The Hockey PDOcast - The 2026 Mock Draft

Episode Date: June 20, 2026

Dimitri Filipovic is joined by Cam Robinson and Chris Peters to do our annual mock draft of the top 16 picks in this year's class. If you'd like to gain access to the two extra shows we're doing each week this season, you can subscribe to our Patreon page here: www.patreon.com/thehockeypdocast/membership If you'd like to participate in the conversation and join the community we're building over on Discord, you can do so by signing up for the Hockey PDOcast's server here: https://discord.gg/a2QGRpJc84 The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

dressing to the mean since 2015. It's the Hockey PEDEOCast with your host, Dmitri Filippovich. Welcome to the Hockey PEOCast. My name's Dimitra Filippovich. And joining me is my good buddy Cam Robinson, Cam. What's going on, man? How we doing, pal? Yeah, excited.

Draft week is nearly upon us. This is the good stuff. I'm very excited as soon as I hear that voice, and I'm sure the PEDOCast listeners as well, they know something good, is around the corner because also joining us, the third member of our crew, here. My good buddy, Chris Peters, C.P., what's going on?

Dimitri, a lot is going on. Everything's happening right now. What are you talking about? It's draft week, as Cam said. And so we're all just trying to survive at this point in the prospect world. We're just trying to survive in advance. And we can't wait. I can't wait for the draft to come. But this is a highlight of the draft season right here, getting to join you guys. Well, you might be trying to survive, but today the three of us are going to thrive. And The draft is just one week away, as you guys said, and we're going to do our mock draft of the lottery picks. We're going to do the top 16. We're going to go through each pick back and forth and just kind of talk through the process as well.

We're framing it more what we think should happen based on our rankings as opposed to what will happen, although we can certainly talk about each situation individually. This is one hell of a tradition for us. I believe this is the seventh year in a row. The three of us have gone together. CPI think you missed one of them in now. Nashville, but Cam and I picked up the slack. Otherwise, we've been united. And Cam, you and I have done this going back to the Vancouver draft in 2019 back when I love any excuse

to tell this story when you came over and we were hanging down in my living room. Ufebodein joined us. He was jet lag flying all the way over from Sweden, passed out halfway through, either because we were incredibly boring or he was just tired. But then we needed some takes from him about Philip Robberg and boy, did he spring to action like the true professional he is. And that as a highlight core memory for me. You know, normally we kick these shows off with a long preamble about process and methodology and all that good stuff. I think we can skip that this year because there's so much for us to get through

and you guys have already been so gracious with your time during your busy schedule. So we're going to get right into it. I will say, though, I'm not sure if the two you feel the same way. You've obviously been doing the legwork for a long time before I have swooping in here after the Stanley Cup final and just absorbing as much information as I can to prepare, I still feel like this might be the most prepared I've been at any point that we've done these. And yet it's probably the least confident I feel in where I ultimately landed. And maybe that speaks to the uncertainty of this class, the differing opinions, the lack of consensus. But I'm

trying to juggle those two things where I feel pretty ready. And yet I don't feel ready at all. I'm not sure if the two of you feel the same way. Yeah, welcome to the club. Hey? Yeah. Yeah. Like Chris, Chris and I went over our personal boards. I just put mine out there. And like, you feel it every year right before you hit submit you're like oh maybe maybe just one more one more flip like it never feels right but this year in particular it's like I got a good book on these guys I think I think we know these guys but you still don't feel great about the projection it's it's a unique draft class hey yeah yeah I definitely feel the same way I I said at the second I I hit published like I mean you feel like the instant twinges of regret which is really just I think you know

anxiety taking over. But beyond that, you know, this year in particular was really challenging just to, you know, get it in the right order. You know, I think that we've had, we haven't even really been able to debate because the gaps between these guys are not significant where it's like you're being completely unreasonable. How could you possibly do that? Which is going to be fun because you know somebody's going to come in there and disrupt this thing at some point. So, but yeah, but I mean, like, you know, Cam and I, our boards are, are different, but it's like, it's like you can see reasonable arguments either way. So, um, maybe it doesn't make for the best radio, but it does, uh, it's, it is today because I think there's going to be some shockers. Let's get, let's bring some

shockers to the, uh, to the, to the, to the four here. Well, let's do it. I will say, this is, um, the show out of all the ones that I do every year that I get asked the most about. Are you doing it this year? When is it going to happen? When can I listen to it? I can't wait for it. And we are here. So let's get after it. We're on the clock. Cam, I'm going to give you the first pick because I was listening back to some of our old ones. And I feel like I always just give it to CP.

Maybe it's because I just defer to him when he graces us with his presence as soon as he is able to get on the Zoom finally. Six out of seven, man. Come on, yeah. Well, we got to make sure it's seven out of eight next year. So I want to have you generally want to have you back. But in this case, I know you're not that enthusiastic about the gap between one and two. And so I'm going to give it to Cam here. Then I'm going to give you the second pick.

sure thing that's great that's great i feel like yeah you're right i feel like i never get top spot a little preamble might as well just to give the people something to chew on is that it's going to be gavin mckenna no preamble it's going to be gabin mckenna i'm taking gab mackenna at this spot i do think though and i've said it all over the place i i believe that there are six names in the first tier and i think that if i'm not if toronto decided to go with any one of those six, probably five for most people, but six for me, I don't think it would be a mistake. I think that there is, there's arguments to be made for them to look at a defenseman. There's arguments to be made to look at a center. At the end of the day, I think Gavin McKenna

has the highest pure offensive upside and what he's lacking, you can buy elsewhere to surround him with. And that if you're going to hit big, you got to, you got to take a swing on the highest talent available. And that's Gavin McKenna. And Ivor Stenberg's a terrific player, high-skill players, Chase Reed, Hill Mulchra, Vigo, Beork, all these guys are great players. But McKenna's just got that little notch above with pure electric offense. That's fair. You know, Cam, as a follow-up to that, and I already know CPs take on this, because him and I did a show right after the lottery,

and we got into McKenna a little bit. But just through the process here, I want you to talk a little bit about the first, first second half splits, and obviously his production improved. But did you see on tape, like some of the questions you might have had at that point, answer to provide a little more confidence, especially out of the gate in terms of dropping him into the NHL next season and what that's going to look like from a pace perspective particularly? Listen, if I had my way, I would probably send him back to school for another year,

to be completely honest with you. It's not going to happen. I don't think that going back to Penn State would make as much sense as it would have to go back to Michigan or Michigan State if you went to one of those schools instead, which kind of were the runners up for him. I think that the split between a season, I think it was a, you know, myself included, but we tried to be, we tried to be unbiased and clearheaded, but, you know, he wasn't bad early on in the season, right? He was still clicking at a point per game pace. It was just that

some of his deficiencies were becoming more and more exposed against stronger and older competition. And I thought the same thing at the World Juniors. He was good. He put up big numbers, but there were some issues in his game that still, you know, cropped up. And those are noteworthy when you're talking about a player who's supposed to be the slam dunk number one, you know, the term generational getting thrown around in his draft minus one season. It's like the expectations are very, very high. To go out and did what he did in the back half, yes, I thought he added more, you know, more interior play to his game. I thought he upped his pace. I thought he added a little more compete. Those are still not strengths. They're not going to be strengths of his in the NHL. At least

they're not projected to be yes. So you take the player as he is and you hope to build on his strength and improve his deficiencies a little bit to the point where he can be, you know, like we've Compton the other day is in our Termi Panera. Someone who, you know, is able to put up big, big point seasons, but maybe not that slam dunk Hall of Fame or like a Patty Kane or Nikita Kutrov, which people like to compare him to as well. CP, I think this is what's interesting about this scenario for both him and the Leafs. I know you've kind of framed it as it's not your typical year with how close the gap is,

particularly between that top three as sort of your conventional first overall pick where it's like this foundational cornerstone player that has no questions about him is going to step in and immediately change the trajectory of your organization moving forward. I think he still has the capability of that, especially as a scorer, but there's a lot of stuff to kind of work out in the process. He doesn't necessarily need to be that out of the gate because he's going to a team that has Austin Matthews for at least the next couple of years, William Nealander as well. Like there's talent in places. This isn't your conventional, you know, bottoming out tanking team that got the first overall pick and is really starting from scratch.

