Carolina Hurricanes Complete Seven Round Mock Draft
7th Pick (1st Round)
NHL top prospect Nikolaj Ehlers (Photo c/o of Halifax Mooseheads David Chan)
Pick: Nikolaj Ehlers
Position: Left Wing
Height/Weight: 5’11″/176 lbs.
2013-2014 Team: Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)
Pick Explanation: Lots of people have been talking about Nick Ritchie for the 7th pick in the draft, but he comes with a lot of red flags. Effort is a big concern with Nick Ritchie, and that is what scared me off in this mock draft.
Jake Virtanen was another player that was very tempting, but his serious shoulder injury also scared me away from selecting him with the 7th pick. He’s a great talent with plenty of size and skill, but the shoulder injury is a big red flag.
That left Nicolaj Ehlers and William Nylander as my top picks. They both have their pros and cons, but I opted to go with Ehlers with the seventh pick.
Nikolaj Ehlers comes out of the Halifax Mooseheads of the QMJHL, the same team that both Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin came out of.
The Danish forward took the North American crowd by storm in his first year in the Canadian Juniors. He finished his first year in the QMJHL with 104 points in 64 games played. He finished 4th in the “Q” in points, and he led all rookies in points, goals, and assists.
Nikolaj Ehlers also played well in the U-20 Junior Championships where he tallied six points in five games.
Scouts rave about Nikolaj Ehlers’ speed and ability to jump all over defensemen. He may be the best skater in the draft, and he is very crafty offensively. A future line with Jeff Skinner sounds incredibly dangerous.
The only knock on Nikolaj Ehlers is his size. He has plenty of work to do with physically maturing, but if he can get bigger, he can be a star in the NHL.
37th Pick (2nd Round)
Photo: Joel Marklund
Pick: Anton Karlsson
Position: Right Wing
Height/Wing: 6’2″/187 lbs.
2013-2014 Team: Frolunda HC (Sweden)
Pick Explanation: The Carolina Hurricanes will go with the big power forward out of Sweden with the 37th pick in the NHL Draft.
Brother of Carolina Hurricanes prospect Erik Karlsson, Anton Karlsson is a guy who can get under the skin of opposing players. He is a very good player in his own end, and his vision makes him a dangerous playmaker in the offensive zone as well.
Anton Karlsson posses a high Hockey IQ. He knows and thinks the game well, and he makes very good decisions on the ice. He also has good top end speed, and his size makes him hard to stop when he is skating fast.
Karlsson spent a majority of the 2013-2014 season with the Frolunda J-20 team where he tallied 22 points (12 goals, 10 assists) in 28 games played.
67th Pick (3rd Round)
Pick: Brycen Martin
Position: Defense
Height/Weight: 6’2″/195 lbs.
2013-2014 Team: Swift Current Broncos (WHL)
Pick Explanation: The Carolina Hurricanes will look to add depth to their defense in the 2014 NHL Draft. Though they were not able to do that in round one or two, they will pick a defenseman with their 3rd round draft pick.
Brycen Martin has good size, skill, and attitude. He is a great talent on offense, and scouts say that he rarely makes any mistakes. He may be the best defensive prospect available at pick #67 in the draft, if he is available at that time.
Brycen Martin played alongside fellow NHL draft prospect Julius Honka in Swift Current this past season, and that definitely helped his draft stock.
The Carolina Hurricanes picking Martin 67th may be a reach, but that would be a great pick for the team if they got him.
96th Pick (4th Round)
http://lastwordonsports.com/2014/05/11/2014-nhl-draft-profile-38-alexis-vanier/
Pick: Alexis Vanier
Position: Defense
Height/Weight: 6’5″/215 lbs.
2013-2014 Team: Baie-Comeau Drakkar (QMJHL)
Pick Explanation: The Carolina Hurricanes will continue to add to their defensive depth with the 96th pick in the NHL Draft with the pick of Alexis Vanier.
At 6’5″, 215 pounds, Alexis Vanier is a huge player physically. Not only is his physical stature huge, his stats in the QMJHL were also huge.
