Vegas Golden Knights: The 3 biggest needs to address via the Draft
It is a well-known fact that if you want to be successful in any of the major American sports, let alone the NHL, then drafting well is key and that’s the mission awaiting the Vegas Golden Knights this off-season.
Building through the draft in a hard-cap sport is key and it takes on even more importance for an expansion team such as the Vegas Golden Knights.
All in all, the Golden Knights haven’t done a bad job when it comes to building and then replenishing their pipeline.
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Of course, they have stripped their farm system of some considerable blue chip talent in order to widen their Stanley Cup window, most notably sending stud defenseman Erik Brannstrom to the Ottawa Senators as part of the blockbuster Mark Stone trade and center Nick Suzuki to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Max Pacioretty.
Trading away two high-end prospects in the ilk of Brannstrom and Suzuki isn’t normally the done thing, especially for an expansion team, but that is just testament to the sterling work done by the Golden Knights front office to craft a Stanley Cup contender so quickly.
And, despite giving up two blue chip prospects so early on, the Knights haven’t really been hurt by that.
After all, they have an absolute stud in forward Cody Glass who looks set for a bright career in the NHL despite a tough rookie year, while the likes of Peyton Krebs, Jack Dugan, Pavel Dorofeyev and Kaedan Korczak are all on the cusp of making the leap to the NHL.
However, there are some notable holes that need plugging in the Vegas farm system, and we looked at the three biggest needs the Golden Knights need to address at the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, whenever and however it may take place…
1. Goalie
It is no secret that the Vegas Golden Knights need a long-term heir to the throne to Marc-Andre Fleury.
It is also no secret that their biggest priority this off-season is to address the goalie position on the depth chart.
After all, and as we’ve covered extensively on the site, Robin Lehner is a pending UFA and is likely to leave meaning that the Golden Knights will need a new backup goalie.
Plus, minor-league goalies Oscar Dansk and Garret Sparks are both UFA’s in the summer, leaving Dylan Ferguson as the only other goalie on the roster besides Fleury.
Given that Ferguson is an AHL-level netminder, the Knights will likely need to explore free agency for a backup goalie, or they could make a run at Russian stud Alexei Melnichuk as we explored here.
But, when it comes to finding the future franchise goalie, the Golden Knights will need to attack the 2020 NHL Entry Draft for that.
And there’s some intriguing options.
Yaroslav Askarov is projected to potentially be the first goalie drafted inside the top 10 picks since Carey Price was selected at No. 5 overall by the Montreal Canadiens in 2005.
A true blue chip prospect, Askarov has all the intangibles needed to morph into an elite NHL starter and the Golden Knights would need to move up in the Draft in order to steal the Russian from a number of other teams.
Outside of that, any of the other goalie prospects may well be wildcards so don’t be surprised if the Knights make an ambitious move to try to move up in the First Round, as we projected here.
But there is no doubt that the Vegas Golden Knights are lacking talent between the pipes on the depth chart, so the 2020 NHL Entry Draft could be important in terms of rectifying that.
2. Right-Shot Defenseman
Despite giving up Erik Brannstrom as part of the package to get Mark Stone at the 2018 Trade Deadline, the Golden Knights boast a boatload of high-end defensive prospects.
From Nic Hauge to Zach Whitecloud to Kaedan Korczak, the future is bright for the Vegas blueline for the foreseeable.
However, there is a glaring weakness in that department that the Golden Knights should look to address at this year’s Draft.
On the current active roster, the Knights only have two right-shot defensemen in Zach Whitecloud and Deryk Engelland, with the latter expected to retire in the off-season.
Plus, when you consider those prospect blueliners on the cusp of making the leap to the NHL, only Korczak and Dylan Coghlan are right-shots.
As a result, the Golden Knights could do with drafting a high-end right-shot defenseman at the 2020 NHL Entry Draft should there be one available.
Currently projected to have the No. 24 overall pick, the Golden Knights could look to move up in order to take Jamie Drysdale, who is attracting a lot of buzz after putting up 47 points (nine goals, 38 assists) in 49 games for the Erie Otters in the OHL this year.
The likes of Braden Schneider and Justin Barron are both right-shot defensemen and both boast tremendous upside, and both would fill a big need for the Golden Knights as would Drysdale.
Given General Manager Kelly McCrimmon’s reputation for building a team from the blueline onwards, then it wouldn’t be surprising if they did take at least one defenseman and a right-shot stud would fill a big need.
3. Winger
As mentioned in a previous slide, the Golden Knights boast some tremendous forward talent in Peyton Krebs, Cody Glass, Jack Dugan, Pavel Dorofeyev and Ivan Morozov.
However, Glass, Krebs and Morozov are all centers and Vegas could do with injecting some fresh talent into their farm system when it comes to wingers.
Outside of the top six and Alex Tuch, the Golden Knights lack a real game-changing wing and this year’s Draft is rich in offensive talent.
As a result, General Manager Kelly McCrimmon could look to use his first-round pick on a high-end wing.
Jack Quinn could be a possibility although he may go before the Knights go on the clock with the No. 24 overall pick after recording 89 points (52 goals, 37 assists) in 62 games for the Ottawa 67’s in 2019-20.
Seth Jarvis of the Portland Winterhawks, and a former teammate of Glass, is another name to keep an eye on having amassed a whopping 98 points (42 goals, 56 assists) in the WHL this year.
There will be a boatload of wings with high ceilings available and, while they are not as valuable to a franchise as a center is, you still need talented wingers in order to be successful in the NHL.
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And, given some of the stud centers they have in the pipeline, the Golden Knights would be wise to give them some weapons by going out and bolstering the depth chart with a high-end wing at the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.
To finish, there isn’t a date for when the NHL 2020 Entry Draft will take place, or how, but reports suggests it could still happen in June and we will be ramping up our draft coverage in the coming weeks.