It has been a while since the NHL Entry Draft, but it’s still August, there’s nothing else for me to do, and I have a passion for fashion. And as we all know, the draft is a feast for the eyes, a tantalizing bouquet of deliciously cheap ties and ill-fitting suits. If you missed it for some reason, don’t worry. Every first-round draft pick’s outfit has been screencapped, reviewed and graded, just for you! God, I love the draft. Let us talk about how watchable the experience was, all those months ago.

Winnipeg Jets

The Jets had two whole first round draft picks, and personally, I had a lot of hope for Patrik Laine. He has something flashy going on, and also just does not seem care what he looks like. I can respect this. Anyway, this is what he came up with:

Let’s unpack this look. The hot pink tie is exactly the kind of edgy, just-barely-not-a-fashion-crime I was holding out for. He messes it up with the shirt and suit, though, which are just the usual Canadian Boy kind of ugly, in that it does not fit well and for some obscure reason is coupled with a brown belt. He does get bonus points for the matching pink pocket square. I just wish he would have been a little more consistent with that brand of fun ugly.

With the #18th overall draft pick, the Jets selected Very Tall Logan Stanley. I’m cutting him some slack because he’s tall, and it must be hard to find clothes that fit every day when you’re 6’7’’, but he managed to find some! He probably has to get everything fitted anyway! That’s a lot of money Logan Stanley invests in fashion! I like him already.

Weird ties are for men of all heights.

Seriously though, think about the thought process here. Logan Stanley opened his closet on one of the biggest days of his life and decided to wear this exact tie? What is that pattern? Why? Is this the only blue tie he owns and was he just so committed to the colour scheme that he had to? That’s the only explanation that would satisfy me, and even then, he could have just not owned that tie. That would probably be the ideal.

Grade: C

Washington Capitals

The Caps drafted #28th, and with that pick they selected Lucas Johansen. A draft fashion veteran, the pressure was on for young Lucas. Here he is in 2010 at brother Ryan’s draft, rocking that polo.

Casual chic. Love it.

2016 Lucas is a little older, a little wiser, and a little more chic than casual.

There is not a lot going on, but there’s nothing wrong with playing it safe on a day like this. You never know what the style’s going to be like in 30 years, and Lucas can probably look back on this at any time in his life and not cringe. Timeless, plus he gets points for at least trying to be cute with the tie. He did go with the brown belt on black pants. That’s timeless in Canada, though.

Grade: B

Vancouver Canucks

The Canucks had one first round draft pick, which they used on defenseman Olli Juolevi. It proved to be too much responsibility for young Olli to shoulder on his own.

I don’t want to be harsh, but this is so boring. The fit isn’t even that bad, but the light blue tie just put me to sleep so fast, I didn’t even see the rest of the outfit. This is yet another slap in the face of Canucks fans. Tragic. I’m sure Olli is a very nice boy, but this is disappointing. He almost got bonus points for wearing a black belt on the black pants, but then I remembered that I redacted points from all the others for not doing that, and I’m not giving points for common sense.

Grade: C-

Toronto Maple Leafs

The Maple Leafs were a high profile team this year, winning the first overall pick and thus securing themselves of Auston Matthews. All eyes were on him to deliver the most cutting-edge look of the night. He was their only first round draft pick, so on top of all the attention, he had to carry the entire Leafs’ fashion burden by himself.

Okay, hear me out here. I don’t hate it. Yes, there’s a lot of black, but it’s well done. The suit has a subtle little pattern, or some kind of texture, which gives it a little bit of shine without looking cheap. That and the slightly wide tie is reaching an impressive level of sophistication.

But Auston wasn’t finished with us just yet.

And this is why there’s only one #1st overall. That jacket lining is so much fun! He just doesn’t need to flaunt it. Absolute class.

Those America socks under that Toronto jersey are hilarious, and that’s an absolutely deliberate joke. Hold that one finger high up in the air, boy. If he continues on this path of surprisingly fun fashion, he’s gonna be a number one in my books for many years to come.

Grade: A+

Tampa Bay Lightning

The Bolts used their #27th overall pick on centre Brett Howden. He was a joy.

