Four players the Golden Knights may target with sixth pick in NHL Draft

By Jesse Granger

Sunday, April 30, 2017 | 2 a.m.

Saturday night’s NHL Draft Lottery couldn’t have gone worse for the Vegas Golden Knights.

Vegas entered the event with a 10.3 percent chance of nabbing the No. 1 overall pick, and an 81.8 percent chance of landing in the top five. Neither happened, as the Golden Knights tumbled to the sixth pick – their lowest possible landing spot.

That all but guarantees the Golden Knights will miss out on consensus top picks Nolan Patrick and Nico Hischier. But beyond those two, prospect rankings are all over the place.

“There are some good players there and we are going to get a good one at six,” Golden Knights General Manager George McPhee said confidently after the lottery.

Here's a look at some of the top-ranked prospects that could be donning a Golden Knights jersey on draft night, which will take place in June 23 in Chicago.

Gabriel Vilardi, Center, Windsor Spitfires (OHL)

Not as flashy of a scorer as the first two centers, Vilardi uses his size at 6-foot-3, 200-pounds to bully opponents. At only 17 years old Vilardi still has room to grow, and had 61 points for the Spitfires in only 49 games this season.

Vilardi played mostly wing for Windsor but is projected as a center in the NHL. Despite his physical play he only spent 12 minutes in the penalty box last season, showing he has the smarts to play a physical style without hurting his team, according to scouting profiles.

“He’s very composed with the puck, and uses his vision and playmaking ability to influence the game in all three zones,” NHL Central Scouting's Matt Ryan wrote. “He excels below the dots in the offensive zone where he uses he size and reach to dictate the play and generate scoring opportunities.”

Owen Tippett, Right Wing, Mississauga Steelheads (OHL)

An absolute sniper out of the Ontario Hockey League, reports indicate Tippett is dangerous from anywhere inside the blue line. The 18-year-old winger led the Steelheads with 44 goals this season — 17 more than the next closest goal-scorer.

Tippett is most known for his quick release and shooting accuracy but also has phenomenal speed and skating skills. His weakness, like many young players, lies on the defensive side, according to profiles.

“(Tippett) is a skilled offensive winger with exceptional high-end speed and quickness,” NHL Central Scouting's Dan Marr wrote.

Casey Mittelstadt, Center, Eden Prairie, Minnesota High School

Mittelstadt is one of the toughest prospects to judge this year due to the much lower level of competition he played against. Mittelstadt led Eden Prairie High School with 21 goals, 43 assists and 64 points in only 25 games, but it was still only high school.

The 6-foot-1 center also racked up 13 goals and 17 assists in 24 games with the Green Bay Gamblers of the United States Hockey League. He won Minnesota’s “Mr. Hockey” award this season and projected to be the best player out of the hockey-rich state since Erik Johnson, who was drafted No. 1 overall in 2006.

“Mittelstadt is one of these anomalies that come along every few years (from high school hockey),” Marr wrote. “We’ve watched him play against his peers in international tournaments and have seen him play in the USHL and at various camps, and he always makes a difference. It doesn’t really matter where he plays because you get the same game from him no matter the environment.”

Michael Rasmussen, Center, Tri-City Americans (WHL)

The towering 18-year-old Canadian center may be the fifth center taken in the top six picks of the draft. The draft is top-heavy with forwards and that’s a good thing for the Golden Knights, who will likely pick up solid defensemen and goaltenders in the expansion draft but struggle to find scoring power.

Rasmussen scored 32 goals and added 23 assists for the Tri-City Americans this season in the Western Hockey League.

At 6-foot-5, 215 pounds he is already bigger than most NHL centers and has great scoring ability for his size. He has stick skills to score from the outside but thrives near the net where he can use his size to bully opposing defenders.

The bad news is Rasmussen fractured his wrist in early March. The injury didn’t require surgery but was expected to keep him out for three months. While he may be limited, he should be back for rookie development camps in late June and should be good to go for training camp in September.

“He’s playing with much more confidence this season,” NHL Central Scouting’s John Williams wrote in an NHL.com scouting report. “He’s adapted to playing a bigger role and playing heavy minutes against opponents’ top lines and defense. The game has slowed down for him a little bit and he’s just that much more poised. He can take that extra bit of time and understands he can take that time to make plays and score goals.”