Vanier tallied 36 points (15 goals, 21 assists) in 61 games played in the QMJHL in 2013-2014. That is way up from his 2012-2013 point total which was a very underwhelming 8 points, all of which were assists, in 52 games played in the “Q”.
The biggest concern with Alexis Vanier is his skating. He is a very big guy, so naturally, he is a bit less talented on his feet. He makes up for his movement issues with his great ability to hit and take up plenty of room on the ice.
Alexis Vanier also has a fantastic shot from the point that is very good on the power play. That became very prevalent this past season. He scored 15 goals in the 2013-2014 season after not scoring any goals in the 2012-2013 season.
The Carolina Hurricanes will have to develop Alexis Vanier quite a bit, but Vanier could end up being a steal in the 4th round of the NHL Draft.
97th Pick (4th Round)
http://www.jatkoaika.com/Kuvakooste/ruotsi-teki-sen-taas/152331
Pick: Linus Soderstrom
Position: Goalie
Height/Weight: 6’3″/187 lbs.
2013-2014 Team: Djurgården J20 (SuperElit – Sweden)
Pick Explanation: The Carolina Hurricanes have a solid goalie prospect in Daniel Altshuller, a third round draft pick in 2012, but they will add another goalie to the fray with the 97th pick.
Linus Soderstrom impressed in the U-18 Junior Championships this past season when he had a sub-2.00 goals against average for Sweden in net with a .917 save percentage.
He played 23 games with Djurgården and had a 2.61 goals against average with a .915 save percentage.
The Carolina Hurricanes would be fortunate to take Soderstrum in the fourth round. He could compete with Daniel Altshuller for the position of best goalie prospect in the Carolina Hurricanes system.
The 17-year-old has a bright future ahead of him, and he has a lot of time to develop.
Pick 127 (5th Round)
Plymouth native Ryan Mantha is top prospect for the 2014 NHL Draft. (Michael Caples/MiHockey)
Pick: Ryan Mantha
Position: Defense
Height/Weight: 6’5″/225 lbs.
2013-2014 Team: Sioux City Musketeers and Indiana Ice (USHL)
Pick Explanation: The Carolina Hurricanes pick their third defenseman of the NHL Draft with the 127th pick.
Ryan Mantha’s size alone turns heads, but the Clarkston, Michigan native also has the characteristics that you want in a late round pick.
The 18-year-old defenseman has great vision. He also makes a great breakout pass and is able to move and handle the puck very well.
Ryan Mantha’s size and reach makes him very good in his own end defending against the rush. He is very sound and consistent in his own end.
Like Alexis Vanier, Ryan Mantha doesn’t have terrific mobility. He will have to work on his foot speed if he hopes to rise through the ranks and break into the NHL.
Ryan Mantha is set to join the Niagara Ice Dogs in the 2014-2015 season if he decides to join the OHL. If he stays in the USHL, Ryan Mantha will start the year with the Muskegon Lumberjacks.
187th Pick (7th Round)
Anders Bjork looks for the loose puck in front of the Quebec net. Photo by JC Pinheiro / Hockey Canada Images.
Pick: Anders Bjork
Position: Center/Left Wing
Height/Weight: 6’0″/183 lbs.
2013-2014 Team: U.S. National Team Development Program U-18
Pick Explanation: The Carolina Hurricanes’ last pick in the NHL Draft will be an important one, and they will go with American forward and USNTDP member Anders Bjork.
Anders Bjork spent part of the last year in the USHL with the USNTDP Junior team. He tallied 21 points in 26 games played before joining the U-18 U.S. National Team and posting 21 goals and 21 assists in 61 games.
In the U-18 World Junior Championships, Bjork scored 2 goals in 7 games played. He also had a +4 rating in the tournament.
Anders Bjork has committed to play hockey at the University of Notre Dame in the 2014-2015 season. The 18-year-old Mequon, Wisconsin native has turned some head with the U.S. Development program, and he will look to continue growing in college.