2016 Mock NHL Draft: Buffalo Sabres Pick Up Sergachev

30. Assuming the Leafs go with Matthews, you’ve got to think that the Jets pick up Patrik Laine with the second-overall selection in the 2016 NHL Draft. Laine is a strong, offensively-talented right winger that would look great on the Jets’ roster for years to come.. RW. Tappara (SM-Liiga). Patrik Laine . 2. player

player. 148. Alex Nylander’s flexibility in playing both left wing and right wing would bring a great opportunity to the Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers could pick up the Mississauga winger, let him continue to develop for a few more years, and then bring him in alongside guys like McDavid, Hall, Eberle and co.. LW/RW. Mississauga (OHL). Alexander Nylander . 4

Jakob Chychrun . 5. player. 104. Chychrun is an American-born Canadian, and he’s shown off his skills with Sarnia in the OHL lately. He was an A-rated skater by NHL Central Scouting in September and could develop nicely in the Canucks organization.. D. Sarnia (OHL)

112. There’s a chance that Tkachuk is already gone by the sixth pick, considering he’s ranked second in North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting, but if he is still available, he’d be a great pick for any team. He’s proven himself to be a mutl-dimensional winger and excellent skater, and of course, you can’t ignore the familial hockey bloodline with <strong><a href=. LW. London (OHL). Matthew Tkachuk . 6. player

Olli Juolevi . 7. player. 121. Some scouts say that Juolevi will go higher than Chychrun, but I’ve got him going seventh to the Coyotes in the 2016 NHL Draft. He’s impressed scouts with his play in various international tournaments, and some have compared him to Pittsburgh’s <strong><a href=. D. London (OHL)

Mikhail Sergachev . 8. player. 12. The Buffalo Sabres will have some options with the eighth-overall selection, but assuming the picks go as they have so far in this mock draft, Mikhail Sergachev would be a great pickup. The Windsor defenseman will turn 18 right around the time of the draft and is a young one, having just finished his first year playing in North America. If the Sabres take a chance on him, he could take a few years to develop but could be a difference-maker.. D. Windsor (OHL)

9. player. 152. The first QMJHLer to get picked in this year’s NHL Draft could be Dubois. The 17-year-old will turn 18 just before the draft and just finished his second season in the Q, where he put up an incredible 99 points (42-57) in just 62 regular-season games. Cape Breton’s star player is a great two-way forward and dynamic scorer who is difficult to play against.. LW. C. Breton (QMJHL). Pierre-Luc Dubois

103. McLeod has spent most of his young career up until this point playing in the Toronto area, with the Toronto Marlboros or the Mississauga Steelheads. Getting picked up by the Avs would be a location change for him (and a pretty big one at that), but he’s a highly-skilled center with great puckhandling ability and speed that could be valuable to the Colorado organization.. C. Mississauga (OHL). Michael McLeod . 10. player

Jake Bean . 11. player. 85. Bean, 17, just finished his second season in the WHL with the Calgary Hitmen. One thing that makes him stand out: his offensive abilities. The defenseman put up 64 points (24-40) in 68 regular-season games this season. But that’s not the only facet to Bean’s game; he also plays strong defensively, making him a solid pick in the 2016 NHL Draft.. D. Calgary (WHL)

91. Jones, a native of Rochester, Minnesota, just completed his first season in the Ontario Hockey League with the league champion London Knights. Jones put up 52 points (28-24) in 63 regular season games. He’s previously played for the USNTDP and is considered a hard-working power forward who makes smart decisions and knows how to finish a play.. LW. London (OHL). Max Jones . 12. player

player. 109. Clayton Keller would become the latest in a stretch of USA NTDP players to join the Hurricanes’ program. <strong><a href=. C. USA NTDP (USHL). Clayton Keller . 13

LW. USA NTDP (USHL). Kieffer Bellows . 14. player. 70. Bellows would join several US NTDP prospects in the Bruins system, including Ryan Donato (U18, 2013-14) and of course, <strong><a href=

The Wild already have a lot of center prospects, but Jost would be a good pick-up for down the line. The St. Albert, Alberta native is ranked 16th among North American skaters heading into the draft and just finsihed up another season with the Penticton Vees, a team he captained. He also captained Canada’s U18 team. Next year, he’s headed to the University of North Dakota.. C. Penticton (BCHL). Tyson Jost . 15. player. 98

player. 151. The Predators are certainly not lacking on center prospects, but right-wingers are farther and fewer in between. The Pointe-aux-Trembles native is ranked 12th overall by Central Scouting, and as low as 21 by ISS Hockey, so being picked up here makes perfect sense. Gauther is “an explosive power forward” whose drawn comparisons to <strong><a href=. RW. Val d'Or (QMJHL). Julien Gauthier . 17

