NHL draft Round 1 reaction: Smart and questionable picks, best remaining prospects

That was one interesting first round of the NHL draft — fitting for a Las Vegas show.

Everything from Beckett Sennecke going No. 3 overall and swearing on TV, to Celine Dion and Michael Buffer’s surprise appearances, to Zeev Buium falling into Minnesota’s lap at 12. Plenty of pick-swap trades, as expected, but nearly every lottery pick stayed put.

The use of technology inside Sphere with player mosaics was different and cool, allowing for innovative graphics, introduction videos and an immersive experience.

Centralizing the draft in Vegas at Sphere was a fun and unique approach given how different it is from an NHL arena. Using celebrities with ties to respective teams to draft players was well done. The trade horn brought some spunk and was especially funny when it was played while commissioner Gary Bettman was attempting to … announce a trade. The NHL deserves high marks for stepping outside the box and executing an event in a fun, unique fashion.

Here’s a rundown of the smart and questionable selections from the first round, and a look at the best remaining prospects on the board for Rounds 2-7 on Saturday.

Best value picks

There are a handful of clear winners of Round 1.

The San Jose Sharks bolstered their franchise with two blue-chip prospects in Macklin Celebrini and Sam Dickinson. Those two will be key cornerstones for the Sharks as they look to climb the standings. The ability to add an elite forward and likely top-four defender is a big win for the organization.

After passing on Matvei Michkov last year, the Montreal Canadiens made no mistake in taking Ivan Demidov. Having your name announced by Celine Dion as a highly anticipated prospect? No pressure, kid. He’s at least a year away, but Demidov is a high-end NHL prospect who could be a top-2 player in this draft class when the dust is settled. Adding a dual-threat center with second-line ceiling in Michael Hage is another good value selection. Montreal and their fans should be thrilled with their newest additions to the prospect pipeline.

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Celine Dion announces Canadiens’ No. 5 pick in NHL draft

Celine Dion announces the Montreal Canadiens’ fifth overall pick, Ivan Demidov.

Zeev Buium’s inexplicable slide came to an end when the Minnesota Wild moved up one spot to snag him at No. 12. The consensus top-10 player had some believing he could go as high as third overall. Let’s put it this way: If there are eleven players in this draft class better than him, it is a draft for the ages. An absolute heist for Minnesota to get a power-play quarterback with his ceiling at that spot.

The New York Islanders extracted tremendous value getting Cole Eiserman at 20th overall. Trading back, adding draft capital and getting a top-10 talent is very tidy business from Lou Lamoriello. The Islanders are in desperate need of high-end talent and elite goal-scoring ability, and Eiserman is exactly that. Nabbing a potential 40-goal scorer at 20th overall should have Isles fans very excited.

The Los Angeles Kings got some serious value with Liam Greentree at No. 26. He’s a prototypical power forward with size, skill and physicality. Teams had concerns about his skating, but the rest of his game is well-rounded. If he can improve on the skating, there’s a real chance the Kings get an effective two-way power forward at the NHL level. His ability to control game play cannot be ignored, and with patience, Greentree should be great value.

Head-scratching picks

The Philadelphia Flyers‘ selection of Jett Luchanko was interesting, and extremely fun with Michael Buffer doing the honors. The Flyers could have traded back to accrue more draft capital and still probably gotten Luchanko later, though. With Konsta Helenius and Eiserman on the board, they left some value there. On the plus side, Luchanko’s development curve was exponential this season, and he fills need for the Flyers at center.

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Legendary ring announcer Michael Buffer calls 13th pick for Flyers

Philadelphia native Michael Buffer announces that Jett Luchanko is headed to the Flyers.

Chicago picked three times in the first round, and left value on the board with each selection. Of course, when you have multiple selections, you can take swings.

Still, it is hard to ignore that Chicago had the opportunity to draft Demidov and Eiserman at different points, but walked away with neither; they’re likely the evening’s big winners if they had. Levshunov will be an impact player in the NHL, and their interest is understandable and warranted. But after passing on Demidov, passing on Eiserman was particularly peculiar. Chicago is likely to have middle-of-the-lineup players with both forward selections they made (Sacha Boisvert and Marek Vanacker), but left a lot of potential star talent on the board.

Looking ahead to Saturday

There is plenty of value on the board, many of whom were not expected to be available in the second round. Ryder Ritchie, Igor Chernyshov, Nikita Artamonov, Charlie Elick and Andrew Basha are all on my top available list below, and should get snapped up in the first few picks of the second round.

Unfortunately, none of the blockbuster trades involving Martin Necas, Jacob Trouba, Yaroslav Askarov or top-5 picks came to fruition during the first round. The pomp and circumstance of the event are dialed back on the second day, allowing for GMs to meet on the floor and iron out trade details. With the quick turnaround to free agency on Monday, perhaps the fireworks happen on Saturday morning.

As predicted, the draft was highly unpredictable. That chaos started with Sennecke being selected third, and ended with the Stanley Cup Finalist Edmonton Oilers trading into the first round to snap up a riser in Sam O’Reilly at No. 32. In between, there were plenty of surprises with the Ottawa Senators taking Carter Yakemchuk, Buium inexplicably falling out of the top 10, Eiserman falling to the Islanders and Utah drafting Cole Beaudoin after acquiring a second first-round pick.

Two things remained the same: the Dallas Stars picked up another valuable player in the 20s and the Carolina Hurricanes traded back to acquire more pick value. Amid all the other chaos, Dallas and Carolina remained predictable.

After a night of no player-centered trades, but plenty of draft pick surprises, we should be in store for some shocks on Day 2.

Best remaining prospects

Note: Players listed with their ranking on the final Big Board.

20. Ryder Ritchie, F, Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)
21. Igor Chernyshov, F, Dynamo Moskva (MHL)
22. Nikita Artamonov, F, Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod (KHL)
23. Andrew Basha, F, Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
27. Aron Kiviharju, D, HIFK (Liiga)
29. Teddy Stiga, F, United States U18 (NTDP)
31. Charlie Elick, D, Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
33. Maxim Masse, F, Chicoutimi (QMJHL)
35. Harrison Brunicke, D, Kamloops (WHL)
39. Dominik Badinka, D, Malmo (Sweden Jr.)
40. Miguel Marques, F, Lethbridge (WHL)
41. Tanner Howe, F, Regina (WHL)
42. Alfons Freij, D, Vaxjo (Sweden Jr.)
43. Jesse Pulkkinen, D, JYP (Liiga)
45. Leo Sahlin Wallenius, D, Vaxjo (Sweden Jr.)