This tie is ready to party. There is nothing you can say about this tie except that it is an incredibly solid choice. That right there is pink, red and green all in one, and I don’t mind it one bit. Good stuff. Howden also continued the trend Auston started, with some killer jacket lining. Here you can see his mom holding that jacket up lovingly so we can feast our eyes.

Thanks, Mrs. Howden. You’re real.

Grade: A-

San Jose Sharks

The Sharks traded their first round pick to the Bruins for Martin Jones. The Bruins used that pick on Trent Frederic, who likes patterns. More on him later.

St. Louis Blues

The Blues traded up to select Tage Thompson with the #26th overall pick, so they clearly expected a lot from him. Luckily for them and their fans, they could not have been more right.

I am trying to find words to describe how good this is. First of all, this is a three piece. Second of all, it’s grey. Third of all, THIS IS A THREE PIECE. The tie would be boring if it weren’t a THREE PIECE, but Thompson knows that he doesn’t need even more to wow the crowds and goes for a classic red. He didn’t overdo it, and that’s something we shouldn’t forget to give credit for.

A brown belt on light grey is allowed, even though it’s a little informal, but what’s really great about Tage’s is that it matches his tie. Fall colours. This man made no mistakes.

Grade: A+

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins lost their first round pick in the Phil Kessel trade to the Maple Leafs, who in turn traded the pick to the Ducks. The Ducks then used that pick to select Sam Steel. The Pens missed out on draft fashion, but then again, they got the cutest accessory of all. (It’s Phil Kessel.)

Philadelphia Flyers

The Flyers used their first round pick on German Rubtsov. This is how he showed up to the party.

That’s very adequate. It fits. There’s a blue tie. It has dots on it. Yes, it’s a little boring and yes, the pants are a little too long (not pictured), but German gives himself a lot of room to grow. He’s a young player with still a lot to learn, and you don’t want to peak early. Good job by German to play it safe.

Honorable mention: Ron Hextall did not play it safe, and absolutely killed it.

Grade: B-

Ottawa Senators

The Senators drafted #11 overall, and used that pick on centre Logan Brown. He did very well.

He looks sharp! He didn’t go all out, it’s another dark blue suit and another tie with dots, but I guess Logan is a smart hockey player, and knows not to change a winning formula. He did get it fitted, as we can see in this image of him and fellow first rounder Jakob Chychrun.

To me, the most important thing about fashion is that you care, that it has an idea. Even if that idea is a bad one, at least you’ve thought about it. That’s what I want to see, and Logan is the shining example of this. He carries this look from good to great, just by a little love and attention.

Grade: A-

New York Rangers

The Rangers traded their first round draft pick in a trade that also cost them Anthony Duclair because they clearly couldn’t care less about fashion!!!

Look at all the fun you’re missing out on, Rangers fans 😦

Grade: A(nthony Duclair)

New York Islanders

The Islanders, historically the better version of the Rangers, did retain their first round pick. They used it wisely.

This is Kieffer Bellows, and I’m his biggest fan. This look is so much fun – just look at that tie! As was a big trend, Kieffer is also wearing a dark blue suit, which is a really smart thing hockeyers do so they can wear their beloved brown belts and/or shoes without committing obvious fashion crimes. And, as was all the rage this year, he got creative with suit jacket lining.

Look at him struggle with that thing. It’s like he just does not want to let go. The love and dedication to his clothes he shows touches and inspires me.

Grade: A

New Jersey Devils

The Devils used the #12 overall pick on Michael McLeod.

Oh man. No knock on Mike here, because the midnight blue can’t go wrong, but I don’t know what else to write about it! I’ve seen this suit what feels like a hundred times, but the truth is, we’re not even halfway down this review and I don’t know what else to tell you. Michael used the brown shoes/blue suit combo and has a very generic pocket square. Thankfully, he sets himself apart with that tie.

I love this tie. This tie is old-school. It uses Windows 95. This is a very successful way of using vintage to your advantage, especially in a world full of white boys in blue suits.

Grade: B+

Nashville Predators

The Preds drafted #17 overall, and they drafted a breath of fresh air.

