The Hockey News Mock First Round

I bought the Ultimate Pool Guide on the weekend, more or less to make sure I have a lot of the names that might sneak out into the draft. It's a good thing I did, because I did find a few that may be picked to hit a homer or score the hat trick (if you will).

The Hockey News puts out their Ultimate Pool Guide to give a reference point and prognostication of where players should end up come the end of the season. Granted, this predictions did happen before a couple the injuries of late and there is some discrepancies as to who some of the starting goalies may be for some teams. Nevertheless, I will do a mock 1st round to show you what may occur if other people either use this list (wisely) or think along the same way. I say wisely because of injuries... not because of potentially silly picks.

The Mock Draft will consist of 25 teams... and Joe Blow gets to pick first.

Jarome Iginla goes first overall in the mock draft. Not a real surprise in essence, he is being rated as the best forward in the league for the coming season.
Peter Forsberg goes number two... no surprise here. Forsberg's ability should prove to be quite formidable. Don't let the ankle surgery put you off... he'll be good.
Joe Thornton pops in at three. Should be solid as a rock for the Bruins and your pool team, if you so happen to get him. A good pick nice & early.
Markus Naslund is number four on the list. It's possible for a 50-goal season from Naslund, not to mention quite a few assists from the big line in Vancouver.
Joe Sakic shines in at five. Burnaby Joe should pack a whallop, even in a less talented Avalanche squad... you're thinking pool, not wins & losses.
Dany Heatley is sixth overall. The young forward should be looking to eclipse the 90-point plateau with a talented Senators team. Lots of players to play with there.
Jaromir Jagr leads his team with the seventh place. Jagr has won the scoring title on quite a few occasions... but now he'll have to try on a rebuilding team.
Martin Brodeur stops by at eigth. Looks like THN doesn't see a boat load of points for the best goalie this year... but eigth is still pretty high.
Todd Bertuzzi pummels his way into ninth. The big line in Vancouver should produce, as previously mentioned, if health doesn't come into play.
Vincent Lecavalier surprises me in tenth. Apparently he's due for a career year this year after being paid like he has already. Over 80 points this year?
Daniel Alfredsson has himself a gritty winger to vault him into eleventh in the mock round. He's good, quick and has a little more help.
Alex Tanguay will have a big load on his shoulders as he carries it into twelfth in the list. Tanguay is becoming a dangerous weapon in Colorado... this is a home run pick.
Brad Richards gets his due in thirteenth. Richards has been a seriously underrated scorer in the league, which had still been slightly overshadow by other Lightning players.
Jason Spezza led the AHL in points for the fourteenth spot in the list. The Sens have weapons coming out of the Parliament Buildings... moreso than the Canadian government.
Ziggy Palffy looks to lead the Pens through the fifteenth spot in the list. Palffy may be the big benefactor of the "Crosby Show." Why not, right?
Marian Hossa will take the place where Russians dare not venture... sixteenth (or the Thrashers right wing). Hossa is the number one gun at the moment... draft him like it.
Evgeni Nabokov is the second goalie in the seventeenth spot. Nabokov has been a first rounder for a few years now... very consistent pick.
Daymond Langkow is projected into eighteenth by his spot centering Iginla. Someone will have to win the draws and pass the puck, right? May want to consider the next round...
Sidney Crosby... isn't number one... rather nineteenth. First rounder nonetheless according to THN... someone is bound to take him this early.
Marty Turco puts up a wall at twenty. No question how good he is... the Stars though... dunno about the win column. Perennial first rounder though...

Five more to go...

Tomas Vokoun is a sleeper at 21. The Hockey News has him ranked pretty high, mostly because of the gritty bunch in front of him. It's hard to disagree.
Mikka Kiprusoff doesn't fade in 22. Is he established enough to be this high or does the team in front of him have enough power to score for him? Likely first rounder everywhere.
Mike Modano comes to the rescue in 23. He's sort of fallen off the radar of sorts pool-wise... but should still do the job in the Big D.
Doug Weight is also being hush-hush in 24, I figure. Weight will have "Chunky" Tkachuk beside him again this year... and the two rich guys there should produce.
Finally, Sergei Samsonov pipes up in 25. A health-risk to a lot of pool teams... he's been very wary on the ice... buyer beware.

I hope this helps you guys out a bit... I might be able to drum up a 2nd round forecast in the next few days, you never know. I wasn't able to do an actual draft tonight, so there won't be any results in the morning.

How accurate is this list, do I figure? It's not bad... it is missing the likes of Mario Lemieux, Sergei Fedorov and Paul Kariya... all likely picks as well, not to mention some goaltenders. Hell, there could be a few more big surprises as well.