NHL Draft 2019: Vegas Golden Knights achieve what they set out to
It’s a wrap! The 2019 NHL Entry Draft is now in the books and the Vegas Golden Knights can be happy with the work they achieved this weekend.
Entering the draft with a treasure chest of eight picks, including the 17th overall selection, the Vegas Golden Knights came out of it with an elite playmaker and seven prospects to add to the pipeline after trading away two picks in order to move up in the second round.
The front office tandem of General Manager Kelly McCrimmon and President of Hockey Operations George McPhee went into the weekend with a game plan and they executed it to perfection.
They addressed a variety of needs on Day Two of the draft and added a shiny new toy to the farm system in Peyton Krebs, who slots in right behind Cody Glass as one of the franchise’s top two prospects.
Before we delve in further, let’s recap on who the Golden Knights drafted this weekend and where:
- Peyton Krebs (C), No.17, Round 1
- Kaedan Korczak (D), No. 41, Round 2
- Pavel Dorofeyev (LW/RW), No. 79, Round 3
- Layton Ahac (D), No. 86, Round 3
- Ryder Donovan (C), No. 110, Round 4
- Isaiah Saville (G), No. 135, Round 5
- Marcus Kallionkieli (F), No. 139, Round 5
- Mason Primeau (C), No. 141, Round 5
The main aim this weekend was to replenish the farm system which had been left depleted due to the fact that a number of prospects were dealt in various trades in order to strength the NHL roster.
And it was mission accomplished for the front office who flooded the farm system with fresh young talent and made full use of the wealth of picks they had at their disposal.
They added a much-needed goalie to their depth chart in Isaiah Saville with the No.135 pick, who posted a hugely impressive 1.90 GAA and a .925 SV% in 34 games for Tri-City Storm this year.
He has been praised for his lateral movement from post to post and was ranked #67 overall by McKeen’s Hockey.
More from Draft
- Vegas Golden Knights: A quick but detailed recap of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft
- Vegas Golden Knights round out 2020 NHL Entry Draft with size
- Vegas Golden Knights move up to take Swedish goalie in Fifth Round
- Vegas Golden Knights take a chance on explosive skater at end of Third Round
- Vegas Golden Knights pull off absolute steal with Cormier pick at No. 68
Vegas also added two big bodies to their blueline to complement the slew of puck-moving defensemen they have on the depth chart.
The Knights moved up in the second round after trading picks No. 48 and No. 82 to the San Jose Sharks, before drafting Kaedan Korczak with the 41st overall pick.
Korczak is a 6’3″, 193 lb blueliner who is a shutdown defensemen and relishes going up against other teams’ top lines.
Vegas also selected Layton Ahac at No. 86 with the 18-year-old another stay-at-home defenseman.
The Golden Knights also added more firepower to their farm system after selecting four forwards in total at this year’s draft.
Mason Primeau and Ryder Donovan are both big-bodied, two way-forwards who will be able to provide secondary scoring.
Pavel Dorofeyev, meanwhile, is more of a flair player and he’s been described as a highly creative and offensively gifted forward.
He has good hockey smarts, a rapid release and sublime puck-handling skills, while he posted 17 goals and 14 assists for 31 points in just 19 games for Stalnye Lisy Magnitogorsk in the MHL.
What is remarkable is that the majority of the picks Vegas selected throughout the course of the weekend were ranked higher than where they were actually taken, which should give the front office plenty of encouragement.
You know the story by now, in pretty much every draft a diamond from the rough emerges and the Golden Knights will be hoping that at least a couple of their selections morph into NHL players.
Just look at Colton Parayko of the St. Louis Blues; he was a third-round pick but is now a Stanley Cup champion. If Ahac or Korczak can follow in the footsteps of Parayko, then the Golden Knights will be very happy indeed.
However, without doubt the biggest success of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft for Vegas was having Peyton Krebs fall in their laps.
Predicted by a plethora of experts to go inside the top ten, Krebs was still on the board when the Knights went on the clock with the No.17 pick and they were not going to pass up on such an opportunity.
Krebs is an elite playmaker with enormous potential and upside, and only a torn Achilles stopped him from being taken higher in the first round.
Ranked 10th in the final NHL Central Scouting Bureau rankings for North American skaters, Krebs is known for being a potent and consistent points producer and he registered 19 goals and 49 assists for 68 points in 64 games on a poor Kootenay Ice team in 2018-19.
He can create and score goals and he also excels in the defensive aspects of the game, boasting a high compete level.
Krebs is an absolute stud and could easily become a top-six forward for the Golden Knights within the next couple of years.
You need luck on your side sometimes and the hockey gods were certainly smiling down on the Knights who were able to stick where they were in the first round and still draft an elite talent.
All of Vegas’ 2019 draft picks, apart from Krebs due to his Achilles injury, are expected to be at Development Camp when it opens this week.
Next. William Karlsson close to signing extension. dark
All in all, the Vegas Golden Knights must be pleased with their draft haul this weekend after acquiring a high-end prospect in addition to bolstering their pipeline.
We will be covering the fallout of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft on Monday / Tuesday by grading Vegas’ draft, as well as producing a host of other draft-related reaction content.