Just 25 days until the first round of the NHL Entry Draft goes in New Jersey. The Senators are slated to pick 17th overall but the indications I'm getting right now, suggest that the Sens might be willing to move from that spot in the draft order.
Watching the way Bryan Murray and his staff have handled the draft the past few years, that should come as no surprise. We've seen them trade up (to grab Karlsson), add a pick (to grab Puempel) and even trade out of the first round altogether, as they did in 2010 when they grabbed Rundblad from St. Louis.
Like past years, all options are in play with the Draft less than four weeks away.
What really adds an element of unknown this year is that the Sens seem quite open to take either a defenceman or a forward. While many will stress the need for "best player available" recent interviews with both Bryan Murray and Pierre Dorion suggest that the organization may be at a point where they can address a specific need with this pick.
With that in mind, there are a handful of names that seem to have come up more than others in my draft discussions over the last week or so.
Here are five names to keep a close eye on. There is an interesting mix as a couple players might require trading up or even trading back. According to TSN's Mark Masters, both Rychel and Erne were invited to Ottawa for workouts.
- Bo Horvat
- Kerby Rychel
- Samuel Morin
- Adam Erne
- Anthony Mantha
Trading the pick for some immediate help also remains a very real possibility.
As always, will continue to dig for specifics leading up to draft day. Based on research I've done, this really will be an exciting draft with so many different possibilities after the first three picks.
