2014 NHL Mock Draft: Picks 31 - 60

By Steven Ives

In a draft filled with wild-cards, it is important to pay as much attention to the second round as the first. It is a virtual guarantee that when we look back on this draft in a decade, there will be head-scratching busts from the 2014 first round and perennial all-stars from the 2014 second round. Unearthing the future stars from the future scrubs in a draft like this one is how NHL GMs reach legend status or lose their jobs.

31) Buffalo Sabres

RW Nikita Scherbak, Saskatoon, WHL After taking the player they hope will be their franchise center with the second overall pick, it is likely that the Sabres will use their three second rounders to move up into the first again for a shot at future franchise goaltender Thatcher Demko. If they miss out on Demko (we have him going to Minnesota 18^th overall), look for them to draft the best overall player 31^st. Scherbak has always been a dynamic scorer, and this year he has answered questions about his defensive play and grit. The young Russian’s game shares many similarities with Jakub Voracek and he could easily not simply go in the first round, but in the top fifteen overall.

32) Florida Panthers

RW Jakub Vrana, Linkoping, SWE After the near-certainty of taking defensive cornerstone Aaron Ekblad first overall, expect the Panthers to take a skilled forward with the 32^nd overall pick. Vrana is another electric but slightly undersized scoring prospect who could easily go in the first round. Comparable to Ales Hemsky, he has the upside of a first-line point producer.

33) St. Louis Blues

LW/C Ryan MacInnis, Kitchener, OHL Yes, Ryan is Hall-of-Famer Al MacInnis’ son. And yes, he inherited an absolute cannon of a slapshot. Unlike his father, he is a forward and not a defenseman. At 6’3” and 190 pounds, he would give the Blues another familiar bloodline in the organization and potentially an impact second-liner with 30+ goal upside.

34) Calgary Flames

G Mason McDonald, Charlottetown, QMJHL The Flames possess a pair of second-rounders, and it would be surprising if they did not to try nabbing a future starting goaltender with one of the two picks. McDonald is the largest major netminding prospect in the draft at 6’4”, and combines that with a quick glove which lead many to think he could be a mid-round steal.

35) New York Islanders

D Julius Honka, Swift Current, WHL If the Isles keep their first two picks, expect them to take Dal Colle with the first and then look to fortify the blueline with their second. Some scouts believe Honka to be the top offensive defenseman in the 2014 draft, a terrific skater and puckhandler who will juice any power play but whose lack of size and strength may make him a bit of a liability in the defensive zone.

36) Vancouver Canucks

D Jack Dougherty, US-NTDP, USHL Expect the Canucks to take what they hope will become a first-line forward with their first pick and then hope to fortify the defense with their early second-rounder. Dougherty may be the top defensive rearguard in the draft after the elite twosome of Ekblad and Fleury – a natural-born leader who loves the physical game and evokes shades of Dan Girardi.

37) Carolina Hurricanes

LW Adrian Kempe, Modo, SWE If, as we predict, the Canes go after Fleury with the top pick to rebuild their blueline around, they will likely go for a forward with the 37^th selection. Kempe has the size and skating combination worthy of a first-liner, but questions about his scoring ability could drop him into the second. The Swede’s grit and skating have garnered him comparisons to Brandon Dubinsky.

38) Anaheim Ducks

D Anthony DeAngelo, Sarnia, OHL With a ton of talent and depth both at the NHL level and in the prospect pipeline, the Ducks can take chances on boom/bust prospects. DeAngelo might be the biggest one in this draft: offensively he looks like the next Kris Letang, but questions about his size and character have many teams crossing him off their draft boards. With four picks in the first two rounds, the Ducks have the luxury of taking a chance on DeAngelo’s enormous offensive upside, plus they have a history of drafting players from New Jersey (Bobby Ryan, Kyle Palmieri). 

39) Buffalo Sabres

G Alex Nedeljkovic, Plymouth, OHL Though the Sabres would love to trade up and grab Thatcher Demko, Nedeljkovic is a character kid and an exceptional athlete. The only question about him is his size – at 6’0”, Alex is two inches away from being a surefire first-rounder. Still, this Ohio native’s off-the-charts quickness and compete level lead us to project him as a terrific starter at the NHL level.

40) Ottawa Senators

C Brett Pollock, Edmonton, WHL Lacking a first-round draft pick (to Anaheim in the Bobby Ryan trade), the Senators need to hit paydirt with an impact player in the second. Barely seen as a third rounder entering 2013-14, Pollock played absolutely outstanding hockey during the Oil Kings’ Memorial Cup run and rocketed up draft boards all across the continent. With NHL-caliber size and hands, Pollock just needs to work on his skating to become a very good NHL forward.

