Hello and welcome to all. First off, thank you all so much for taking the time to tune into our live tracker and follow along. We are pleased to be able to bring you live coverage as it happens for the fourth straight season.
In a year that’s truly been like no other, we find ourselves divided for the last time, but in spirit together on this momentous occasion. Following a season of virtual events and empty arenas from coast to coast, efforts to this point have been tireless for the next generation to start their trek to the pros.
Joining for the very first time, the Seattle Kraken, the league’s 32nd team, pick at second overall to start growing their farm system. Having built their roster in the expansion draft on Wednesday, Seattle draft picks will join forward Luke Henman, who was signed back in May as the first player in Kraken history.
Much like the players, who will hear their names chosen, it’s been a long road for our dedicated staff, who have spent countless months and hours scouting and researching. While a winding road towards the draft in many ways, Friday night marks the start of a new path they’ve been preparing for.
Despite struggles to get ice time, consult with coaches and hit the gym, every minute they’ve been granted has set the stage for this moment. As for us here at The Puck Authority, the same is true from a work stance with our writers and partners.
All to bring our readers and supporters the best coverage possible for this very special day. Before we go on any further, a special thanks goes to our many contributors who’ve been involved this past year to grow the brand and our platform. We truly couldn’t have done it without you, helping lead us to tonight, which marks a milestone for many.
More specifically, a special thank you to Mark Seidel at North American Central Scouting. For the last three years, we have partnered with NACS, helping amplify their rankings picked from long and hard hours. Secondly to David Ciss, our CEO, for all that he’s done. From spending many hours watching video to taking calls to better analyze players. Without his hard work and devotion, this wouldn’t be possible, nor would the site exist, so a message of recognition.
To our many scouts, from Armand Klisivitch to David Ciss. The work this duo has done has provided our readers with reliable resources. Not only that, but they’ve also created some top-end content. None of this work goes unnoticed, our team is so grateful for their unwavering commitment.
Lastly to site partners like InStat Hockey, who have graciously granted access to let us do what we do. We’re grateful for our many connections, who’ve kept our work ongoing in this virtual setting. While we were not in OHL press boxes this season, we are also appreciative of the the league and its member teams for allowing us to cover whenever we’re able to. This includes the Kitchener Rangers and Mississauga Steelheads, who have made our increasing growth possible.
With all the thank you’s out of the way, let’s jump right into this year’s NHL Draft. The consensus first overall pick this year is Owen Power from the NCAA. Power has become a familiar name for those in NHL social circles in both the U.S. and Canada. A standout from Mississauga, Ontario, his brand has only risen with the Michigan Wolverines, where he is intending to return in the fall.
Right behind him, the idea is that Matthew Beniers is off to Seattle. Beniers is an 18-year-old forward, also a product of the Michigan Wolverines. Beniers has strong defensive skills and is described by many as a quick rising forward. With that skill level said to be sneaky above average, many say it goes beyond offence. From there, with such a talented draft class, your guess is as good as ours from the third pick and onwards.
To give a quick glance to the future, many are playing with the current idea of the Anaheim Ducks taking forward Kent Johnson at three. While that’s one way of going, some others have Dylan Guenther from the Edmonton Oil Kings.
Just a couple quick housekeeping notes: a reminder that the Buffalo Sabres won this year’s first NHL Draft Lottery to move up to first overall. The first 16 selections were determined by the lottery system.
Now you’re all caught up with a little background on this season’s selection process. We certainly hope you’ll join us by following along on our social media platforms. On Twitter, you can find as @PuckAuthority1, meanwhile, on Instagram, we’re @thepuckauthority. As always, stay tuned after the draft for post-picking analysis.
The draft itself gets underway with the first overall pick at 8:00pm. It will be carried nationally on NHL Network and Sportsnet. While the setup is virtual for a second straight season, the NHL is allowing fans back in arenas to welcome in the new players, who will be celebrating from home. Until the first selection is made, be sure to keep up with the top insiders from HNIC to TSN and The Athletic. This includes Elliotte Friedman, Pierre LeBrun, Darren Dreger and Gord Miller.
