Using the teams I predicted to be eliminated, I ran a sim to pick who gets the 1st overall pick. The winner is the Minnesota Wild

1st Overall Pick- Minnesota Wild- Alexis Lafrieniere, LW, Canada

NHL Arrival: 2020-21

Potential: Lafrieniere is an elite winger. I expect him to get 1st line minutes next year, alongside Zach Parise and Eric Staal.

2nd Overall Pick-Los Angeles Kings- Quinton Byfield, C, Canada

NHL Arrival: 2020-21

Potential: Byfield can be a top line center, but I expect him to be the 2nd line center next year behind Anze Kopitar. Problem is that the Kings will have trouble finding good wingers.

3rd Overall Pick-Ottawa Senators (San Jose Sharks)- Tim Stuezle, LW, Germany

NHL Arrival: 2020-21

Potential: Stuezle can play either center or wing, but I expect him to play a middle of the lineup player his rookie season, before becoming a 1st line winger in the long run.

4th Overall Pick-Detroit Red Wings- Lucas Raymond, LW, Sweden

NHL Arrival: 2021-22

Potential: Detroit nabs a future top line winger for Dylan Larkin. Many would think that they would play Raymond immediately, but I expect Steve Yzerman to go slow in order to build the best possible Detroit team.

5th Overall Pick-Ottawa Senators-Marco Rossi, C, Austria

NHL Arrival: 2020-21

Potential: Rossi is too good for Juniors, so he’ll likely get a shot in the bigs next year. I can see him as a bottom 6 forward, similar to Stuezle.

6th Overall Pick-Anaheim Ducks- Jamie Drysdale, D, Canada

NHL Arrival: 2021-22

Potential: The Ducks pick another defender here to help bolster their already solid core. The Ducks went up front with Trevor Zegras last year, so I expect them to go for the backend this year.

7th Overall Pick-New Jersey Devils- Alexander Holtz, LW, Sweden

NHL Arrival: 2021-22

Potential: The Devils pick a winger for Nico Hischier here, who I expect will be their #1 center over Jack Hughes. I definitely can see a nice line of Holtz-Hischier-Palmeri in the future.

8th Overall Pick-Buffalo Sabres-Cole Perfetti, C, Canada

NHL Arrival: 2021-22

Potential: The perennial Buffalo bust, Perfetti will be cursed with an exile to the wasteland of Buffalo, where no one has developed properly with the exception of elite talents. Even then, those elite talents are wasted. Perfetti would be fine going to any other team, but I expect him to be in a long line of busts after Mittlestadt, Nylander and most likely Cozens. I hope he proves me wrong though.

9th Overall Pick-Montreal Canadiens-Jake Sanderson, D, USA

NHL Arrival: 2022-23

Potential: I believe it would be smarter for the Habs to pick Lundell, but I believe they will pick Sanderson based of of rumors I’ve heard. Sanderson has potential to be a solid top 4 defenseman for the Habs, if he isn’t traded like Mikhail Sergachev.

10th Overall Pick-Chicago Blackhawks-Yaroslav Askarov, G, Russia

NHL Arrival: 2022-23

Potential: The heir apparent to Corey Crawford, the Blackhawks have done a decent job in acquiring young prospects to help solidify their core for potentially a last shot at the cup with Toews and Kane. Grabbing a young netminder like Askarov will help Chicago solidify their most important position and most dire need for the future.

TRADE ALERT: The New Jersey Devils have traded D Connor Carrick and the 11th Overall Pick in the 2020 NHL Draft originally belonging to Arizona to the Florida Panthers in exchange for the 13th Overall Pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, LW Colton Sceviour and F Jonathan Ang.

11th Overall Pick-Florida Panthers (Arizona Coyotes via New Jersey Devils)-Anton Lundell, C, Finland

NHL Arrival: 2022-23

Potential: After a qualifiers exit, new Panthers GM Chris Progner shakes things up by trading up in the draft. The Panthers trade up to nab Anton Lundell. Lundell is a player nearly identical to Aleksander Barkov. Progner hopes that Lundell could possibly serve as the #2 C behind Barkov long term or be a possible replacement on the top line if Barkov leaves.

12th Overall Pick-Calgary Flames- Jack Quinn, RW, Canada

NHL Arrival: 2022-23

Potential: The Flames pick another winger to help solidify their top 6. Quinn should serve as a good 2nd line winger and could possibly be a good linemate for Matthew Tkachuk.

13th Overall Pick-New Jersey Devils (Florida Panthers)-Kaiden Guhle, D, Canada

NHL Arrival: 2022-23

Potential: The Devils continue to build up their D prospect pool by adding a third solid defensive prospect. They get a nice haul for trading down two spots, with a bottom 6 forward in Colton Sceviour and a prospect in Jonathan Ang and only give up underperformer Connor Carrick. The Panthers do get a steal in Lundell.

14th Overall Pick-Carolina Hurricanes (Toronto Maple Leafs)- Rodion Amirov, LW, Russia

NHL Arrival: 2023-24

Potential: The Hurricanes pick Amirov to help serve as a nice depth piece. I don’t think he comes to the NHL for awhile, as the Hurricanes will likely let him develop in Russia.

15th Overall Pick-New York Rangers (Carolina Hurricanes)-Dylan Holloway, F, Canada

NHL Arrival: 2022-23

Potential: The Rangers grab another young forward to help solidify one of the league’s best young teams. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Rangers choose to trade this pick though