Five names to remember on defense at this weekend's NHL Draft
Here are five names to remember on defense at the NHL draft this weekend in Vancouver.
— Bowen Byram: A dynamic all-around talent with great skating ability, Byram is the top defenseman in the draft by a large margin. A 17-year-old defenseman leading the WHL in playoff scoring is practically unheard of. Might be the only defenseman to go in the top 10.
— Moritz Seider: Practically plug and play at the NHL level. He’s already won a championship in Germany’s top pro league and performed well at the World Championships. He’s 6-foot-3 and specializes in defending off the rush.
— Ryan Johnson: Teams wanting to improve their mobility on defense could look to Johnson, who is considered one of the most agile skaters in the draft. He’s a 6-foot California native coming off a USHL championship with Sioux Falls.
— Alex Vlasic: Teams wanting to add size on the blue line could choose Vlasic, a 6-6, 193-pounder from the U.S. National Team Development Program. He’s a good skater for his size and isn’t afraid to be physical. Defensive awareness is a question mark.
— Domenick Fensore: Size is becoming less of a draft concern in NHL circles, but Fensore will be the test. The USNTDP player is a shade under 5-7, 153 pounds. He can skate and take a hit, but will a NHL team take a chance on a defenseman that small?
Jonathan Bombulie is the TribLive assistant sports editor. A Greensburg native, he was a hockey reporter for two decades, covering the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for 17 seasons before joining the Trib in 2015 and covering the Penguins for four seasons, including Stanley Cup championships in 2016-17. He can be reached at jbombulie@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.