NHL Draft 2019 winners and losers Best worst moves from a surprising strange first roun

There weren'ttoomay surprises to start the first round of the 2019 NHL Draft on Friday night, but once the first two picks (Jack Hughes and Kaapo Kakko, respectively, as expected) were out of the way, things got strange. In a forward-heavy draft, the night became one of defensemen, with four blue liners going in the top 11. Some players, such as Moritz Seider and Kirby Dach, unexpectedly jumped up from their projected positions while others, such as Cole Caufield and Peyton Krebs,dropped far down. What wasn't surprising was thata record number of Americans were taken in the first round, many of them from the U.S. National Team Development Program. NHL DRAFT DAY 1: Sporting News lists the winners and losers from the first round: NHL Draft 2019 winners New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers It's to be expected that the teams with the top two picks in the draft hit the jackpot, and the Devils and Rangers made no mistakes this year with Hughes and Kakko. Hughes is a franchise center around whom a team can build. Like Connor McDavid, he has outstanding speed and talent with the puck, and his skill is accompanied by superior vision and quick decision-making ability. He's an outstanding skater, pa ser and goal-scorer who also plays a complete 200-foot game. This past season, he became the all-time points leader in USNTDP history.Hughes has been playing beyond his years for a while, and he willmake an immediate impact in the NHL. The Rangers didn't lose much picking second; they got a franchise winger inKakko. The Finn has already accomplished much as an 18-year-old, including playing in Liiga, the highest level of profe sional hockeyin his home country. Kakko is an excellentgoal-scorer and flashy playmaker who can create time and space on offense with his size and poise.His stickhandling ability and hockey mind allow him to be highly creativewith the puck. Hughes and Kakko both look like players who will have legendary careers. They will establish a new generation of hockey in North America. Colorado Avalanche The Avalanche pretty much won when they got the Senators' first-round pick, which turned out to be No. 4 overall, in the Matt Duchene trade. They didn't go wrong with the selection, taking defensemanBowen Byram after the Chicago Blackhawks shockingly pa sed on him at third. After Hughes and Kakko, the offense-first Byram is the next best thing in this draft. He will be a No. 1 guy in the NHL. Byram's skill is defined by his skating ability; he can move the puck quickly up ice, either by pa sing to an open forward or carrying the puck and shooting. He had 71 points in 67 games with the WHL's Vancouver Giants last season while also being solid on the back end. Not only did the Avs get Byram, they also took advantage of their own first-round pick and took Alex Newhook at 16th overall. He had 102 points in just 53 games with the Victoria Grizzlies in the BCHL in 2018-19 and has the makings of a topNHL forward. He has outstanding speed, aquick release andterrific hands. He was projected to go a couple of picks higher than he did, but the Avalanche were not wrong to nab him. Colorado did a lot for its future with these two top-end prospects. Marco Gonzales Jersey Montreal Canadiens Drafting by position last year, the Canadiens got a star in Jesperi Kotkaniemi. They didn't disappoint with their 15th overall selection this year, either. adding another high-end forward in winger Cole Caufield, who could be the steal of this draft. It was shocking when the American-born forward dropped below the top 10, likely because of his small stature (5-7). Montreal ignored Caufield's size and insteadlooked at hisskill, and that's why they're winners this draft. Caufield set a USNTDP record with 72 goals in 2018-19. Cole Caufield is the only player in the that averaged over a goal per inch of height in his draft-eligible season. TSN (@TSN_Sports) He's a pure goal-scorer in the mold of Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat, two forwards who aren't the biggest but are stiill major threats. Caufield is another player from this draft who can make an immediate impact in the NHL. He's capable of making the Canadiensout of camp. Montreal took another step in revamping their rosterand becoming a playoff-ready club powered by young talent. MORE: NHL Draft 2019 losers Chicago Blackhawks The Blackhawks did get a top-10 forward in Kirby Dach, but he isn't the player they needed, let alone the best player available. Instead, they chose to draft by position and took the Saskatoon Blades center third overall, a significant jump for the 18-year-old. Dach is a giftedoffensive player with a pa s-first mentality and a nose for the net, but he has to add more aspects to his game, including speed, skating and pace. Additionally, the 6-4 Dach needs to fill out and work on playing a tougher, more physical game as he makes the transition to the NHL.Chicago also has a reasonable amount of center depth with Jonathan Toews, Dylan Strome, Artem Anisimov and Marcus Kruger. While Dach is bound to become a top-sixforward, he likely won't win a roster spot right away. Even if he does make the opening night roster, he should instead be playing in juniors, where he would be better served at this point in his development. Pa sing on Byram makes the Dach pick even morequestionable. Given the Blackhawks didn't make the playoffs last season and need to make changes, it may have been wiser for them to take an NHL-ready defenseman who would bring stability to the back end rather than another center who needs more time to develop. Detroit Red Wings In a move that no one saw coming, the Red Wings took a gamble at No. 6 with German defenseman Moritz Seider, who was expected to go later in the draft and perhaps fall beyond 20th overall. Detroit drafted for need part of a pattern that formed Friday. The 6-3, right-handedSeider rarely makes mistakes withthe puckand is an excellent skater. The 18-year-old was named the DEL's Rookie of the Year this past season after an impre sive stint with Adler Mannheim. He was ranked sixth among draft-eligible European skaters. Moritz Seider, exhale. The newest Red Wings draft picks reaction says it all. Brad Galli (@BradGalli) So, why wasn't this a win? Seider wasn't the bestavailable talent. The Red Wings pa sed on forwards like Caufield, Trevor Zegras and Matt Boldy, and defensemen such as Victor Soderstrom and Cam York. Detroit likely needs a top-fourright-handed defensemanto come in right away, especially considering it wants to return to the playoffs after mi sing out the last three seasons. Seider can provide organizational depth, but the Wings may be expecting too much from a player who was drafted much higher than expected. Edmonton Oilers Don't get us wrong, Broberg is bound to make an impact in the NHL, but he isn't what the Oilers needed from this draft. Yes, he's an offensive-minded blue liner who can rip the puck, join the rush and generatescoring chances while maintaining defensive awarene s, but the Oilers most needed a forward, and a winger in particular. Je se Puljujarvi has requested a trade and is not expected to return anyway as a restricted free agent, so the Oilers lost a chance to replenish their forward depth with an elite prospect. Edmonton is stacked down the middle, but the centersneed scoring reinforcements. The Oilers could have chosen from the forward-heavy selection available in Round 1; instead, it pa sed on players like Caufield, Boldy,Zegras and Krebs in favor of a left-handed defenseman. The Oilers also have a number of highly touted defensive prospects who aren't on their NHL roster, including Ethan Bear, Caleb Jones, Keegan Lowe,Evan Bouchard and Ryan Mantha, as they've replenished their blue-line depth over the past few years. Some of these players will be ready to make the jump next season, especially Bear and Jones. That's another reason why taking Broberg shouldn't have been the biggest priority in this draft. He does add promise, but one of the many available high-caliber forwards could have done that, too. Dennis Santana Jersey