2020 NHL Mock Draft
The 2020 NHL Draft begins Tuesday evening.
Five teams have multiple picks in the first round, highlighted by Ottawa holding three picks – two of which are in the top five overall. The New Jersey Devils also own three picks (7, 18, 20). The Anaheim Ducks and New York Rangers own two picks each as well.
By viture of their advancing into the first round of the playoffs, the Chicago Blackhawks are on the clock with the 17th overall selection.
Over the past week we have highlighted eight players the Blackhawks might consider when they’re on the clock. Last year we were the only outlet that correctly predicted the Blackhawks would select Kirby Dach third overall. Picking who the Hawks will take at 17 is a much tougher proposition; there are many moving pieces and picks in play before the Hawks are on the clock.
However, let’s walk through how the first round may play out this evening.
- New York Rangers – Alexis Lafreniere, LW
- Los Angeles Kings – Quinton Byfield, C
- Ottawa Senators (from SJS) – Tim Stutzle, LW
- Detroit Red Wings – Cole Perfetti, C
- Ottawa Senators – Anton Lundell, C
- Anaheim Ducks – Lucas Raymond, LW
- New Jersey Devils – Yaroslav Askarov, G
- Buffalo Sabres – Marco Rossi, C
- Minnesota Wild – Dylan Holloway, C
- Winnipeg Jets – Jamie Drysdale, D
- Nashville Predators – Seth Jarvis, C
- Florida Panthers – Alexander Holtz, RW
- Carolina Hurricanes (from TOR) – Connor Zary, C
- Edmonton Oilers – Justin Barron, D
- Toronto Maple Leafs (from PIT) – Jack Sanderson, D
- Montreal Canadiens – Jacob Perreault, RW
- Chicago Blackhawks – Jack Quinn, RW
- New Jersey Devils (from ARZ) – Rodion Amirov, LW
- Calgary Flames – Braden Schneider, D
- New Jersey Devils (from VAN via TB) – Ridly Greig, C
- Columbus Blue Jackets – Brendan Brisson, C
- New York Rangers (from CAR) – Noel Gunler, RW
- Philadelphia Flyers – Sam Colangelo, RW
- Washington Capitals – Dawson Mercer, C
- Colorado Avalanche – Mavrik Bourque, C
- St. Louis Blues – Maxim Groshev, RW
- Anaheim Ducks (from BOS) – Hendrix Lapierre, C
- Ottawa Senators (from NYI) – Kaiden Guhle, D
- Vegas Golden Knights – Jeremie Poirier, D
- Dallas Stars – Tyson Foerster, RW
- San Jose Sharks (from TB) – Marat Khusnutdinov, C
Why Jack Quinn?
In this mock draft, there are some intriguing names still on the board when the Blackhawks are on the clock. Amirov, Greig, Brisson (whose father is the agent of Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews) and Mercer are all strong possibilities for the Blackhawks if they’re available.
But, given the players available in this scenario, Quinn would be the best choice for the Blackhawks.
The Blackhawks need to improve their top-nine forwards in a big way, and it doesn’t appear there’s adequate depth in the organization to make that happen. Kane and Toews aren’t getting younger; Dach will become the face of the next generation of Blackhawks quickly, but he’s still young.
Quinn is responsible defensively and plays all three zones effectively. Quinn is a physical forward in the way Brandon Saad is; he won’t lead the team in hits but he uses his body to get/shield the puck fairly well.
Most importantly, Quinn can find the back of the net. His 52 goals ranked second in the OHL and he has a really good, quick release.
Quinn, who would have been 18 if the draft were held at its usual time in late-June, is already listed at six feet tall and almost 180 pounds, giving him a good body to grow into as well. Chicago needs to score, but a little size wouldn’t hurt.
Quinn would be an ideal compliment to Dach moving forward. If he’s available at 17, the Blackhawks should strongly consider making him the newest member of the organization.
Like how you shifted from what other mock drafts are saying after first few picks, i think this will closer to what we see tomorrow night. Quinn be a solid pick and not a complete surprise they take him if he’s still there. Agree he upgradees the forward pool in a needed way.