This is Dante Fabbro. He went for a very checkered look, and an icy colour scheme. The light blues and the greys make for something very polar chic. Dante is from Canada, so maybe he wanted to do something thematically around the winter his country is known for, or maybe, and this just occurred to me now, it’s because of the ice he plays the sport he loves on. Who knows, but I love how different and thought-out this look is.

But Dante, like the fashionable Canadian he is, had a surprise for everyone.

What is going on in there?!? That’s a whole world in there. Are those patches??? Does he love travelling and did he use those stickers you normally stick on your suitcase? Is this how he wanted to ensure that we would keep thinking about this outfit for the rest of our days in wonder and curiosity? It totally worked in my case. I’ll never forget you, patch boy.

Grade: A+

Montréal Canadiens

Habs fans had a horror summer, and I sincerely hope their draft pick, defenseman Mikhail Sergachev, can alleviate their suffering somewhat.

Ah well. Hope springs eternal.

It’s not Mikhail’s fault, but man, is that suit dark blue. His tie is a lighter blue, which is all super fine. He looks good, but would it kill these boys to get a little bit more creative? Mikhail didn’t have to look far for a positive example, because THIS is what Marc Bergevin looked like.

I shed real tiny tears over how beautiful he looks. Marc is a snake, but he is a well-dressed one. Those pants are lilac. It’s great to see a lot of these GMs evolve as leaders in fashion, because as we all know, representation matters, and it’s no different with style. General managers like Bergevin are teaching all you young players out there a valuable lesson: You will get far in this world wearing something memorable.

Grade: B+

Minnesota Wild

The Wild owned the #15 overall pick, and they used it on Luke Kunin.

He was riveting in grey and black. After this long I’m just happy I don’t have to come up with a new way of saying a blue suit is fine, so I love the grey. Still, let’s be honest to ourselves and Luke, this isn’t anything special. Also, what’s the deal with wearing a black tie and then thinking it’s okay to pair that with a brown belt and shoes!

I know I’m repeating myself, but at this point I’m wondering if everyone but me is living in some parallel universe in which that combination isn’t weird.

Grade: C

LA Kings

The Kings lost their draft pick to Carolina in the Sekera trade , who held onto it and drafted twice in the first round. More on them later, because they did fantastic. The Kings did absolutely nothing!

Florida Panthers

The Panthers used their first round pick on Henrik Borgstrom, who went undrafted in 2015. It was a surprise to many, as was his outfit.

I think he had a jacket on a some point, but maybe he was sweaty or something. Very human. He’s wearing a pretty fun dark blue tie (oxymoron), and he keeps it classy with the tie bar. All very satisfactory.

It was a grey jacket apparently. I love that Henrik makes us work for it, keeps it a little mysterious. He makes sure you keep thinking about him for a long time afterwards, wondering what in the world happened to that jacket if the man from the NHL who meets the brand new draft picks at the bottom of the stairs every time doesn’t have it in his possession. That’s what you really want as a burgeoning NHL talent, to have something people remember you for (even if it is mostly wild confusion).

Grade: B+

Edmonton Oilers

The Oilers were once again high up in the draft, and used their #4 overall pick on Jesse Puljujärvi. Once again, I expected something Finnish, like Laine’s hot pink or Juolevi’s bad and boring blue, but instead, Jesse showed us why preconceptions are harmful and wrong.

This is classy! It’s sleek, dark and sophisticated. I love the skinny tie, which upon further inspection turns out to a checkered dark blue.

I don’t exactly know how I feel about that. I wish he had gone either full black, or maybe went a little more adventurous with his one color, but beggars can’t be choosers and Jesse did not look bad at all.

Grade: A-

Detroit Red Wings

Detroit got their hands on defenseman Dennis Cholowski with the #20 overall pick. Let’s check him out.

Listen, I was going to make fun of him, because this is really boring in the worst way, but then something happened. The people behind him you see in the first picture hugging each other? That’s his family. And they were so happy for him, it made me realize something. Sure, we all know the draft revolves around how the prospects look. It’s an endless parade of suits, and why would that be televised if the point wasn’t for us to enjoy and savor it? But I guess moments like these are important too. There is a person behind that dark blue cloth and light brown belt. It would be so beautiful if the world were a little less shallow, and we could see men like the people they are underneath the suits they’re wearing. Just something to think about.

