Golden Knights will continue to build roster with 3 picks in draft’s first round

By Jesse Granger

Friday, June 23, 2017 | 1:59 a.m.

George McPhee has long said he plans to build the Vegas Golden Knights roster through the NHL Draft.

Within that philosophy, the Golden Knights’ expansion draft Wednesday featured many side deals for future entry draft picks to reaffirm the general manager’s intentions. McPhee came away with an additional five picks in this year’s draft, one in 2018, three in 2019 and one in 2020.

The Golden Knights were able to capture first-round picks from the Winnipeg Jets (13th overall) and New York Islanders (15th overall) to go along with the sixth overall pick of their own.

In total, McPhee has seven selections in the first 75 picks in the draft, which begins today in Chicago with the first round.

“We expect the draft will produce a lot of good NHL players, and we want to get as many of those as possible,” assistant general manager Kelly McCrimmon said.

It’s no secret McCrimmon would love to nab Brandon Wheat Kings centerman Nolan Patrick. The 18-year-old starred for the Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League, where McCrimmon served as coach, general manager and owner before coming to Las Vegas.

The problem is many consider Patrick the No. 1 prospect in the draft and he’ll likely be long gone by the time the Golden Knights are on the clock. McPhee could package a few of his surplus of picks to move up for Patrick if he feels the Canadian is worth it.

If not, there will be plenty of talent available at six — particularly at center.

Gabriel Valardi of the Windsor Spitfires in Ontario is a powerful forward with a goal-scoring touch, but he may also be gone before Vegas picks unless Dallas and Colorado both go with defensemen at picks Nos. 3 and 4.

Casey Mittelstadt and Michael Rasmussen are both options at center who will likely be there for the Golden Knights, and Mississauga sniper Owen Trippett is a winger McPhee could look at.

Another possibility for the Golden Knights is Eeli Tolvanen.

Tolvanen is an undersized 18-year-old phenom from Finland with some of the most spectacular offensive skills in the draft class. His size — 5-foot-10, 170 pounds — is worrisome, but his skills may be good enough to overlook it.

Not only does Tolvanen have the smooth skating McPhee covets, but he may have the best pure shot in the draft. The left-hander likes to snipe from the right side of the rink like his NHL comparison — Vladimir Tarasenko.

No team has arguably studied the prospects in that group more than the Golden Knights staff.

“One of the advantages of our expansion team situation is we’ve known all year where we would pick so that’s given us the opportunity to focus in on that group of players,” McCrimmon said.

As for the Golden Knights other first-round picks — assuming they keep them — a young goalie of the future could be one of the picks. Marc-Andre Fleury will be starting his 13th NHL season this October, and backup Calvin Pickard will be a free agent after the upcoming season.

Boston University net minder Jake Oettinger is a top prospect, and he should be available at No. 15. Oettinger is surprisingly agile for his 6-foot-4, 218-pound frame.

Another option at goalie is Keith Petruzzelli from the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the USHL. Either option would be a wise pickup for McPhee.

While many have described this as one of the weakest drafts in recent history, McCrimmon disagrees.

“Most of the people saying that haven’t watched a junior game this year,” he said. “I think a lot of times what happens is they are referring to there not being a generational talent and that’s as much as a lot of people know about the draft.”

Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21