2016 NHL Re-Draft

Here I'm going to re-draft the First Round of the 2016 NHL Draft. How many picks will be the same? How many picks will be different?

1. Toronto Maple Leafs- Auston Matthews, Center, Zurich, Switzerland: No due-over here as the Leafs take their franchise guy in Matthews, who has lived up to hype since day one. Despite missing 20 games this season, he still managed to put up 63 points in 62 games and he'll be a Hart Trophy candidate for years to come.
Actual Pick: Matthews

2. Winnipeg Jets- Patrik Laine, Wing, Tappara, Finland: No due-over for the Jets as they take their guy in Laine, who's right up there with Matthews among the leagues best young players. Laine tallied 69 points in 80 games this season and he'll be a top goal scorer and a Hart Trophy candidate for years to come as well.
Actual Pick: Laine

3. Columbus Blue Jackets- Matthew Tkachuk, Wing, London (OHL): The Jackets do a semi-due over here as they take Tkachuk here, who's shown to be a top six forward with the Flames. Tkachuk tallied 49 points in 69 games and he would slide into the Jackets top six nicely sans their surplus of forwards.
Actual Pick: Pierre-Luc Dubois, Wing/Center, Cape Breton (QMJHL)

4. Edmonton Oilers- Mikhail Sergachev, Defenseman, Windsor (OHL): Sergachev was perceived as the best defenseman in this draft class and he has owned up to that billing as he's shown with the Bolts this season after the Habs traded him away last summer. Sergachev posted 40 points in 79 games this season as the Habs probably regret trading him away for Jonathan Drouin as they are about to begin a rebuild perhaps.
Actual Pick: Jesse Puljujarvi, Wing, Karpat, Finland

5. Vancouver Canucks- Charlie McAvoy, Defenseman, Boston University (NCAA): McAvoy is easily the second best defenseman from this draft class as he's proven to be a steal at where the Bruins selected him. McAvoy posted 32 points in 59 games this season and probably has other teams regret passing up on him.
Actual Pick: Olli Juolevi, Defenseman, London Knights (OHL)

6. Calgary Flames- Pierre-Luc Dubois, Wing/Center, Cape Breton (QMJHL): With Tkachuk off the board, the Flames take Luc-Dubois, who would be a solid choice here. Luc-Dubois put up 37 points in 62 games this season and has room to grow as a player.
Actual Pick: Matthew Tkachuk, Wing, London (OHL)

7. Arizona Coyotes- Clayton Keller, Center, U.S. National Development Team: No due-over for the Coyotes as they take their guy in Keller, who had a great season for the Coyotes this season. Keller put up 52 points in 71 games this season and he'll be a top six forward for the Coyotes for years to come.
Actual Pick: Keller

8. Buffalo Sabres- Alex DeBrincat, Center/Wing, Erie (OHL): DeBrincat has proven to be a huge steal at where the Blackhawks selected him in the second round. DeBrincat posted 52 points in 82 games this season and will be a very good player for the Blackhawks as they go forward. Imagine DeBrincat playing alongside Jack Eichel?
Actual Pick: Alexander Nylander, Wing, Mississauga (OHL)

9. Montreal Canaidens- Dante Fabbro, Defenseman, Penticton (BCHL): With Sergachev off the board, the Habs take Fabbro here, who has top-four potential and would be a nice piece for the Habs going forward. Fabbro was talked about heavily at the trade deadline and the Preds kept him put for a reason. He should be on the Preds to begin next season.
Actual Pick: Mikhail Sergachev, Defenseman, Windsor (OHL)

10. Colorado Avalanche- Jordan Koryu, Center, Sarnia (OHL): Koryu has proven to be a total steal at where the Blues took him in the second round. Koryu was sought after at the trade deadline as teams tried to trade rentals to the Blues for a return that featured Koryu. Imagine Koryu playing behind Nathan McKinnon for the next decade?
Actual Pick: Tyson Jost, Center, Penticton (BCHL)

