Dallas Stars: Our Final Mock Draft For 2017 NHL Entry Draft

Up until the NHL Draft on June 23rd, the team at Blackout Dallas will be rolling out previews of the potential Dallas Stars selections. Today, we release our final mock draft.

The Dallas Stars, pending any pre-draft trades, will be picking third in the 2017 National Hockey League Entry Draft in Chicago, Illinois during June 23rd’s first-round festivities.

Their spot was miraculously generated via a very fortunate Draft lottery conducted by the NHL in late April. Their position at third overall is the single-highest Draft pick the Dallas Stars have held since their move to the Lone Star State – in fact, the last time the Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars franchise has been able to use a top-three pick was in 1988’s Draft that featured Hockey Hall of Famer Mike Modano.

Not to say the Dallas Stars will secure a generational talent like Modano, whose famous “#9” hangs from the rafters at the American Airlines Center, but the club will lay claim to a potentially valuable player for years to come. Not only will the Dallas Stars hold the rights to a future franchise staple, as will the other 30 teams in the NHL.

In addition, the Dallas Stars were awarded the first-round selection that initially belonged to the Anaheim Ducks. When the Stars dealt forward and then-leading goal-scorer Patrick Eaves to the Ducks, the return was a conditional second-round pick – however, as Anaheim qualified for the 2017 Western Conference Final and Eaves managed to skate in 50% or more of their first and second-round Stanley Cup Playoff games (seven out of 12), the conditions flipped the Stars an additional first-round pick to burn.

Dallas Stars

Also, since the Stars will be picking 39th by virtue of having the NHL’s eighth-worst regular season record, our Mock Draft extends past the first-round and into spot number 40, held by the Florida Panthers. It’s the first occasion in which Dallas holds three Draft picks inside of the top 40 since their 2013 haul of Valeri Nichushkin, Jason Dickinson, and Remi Elie.

Nevertheless, the first pick in the 2017 Entry Draft, longly regarded to be Western Hockey League phenom Nolan Patrick, went to the New Jersey Devils, who look to build around the 18-year-old from Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Philadelphia Flyers will likely follow suit with smooth-skating center Nico Hischier of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Halifax Mooseheads, the consensus second-best choice amongst NHL teams.

From third overall on, it’s a guessing game of scouting, skill, and first-impressions. The Dallas Stars remain in the driver’s seat at #3, and their choice will render the others panicking to come to an conclusion. It’s an accordion effect unlike any other, but there will certainly be talent up and down the board for all teams involved.

One last thing to note prior to surveying our Mock Draft: the NHL’s 31st franchise, the Vegas Golden Knights, will be participating in its inaugural Draft. Due to a number of trades when the expansion roster was finalized at the NHL Awards on June 21st in Sin City, the Knights hold three first-round selections.

With that, let’s get right to the board:

The undoubted top player in the NHL Draft, Nolan Patrick tallied 20 goals and 26 assists oved 33 games with the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings prior to a set of injuries derailing his season. Patrick seemingly does everything well, and on account of this, has been compared to Ryan Getzlaf of the Anaheim Ducks. New Jersey gets a skilled, two-way player here.

An extremely talented skater and playmaker, Nico Hischier will be a great fit in Philadelphia. His playmaking was on full display with the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads this season, as Hischier netted 38 goals and 48 assists over 57 games this season. Hischier compares favorably to Washington Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom.

The premier defenseman of the 2017 Draft, Miro Heiskanen is the ideal choice of the Dallas Stars at #3. Not only is Heiskanen a valuable left-handed defenseman on a team with few, but he can move the puck, shoot, and suppress opposing shots extremely well. Heiskanen reminds of Anaheim Ducks blueliner Cam Fowler.

Our draft profile on Heiskanen can be found here.

Playmaking center Casey Mittelstadt will be an integral part of the ongoing rebuild for the Colorado Avalanche. With extremely smart, refined skating and passing, and an electric wrist shot, Mittelstadt will have no trouble finding success in the NHL. Mittelstadt, whose game is reminiscent of Logan Couture, had 21 goals and 43 assists n 25 games at Eden Priarie High School (Minnesota), as well as 13 goals and 17 assists in 24 games at Green Bay.