So I think that is going to benefit him, yet at the same time beyond the pressure of going to the Toronto market, is that they won't have access to their first round pick in the next two years. And so this really does need to pan out in terms of avoiding a repeat this time next year or two years from now. And so you can kind of take both the good or the bad, but I think that's what makes it so fascinating where, like, on the one hand, there isn't as much pressure as there is for a first overall pick usually and in the other hand in different ways there's probably even more so than usual yeah that's a great way to put it it's like

it's you know and then you throw in just the toronto component of it all you know and that's like good luck you know have have fun you know that's that's going to be that's going to be a challenge but you know i think the thing is is that you're going to have to be patient with with this uh with with with gavin because there are going to be some growing pains but to your point they have their core in place. He is now, and I've often thought, like, he doesn't look to me like a cornerstone player, but he does look like an elite complimentary player, like, which is not a slight on anybody. Like, if you can be a guy that is, you know, enhances the performance of those around you,

which I think he could potentially do over time, that's a good thing to be. So I think there's a lot to like about, you know, Gavin's skill and the, you know, the confidence that he possesses. and the ability to deal with the pressure and other things like that. But, you know, I just think for, for Toronto, the issue is, you know, they make the trade for Darren Radish. They get a top four defensemen for their roster, which is what's something they sorely needed. I still think, you know, typically you don't, you don't often trade for Cornerstone defensemen. You know, so I still feel like that's potentially a missing link. And if you, if Gavin doesn't hit and any of these other defensemen do, you know, it'll look.

bad, but I think it'll look just as bad, you know, if you pass on the 100 point winger, which I think McKenna could be. Cam, my one final thing on McKenna here, I was thinking about the fit between him and Matthews. And, you know, I think about, in especially his CPs talking about it, like him being an enhancer or an accentuator in terms of just like making plays and creating easier opportunities. You watched the Leafs last year, and especially after Marner leaves, like Matthews is playing with Max Domi and Bobby. Bobby McMahon and like really having to do so much of the heavy lifting.

And for a guy who's not a blazer himself, like it's sometimes more difficult when he has to carry the puck all the way up the ice himself. I wonder if McKenna is going to be able to take some of that workload away from him now. The double-edged sword is because of their roster, Matthews last year had to play top competition all the time and had like a pretty crazy deployment. And if that carries over and those two guys are playing together, all of a sudden that means there's going to be a bit of an extra spotlight, I think, on McKinsey. Kenna's defensive game because he's just going to be playing other really good players and not necessarily getting eased into the NHL flow of things. I would absolutely try to find ways to insulate him as much as possible, especially in his first year, because there will be deficiencies that will be exposed when you're matching up against other teams' top lines. So you're right,

that double-edged sword is very, it's going to be very prevalent in the discussion around him. And again, like all, and Chris mentioned, all under the bubble of the Toronto market, right, which is thrilled ahead of this pick and will be thrilled on draft day, but first signs of him coughing up a poker and egregious turn over here or missing an assignment like he's going to be feeling it. But as far as him complimenting a player like Austin Matthews, absolutely, right? He's those three names that I mentioned, Panarin, Kudraoff, Kane, the rare, highly skilled playmaking first wingers, right?

And Austin Matthews is one of the more rare big power shoot first centers. or the greatest shooters of a generation. So, you know, he scored 27 goals last year. Obviously, that's a massive downseason for him. That said, you know, Mitch Marner is what McKenna should probably be aspiring to become. That level of player with that two-way game attached to it has even more impact. And so that's unlikely to carry with him that, you know, maybe the offense, a Marner level offense comes with him.

But so it's, in my opinion, you know, like people are really, really excited about the prospect of those two playing together. I think you had a better version of that already. with Marner next to Matthews, and we saw what that produced, nearly 70 goals, right? So it's like, can, can they reignite that as a two? Yes, I think so. But I think that, again, even if he plays with Matthews all next season and he puts up like a 50-point season, I think that's tremendous, but that should be the expectation, not that he's going to step in and be a superstar and a game changer in someone that you,

like you said, it changes the complexion of your franchise from day one. That's, I think that that would be overselling what he's going to bring. All right. Second overall, San Jose Sharks, Chris, you're on the clock. Yeah, and I think this is the one that we all are really waiting to see what's going to happen because I think there are probably two to three names that are on everybody's mind for where they go here. And pinning that down has been, you know, the challenge of a lot of people and even in talking to scouts. Now, the sharks also made a trade for Michael Kesselring. And then that in addition to a first round pick that had them move back in the first round with their second pick.

But does that or should that impact what they do at number two? I don't think it does. It may telegraph a little bit, though, in the ways they're trying to address their blue line, which is a position of serious need of improvement. On my personal board, it's Evar Stenberg. But I still feel like this is a team that is less a winger away and more a defenseman away from really having that core that they can, build around long term. And I think that the guy that gives them the best potential to come out of

this draft with another cornerstone style piece is Chase Reed. So I'm going to give them Chase Reed. And I know a lot of people say, well, best player available. If I thought the gap between Chase Reed and Evar Stenberg was so severe, I would go with Stenberg. But I'm often in times where it's close or whether it's, I don't think it's quite a tie because I do have Stenberg ahead of him. He's number two on my list. But in the times where it is close, the premium position wins out. And the defenseman, like, do I think, you know, people, some people have likened it to, like, if Chicago drafting Artem Lev Shinov instead of Ivan Demadov, you know, that, yeah,

maybe there's a certain degree of that. I think that what you have with Chase Reed as a player that's a little bit more gifted offensively, has the shot, the skating ability, the athletic profile. The thing is, you know, we just saw Zach Werenski win the Norris Trophy. I think that, you know, Reed's profile is similar to that. I don't think that Sam Dickinson is a cornerstone defenseman. I think he's a very good defenseman, but I do not view him as a cornerstone of that franchise in the way that I would with Chase Reed.

I think if the sharks were to take Stenberg, I would not complain at all because I think that that is a very fair pick. I think he's a great complimentary player for Macklin-Celebrini in particular. They both play hard. They'll be menaces to play against. you know, if you put them together, that's a really talented line. So I think if you're a Sharks fan, you're ecstatic about that. Chase Reed, you're going to have to wait a little bit longer for.

He's probably two years away from being able to really make an impact at the NHL level. That said, if he's making an impact at that level, you know, that's big. So it's a tough one, but I'm going with Reed. I'm going to stick with him here. But like I said, to me, it's a very narrow margin for the, for the teams making this decision. I think it's totally reasonable, Cam. Like I was looking at, I mean, just thinking this through, we just saw today, for example, Darren Radish, a right shot defender, gets paid 8.5 times 8.

And it's risky and on the richer side. And yet it's kind of reasonable, given the lack of available options and the need for the team. And that's a common sentiment for a lot of different organizations, the sharks included. Just looking at their depth chart, it's totally bereft of right shot defenders that could play. atop the lineup reasonably, even if it's two years from now. And so this is probably the last time they're going to be picking this caliber of player for a long time in the draft. After picking in the top five for a long time, they win this lottery. They get the second pick.

They have that 27th pick. As you mentioned, we'll probably be picking in the low teens, the 20s moving forward. And so this is probably their easiest access to bringing a player like this into the organization without having to play a premium for it, either in the trade or free agent market. So assuming you love the player and there's no reason not to from everything I've seen. I think the mobility as well in today's game is incredibly important. It feels like a really strong pick. But the market right now is viewing this choice as basically a 50-50 coin flip between Sandberg and Reed and which way it's going to go.

