Murray comes from the Ottawa organization that has never been afraid to pick players out of Sweden and they grab a gritty two-way winger here.
40. Ottawa Senators –Marcus Pettersson, D, Skelleftea, SHL
Witith their first round pick in Anaheim, this is the Senators first trip to the draft podium. GM Brian Murray (Tim’s Uncle), grabs a Swedish defenceman who is raw but has a ton of offensive upside. Pettersson used to be a centre, and recently converted to defence, so he is still learning but has already shown that he has a ton of potential in his new role.
41. New Jersey Devils – Eric Cornel, C, Peterborough Petes, OHL
Previous Pick: Conner Bleackley
The Devils grab a versatile forward capable of playing both centre and wing, who had an excellent second half for the Petes. Its a little more firepower for a team that has a lot of young defencemen in the system.
42. Nashville Predators – Chase De Leo, C, Portland Winterhawks, WHL
Previous Pick: Jared McCann
The Predators continue to search for scoring. and so they take Chase De Leo, one of the highest scoring CHLers in this draft class. In De Leo, the skill level is high, but the question is a lack of size. Nashville has big, and phyiscal forwards in their system, but this injection of pure skill is welcome.
43. Arizona Coyotes – Ryan MacInnis, C, Kitchener Rangers, OHL
Previous Pick: Haydn Fleury
The Coyotes have loved taking players with good bloodlines in recent drafts (Max Domi, Henrik Samuelsson, and Brendan Burke), and grab another here with the son of Al MacInnis. Ryan has great size and could provide offense either down the middle or on the wing for the Coyotes.
44. Washington Capitals – Joshua Jacobs, D, Indiana Ice, USHL
Previous Pick : Alex Tuch
After grabbing and American forward in the first round, the Capitals take an American born defenseman with great tools. He’s a little bit raw, but the skill is there and he will get time to develop in the NCAA.
45. Dallas Stars – Ryan Donato, C, Dexter Academy, USHS
Previous Pick: Julius Honka
The Stars add another player with great bloodlines, the son of Ted Donato. He’s been a bit under the radar due to the league he plays in, but is said to have great skill and work ethic. The Stars, with Jim Nill at the helm, will take the talent and give him the time to develop in much the way Nill’s former employer in Detroit does things.
For a listing of NHL Mock drafts around the internet, please check out our friends at the NHL mock database.
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