Looking back at the 7-15th picks from the 2017 NHL Draft

Photo credit:David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

5 years ago

So far, in our Draft countdown series, we’ve looked at 81 prospects that were selected in the 7-15 range to see if there are any patterns or info we can take with us into next month’s Draft in Dallas. With the Oilers picking at #10 overall, I wanted to find out what kind of player they might get with that selection and that’s why we looked at that general area over the past decade. Today, we round things off with last year’s Draft to see how the nine players chosen between 7-15 have fared in their draft+1 season.

For the last round of our Draft countdown, I present the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.

Lias Andersson (7) – C – New York Rangers

2017-18 Season: SHL: 22GP – 7G, 7A for 14 points … AHL: 25GP – 5G, 9A for 14 points … NHL: 7GP – 1G, 1A for two points

Pre-Draft Scouting Report:

“Lias Andersson is a versatile forward. He has a mature frame, can play a variety of forward positions in a variety of situations. Andersson uses his size and strength to protect the puck and win puck battles at both ends of the ice. He brings energy and compete to every shift and has above average offensive upside as well. He has dominated offensively against his age group, produced offensively at international tournaments and is scoring about half a point per game pace against men in pro hockey in the SHL in his draft year. Andersson may lack the offensive ceiling as many other first round picks, but his NHL certainty is very high, and his contribution in multi-cat leagues will be higher.”

Season	Team	Lge	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-
2017-18	Frolunda HC	SweHL	22	7	7	14	20	6
2017-18	Hartford Wolf Pack	AHL	25	5	9	14	8
2017-18	New York Rangers	NHL	7	1	1	2	0	1
	NHL Totals		7	1	1	2	0

Casey Mittelstadt (8) – C – Buffalo Sabres

2017-18 Season: NCAA: 34GP – 11G, 19A for 30 points … NHL: 6GP – 1G, 4A for five points

Pre-Draft Scouting Report:

“Mittelstadt could be the prospect with the highest skill in the 2017 NHL draft and as such be the best fantasy option. His decision to play high school hockey in his draft year has certainly made it difficult to gauge his development as he is playing against lesser competition. He has elite puck control skills, is a big strong player and has excellent vision and play making skill to compliment his lethal shot. Defensively he is adequate but playing at a lower level may have hurt his defensive development. Scouts will anxiously await his return to the USHL where he was leading that league in scoring before leaving for Eden Prairie, and unfortunately he is too old to compete in the 2017 U18 tournament. He has a high hockey IQ, quick hands, sets the pace and can create separation time and space with his skill.”

Season	Team	Lge	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-
2017-18	U. of Minnesota	Big-10	34	11	19	30	10	4
2017-18	Buffalo Sabres	NHL	6	1	4	5	2	1
	NHL Totals		6	1	4	5	2

Michael Rasmussen (9) – C – Detroit Red Wings

2017-18 Season: WHL: 47GP – 31G, 28A for 59 points

Pre-Draft Scouting Report:

“Rasmussen is a prospect NHL scouts will be fighting for their team to draft. He is a big bodied center with NHL ready size; he skating is above average thanks to his long powerful stride. He has a high compete level and uses his size well in puck battles and to finish checks, but he could be a little more aggressive or mean. His offensive skills are elite as he owns good playmaking vision but is also an accomplished goal scorer. Scores a lot of goals in close to the net where he uses his size as a net presence, screen and can score on tips, rebounds and deflections. Rasmussen will have added value in multi-cat leagues as he will contribute points, faceoff wins, hits and penalty minutes. With his size, skating, skill and smarts he has all the makings of a first or second line NHL center.”

Season	Team	Lge	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PGP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2017-18	Tri-City Americans	WHL	47	31	28	59	40	17	14	16	17	33	4

Owen Tippett (10) – RW – Florida Panthers

2017-18 season: OHL: 51 GP – 36-39-75 … AHL: 5GP – 1-1-2 … NHL: 7GP – 1-0-1

Pre-Draft Scouting Report:

“Arguably the best shot in the 2017 draft class, Tippett is a pure goal scorer. He has a lethal shot, it is quick, hard, and accurate and he is able to disguise his release very well. Besides taking a high volume of shots, Tippett is also a big player that uses his size, reach and strength to protect the puck, win board battles and provide a strong net presence. The other asset to his game is his above average skating, his breakaway speed and acceleration gives him separation ability and like all components of his game he uses all his skill to support his goal scoring tendency.”

SEASON	TEAM	LGE	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM	+/-
2017-18	Mississauga Steelheads	OHL	51	36	39	75	30	1
2017-18	Florida Panthers	NHL	7	1	0	1	0	-6
2017-18	Springfield Thunderbirds	AHL	5	1	1	2	2	2
	NHL TOTALS		7	1	0	1	0

Gabriel Vilardi (11) – C – Los Angeles Kings

2017-18 Season: OHL: 32G, 22A for 58 points

Pre-Draft Scouting Report:

“After missing time to injury at the start of the season Vilardi returned strong and had a solid Top Prospects game. With Windsor, he will have a chance to showcase his skills in a playoff run and a Memorial Cup tournament. Vilardi is a big, versatile forward that can play the middle or the wing. His skating is average but not a liability and his strength is down low in the offensive zone where he uses his strength and vision to create plays and drive possession. Vilardi plays a strong two-way game, has a high hockey IQ, strong work ethic and is a complete package.”