Rasmus Asplund . 18. player. 68. Asplund, an 18-year-old Swede, was ranked fourth among European skaters by Central Scouting. He’s not huge, coming in around 5-11, but could be a good centerman for the Flyers prospect pool. He’s already spent the past two seasons with Farjestad BK in the SHL and will join them for another season in the fall.. C. Farjestad (SHL)

Libor Hajek . 19. player. 23. Per the Lightning’s prospect page, they’re a little low on defensive prospects, so picking up a defender here makes perfect sense. The Czech-born Hajek was ranked 31st by Central Scoutning but could be a great pick-up for Tampa Bay with this selection. He just finished his first season in North America with Saskatoon of the WHL and has plenty of room to grow.. D. Saskatoon (WHL)

player. 121. Fabbro is another young player who will turn 18 just mere days before the 2016 NHL Draft. The New Westminster native is ranked 18th overall among North-American skaters, so the Coyotes picking him up here is spot-on. EliteProspects calls him a dependable two-way defenseman, “mobile at an elite level” and overall, “a complete defenseman.”. D. Penticton (BCHL). Dante Fabbro . 20

Alex DeBrincat . 21. player. 109. DeBrincat’s ability to play both center and right-wing help balance the fact that he’ll never be the biggest player on a team. The Hurricanes are severely lacking in right-wingers at this point, and though DeBrincat wouldn’t likely be with the NHL club just yet, he could be a strong piece down the line. And hello – another American!. C/RW. Erie (OHL)

If the Jets take Laine at the second-overall pick, they could follow up by taking Dillon Dube with the 22nd overall selection. The Golden, BC native is just 17 – he’ll turn 18 a few short days before the draft – and is ranked 41st by Central Scouting, so this could be a big jump up for him. But why not take the risk on a guy who averaged more than a point-per-game this season after racking up just 27 points in the year prior?. LW. Kelowna (WHL). Dillon Dube . 22. player. 30

Kunin had 19 points last season with Wisconsin playing NCAA hockey. His ability to play both center and wing makes him a more flexible player. The Bruins have a wealth of centers in their prospect pool at this point, including <strong><a href=. C/RW. Wisconsin (NCAA). Luke Kunin . 23. player. 70

player. 106. As it stands right now, the Isles have just two right-winger prospects in the system: Kirill Petrov and <strong><a href=. RW. Mississauga (OHL). Nathan Bastian . 24

Erie (OHL). Taylor Raddysh . 25. player. 87. Raddysh has typically been regarded as a second-round pick, probably high second-round, but there’s a chance the Panthers would go for him with the 25th overall selection. The 18-year-old really grew into himself this season with the OHL’s Erie Otters, exploding for a 73-point season (upgrading from just 27 points in the season prior.) His draft year was huge and it could pay off with a first-round selection.. RW

105. Grundstrom could join fellow Swedes Marcus Pettersson and Jacob Larsson as prospects in the Ducks organization. He appeared in this past year’s World Junior Championships and played for MODO Hockey in the SHL this past season. Grundstrom is set to join Frolunda HC in the coming year.. RW. Modo (SHL). Carl Grundstrom . 26. player

99. The Blues have a lot of winger prospects, but not nearly as many centermen. Calgary native Howden is young, having just turned 18 this past March, but just finished his second season in the WHL. He won bronze at the U18 WJCs and also won gold at <strong><a href=. C. Moose Jaw (WHL). Brett Howden . 28. player

player. 119. Gustavsson is the top-ranked European goaltender heading into the 2016 NHL draft, and he could possibly be the first netminder picked this year. He’s played previously for Sweden in the World Hockey Challenge and the U-18 World Juniro Championships, as well as the Ivan Hlinka Memorial. The Stars already have a wealth of goaltending prospects, including Brent Moran, Markus Ruusu and Henri Kiviaho, but Gustavsson could join that list.. G. Luleå (SWE-J20). Filip Gustavsson . 29

Riley Tufte . 30. player. 19. Tufte ends up being the only high-school player to make this mock NHL draft, but he’d be a good fit for the Capitals at #30. He’s spent time with the US National U17 team in the past and is headed to the University of Minnesota-Duluth in the fall to play NCAA hockey.. LW. Blaine (USHSW)