The NHL Draft was held Saturday night at Air Canada Centre in Toronto.
Here are some key takeaways from the first day of the draft.
1.
The Leafs selected Connor McDavid with the ninth pick, and there are a lot of questions surrounding him.
McDavid had a breakout year in the OHL with the Erie Otters, scoring 18 goals and adding 17 assists for 26 points.
But he was a bit inconsistent.
He wasn’t the same player in the 2016-17 season, when he scored 41 goals and added 57 assists for 112 points in 79 games.
McDevo is more of a point-per-game player in Erie, which is not the same as McDavid’s offensive production in Erie.
But if you look at his stats in the CHL, he’s a much better offensive player.
He’s scored at a rate of 14.2 points per game in the ECHL, compared to 10.9 points per contest in the Ontario Hockey League.
In the OSEG, he has scored 23 goals in 59 games, and he’s also posted a minus-14 rating, compared with minus-9 in his NHL career.
The Otters also took the first overall pick in the draft, taking defenceman Christian Dvorak, a strong defensive player, with the 10th pick.
They also picked up defenceman Jack O’Connell with the 27th pick in this year’s draft.
But the Otters’ top pick in 2017 was defenceman Nick Ritchie, a defenceman who has the potential to be a good defenceman in the NHL.
McDermid also played in the SHL this year with HC Chemnitz of the SM-liiga.
2.
Connor McDaniel, the first pick, had a really good rookie season.
The 18-year-old winger scored 20 goals and had 26 assists for 55 points in 67 games with the Mississauga Steelheads of the Ontario Junior Hockey League last season.
McDaniel was a top-six forward for Mississauga, and his skating ability was also a factor.
He had a strong rookie season for the Steelheads, scoring 17 goals and posting 20 assists for 24 points in 71 games.
The Mississauga team was ranked second in the league with 18 wins, and McDaniel played the toughest minutes of his career.
He also won the Mississaugas best-player-development award for the year, and was the only Mississauga player to score more than two goals and five assists.
3.
The Blue Jackets selected defenceman Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson with the first selection, and it was an interesting pick.
Forsback a Swedish-born centre was a big disappointment in the 2017-18 season for Columbus, scoring 19 goals and 17 assists in 70 games.
He was one of the Blue Jackets top defencemen and led the team in points with 39 points.
He is also a top player in Sweden, which was a shock to many fans, especially when he played with the United States U-18 team at the World Under-18 Championship.
4.
The Oilers picked defenceman Ryan Suter with the third pick.
Suter was a first-round pick of the Oilers in 2017, and the Oilers have some quality defensive prospects in this draft.
Sitter was a second-round selection by the Nashville Predators in 2018.
Suster is a skilled player who is good in the defensive zone and can score.
He has good size (6-foot-2, 198 pounds) and good vision and passing skills.
He can play on the left or right side, and is an excellent puck mover and passer.
He played his college hockey at Michigan State, and has NHL experience.
5.
The Red Wings took forward Dylan Larkin with the seventh pick, a young, offensively gifted winger with a lot to offer the Red Wings.
Larkin was a late first-rounder for Detroit in 2017 and a prospect that many believed would never pan out.
He never lived up to the hype, but his talent was on display at the 2017 NHL Draft.
He scored 34 goals and 54 assists for 85 points in 69 games with Kamloops of the Western Hockey League in 2017-19.
Larkins best season was the 2017 Calder Cup championship in Vancouver, where he led the league in goals and points.
Larks production was so impressive that he was one the first players selected in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.
6.
The Capitals selected defencemen Matt Grzelcyk with the 20th pick, the third overall pick.
Grzeltyk was a member of the USA U-20 team that won gold in the 2019 World Junior Championships.
He made the team for the first time in 2019-20, scoring 22 goals and 38 assists for 47 points in 65 games.
Grzescyk has a very good offensive game, and a good understanding of the game.
He plays with a little bit of size, but can play centre as well.
7.
The Sharks took defenceman Jordan Subban