Tonight, the NHL held its Draft Lottery and for the Winnipeg Jets they slipped from seventh to eighth as a result of the Sharks jumping from ninth to second overall.
The Leafs moved up to 1st overall from 5th. If this had mirrored 2016 then the Jets might have moved up to 2nd but instead it was the Sharks.
The attention now switches to the NHL Draft, where Winnipeg could make the eighth overall selection as it looks to add an impact player to its prospect pool. We write ‘could’ because it is also possible that they will use that eighth overall pick to make a trade to help augment their current roster.
Which means it’s time for folks to start to turn their attention to the prospects who will be available for selection at the NHL Draft in late June. For that we look to the prospect experts over at Elite Prospects who provide this consolidated rankings:
1. Gavin McKenna (LW) – Penn State (NCAA)
2. Ivar Stenberg (LW/RW) – Frölunda HC (SHL)
3. Keaton Verhoeff (D) – North Dakota (NCAA)
4. Chase Reid (D) – Soo Greyhounds (OHL)
5. Viggo Björck (C/RW) – Djurgårdens IF (SHL)
6. Tynan Lawrence (C) – Boston University (NCAA)
7. Carson Carels (D) – Prince George (WHL)
8. Ethan Belchetz (LW) – Windsor (OHL)
9. Daxon Rudolph (D) – Prince Albert (WHL)
10. Alberts Smits (D) – Jukurit (Liiga)
Wouldn’t that be something if the kid from Cypress River, Manitoba slips down (from this board) and ends up as a Winnipeg Jet. Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press just wrote a fantastic feature on 6’2 left-shot defenceman.
We will be talking to prospect experts in the lead up to the NHL Draft on the Illegal Curve Hockey Show and will have complete coverage of the Draft itself on illegalcurve.com, so be sure you keep it locked here and ensure you’re subscribing to our YouTube channel.
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