2016 NHL Mock Draft 4.5: Rounds 1-7 With Prospect Information/Analysis

Looking for the latest version of our mock draft? NHL Mock Draft 5.5 (released May 20th) is linked here.

With the April 30th Draft Lottery now concluded, the draft order is set (pending any draft day movement/Stanley Cup winner). Folks in Leafs Nation are grinning ear-to-ear after learning their team will select first overall. Sliding into second will be the Winnipeg Jets, followed by the Columbus Blue Jackets picking third.

It seems the hockey gods were not going to allow the Edmonton Oilers to be rewarded once again for failure. Instead they drop down to fourth, which is a perfect spot to pick a franchise player addressing a major need (unless they trade it, which rumors are suggesting).

This year’s draft class is particularly deep, similar to last year. There are also several talented leftover 19-20 year old’s that were passed over in 2015. Teams should be busy signing free agents, offering try-out invites following the draft.

2016 NHL Mock Draft order is determined by NHL final regular season standings. It’s also important to remember that more movement of picks is expected on draft day.

Draft pick ownership information was gathered through www.generalfanager.com – it’s worth noting that several conditional trades are still in place, or options for picks to be sent in 2016 or 2017. We will include those picks as they are confirmed.

via NHL Hockey Operations,

Entry Draft Order

The order of selection among the Member Clubs in each season shall be determined in the following manner:

A composite of all Member Clubs shall be prepared by placing:

i) First the Clubs which failed to qualify for the preceding playoffs in the order of points earned by each of them in the regular schedule of the preceding season starting with the Club having the lowest points total and followed by the Club having the next lowest points total, and so forth.



ii) The Clubs which participated in the preceding playoffs (but had not been ranked first in their respective Divisions and had not won the Stanley Cup that season) in order of points earned by each of them in the regular schedule of the preceding season starting with the Club having the lowest total points and followed by the Club having the next lowest total points, and so forth.



iii) The Clubs which had been ranked first in their Divisions during the next preceding season (but had not won the Stanley Cup that season) in the order of points earned by each of them in the regular schedule of the preceding season starting with the Club having the lowest total points and followed by the Club having the next lowest total points, and so forth.



iv) The Stanley Cup winner shall select last, thus, positioning all Clubs on the list.



In the event of a tie for any position, such tie shall be resolved by application of the rules governing the determination of final League standings. The resulting list shall constitute the order of selection.

If you would like to see team-by-team draft picks, it can be found on the final slide following the 7th round.