Looking Forward to the Draft?

It is a depressing thing to talk about when the regular season isn’t over, but he NHL draft will not be held until late June, and it is probably the most important date for the Coyotes until next October. Once again the Coyotes find themselves in the thick of things with the NHL lottery. Despite having such a strong and promising first half of the season, the Coyotes will be battling with the bottom feeders for the rights to the John Tavares sweepstakes. Now I am not necessarily saying that Tavares will be the first overall pick, but all analysts seem to think so. I will be highlighting a few draft prospects that could fall to the Coyotes this June. It is safe to say that the Coyotes will have a top 10 draft pick, so I will be as realistic as possible with the players I choose to describe.
If the Coyotes fall down to get the top pick in the NHL draft or even the second pick, it may be smart to make the surprising pick. No, I am not being sarcastic, the surprising pick being Victor Hedman.
It is extremely tempting to think of John Tavares in a Coyotes uniform, but there are other things to think about besides the name on the back of the jersey. Tavares is a phenomenal player and will make the Coyotes second guess not picking him, but this team needs a rock at the blue liner for the future and present. It is nice having the likes of Jovo on your defense, but he makes many mistakes and is getting up their in age. Hedman has the size of an NHL defenseman and the skill to follow that. Despite Hedman’s mammoth size, he can skate very well. This guy has a mean streak, and the offensive talent of Lidstrom. This type of defenseman would add depth at this point, but fierce talent and strength in the future. He could be a worthy replacement to the losses of Keith Ballard and Derek Morris in consecutive years. The skating ability and ability to join the rush would give Gretzky some more flexibility in the offensive transition, and dare I say this will finally help the putrid Coyotes power play. Another big reason to draft this player is the fact that the Coyotes have spent a lot of time developing potential star forwards. The Coyotes need to spend the money in the offseason to take care of forwards to help bring along Turris, Mueller, Boedker, etc. Evening out the prospects in this lineup will further show the big picture, while competing for a playoff spot right now.
Working with the same philosophy, Jared Cowen is a nice young defenseman from the WHL. There is not as much drop off from Hedman as some scouts have said in the past. Cowan is another big boy at 6 feet 5 inches, weighing in at 218 pounds. Like Hedman, Cowan is a very mobile defenseman who is very solid all around in his game. Cowan would be a nice 3 to 5 pick, should the Coyotes fall to those spots. I know the defenseman talk can get a little boring so I’ll give you a few keepers at the forward position. Lets face it the Coyotes have a ton of young talent at the forward position, but unfortunately I do no see any 40 plus goal scorers in the crop. The Coyotes have their speed and playmaking up front for the future, but who will be the finisher for years to come? One can only hope that modern medicine will provide Doan 10 more years of play, but again only hope. When you look at the Coyotes, it’s hard not to just mentally check off talents needed to help this club. The top three issues that need to be addressed are toughness, physicality and scoring. These three attributes fall under one player in this draft more than any other player.
Named after the great boxer Evander Holyfield, Evander Kane brings all these aspects and then some. Kane has great hands, and brings the energy and toughness that any of the finesse Coyotes could use as a linemate. Not only would he compliment the other smaller forwards, but he would take some pressure off of players like Doan, and Jovanovski in the physical department. The top ten in this year’s draft have great talent, and Coyotes fans should be excited about June.