Season	Team	Lge	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2017-18	Kingston Frontenacs	OHL	32	22	36	58	14	21	16	11	11	22	14

Martin Necas (12) – C – Carolina Hurricanes

2017-18 Season: Czech League: 24GP – 9G, 8A for 17 points … NHL: 1GP – 0G, 0A

Pre-Draft Scouting Report:

“Necas is a fast, skilled, dynamic forward with great offensive and fantasy upside. The knock on him is only that he needs to add some size and strength as he is extremely lean at the moment, but is not shy about playing a physical game and competing for pucks in the hard areas. He played well at the World Juniors showing plenty of skill, confidence and leadership as a young leader on the Czech team. He carries the puck with confidence and skill and is not shy about attacking defending players with speed and skill. Plenty of skill with this prospect and a big upside, but needs a lot of development time and could be several years away.”

Season	Team	Lge	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2017-18	Brno Kometa	Czech	24	9	8	17	6	0	14	4	5	9	6
2017-18	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL	1	0	0	0	0	0
	NHL Totals		1	0	0	0	0

Nick Suzuki (13) – C – Vegas Golden Knights

2017-18 Season: OHL: 64GP – 42G, 58A for 100 points … AHL: 1GP – 0G, 0A

Pre-Draft Scouting Report:

“Suzuki is an undersized dynamic offensive player who uses his speed and playmaking ability to impact the game. While slightly undersized he is not shy to play physically and go to the net or dig for pucks in the corner. Suzuki thinks the game fast and has the hands and feet to match which makes him a projectable NHL player. Suzuki has a motor that won’t quit on plays and he is a reliable back checker as well making him an effective two-way player. Despite being a short player, he is strong on the puck, has speed and skill to burn and is a smart player, he will play in a top-six role in the NHL when he is ready.”

Season	Team	Lge	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PGP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2017-18	Owen Sound Attack	OHL	64	42	58	100	18	30	11	3	9	12	2
2017-18	Chicago Wolves	AHL	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	0	0	0	0

Cal Foote (14) – D – Tampa Bay Lightning

2017-18 Season: WHL: 60GP – 19G, 51A for 70 points … AHL: 6GP – 1G, 0A for one point

Pre-Draft Scouting Report:

“Cal Foote is a chip off the old block as the son of NHL great defenseman Adam Foote. Like his dad, Cal plays a solid, physical, defense first type of game. Foote has great size and strength to play a hard-nosed game; he skates well and always makes very good decisions in terms of puck reads and positioning. Foote and his younger brother look to to be the next in a long line of defense studs to come out of the Kelowna Rockets system. He projects to be a very safe pick but outside of his peripheral stats in hits and blocks will have lower fantasy value than NHL value. Foote does posses some offensive ability, he can skate the puck out of the zone to create offence and occasionally joins the rush. He has a heavy shot and can play the point on the power play.”

Season	Team	Lge	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2017-18	Kelowna Rockets	WHL	60	19	51	70	46	31	4	1	5	6	4
2017-18	Syracuse Crunch	AHL	6	1	0	1	4		7	1	1	2	0

Erik Brannstrom (15) – D – Vegas Golden Knights

2017-18 Season:

Pre-Draft Scouting Report:

“Brännström is a smallish but strong, fast skating and cerebral, possession-oriented blueliner. He doesn’t yield to physical play or opponent pressure, remaining highly aware and opportunistic on the ice regardless of the situation. Determined and scrappy, he can run a mean power play and move the puck with confidence from zone to zone accurately and swiftly. Creates scoring chances with his powerful shot and playmaking acumen. Threads precision passes even in traffic. Sticks to his game on defense, rarely making mistakes or getting forced out of position. Frustrating to play against his disciplined game, which generates turnovers and forced, ill-advised passes. Has great gap control and wields the stick well to slow rival skaters. A team leader on the ice that loves to compete.”

Season	Team	Lge	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PGP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2016-17	HV71 Jonkoping	SweHL	35	1	5	6	2	10	—	—	—	—	—
2017-18	HV71 Jonkoping	SweHL	44	2	13	15	22	-3	2	0	1	1	2

THE WRAP…

Considering all of these guys were drafted less than a calendar year ago, it’s not exactly surprising that none of them has made their mark on the NHL just yet. That’s not to say that these young men won’t become big contributors for their teams at a later date, it’s just that it’s still too early to make a decision on how well their NHL teams did with their selections. That said, it is still interesting to see how the players performed in their draft+1 season and that a lot of them actually got a cup of coffee in the pros, be it AHL or NHL. Another interesting thing is how most of the players selected in the 7-15 range at last year’s draft were forwards. Actually, only four of the top 15 picks at last year’s draft were defenceman whereas this year is supposed to be quite the opposite. Does that mean anything for our beloved Oilers and their 10th overall pick that’s coming up in less than a month? You tell me. What say you, Nation?

PREVIOUSLY IN THE DRAFT COUNTDOWN

ARTICLE BROUGHT TO YOU BY SPORTS EXCELLENCE

Founded in 1950, Sports Excellence Corporation represents over 150 family-owned independent hockey retailers across Canada and the United States. Our highly knowledgeable hockey specialists are available to assist all your equipment needs. Find your closest Sports Excellence retailer here!

Nation Takes

Oilers Talk