I think it's very reasonable, obviously. And like Chris said, if there was a significant gap, and I think that that's where it really came down to with that Chicago Levchenoff over Demandoff is that many evaluators, had it as a significant gap if you wanted to talk about ceiling anyways you know the floor the floor had a pretty big gap between those two probably but i think chase read i i'm i'm like chris where it's like my girl has done an excellent job the last couple years of of kind of holding the the cards close to the vest and and not letting anybody really have a clear view it's like we we can kind of piece together

by who they talked to who they went out for dinner at the combine things like that you know there's people are talking all over the place i've got former executives tech me, hey, I hear they really like this guy. I think Carol's is still a potential there. You know, like there's several names that you could see them going with. But at the end of the day, the 6'3 right shot defenseman, who's arguably the best skater and potentially best shooter in the entire draft class in Chase Reed, someone who can comfortably project as your power play one guy.

It's you're absolutely right. This is where you get those players. This is where you bring them along. This is where you get value before they're being overpaid in their contracts. And that's something that San Jose desperately needs. All right. So I'm third on the clock here for the Canucks. And I was planning on taking read because I surveyed CPs draft board and I saw you at Stenberg second. And I'm like, all right, I'm going to go read here. Even though you would say the one relative strength for the Canucks organization is, I guess the young talent they have on the blue line. Yet there's on the ground floor of this rebuild. And there's so much work ahead that I strongly believe they should just take whoever they think is the best player available, regardless of position and just keep accumulating talent and then figuring it out. a couple years from now when it actually matters because I think they're going to be in this position for the foreseeable future. But with Reid off the board, I will go Stenberg. Now,

what makes that kind of interesting to me is I think one of the positives for him, especially for a team like San Jose, is how relatively pro-ready he is in terms of making an impact. And we've seen him on the international stage and obviously playing against grown men already in Sweden for a team like the Sharks, for example, that was so close to making the playoffs this year with how good Celebrini is, it's reasonable to assume they're finally going to get into the playoffs next year, and that'd be a nice piece to have.

It's not as meaningful, I think, for the Canucks, yet at the same time, I think the profile of the scoring, but also all the details and hard work and everything, just makes for a really interesting prospect for them to add to their pool and then figure it out later. So I'll go Stenberg here, Cam. What do you think about that?

because if they are in this position where McKenna and Reed go one, two, are you viewing it as probably being Malholtra with this pick? Or do you think they would just go with Stenberg because he's been a top two pick throughout this process? Yeah, a couple of weeks ago I would have said, and I did say that I think that the Kinex might pass on Stenberg for Malholtra. And my opinion shifted on that. I do, I don't know if they will, but I think that like Chris,

I've got Stenberg number two on my board. So I would go best player available, especially in Vancouver situation. like you said, that they don't need to draft positionally at this point where a team like San Jose can. They have that luxury because of the young talent that they already have in house. Vancouver needs more of it. And so if it was Reed, if it was Carson Carls, even if it was Carson Carls, which on paper looks silly because they have Z. Buoyum. You know, they have Elias Pedersen. They have Carrel Kodracev.

You know, they have guys on the left side, young guys. But, you know, they wanted to go that route because that was the best player on their board. I'd be just fine with that too. But in this situation, Stenberg should clearly be the best player. He's very close to NHL ready. I don't think that matters. But I think that his hard skill is upside, his tenacity. He's proven it at every level.

And he continues to do so, is that he is the potential to be a star level player. And that's what Vancouver needs most. More talent, more star level players. CP, you got any Stenberg takes? Yeah, I mean, I love the player. You know, I think that the thing is, is that, and I would tend to agree. I mean, I think Malhotra, there's a fit for Malhotra in a variety. variety of ways aside from the fact that his father is coaching and all those other things.

But I do think that there is a gap between the two players and that there is a higher offensive ceiling on Yvars Stenberg. I think that you don't give much away in terms of the competitiveness, the two-way play. Like, you know, he's dogged in Puck Pursuit. You know, he's got the hand skills and the scoring ability and all that stuff. And, you know, the fact of the matter is is that, you know, I feel like he's a top line winger, whereas Caleb Malhotra is a number two potentially to a number one center. Whereas, you know, I think that the safer projection is probably that he's a 2C.

And so, you know, and like I said, like just for, and you made a good point too, Dmitri, about, you know, the timeline. And like, I think San Jose is going to feel the pressure of maximizing McElabrini through the window that he's his most competitive, which is starting earlier than most players do. So I think that that does maybe potentially enhance the opportunity for them to take Stenberg here. And then that does create an interesting dynamic for the decision of Vancouver at if Stenberg is also gone. But yeah, I mean, it's a very tough one to call.

I think the premium position does matter, but I think to me the gap exists enough to where I would pick Sennberg as well. All right, number four, the Chicago Blackhawks, Cam, you're up. So here's where it gets really tricky because, you know, the difference between what would I do in this situation

versus what I think is going to happen in this situation, right? Like that's where we get to, I think, at this point here. I think Chicago would have loved to get a swing at Chase Reed. I think that they, you know, even though they took Lebschenoff at number two there, a big right shot D, I think they wouldn't mind another one that they could be like, this is going to be our top power play guy. I think they really like Keaton Verhoff.

I think that there's a world where this is, this is Keaton Verhoff's music right here. I'm not sure Caleb Mulhulchuk fits exactly right. They have Frundell, if they truly believe he's a center. They have Badard, obviously. They have Frankie Nazar. So now it becomes tricky. And I don't think they need the left shot D. I'm going to give him Keaton Verhoff here.

I'm going to give him Keaton Verhoff here. And I think that that's going off of my personal top tier. But I think that it makes a lot of sense for them for what they're doing because I don't think they would go Vigo Bjork either. So that kind of eliminates the rest of that top tier for me. So at this spot here, I'm going to give him Keaton Verhof. I think with him, you know, all year long there was talk that he could be a top three guy. Could he be a number one overall pick this year?

Big right shot defenseman. If he stayed in the Western Hockey League, he probably would have scored 30 goals, 30 plus goals. our opinions would be different of them, but like McKenna, some of his deficiencies were exposed early by him going to college as a 17-year-old. So the crux in his game. And he understands it as well. He told me all about it at the combine. He needs to get quicker.

If he can get a little more quickness out of his game, a little more explosiveness, and then if he can improve his decision-making under pressure, his execution maybe under pressure, then I think that now will suddenly have a first pair upside, that there's value there as a first pair defenseman on the right side at 6'4 and will be big and has the ability to be physical as well too. So that's where we'll go here for Chicago. Berhoff's so interesting to me because I feel like in CP,

I'm sure you agree with this as well. Like he gets some of the stuff he put on tape in the NCAA used against him, yet I can't help but wonder if he had just stayed in the WHL and just terrorized that league again, what the perception of it would be compared to taking that tougher challenge and taking some lumps along the way. At the same time, especially in reading through his reports

in the EP draft guide, I do have a bit of fear whenever I see stuff like questions about sense and feel, particularly against forechecking pressure and the transition data forum was ugly and how important that is in today's game. And maybe I'm just scarred from being so high

on David Yurecheck a couple years ago and then watching his transition into the NHL where it looks incredibly ugly with how clunky has moved. movement is in those situations. And so maybe that's an unfair comparison. And we should just be viewing this independently of that. But I feel like all those are kind of factors in this decision. Yeah, I think so. And I mean, I was very high on your check as well. And I think there's been a number of things that haven't quite gone the way that they should have with him. But, you know,

what I'll say with with with Verhof in particular, I do think that the concerns that exist, like the thing about him going to college and the argument about whether or not he should have. The one thing that I do think college has afforded us, and this is true of Gavin McKenna as well, it's given us better information, I feel like. I feel like it's given us a better idea of where these players are, where they have deficiencies, what they can do better. And I think that there is, I think there's good data for Keaton Verhoff to kind of look at where things need to improve and he can do that. My concern is that the one thing where I felt like there was a little bit more like I didn't,

his movement didn't bother me a ton. His hockey sense and his decision making kind of, especially at various stages down the stretch were, you know, in terms of when he was jumping into plays, how he was jumping into plays. You know, Reed's he was making defensively. Those were the things that I felt a little bit more concerned about. But it's why he ended up a little bit lower on my board. Because I actually, you know, I've seen, I've had great viewings of Keaton.

