2010 NHL Mock Draft

Here is my 2010 NHL Mock Draft. I have attempted to predict which players teams will draft this weekend. My predictions are based on player rankings (from the International Scouting Service, The Hockey News, and TSN), the draft history of specific teams, and to a lesser extent, the needs of specific teams. The teams are in draft order, and the glaring need for each team is in brackets. The draft is a tough thing to predict, as we rarely know which player a team covets and if teams move their picks in trades. However, it is still fun to give it a whirl...

1) Edmonton (big forward) – Taylor Hall LW
2) Boston (winger/defense) – Tyler Seguin C
3) Florida (top-six forward) – Cam Fowler D
4) Columbus (centre/top-six) – Erik Gudbranson D
5) NY Islanders (big defense/winger) – Brandon Gormley D
6) Tampa Bay (defense/best player) – Brett Connolly RW
7) Carolina (best player/forward) – Nino Niederreiter LW
8) Atlanta (goalie/best player) – Jack Campbell G
9) Minnesota (skilled forward) – Ryan Johansen C
10) NY Rangers (scoring forward) – Jeffrey Skinner C
11) Dallas (defense) – Derek Forbort D
12) Anaheim (goalie/defense) – Mikael Granlund LW
13) Phoenix (best player) – Alex Burmistrov C
14) St. Louis (scoring/goalie) – Austin Watson RW
15) Florida (top-six forward) – Mark Pysyk D
16) Ottawa (scoring forward) – Nick Bjugstad C
17) Colorado (defenseman) – Dylan McIlrath D
18) Nashville (defenseman) – Emerson Etem C
19) Los Angeles (top-six forward) – Vladimir Tarasenko RW
20) Pittsburgh (winger) – Beau Bennett RW
21) Detroit (defenseman/best player) – Riley Sheahan C
22) Phoenix (best player) – Quinton Howden LW
23) Buffalo (big winger/defenseman) – Jonathan Merrill D
24) Chicago (centre/best player) – Evgeny Kuznetsov LW
25) Vancouver (defenseman) – Jarred Tinordi D
26) Washington (big defenseman) – Alex Petrovic D
27) Montreal (big centre) – Tyler Pitlick C
28) San Jose (best player) – Tyler Toffoli C
29) Anaheim (goalie/best defense) – Calvin Pickard G
30) Chicago (centre/best player) – John McFarland C