Our draft profile on Mittelstadt can be found here.

Cody Glass is a smooth, adaptable playmaker with two-way capability and a pass-first mindset, which contributed to his stellar 32 goal, 64 assist performance in the WHL with the Portland Winterhawks. Glass is similar to former Winterhawk and current Nashville Predator Ryan Johansen.

Our draft profile on Glass can be found here.

While Gabriel Vilardi’s unmatched power forward game received a coming out party at the Memorial Cup, where he tallied seven assists and led the Windsor Spitfires to the title, his strength and size has never been understated. Vilardi, whose gameplaying style reminds me of talented Ottawa Senators forward Mark Stone, had 29 goals and 32 assists in the OHL regular season with Windsor. Vegas stockpiles yet another quality young forward.

Our draft profile on Vilardi can be found here.

Cale Makar

is the most skilled offensive defenseman in the Draft, and if the credentials were based solely on offense, Makar could go at #3 to Dallas. Makar netted 24 goals and 51 assists with the Brooks Bandits while gaining suitable and fair comparisons to NHL superstar

Erik Karlsson

. Arizona further solidifies its young defensive core with the seventh pick.

Our draft profile on Makar can be found here.

Although his mid-season diagnosis with mononucleosis hurt his Draft stock, Timothy Liljegren is still a top-three defender in the 2017 field. Buffalo selects Liljegren, who has drawn comparisons to Drew Doughty, scored one goal and added four assists for Rogle BK this season, but his skating and puck-moving abilities are much better than his points would suggest.

Our draft profile on Liljegren can be found here.

At 6-foot-6 and 235 lbs, Michael Rasmussen has NHL size and scoring that puts him with he best players in the Draft. His game is similar to that of Blake Wheeler from the Winnipeg Jets, and his 55 points (32 goals, 23 assists) in 50 games is a measure of his versatility. Detroit’s rebuild would be best with Rasmussen at the helm.

Our draft profile on Rasmussen can be found here.

Martin Nečas is a wonderful young Czech playmaker with a lean, naturally-skating body that Florida would be gifted to have. In his first full season in Czech top-tier hockey, HC Kometa Brno won the championship with Nečas playing an important role. Nečas, whose closest NHL comparison is Flyers captain Claude Giroux, scored seven goals and added eight assists in 41 games with Brno.

Our draft profile on Nečas can be found here.

Goal-scoring specialist Owen Tippett would be a huge gain for the Los Angeles Kings. Tippett led the Mississuaga Steelheads to the OHL Cup Final with 44 goals and 31 regular season assists, as the player who models his game after Taylor Hall developed into the same pure scoring talent.

Our draft profile on Tippett can be found here.

The Carolina Hurricanes have a plethora of elite European playmakers, and Elias Pettersson could soon be in the mix. The sensational Swedish center has been compared to Alexander Wennberg of Columbus, as Pettersson’s smooth skating and passing go well with his defensive responsibility. 19 goals and 21 assists in 43 games were scored by Pettersson this season for Timra IK.

Our draft profile on Pettersson can be found here.

As the Vegas Golden Knights continue to stock up on youthful defensemen, Jusso Valimaki is the ideal choice. The wonderful two-way skater projects to become a future Mattias Ekholm in the NHL, and his stats with Tri-City (19 goals, 42 assists in 60 games) indicate that the Finn will become a staple of any NHL club’s blueline.

Klim Kostin, despite the elusive “Russian factor,” could be a prolific offensive dynamo for the Tampa Bay Lightning in the near future. Kostin’s stats this year are extremely underwhelming, but his physicality and speed garnered him comparisons to Evgeni Malkin. The Dynamo Moscow forward is perhaps the most intriguing pick in the Draft.

Our draft profile on Kostin can be found here.

Eeli Tolvanen will likely be the first forward taken by the Vegas Golden Knights in franchise history, as his skating and heavy wrist shot put the USHL forward in the top-15. His stout offensive game, which culminated into 30 goals and 24 assists in to matches, gained him comparisons to Phil Kessel.

Kailer Yamamoto

is widely regarded as the next

Johnny Gaudreau

, so who’s a better team to the draft the Spokane Chiefs superstar than Calgary? Yamamoto is just 5’8″, but put up 42 goals and 57 assists over the 2016-17 season in the WHL. Yamamoto reminds me most of Blue Jackets star

Cam Atkinson

.