I've had not so good ones. I just think that in this class, the group of defensemen, like Chicago has taken swings on D. So like you look at, you know, guys that were drafted late in the first line, like Renzel, but then you've got Levchenov at two, Korschinsky, which is not working out so well at this point. You know, it's seven. So like there's, they have some of these, these, you know, hits and misses. And I think whatever you do at four, you're going to want some certainty. And honestly, if I'm Chicago and the guys that, like, if Stenberg's not there, I would

would strongly consider trading the pick. I would strongly consider trading, trading back or trading, you know, and maybe going for another forward later while also getting some assets. I think they need to find help, more immediate help. But like to Cam's point, there's a lot of people that are still incredibly high on Verhof and rightfully so, because there is such tremendous upside there. So very fascinating player in this draft and certainly one that's hard for me to read. Well, I'm excited about the pick camp because you read. really threw a wrench into my plans here based on how my board was shaking. And I feel

like we're going to see the after effects of that in a couple of picks here. Chris, you're on the clock here for the Rangers at number five now. Yeah. So for the Rangers, my pick for them would be Caleb Malhotra. I think that there's, you know, there's a very, I take a real, real long look at Carson Carls here, a real long look at them.

In the end, you know, I think Caleb Malhotra is the kind of mix of that two-way play character, you know, production, the guy that, you know, even if he's not a number one center, I think he's, you know, going to give you a chance as a really strong number two. I think, you know, in a lot of cases, like the thing is, is that I still believe that Malhotra has potential to get into that realm. He had, you know, 80 plus points. He was excellent in the postseason. He's good on the PKs. He's good on draws. Like, he does a lot of things. And I just think he's only going to get better as he gets stronger when he goes to college next year. And so I think if I'm the Rangers, you know, he's number four on my board. He's also, you know,

I could definitely see them taking a look at at Vigo Bjork as well, you know, and looking at that center position. So I've got basically, you know, three names that I'm giving you that I think could be make sense. But ultimately, I think Caleb Malhotra is kind of the right mix of things. And, you know, that's a team that's going to be going through an identity shift here in the near future. And I think you want guys with high character. And I think that's what Kayla. is, you know, like in addition to the way he plays on the ice. I just think he plays the right way. And I think he'll only get better as he goes forward. So I'm going to go with Mel Hoacher there. Cam, how do we in general just view sort of like later risers through this process?

Because it feels like certainly after the playoffs and then through the combine and all the information gathering that's happened since he's just been rising up the boards and up every mock draft that I've seen. And certainly like your information. is very valuable. There's a reason why this process plays out the way it does, yet I feel like it's probably also pretty easy to maybe overweight that at times and not factor in all the work that you put in previously. How do you sort of weigh those two kind of competing things?

It's difficult. It is. I like a riser more than a faller, though, that's for sure. You know, I'd love to anchor on back half of the season, playoff runs, world, you know, U-18s, things like that versus like a great Halinka performance and then a so-so year, a great D1 that didn't take a step forward and you're still anchoring to those old thoughts. Well, hey, he should have had it like a Tainan Lawrence where we expected him to be a really, really high pick. And then this year just

hasn't worked out as well. Conversely, you look at a kid like Beckett Seneca, right, who had that that meteoric rise back half of the season. Great, you know, jumped up really early and now we see what he's doing as a 20-year-old in the NHL this year. It looks like a star for sure. So it's something that you have to really kind of, it's situational as well, too, I would say, right? You need to look. Are they a driver, which Caleb Mulchralia was? He was playing on a great team with a bunch of very good players, and he was not a passenger on that team.

Like, often he was the best player on the ice for them. And so I think that that's telling. If you're just getting, you know, empty calorie points and then you really need to dig deeper. But in the case of Mulchra, I do think that it's valid. His rise is valid. And he has a lot of things going for him outside of just that production, the bloodlines, the two-way play, the leadership ability, from all reports he is. some teams expect one day to wear a letter and to be just kind of a player that brings a lot of value

through a lot of elements in the game. All right. So I'm up on the clock here at number six for the flames. And I had Carl's going at number five to the Rangers. And I think they would make that pick. And I'm incredibly excited about the player. But I'm going to stick to my board here, despite the fact that he's available. And I'm going to go with Eagle Bjork for the flames. And the reason for that is given where the flames are at right now, I like the idea of just swinging on a difference maker. And I think Carl's could certainly be that. But I'm just so enamored with Bjork as a prospect right now. And part of it might be the recency bias of watching the Stanley Cup playoffs and seeing what Logan Stankovin did there. And despite Stankovin's success,

I think you look at the numbers and it's still working against a center of this size and today's game, despite all the changes that we've seen in the sport. Yet, I feel like putting everything together based on his performance in Sweden and then international events and the skill set and all of it together, I would not leave this draft without Bjork if I were them. And I wouldn't expect him to get past this Flames-Cracken combination because I could just kind of copy-paste everything I said about the need for it for the crack-in. So I'm going to go with Bjork here and I'm curious how you guys feel about it because you two are probably two of the higher reputable rankers for him. I was excited to see that CP I was a bit worried where he'd have

him on his board because I feel like he's a bit of a boomer at times with some of this stuff. Old fashioned, yes. I was like, I can't wait till Bjork's 14th and I can rip him apart for this. And I'm like, oh my God, he's got him higher than the EP draft guide. And then can't puts out his own list and he one-ups CP, of course. So we're the three biggest Bjork heads here. But how do you guys feel about that pick And just the idea that he probably should not fall past seven at Seattle Maybe Winnipeg at eight, I guess if he somehow does get past them It's a good thing Drance isn't here

Because he'd have us all beat I was trying to be the devil on his shoulder I was like Thomas if you're going to put him second Why not go all the way and put him first? But I think I've said this before too I think Craig Cronroy does have The gumption to make that pick Do I believe he'd make that pick over Carson Carls?

I don't think so I don't think so personally, but that's fine. You know, like I, I love Vigo, obviously. And I think it would be a tremendous fit for them. I just also think that having a Carl's Perek as your blue line kind of core makes a lot of sense for them as well, too. And especially Carson Carl's with everything, you know, farm boy from the prairie. It's like it fits a lot of, a lot of things for that club too. But Vigo's a star, man.

I said he's, there's something special about this kid. I think he's going to break the mold of the smaller centers. It doesn't matter, you know, Stankovin's kind of walking so that Vigo can run. maybe. I'm excited about it. I mean, listen, anytime the EP draft guide gives a player a number one rank for motor, I'm in. And so say no more.

What do you, what do you think about that, CP? What do you think about Bjork in general? I mean, I love him. You know, like he really, I say, I say the most basic thing about him is that he just knows how to play hockey. And it's just like, you know, it's, it's just he does it the right way. He does everything that you need. And, you know, the only thing he doesn't do is, is do it at us, it is, it is,

it is 6-1 or 6-2 frame. You know, like, it's like, the fact is he's such a tremendous competitor. He is probably this best hockey sense in the draft, too, which I obviously value really highly. The fact that he's also so beloved by everybody that plays with him, not just because, you know, he's often been the youngest player on the team, but he's still a leader, you know, in even, even without letters, without saying anything, like, he just is a guy that gravitates towards you.

So I think there's a special commodity there. I think for the question for Calgary really is going to be that old-fashioned question of, okay, well, we're, we've drafted a fair amount of undersized forwards at this point. You know, where do we, we also have, you know, a much more offensive-minded defenseman in Zane Perrek. You know, like where, where do we necessarily draw the line because we're playing in a, in a very difficult division and will, that will be difficult over the course of time and also probably pretty big.

