3 Year Draft Outlook for Non-Playoff Teams

     We have seen great examples of teams building (and lucking out) in the draft in recent years.  Not making the playoffs is never the goal of any team.  Hockey is an incredibly competitive sport bursting with pride-filled athletes who hate losing, period.

     For the teams that didn’t make the playoffs this year, there is always the optimism that the draft can bring.   I thought I would be interesting to outline the potential optimism for each of the 14 teams that didn’t make the playoff this year.  Here is the potential hauls for those teams should their position remain the same over the next 3 years (yes, I know it won’t, but play along):

Colorado

2013 – Seth Jones (other options: Nathan MacKinnon, Jonathan Drouin)

2014 – Aaron Ekblad (other options: Sam Reinhart, Willy Nylander)
2015 – Connor McDavid (other options: there aren’t any if McDavid is a possibility)

A core built with these three exceptional players would immediately make Colorado a powerhouse.  A one-two punch of Jones and Ekblad on the point would be near impossible to match.  Up front Colorado is doing just fine with O’Reilly, Duchene and Landeskog already wearing their uniforms.  McDavid will be a player who steps right in and has the potential to take over.  At this rate Colorado could be more potent than ever in just 3 years.

 

Florida

2013 – Nathan MacKinnon (other options: Jonathan Drouin, Valeriy Nichushkin)

2014 – Sam Reinhart (Willy Nylander, Anton Karlsson)
2015 – Matthew Barzal (Jack Eichel, Zack Werenski)

Florida is already brimming with talented young prospects.  They are set in goal long term with Jacob Markstrom, they have good building blocks on defense and they have a versatile group of competitive young offensive prospects as well.  Another big time defender could be a priority for the Panthers but if they maintain this course they could end up with one of the most gamebreaking groups of forwards in the league, a group comparable to that of Edmonton, Chicago and Pittsburgh.

Tampa Bay

2013 – Jonathan Drouin (other options: Valeriy Nichushkin, Darnell Nurse)

2014 – Willy Nylander (other options: Anton Karlsson, Leon Draisaitl)
2015 – Zach Werenski (other options: Oliver Kylington, Jack Eichel)

The rich could get much richer here.  With St. Louis getting up there age wise, he could really find the perfect protégé to pass the Stamkos set-up torch to with Drouin.  Nylander would give them another very exciting offensive playmaker to build a secondary unit around, and the massive and versatile Werenski could really give them a strong one-two punch with potential twin-tower partner Victor Hedman.  Don’t forget they have Koekkoek, (edit) Kucherov, Panik and potential franchise goaltender Andrei Vasilevski on the horizon as well.

 

Nashville

2013 – Darnell Nurse (other options: Sasha Barkov, Sean Monahan)

2014 – Anton Karlsson (other options: Leon Draisaitl, Jake Virtanen)
2015 – Jack Eichel (other options: Oliver Kylington, Aleksi Saarela)

Nashville has a very interesting future ahead of them.  Nurse could become the extra valuable, versatile defender under Shea Weber’s wing and could really boost the opportunities for Josi, Blum and Ellis offensively.  He would go a long way in returning Nashville to the pedestal of most desirable defense corps in the league.  Filip Forsberg will be an excellent addition to Nashville long term and should begin to carry the bulk of the offense with Colin Wilson.  Add an ultra-competitive player like Karlsson who can add both offense and grit and an exceptional young offensive goal scorer and Nashville all of a sudden is a very scary team in almost every regard.

 

Carolina

2013 – Valeriy Nichushkin (other options: Sasha Barkov, Sean Monahan)

2014 – Roland McKeown (other options: Jack Glover, Leon Draisaitl)
2015 – Aleksi Saarela (other options: Oliver Kylington, Noah Hanifin)

Picking at this spot for 3 straight years could prove to yield a pretty spectacular bounty.  There is some strong talent available and it’s where the risky or forgotten about talents in the top 4 would fall.  A team could build a very strong core at this spot.  Carolina, who already has a strong core would be able to improve their depth significantly.  Nichushkin, McKeown and even Saarela all have the potential to be cornerstone players at their positions, adding all three would be scary for other teams to consider and could push a team to the top of their conference rather quickly.  Don’t expect Carolina to be picking at 5 in 2014 and 2015 but if they did somehow….the results could tip the balance of power in the league very fast.

 

Calgary

2013 – Sean Monahan (other options: Sasha Barkov, Bo Horvat)

2014 – Leon Draisaitl (other options: Jack Glover, Jake Virtanen)
2015 – Noah Hanifin (other options: Oliver Kylington, Dylan Strome)

Calgary is one of the most likely teams to end up having their position and projection on this list come true.  They have finally committed to a rebuild and Flames fans can rejoice in the fact that these drafts could give them a plethora of exciting young talent.  The idea that Monahan (who reminds me of Eric Staal) and Draisaitl (who reminds me of a slightly less productive Evgeni Malkin) could end up on the same team is almost reason to go out and buy a Flames jersey right now.  Add to that the possibly of adding a franchise defender in 2015 with Hanifin, Kylington or Pilon or grabbing another electrifying forward like Strome and the flicker the Flames have right now gets very bright very fast.  Also of note is their 2 other 1^st round picks in this year’s draft.  By 2015/2016 the Flames could possess one of the most exciting organizations in the entire sport.

