Kuom: Final Draft Board for the 2019 NHL Draft
By Cameron Kuom
4 years agoDraft fever is in the air as the big day in Vancouver is fast approaching.
My evaluations on over 300 prospects have been finalized and these are the ones I deem worthy of a draft pick. The entire two-year process I have gone through has culminated into the most important piece of work I will release this year. Today, I unveil my official and final draft board, which is the basis for the order in which I would select players, while considering how to maximize value.
In total 127 players made the cut. This draft class is about average, with plenty of skill and talent to go around. The variety of it is very intriguing. Two players are first overall worthy, and the top-7 as a whole looks strong. I have 23 players graded as first round talents, one being a goaltender. This is one of the most remarkable goaltender crops in recent memory. Spencer Knight headlines a collection of four goaltenders who I believe could be starting net-minders in the NHL one day.
As optimistic as I am about the goaltending in this draft class, the antithesis is the defensemen. Bowen Byram is the only top-end defensive prospect up for grabs, compared to the 2018 draft where I felt two defensemen had potential to be special, to go along with a great supporting cast. The quality and quantity after Byram is underwhelming.
Lastly, I want to make it clear that these rankings represent my opinion and my opinion alone. I’ve engaged and discussed the state of this draft with other individuals whose opinions I value, however, this list only depicts my thoughts and no one else.
Anyways, I’ll quit stalling. My final draft board for the 2019 NHL draft, enjoy:
| Rank | Player Name | Position | Team |
| 1. | Jack Hughes | C | U.S. U18 (USNTDP) |
| 2. | Kaapo Kakko | RW | TPS (Liiga) |
| 3. | Alex Newhook | C | Victoria (BCHL) |
| 4. | Matthew Boldy | LW | U.S. U18 (USNTDP) |
| 5. | Bowen Byram | D | Vancouver (WHL) |
| 6. | Dylan Cozens | C | Lethbridge (WHL) |
| 7. | Peyton Krebs | C | Kootenay (WHL) |
| 8. | Alex Turcotte | C | U.S. U18 (USNTDP) |
| 9. | Jamieson Rees | C | Sarnia (OHL) |
| 10. | Philip Tomasino | C/RW | Niagara (OHL) |
| 11. | Vasili Podkolzin | RW | SKA (VHL/MHL) |
| 12. | Bobby Brink | RW | Sioux City (USHL) |
| 13. | Trevor Zegras | C/LW | U.S. U18 (USNTDP) |
| 14. | Cole Caufield | LW | U.S. U18 (USNTDP) |
| 15. | Thomas Harley | D | Mississauga (OHL) |
| 16. | Patrik Puistola | LW | LeKi (Mestis) |
| 17. | Egor Afanasyev | LW | Muskegon (USHL) |
| 18. | Spencer Knight | G | U.S. U18 (USNTDP) |
| 19. | Philip Broberg | D | AIK (Allsvenskan) |
| 20. | Moritz Seider | D | Mannheim (DEL) |
| 21. | Nils Hoglander | LW | Rogle (SHL) |
| 22. | Ville Heinola | D | Lukko (Liiga) |
| 23. | Kirby Dach | C | Saskatoon (WHL) |
| 24. | William Constantinou | D | Kingston (OHL) |
| 25. | Graeme Clarke | LW/RW | Ottawa (OHL) |
| 26. | Trevor Janicke | C | Central Illinois (USHL) |
| 27. | Pavel Dorofeyev | RW | Metallurg (KHL) |
| 28. | Nicholas Robertson | LW | Peterborough (OHL) |
| 29. | Cam York | D | U.S. U18 (USNTDP) |
| 30. | Connor McMichael | LW | London (OHL) |
| 31. | Samuel Fagemo | LW | Frolunda (SHL) |
| 32. | Tobias Bjornfot | D | Djurgardens (SuperElit) |
| 33. | Jakob Pelletier | LW | Moncton (QMJHL) |
| 34. | Victor Soderstrom | D | Brynas (SHL) |
| 35. | Karl Henriksson | C | Frolunda (SuperElit) |
| 36. | Cameron Rowe | G | U.S. U18 (USNTDP) |
| 37. | Brett Leason | RW | Prince Albert (WHL) |
| 38. | Hugo Alnefelt | G | HV71 (SuperElit) |
| 39. | Ryan Suzuki | C | Barrie (OHL) |
| 40. | Egor Serdyuk | RW | Victoriaville (QMJHL) |
| 41. | Anttoni Honka | D | Jukurit (Liiga) |
| 42. | Domenick Fensore | D | U.S. U18 (USNTDP) |
| 43. | Mikko Petman | LW | Lukko (Jr. A SM-Liiga) |
| 44. | Case McCarthy | D | U.S. U18 (USNTDP) |
| 45. | Vladislav Kolyachonok | D | Flint (OHL) |
| 46. | Taylor Gauthier | G | Prince George (WHL) |
| 47. | Ilya Nikolayev | C | Loko (MHL) |
