Welcome to the 2017 edition of the Hockey Wilderness mock draft. We’re doing things a little differently this time around. You’ll still be getting the same great draft profiles, but we’ve gone ahead and condensed the format to drive through all the picks in the first round in the 10 days leading up to the draft. In prior seasons we’ve brought you a pick each day up to the draft, but now we’re bringing 3 picks each day, culminating with the 31st pick right on draft day.
For a team with such a weakness on defense as the Sabres have it may be weird to have them pick a winger, which is a position of strength but selecting Owen Tippett is practicing a bit of draft the best player available, and addressing a need.