And so the thing is, is that, you know, I'd rank Vigo well ahead of. anybody else in their system at this point. And I think he's the kind of guy that you potentially could build a bit around more. So I don't think Craig Conroy is going to be afraid of Vigo Bjork. But it will create some additional work for Calgary to kind of build that roster out. Get a little size, get a little experience, those kinds of things that everybody has to do. But I think, you know, I have zero gripe with the pick. Yeah, that's a good point. I actually really, in reflecting on it, I really like the past two drafts for the flames. I think they've taken a lot of shots on skill and even with a guy

like Matt Vickridden, for example, I think you're seeing that paid evidence so far. So it'd be exciting regardless. I mean, you can't go wrong with Carl's here, certainly. But that frees up the seventh overall pick for Cam and the crack and I feel like it's a no-brainer. It is. And I had somebody all dialed up ready to go here and it was not Carson Carl. So they will, they will happily walk up. Should we just do the thing where we finish this draft and Carl's hasn't gone because we all do the powerful about how that's the obvious pick, but we're going to stick to the guy we had originally. Yeah, well, that's what happened when Chris and I did the mock on Ryan Lynn.

Like, I was, I was lobbying for Lynn to go at like 11 or something. And he ended up going like 21. We just kept falling down. We're like, oh, I guess this guy beats him in the head dad. And that happens. That happens on draft date. For sure, teams will tell you afterwards, be like, we loved him. We loved him way before he ended up going.

But when our pick came up, we just had one guy in front of them. And another team just had one guy in front of them. And so that will happen. But we're going Carson Carl's here to Seattle. That's easy money. Like everything we've said about them, I think that. there's a very realistic chance he could be the best defenseman in this crop. I really tossed and turned over having him as my top D on the board. I think his skating is fantastic. I think he has

a lot of intestinal fortitude. He's got a lot of a lot of jam in his game. And then the skill. Like he can turn it on and he can go for end end rushes, highlight real goals. He has a big shot. You know, he can clear the net front. He has a good stick. He has everything you look for just in a six foot one frame rather than a six foot three frame. So a big deal. And he's a lefty. I like it. I mean, yeah, the combination of the shot, but also the defensive skating, and then that snarl and physicality is incredibly exciting. Chris, you're on the clock here for the Jets at 8th. Are you going to take a goalie here?

That's hilarious and sad at the same time. Sorry, Jets fans. That was funny. I was not expecting that. No, I'm not. I'm not. I am, however, going to. take a defenseman. I am going to take a defenseman here. And I think, I think Cam probably knows where

I'm going with this one, because I believe it ended up going this way in our, in our mock draft, where we were doing what we think would happen. But I also think there's, if I'm the Winnipeg Jets, I'm drafting Western Canadians. And I, I'm maybe hoping that it's Keaton Verhof that's there. I'm just as happy if it's Daxson Rudolph. And I think, you know, the thing about the thing about where the jets are. So obviously, Dex and Rudolph's the pick there. They get a guy who could really move pucks,

who can get pucks through, really good shot, you know, so many great tools offensively. As much as he does need to work on the defensive elements of his game, I am not scared of that with him. I don't feel there is a lack of willingness

to get harder to play against. I don't think there's a lack of willingness to be a better defender overall. But I think that they, that they should really, you know, you have to focus on long-term assets in the draft if you're, and you look at kind of how drafting Americans has burned them in the past and other things, but like also the American guys that stuck around Hellebuck and Connor, at least for now, you know, and others that, you know, they really built them into what they ultimately became.

So, you know, I don't think you can be too shy about it, but I still think that you got to draft for longevity. And so this is where I would deviate from my board a little bit and just, go Rudolph because I think that there's a really good if I'm if I'm drafting for the for the Winnipeg Jets I want somebody that's going to be there long term yeah I mean I had Rudolph on my board here for the Jets and yeah a six three right shot defender with his offensive tools is a no brainer cam I feel like I was going through his tape and you know I think CP had the comp of of shay theodore which I think was apt um I saw a little Evan Bouchard in the sense that there's a smoothness to his

game, which at times can border on casualness. And I think that can maybe rub people the wrong way when it results in a turnover or a blown assignment. But I think ultimately some of the stuff you can do just so like the good just so greatly outweighs the bad. No, for sure. I think that's a pretty fair comp. We, we comped him to Brand Clark.

And I brought that out really early in the year because you're right. He's, he's very, very smooth. I think that his skating is a little janky, but it doesn't hold him back. Like he just maximizes it without clean form. but he has a big shot, you know, a really big shot. And you show that even as a D-1, I think his playmaking is underrated. I think he has the hand skills as well, too. The defensive side of the game is going to still need some work.

And I think that going to Denver, getting to work in a, you know, championship program like that under David Carl is going to do wonders for him as well to him and Ryan Lynn. So I think it's a great development path that he's taking here. He's a good player. He's a very good player. And if, you know, we're talking about guys like Brent Clark who went eighth overall, and is already running a power play in the NHL at this point and has tremendous upside. I think Dexton Rudolph has that too.

And just like Chris said, it doesn't hurt that he's a Western Canadian. All right. Well, you guys have messed up because I'm up here now with Nine for the Panthers and you guys let me get the guy that I wanted all along for them. And that's Albert Smith's. And the only thing I'll say here is that's if the Panthers keep the pick, I'm very skeptical. They will still leading up to the draft.

I think a package of ninth overall, Samiskevich's RFA rights and Evan Rodriguez's $3 million salary, which is really like the league minimum, I think, in terms of actual money owed is a no-brainer package for an impact player for a team that has a bunch of cap space and is going to be win now next year. But man, I love the fit here, theoretically at least, with Smith's playing a Panthers style of hockey without mobile

and aggressive and physical he is. I know there's some questions about the offensive ups and. side ultimately, but just watching him at the Olympics for Latvia and how natural he looked in that spot and how good he looked in such a big role at that age as the youngest player there, I think was incredibly exciting. And yeah, if you're just drawing a through line between fit of like what a player would look like on the ice for an organization theoretically, I feel like Smiths and the Panthers is such natural one.

Boy, is it? I mean, like, I think that that's an ideal scenario if you're the Panthers. and you also got like a semi-Lotvian army on the team as well. So you got that too. I just think he's a really, I think he's a really good player. And I think he'll play soon. Like that's the other thing. It's like now you're also getting some cost certainty for the next couple of years

because I do think he could play as soon as next season, especially if you insulate him properly. So, you know, if I'm the Panthers, you know, that's an easy walkup for me right there. Yeah, I feel like the sell is pretty easy. Albert's here going to just skate forward and hit and cut plays off before they ever trouble you defensively, and you're going to have fun doing so in the third pair to start, and then we're going to kind of load up a bigger workload for you. I feel like that could look pretty good as soon as next year.

Cam, what do you think about that fit and kind of Smiths in general? Because obviously we've listed a lot of defensemen so far in this top 10, and that's kind of a theme of this year's draft, and a couple of the guys we've gone through have, I think, much more offensive upside. But I feel like Smith's readiness and just like how projectable that skill set is in today's game. Like you could see it even in that Stanley Cup final we just watched. No, this seems like the easiest pick in the draft, which is probably why it won't happen. But it's a name that's been connected to this organization, you know, going back months that we heard that they really appreciate it for this player,

for all the reasons you just mentioned, especially the fact that he's so physically mature. so emotionally mature too and he's played at all the high levels he's proven he can play at it whether or not he's NHL ready next year you know that we'll see but but he's going to be ready quickly are we going to look back on it in six years and be like they could have made a better pick there's there's a player that's better than him now there's a defenseman who's better yeah i think that that's that's even probably likely but his path to being like a quality top for defensemen probably on your second pair who can you can hit hard skate hard and shoot hard it that's pretty it's pretty straight it's a pretty clear path for him to get there and I think

that's what florida's interested in is right now not necessarily winning this draft pick in six or eight years balinskis volmanis smiths let's go with the lativian army um exactly cam you're up here for the the national predator is a tenth overall this is a tricky one this is a tricky one for me um i have two names in mind and and one of them is Wyatt cullen who has you know the electric skill and high in skating and the growth spurt and everything going on there. The difficult season up and down with the injuries and the production and the program not being a great team this year. But I'm not going to take them.

