This is being published at a belated point in time because of the chaotic nature of draft weekend for me. Unlike last year’s “Diamonds in the rough” article which exclusively focused on day two, this installment will include round one selections to account for the fact that this draft had inferior depth. That said, the narratives should still be just as satisfying even sans some of the extremes due to taking away some spots from picks in rounds two through seven. These aren’t necessarily the most overwhelming steals, but ones that I thought were noteworthy and popped at me that can be successfully analyzed for merit but also pass the “vibe check.” Without further ado…

6th overall, PHI: RW Porter Martone (OHL – Brampton Steelheads)

I have to acknowledge my personal biases here, but this was the first selection of the draft where I was particularly impressed by the quality of player taken in relation to pick spot. We are talking about a guy who has posted consecutive 30+ goal seasons in the OHL despite being primarily a playmaker. A guy with plenty of skill despite being a netfront player and fitting modern day descriptions of a power forward. A player with captain experience. A player who was considered by some to be a top three prospect in this draft.

Beyond his 37 goals in 58 regular season games this season, Martone had 61 assists and, per Mitch Brown’s stat tracking, 100th percentile x1A/60. He is a very versatile offensive threat despite seeming to fit a certain “type” insofar as the cadence to his game goes. Philadelphia has a bit of a glut at RW (a deliberate understatement), but Martone was a high value enough of a selection to justify adding to that pile, and good enough of a talent to justify shaking up what options exist there. With them trying to take the next step now and next offseason, it’s a good excuse to do so, and a valid reason to change the outlook.

7th overall, BOS: C James Hagens (NCAA – Boston College)

Right after that, we had another player who has long flirted with being a top dog in this class. His 37 points in 37 games in his DY may not seem the most remarkable, but the shuffling of the lines, as well as a team playing style that kept possession away from him and additionally did not lend itself to his approach to transition play, probably kept those numbers lower. Not to say there weren’t growing pains, but I think he had other obstacles. With 93rd percentiles in both advantages created and xG buildup, he is what the Bruins need the most in shaping their next era: A terrific pass-first center who can generate offense.

16th overall, NYI (CGY via MTL): LW Victor Eklund (Allsvenskan – Djurgårdens IF)

It is actually remarkable what the Islanders were able to do here with one of the two selections acquired in the recent, very talked about trade of D Noah Dobson. Eklund had a 31 point campaign in Sweden’s best league, in the process establishing himself as a smart shooter. Per Lassi Alanen, Eklund’s xG Z-Score was just under 2. Beyond his productivity, he is reliable in other areas, with his Z-score in OZ retrievals being nearly 2.4. Proven reliable players at a pro level are rarely available at this stage of the draft, but the obsession with centers made this winger available to NYI. They had an opportunity and they took it.

18th overall, CGY (from NJ): C Cole Reschny (WHL – Victoria Royals, committed to University of North Dakota)

At the time of his selection, Reschny was the best player available in Byron Bader’s production model, looking identical to Benjamin Kindel of the Calgary Hitmen, who was taken 11th overall by Pittsburgh. At a stage in the draft where you are lucky to get bonafide middle-sixers, the Calgary Flames were able to draft a player with a more than outside chance at being a 1C in the NHL. A terrific playmaker with outstanding vision, anticipation, and elusiveness despite not being a particularly fast player, Reschny also has incredible faceoff prowess and defensive capabilities. While there is a lot of excitement around the drafting of the Saskatchewan native from Flames fans already, I don’t think they realize just how good of a player that they are getting.

21st overall, NSH (from OTT): D Cameron Reid (OHL: Kitchener Rangers)

While I ultimately did not include Reid in my top prospects list, I did include him in various drafts I did of first round mocks that I ultimately never published and usually ranked him around the mid-teens, always thinking that he could pleasantly surprise who used a selection on him. He provided me a lot of entertainment with his TWD approach last season, recording 14 goals and 40 assists and a +39. His eye test demonstrates a very mobile player excellent at thrawting potential attacks using his speed and timing, while the analytics also support this when looking at his entry prevention metrics. He also is a very solid playmaker and space creator. He likely tops out as a second-pairing defenseman be it for the Preds or elsewhere, but he will be as premium of one as you can get.

