On the back-9 of the regular season now, the Adam Harris-entry draft (currently projected at Pick OV #1, 3, 12, 13, 22, 24, 27, 28, 29 etc etc) is just around the corner, the draft order is really taking shape.
It's a dogfight at the top (or should I say bottom) of the standings with six (STL, LA, ANA, CBJ, TOR, NYI) locked in the basement, separated by just a single game. Nashville happens to own both LA1 and STL1, two loaded lottery tickets that should produce Top 5 picks - if not even better. Will Vegas be granted an FNHL expansion team? If so, rules may push them into a Top 10 choice.
Here's how things currently sit as we coast into September -
1. Nashville (via LA) - Nico Hischier, C, Halifax
2. Anaheim - Nolan Patrick, C, Brandon
3. Nashville (via STL) - Casey Mittelstadt, C, Eden Prairie
4. NY Islanders - Miro Heiskanen, D, HIFK
5. Columbus - Elias Pettersson, C, Timra
6. Vegas (Expansion) - Cale Makar, D, Brooks
7. Pittsburgh (via TOR) - Eeli Tolvanen, RW, Sioux City
8. Colorado - Martin Necas, C, Brno
9. New Jersey - Robert Thomas, C, London
10. Washington - Filip Chytil, C, Zlin
11. Anaheim (via DAL) - Cody Glass, C, Portland
12. Nashville (via TB) - Lias Andersson, C, HV71
13. Nashville (via SJ) - Juuso Valimaki, D, Tri-City
14. Detroit - Gabriel Vilardi, C, Windsor
15. Boston - Owen Tippett, RW, Mississauga
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16. Dallas (via WPG) - Erik Brannstrom, D, HV71
17. Chicago - Nick Suzuki, C, Owen Sound
18. Dallas (via PHI) - Michael Rasmussen, C, Tri-City
19. Arizona - Timothy Liljegren, D, Rogle
20. Florida (via OTT) - Kailer Yamamoto, RW, Spokane
21. Calgary - Ryan Poehling, C, St. Cloud State
22. Nashville (via BUF) - Morgan Frost, C, Sault Ste. Marie
23. Florida - Urho Vaakanainen, D, JYP
24. Nashville (via PIT) - Joshua Norris, C, USA U-18
25. Florida (via CAR) - Kristian Vesalainen, LW/RW, Frolunda
26. Philadelphia (via MTL) - Cal Foote, D, Kelowna
27. Nashville (via VAN) - Adam Fox, D, Harvard
28. Nashville - Klim Kostin, C/LW, Dynamo Moscow
29. Nashville (via EDM) - Dylan Sikura, C, Northeastern
30. Detroit (via NYR) - Pierre-Olivier Joseph, D, Charlottetown
30. Vancouver (via MIN) - Connor Timmins, D, Sault Ste Marie
9/9/2018 - 780 words