Our draft profile on Yamamoto can be found here.

Lias Andersson is a good bet for any team that has preestablished superstars and needs depth help, which easily wins him over in Toronto. He’s a potentially elite defensive center and can put the puck in the net, as he did with HV71 this season (9 goals, 10 assists, 40 games). Andersson compares favorably to Frans Nielsen of Detroit for his vision and two-way brilliance.

The son of former Stanley Cup champion Adam Foote, Callan Foote is a stellar stay-at-home defenseman who can also stretch the puck out well. For Boston, he’s a long-term replacement for captain Zdeno Chara, who at 41, will be hanging the skates up soon. Foote, who is compared to Dougie Hamilton, had six goals and 51 assists in 71 games for the Kelowna Rockets this season.

Our draft profile on Foote can be found here.

Another underrated two-way center, San Jose is pleased to take Ryan Poehling with this hypothetical 20th overall selection. The St. Cloud State forward plays a game similar to that of Patrik Berglund from St. Louis, and tallied seven goals and six assists with SCSU this season.

Nick Suzuki will be a steal for any team that takes him on, and it could very likely be the St. Louis Blues. Suzuki helped Owen Sound to its best single-season record ever, with 45 goals and 51 assists over 65 games. Suzuki, to me, plays like a smaller Evgeny Kuznetsov.

Our draft profile on Suzuki can be found here.

Kole Lind, another player out of Kelowna, is projected to slot in with the New York Rangers. Lind plays like Max Pacioretty, in that I mean goal-scoring and offensive patience are his two biggest advantages. Lind netted 30 goals and added 57 assists in 70 games of work with the Rockets this season.

Josh Norris is a two-way center with an overlooked skating ability that we have projected to go to Edmonton at 22nd. Norris plays a game reminiscent of that of Ryan O’Reilly from the Buffalo Sabres, in that three-zone dependability comes before offense, but playmaking is still a key. Norris potted 12 goals and added 14 assists in 25 USHL games this season.

Conor Timmins has steadily gone up Draft boards all season, and he’ll stop here at #23 to Arizona. The Sault St. Marie defenseman was able to block shots and do all of the fundamental defensive actions extremely well, while his offensive game of seven goals and 54 assists is very impressive. Timmins plays similar to New York Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh.

The Winnipeg Jets have a number of young, exciting players in their system, and could soon be joined by another one in Shane Bowers. Bowers emulates Jonathan Toews-like style of using his lower-body strength to set up plays around the net and get back defensively. Bowers played 60 games and scored 22 goals with 29 assists.

Our draft profile on Bowers can be found here.

After some very questionable decisions at defense for the Montreal Canadiens, the Habs have a chance to redeem themselves by taking 6’6″ three-zone defenseman Nicolas Hague. Hague plays a style similar to Tyler Myers of Winnipeg, being able to combine speed and size, which helped him score 18 goals and 28 assists for Mississauga this season.

After parting ways with offensive defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk, Chicago is projected to fill the void with smooth-skating Erik Brannstrom. Brannstrom is an above average playmaker with skating excellence seen by HV71, where he tallied a goal and five assists in 35 games. Brannstrom reminds me of Torey Krug, another undersized offensive d-man.

Man, it’s a hot one.

The St. Louis Blues gained this pick from Washington in the February Kevin Shattenkirk trade, and with the selection, they take Robert Thomas of London. Thomas is a smart, three-zone player with good offensive instincts and a beautiful passing skillset. Thomas had 66 points in 66 games (15 goals, 51 assists) playing a game that’s similar to Mikael Backlund of Calgary.

Jason Robertson would be a huge grab for Ottawa as his puck skill is his number one asset. Robertson is raw and flashy, but with some three-zone honing can become an elite NHL player, as Robertson reminds me of James van Riemsdyk. Robertson had 42 goals and 39 assists as a member of the Kingston Frotenacs in 2016-17.

