21. Buffalo Sabres: Nick Merkley, RW, Kelowna Rockets
Merkley's lack of size is likely going to cause him to slide down some boards. The Sabres, having already addressed the majority of their needs in previous drafts (except goaltending, but there's no clear cut choice at this point in the draft), take the best available player at this spot, which is Merkley.
22. Washington Capitals: Colin White, C, US NTDP
The Capitals would love to have a reliable center that can at worst handle the third-line duties. Despite health issues this season, White projects to be in the mold of Patrice Bergeron, which is almost exactly what the Caps would love to have behind Niklas Backstrom.
23. Vancouver Canucks: Oliver Kylington, D, Farjestad
The Canucks' lack of foot speed on the blue line was exposed in their early playoff exit against Calgary, and there's no immediate help coming in the pipeline. Kylington is the fastest defender in the draft, and the Canucks could use a player like him.
24. Toronto Maple Leafs (from Nashville): Jake DeBrusk, LW, Swift Current Broncos
On my board, the Leafs took Dylan Strome with their earlier pick, so to that end, the Leafs need to have more players that are capable of playing both ends of the ice, and DeBrusk would fit the bill. DeBrusk would also add a strong work ethic that is seemingly lacking on the Leafs in recent years. Alternatively, if the Leafs take Mitch Marner with the earlier pick, they could look to Joel Eriksson Ek here.
25. Winnipeg Jets (from Buffalo via St. Louis): Daniel Sprong, RW, Charlottetown Islanders
Having taken a great playmaking center in Matt Barzal, the Jets could look to add more scoring even with Nikolaj Ehlers in the fold. Sprong is the best scorer left at this stage in the draft.
No comments:
Post a Comment