Stano’s Daily: Mock Draft & Sweeps on The Horizon

With just one round left before the hockey season is officially over, draft discussions have really started heating up and mock drafts have begun.

Recently, the Athletic released a full two-round mock draft that predicted who the Los Angeles Kings would pick at 54.

The pick ended up being left-shot defenseman, Jakub Dvorak. According to the article Dvorak is, “A huge defenseman who can move the puck fairly well and will complement the defensemen in the Kings’ system.”

And that seems to track with other scouting reports. A big body, who can play with the puck at an average level and defends well.

This pick would remind me a bit of the Helge Grans pick in 2020. Not because they’re similar players, but because the reasoning would be similar. That is, the legitimacy of these players’ individual tools warrants a pick so high in the draft.

Both were seen as raw prospects who, if developed well, could be big-minute munchers at the NHL level. But players who need a lot of work.

Interestingly, there were a few goalie prospects picked soon after the Kings’ pick in this mock. And I have to think the Kings try and reload the prospect pool in net this season and I could see them picking one in the first three rounds.

Two Sweeps?

With the Vegas Golden Knights working the Dallas Stars in Game Three, we’re staring down two possible sweeps in the conference final round.

The Florida Panthers have a chance to complete their sweep Wednesday night, in a series that’s been decided solely by one-goal games. The Carolina Hurricanes just needed a bit of puck luck and they’d be in this series. They could also use Sergei Bobrovsky cooling off.

The Stars and Knights series had been close, and the Stars were a few minutes away from taking Game Two, but things unraveled in Game Three.

After going down early, Stars captain Jamie Benn took one of the most undisciplined penalties you’re going to see. Cross-checking Mark Stone in the head while Stone was on the ice.

Six minutes later, the Knights were up 3-0 and the game felt over. The Knights added one more goal in the second and then cruised their way to a 4-0 win and 3-0 series lead.

A Florida vs. Vegas Cup Final seems likely now, and what a fun series that’s going to be.

National Hockey Now:

FloridaHockeyNow: After leaving Game Three with an injury, Alexander Barkov is expected to play in Game Four.

BostonHockeyNow There are some interesting trade rumors starting in Boston, some the Kings might be interested in.

ColoradoHockeyNow: It’s mock draft season, and here’s a roundup of who the Colorado Avalanche might take in round one.