Nikita Filatov was proudly selected by the Atlanta Thrashers GM, Starsfan1, in the inaugural NHL Connect Mock Draft.


Disclaimer: This is just a mock draft. None of this is real. Please do not confuse this with the 2008 NHL Entry Draft live from Ottawa, Ontario, on Friday, June 20 – pregame coverage begins at 6:00pm check your local listings…shameless plug. And we must give credit to Kyle_720 for setting things up, and even though he supports the Red Wings, we’ll still give him credit for a great idea.


The gist of it is that thirty NHL Connect members (thanks to all) selected to participate, and each will select players based on their team’s position, needs, and general hockey philosophy. The Draft began at 12:00pm ET on Saturday, June 14, and will continue on through four rounds or until we run out of time and everyone gets a chance to see how the real deal unfolds.


Now it’s on the GMs to make it interesting.


(Just kidding you Wings fans.)


The noise thus far:


FIRST ANNUAL NHL CONNECT MOCK DRAFT RESULTS:


Round 1, Pick 1: C Steven Stamkos, Sarnia Sting
GM: MissHockey, TBL


Round 1, Pick 2: D Drew Doughty, Guelph Storm
GM: Mighty_Habsfan, LAK


Round 1, Pick 3: C Nikita Filatov, CSKA
GM: Starsfan1, ATL


Round 1, Pick 4: C Steven Stamkos, Sarnia Sting
GM: Hockeyfreek22, STL


Round 1, Pick 5: New York Islanders
GM: Islesfan11, NYI


So we’ve had our first few picks go, and while there wasn’t much surprise out of 1-and-2, the next two picks were not big, talented, versatile defensemen, as most predicted, but rather two dynamic dangerous and downright nasty forwards who come already pre-packaged with warning labels, handling instructions, and wild upside as part of the package.


Whew.


The Draft Board can be found here, and it will be updated live as picks come in.


If this hockey nerdery is up your alley, we invite you to follow the rest of the action.