The Vegas Golden Knights found a diamond in the rough by picking Nicolas Hague in the second round.
The Vegas Golden Knights wrapped up their busiest week of the year at the entry draft in Chicago. General Manager George McPhee ended up picking 12 players in two days. He and his scouting staff accomplished a ton over the weekend.
It was rather impressive to see how much stock the club put into this draft. As a matter of fact, many experts believe the Vegas Golden Knights had the best draft out of any team in 2017. But we’ll have to see how players pan out down the line to make that assumption.
However, there was one player the Golden Knights took on day two that caught my eye. Defenseman Nicolas Hague was expected to go in the first round of the NHL entry draft, but that obviously didn’t happen. Fortunately for Hague, he didn’t have to wait too long for his name to be called at the next day of the entry draft.
Luckily for Vegas, Hague was still on the board when the team was ready to pick at 34th overall. McPhee didn’t hesitate to take a chance on the first round talent. This may have been the best pick of the entire weekend for the franchise.
Hague put up solid numbers for the Mississauga Steelheads in 2016-17. The Kitchener, Ontario native scored 18 goals, 28 assists, and 46 points. But that’s not all, in 12 playoff games, he registered one goal, 11 assists, and 12 points.
Hague’s biggest feature is his size at 6’6 and weighs in at 215 lbs. He’s very smart in his defensive zone and loves to put his physicality on display. The 18 -year old can play in all situations and can even be the anchor at the point on the power play.
Hague also has a big slapshot that could be a lethal weapon on the man advantage. He’s also not afraid to get his nose dirty and can drop the mitts from time to time. Experts say one thing Hague needs to work on is his skating game and staying out of the penalty box.
Next: Vegas Golden Knights Select Three Players in the First Round.
It may take a year or two for Hague to reach the Golden Knights roster, but at least he has the right mindset heading into camp. The potential that this player has is incredible; the sky is the limit for Hague. Only time will tell if Hague was the prototypical number one defenseman that 30 NHL teams passed on. If this turns out to be true, then George McPhee will look like a genius.