Along with myself and our team, they will help to set the scene with both insight and interviews on Twitter and television. A reminder you can find me on Twitter @JustinLevineHBS as further details seep through.
Thank you again for the support, it’s what makes us function and why we do what we do. Let’s get on with the show!
Prior to the NHL Draft, the Chicago Blackhawks announced the acquisition of defensemen Seth Jones from the Columbus Blue Jackets. In exchange, the Blackhawks traded Adam Boqvist, former eighth overall pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.
Joining Jones in the trade is their 32nd overall pick this year and a sixth-round pick in 2022. On the other side alongside Boqvist are the 14th and 22nd overall picks this year and a first-round pick in 2022. As per The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun, the Blackhawks had been grinding away to acquire Jonas from Columbus. He also noted that nothing was close despite a push from Chicago. However, that changed just over two hours later. Jones has since signed an extension for eight years at $9.5 million.
John Davidson later told Emily Kaplan that he’s understanding of Jones’ want to move on and that there were no hard feelings in the end as things formalized. Jones has one year left on his current contracts and now joins his brother Caleb in the ‘Windy City.’
With the first overall selection in the 2021 NHL Draft, the Buffalo Sabres select defenseman Owen Power out of Mississauga, Ontario. Power, 18, spent the 2020-21 season with the NCAA’s Michigan Wolverines.
With the second overall selection in the 2021 NHL Draft, the Seattle Kraken select Matthew Beniers out of Hingham, Massachusetts. Beniers, 18, spent the 2020-21 season with the NCAA’s Michigan Wolverines.
With the third overall selection in the 2021 NHL Draft, the Anaheim Ducks select Mason McTavish out of Zurich Switzerland. McTavish, 18, spent the 2020-21 season with EHC Olten in the Swiss League.
With the fourth overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, the New Jersey Devils select Luke Hughes out of Canton, Michigan. Hughes, 17, spent the 2020-21 season between the U.S. National U18 Team in the USDP and the USNTDP Juniors in the USHL.
With the fifth overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, the Columbus Blue Jackets select Kent Johnson out of North Vancouver, B.C. Johnson, 18, spent the 2020-21 season with the Michigan Wolverines in the NCAA.
With the sixth overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, the Detroit Red Wings select Simon Edvinsson out of Onsala, Sweden. Edvinsson, 18, spent the 2020-21 season with Frolunda HC in the Swedish Hockey League.
With the seventh overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, the San Jose Sharks select William Eklund out of Haninge Municipality, Sweden. Eklund, 18, spent the 2020-21 season with Djurgårdens IF in the Swedish Hockey League.
With the eighth overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, the Los Angeles Kings select Brandt Clarke out of Ottawa, Ontario. Clarke, 18, spent the 2020-21 season with HC Nove Zamky in Slovakia’s Tipos Extraliga.
With the ninth overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, the Arizona Coyotes select Dylan Guenther out of Edmonton, Alberta. Guenther, 18, spent the 2020-21 season with Edmonton Oil Kings in the Western Hockey League.
With the tenth overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, the Ottawa Senators select Tyler Boucher out of Haddonfield, New Jersey. Boucher, 18, spent the 2021-21 season between the U.S. National U18 Team in the USDP and the USNTDP Juniors in the USHL.
With the twelfth overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, the Columbus Blue Jackets select Cole Sillinger out of Columbus, Ohio. Sillinger, 18, spent the 2020-21 season with the Sioux Falls Stampede in the USHL.
With the thirteenth overall pick in the 2020-21 NHL Draft, the Calgary Flames select Matthew Coronato out of New York, New York. Coronato, 18, spent the 2020-21 season with the Chicago Steel in the USHL.
With the fourteenth overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, the Buffalo Sabres select Isak Rosen out of Stockholm, Sweden. Rosen, 18, spent the 2020-21 season with Leksands IF in the Swedish Hockey League.
With the fifteenth overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, the Detroit Red Wings select Sebastian Cossa out of Fort McMurray, Alberta. Cossa, 18, spent the 2020-21 season with the Edmonton Oil Kings in the Western Hockey League.
