Pathshot. Hockey Online.

This reflects what I believe will happen, not so much a matter of who the most talented is or who belongs with which team.  Purely for entertainment purposes only.

So, without further ado….

1. New York Islanders: John Tavares, London Knights. They’re not going to trade down.  They’re not going to surprise us with Evander Kane or Matt Duchene.  Garth Snow isn’t Mike Milbury, and he’s not going to give up the sure thing on the risk that someone else could be best.  Frankly, if he chooses Evander Kane, he loses his job before the end of the season.
2. Tampa Bay Lightning: Victor Hedman, Modo. Brian Lawton, unable to pick himself first overall again, decides to go after the mature, puck moving defenseman who can hurt you in any way he chooses.  He’s a keeper.
3. Colorado Avalanche: Matt Duchene, Brampton Battalion. Blah blah blah Joe Sakic, blah blah blah leadership.  There’s no reason they don’t pick Duchene here.
4. Atlanta Thrashers: Brayden Schenn, Brandon Wheat Kings. Atlanta will pick him here, bring him in during 2009-10, and then continue to crush his spirit until he wants out.
5. Los Angeles Kings: Nazem Kadri, London Knights. I expect this pick to be moved, frankly – but I’m not going to speculate every possibility.  That’s silly.  If Dallas moves up, they try to get Jared Cowen.  If Ottawa moves up, they take Evander Kane.  If the Sabres move up, they take Taro Tsujimoto Jr.
6. Phoenix Coyotes: Jared Cowen, Spokane Chiefs. The best talent avilable at number 6, Phoenix picks a defenseman who could join the team within 2 years as they finally assert themselves for a playoff spot.
7. Toronto Maple Leafs: Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Leksand IF. Toronto doesn’t really pick here.  This is really a talent placeholder because this pick gets traded to some defense-hungry Swede lovers that aren’t the Detroit Red Wings.  Maybe Vancouver?
8. Dallas Stars: Evander Kane, Vancouver Giants. Holy crap, Evander Kane is still on the board?  Take him!
9. Ottawa Senators: Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson, Timra IK. Unless they work out a way to grab either Evander Kane or Nazem Kadri, they’re just going to take the best name on the board.  That name just happens to be really long with multiple double-letters.
10. Edmonton Oilers: Ryan Ellis, Windsor Spitfires. How this pick has survived Kevin Lowe’s GM tenure is beyond me.  It did, so Edmonton takes a defensive quarterback that recently added Memorial Cup champion to his resume.
11. Nashville Predators: Dmitry Kulikov, Drummondville Voltigeurs. It helps that he played in the QMJHL last year instead of Russia.  It also helps that he’s the best guy left, and probably should have gone earlier.
12. Minnesota Wild: Jordan Schroeder, University of Minnesota. A shrewd pick of a local guy bound to excite the Wild fans.  Minnesota might need to move up to take him, but they’ll find a way to make this pick.
13. Buffalo Sabres: Jacob Josefson, Djurgardens. Buffalo takes the Swedish hype and grabs their very own Swede!  However, in standard Buffalo draft pick style, they sign him to a deal in 2010, and he never makes the NHL.
14. Florida Panthers: Scott Glennie, Brandon Wheat Kings. This is how they respond to the Bouwmeester debacle.  Too bad they can’t trade for a GM.
15. Anaheim Ducks: Zack Kassian, Peterborough Petes. He’s big enough, he’s smart enough, and dog gone it – people like him.  He’ll spend another year in Juniors, the better part of one year in the AHL, and then he’ll join Anaheim in time to be part of the 2010-11 Stanley Cup Playoffs run.
16. Columbus Blue Jackets: Landon Ferraro, Red Deer Rebels. A confused Scott Howson thinks he’s drafting Ron Francis’s son.  The move serves them well anyways, as he becomes a perrenial 20-goal scorer.
17. St. Louis Blues: Peter Holland, Guelph Storm. A grateful Larry Pleau is thrilled to see Holland fall into his lap.
18. Montreal Canadiens: Louis Leblanc, Omaha Lancers. The first pick out of the USHL, Montreal is unable to resist grabbing someone named “Leblanc” from Quebec.
19. New York Rangers: John Moore, Chicago Steel. Right back to the USHL for the best remaining defenseman.
20. Calgary Flames: Carter Ashton, Lethbridge Hurricanes. Lots of WHL guys have gone already by this point, but Calgary makes an excellent pick of the rising prospect.
21. Philadelphia Flyers: Simon Despres, Saint John Sea Dogs. The big, stay-at-home defenseman is the right pick for the Flyers after they fail to snatch Bouwmeester’s rights out of Florida.
22. Vancouver Canucks: Drew Shore, US Under-18 Team. Already committed to University of Denver next year, Shore will probably be one of those guys Vancouver irresponsibly tosses into a deadline trade to get Keith Tkachuk, and goes on to have a stellar career.
23. New Jersey Devils: Nick Leddy, Eden Prairie High School. Lou Lamoriello makes a pick late in the first round.  People call it a genius pick.  In other news, Ken Holland takes a Swede in the 6th round.
24. Washington Capitals: David Rundblad, Skelleftea. Washington is just thrilled to be able to pick this late.  They don’t need a offensive-minded defenseman, but they take one anyways.
25. Boston Bruins: Chris Kreider, Phillips Andover High School. From Boston, committed to BC, let’s continue the local guy NHL lovefest.
26. New York Islanders: Ethan Werek, Kingston Frontenacs.  He could slide into the second round, but the Islanders pick another center here that will eventually center their third line.
27. Carolina Hurricanes: Kyle Palmieri, US Under-18 Team. A steal at 27, Palmieri will be a top-6 forward somewhere.  Might as well be Carolina.
28. Chicago Blackhawks: Jordan Caron, Rimouski Oceanic. A center who has made certain and steady improvement in the QMJHL, Caron will be able to contribute almost immediately in Chicago.
29. Detroit Red Wings: Calvin deHaan, Oshawa Generals. Detroit will give him the luxury of the time he’ll need to develop.  In return, deHaan will be a top-4 defenseman.
30. Pittsburgh Penguins: Dmitri Orlov, Metallurg Novokuznetsk. One of the few teams that can take the risk of drafting out of the KHL, the Penguins might be able to entice him into the NHL with the prospect of playing alongside Evgeni Malkin.