2013 NHL Draft: The Newark Shake

At the end of the Top 10 in the First Round of the 2013 NHL Draft, it all got shuffled.

The Avalanche sent Joe Sakic and Partick Roy out on the floor to pick the not-surprising offensive power rookie, Nathan McKinnon. Sakic is a classy guy, and I was disappointed by the NJ fans booing Sakic thanking Lou L for hosting. Boo you!

Surprise in the NO.2 pick, as Aleksander Barkov is selected by the Florida Panthers. That was a surprise, but Florida feels they need to beef up a line with a big Center.

Tampa Bay shook it up picking Joanathan Drouin, as Steve Yzerman likes the kid. Interesting pick as TB bought out Vincent LeCavelier, and indicating Drouin may see ice time next season.

While Seth Jones waited patiently, the Nashville Predators were making their plan and pressing the jersey for this defensive pick of the draft. At NO. 4, a defender is good, but are the D-men losing respect? Don’t forget how important the defenders can be when your offense sucks. Shea Weber and Seth Jones means Nashville has seen the light.

The Carolina Hurricanes at NO. 5 pick slot, did not trade up or down, but selected Elas Lindholm. A Swede who will go to train before joiing the team. He will play in Sweden next season.

In NO. 6, the Calgary Flames need to ignite their team and their quest for the Cup. So, as it goes, the Flames pick Sean Monahan. Expected pick who can overcome adversity, which really means that he played on bad teams before. Go Sean!

Edmonton has had the first picks for the past few seasons, and the fact that they are picking the NO.7 shows that top draft picks do make a difference. Darnell Nurse gets to go play with Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins! A defenseman is exactly what the Oilers need. Darnell, you won the Lottery too.

Buffalo has had its better days.  With the NO. 8 pick there have not been many trades or dealings.  Many speculated the Sabres would make some type of deal or just pick a big player and defender…and they did in  Rasmus Ristolainen.  He’s a hard hitter with a hard shot and a great name.

And just as NJ Devils were about to make their NO. 9 pick, they trade it to Vancouver for Cory Schneider! Vancouver get the pick. Bo Horvat from the London Knights has been compared to Avs player Ryan O’Reilly.

And the final pick in the Top 10, goes to the Dallas Stars.  Valeri Nichuskin is a strong addition to the Stars who already have Jamie Benn as a weapon.  The question is whether he will be on the ice next season.

That’s it for me. Follow more hockey info and in-depth article on the draft picks at The Hockey Writers.

Negotiations in Newark: Manufacturing the Perfect Team

NHL Draft 2013 has hit the Prudential Center in Newark. Whatever happens in a mock draft, may be true to the actual draft, however, surprises happen.

In a mock draft, the expected results for the top 5 draft picks are:

1. Nathan McKinnon (C) Going to the Colorado Avalanche, which was not what most suspect,  considering the Avs need to build up their defense. Originally, Seth Jones was selected to be the primary overall NO. 1 pick. The Avs like to pick offensive talent…Matt Duchene, Paul Stastny, for example.
2. Seth Jones (D) Going to the Florida Panthers, which is a great move. The Panthers really bolstered their D and that move helped create a strength down their in the sunshine.
3. Jonathan Drouin (LW) Going to Tampa Bay Lightning, and many think he should have been the NO. 1 pick overall.
4. Aleksander Barkov (C) Nashville Predators pick a big center, after the Preds offense drizzled this season.
5. Valeri Nichuskin (LW) Carolina Hurricanes know this is a good fit with Alex Semin.
6. Sean Monahan (C) Calgary Flames need all the help they can get.
7. Darnell Nurse (D) Edmonton Oilers are adding some gritty defense to complement their offensive young guns.
8. Nikita Zadorov (D) Buffalo Sabres has had a good run with Tyler Myers, so the experiment continues.
9. Elas Lindholm (C) New Jersey Devils have a Swede!
10. Alexander Wenberg (C) Dallas Stars also know the Swedes are training and taking their hockey programs to the next level.

10. Alexander Wenberg (C) Dallas Stars also know the Swedes are training and taking their hockey programs to the next level.

Let’s see what really happens the 2013 NHL Draft! I will be updating this blog with twitter feeds from Dan Rice, a NJ Devils writer for The Hockey Writers.