With the sixteenth overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, the New York Rangers select Brennan Othmann out of Scarborough, Ontario. Othmann, 18, spent the 2020-21 season with EHC Olten in the Swiss League.
With the seventeenth overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, the St. Louis Blues select Zachary Bolduc out of Trois-Rivières, Quebec. Bolduc, 18, spent the 2020-21 season with Rimouski Oceanic in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
With the eighteenth overall pick in the 2020-21 NHL Draft, the Winnipeg Jets select Chaz Lucius out of Grant, Minnesota. Lucius, 18, spent the 2020-21 season between the U.S. National U18 Team in the USDP and the USNTDP Juniors in the USHL.
With the nineteenth overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, the Nashville Predators select Fedor Svechkov out of Togliatti, Russia. Svechkov, 18, spent the 2020-21 season with SKA St. Petersburg in the KHL.
With the twentieth overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, the Minnesota Wild select Jesper Wallstedt out of Västerås, Sweden. Wallstedt, 18, spent the 2020-21 season with Luleå HF in the Swedish Hockey League.
With the twenty-first overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, the Boston Bruins select Fabian Lysell out of Gothenburg, Sweden. Lysell, 18, spent the 2020-21 season with Luleå HF in the Swedish Hockey League.
With the twenty-second overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, the Edmonton Oilers select Xavier Bourgault out of L’Islet, Quebec. Bourgault, 18, spent the 2020-21 season with the Shawinigan Cataractes in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
With the twenty-third overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, the Dallas Stars select Wyatt Johnston out of Leaside, Ontario. Johnston, 18, is a product of the Windsor Spitfires in the Ontario Hockey League. He played with Hockey Canada’s National U18 Team at the U18 World Championship in Frisco and Plano, Texas.
With the twenty-fourth overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, the Florida Panthers select Mackie Samoskevich out of Newton, Connecticut. Samoskevich, 18, spent the 2020-21 season with Chicago Steel in the USHL.
With the twenty-fourth overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, the Columbus Blue Jackets select Corson Ceulemans out of Regina, Saskatchewan. Ceulemans, 18, spent the 2020-21 season with the Brooks Bandits in the AJHL.
With the twenty-fifth overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, the Minnesota Wild select Carson Lambos out of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Lambos, 18, spent the 2020-21 season with the Winnipeg Ice in the Western Hockey League.
With the twenty-sixth overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, the Nashville Predators select Zachary L’Heureux out of Montreal, Quebec. L’Heureux, 18, spent the 2020-21 season with the Halifax Mooseheads in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
With the twenty-seventh overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, the Colorado Avalanche select Oskar Olausson out of Stockholm, Sweden. Olausson, 18, spent the 2020-21 season with HV71 in the Swedish Hockey League.
With the twenty-eighth overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, the New Jersey Devils select Chase Stillman out of St. Louis, Missouri. Stillman, 18, spent the 2020-21 season with Esbjerg U20 in the Denmark U20 League.
With the twenty-ninth overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, the Vegas Golden Knights select Zach Dean out of Grande Prairie, Alberta. Dean, 18, spent the 2020-21 season with the Gatineau Olympiques in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
With the thirtieth overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, the Montreal Canadiens select Logan Mailloux out of Belle River, Ontario. Mailloux, 18, spent the 2020-21 season with SK Lejon in Sweden’s HockeyEttan League.
With the thirty-first overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, the Chicago Blackhawks select Nolan Allan out of Davidson, Saskatchewan. Allan, 18, spent the 2020-21 season with the Prince Albert Raiders in the Western Hockey League.
On behalf of our team here at The Puck Authority, we would like to take a moment to thank everyone who followed along with our NHL Live Tracker. With round one of this year’s draft in the books, day two is currently underway and can be seen nationally on NHL Network and Sportsnet.
That’ll do it for me, thank you to our readers and supporters for following along! Until we meet again, continue to stay vigilant, healthy and safe. Enjoy the remainder of this year’s entry draft!