You know, they took Brady Martin last year and Riker Lee. You know, they have Yeager Surin. They have some young forwards coming along. I'm giving them Malte Gustafsson. I'm giving them multi-Gustifson. This is an organization that has, they made their nut on pick and D and developing them well. And when I look at Maltee Gustafsson, a six-foot-five mobile, aggressive, highly nuanced defender already with skill, is able to,

you know, transition the puck with his feet, transition the puck with a pass, nothing overly creative, nothing highlight real, not someone that you're looking to run your first powerplay long term, but they also drafted Cameron Reed last year as a player who maybe could run a power play, a top power play one day. So he's the guy that's going to chew up 25, 28 minutes a night, play your penalty kill, play your second power play unit, and bring a lot of things to the table. that you never have to worry about. And I think Nashville is a really nice fit for a guy like multi-gustison. I like it.

Chris, you're up for the Blues at 11. And they have 11, 15, 19, and then 73, 75, 76. So quite a treasure chest of picks stacked together at their disposal. I think also an organization, I know they're undergoing some turnover with Alex Dean taken over, but I assume a lot of that staff on the scouting side is still in place. and they've historically done pretty well taking forwards in this 10 to 20 range in terms of finding NHL contributors and players who exceeded their draft slots. I'm very curious to see how they approach, especially these 11 and 15 picks in this draft.

Where are you going to go here now that Gustafson went 10th? Yeah, so, you know, I think any of the defensemen that I would consider in this range are now out of, out of contention with Gusifson going. I've got three names in mind and they're all forwards. It's Cullen. It's Belchettes and Tyne and Lawrence. And to me, on my board, I'm going to stick with that. I'm going to go with Wyatt Cullen. I think that the Blues could use a more dynamic element in their forward group.

I think that he has, you know, he's grown a lot. He is starting to figure out more how to play at his size. You know, he's had this tremendous growth spurt and other things. But he also still plays the game like he has that, like he had to when he was five foot five. and he had to have skill and darting and all these, you know, evasiveness and all that. And he's got good vision. He's got good hockey sense. He's got those NHL bloodlines on top of it.

I think it's an easy pick for the blues. Like, but you got to also consider like Belchets is a mountain of a human being. Tinen Lawrence is, you know, a guy that might fit their profile a little bit better. But I think Cullen gives them a little flash and dash. Now, they have a lot of good wings. You know, they've got a number of guys that are really good players that are going to be a part of this team for a while. but I just think that Cullen is that electric talent. We could one day, like I'm not saying it's going to happen this way,

but we really could one day look at him as being like, hey, this guy was, he was one of the best, if not the best forward in this group in the end. Yeah, I'm very, very intrigued by Cullen. Cam, just in general, these players who go through these unique growth spurts late in the process, and especially like for like a very highly skilled player, how they kind of retain that and just do it at a bigger frame. I was very intrigued by the Troy Terry comp.

Unfortunately, I got some flashbacks to Henrik Borgstrom as well. And just thinking about a player who similarly, we were like, oh, well, all of a sudden, this guy just grew and he's still doing crazy stuff with the puck. I'm curious to see what it looks like now at this frame, and it didn't look quite as good. But I think in terms of this spot in the draft, especially with the number of picks they have there, as I mentioned, like I feel like taking a home run cut like this and then going elsewhere with 15 or 19, I think is a very viable option, so I like that quite a bit for them.

I like it too because of he has dynamic skill in a class that is lacking in dynamic skill. As far as players that have that late growth spurt or that quick growth spurt, obviously you watch out for injury, which he suffered through, right? Scott Wheeler reported the meat off the bone on his hip there, that injury.

So that's nasty business, right? Well, when he came into the U-17 camp, he was what, Chris, 5-5 or something like that, right? Yeah, 5-5-4 somewhere in there. and now he's 6-1. And that's, you know, 18 months ago. So it's like, that's a lot. That's a lot of growth.

But it's, you know, he's always a highly skilled player. But I also don't think it's, you know, it's not like he's going on up to like 6-5. Where now all of a sudden things really changed like an own pickering, right? He was, I think he came into his W.HL draft year like 5'3 and then got drafted at 6.5. And so now you really have to change how you play when you're a small defenseman like that. You have to completely alter the way you play when you get bigger. So for Colin, he's not having to change the way he play. It's just all.

the sudden he has a lot more length and a lot more strength to get through those those checks and to fight through and to explode. So I don't think it's going to be a detriment to him as long as the body can hold up. And once he stops growing and slows down, that all those kind of little issues should hopefully take care of themselves. I like it. I believe I am up now for the New Jersey Devils at 12. And I'll take a player C.P. mentioned there in consideration, Ethan Belchitz. you know I think for them what's interesting is clearly building around Jack Hughes

they've been in pursuit of these kind of bigger yet skilled wingers that could complement that and supplement it moving forward and this would be a longer term thing as opposed to something they could answer their questions right now but they made the Meyer trade a couple years ago even this summer I think they're

interested in Matthew Nyes Alex Tuck as a free agent like those types of players and so I think for a six-foot-five winger with some of the scoring chops he has. I feel like that would be a pretty interesting pick for them in this range. Yeah, I mean, honestly, he's he's super intriguing. And there's definitely a bit of, you know, hope, I think, with Belchets a little bit, where it's like, man, if we could just get him to do this a little more consistently.

And like, I think last year in his rookie season, it was like, gosh, I wish he could score a little bit more. And this year he was scoring more. And it was like, gosh, I wish he was a little harder to play against, which is what he, you know, he was dropping the gloves a lot as a 16 year old. Not a lot, but he was dropping the gloves and being super physical and disruptive. And so I think if he finds that combination, the thing I want to see Ethan Belchutz do is I want to see him play the game with a little more feel, a little more like emotion, yes, but just recognition of the intensity of the game

and what level he needs to be at. and then I think that will take him off the charts if he can do that. And it's just hard to know if he will. Any thoughts on that cam or do you want to go to the next pick? No, it's similar stuff too. I think that there's tremendous upside there with his physical profile, but you don't see it too often. A man, that size, he's going to continue to have that leverage when he moves up and he has

great skill and he can be mean. He can absolutely be mean. You just need to get that light switch turned on all the time. I do think he's going to frustrate, probably especially early on in his career, might be one of these guys that ends up on a second team that he really pops and has a couple star level years. But he's certainly an intriguing pick.

And at this point of the draft, it's well worth it. All right, Cam, you're up for the Islanders here at 13. I've been swimming in my mind on this one here for a couple of minutes. You know, obviously they had the great draft hall last year. They fixed a few holes immediately, especially adding Matthew Schaefer. And I'm going to go back to the well here. I'm going to go back to defense. I don't know if this is a player they will take.

I think it should be on their minds and it's certainly on my mind. I'm going Ryan Lynn here. I'm going Ryan Lynn. I think that you have Maddie Schaefer who's going to play everything in all situations for you at the top. And I think Ryan Lynn is perfect to be second fiddle to a guy like Matthew Schaefer. Whether you want to put them together and have them run out there together or you want to have Lynn, you know, kind of anchor a second pair, but he's your second power play guy.