The Dallas Stars would be smart to select a goaltender with a late first round pick, and Jake Oettinger is the top goalie in the Draft. Oettinger plays a Braden Holtby-like positioning game that makes his 6’4″ size as big as advertised. Oettinger enjoyed a 21-11-3 record, .927 save percentage, and 2.11 goals against average with Boston University last season.

Our draft profile on Jake Oettinger can be found here.

Maxime Comtois

is an extremely smart player with a high ceiling, but he’ll take awhile to plateau as an NHLer, therefore a team like Nashville best suits the French-Canadian. He plays a power forward game with Victoriaville that is reminiscent of

John Tavares

, which helped Comtois score 22 goals and 29 assists in 64 QMJHL games this season.

Our draft profile on Comtois can be found here.

The younger brother of established players Dylan and Ryan Strome, Matthew’s Draft stock is not as high as that of his relatives. Nonetheless, Matthew Strome could wind up being an anchor of a contender like Pittsburgh soon enough. His game is similar to Milan Lucic, as Strome stands at 6’3″ and uses his body well, the main key to his 34 goals and 28 assists this season.

Henri Jokiharju is one of those tough, strong defensemen that are hard to play against, and can also wheel right past you to start a break, which would be beneficial to Colorado. He plays like Hampus Lindholm in his skating and passing skills, which led to nine goals and 39 helpers for Portland this season.

A textbook offensive skating stride and loads of skill with his hands brought Filip Chytil to the forefront in the Draft stock, a selection that would help Vancouver in the long run. Chytil can skate like the wind and provide offensive possession time anywhere he goes, which he did with HC Zlin, where he tallied four goals and four assists in limited ice time. Chytil, at 6’0″, plays a lot like Tyler Johnson of Tampa.

As Vegas continues to work on acquiring blueliners, mobile defenseman David Farrance could be a potential steal. Farrance moves likes Ryan Ellis of Nashville; quick stride, head always up, and puck always being sent up ice. Farrance had a goal and 16 assists in 25 USHL games this season.

Kristian Vesalainen

is yet another effective, impressive power forward in the 2017 Draft field, and could be a good grab for the Coyotes with as much youthful talent they have already. Vesalainen tallied a goal and five assists with Frolunda this season, playing a forward style similar to that of

Rick Nash

.

If Ivan Lodnia can play the same lock-down, middle-six checking game he excelled in at Erie, then look for the Michigan native to be a part of the Devils for a long time. Lodnia is a stellar defensive player but can also contribute on the other end, with 24 goals and 32 assists for the Otters this season. Lodnia reminds me of Tomas Tatar of the Detroit Red Wings.

Yet another pick from the WHL, Jaret Anderson-Dolan may play the most NHL-ready style of them all. Anderson-Dolan could be used by the Sabres in all situations, especially in a checking line role, due to his mature two-way game. Jaret tallied 39 goals and 37 assists over 72 games with the Spokane Chiefs while developing his game that is reminiscent of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

A steady, three-zone defenseman, Urho Vaakanainen will be a good addition to any club, and by this projection, the Detroit Red Wings will be grabbing the Finnish blueliner. Vaakanainen scored two goals and added four assists in his 2016-17 season with JYP Jyvaskyla. Urho’s style consists of Karl Alzner and Marc Methot-level defensive responsibility.

We’ve highlighted the delightful link between the Swift Current Broncos and Dallas Stars before, so here’s another potential entry; skilled center Aleksi Heponiemi. After going defense and goalie in Round 1, Dallas nets the smooth, skilled player that has garnered comparisons to Martin St. Louis and won the WHL rookie of the year award with 28 goals and 58 assists.

Windsor’s Michael DiPietro likely would not have been selected this high in the Draft if he hadn’t had a performance of a lifetime in the Memorial Cup. DiPietro plays a Jonathan Quick-esque style of acrobatic, athletic goaltending that is unequalled, while Florida boosts their goaltending system. DiPietro went 30-12-2 with a .917 save percentage and 2.35 goals against average.

Our draft profile on DiPietro can be found here.

Next: Stars Have A Lot To Mull Over When Draft Night Comes

Well, there you have it. The 2017 NHL Draft begins tonight in Chicago, Illinois at the United Center. Stay tuned to Blackout Dallas and our social media accounts for all the latest news surrounding the potential Draft picks, trades, or rumors involving our Dallas Stars.