The 6th overall pick: a mock draft compilation

Mock drafts are an awesome way to pass the time while we wait for the real thing to actually come. After all, there are only so many times you yourself can speculate on just who your favourite team will pick – why not read what others have to say about it?

Hence, the mock draft. They don’t necessarily mean anything; even the most insightful, well-researched ones can be derailed at a moment’s notice simply because the NHL can be unpredictable.

But boy, if they aren’t fun. So to that end, here’s a gathering of mock drafts – and more specifically, here’s who they have the Calgary Flames taking at sixth overall.

Keep in mind these are mock drafts, not rankings – hence the lack of inclusion of Bob McKenzie, who has Olli Juolevi at sixth, but not necessarily as the player the Flames will take at sixth. (The Hockey News also has Juolevi at sixth, for the record.)

Some of these mocks are older than others, but we all knew the Flames would be picking sixth overall by the time they were done. Alexander Nylander is the most common choice, while there are a fair number of people who believe one of Matthew Tkachuk or Pierre-Luc Dubois will slip to sixth – and if they do, the Flames are taking them.

If the Flames take a defenceman, Juolevi seems to be the consensus pick, although a couple of votes for Mikhail Sergachev arise.

Logan Brown gets some love as well, although to be honest, it seems to be mostly from authors who have not yet grasped that Brad Treliving is the GM, not Brian Burke. In contrast, Clayton Keller gets but one lonely vote.

Assuming the Flames stay at sixth overall, none of these would surprise me. Tkachuk and Dubois depend on just what Edmonton and Vancouver do, while Nylander should be a given to still be there. But should the Flames step away from one of the non-Matthews/Finnish forwards, a fair number of people believe it will be for Juolevi as the first defenceman taken this draft.

We’ll have Christian Roatis’ own highly detailed mock draft up later today – keep an eye out for it!