SBN NHL Mock Draft: New York Rangers select Ryan McLeod with the 28th pick
In what ended up being a very busy day in Blueshirt Banter’s private group chat, we finished our first round with the selection of Ryan McLoed.
Again, here’s the board as we picked.
1. Buffalo - Rasmus Dahlin (Ranked #1 in the BSB Profile here)
2. Carolina - Andrei Svechnikov (Ranked # 2 in the BSB Profile here)
3. Montreal - Filip Zadina (Ranked #3 in the BSB Profile here)
4. Ottawa - Quinn Hughes (Ranked #4 in the BSB Profile here)
5. Arizona - Brady Tkachuk (Ranked # 9 in the BSB Profile here)
6. Detroit - Adam Boqvist (Ranked #6 in the BSB Profile here)
7. Vancouver - Noah Dobson (Ranked #12 in the BSB Profile here)
8. Chicago - Oliver Wahlstrom (Ranked #5 in the BSB Profile here)
9. Rangers - Evan Bouchard (our story here)
10. Edmonton - Martin Kaut (Yet to be ranked in BSB profiles)
11. Washington (via Islanders) - Jesperi Kotkaniemi (Ranked #8 in the BSB Profile here)
12. NY Islanders - Ty Smith (Ranked #11 in the BSB Profile here)
13. Colorado (via Philly, via Dallas) - Joe Veleno (Ranked #10 in the BSB Profile here)
14. Dallas (via Philly) - Joel Farabee (Ranked #16 in the BSB Profile here)
15. Florida - Bode Wilde (Yet to be ranked in the BSB profiles)
16. Philadelphia (via Colorado) - Rasmus Kupari (Yet to be ranked in the BSB profiles)
17. New Jersey - Barrett Hayton (Yet to be ranked in the BSB profiles)
18. Columbus - Isac Lundstrom (Yet to be ranked in the BSB profiles)
19. Philadelphia - Vitaly Kravtsov (Ranked #14 in the BSB Profiles)
20. Los Angeles - K’Andre Miller (Yet to be ranked in the BSB profiles)
21. San Jose - Ryan Merkley (Ranked #13 in the BSB Profiles here)
22. Ottawa - Jonathan Berggren (Ranked #17 in the BSB Profiles here)
23. Anaheim - Grigori Denisenko (Ranked #20 in the BSB Profiles)
24. Minnesota - Dominik Bokk (Ranked #15 in the BSB Profiles here)
25. Philadelphia (via Toronto) - Nils Lundkvist (Yet to be ranked in the BSB profiles)
26. Rangers - Akil Thomas (Ranked 18th in the BSB Profile here)
27. Chicago - Calen Addison (Yet to be ranked in the BSB profiles)
28. Rangers - Ryan McLoed (Ranked #19 in the BSB Profiles here)
Same as the others, Adam and company have way more information on McLeod here if you want it. If you want a quick snapshot see the below.
He has his warts, but in my opinion no center in this draft has more upside than McLeod. A patient and communicative coaching staff may be able to teach McLeod how to use his size better and be more consistent every shift, but the best hockey minds in the world will never be able to teach a 3rd-liner how to skate or make plays with the puck like McLeod can. Is he a safe bet to make the NHL? Far from it. But this far back in first round you’re dealing almost exclusively with players who have big question marks. You might as well swing for the fences. McLeod has the tools to become a first-line center if all the stars align, but I don’t think he is boom-or-bust, either. Should that fail, he has the tools to settle into a depth role as a consolation, as well.
Thoughts on this pick?