Grading Is Inherently Problematic

Dallas Stars

The Dallas Stars had the #25 overall pick. With it, they selected Riley Tufte, who is an enigma.

First of all, as we can immediately see, he is one of the first to button his suit. Now, suit etiquette prescribes buttoning a suit jacket while standing and unbuttoning it once seated. All the hugging going on right after a prospect is drafted is a mitigating factor to me, because it’s probably really awkward hugging with your suit buttoned. Riley doesn’t care. Not at any point does he unbutton his suit, and it’s not out of proper etiquette either, because he never unbuttoned it while sitting either. Why?

Then, when he had taken off the jacket and mounted the podium, we could see this mess happening at the back. What is going on there? Why did he not tuck in his shirt? The entire thing just spoke of an awkwardness and unfamiliarity with formal wear that really moved me. Objectively, terrible; subjectively, beautiful and touching.

Grade: B

Columbus Blue Jackets

The Blue Jackets used their first round pick on Pierre-Luc Dubois. Now, this is a Blue Jackets blog, but I promise to be completely impartial when I give him an A+.

He wore pink and grey, a cool palette that set him apart from his peers in the best way. This is such a wonderful way for Pierre-Luc to go off the beaten track. The tie matches the shirt perfectly, with it being the exact same color, but patterned. He also used some cool suit lining to further establish his love of pink and fashion-savvy.

What a great trend. It’s like unpacking a gift every single time. Pierre-Luc did a great job, so it’s no wonder the Jackets went a little off the board to take him. You don’t want to miss out on someone with such a wealth of fashion potential.

Grade: A+

Colorado Avalanche

The Avalanche selected Tyson Jost #10 overall.

What a great twist on the classic dark blue suit. Nothing could make me happier than two consecutive pink wearers, so I just want to thank Tyson from the bottom of my heart. What’s great about pink is that it’s arbitrarily associated with femininity, which is why any man wearing it means one of two things: either they’re woke and understand the concept of toxic masculinity, or they just don’t care and have accepted that pink is a very pretty color. Either way, it inspires a lot of trust in me.

Grade: A

Carolina Hurricanes

Carolina had two draft picks in the 2016 draft, the #13 and #21. Let’s do this one by one, because there’s a lot to talk about.

First, the Canes selected defenseman Jake Bean. He rocked the charcoal.

He spent a lot of time hugging people or shaking their hands, which is why I couldn’t get really good photographic evidence of this, but this suit fitted him so well! Again, I love it when they invest in fashion, whether it is time, thought, love or money they’re investing, I don’t care. Since Jake seemed so knowledgeable in the fashion-field, I was sure he had some enjoyable jacket lining waiting for us, which there would have been, if Sportsnet hadn’t robbed us.

What kind of angle is this? I can distinctly see two camera’s right there filming him and this one is the one they went with? Who is producing this? I can catch a faint glimpse of something golden or at least mustard in there and I’m flat-out being denied my rights to fully appreciate it? Me, Jake, and all of Canada deserved better.

Thank God that Michael Smith, web producer for the Canes, came through for us in a different, but equally big way.

Love it.

From the fantastic Jake Bean, we move on to Carolina’s other pick, which they used on Julien Gauthier. He was a different kind of fantastic. He was something I would sooner call spectacular.

From the pastels to the patterns, this hit all my buttons. The light blue and lilac make him look so soft! Again, Sportsnet wasn’t on our (or the Canes’) side, and they only showed us a tiny little glimpse of his jacket lining, before cutting away to shots of his family.

But I saw enough to fall in love with. An exciting floral lined his jacket, and I’ll be honest, when my day comes, I wouldn’t mind my casket being lined with it too.

Anyway,

Grade: A++

Calgary Flames

With the #6 overall pick, the Flames selected Matthew Tkachuk. For such a high pick, he was distinctly average.

Let’s focus on this tie. I think Matthew and tall Jets pick Logan Stanley share the same style advisor, or at least share the same questionable taste.