41) New Jersey Devils

C Ryan Donato, Dexter, USHS Under Lou Lamoriello and scouting director David Conte, the Devils have a made a living unearthing under-the-radar talents in the NHL draft. Former NHL-er Ted Donato’s son may have been a first-rounder had he played in the CHL or NCAA, but despite playing lesser competition his work ethic on the ice was consistently astounding. His creativity with the puck and hands are also first-round worthy, and with some work on his skating, he has the potential to become a first-line impact player in the NHL.

42) Nashville Predators

C Braydon Point, Moose Jaw, WHL If, as they claim, the Predators are truly committed to improving their offensive output, drafting the pint-sized Point would be the perfect way to go. Despite his slim, 5’9” stature, all Point does is score – an astounding 91 points this season in the rugged WHL. Point is reminiscent of a young Daniel Briere, whom new Nashville coach Peter Laviolette enjoyed a great deal of success with in Philadelphia.

43) Phoenix Coyotes

LW Christian Dvorak, London, OHL Perhaps our favorite sleeper of the 2014 draft, the question must be asked: where would Dvorak go if he did not miss most of the past season after ACL surgery? A truly phenomenal skater with outstanding puck skills, he showed flashes of brilliance with the NHL-factory London Knights before the leg injury. Phoenix GM Don Maloney is never afraid to buck trends of draft rankings, and Dvorak is reminiscent of a young Carl Hagelin with superior hands.

44) Washington Capitals

C Jayce Hawryluk, Brandon, WHL The Capitals will likely address their blueline with their first pick. With their second pick, look for them to address the fact that they were far too easy to play against this past season. Hawryluk is reminiscent of a Brad Marchand without the incessant diving, a tough little SOB with deceptive puck skills and an engine which never quits. He plays ever on the edge, unafraid to cross it, and will also consistently chip in on the scoresheet.

45) Dallas Stars

D Jack Glover, US-NTDP, USHL We expect Dallas to use their first-rounder on an impact forward and then try to catch lightning in a bottle projecting a top-pairing d-man in the second. Glover will give a team elite skating and terrific size (6’3”, 195) on the blueline. A penchant for mistakes is all that drops this elite athlete out of the first round, but with experience and coaching, Glover has all-star upside.

46) Nashville Predators

RW Hunter Smith, Oshawa, OHL With three picks in the top 46, Nashville can take a chance with the third one on a potential impact player. Passed over completely in his draft-eligible 2013 year, the hulking 6’7” Smith completely turned his game around this past season. Always a physical beast, Smith showed excellent hands in front of the net and became an offensive force in the crease, with 40 points to go along with the ostensible 100 penalty minutes. 

47) Columbus Blue Jackets

D Alex Vanier, Baie-Comeau, QMJHL Teams love size on the blueline, and the Blue Jackets have been striving to get tougher and meaner all over the ice. The 6’5” Vanier would certainly fit both bills – he’s a kid that plays mean and clears creases with reckless abandon. His puck skills need some work, but a brutally hard shot from the point suggests he can eventually contribute offensively, as well.

48) Philadelphia Flyers

D Marcus Pettersson, Skelleftea, SWE We have the Flyers taking Kasperi Kapanen in the first round, though we believe they will be quite tempted by the upsides of offensive defensemen Julius Honka and Anthony DeAngelo. As those players are likely to be gone by the 48^th pick, Philly will take a long look at Pettersson, a smooth-skating, puck-moving project out of northern Sweden. Some scouts claim this kid has first-round upside, though he will have to add some muscle and strength to his current 6’3”, 160-pound frame before he will be able to withstand the rigors of the NHL.

49) Buffalo Sabres

RW Warren Foegele, St. Andrew, CAN-HS Foegele is the type of sleeper pick that one team takes a chance on and 29 teams wonder how they passed over. Ignored at 16 in the CHL draft due to his small stature, Foegele has sprouted to an NHL-like 6’1” and 190 pounds over the past two years. It might be difficult to gauge his talent due to the weakness of the competition he played in the Canadian high school system, but Foegele can skate and shoot at a pro level and hustles his rear end off all over the ice. With a trio of second-round picks, the Sabres can afford to roll the dice on Foegele’s untapped upside.

50) Tampa Bay Lightning

D Joshua Jacobs, Indiana, USHS It is likely that Tampa Bay, with two first-round picks, will take the best available scorer with their first pick and then concentrate on stockpiling their system with defensemen. Jacobs has the prototypical mix of size, skating and strength which NHL teams covet for their bluelines. His puck skills need work, but he projects to be an extremely effective second-pairing rearguard. 

51) San Jose Sharks

LW Shane Eiserman, Dubuque, USHL If San Jose, as reported, is seeking more character and grit to make deeper playoff runs, they are going to need more players like Eiserman. This kid is an absolute bulldog, a 6’2”, 200-pound hitting machine who is relentless in the corners and crashes the net like a heat-seeking missile. Though he may lack the skill to one day be a first-liner at the NHL level, this speed-skating power forward has Wayne Simmonds-like upside.

