Fansided

Let’s look at the NHL Mock Draft now that the Devils won the No. 1 pick

By Simon Vacca

VICTORIA , BC - JANUARY 2: Jack Hughes #6 of the United States skates during a quarter-final game against the Czech Republic at the IIHF World Junior Championships at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre on January 2, 2019 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Kevin Light/Getty Images)
VICTORIA , BC - JANUARY 2: Jack Hughes #6 of the United States skates during a quarter-final game against the Czech Republic at the IIHF World Junior Championships at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre on January 2, 2019 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Kevin Light/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The New Jersey Devils have won the 2019 NHL Draft Lottery, and are now the favorite to land top prospect Jack Hughes.

It’s official: the New Jersey Devils are the winners of the 2019 NHL Draft Lottery.

With that, the organization will hold the first overall selection at the NHL Entry Draft, which shall take place in June. It’s highly likely that the Devils will have its eyes set on the most critically acclaimed prospect available — center Jack Hughes of the USA Hockey National Team Development Program.

Of course, the thought of New Jersey selecting Finnish winger Kaapo Kakko is not outside the realm of possibility. Nonetheless, the likelihood of such a course of action being undertaken seems somewhat slim. As Hughes — in attendance at the release of the order — remarked:

"I skate with Taylor Hall in the summers, he’s been a really good guy to me, he’s been really nice…I’d be honoured and really happy to play for New Jersey one day. That’d be a great spot, I hear a lot of great things about that. I’d be really excited."

Expect Hughes to familiarize himself with all things New Jersey during the next few months, as the stage has been set for what promises to be a franchise-altering selection.

We’ll have more to say about the following results in next week’s column, but for now, the first 15 picks in our 2019 NHL mock draft are as follows.

  1. New Jersey Devils — Jack Hughes (C)
  2. New York Rangers — Kaapo Kakko (RW)
  3. Chicago Blackhawks — Vasili Podkolzin (RW)
  4. *Colorado Avalanche — Kirby Dach (C)
  5. Los Angeles Kings — Dylan Cozens (C/RW)
  6. Detroit Red Wings — Alex Turcotte (C)
  7. Buffalo Sabres — Trevor Zegras (C)
  8. Edmonton Oilers — Bowen Byram (D)
  9. Anaheim Ducks — Peyton Krebs (C)
  10. Vancouver Canucks — Philip Broberg (D)
  11. Philadelphia Flyers — Matthew Boldy (LW)
  12. Minnesota Wild — Cole Caufield (RW)
  13. Florida Panthers — Thomas Harley (D)
  14. Arizona Coyotes — Victor Soderstrom (D)
  15. Montréal Canadiens — Arthur Kaliyev (LW)

News and notes:

  • * No. 4 — As per a three-team deal, the Colorado Avalanche are set to receive the Ottawa Senators’ first-round pick.

Next. FanSided’s 2019 NHL Entry Draft Rankings -- April Edition. dark

The 57th NHL Entry Draft shall take place in Vancouver, British Columbia on June 21 and 22. Be sure to check back for more updates.

Home/NHL Draft