We saw it all in Round 1 of the 2019 NHL draft. Two generational talents were drafted atop the board. Seven Americans went in the opening 15 picks. The Coyotes traded up. A goaltender was the 13th prospect to be selected. And a 51-goal scorer fell to Day 2.
So which teams had especially strong first rounds? Which picks leave more to be desired? Let's look at the biggest winners and losers of Round 1, and answer some of the biggest questions coming out of the first 31 picks. Then we will peek at Round 2 and beyond, with the best remaining talent still on the board.
Jump to:
Winners | Losers | Biggest questions
Best remaining | Pick-by-pick analysis
WINNERS
Philadelphia Flyers
Pick: Cam York (No. 14)
Trading back from No. 11 to No. 14 and picking up a second-rounder along the way, while still acquiring a potential game-breaking defenseman, was a particularly smart move from general manager Chuck Fletcher. He gambled that York would still be there, and sure enough, he was. Meanwhile, Philly gets an especially valuable pick at No. 45 in a draft that's pretty deep through two rounds.
Montreal Canadiens
Pick: Cole Caufield (No. 15)
Getting the best goal scorer in the draft is a nice bit of good fortune for the Canadiens, who have been doing a really nice job in the draft of late. Their prospect pipeline is really loading up, and adding a winger of Caufield's skill and goal-scoring prowess is huge for them. The Habs already have an exceptional playmaker in Nick Suzuki -- who might end up as the ideal setup man for a sniper like Caufield. There was no better player left on the board at that point.
Teams with two first-round picks
The value of having two first-rounders this year couldn't have been better. This class is deep, and the four clubs with a pair of firsts really did well.
The Colorado Avalanche had the most valuable haul at Nos. 4 and 16, landing the best defenseman in the draft in Bowen Byram and one of the quicker and more skilled centers in Alex Newhook.
The Buffalo Sabres made themselves a lot faster on Day 1 by getting the explosive Dylan Cozens at No. 7 and highly mobile defensive defenseman Ryan Johnson with the round's final pick.
The Anaheim Ducks nabbed two forwards who deepen their pool and add a nice dose of skill. Trevor Zegras provides excellent value at No. 9, allowing the Ducks to take a bigger swing at late-season riser Brayden Tracey, the WHL's Rookie of the Year, at No. 29.
The Los Angeles Kings landed two high-character players. They selected speedy two-way center Alex Turcotte at No. 5, and then got defensively sound blueliner Tobias Bjornfot at No. 22. Those two are among the toughest competitors in this draft.
The New Jersey Devils-New York Rangers rivalry
The Jack Hughes-Kaapo Kakko debates have already begun, and they won't end as long as these two players are playing. Rangers and Devils fans have already been going at one another over which of these two budding superstars will be the better player, after New Jersey jumped on Hughes first overall and the Blueshirts followed with Kakko at No. 2. It's going to be a lot of fun to follow over the years. As our own Greg Wyshynski discussed, this adds a whole bunch of juice to a rivalry that has fizzled some in recent years.
U.S. National Team Development Program
Coming into Friday night, the record for teammates selected from a single amateur team in the first round of the same draft was four. That record was smashed, as eight players from the U.S. National Team Development Program's under-18 team were taken in the first round, starting with Hughes at No. 1 and closing out with John Beecher at No. 30. That team has widely been considered the best in the NTDP's history, despite the fact that such superstars as Auston Matthews, Patrick Kane and Jack Eichel -- and dozens more -- went through the program. There's no question that this 2001 birth year is a special one for USA Hockey.
LOSERS
Arizona Coyotes
Pick: Victor Soderstrom (No. 11)
I don't want this to come off as a slight to Soderstrom, because it's not. This is simply about the trade, as the Yotes sent the No. 14 and No. 45 picks to Philadelphia to move up three spots. I'm not sure exactly what things sounded like on the draft floor, but I think there's a chance Soderstrom would have been there if the Coyotes just held onto No. 14. It's not a guarantee, of course, but that's the gamble you take. Instead, Arizona no longer has a second-rounder, losing out on the loads of value still on the board at No. 45. Its next selection isn't until No. 74 overall.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Pick: Samuel Poulin (No. 21)
The Penguins don't have a lot of depth in their prospect pool, and there was a bit more value on the board still than what they got with Poulin. He is a big body with some intriguing skill, but I saw him fade into the background quite a bit in live viewings this season. I don't think it's necessarily a reach because there was simply no consensus in this draft, but the Penguins also had to be careful with this pick since they don't have a second- or third-rounder in this year's draft. It was a particularly risky selection without the safety net of value in the next two rounds.
Draft-day trades
There was one measly trade Friday night, and it was one of those classic trade-back, extra-asset situations. No players were moved. None! Some sources say phones were ringing and teams were talking, but no one was ready to pull the trigger on a significant move. Player trades always make draft day a bit more fun and more dramatic, but teams that had picks did not want to part with them in such a deep, interesting draft. Perhaps Day 2 will see some player movement.
WHAT WE LEARNED
What is the biggest takeaway from the opening 31 picks?
The theme of this draft was the lack of consensus after No. 2, and did that ever show itself. Teams had such disparate boards that I'm sure several selecting early in the second round will feel as if they picked a first-round talent. The Detroit Red Wings were the team that really broke things up and triggered audible gasps in the crowd when they selected Moritz Seider sixth overall. We predicted this draft to be unpredictable, but it surpassed even my own expectations.
What was the biggest shock of the first round?