Quinn sounds like a Dcat with a better defensive work ethic, and a bit more size. I love that forwards can score lots of goals, but Tab’s comments about being physical in the way that Saad is physical tells me he is an upgrade from Dcat in that respect too. Dcat has heart and a decent work ethic on the fun side of the center line, but on the hard side of center – not so much.
Why am I talking about Dcat? He is the apparently near redundancy of offensive talent that Quinn brings (but less physical mostly due to size). His contract is worse than Saad’s (in my opinion) based on what he brings to the table currently and the cap hell placed on all teams for the next couple of years. If someone could get Dcat’s head out of his rear area and get him to become a slightly better than average participant in the rest of the hockey ice, we could hold out for a bigger, stronger forward than Quinn.
To shorten this post – I think Dcat is a problem for Bowman right now and has a larger impact on personnel plans going forward than is recognized here. His development in the 2019-2020 was virtually nonexistent, and in fact went backwards offensively. I am not privy to what Bowman or the other pieces of management feel about Dcat, but I personally think his contract is not as easy to move as some people think. So hopefully his poor showing last season is related to health or personal issues rather than thinking he doesn’t need to work harder. But he creates a problem with his contract if he cannot improve into a player worthy of $6m per year. His age is an asset for him, not just the team. Step up young man.
And that is a problem for Bowman. He paid the guy (yes, based on some good years) and may get saddled with yet another bad contract. I hope that Dcat’s youth and awareness make him a player more equivalent to Quinn. It would be nice to have an excess of that should Quinn get taken, instead of an excess of bad contracts.
I also hope that a contract for Saad in the $4-5 – $5m per year range can get worked out. Take one for the team and sign for 2 years. Then go make more money if you really need it. Do it soon or you likely will find your way out of town. We need more players like Saad (yes, at a better cost), not less. If a better contract is out of the question – move him. Perhaps Quinn is more comparable to Saad as Tab mentions, but just with better hands and thus more scoring touch/results. Maybe Bowman will see Quinn in that light and not worry about – or simply move Saad now.
Still too many holes to fix on the team to actually consider ourselves a Cup contender. We may find a way into the playoffs, but I don’t see enough talent to make an impact once there. If Quinn needs another year of seasoning, he won’t be part of the actual improvement of the club for the 20-21 season.
I can still easily be talked into moving this pick and another prospect for an NHL level young goalie (clear projection of starter in 2-3 years) or Dman (clear projection of top pair). This may be the best path to those players, in my eyes.
The cat a problem for sure saads not worth 5 in my opinion trade him try to keep strome kublich 3.5 for both if not let them sit if offer sheet comes let them go draft picks coming time to get tough with lazy work ethic on this team that’s how I see it the days of being overly generous have to stop corys doesnt want 3.5 bye bye
Elliotte Friedman reporting that Hawks got permission to talk to Matt Murray about an extension. Talks were not fruitful so back to square one.
Devan Dubnyk and a 7th rounder to Sharks for a 5th. Minn retains about half of the salary.
SS, I agree with you on D-cat. His contract is a problem and he is not a top 6 forward on a contending team therefore he and Strome both need to be moved. Neither of them are physical enough for 3rd line duty so they need to be gone. Saad on the other hand is a solid 3rd line forward on a good team and should be paid as such. Quinn sounds interesting and sounds like he could make a good Hawk.
I know there are folks that want to focus on the future and not rehash Stanley’s player decisions and I tried to avoid the topic but this goalie debacle falls squarely on his shoulders. The Hawks have no plans for the position, no one in development and worse of all SB will once again overpay to clear up another dumpster fire.
Tick tock Rocky tick tock
I think I might look hard at Lapierre if the draft board fell this way. Jack Quinn, great name for a Detective or Super-Spy novel.
I have to admit that Jack Quinn confused the heck out of me for a time. There was Quinn Hughes and then Jack Hughes. So, what’s a Jack Quinn??
Hopefully, Jack Quinn becomes a pretty good player too, for someone.
Hopefully the Hawks can swing a big deal with Montreal as they are very interested in trading the 16th pick for a proven NHL Forward with term left on contract.Debrincat,Strome,and Nylander for 16th pick,Domi and a minor league goalie.
This time tomorrow night we’ll have our answer on the 1st pick. Hope he becomes a good one not a bust.
