Vegas Golden Knights 2019 NHL Draft: First Round Winners and Losers

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VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA – JUNE 21: Moritz Seider (fifth from right), sixth overall pick of the Detroit Red Wings, pose for a group photo onstage with team personnel during the first round of the 2019 NHL Draft at Rogers Arena on June 21, 2019 in Vancouver, Canada. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images) /

The first round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft is in the books and the Vegas Golden Knights can be extremely happy with how their night went.

On the board at No.17, the Vegas Golden Knights hit the jackpot when elite playmaker Peyton Krebs fell in their laps after being expected to go much higher.

High-end talent slipping down the board was the pattern of the first round as we were treated to a number of shocks with a lot of teams opting to address needs rather than select the best player available.

Many experts predicted that the draft wouldn’t really begin until the Chicago Blackhawks went on the clock with the No.3 selection, and those predictions came true with the Hawks setting the tone for the rest of the night.

Related Story. Golden Knights struck gold with Peyton Krebs. light

After defying a plethora of draft boards and mock drafts by selecting Kirby Dach over potential franchise center Alex Turcotte, a flurry of teams followed Chicago’s lead by ignoring a slew of elite prospects and instead picking players who were projected to go a lot lower.

With that in mind, we have picked out who we believe to be the biggest winners and losers from the first round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.

Now, it is worth keeping in mind of course that we won’t know how a lot of these drafts will pan out until at least a few years down the line, but these projections are based on what we were expecting to happen going into Friday night.

Okay, let’s get started…

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA – JUNE 21: Jack Hughes, first overall pick by the New Jersey Devils, poses for a portrait during the first round of the 2019 NHL Draft at Rogers Arena on June 21, 2019 in Vancouver, Canada. (Photo by Andre Ringuette/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Winner: New Jersey Devils & New York Rangers

This is a fairly obvious one given that we knew this year’s draft was all about the talent at the very top.

Jack Hughes was the consensus No.1 overall pick and the American-born center really is a generational talent.

He needs to bulk up a little but that is only a minor blemish on the copybook. Other than that, Hughes ticks every single box when it comes to selecting your franchise center.

We all know that centers are a valuable commodity to NHL teams and the Devils now have a deadly one-two punch down the middle with Hughes and Nico Hischier.

Hughes is a cornerstone piece for New Jersey and it is now up to the front office to build a team around their young stud that can compete for Stanley Cups on a consistent basis.

As for the New York Rangers, they were going to win big no matter what the Devils did with their first overall pick.

VANCOUVER, BC – JUNE 21: Kaapo Kakko puts on a jersey after being selected second overall by the New York Rangers during the first round of the 2019 NHL Draft at Rogers Arena on June 21, 2019 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Derek Cain/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

And, as it turns out, the Blueshirts have probably got the best case scenario after spending their No.2 pick on Kaapo Kakko.

The Finnish sensation is ready to take the NHL by storm right away and, as shown at the IIHF World Championships, he’s built to truly thrive and succeed in the big moments.

Kakko, at the tender age of 18-years-old, has a man’s physique already and that will stand him in good stead to be able to handle the rigors of a gruelling 82-game NHL regular season.

Kaapo Kakko fever has officially swept The Big Apple and the elite wing has all the weapons in his armoury to be able to fire the Rangers back into Stanley Cup contention.

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA – JUNE 21: Moritz Seider reacts after being selected sixth overall by the Detroit Red Wings during the first round of the 2019 NHL Draft at Rogers Arena on June 21, 2019 in Vancouver, Canada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Loser: Detroit Red Wings

Now, let’s preface this by saying that Red Wings General Manager Steve Yzerman knows what he’s doing and he’s certainly got more hockey knowledge than us.

However, you can’t help but feel that Detroit committed a small sin by overlooking a slew of high-end offensive talent in favor of selecting German defenseman Moritz Seider with the No.6 overall pick.

Of course, Seider is a very nice player and he has credentials having been crowned the DEL’s Rookie of the Year following an impressive 2018-19 for Adler Mannheim, where he posted a plus / minus rating of 2 along with two goals and four assists for six points in 29 games, in addition to five points in the postseason.

He’s been credited as a smart two-way defenseman who can skate well and move the puck even better.

However, Seider was projected to go in the mid-to-late first round and, when you consider the offensive talent above him, you have to question Detroit’s decision.

They could have added another stud to the stable by drafting an elite offensive talent in the ilk of Dylan Cozens, Trevor Zegras, Cole Caufield or Vasily Podkolzin.

Only time will tell whether or not the Red Wings made the right decision but, as of right now, you can’t help but feel that they missed out on the chance to add a key piece to their rebuild.

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