2017 Draft: The Born Recap

written by Jacob Born — Montreal Olympiques GM

The IceHL head its draft Sunday night, where all 20 teams were present to kick off the latest season of the only league of its kind. After contracting to 20 teams from 40, many teams started completely anew, especially with talents like Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel and Leon Draisaitl available for taking. Here’s my breakdown of the draft, with each team’s best pick, worst pick, and an X-factor for the upcoming season.

Full disclosure: I have served as the Olympiques GM since the 2013-14 season, with an added year of service as Baltimore’s AGM during the 2012 lockout. I’ve made the playoffs twice, failing to make it out of the first round each time. I tend to like younger fantasy players with upside, which you will probably see in my recap.

Also, please don’t take any analysis personally. Unless I gave you a good review. Then absolutely take it personally. Enjoy!

Editor's Note: Jacob had his predictions listed at the end, but let's face it, that's what you really want to see first, isn't it? So here they are. But be sure to keep reading for his thoughtful, in-depth analysis of every team's draft. It really is quite interesting! —Chris

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Predictions

Atlantic Division Helsinki Lynx Washington Sentinels Boston Colonials Stockholm Hammers Baltimore Blue Crabs	Central Division Salt Lake City Scorpions Houston Hellcats Edmonton Kodiaks Winnipeg Winterhawks Boulder Beasts
Lakes Division Minnesota Mammoths Montreal Olympiques St. Louis Archers Milwaukee Lagers North Carolina Nighthawks	Pacific Division California Wave Seattle Aviators Alaska Huskies Vancouver Lumberjacks Gold Coast Rush

	Salt Lake City Scorpions Best Pick · Connor McDavid, Round 1 Worst Pick · Thomas Greiss, Round 7 X-Factor · Taylor Hall, Round 3 It’s really hard to screw up a draft when you can draft Connor McDavid first overall. Salt Lake is set up for years. But the Scorpions had a stellar draft, nabbing Tyler Seguin, Taylor Hall and Zach Werenski in the first four rounds to set up the core. Depth players include guys like Nathan MacKinnon, Max Domi and Teuvo Teravainen. Taking Thomas Greiss in the seventh as the team’s one and only goaltender is an interesting, and bold, strategy. But with the star power of the offense and defense, Salt Lake may not need reliable scoring to start the season, as you can always trade for a goalie at the deadline.
	North Carolina Nighthawks Best Pick · Alexander Radulov, Round 5 Worst Pick · Ryan Getzlaf, Round 2 X-Factor · Bo Horvat, Round 10 North Carolina had one of the more interesting drafts in my mind, going fairly old across the board. Ryan Getzlaf in the second round, with players such as Carey Price, Artemi Panarin, Evgeni Malkin, David Pastrnak and more available, was highly head-scratching to me. However, snagging Radulov in the fifth round is of fantastic value, especially since he should line up with Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin. I also really like the late round pick of Bo Horvat, who has a lot of upside on a Vancouver where he should be one of the top scorers. Adding Brett Burns in the first round and Nico Hischier in the eighth also are of great value. North Carolina will be one of the teams to pay attention to all year, as the team could finish anywhere in the Lakes Division.
	Winnipeg Winterhawks Best Pick · Carey Price, Round 2 Worst Pick · Alexander Steen, Round 8 X-Factor · Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Round 10 Hanging onto Sidney Crosby as a keeper was smart, but the best move of Winnipeg’s draft might be taking Carey Price. Building from the net out is always important, but having one of the best players and one of the best goaltenders is always a smart strategy; both in real life and in fantasy. Adding Dustin Byfuglien, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Jakub Voracek and Kyle Turris are all solid picks the front half of the draft. Alex Steen at 8 is a risky move though, as the forward has been trending downward in point production and is already out for at least three weeks a broken hand. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, playing on the third line with Jesse Puljujarvi will be a high-risk pick, but also has potential to have some high point totals in the high-flying Oilers offense.
