NHL draft 2017: 5 lingering questions as the 1st round looms

Welcome to the round of unknowns.

The 2017 NHL entry draft is nigh upon us, and we have no idea what will happen as the first round kicks off Friday night from Chicago.

That’s a good thing for you people who enjoy drama. With no consensus best player in the draft, three surprise teams in the top three and an expansion team from Nevada throwing monkey wrenches into every available wheel well ... this could get interesting.

And it leaves us with some burning questions ahead of the festivities.

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Will the Devils surprise us?

Most years, a surprise at first overall would mean the Devils passed on a franchise player for someone else. Not this year. A surprise on Friday would mean the Devils pass on Nolan Patrick and Nico Hischier, the two consensus best players available but not quite the franchise talent that Connor McDavid or Auston Matthews were.

Why would they do such a thing? They want defensemen. A few weeks ago, reports surfaced that the Devils might be leaning toward taking a defenseman first overall. Those quieted down, but then yesterday ESPN NHL prospect man Corey Pronman reported New Jersey might take Cale Makar first overall.

New Jersey beat writers aren’t so convinced.

We’ll see. If Nolan or Nico don’t go first overall, it could have major ramifications for how the rest of the first round plays out.

Nico or Nolan?

By that I mean: Which one will go off the board first?

The two are different players. Patrick is the all-around center with good size and comparisons to Jonathan Toews. Hischier is flashier, had a better season than Patrick, and doesn’t share the same kinds of injury concerns.

If New Jersey takes one, Philadelphia will almost certainly take the other. We have no idea which one the other prefers, and that’s really exciting.

UPDATE: At least one report says Patrick may fall due to injury concerns.

What will the Stars do?

Dallas is in a weird place, picking third overall despite owning a strong win-now mindset. GM Jim Nill has indicated in the past that he’s open to moving the third overall pick if the price is right:

Some Stars fans would suggest that the player you can take at third overall is more valuable down the road than taking another big swing at a Cup this year. But we’ll see. Dallas has the luxury of owning two first-round picks, so maybe it uses the 29th pick in a trade instead.

And if the Stars keep it, who will they draft? A talented center will be on the board by that point, whether it’s Patrick, Hischier, Gabriel Vilardi, or Casey Mittelstadt. Center is a position of weakness in their system, but so is defense. Miro Heiskanen could be a fit there as well. In a draft of unknowns, the Stars at third overall seem to hoard most of the questions.

How will Vegas use those picks?

The Golden Knights own 13 draft picks this weekend after numerous trades during the expansion draft process. On Friday, they’ll own three of the first top 15 picks in the first round. No NHL expansion team has had that many in its first draft.

And it opens some possibilities in a fluid draft class. Vegas could package one or two of those picks to move up into the top five to get a guy it covets. Would staying put be a wiser plan, though? Do the Knights use one of those picks to get a talented roster player? Vegas suddenly has options and leverage it didn’t have before.

Will we see multiple trades?

I think it’s likely, based on how quiet the last day has been since the roster freeze lifted. The Stars (3rd, 29th), Blues (20th, 27th), Knights (6th, 13th, 15th) and Coyotes (7th, 23rd) each have surplus picks in the first round. That’s a lot of teams without first-rounders. You’d have to think someone trades back into the thick of things at some point.

And don’t count out the Blackhawks, who probably want to make a splash in front of their home fans on Friday by trading up.

UPDATE: hahahaha, oh yes we DID