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Draft Preview 2021
In our 2021 Draft Preview edition, we have 100 pages packed with everything you need to know about this year's class. We have profiles on the top 100 prospects, team reports for all 31 NHL clubs, plus features on Michigan's Big 3 of Owen Power, Matty Beniers and Kent Johnson; Simon Edvidsson; and Aatu Raty. We also welcome the Seattle Kraken by looking at how they are building their team, what they can learn from Vegas, and how they might look on opening night with our Mock Draft.
TOM WILSON - GOOD FOR THE GAME OF HOCKEY?
QUITE OFTEN WHEN A decision I am faced with regarding making a move in hockey makes absolutely no financial sense, I ask myself before jumping into the fray: is this good for the game of hockey? In 1992, I was living in Los Angeles, and after Hurricane Andrew ripped through South Florida, my brother in Miami called me up and said that he wanted to put on a hockey tournament to raise funds for Habitat for Humanity. I funded and co-founded Hockey for the Homeless, where we raised money both in Miami and in Los Angeles, producing a celebrity hockey game in 1994 at the old Los Angeles Forum. It was good for the game of hockey. In 2008, then CEO of the Montreal Canadiens, Pierre Boivin, asked me if my refrigeration…
Kraken Mock Draft
GENERAL MANAGERS? Learning from the pitfalls of the 2017 expansion draft? That was then. Fifteen teams have changed their GMs since the Vegas Golden Knights put on a clinic with a dizzying parade of side deals that landed foundational players such as Shea Theodore and Alex Tuch. In the four years since, NHL GMs have continued to live in the moment, signing players to lucrative deals. The pandemic has also vaporized league revenues to the point the salary cap is expected to remain flat at $81.5 million. Translation: just as many teams are in financial distress now as there were in 2017, if not more, so we can expect just as many side deals. Seattle’s position will be as advantageous as Vegas’ was. As the Kraken bail teams out and eat big…
TOP 100 PROSPECTS: 61-64
61. BENJAMIN GAUDREAU BORN Jan. 11, 2003, North Bay, Ont. 2020-21 Sarnia POS G HT 6-2 WT 174 CATCHES L INTERNATIONAL SCOUTING SERVICES No. 2 G AFTER PLAYING ONLY 28 games last season as a rookie and missing the entire OHL campaign this season, Gaudreau had his chance to suit up in Norway thwarted by passport issues. He did, however, get his chance to play some important games when he won the No. 1 job with Canada’s team at the recent World Under-18 Championship. Scouts would have liked to see him face tougher competition, but he made the most of it and emerged as one of the top goalies in the tournament. “He’s a very good, athletic goalie,” said one scout. “I love the way he competes. His tools are really good. I thought he was…
TOP 100 PROSPECTS: 57-60
57. BRENT JOHNSON BORN March 20, 2003, Dallas, Texas 2020-21 Sioux Falls POS D HT 5-11 WT 165 SHOOTS R INTERNATIONAL SCOUTING SERVICES nr A SHOULDER INJURY ended his season prematurely, but Johnson still finished amongst the USHL leaders in goals and points by a defenseman – not bad for a kid from Texas who spent almost all of his previous season playing AAA under-16 hockey in Michigan. “As a first-year player, his stock has certainly risen,” said one scout. “When you look at where he started the year and where he ended up, he was logging 24 minutes a night at times. He can skate, he can transition pucks and he’s got some offensive flair.” Committed to NCAA North Dakota, Johnson is heading into a great developmental program, and he’ll have to compete for ice time…
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