	Alaska Huskies Best Pick · Corey Perry, Round 6 Worst Pick · Ryan Ellis, Round 5 X-Factor · Travis Konecny, Round 15 Just like Winnipeg, you can’t go wrong with keeping the greatest goal scorer of this generation, or maybe ever, in Alex Ovechkin. Buy Corey Perry in the sixth round may end up being the steal of the draft. Perry was starting to show signs of slowing down last season, but still scores at a high rate, and paired with Ovi and Mike Hoffman, and the Husky offense will be humming all year. Ryan Ellis at five is questionable, not because of Ellis’ play, but because he will be out until December. With Andrej Sekera also out, the Huskie blue line to start the season is Dion Phaneuf, which to put it mildly, is less than ideal. Travis Konecny in the last round is another great value pick, especially if he ends up on the first line opposite of Claude Giroux. The Huskies will surely score some goals, but will they get enough secondary scoring from the blue line to be a truly elite team?
	Minnesota Mammoths Best Pick · Jack Eichel, Round 1 Worst Pick · Roberto Luongo, Round 6 X-Factor · Frank Vatrano, Round 13 Jack Eichel obviously doesn’t have the hype of Connor McDavid, but when he returned from his injury last season, he was scoring at just a strong of a pace. Having him anchor your fantasy team for the next decade plus is always the best pick. However, grabbing a 38-year-old tender who may lose some starts is not great. Minnesota pairs up Eichel with Artemi Panarin, Nikolaj Ehlers, Sebastian Aho and shot blocking kings Kris Russell and Calvin de Haan, so it may not end up making a difference. But snagging Vatrano in the 13th is another very high value pick. Vatrano showed glimpses last season, and has a chance to be this season’s Victor Arvidsson. The 3-time champion is once again built for what could become another deep playoff run.
	Boston Colonials Best Pick · Charlie McAvoy, Round 8 Worst Pick · Jake Guentzel, Round 4 X-Factor · Alex DeBrinecat, Round 14 I’m going to try and keep this as hot-take-free as I possibly can, because I have a feeling this is one of those recaps that has a high chance of making me look really stupid come seasons end. I’m really high on McAvoy, and was planning to take him in the eighth round. After seeing what he did at the World Junior Championships, the kid can play, and the eighth round was a great spot to take the youngster. And I’m fully aware of the irony as I say I think it’s tough to take Jake Guentzel in the fourth round after just one playoff run. Guentzel absolutely lit it up in an albeit small sample size of games, and it will be interesting to see if he can replicate it over an 82-game season. Personally speaking, I think I’d rather have taken PK Subban, Kevin Shattenkirk or Ryan Johansen. But Alex DeBrinecat in the 14th was another great pick. The kid has a chance to lineup with Patrick Kane (another Colonial) and be a great scoring pair. To be honest, there wasn’t anything I really liked or disliked about Boston’s draft (outside of the McAcvoy pick), and I’m very interested to see how this team does during the season.
	St. Louis Archers Best Pick · Vladimir Tarasenko, Round 1 Worst Pick · Jonathan Toews, Round 4 X-Factor · Ryan Strome, Round 14 Tarasenko just has to stay in St. Louis. Thems the rules. Tarasenko is arguably one of the best scorers in the league, and with his goal totals increasing year over year, he has a chance to be a top scoring fantasy player this season. Trending in the other direction, however, is Jonathan Toews. It will be interesting to see how he will bounce back with Brandon Saad back on the Hawks and on his line this season, but with Aleksander Barkov or Ryan Johansen as forwards still available, there probably were better options. But for St. Louis, Ryan Strome is a very high-risk, high-reward pick. Strome couldn’t really get it going with John Tavares, but even Tavares isn’t Connor McDavid. Grabbing Evgeni Malkin in the second and Aaron Ekblad and Matt Duchene in later rounds helps round out the middle of the lineup, and some late-round fliers should be enough to have the team contend down the stretch.
	California Wave Best Pick · David Pastrnak, Round 2 Worst Pick · Ian Cole, Round 11 X-Factor · Jaccob Slavin, Round 8 There’s a lot to like about California’s draft. Locking down Braden Holtby as the goaltender of the future was smart, and selecting David Pastrnak in the second round for the team’s out player couldn’t have been better. Shea Weber, Aleksander Barkov, Claude Giroux and Conor Sheary as following picks were great. Jaccob Slavin in the eighth also has potential to be a shrewd move, as he’s already one of the top defenders on a rapidly improving Hurricanes team. Slavin has been better in real life than fantasy hockey in his career, but this season could be the one where that changes. The really only pick that could have been better was maybe Ian Cole in the 11th? At that point, it’s really just about specialties or who you personally like, but I think players such as Sami Vatanen or Adam Larsson may have been better picks. But California had, in my mind, one of the top drafts and should be a very tough team this season.