I’m intrigued by the idea of trading deHaan. Granted, it would mean we lost two of the three veteran LD’s with only Koekkoek (if re-signed), Carlsson and possibly Kalynuk to play behind Keith on the left side. Murphy could also play LD if needed.
It would free up $4.5M this season and next which added to the current cap space of $11.1M means Stan would have $15.6M to sign a goalie and re-sign Kubalik, Strome, Koekkoek and perhaps Caggiula and/or Subban depending on what other moves are made. Another $2M could be added to the cap by buying out Smith.
Hopefully 2020/21 is a season where the young d-men get lots of game experience and are better prepared to play playoff hockey in 2021/22 or 2022/23.
If Crawford is not going to resign with Chicago should Bowman be trying to trade his rights for a possible draft pick?
Just thinking out loud but TOR is desperate for a RH D man so what about Murphy for TOR’s 1st rounder – 15th overall?
Frees up cap space, opens a roster spot for a young D and you’d add two good prospects – say Holloway and LaPierre for example ot maybe Askarov falls to #15
It would be nice to get Holloway and Quinn while getting rid of Strome and buying out Smith.I think they should move Dehaan also.He is on borrowed time with those shoulders.Let Kalykuk,Mitchell,and Carllson learn on the job.I am willing to go through those growing pains as a fan.Really looking forward to tomorrow night.
If the draft were to fall this way, I think the Hawks will select Dawson Mercer. I hear that Quinn is not a very good skater, kind of reminds me of Mark McNeil, while Mercer reminds me of a Phillip Danault.
I think there are going to be some very enticing names to come available shortly, so Stan should only spend some of that $11M on Kubalik and wait for the buyouts or just plain released players.
I think it would be wise to trade DeHaan and his $4M salary. His shoulders concern me, and we could use that money to pay someone like Ryan Strome! Perhaps, he could light a fire under his brother. He will soon become available because the Rangers cannot afford him. The kid has made himself into an excellent winger!
One thing for certain, there will be a lot of moves made today and I could see anu of the following get moved: Saad, Shaw, DeHaan, Cagguila, Strome, Smith, Kampf, and Carpenter.
Tommy I …..good idea for Dehaan but is there a team who doesn’t know he has a shoulder problem or wants to take A risk ( or a chance)
I would also love to see Shaw, Smith ,Strome get trade …the 3 S .
After the way Maatta was handled, says to me Smith won’t be bought out. He could be waived and buried in minors and save 1.o75m against cap this year and 1.14m against cap next year if needed. Plus he gats his full salary in minors too, better move all around likely. I think Dehasn stays, his contract space is needed to pay Dach, Boqvist etc. when there contracts expire, especially now with a flat cap. Shaw could be looked at that way too, but if his cap space is all you want, if healthy and cleared to play, can’t imagine somebody not taking a chance on him if waived at the right time.
Stape be great if Bowman found somebody willing to give a pick for Crawfords rights like he did with Datling a few years ago.
Draft day is finally here.
Let’s raise a cheer.
Stan says hold his beer.
He’ll take it from here.
I still think they go with Holloway. The Hawks love that Badger program.
From what ive read time to blow it up and start over deal mentioned with Montreal intriguing I’m for it cats best days behind him Kane makes everybody better cats lost his edge good luck Stan your going it need it
Sens have said there 4 2nd round picks are available, they pick 33rd, 51st, 57th and 60th. Wonder if Bowman makes a move for one of them. Something to watch for. Craig i like Holloway too, have since awhile, would be good pick.
I like Holloway a lot, too. Doubt he makes it to 17 and not sure Hawks have the draft capital to move up to get him.
No qualifying offer to Vinny Hinostroza from the Coyotes. With the flat cap I think we are going to see a lot of this. I expect the Hawks to go the same way with Caggiula.
I keep seeing teams saying they need to be tougher to play against. Holloway seems to be that type of player. I will be very pleasantly surprised if he makes it to #17.
I would have said Holloway instead of Mercer, but I don’t think he makes it to 17. If he did make it to 17, it’s a no-brainer! We would be at that podium so fast you would have thought that there was a fire-drill. I think the kid Holloway is top 10! I just saw that Abdelkader is now a FA…that’s a big guy that needs a change of scenery. We have plenty of Vinnie types, this guy would be a great 3rd line guy!