11. Ottawa Senators (from New Jersey Devils)- Jesse Puljujarvi, Wing, Karpat, Finland: Puljujarvi is the choice here as he drops from where he was originally drafted and this could have been a steal for the Sens. Puljujarvi tallied 20 points in 56 games and would have been more points if he played a full 82 games. He has room to grow as a player and could have been a nice piece for a team about to enter a rebuild.
Actual Pick: Logan Brown, Center, Windsor (OHL)

12. New Jersey Devils (from Ottawa Senators)- Henrik Borgstrom, Center, HIFK-JR, Finland: Borgstrom has proven to be a steal at where the Panthers selected him in this draft. Borgstrom put up 52 points in 40 games in college this year and saw some NHL action at the end of this season. He surely would start next season with the Panthers and he could have been a nice fit behind Nico Hischier in Jersey.

Actual Pick: Michael McLeod, Center, Mississauga (OHL)

13. Carolina Hurricanes- Logan Brown, Center, Windsor (OHL): Brown is the choice here as he falls a couple spots from where he was originally drafted. Brown put up 24 points in 15 games in the OHL this season and saw four games with the Sens this season as well. He will certainly begin next season in Ottawa and would have been a nice fit in Carolina too.
Actual Pick: Jake Bean, Defenseman, Calgary (WHL)

14. Boston Bruins- Michael McLeod, Center, Mississauga (OHL): McLeod is the choice here with Charlie McAvoy off the board. McLeod has put up gaudy numbers in the OHL and could start next season with the Devils. McLeod probably would have been trade bait for the Bruins with their depth at center.
Actual Pick: Charlie McAvoy, Defenseman, Boston University (NCAA)

15. Minnesota Wild- Tyson Jost, Center, Penticton (BCHL): Jost falling here would be a steal for the Wild. Jost put up 22 points in 65 games with the Avs this season and has room to grow as a player. He could have been a third or fourth line center for the Wild.
Actual Pick: Luke Kunin, Center, Wisconsin (NCAA)

16. Arizona Coyotes (from Detroit Red Wings)- Dennis Cholowski, Defenseman, Chilliwack: Cholowski has proven to be a steal at where the Red Wings traded back and took him. Cholowski put up 66 points in 69 WHL games this season and may have the Coyotes regret taking him as he would have fit nicely with Olivier Ekman-Larsson on the blueline there in Arizona.
Actual Pick: Jakob Chychrun, Defenseman, Sarnia (OHL)

17. Nashville Predators- Jake Bean, Defenseman, Calgary (WHL): With Fabbro off the board, the Preds take another young and promising defenseman in Bean. He posted 27 points in 25 games in the WHL this season and figures to be in the Canes long term plans and could have fit nicely with the Preds.
Actual Pick: Dante Fabbro, Defenseman, Penticton (BCHL)

18. Winnipeg Jets (from Philadelphia Flyers)- Jakob Chychrun, Defenseman, Sarnia (OHL): Chychrun drops a couple spots from where he was originally drafted as the Jets snag him here. Chychrun has tallied 34 points in 118 NHL games in two seasons and has room to grow as a player.
Actual Pick: Logan Stanley, Defenseman, Windsor (OHL)

19. New York Islanders- Olli Juolevi, Defenseman, London Knights (OHL): The Isles snag up Juolevi here as they hope to snag a steal here in the re-draft. Juolevi has put up nice numbers in the OHL, but hasn't panned out as quickly as the Canucks thought. He'll probably be on the Canucks to begin next season as they continue their rebuild and he would have been a promising piece on this Isles team that could be entering a rebuild if John Tavares departs this summer.
Actual Pick: Michael McLeod, Center, Mississauga (OHL)