	Edmonton Kodiaks Best Pick · Leon Draisaitl, Round 1 Worst Pick · Jordan Eberle, Round 6 X-Factor · Connor Brown, Round 13 The only reason I was debating on not making Evgeny Kuznetsov a keeper was because I wanted Leon Draisaitl, but I didn’t think he would fall to me. I was right. And he’s Edmonton’s best pick of the draft. The German plays a complete game, and should continue to be a fantasy stud. Edmonton followed up the Leon pick with grabbing John Tavares, Kris Letang and PK Subban. Cory Schneider in the 5th round seemed a little high, but really its Jordan Eberle in the sixth that could be trouble. He couldn’t cut it with McDavid, and while Tavares isn’t any slouch either, Eberle wasn’t a great scorer in Edmonton, and I don’t trust the Islander offense nearly as much as their Canadian counterparts. Connor Brown was an interesting late round pick, as he appears to be the next “kid” in Toronto. If he can replicate some of what the kids did last season, he’ll be all right and a quality fantasy player. Ed himself said rounds 5-9 got away from him, and it’s reflected in the middle of his roster, but the top-heavy roster could still be a tough matchup every week.
	Houston Hellcats Best Pick · Nicklas Backstrom, Round 2 Worst Pick · Niklas Hjalmarsson, Round 12 X-Factor · Vadim Shipachev, Round 7 Houston is another team where I really like their draft. Getting Mark Scheifele in the first round is great value, and getting Niklas Backstrom in the second round is an even bigger value. I think everyone was surprised Backstrom fell that far in the draft. Andrei Vasilevskiy as the starting goaltender and adding more depth in Jeff Carter, Kevin Shattenkirk, Cam Fowler and Kyle Palmeri are solid picks. Vadim Shipachev, the first Golden Knight drafted, is going to be a very interesting player to watch to see how he adapts to the North American game, along with being on the expansion team, But in the seventh round, it’s another smart pick. I’m not a big fan of Niklas Hjalmarsson in fantasy, and it could end up being a good pick, especially in the 12th round. But really, I think I would have rather gone with a player with more upside.
	Seattle Aviators Best Pick · Jamie Benn, Round 1 Worst Pick · Mikko Koivu, Round 9 X-Factor · Richard Panik, Round 11 My initial thoughts on the Seattle draft was indifference, but after taking a closer look at the team, I actually think it’s a strong team. You can definitely do a lot worse than Jamie Benn at 11th overall, and adding Martin Jones, T.J. Oshie, Ryan O’Reilly and Duncan Keith are also good moves. Originally, I thought Mikko Koivu was a head-scratcher, especially with his age climbing and less playing time, but the Minnesota captain has actually performed better with his better teammates. I’m still unsure of the pick, but it looks better after the fact. Richard Panik, if he can replicate his scoring from last season, also looks to be another solid depth piece. But if he falls back down to Earth and looks like he did with the Leafs, he could be a prime candidate for cuts.
	Boulder Beasts Best Pick · Sean Monahan, Round 5 Worst Pick · Johnny Boychuk, Round 9 X-Factor · Jesse Puljujarvi, Round11 Also building from the net out, Boulder kept Matt Murray, and then took Corey Crawford in the third round, creating arguably the best goalie tandem in the league. Filip Forsberg in the second round was nice, but in terms of value, I think Sean Monahan in the fifth round is a steal. On in improved Calgary team and what should be a bounce-back year from the “sophomore slump,” Monahan is primed to be an elite fantasy player again. Johnny Boychuk in the ninth round was interesting. He blocks shot, but is also 33 and only had 23 points last season. With players such as Alex Goligoski or Nikita Zaitsev available, I may have gone with them instead. But to each their own. Jesse Puljujarvi in that Edmonton offense could be scary. He failed to crack the big team last season, but performed well in the AHL last season, and if he successfully makes the jump this year, watch out.