He's your first PK guy or your second PK guy. He is competitive. He can move. He can make plays. He has offense. He has defense. He's a leader. He is a quality.

human. He has all the boxes that you check that you're looking, that culture that is already starting to build really quickly with Matthew Schaefer there on the island, is that I think Ryan Lynn would be seamless there. And they have, and they have cash as well. They have Cajon Acheson, who can be that hammer as well, you know, on defense too. So now all of a sudden, you're looking at your defense corps being like, we've got something cooking here. And then you've got Victor Eccolin coming as well. And so there is some forward pieces there too. I think there are some forwards here. I think Tannen Lawrence is a player that they would take a long look at, too, at this spot. But I'm going to give him Ryan Lynn.

Yeah, I love Ryan Lynn. I was very sad that after he broke his wrist, we missed him here at the top prospects game in Langley that you and I were both at because I was looking forward to watching him there. But very tantalizing skill set. And I think this range certainly, I had him, I think, 14th on my board.

So I think well within reason, CP, you got anything on Lynn? No, I mean, you know, I think I like the player. I'm a little lower, you know, on them than others. but I think in terms of what the islanders are doing, like, you know, you've got Schaefer, you've got HSA, you've got Lynn. It's a pretty good group there,

guys, all guys that can move the puck, all guys. You know, like, I think that'll help them, you know, over time. So, yeah, I've got no, I've got no issue with that pick. I think that, you know, Lynn's an intriguing talent. I think as far as the defensemen go, might have the best hockey sense among the blue liners. All right, well, you're back up here for the blue jackets at 14th overall. Yeah.

this is a you know i mean the blue jackets they're you know they're doing all right um man it's it it's it's it's a tough one here you know they've they've drafted centers that you know we'll we'll see if they end up being centers obviously you've got you know the questions that's around uh you know kaden linstrum's future uh you know he's he's still kind of trying to find his way back from the back issues that he's had. You know, I think there's a couple of guys I'm looking at in this range for them, starting with Tyne and Lawrence and then looking at Oscar Hemming is another guy that I think will probably slot in here pretty easily. But I'm going to go with Lawrence. He's next on my list anyway. You know, I think that he's a player that has, he had a

weird year. And so this is another risky pick for Columbus, which is they may not have the stomach for, but I'm the one picking and I'm taking the risk. So it's all on me if it all goes bad. And luckily I don't have to suffer any real world consequences for this. But yeah, but I do think that Lawrence to me checks a lot of boxes. I don't have any defensemen that are strong enough in the next group here that I would put towards Columbus here. Though I think they could probably use a little bit more on the back end with, you know, the fact that they had Eurocheck and didn't quite pan out. Matechuk's going to be fine.

And there's going to be some other players, but I just don't think there's anything there. So Tyne and Lawrence, two-way center, good skill, can score. We'll see how things go after not having an amazing second half of the year. Cam, anything on Lawrence or just the Blue Jackets in general? I wouldn't be surprised to see them entertaining trying to trade this pick as well. Yeah, I could absolutely see that too. They're in that kind of risky part of their rebuild where you want to start to reward the players, you know like where they the decisions to not move off of some of their contracts last year at the

deadline to instead to try to push for some playoff gates um and i think that that's that's like the riskiest time in a rebuild is that where you need to keep your mind focused on the ultimate goal and so again if they move this pick like what are you moving it for it would be my big question are you moving it for a core piece that's something that's going to be able to build around it when you're ready to go in three years or is it something again to try to reward your team and take an incremental step forward but but slip long term um as far as far as far as far as time, Lawrence, too, I do the nagging thought in the back of my mind. It's very, very young for this class, difficult to step into college hockey, especially midway through the year, very

difficult, watch him have a nice season next year at BU, along with Caleb Mulcher. They're going to have an interesting center depth chart there. So it's like he's stayed higher up my board than his play probably warranted this season. And perhaps that's anchoring to a draft minus one and and to that pedigree there too. But I see the, I see the potential in him as being a number two center. And again, in a class that's light on them. all right i'm up on the uh for the blues here at 15 and chris took cullen i believe for them with their 11 overall pick um which i think was the right play and honestly just from a game theory perspective when you have 11 15 to 19 like they do i would almost prefer taking three big upside swings and just

betting on one of them at least panning out and you have probably a top 10 talent coming out of this draft to show for it. I'm not sure they would do that based on the way this board is gone. And I'm going to give them Alexander Command and not just because CP had Brayden Shen as his comp, but I could definitely see the fit there. And yeah, I strongly consider it kind of going away off the board, but ultimately I'll go with a command for them, Cam. Well, you took my pick.

So that's who I was taking next anyways. And I think that, you know, we saw it front and center at the UAT. at Commando play Tyne and Lawrence. And he is a very hard worker. He is difficult to move off the puck. He has enough skill that you can project as maybe he's a second line center, probably a third line center, but a do-it-all third-line center,

one of those third-line centers that a cup winner has. So, yeah, I like that pick for them. I think he's not a home run swing. He is a, let's get down to business. This is going to be an NHL player and play a lot of games for you type of pick. All right, CP. You have any notes on Commander?

I just like that pick and it would have been my pick too. Yeah. To meet you. Okay, nice. All right. Last pick of our mock draft. Cam, you're up with 16 for the capitals who also have 18.

So they won't have to wait very long after making this one. Which means that if I screw this pick up, then they can just get someone better with the next one. Yeah, but then they don't pick to 112. True. A little pressure at that point then. We're going,

we're going to Oscar Hemming. And so Chris brought him up is that I do think that he's a player that could go even earlier than this, you know, maybe that's, maybe that's 13, maybe that's 14. But, you know, again, another player very, very young for this class. I do believe he's a September birthday. Maybe he, I think he was the youngest player in college hockey. Maybe it was Marozoff. Those both very young guys. Yeah. It might have been Morozov, but super young. And, you know, the challenge with his season this year was finding a place to play, you know, through not all his fault. So he had a disjointed year, but big, fast skill. And I think that there's

loads of potential there, especially with the birth date, especially trying to, trying to acclimate to college hockey as a 17-year-old after missing half of his season. I think he did very, very well. The numbers maybe don't jump off the page, but again, you watch. He's going to have himself a big step forward next season. He's one of these guys that just has burgeoning power forward abilities. And I think that that fits with what the caps are looking to build around there. They have some guys that can play in the middle of the ice already. I sure I would have given him command. But at this point, I think Heming has the upside to legitimately be a top sixer. Okay, now that we're done, the mock draft portion of this, I've got a couple follow-up questions for you guys, one apiece.

I'll start with Chris. Chris, what do you say to the people who question the fact that your 16th ranked player drew a Radic Faxa comp? Well, I think that the thing about the thing about the like basically doing player comps and the way you do them. And so a lot of people do them differently. Like I'm not projecting him to be Radic Fax. I'm saying like this guy kind of plays this way. And like Radic Faxa is a long time NHLer who has been a really solid, sizable, you know, two-way guy that has given teams the ability to, you know, play, you know, play tough matchups. And so when you look at guys like Savanto and others, you know, like Savanto hasn't scored a lot this year, but I still feel like there's there's the potential for him to do it.

And I think he's going to play a heavy game. I think he's going to be difficult to play against, like those kinds of things. And so I understand the questions, too. Because, like, I mean, like, Cam and I were talking on the podcast yesterday. I'm giving Ryan Lynn a Sam Malinsky comp. And Sam Malinsky is a top four defenseman. But he is also an undrafted defenseman. Well, I'm not saying, like, you know, this is, this is a bad thing.

I just think, like, I'm looking more for player style as opposed to player projection. And I felt like I was getting annoyed with player comps as well, where I felt like there was, like, well, we have, we have a Braden point every single year now. It used to be we had a Steve Eisenman every year. Now we have a Braden point every single year. And I was like, for one, I'm definitely not comparing anybody to Braden Point this year. And two, you know, I'm going to try to find these better, you know, these guys that I think they could play like. Now, the thing about those, those kind of comps as well is that if this player grows into more than that, that's great.

