NHL Draft 2019: Grading each Vegas Golden Knights pick

The 2019 NHL Entry Draft is now firmly in the books and those prospects selected by the Vegas Golden Knights will now get the chance to impress in Development Camp, which gets underway today.

It was a productive weekend for the Vegas Golden Knights who bolstered their pipeline with eight fresh faces, including elite playmaker Peyton Krebs who was selected with the No.17 overall pick.

They addressed a number of needs across the two days of the draft in Vancouver, selecting a goalie, two stay-at-home defensemen and five forwards.

With the farm system looking a little light in certain areas, Vegas had to fill it with a slew of prospects and it was certainly mission accomplished from that point of view.

Let’s not forget either, the Golden Knights are also very good at drafting as backed up by the fact that their AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, made a run all the way to the Calder Cup Finals this year, only to lose out to the Charlotte Checkers.

Their 2017 draft in particular was a strong one and it could be known as the year of Cody Glass and Nic Hague with both players looking to be on the cusp of making the leap to the NHL and having the potential to go on and be very good, if not great players in the majors.

But what about the class of 2019? Just how good will the likes of Peyton Krebs, Isaiah Saville, Kaedan Korczak and Marcus Kallionkieli go on to be?

There is obviously no easy answer to that question and we won’t know until at least a few years down the line if any of the players drafted at the weekend turn out to be hidden gems.

However, what we can do right now is grade all eight of the picks made by the Vegas Golden Knights at the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.

We’ll start with the 17th overall pick and work our way through each of the five rounds the Golden Knights had selections in…

Pick No. 17:

The 2019 NHL Entry Draft got off to the best possible start for the Vegas Golden Knights who were able to steal Peyton Krebs with the 17th overall pick.

Projected by most experts to inside the top ten, and tipped to go ninth overall on our Mock Draft, Krebs was one of many offensive gems to slip down the board during a crazy first round.

Why’s that you ask? It’s simple. Krebs suffered a slight torn Achilles a month ago during workouts and that is believed to have put a host of teams off due to the stigma surrounding that particular injury.

However, people close to Krebs and he himself has insisted that he will make a full recovery and, once he does, the Golden Knights will be getting themselves a hell of a player.

Krebs, who was ranked 10th in the final NHL Central Scouting Bureau rankings for North American Skaters, is a potent and consistent points producer who tallied 19 goals and 49 assists for 68 points in 64 games on a poor Kootenay Ice team in the WHL last year.

He slots in just behind Cody Glass as the Golden Knights’ best young prospect and he’s an elite playmaker who possesses a high compete level, good hockey smarts, leadership skills and he was also regarded as one of the best passers in this year’s draft.

He’s also a two-way forward who can play a 200-foot game and who can excel in the defensive zone and in a number of key situations.

All in all, Krebs could well turn out to be the steal of this year’s draft and don’t be surprised to see him make the leap to the NHL this year or in 2020.

Grade: A+

Pick No. 41:

Vegas traded two picks to the San Jose Sharks in order to move up in the second round and select Kaedan Korczak with the 41st overall pick.

Looking to address needs on the second day of the draft, the Golden Knights front office decided that they needed a big body on the blueline and they got that with Korczak.

Standing at 6’3″ and 193 lb, Korczak is a rough and rugged shutdown defenseman who won’t put up a load offensively, but he will give other teams’ top lines a tough time.

He could be a valuable weapon on the blueline and, after one or two years in the AHL, don’t be surprised if Korczak develops into a solid top six blueliner.

Grade: B+

Vegas used their final three picks of the draft in the fifth round, where they achieved their mission of re-stocking their farm system and addressing a number of key needs.

Pick No. 135:

Isaiah Saville was ranked as high as #67 by McKeen’s Hockey and you can see why after he posted impressive numbers of a 1.90 GAA and a .925 SV% for Tri-City Storm in 2018-19.

He has been praised for his lateral movement from post to post and, given that the cupboard is bare when it comes to goalie prospects, Saville could find himself on a fast-track to the NHL if he lives up to his potential.

Grade C+

Pick No. 139:

A skilled forward of Brazilian and Finnish heritage, Marcus Kallionkieli formed one of the most potent lines in the USHL alongside Bobby Brink and Martin Pospisil.

Kallionkieli totalled 29 goals and 24 assists for 53 points in 58 games for the Sioux City Musketeers this year, and he’s certainly got plenty of upside. You can never have too much of a good thing and the forward can both create and score goals, which is a big plus for the Golden Knights.

Grade C

Pick No. 141:

The Golden Knights’ final pick of the draft, Mason Primeau is another big-bodied forward who can be used on the penalty kill and in other big-time situations.

He comes from good lineage with his dad, Wayne, and uncle, Keith, both having enjoyed long careers in the NHL.

Mason will be hoping to follow in their footsteps and, at 6’5″ and 203 lb, he’s certainly got the power to match and is only going to continue to grow.

He has the potential to become a power-forward and he can produce, having registered 10 goals and 16 assists for 26 points for the North Bay Battalion.

He has a long way to go yet and will need to hone his craft in the AHL, but there’s no reason to suggest that Primeau can’t develop into a bottom-six two-way forward.

Grade C+

That was it for the 2019 NHL Entry Draft with the Vegas Golden Knights addressing a number of needs with their eight picks, as well as gaining a potential elite stud in Peyton Krebs.

We will continue to wrap up our coverage from the draft over the coming days, including taking a deeper look at what Krebs could turn into for the Golden Knights.