	Stockholm Hammers Best Pick · Seth Jones, Round 7 Worst Pick · Nick Schmaltz, Round 4 X-Factor · Mikko Rantanen, Round 12 I will take full responsibility for allowing Stockholm to get Seth Jones in the eighth round (I’ll explain later). Getting Jones to pair with Shayne Gostisbehere is a great young blue line. Adding in Steven Stamkos, Joe Pavelski and Brandon Saad as a forward core, and Stockholm has some quality depth in both facets in the game. However, Nick Schmaltz in the fourth round was wholly too early. The youngster was originally slotted next to Patrick Kane, but it looks more and more like Alex DeBrinecat will earn that spot, pushing him further down the lineup. I just can’t justify a fourth-round pick on him, especially with Ryan Johansen, Jonathan Drouin or Logan Couture still on the board. I like the Mikko Rantanen late-round pick, as the guy has a chance to be one of the top scorers on the Avalanche. Playing with Nathan MacKinnon and Tyson Jost will help him find the back of the net, and should be a solid depth piece for Stockholm.
	Gold Coast Rush Best Pick · Mitch Marner, Round 3 Worst Pick · Oscar Klefbom, Round 5 X-Factor · Thomas Chabot, Round 14 I truly don’t know what to think about Gold Coast’s draft. On one hand, I could see them being a good team, and on the other, I could see them having a rough season. Sergei “The Sheriff” Bobrovsky as the first-round pick was good, but where the Rush shine is getting the second-best Leaf player in the third round, after William Nylander. Marner is just one youngster in the offense, with Jonathan Huberdeau and Alexander Wennberg, another great value pick, along for the ride. Oscar Klefbom was taken one pick before Shayne Gostisbehere, and to me, that’s a big swing and a miss. I take Ghost every time. That being said, I really like the Thomas Chabot pick, which may make the Klefbom pick moot. Chabot was another star at the World Juniors, to the point the Senators nearly brought him in for the playoff run. Having him learn under Erik Karlsson is huge, and could be a top rookie performer this season. Overall though, this is one of the drafts I feel the most meh about.
	Vancouver Lumberjacks Best Pick · Brad Marchand, Round 1 Worst Pick · Jonathan Quick– Round 4 X-Factor · Evgeni Dadonov, Round 11 Brad Marchand fell all the way to 15, and was the last non-keeper pick in the first round. Marchand went from a great to elite fantasy player last season, and looks like it’ll be more of the same this season. Blake Wheeler and Cam Atkinson as depth pieces make the LJax very dangerous offensively. However, taking Jonathan Quick in the fourth was suspect. Quick is a better fantasy goalie than actual netminder, but after being injured for half the season last year, I don’t think he would have been my choice. King Henrik Lundqvist lessens the blow, but it may have served Vancouver to take a defenseman there instead of waiting until the eighth round. KHL import Evgeni Dadonov is a true X–factor, as he could be the next Artemi Panarin or flame out in the North American game. But playing with Florida, he’s got a good chance to stick in the league.
	Helsinki Lynx Best Pick · Patrick Laine, Round 1 Worst Pick · Erik Johnson, Round 9 X-Factor · Clayton Keller, Round 11 Patrick Laine in Helsinki is just the way it’s supposed to be. And having one of the best pure goal scorers in the league not yet entering his prime has the team set up for years. But adding to Laine’s prowess is Roman Josi and Rasmus Ristolainen manning the defense, Logan Couture and Mark Stone adding “depth” scoring, and Ben Bishop in net. I’m not a big Erik Johnson fan, but at nine and already a solid defense, it’s worth the risk of Johnson finding his scoring touch. And while solid late-round picks include Tomas Hertl and Jonathan Marchessault, the rookie Clayton Keller is the team’s X-factor. Keller has had an exceptional camp with Arizona, and looks to be a significant part of the ‘Yotes offense, which hopes to be the Maple Leafs of 2017. Helsinki had one of the strongest drafts in the IceHL, and is geared up to win now, win later, and win often.