As we can see, both tried to match the tie, with either their shirt (Stanley) or their pocket square (Tkachuk). I like that they’re both thinking about their palette, but Tkachuk got away with it better. Coloring the shirt is something you should be careful with, and unless you do it right (see: Pierre-Luc Dubois), it’s usually a no-go. I don’t love the color of the pocket square on Tkachuk either, but at least his shirt is crispy white. He saved his look from something worse. I think.

Grade: C+

Buffalo Sabres

The Sabres selected Alexander Nylander at #8. He’s from what is called ‘a hockey family,’ so I knew to keep my expectations low.

The idea behind this isn’t bad. It’s a little boring, yes, but not bad. I wish he would’ve worn a white shirt, or at least a fun tie, but okay. So far, so acceptable. Where Alex goes wrong, to me, is the fit. It all looks just a little bit too big on him, and especially the tie is too broad for something so dull. We don’t need to see more of that.

Grade: C

Boston Bruins

The Bruins boasted two first round picks this year. Let’s start with their #14 overall, Charles McAvoy.

What is great about this look is that Charlie chose to really take the brown and blue color combo and run with it. While the suit is not a huge surprise, the tie is refreshingly creative. I don’t know if I love this exact brown, but it’s such a daring pick I don’t even care. McAvoy doesn’t follow trends, he sets them.

Next up, the Bruins drafted Trent Frederic #29 overall. He really loves patterns.

This pattern blocking is next level. He did the dots and the crosshatches and it looks like he had a lot of fun with it! His entire family was totally in on this patterned theme, by the way, which was great.

This looks like a very merry family! Matching outfits can be very cringey, but they did an awesome job in sticking to the theme without overdoing it. I guess you could say they stuck to the pattern.

Grade: A

Arizona Coyotes

The Coyotes had two draft picks, which they used on Clayton Keller and Jakob Chychrun. The Yotes are emerging as a very fashionable team, a trend that they continued this draft.

Clayton Keller did a great job in black, letting us know immediately and explicitly he is not boring, by wearing a dotted magenta tie and a pocket square in bold blue.

It’s a really wonderful choice, and the colorblocking Clayton displays is something we haven’t seen a lot of in this draft. Kudos to Clayton for not only that, but also for choosing to keep it simple with the rest of the look. He could have really overdone this, but instead he did exactly enough.

The Coyotes then traded up to the #16 pick to select Jakob Chychrun. In one of the biggest mysteries of this draft, a lot of teams passed on Chychrun, a defenseman with an exceptional fashion sense. Look at him!

The attention and excitement with which he approaches his suit is unparalleled. And on top of that, this outfit is just plain great. It’s fitted, it’s a piercing blue, and he matched it with a burgundy tie. This kid is a visionary. What a steal by the Coyotes.

Grade: A+

Anaheim Ducks

The Ducks also owned two draft picks, namely the #24 and #30 overall. They kicked off their show by drafting Max Jones.

I didn’t immediately fall in love with this, but the tie is cool, and the pin-striped shirt is a solid choice, too. The thing about Max’s look was that he was hiding a whole lot under there.

The good thing is, Max tried. The bad thing is, he did too much. I love the suspenders and the lining, and those look great together with the blue suit. But why did he go with this tie? He would’ve been better off with a red or cobalt blue to match his lining. He didn’t need another whole new pattern- and color scheme! A shame, because there’s a lot of potential here. At least Max is not afraid to experiment.

Last but definitely not least, with the #30 pick in the 2016 draft, the Ducks selected Sam Steel. He knocked it out the park.

He showed up in dark green, a super creative and beautiful choice. It’s very subtle, and stylishly paired with a simple black tie, but Sam knows one innovative choice is enough. He polished it all off with some elegant suit lining.

What a great fitting suit, and what a cool color to match Ducks-orange. A high note to end on.

Grade: A-

And there you have it, a final and accurate grading of how every team did in this year’s televised entry draft. From winners like Carolina and St. Louis, to losers like teams who didn’t even draft, I had a ton of fun watching teenagers struggle with formal wear. I sincerely wish them all the best in their future suit-wearing endeavours, and hope they all develop into true fashion icons. Next year, there will be 31 (!) new prospects vying for the best dressed title, and I, for one, am already pumped to see what they can come up with. See you then!

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