| 48. | Jakub Rychlovsky | LW | Benatky (Czech2) |
| 49. | Alexander Campbell | LW | Victoria (BCHL) |
| 50. | Michal Teply | LW | Benatky (Czech2) |
| 51. | Tuukka Tieksola | RW | Karpat (Jr. A SM-Liiga) |
| 52. | Arthur Kaliyev | LW | Hamilton (OHL) |
| 53. | Nikita Alexandrov | C | Charlottetown (QMJHL) |
| 54. | Juuso Parssinen | C | TPS (Jr. A SM-Liiga) |
| 55. | Matthew Robertson | D | Edmonton (WHL) |
| 56. | Samuel Poulin | LW | Sherbrooke (QMJHL) |
| 57. | Jordan Spence | D | Moncton (QMJHL) |
| 58. | Keean Washkurak | C | Mississauga (OHL) |
| 59. | Marshall Warren | D | U.S. U18 (USNTDP) |
| 60. | Marcus Kallionkieli | LW | Sioux City (USHL) |
| 61. | Artemi Knyazev | D | Chicoutimi (QMJHL) |
| 62. | Vladislav Firstov | LW | Waterloo (USHL) |
| 63. | Maxim Cajkovic | LW/RW | Saint John (QMJHL) |
| 64. | Liam Keeler | C | Edmonton (WHL) |
| 65. | Rhett Pitlick | LW | Chaska (USHS) |
| 66. | Luke Toporowski | LW/RW | Spokane (WHL) |
| 67. | Leevi Aaltonen | LW | KalPa (Jr. A SM-Liiga) |
| 68. | Nathan Legare | LW | Baie-Comeau (QMJHL) |
| 69. | Maxim Denezhkin | C | Loko (MHL) |
| 70. | Ryan Johnson | D | Sioux Falls (USHL) |
| 71. | Alexander Daryin | LW/RW | Loko (MHL) |
| 72. | Albin Grewe | RW | Djurgardens (SuperElit) |
| 73. | Aku Raty | LW | Karpat (Jr. A SM-Liiga) |
| 74. | Roman Bychkov | D | Loko (MHL) |
| 75. | Carter Berger | D | Victoria (BCHL) |
| 76. | Henry Thrun | D | U.S. U18 (USNTDP) |
| 77. | Shane Pinto | C | Tri-City (USHL) |
| 78. | Mikko Kokkonen | D | Jukurit (Liiga) |
| 79. | Vojtech Strondala | C | Kometa (Czech) |
| 80. | Zachary Jones | D | Tri-City (USHL) |
| 81. | Alex Beaucage | RW | Rouyn-Noranda (QMJHL) |
| 82. | Reece Newkirk | C | Portland (WHL) |
| 83. | Robert Mastrosimone | LW | Chicago (USHL) |
| 84. | Semyon Chistyakov | D | Tolpar (MHL) |
| 85. | Kaedan Korczak | D | Kelowna (WHL) |
| 86. | Kalle Loponen | D | Karpat (Jr. A SM-Liiga) |
| 87. | Mikhail Abramov | C | Victoriaville (QMJHL) |
| 88. | Raphael Lavoie | LW | Halifax (QMJHL) |
| 89. | Layton Ahac | D | Prince George (BCHL) |
| 90. | Simon Holmstrom | RW | HV71 (SuperElit) |
| 91. | John Farinacci | C | Dexter School (USHS) |
| 92. | Yaroslav Likhachyov | RW | Gatineau (QMJHL) |
| 93. | Matias Maccelli | LW/RW | Dubuque (USHL) |
| 94. | Brayden Tracey | LW | Moose Jaw (WHL) |
| 95. | Justin Bergeron | D | Rouyn-Noranda (QMJHL) |
| 96. | Alexei Protas | LW | Prince Albert (WHL) |
| 97. | Trent Miner | G | Vancouver (WHL) |
| 98. | Travis Treloar | RW | Chicago (USHL) |
| 99. | Trevor Kuntar | RW/C | Youngstown (USHL) |
| 100. | Kyen Sopa | RW | Niagara (OHL) |
| 101. | Zachary Okabe | RW | Grande Prairie (AJHL) |
| 102. | Pyotr Kochetkov | G | Ryazan (VHL) |
| 103. | Alexander Gordin | LW | SKA (MHL) |
| 104. | Adam Najman | C | Benatky (Czech2) |
| 105. | Aarne Intonen | LW | TPS (Jr. A SM-Liiga) |
| 106. | Christopher Merisier-Ortiz | D | Baie-Comeau (QMJHL) |
| 107. | Mads Sogaard | G | Medicine Hat (WHL) |
| 108. | Nolan Foote | LW | Kelowna (WHL) |
| 109. | Vladimir Alistrov | LW | Edmonton (WHL) |
| 110. | Keighan Gerrie | C | Thunder Bay (SIJHL) |
| 111. | Daniil Gutik | LW | Loko (MHL) |
| 112. | Yannik Valenti | RW | Vancouver (WHL) |
| 113. | Albert Johansson | D | Farjestad (SuperElit) |
| 114. | Isaiah Seville | G | Tri-City (USHL) |
| 115. | Nikola Pasic | LW | Linkoping (SuperElit) |
| 116. | Kirill Slepets | LW/RW | Lokomotiv (KHL) |
| 117. | Dmitri Tyuvilian | D | Loko (MHL) |
| 118. | Ronnie Attard | D | Tri-City (USHL) |
| 119. | Jami Krannila | C | Sioux Falls (USHL) |
| 120. | Cale Zimmerman | RW | Calgary (WHL) |
| 121. | Daniel D’Amico | LW | Windsor (OHL) |
| 122. | Marc Del Gaizo | D | UMass (Hockey East) |
| 123. | Eric Ciccolini | RW | Toronto (OJHL) |
| 124. | Valentin Nussbaumer | C | Shawinigan (QMJHL) |
| 125. | Judd Caulfield | RW | U.S. U18 (USNTDP) |
| 126. | Simon Boyko | RW | Brooks (AJHL) |
| 127. | Jaxon Nelson | C | Omaha (USHL) |
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