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NHL Draft: Trading Up Into 11th – 15th

Photo: fineartamerica.com

By Thomas Harrington

With the top 10 done, it’s time to turn our attention to teams picking between 11th and 15th in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft and what potential deals, if any, the Ducks could make to move up in the first round. I’ll use the same criteria as before, so you won’t see Ryan Getzlaf, Ryan Kesler, Patrick Eaves, Cam Fowler, Rickard Rakell, Josh Manson, John Gibson, Hampus Lindholm, Ondrej Kase, and Jakob Silfverberg in any of the below deals. The players who I think Anaheim would most likely deal are Nick Ritchie, Adam Henrique, Daniel Sprong, and Devin Shore, as well as various prospects and picks. Now that we are out of the top 10, none of Anaheim’s top prospects will be included in these deals. Prospects that Anaheim could be interested in who will likely be available in this range include Alex Newhook, Philip Broberg, Arthur Kaliyev, Bobby Brink, Pavel Dorofeyev, and Ryan Suzuki.

11th Pick

The Philadelphia Flyers hold the 11th overall pick. The Flyers are a veteran team who would like to win now. They’ve got some serious firepower up front, led by Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek, and Sean Couturier. They’ve also got Nolan Patrick, the second overall pick a couple years ago. I think they are definitely a team that could trade away their first round pick, especially since they’ve got Carter Hart, their goalie of the future. He looked good last season, and they’re expecting big things from him this year. The Flyers have a solid defensive core and have two great centers, but I do think that they could be interested in Henrique. That would give them an incredibly deep center pool. However, I think they are hoping that Patrick takes a big step this season. If that happens, then Henrique becomes less attractive. Maybe a deal could be made around Sprong or Ritchie, but while I do think Philadelphia might trade this pick, I don’t think their wants match up with what Anaheim is willing to trade.

12th Pick

The Minnesota Wild have the 12th pick in the draft. They’ve got a relatively old roster, and Eric Staal is one of their top centers, so I don’t think that Henrique would be of interest to them. Given how disappointing their season was, I think they’d rather keep this pick and get some more youth in their system.

13th Pick

The Florida Panthers will pick 13th in the draft. The Panthers are one of those perpetual rebuilding teams. They’ve got a ton of young talent, but they just can’t seem to ever break through. I think they are a team who would absolutely consider moving their first round pick for some help. Unfortunately, they are quite deep at forward, center especially. And I don’t think they’d be interested in one of Anaheim’s young blueliners–it’s doubtful any of them would be enough to get them into the playoffs next year–so I don’t see a deal with the Panthers either.

14th Pick

The Arizona Coyotes hold the 14th pick in the draft. Similar to Florida, they are a perpetually rebuilding team and could be interested in moving their pick to upgrade their roster right now. The Coyotes have a lot of depth at forward, but they don’t have a lot of game-breaking talent. While I don’t think they’d want Henrique, I do think that the Coyotes could be interested in Sprong. His 14 goals would be tied for fifth on the Coyotes last season, and every player who scored more than him played in more games than he did. The Coyotes need some help putting the puck in the net, and that’s what Sprong does best. Sprong alone won’t get the 14th pick, but Sprong and Anaheim’s 29th pick might do it. The Coyotes would retain a first round pick and get a goal-scoring winger. If more is needed, the Ducks could offer up one of their middling prospects. That still might not do it, but I do think that would get the conversation started between the two teams.

15th Pick

Montreal actually finished with more points than Dallas, Vegas, and Colorado, but because they play in the east, they missed the playoffs and have the 15th overall pick. With how close they were to the playoffs, I think they are another team who would consider trading their pick to help them get back to the playoffs. The Canadiens are a team that could use some help at center. While Henrique isn’t a top line center, he would significantly improve their center depth. Henrique by himself might bring back a late first round pick. Montreal currently has three second-round picks. So the deal I would propose would be Henrique and Anaheim’s second round pick for the 15th overall pick. Then, if Montreal does want a first round pick, they can probably package two of those second rounders to get back into the first round. If they are interested in Anaheim’s first-round pick, then they would either have to offer up more or accept Sprong or Ritchie in Henrique’s place, with probably another pick or prospect thrown in.

Next up, I’ll take a look at the teams drafting between 16th and 20th.

Related Articles:

Trading Up At The Draft: The Top Five

Trading Up Into Sixth Through 10th

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June 19th, 2018

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