Shortly after 1:00pm CST, on Saturday, June 24, 2017, the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins selected William Reilly, a defenseman from RPI as the 217th player selected, bringing the 2017 Entry Draft to an end. With a few days of hindsight between me and the bowels of the United Center, the urge to spew out hot takes flushed away, it is time to analyze the strategies and selections employed by the league’s 31 teams.
The analysis will focus on the first five rounds, as it is clear to most long-time observers that the final two rounds are often taken up with long-shots, favours to regional scouts, among other reasons. I will, of course, call out some astute late picks, but will not judge a team for the names called in the final hour. The apocryphal story of Pekka Rinne, drafted as an eighth round after-thought in 2004 based mostly on his play in game warm-ups. Few other scouts would have seen him at all, and he has had a very good career, which is not yet over. For the most part, though, those picks have little statistical likelihood of having NHL careers and teams should not be judged there.
Each draft class will be graded using the 20-80 scale that we use in our player specific scouting reports throughout the site. In this context, a 50 is essentially an average grade in light of the picks the team had on draft day. A 20 would mean the draft is an unmitigated disaster while an 80 would be the best draft class of all time. As those things can only be truly seen in retrospect, most classes will trend towards 50 at this point, so pay attention to those we see as outliers.
Finally, all grades are incomplete. Actual winners and losers in this draft class will not be known until 2023 at the earliest, after those who will have “made it” will have played out their entry-level contracts. What I am looking at here is whether, knowing what we know now, the drafting team got good value.
| RD | # | CS | MCK | PLAYER | P | AGE | HT/WT | TEAM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 45 | 16-E | 92 | Alexandre TEXIER | C | 18 | 6-0/190 | Grenoble (Fra) |
| 3 | 86 | 10-EG | hm | Daniil TARASOV | G | 18 | 6-3/175 | Tolpar Ufa (MHL) - DNP Inj |
| 4 | 117 | 42-E | Emil BEMSTROM | C | 18 | 5-11/180 | Leksands (Swe Jr) | |
| 5 | 148 | 128-N | Kale HOWARTH | LW | 20 | 6-4/200 | Trail (BCHL) | |
| 6 | 170 | 105-E | Jonathan DAVIDSSON | RW | 20 | 5-11/185 | Djurgardens (Swe) | |
| 6 | 179 | 151-N | hm | Carson MEYER | RW | 20 | 5-11/185 | Miami (NCHC) |
| 7 | 210 | 88-N | hm | Robbie STUCKER | D | 18 | 6-3/180 | St. Thomas Academy (USHS-MN) |
| RD | # | PLAYER | P | TEAM | GP (W) | G (L) | A (T) | PTS (GA) | PIM (Sv%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 45 | Alexandre TEXIER | C | Grenoble (Fra) | 40 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 69 |
| 3 | 86 | Daniil TARASOV | G | Tolpar Ufa (MHL) - DNP Inj | |||||
| 4 | 117 | Emil BEMSTROM | C | Leksands (Swe Jr) | 28 | 21 | 12 | 33 | 35 |
| 4 | 117 | Leksands (Swe) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 5 | 148 | Kale HOWARTH | LW | Trail (BCHL) | 51 | 30 | 29 | 59 | 46 |
| 6 | 170 | Jonathan DAVIDSSON | RW | Djurgardens (Swe) | 44 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 16 |
| 6 | 170 | Djurgardens (Swe Jr) | 11 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 0 | ||
| 6 | 179 | Carson MEYER | RW | Miami (NCHC) | 32 | 10 | 16 | 26 | 14 |
| 7 | 210 | Robbie STUCKER | D | St. Thomas Academy (USHS-MN) | 25 | 8 | 32 | 40 | 20 |
Columbus Blue Jackets – Draft Grade: 40
One of two teams to surrender their first round pick to Vegas in exchange for considerations in the Expansion Draft, the Blue Jackets were forced to sit on their hands on day one. Then again, a few hours before the clock started ticking, they completed a bombshell trade with Chicago bringing Artemi Panarin to Ohio in exchange for Brandon Saad.
For a team looking to compete now, keeping their core together was more important than a pick in the mid-twenties, no matter how useful that player might one day be.
When they were finally able to make a selection, they selected the first native of France too be drafted since 2012 and the highest drafted prospect who was actually developed in France in the blindingly fast Alexandre Texier. While it is fair to call into question Texier’s quality of competition up to now, it is impossible to argue against his production. He is expected to move to the QMJHL next year, to play for Baie-Comeau. Columbus was one of the few teams to completely bypass the CHL leagues at the draft.
Of their seven selections, four were out of Europe, one is already playing NCAA hockey and the other two are heading in that direction. One of their more interesting picks was Kale Howarth, a massive, double overager center who put up a strong season with Trail of the BCHL and then crushed at the Prospect Combine. He is expected to spend one more year with Trail before heading off to the University of Connecticut.
Best value: Carson Meyer, RW, Miami (6/179) – A local player who performed very well as a freshman with Miami University, Meyer is undersized, but has impressive puck skills. If he can add more bulk without slowing down, he could be a sleeper prospect in two or three years.
Biggest head-scratcher: Daniil Tarasov, G, Tolap Ufa (3/86): Before last year began, Tarasov was a highly touted goaltending prospect, who had a very impressive U17 season split between the Russian U17 and junior ranks and topped off with strong play at the WU18 tournament. He missed all of the 2016-17 season to injury. He could be a home run, but until further notice, this was a very risky pick.