Well, I'm still struggling to believe Seider went sixth overall. Yes, Seider is an exceptional player with a lot of upside. And he's a high-character kid. But there's still a lot to be learned about his game, as he played lower in the lineup with Mannheim this season in Germany. While he seems to fit within the Red Wings' model, there were other players I liked a lot more, especially forwards. It's hard to know where Seider would have gone otherwise, but opinions on him really went up after the world championship and combine. Detroit obviously felt strongly enough to dive right in and throw a wrench into the whole thing.
So size really mattered with Cole Caufield, huh?
It appears so. However, I think the run on defensemen had as much to do with Caufield falling as anything else. Obviously teams put a high value on the blueliners who were available, with the Coyotes even trading up to get Soderstrom. The chatter leading up to the draft seemed to suggest that teams up high in the draft were hedging in a major way on Caufield. With all of that said, Caufield is still the shortest player (5-foot-7) on record being selected in the lottery. It's not as though he dropped terribly far, but the top-10 buzz apparently was premature.
Should we be shocked a goalie -- Spencer Knight -- went in the top half of the first round?
I think we've been trained to believe that goalies are voodoo. And honestly, they might be. But the closer we got to the draft, the more I heard Knight was going to go early. Why? He is special among his goalie peers in this class, and teams felt he was worth taking a chance on early. There's always going to be risk in drafting a goaltender, but Knight has so many tools that the Florida Panthers didn't want to let him slip past them. He gives Florida major upside in a position of great need within the organization.
Which prospect is in the best place to have long-term success?
I think Philip Tomasino was the best player-to-team fit of the night because of the way he plays. It seems tailor-made for Peter Laviolette. His pace of play will allow the Nashville Predators to continue to get faster up front. And I didn't really think he'd slip that far based on the pre-draft buzz. Nashville not only landed a high-value pick at No. 24, but it also gained a near-perfect team fit for the range in which it was picking.
LOOKING AHEAD TO DAY 2
What are you watching for in Rounds 2-7?
How long will it take for Arthur Kaliyev to be selected? He is my best remaining prospect on the board and the most polarizing in the draft class. There have been concerns about work ethic and lack of detail defensively, and it obviously scared teams off from selecting him in the first round. But he provides great value in the second round as one of the best goal scorers not named Cole Caufield. He had 51 this past season with Hamilton in the OHL.
Another player who fell out of the first round was Raphael Lavoie. He had an incredible Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoffs for Halifax, but there have been some character and work ethic concerns for him, too. Inconsistency is something that stands out, but when he's on, he has some special abilities. Teams aren't going to invest unless they're certain they can get that effort out of him game in, game out. Just like Kaliyev, there's exceptional value to be had there.
I'm also wondering when the run on goalies will start. Now that Knight is off the board, teams have to plot out how long to wait before nabbing one of the other top goalies in a fairly deep class. All eyes will be on Pyotr Kochetkov, Hunter Jones and Mads Sogaard. I could see some netminders potentially going in the second round, but I'd expect a real big run in the third.
Who are the 15 best remaining prospects on the board?
1. Arthur Kaliyev, RW, Hamilton (OHL)
Age: 17 | Ht: 6-2 | Wt: 194 | Shot: L
Stats: 67 GP, 51 G, 51 A
2. Raphael Lavoie, C, Halifax (QMJHL)
Age: 18 | Ht: 6-4 | Wt: 199 | Shot: R
Stats: 62 GP, 32 G, 41 A
3. Nicholas Robertson, LW, Peterborough (OHL)
Age: 17 | Ht: 5-9 | Wt: 162 | Shot: L
Stats: 54 GP, 27 G, 28 A
4. Brett Leason, RW, Prince Albert (WHL)
Age: 20 | Ht: 6-4 | Wt: 210 | Shot: R
Stats: 55 GP, 36 G, 53 A
5. Nils Hoglander, LW, Rogle (Sweden)
Age: 18 | Ht: 5-10 | Wt: 185 | Shot: L
Stats: 50 GP, 7 G, 7 A
6. Patrik Puistola, RW, Tappara Jr. (Finland Jr.)
Age: 18 | Ht: 6-1 | Wt: 175 | Shot: L
Stats: 25 GP, 11 G, 11 A
7. Matthew Robertson, D, Edmonton (WHL)
Age: 18 | Ht: 6-3 | Wt: 200 | Shot: L
Stats: 52 GP, 7 G, 26 A
8. Alex Vlasic, D, USA U18 (NTDP)
Age: 18 | Ht: 6-6 | Wt: 198 | Shot: L
Stats: 61 GP, 4 G, 23 A
9. Bobby Brink, RW, Sioux City (USHL)
Age: 17 | Ht: 5-8 | Wt: 165 | Shot: R
Stats: 43 GP, 35 G, 33 A
10. Jamieson Rees, C, Sarnia (OHL)
Age: 18 | Ht: 5-10 | Wt: 182 | Shot: L
Stats: 37 GP, 10 G, 22 A
11. Egor Afanasyev, LW, Muskegon (USHL)
Age: 18 | Ht: 6-3 | Wt: 204 | Shot: L
Stats: 58 GP, 27 G, 35 A
12. Robert Mastrosimone, LW, Chicago (USHL)
Age: 18 | Ht: 5-10 | Wt: 159 | Shot: L
Stats: 54 GP, 31 G, 29 A
13. Nathan Legare, RW, Baie-Comeau (QMJHL)
Age: 18 | Ht: 6-0 | Wt: 206 | Shot: R
Stats: 68 GP, 45 G, 42 A
14. Vladislav Kolyachonok, D, Flint (OHL)
Age: 18 | Ht: 6-1 | Wt: 189 | Shot: L
Stats: 54 GP, 4 G, 26 A
15. Kaedan Korczak, D, Kelowna (WHL)
Age: 18 | Ht: 6-3 | Wt: 194 | Shot: R
Stats: 68 GP, 4 G, 29 A