But like, I think that a lot of people don't understand how difficult it is. is to become a 15-year NHL player. Yeah. And, like, that's what, like, Radic Faxa is essentially going to be, if not longer. And that is a huge threshold to meet. And you, while he may not be a star, that's a guy that helps you. And he helps you and he's going to help you. And he's also going to be cost effective and be a lot.

So I understand it's not sexy. There's no question about it, but that was what I ended up with. Listen, it's a Friday afternoon. We've gone over an hour mark. I'm just having a little fun with you, of course. Fax is going to pass like 800 NHL games this next season and getting that in the mid to late teens

is a win even if it doesn't necessarily feel like it because every one of these prospects that your favorite team takes is going to be the next sprained point. Cam, how long do you think we're going to have to wait ultimately on draft day

to hear Vilnove's name called because you guys had him 13th in your EP draft guide which is very on brand. I don't think, I don't want to speak out of school, but I don't think anyone actually assumes that's going to happen in reality. And now that's not the purpose of the draft guide either, which is important to note. But I mean, his tape is outrageous.

Like if you want to just have a fun 30 minutes, just type in his name on YouTube and just sit back and enjoy the ride because it's incredible. Yeah, obviously, as much as we have advanced in terms of draft analysis and players, or evaluators having more leniency for these types of players, it's pretty easy to see him falling, I think, as well come draft day. Yeah, it's, he's, he's going to be one of the more fascinating ones to watch. And we'll see, like, he's, he's not Lane Hudson. You know, he might not be Cole Hudson, but neither were Cole or Lane Hudson on their draft days either, right?

Like, we saw them fall precipitously, too, despite having, you know, incredible tape on the offensive side of things. And so, you know, it'll be, it'll be curious to see because we're starting to see these smaller skilled defensemen break right and break right quickly. Now there are, you know, on top of a graveyard of ones that didn't work out too. I think that he's still a day one kid. I think he's a day one kid because I think, and I've said it a few times already today, this class is light on dynamic talent. And so if we're sitting there and it's pick 31, you know, are you going to try to convince me that the Carolina Hurricanes are going to draft

a guy who projects to be a bottom pair defenseman or a bottom six forward? over a kid that might be a home run and might be a PP1 quarterback. No, you know, and I think there's a number of teams that are going to feel that way. You know, the 10 teams that I pulled for their list, a lot of them had Villeneuve in the first round. Some of them even had him in the teens. Most in the 20s, though. And I think that that's, that's more realistic on where he's going to go is in kind of that mid to late 20s, early 30 zone. But if he's there on day two, he's probably the first pick on day two then or the second pick. He's going to go very, very quickly at the beginning of that draft because again it's just you can't you can't find that

kind of offensive talent and the red flags are certainly there you know the fact that he lost his role and was you know deployed down the lineup in the playoffs you know as this like highly impressive player it's like it speaks to you know the deficiencies in his game and he's in 07 and things like that but you take a swing when when the opportunity comes and I think that's on day one I'm excited to see how it plays out you either of you got any parting shots in terms of either players we haven't referenced yet what you're watching for especially on day one of the draft just anything um as we sign out here i mean i i think just prepare for you know for anything at this point we see it every year now you know it's it's funny we had that discussion at the very top of

this about how it was difficult to put the list together and i think a lot of people feel that way but you know i talked to a scout not all that long ago and he's like he's like you know we really say this kind of like every year. You know, like, and it's like if we, if we really do it, like if we're really thinking about it,

if you're actually looking at the way that, like, like if teams gave our, gave their lists publicly, if they had to report their lists out publicly at the end of time, that would, they would make people like us, you know,

that might be a little bit out of step with what everybody else is saying, look like really milk toast in comparison. Because their boards are wild, different often. I think this year they're not quite that different, but really the uncertainty begins right away. And it's kind of fun. I find that fun in doing what we do. It gives me a little heartburn, but I still find it fun. All right, both of you guys do incredible work. And so on the way out here, I'm going to give you an opportunity to plug some stuff. Let the listeners know where they can find you, what to expect. Cam, you can talk about the draft

guide, both your rankings, the show you do together, which you cut me out of and just gone directly to the source and done with the two of you. That's your fault, by the way. You're the matchmaker. I know, I know. But at the same time, I'm glad that we still reconvene here and do it at least once a year. And we're going to continue to do so moving forward. Hopefully, if CP keeps joining us, and I think we've done nothing today beyond my jab about Radic Faxa, that's put that in risk. Cam, do your plugs. And then, uh, and then Chris, you can jump in after. Go get the draft guide. That's where all the good stuff is.

Like it's, in this year's version, it's never been prettier. And the web access tool now, it's like, it's, I'm, I'm loving it myself. And, you know, I'm spending too much time reading work that I've already read before throughout the year.

So the draft guide is everything. We got a little promo going on too. You can go cam 33 and get yourself 33% off off a premium subscription right now. You go run that out for the rest of the month. And then, of course, you know, I'm taking off next week to go to Buffalo. I didn't get the invite to Chicago with CP.

So I will be on site. and you know got the annual mock draft coming got the bold predictions come in news and notes we'll be will be have our ground our ear to the ground and try to provide updates when we can and I didn't get to answer the last question I'm going to say watch out for Tommy Blyle on draft days. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. People are looking for we talked about guys who have helium and they rise up and teams love a riser and I think Tommy Blyle is a riser. He might go a lot earlier than we're expecting.

I love it. CP, what are your plugs? Yeah, well, you know, obviously definitely listen to called up the prospects podcast because Cam and I have a lot of fun. We have our most recent episode. We actually looked at each other's rankings, kind of shared our similarities and differences and explained them and different things. And we didn't get into any fights, which was nice. And so that was, you know, we were very respectful and I think that's indicative of the league. But, you know, as Cam noted, I will be in Chicago, would be part of the athletic hockey show, doing a live draft analysis show. It's experimental. We'll see how it goes. I'm really excited. You know, it's going to be with Corey

prominent Scott Wheeler. I am cheating on my podcast, my podcast co-host here, and I feel bad about it. But I think if this works, let's let's expand the net. Let's even let's bring Demetrian for all I know. You know, like, let's just do the whole thing. But yeah, we'll be doing a bit of a live draft show that'll also be available on flow hockey 24-7, which is our free ad-supported channel. And then you can also watch called up on the flow hockey 24-7, which is on things like Amazon Prime, Fubo, Bell 5, all these different places that you can find. find us there. Just realized I did that on the Roger's show. But anyway, yeah, so you can blank that out if you need to. But I really appreciate, you know, coming on and also like everybody that's followed

our work, like Cam and Dimitri, thank you for, you know, having us do this show. I think it proves us there's some on-air chemistry that we can pull out of each other and certainly obviously a lot of mutual respect as well. But, you know, we've had a lot of fun doing it. It's really great. I think there's a lot of great work that's out in the public now. So everybody should be checking that out and supporting the work of all our fans, all the,

all the people that do this. But beyond that, the rest of my work, you can find over at flowhockey.tv, you're going to have mock drafts, other things of that nature, coming out, lots of live draft coverage and make sure you're on those flow hockey social channels as well,

because we've got tons of stuff coming. All right, fellas, well, I appreciate both of you. I say this every year, but it's still true. You're both my go-to sources and resources. for preparing for the draft as soon as the cup final ends.

I just pretty much absorb everything you've done throughout this process in my somewhat limited preparation for this. And then we do this. And it's always incredibly fun. And I'm already looking forward to next year's. But until then, we've got the 26th draft next Friday. And I hope both of you enjoy it. I hope all of our listeners feel a bit more prepared and then stay glued to both of your

respective feeds for all the coverage that ensues. Have a great draft. And I guess I'll see you guys next. next June. All right. We're going to get out of here. My only plug is we've done a lot of shows this week, so please go check them out. And if you enjoyed them, give us a five-star review. Wherever you listen, and that's all for today and for this week. I hope everyone has a great weekend, and we'll be back here on Monday with plenty more. Thank you for listening to the HockeyPedio cast streaming on the Sportsnet Radio network.