20. Detroit Red Wings (from New York Rangers via Arizona Coyotes)- Alexander Nylander, Wing, Mississauga (OHL): With Cholowski off the board, the Wings go with Nylander, who would be a steal sliding this far. Nylander had nice stats in the OHL, but did not do that much with Sabres this past season and he has room to grow as a player.
Actual Pick: Dennis Cholowski, Defenseman, Chilliwack

21. Carolina Hurricanes (from Los Angeles Kings)- Sam Steel, Center, Regina (WHL): Steel has proven to be a steal where the Ducks selected him. Steel put up very good numbers in the WHL and could find himself on the Ducks next season and would have been a nice depth piece for the Canes.
Actual Pick: Julien Gauthier, Wing, Val-d’Or (QMJHL)

22. Philadelphia Flyers (from Chicago Blackhawks via Winnipeg Jets)- Trent Frederic, Center, US-NTDP (USHL): Frederic has proven to be a steal for the Bruins at where they selected him. Frederic put up solid numbers in college and could start next season on the Bruins if he wanted to or they can
use him as trade bait.
Actual Pick: German Rubstov, Center, RussiaU18 (MHL)

23. Florida Panthers- Riley Tufte, Wing, Fargo Force (USHL): With Borgstrom off the board, the Panthers go with Tufte, who is a bit of a project. Tufte didn't put up great numbers this season in college so I bet he stays in college another year to develop and than in 2019 ends up on the Stars
roster.
Actual Pick: Henrik Borgstrom, Center, HIFK-JR, Finland

24. Anaheim Ducks- Samuel Girard, Defenseman, Swianigan (QMJHL): Girard has proven to be a steal at where the Preds took him in the second round as they traded him away to the Avs since they had a surplus of defenseman. Girard has been solid for the Avs this season as they got a nice return in the Matt Duchene trade.
Actual Pick: Max Jones, Wing, London (OHL)

25. Dallas Stars- Julien Gauthier, Wing, Val-d’Or (QMJHL): With Tufte off the board, the Stars take another wing in Gauthier, who has put up nice stats in the QMJHL. He'll probably start next season on the Canes and he'd be a nice fit on the Stars as well.
Actual Pick: Riley Tufte, Wing, Fargo Force (USHL)

26. St. Louis Blues (from Washington Capitals)- Max Jones, Wing, London (OHL): The Blues go with Jones here, who has shown a ton of potential in the OHL. He could start next season on the Ducks possibly and if he were on the Blues, he'd probably be a bottom six guy to start due to their forward depth.
Actual Pick: Tage Thompson, Center, Connecticut (NCAA)

27. Tampa Bay Lightning- German Rubstov, Center, RussiaU18 (MHL): The Bolts go with Rubstov here, who falls a few spots and could have been a steal here. Rubstov put up solid numbers in the MHL and could end up being trade bait for the Flyers due to their forward depth or start next season on the team.
Actual Pick: Brett Howden, Center, Moose Jaw (WHL)

28. Washington Capitals (from St. Louis Blues)- Luke Kunin, Center, Wisconsin (NCAA): Kunin falling this far would be a steal for the Caps. Kunin was solid in the AHL this season and put up 4 points in 13 games with the Wild this season.
Actual Pick: Lucas Johansen, Defenseman, Kelowna (WHL)

29. Boston Bruins (from San Jose Sharks)- Brett Howden, Center, Moose Jaw (WHL): With Frederic off the board, the Bruins take another center in Howden, who has shown some potential. The Bolts traded him away to the Rangers in the Ryan McDonagh/JT Miller trade and he could see some time with the Rangers next season as they enter a new era.
Actual Pick: Trent Frederic, Center, US-NTDP (USHL)

30. Anaheim Ducks- Lucas Johansen, Defenseman, Kelowna (WHL): With Steel off the board, the Ducks go with Johansen to keep building their defense depth. Johansen has put up solid numbers in the WHL and could see time with the Caps next season.
Actual Pick: Sam Steel, Center, Regina (WHL)