Buffalo Sabres: 2018 NHL Mock Draft Post Draft Lottery Edition
By Austin Owens
13. player. Centre. Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL). Barrett Hayton. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. 119
Hayton has been the biggest riser in the draft among forwards in the first round. His increasingly strong play with the Soo Greyhounds this season has vaulted him into a lottery pick.
Every time you see a draft breakdown of Hayton, his maturity is brought up. He is beyond his years in that regard. Offensively, he still has potential to uncover.
Dallas went with both defence and goaltending with Miro Heiskanen and Jake Oettinger last year in the first round. with Jason Spezza getting up there in age, it would be smart to get his eventual replacement sooner than later.
Vitali Kravtsov. 68. Scouting Report. Right Wing. Traktor Chelyabinsk (KHL). Pick Analysis. 14. player
(Via St. Louis)
The last thing the Flyers need is a centre with their first-round picks. They’ve taken at least one in the first round the last three years. They selected Morgan Frost along with Nolan Patrick in the first round in 2017.
They can use some more depth on the wing in this draft and Kravtsov is one of the best ones available.
The Russian winger played nearly the entire season in the KHL as a teenager. While his regular season wouldn’t have exactly opened eyes, Kravtsov pitched in six goals and 11 points in 16 games for Traktor.
He is deadly in one-on-one situations due to his skating ability and great puckhandling. Kravtsov has been described as a shoot-first player who can still distribute the puck well.
Pick Analysis. Centre. Joe Veleno. 15. player. Scouting Report. 97. Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL)
The Panthers added to their already impressive crop of centres when 2016 first-rounder Henrik Borgström joined them from the NCAA at the end of the season.
While they are solid down the middle, Veleno is the best player still available in this position. If Veleno can live up to his exceptional status, this would be a coup for Florida with the last pick in the lottery.
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He’s got size, skill, intelligence, passing ability, and an evolving shot. He could likely slide out onto the wing and do well with the Panthers as a secondary scoring option to one of Sasha Barkov or Vince Trocheck.