37th overall, WSH (from BOS): LW Milton Gästrin (J20 Nationell: MoDo Hockey)

While I thought that the Kraken did pretty well by taking Blake Fiddler of the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings with the selection immediately before this one, I would say that this was the first real “eyebrow raiser but in a good way” selection that took place on day two. With just over a PPG in the J20 and not a real dent statistically in the SHL last season, it is unlikely that Gästrin becomes a standout points producer in the NHL. However, I am impressed by his strength and power on his skates, the efficiency of his movement, and his two-way play. His skating ability is reflected well by his transition results (as tracked by Lassi Alanen) and he is also talented at getting high danger shots on net. This is another interesting, sneakily high potential selection that the Caps have made in the least few years that I am a fan of.

47th overall, VAN: G Aleksei Medvedev (OHL: London Knights)

There are a few important caveats to consider here:

1.) Medvedev didn’t receive any postseason playing time this season, with Dale Hunter opting to utilize overager Austin Elliott (UMass Lowell commit/Dallas Stars development camp invitee) throughout the entirety of London’s successful J. Ross Robertson and Memorial Cup campaigns. Ergo, we did not see him in the highest pressure situations in his DY.

2.) London is, of course, a perennial wagon.

3.) This is usually about where you draft a starting caliber goaltender.

However, when you consider some ridiculous statistics and facts concerning Medvedev’s performance and where he is at in his dev, you have time for him being the best value goaltender selection of the draft. As one half of the goaltender tandem for the OHL’s regular season champions, he posted a 22-8-2 record with a .912 SV% (best among draft eligible goalies in the CHL [please note that Ellis’ article erroneously enumerates Medvedev’s SV% as .922]) and a 2.79 GAA. He also was born on September 10th, 2007 – Making him just barely old enough to qualify for this draft. He is already fast on his skates with supreme edgework, athleticism, and pretty impressive vision while also being poised and having a distinct style of his own already. His runway to get better is long and you have to wonder just how far he goes.

94th overall, DAL: RW Cameron Schmidt (WHL: Vancouver Giants)

I understand how this fall happened due to Schmidt’s size, as well as not much being asked of him in the WHL other than scoring goals (40g-38a in 61 games played). However, Dallas does have a terrific track record when it comes to hitting on these selections and developing them well. Combine that with the fact that Schmidt has done well as a transition demon via both controlled and uncontrolled entries and exits using his breakneck speed, as well as him taking mostly high quality shots, and I think something is cooking here. While the playmaking microstats in his final Mitch Brown card weren’t the most outstanding, he did have some stretches last season where his slot pass completion looked pretty solid in my eyes. I think that if he attempted to reinvent himself as a pass-first winger, he would be pretty successful in that endeavor. In any event, he was worth throwing a dart at in the third round with him being there at that stage of the proceedings.

102nd overall, MIN: C Adam Benák (USHL: Youngstown Phantoms)

The two-time standout at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup and its all time leading point scorer had some growing pains in his first season in North America. However, he ended up with a fairly respectable 17 goals and 42 assists in 56 games played, as well as a +1. Despite some adjustments that needed to be made to playing style, his passing translated quite well, as did his breakneck pace. I feel as though his ability to play through contact is also solid relative to his diminutive stature. Make no mistake, there was always a gamble involved here, but in the fourth round, it’s one worth taking. I have to give Minnesota its due here.

221st overall, CAR: LW/RW Filip Ekberg (OHL: Ottawa 67’s)

Part of me is somewhat grateful that this played out the way that it did, as I feel as though teams can overreact to performances at DY international tournaments. That said, I do feel as though one can tie what Ekberg did at the IIHF U18 World Championships (at which he led the tournament in points with 18 via 10 goals and 8 assists, setting a Swedish record as he and his compatriots earned a silver medal) can be tied to a broader lineage. Prior to his arrival in the OHL as an import, he recorded a hat trick in his first ever game in the Hockeyallsvenskan with Almtuna IS, then tacked on 2 assists in 19 games the following season. Ergo, before turning 17, he had valuable pro experience and had done something with it. In his first season in the O, his performance was somewhat tempered in terms of generating offensive acumen. He finished his first campaign with 16 goals and 29 assists. That said, I think it is more than fair to call some shots about where this kid’s game is in between his ears, as well as his passing ability and vision, with one of the last handful of selections in the entire draft. Those flashes have the potential to turn into something meaningful in the NHL, and how often can you say that just three picks ahead of “Mr. Irrelevant”?F

For the record, Ekberg’s Mitch Brown card has him as a 94th percentile offensive player and 90th percentile transition, with a 96 overall. Not bad, huh?