52) St. Louis Blues

RW Austin Poganski, Tri-City, USHL The season began disastrously for Poganski, as he stumbled out of the gate in his draft-eligible year playing for an awful Tri-City squad. As the campaign wore on, Poganski got better and better, and the 6’1” 200-pound Poganski was a scoring at a point-per-game clip for the second half of the year. The Blues love power forwards with speed, and the slick-skating young Poganski has the upside to one day fit that bill at the NHL level.

53) San Jose Sharks

D Jacob Middleton, Ottawa, OHL We read dozens of scouting reports and watch hours of film on hundreds of players leading up to the NHL draft in order to come up with our analyses. With certain players, common themes emerge among all the myriad scouting reports. With Middleton, it was impossible to read anything which did not include the words “intelligent” and “character”. This kid’s work-ethic and leadership qualities are off the charts, but it is also important to note that he is 6’4”, physical, and a fine skater. This is precisely the type of character player we expect the Sharks to focus on in the 2014 draft in order to turn the corner and finally reach the Stanley Cup finals.

54) Calgary Flames

D Brycen Martin, Swift Current, WHL In a perfect world for the Calgary fan, they will get a franchise forward (in our scenario Sam Bennett) in the first round and a potential future starting goaltender (in our scenario Mason McDonald) with their first pick in the second. It only makes sense that they think defense after that, and right in their WHL backyard is Brycen Martin, an electrifying skater with a tremendous outlet pass and NHL size at 6’2” and 195.

55) Anaheim Ducks

LW Blake Clarke, Saginaw, OHL Clarke’s mix of NHL size, outstanding skating and rare athleticism had many pegging him as a future first-round pick entering the 2013-14 campaign. There are no two ways about it, an absolutely atrocious year has plummeted him from that possibility. This young forward has all indication of being a bright kid, however, and at 18 years old with such talent at his disposal, it would be foolhardy to give up on him. Possessing four picks in the first two rounds, the Ducks can afford to take chances on boom/bust picks. You might never hear Clarke’s name again after the draft, or you might wonder for years how your team passed him up in the second round.

56) Boston Bruins

RW Eric Cornel, Peterborough, OHL A perennial cup contender, Boston does not have many pressing needs. That being said, we expect the B’s to address the speed of their blueline with their first-round pick before trying to inject some scoring life into their prospect pipeline. After struggling with the physicality of the OHL in his rookie season of 2012-13, the center grew to 6’2” and warmed to the task last year, becoming nearly a point-per-game force on the ice. Cornel has drawn comparisons to Nick Bonino and has been, like many players in this draft, ranked with wild inconsistency – from the late first round to deep in the third. We have him going somewhere in the middle to a Bruins’ team especially adept at developing this type of player.

57) New York Islanders

D Ryan Collins, US-NTDP, USHL The big ‘if’ of course remains whether the Isles will keep any of their high picks or deal them in a desperate gamble to make the post-season one season before their move to Brooklyn. If they hang onto this pick, it will be a perfect opportunity to shore up the future of their defense. Collins is a mountain of a kid at 6’5”, and he is a good skater for his size who understands very well how to use this size controlling gaps in the defensive zone.

58) Phoenix Coyotes

C Keegan Iverson, Portland, WHL Another sleeper we love, Iverson is a powerful young player with a 6’0” and 215 pound frame which seems to have muscles sprouting out of his muscles. He was a physical force in the WHL this year, impossible to contain down low and with a penchant for scoring clutch goals. Reminiscent of a young Cal Clutterbuck, Iverson is extremely difficult to play against and is the type of player the astute Coyotes’ braintrust seems to love in the later rounds.

59) New York Rangers

C Vladislav Kamenev, Magnitogorsk, KHL When lacking a first-round pick, the pressure is that much greater on an NHL GM to succeed with their later-round grabs. Kamenev has shown no desire to play in the NHL and represents the reason franchises are loathe to spend early-round picks on Russians. Still, Kamenev has outstanding talent and would likely have been a first-rounder were he playing in Canadian juniors. He captained the Russian squad at the U18 tourney and dominated the scoresheets. At 6’2” and 200 pounds he has ideal NHL size and his offensive tool-box is completely stocked with talent. Many NHL teams will steer clear of the potential headache of convincing a Kamenev to come to the NHL, but with no first-rounder, Glen Sather may just have to take this sort of risk.

60) Columbus Blue Jackets

D Jonathan MacLeod, US-NTDP, USHL Defensive defensemen seem to always be undervalued at the draft table and only appropriately valued at the NHL trade deadline. The physical, smart and mean MacLeod shows every indication of being a shut-down force at the NHL level and somehow gets little love from the scouts due to the unflashy nature of his game. If you loved throwback players like Jeff Beukeboom and Adam Foote you will love this kid – he may never put up points, but he will certainly win you hockey games.