	Milwaukee Lagers Best Pick · Erik Karlsson, Round 1 Worst Pick · Milan Lucic, Round 4 X-Factor · Andreas Athanasiou, Round 12 Even with Erik Karlsson’s offseason surgery, he is primed once again to be the top scoring defenseman in the NHL next season. Locking him up to the Lagers was the only move. Pekka Rinne in the second round may have been a reach for the old goaltender, but he turned back the clock in the playoffs and could build off that this season. The pick I’m not fond of is Milan Lucic in round four. Lucic has never been a big offensive contributor, and yes, he saw an uptick playing with Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid, but four still seems too high. The Lagers surround Lucic with Phil “The Thrill” Kessel, Matthew Tkachuck and Rickard Rakell, all picks I like much more. If I’m Milwaukee, I’m sweating Andreas Anthansiou’s contract situation until he signs somewhere. He’s a great talent that could be enough to push the team over the edge to a true contender, but if he doesn’t sign, that’s a decently sized offensive hole in the Lagers’ lineup (I think he’ll sign). The defense leaves a lot to be desired, but a decent goaltending tandem and strong offense will have the Lagers competing.
	Washington Sentinels Best Pick · Auston Matthews, Round 1 Worst Pick · Jacob Trouba, Round 7 X-Factor · Andre Burakovsky, Round 9 In terms of draft philosophy, I think Washington and myself are very much on the same wave-length: play the kids. Auston Matthews and his ridiculous rookie season is the team’s keeper selection, and William Nylander is immediately the next pick. The Sentinels had a chance to bring the kids back together in Washington, but chose Viktor Arvidsson, which I actually really like. Jacob Trouba in the seventh is less than ideal, especially with Seth Jones still on the board. And as much as I wanted to put either Scott Darling and Antti Raatta as the X-factors (which, to me, is the most interesting and potentially fun duo in the league), the real potential is in Andre Burakovsky. Burakovsky is going to play with Evgeny Kuznetsov and Alex Ovechkin, and should see a big bump in points. Much like the Young Guns, the kids are all right, and Washington will be a very fun team to watch this season.
	Montreal Olympiques Best Pick · Johnny Gaudreau, Round 2 Worst Pick · Matt Dumba, Round 7 X-Factor · Dylan Strome, Round 12 Evgeny Kuznetsov had a tough start to last season, but finished out the season well, and continuing to play with Alex Ovechkin will help, but the real value pick is Johnny Gaudreau. Getting Johnny Hockey in the second round is a steal and gives the Olympiques some elite scoring. Solidifying the net with Tuukka Rask may have been a little early, but ended up ok in the end. But the big miss is taking Matt Dumba in the seventh round. I absolutely, 100% should have taken Seth Jones, and my personal love for Matt Dumba probably shrouded my judgement. Dylan Strome also was maybe a round or two too early, but the kid has played at an elite level everywhere he goes. After being sent back to juniors last year, Strome equally looks to finally make the jump and has a great chance to be just another rookie who puts up monster numbers and takes the league by storm, or another kid who’s struggled to adapt to the NHL game. There’s a lot of youth and a lot of upside on the Olympiques, but if that upside isn’t reached, it could be another long year in Montreal.
	Baltimore Blue Crabs Best Pick · Nikita Kucherov, Round 1 Worst Pick · Wayne Simmonds, Round 2 X-Factor · Joe Thornton, Round 9 Holding onto Nikita Kucherov was the only move for Baltimore. He’s consistently a top scorer in NHL and fantasy hockey, and there was absolutely no reason to risk it and let him walk. Which is what makes taking Wayne Simmonds equally interesting. Simmonds is not a flashy player and still gets great production, but would you rather have him or guys like Viktor Arvidsson, Mitch Marner or even Taylor Hall? I think I’d take those three over Simmonds. But a move I do like is Thornton in the ninth round. One of the best passers in the game now stayed on a contending Sharks team, and he should once again be a prime distributor on the team, and presents great value for his pick location. With Jonathan Drouin, Jakob Silfverberg and Nino Niederreiter, the Blue Crabs will score. But with only one defender selected in the first 12 rounds, the team will absolutely need to acquire some higher-level blue line talent to be a contender.