The first round 2016 NHL Draft featured a few surprises.
Auston Matthews was taken first overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs and Patrik Laine went second to the Winnipeg Jets, and then the fun began. A few teams took some gambles, but there weren’t any truly shocking selections.
Here are the notable steals and misses from Friday night’s first round.
Steals
Matthew Tkachuk, No. 6: The Calgary Flames selected the son of former NHL star Keith Tkachuk a few spots ahead of where he was projected to land. A lot of mock drafts had Tkachuk going fourth overall to the Edmonton Oilers. The London Knights star should be a great left wing compliment to young, talented Flames centers Sean Monahan and Sam Bennett.
Jakob Chychrun, No. 16: The Coyotes traded up from No. 20 to select the Sarnia Sting defenseman, who was projected as the No. 2 prospect in the entire draft before the 2015-16 campaign. Injury and some struggles dropped his stock, but he has top-four potential as a two-way, mobile D-man.
Dante Fabbro, No. 17: This wasn’t a huge steal, but Fabbro could be the best defenseman in this class, so getting him at No. 17 is tremendous value. Nashville already has a stockpile of quality defensemen at the NHL level in Shea Weber, Roman Josi, Mattias Ekholm and Ryan Ellis. Adding a two-way blueliner in to this mix in Fabbro, who has a high hockey IQ, a hard shot and the skating ability to transition out of the defensive zone, only bolsters the depth throughout the Nashville organization. It also gives general manager David Poile another quality trade chip to use at the trade deadline.
Misses
Pierre-Luc Dubois, No. 3: The Columbus Blue Jackets shocked a lot of people by deciding not to draft Finnish winger Jesse Puljujarvi and instead taking Dubois. Columbus probably could have dropped down a spot or two and still have taken him, while also getting another asset(s). The Blue Jackets needed a center after trading Ryan Johansen last season, but passing on an elite playmaking talent in Puljujarvi was a huge gamble.
Logan Stanley, No. 18: The Winnipeg Jets traded up four spots to select a player that probably would’ve been available at their original spot (No. 22). Stanley is 6-foot-7, but he’s not a great skater and doesn’t pivot well. He also didn’t provide much scoring for the Windsor Spitfires with 17 points in 64 OHL games last season.
Henrik Borgstrom, No. 23: The Panthers took a Finnish left winger many experts had going in the late first round or early second round in their mock drafts. Florida has the third pick in Round 2 (No. 33) and probably could’ve selected Borgstrom at that time.
Thumbnail photo via Timothy T. Ludwig/USA TODAY Sports Images
