The 2017 NHL Draft Lottery is tonight, but what is all the fuss about?
The Carolina Hurricanes have a 3.2% chance of winning the draft lottery. Chances are slim, but anything can happen. More than likely a team like Colorado, Arizona, or Vegas will vie for the top pick. But who is up for grabs?
Nolan Patrick
On almost every draft list from the beginning of the year till now, Nolan Patrick has been the consensus number one prospect. It is impressive, especially considering the 18 year old was out with injury for a large part of the season. He only played 33 WHL games this season and didn’t play at the World Junior Championship.
At 6’3 and close to 200 lbs, Patrick has the look of a potential impact center iceman for whichever team selects him. He has no real glaring hole in his game and is able to effective in both ends of the ice. Scouts have also raved about his fundamentals and thinking of the game.
The biggest knock on Patrick is sample size from this past season. As a late September birthday, he was only a few days away from being draft eligible last year. That meant his injury plagued and somewhat underwhelming season this year kind of undercuts his fantastic season the year before. There are also concerns he just doesn’t have a dynamic quality that is befitting of a number 1 overall selection.
Carolina Hurricanes
Nico Hischier
Challenging Patrick for the top pick is Swiss center Nico Hischier. In his first season in the Quebec league for the Halifax Mooseheads, he tore it up. 86 points in 57 games was a fantastic rookie campaign. Internationally, Hischier was also a point per game player at the U-18’s and the World Junior Championship.
While Patrick was sidelined, Hischier got the headlines. At many points this year, ranking services had Hischier higher than Patrick and there are definitely teams that would pick him over Patrick. Much of that comes from his electrifying play style. He is much more likely to get people out of their seat than Patrick.
He isn’t as big as Patrick and the fact Hischier shot up the board this season poses some questions. The debate at number one is where you want flash or not. Patrick is the steady center of the future while Hischier is the spark plug for an offense.
Challengers
After the likely 1 and 2 picks in Patrick and Hischier, the board gets fuzzy. There isn’t a clear consensus number 3, or 4, or 5. Forwards Gabriel Vilardi, Owen Tippett, and Casey Mittelstadt might be in the conversation for the last lottery team.
Vilardi of the Windsor Spitfires is a thick center with good stick handling. Tippett is a sniper. His 44 goals was 5th in the OHL this season. The highest rated American is Mittelstadt. He played for the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL and put up 30 points in 24 games and is committed to Minnesota next season.
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For a team looking on the blue line, defenseman Timothy Liljegren might sneak into the top 3. Originally pegged as a challenger to Nolan Patrick, Liljegren fell out of the top due to his bad year. He was wildly inconsistent in the Swedish Hockey League and didn’t really show up in international competition. He still has incredible tools, so someone might take a chance on him.