The 2021 NHL Draft, the first one involving 32 teams, is finally over. With seven rounds of picks recorded, I end my coverage of this draft by giving my opinion on how I think the clubs did based on my knowledge of the players selected.
The only way I can sanely and fairly go about this exercise is to assign grades based on which team added the most by way of draft picks to the organization. I don’t account for players acquired by trade, how well a player fits into the organization, or whether a team reached or got potential value on a pick. This is a ranking showing who got the most talent in the draft, divided by tiers represented by a letter grade. Teams are listed by their grade, but teams with the same grade are listed alphabetically.
To those who don’t like this type of exercise because you think a draft can’t be evaluated until five years later, your concern is heard, but we’re still doing this anyway.
Full analysis of every team’s picks is linked below also.
Check out The Athletic’s complete coverage of the 2021 NHL Draft
Owen Power is a projected all-star, the only one in the draft for me as of now, which by itself could make the Sabres the biggest beneficiaries of this draft. I think both Isak Rosen and Prokhor Poltapov will become useful scoring wingers in the NHL, and both Aleksandr Kisakov and Olivier Nadeau have solid chances to play games. Stiven Sardarian was high for me, but he’s one of the most skilled players in the class so I respect the bet. I didn’t mind Viljami Marjala and Nikita Novikov late.