 

Edmonton

2013 – Nikita Zadorov (other options: Sasha Barkov, Rasmus Ristolainen)

2014 – Jack Glover (other options: Jake Virtanen, Brycen Martin)
2015 – Oliver Kylington (other options: Ryan Pilon, Dylan Strome)

Edmonton has done well for themselves building a strong core of exciting young forwards, but their fan base will quickly tell you they need to improve their d-corps if they are going to meet their potential.  Schultz was a solid signing and Klefbom is on the horizon but the Oilers can really meet their needs by using their next picks to build that solid stable on the backend.  Good news for Edmonton, there’s a ton of defenders coming up that fit their needs near perfectly.

 

Buffalo

2013 – Sasha Barkov (other options: Bo Horvat, Elias Lindholm)

2014 – Jake Virtanen (other options: Brycen Martin, Michael Dal Colle)
2015 – Ryan Pilon (other options: Dylan Strome, Jansen Harkins)

The Sabres will not be out of the playoffs for much longer, they have a very competitive young pool of talented prospects and are in line to get even deeper after this year’s draft.  They have grinders, goal scorers, playmakers, hitters and solid two-way defenders already in their system and if they stick to their path, they could become one of the deepest teams in the league in a matter of a couple seasons.

 

New Jersey

2013 – Elias Lindholm (other options: Bo Horvat, Curtis Lazar)

2014 – Jakub Vrana (other options: Brycen Martin, Sonny Milano)
2015 – Dylan Strome (other options: Jordan Greenway, Jansen Harkins)

 This almost seems unfair to do using New Jersey considering they will have to forfeit their 1^st round pick in 2014 due to the Ilya Kovalchuk cap-circumvention ruling.  New Jersey has done well building a nice new stable of young defenders but has also run into some trouble with some of their prospects off the ice as well.  They are an organization that most of us should have learned not to count out, but the odds are stacked against them and the vision of “what could have been” is already a bit haunting for the Devils.

 

Dallas

2013 – Bo Horvat (other options: Rasmus Ristolainen, Curtis Lazar)

2014 – Brycen Martin (other options: Jacob Middleton, Michael Dal Colle)
2015 – Jansen Harkins (other options: Jordan Greenway, Gustav Franzen)

Amazing that a team picking in the 10 spot will have such a strong shot to grab these type of players as they could all turn a team around quickly.  The Stars have an interesting prospect pool and could build themselves a very gritty and competitive team while still competing for playoff spots year after year.  Horvat and Harkins could both end up being the steal of their drafts and Martin could prove to be one of the best puck distributing defenders of his draft class.  Not bad big D….not bad at all.

 

Philadelphia

2013 – Rasmus Ristolainen (other options: Ryan Pulock, Steven Santini)

2014 – Jacob Middleton (other options: Michael Dal Colle, Nic Ritchie)
2015 – Jordan Greenway (other options: Ryan Gropp, Erik Cernak)

One of the least likely teams to be on this list going forward, the Flyers have the opportunity to finally nab a franchise defender.  Something they have coveted.  Ristolainen/Pulock/Santini /Zadorov would be excellent targets for Philly depending on what they want from that defender.  Pulock has the offensive ability, Santini the shutdown defensive ability, Zadorov the physicality and Ristolainen the nice mix of all.  This draft position will likely have some significant size and toughness available at it all 3 years, which works well Philly fans, wouldn’t you say?

 

Phoenix

2013 – Curtis Lazar (other options: Steven Santini, Hunter Shinkaruk)

2014 – Nic Ritchie (other options: Michael Dal Colle, Kaspari Kapanen)
2015 – Gustav Franzen (other options: Matthew Spencer, Evgeny Svechnikov)

A haul like Lazar, Ritchie and Franzen for a bubble playoff team really speaks to the strength of the early portions of the next 3 drafts.  That is a top tier first line in the not too distant future, one that reminds of the top line from the LA Kings.  Just missing the playoffs for a couple of years doesn’t seem so bad with this kind of talent still hanging around at this spot in the draft.

 

Winnipeg

2013 – Ryan Pulock (other options: Steven Santini, Josh Morrissey)

2014 – Michael Dal Colle (other options: Kaspari Kapanen, Jared McCann)
2015 – Pavel Zacha (other options: Erik Cernak, Evgeny Svechnikov)

The excitement in Winnipeg of having the team back is starting to turn into expectation and the Jets faithful can taste the post-season.  The Jets core and prospect group is an interesting mix.  They have strong leadership and decent depth with some good talent on the horizon including Mark Scheifele, Paul Postma and Jacob Trouba.  Ryan Pulock is a great target for the Jets this go around, as he’s a (semi) local kid and fits their long term needs perfectly.  If the Jets continue to take the baby steps they could really have a shot at building a good, deep and versatile core that will continue to push the Jets and their faithful fans to their ultimate goals.

 

Columbus

2013 – Andre Burakowsky (other options: Hunter Shinkaruk, Max Domi)

2014 – Kaspari Kapenen (other options: Jared McCann, Marcel Godbout)
2015 – Rasmus Andersson (other options: Erik Cernak, Ryan Gropp)

 A surprise team at the end of the non-playoff team draft list this year, Columbus has that feel about them that they should need to take a step back before being able to take another one forward…but with that being said, they are quickly becoming the most surprising organization in the league and under the leadership of Jarmo Kekkalainen and John Davidson this team could be headed for bigger things than we can predict.  Especially if Sergei Bobrovsky continues to develop the way he has. Either way, the amount of talented players that could really add to any organization that will still be available at this draft position over the next few years is impressive.  Teams will be able to build depth at whatever capacity they deem most important without having to sacrifice their shot at the playoffs and selling the farm at the trade deadline.  It could be a nice consolation for a heartbroken team.