2014 NHL Draft Day

2014 NHL Entry Draft

2014 NHL Entry DraftThe Florida Panthers select…. from the Barrie Colts defenceman Aaron Ekblad.  Are we  going to hear these words in a few hours as the NHL draft gets under way in Philadelphia?  Lost of buzz around the draft and rumors persist that Ryan Kesler has just been traded from the Vancouver Canucks to the Anaheim Ducks, so hockey fans, GMs, coaches, players and teenagers waiting to be drafted are all anxious.

As it stands right now, the first round draft order looks like this:

 

First Round

Pick Team Player POS. 2013-14 Team
1 Florida Panthers*
2 Buffalo Sabres
3 Edmonton Oilers
4 Calgary Flames
5 New York Islanders
6 Vancouver Canucks
7 Carolina Hurricanes
8 Toronto Maple Leafs
9 Winnipeg Jets
10 Anaheim Ducks**
11 Nashville Predators
12 Arizona Coyotes
13 Washington Capitals
14 Dallas Stars
15 Detroit Red Wings
16 Columbus Blue Jackets
17 Philadelphia Flyers
18 Minnesota Wild
19 Tampa Bay Lightning
20 San Jose Sharks
21 St. Louis Blues
22 Pittsburgh Penguins
23 Colorado Avalanche
24 Anaheim Ducks
25 Boston Bruins
26 Montreal Canadiens
27 Chicago Blackhawks
28 Tampa Bay Lightning***
29 Los Angeles Kings
30 New Jersey Devils+

However anything can happen on draft day and during the draft weekend. Remember last year when the Canucks dealt Cory Schneider in a surprise move to the New Jersey devils? Last year’s NHL draft featured some surprise moves.  This year we can expect to see some as well.  Many suggest that this is no a super strong draft year yet there is a lot of discussion about team trading up into the top three to get centerman or perhaps the hulking lone defenseman expected to go in the top 5 in Eklbad.

Here is a look at potential predictions for the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.  Of course trades could be made, players could fall as did Seth Jones last year, but here is a look at where some of the top draft picks may end up tonight.

 

PICK NHL TEAM PLAYER POSITION 2013-14 TEAM
1 FLA Aaron Ekblad D Barrie (OHL)
2 BUF Sam Bennett C Kingston (OHL)
3 EDM Leon Draisaitl C Prince Albert (WHL)
4 CGY Sam Reinhart C Kootenay (OHL)
5 NYI Michael Dal Colle LW Oshawa (OHL)
6 VAN Jake Virtanen RW Calgary (WHL)
7 CAR Haydn Fleury D Red Deer (WHL)
8 TOR Nick Ritchie LW Peterborough (OHL)
9 WPG Nikolaj Ehlers LW Halifax (QMJHL)
10 ANA* Kasperi Kapanen LW/RW KalPa (FIN)
11 NAS William Nylander LW Modo (SWE)
12 ARZ Brendan Perlini LW Niagara (OHL)
13 WAS Julius Honka D Swift Current (WHL)
14 DAL Dylan Larkin C USNTDP
15 DET Jared McCann C Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)
16 CBJ Sonny Milano LW USNTDP
17 PHI Anthony DeAngelo D Sarnia (OHL)
18 MIN Robert Fabbri C Guelph (OHL)
19 TB Travis Sanheim D Calgary (WHL)
20 SJ Kevin Fiala RW HV71 (SWE)
21 STL Ryan MacInnis C Kitchener (OHL)
22 PIT Alex Tuch RW USNTDP
23 COL Adrian Kempe LW Modo (SWE)
24 ANA Jakub Vrana RW Linkoping (SWE)
25 BOS  Nick Schmaltz C Green Bay (USHL)
26 MTL Ivan Barbashev C/LW Moncton (QMJHL)
27 CHI Marcus Pettersson D Skelleftea (SWE)
28 TB Nikita Scherbak LW Saskatoon (WHL)
29 LA Roland McKeown D Kingston (OHL)
30 NJ Brendan Lemieux LW Barrie (OHL)