bagelbitesisbae

(Disclaimer: This biography isn't trying to totally replicate the real life Mikko Rantanen life story.) Early Childhood Mikko Rantanen was born on October 29th, 1996 in Nousiainen, Finland. Mikko and his family lived in a two-story, cottage-style home. His family wasn't that rich, but they were definitely not poor. Mikko has a sister named, Laura Rantanen and he has another sister that he isn't as close with. Mikko and Laura were literally best friends, and they're still best friends to this very day. They would play out in the snow together, and cook with one another. His parents are Hannamaija Rantanen and Hannu Rantanen. Hannu and Hannamaija were really good and nurturing parents towards Mikko. Hannu specifically liked taking Mikko to the park to play games like soccer and baseball (Finland is actually known to promote play instead of lot's of work). Mikko's mother, Hannamaija, liked taking him to a family-owned Finnish restaurant called Restuarant Ask for special occasions. Hannu and Hannamaija really wanted Mikko to pick up a sport while he was still very young. The days that Hannu took Mikko to the park to play soccer and and baseball, Mikko enjoyed those days, but those sports really weren't clicking for him. Hannu didn't really know what his young son would be good at. A brand new ice skating rink happened to be opening fairly soon near their house so Hannu planned on taking Mikko in the next couple of days. Mikko did his schoolwork and did the normal stuff he usually did on the weekdays. Then, his dad took him to the brand new ice skating rink. The person working the front desk at the rink told Hannu that they would be having skating lessons for beginners in a couple of days. Hannu took the chance and signed his son up for skating lessons. When Mikko took the skating lessons, he strived and flourished. Mikko had a natural talent for skating. Hannu went to the front desk and asked the person if they would have an ice hockey team fairly soon. The front desk person said that they were planning on it. Mikko kept going to ice skating lessons, and ice skating eventually became very, very easy for Mikko. Ice hockey finally opened up and Hannu took the opportunity to sign Mikko up. The first ice hockey practice came along and the coach (who would later become one of Mikko's main mentors), Aleksenteri, saw that Mikko was a future star in the making. Coach Aleksenteri had other students besides Mikko, but knew that Mikko was just truly better than all of them. Aleksenteri taught Mikko how to skate backward, hockey stop, shoot, score, and all the many basics. Mikko's team was called the Helsinki Knights. Their first game came around and Mikko scored a hat trick. The game finished and his team won by a mile (5 - 0). His dad Hannu was sitting on the stands when Mikko walked off of the ice. Hannu was so proud of Mikko for his 3 goal performance. Hannu called Hannamaija to tell her how great Mikko did. Hannu told Hannamaija to go to Restaurant Ask with Laura and his other sister so they could celebrate Mikko's successes on the ice. Mikko ordered an oven-roasted salmon and scarfed down his whole entire meal. They eventually finished dinner and all went home. The University of Denver Mikko did very well in PeeWee and Junior hockey. After playing junior hockey, he got drafted 10th overall by the Colorado Avalanche. Mikko was on the brink of playing in the NHL, but felt like some NCAA playing time would help his development immensely. Conveniently, the University of Denver offered Rantanen a full athletic scholarship to entice him to be apart of their hockey program. Another college offered him an atheltic scholarship (which was Harvard), but felt like he wouldn't be able to keep up with Harvard's academic rigor so he chose Denver instead. Mikko didn't intend on getting a degree, nor staying at the University of Denver for a full four years as he knew he'd be ready in at least two years to make the jump to the NHL. While playing for UDenver, he felt it necessary to contact one of his old coaches, Aleksenteri, and tell him how he was doing. Mikko showed excitement in his voice when he told Aleksenteri that he was playing for a college team. Aleksenteri told Mikko that he wished him the best. At the end of his first year with UDenver, Mikko managed to get 40 points in 34 games which earned him Hobey Baker talks. Sadly, Mikko did not win the Hobey Baker Award, but Mikko did get the satisfaction of getting valuable playing experience. During that summer, Colorado decided to sign him to an Entry-Level contract worth $832,500. Mikko went to development camp to hone his skills. Coach Bednar was really impressed with him. At the end of September, Rantanen happened to still be on the final roster for the upcoming season. Mikko played the full season for the Avalanche and managed to compile a total of 65 points in 82 games as a rookie. His 65 points earned him the Calder Memorial Trophy as best rookie. Mikko (not to sound cocky) felt like the NHL was too easy, but enjoyed hanging out with everybody that he met along his rookie season. Mikko decided to talk to one of the representatives of the VHL. The people of the VHL told Mikko that the VHL was a lot more challenging than the NHL and would be a very good opportunity for him. Mikko thought long and hard, and finally decided to go with the VHL. He was really excited to go on a new path towards his hockey needs and wants. He called his parents to tell them the exciting news. Hannu and his mother were not very pleased with his decision as the NHL is a bit more established than the VHL. Rantanen explained to them that the VHL has more opportunities for him and stuff like that. Hannu and his mother were still very hesitant, but told Mikko that they support his decision. Mikko asked them if they could come watch him play once he joins a VHL team. His parents happily agreed because they've always been supportive towards him. Mikko went back to his house and played some NHL 17. VHL Mikko Rantanen is really excited for this new endeavor he is going to take in his hockey career. He is very anxious as he knows that it won't be as easy as the NHL. Rantanen does know that he is the one who asked for a more competitive environment and is very appreciative of it. Even if Mikko fails, he always knows that he puts his complete 100% every time he plays any game. Mikko hopes to be a hall of fame player... Mikko Rantanen's story continues...

Review: I feel like this was kind of rushed. I feel like there could've been a few more graphics. Another thing I think you could've done was spreading apart your paragraph a little bit. Keep up the good work! I'm excited to see what your player does in the simulation.

Review: I think that you could've added a few images to really capture what you're trying to convey about your player. I can really tell that you put a lot of effort into it. I really liked how much information you provided the reader. Keep on writing, my friend!

Review: I think your rookie profile is a great start, but you definitely need to add more information about your player. I like how you really elaborated on his playing style. I do think that you could've formatted it in a more creative way (maybe including some photos.) Keep up the great work, my friend!!

Review: I feel like what you wrote could've been more uniformed, but the information you provided is really good and insightful. I like how you decided to creative an uncommon and unique player because most people would've chosen an offensive defenseman. Very good!

Review: This was a really good rookie profile! I like how you talked about what teams were interested in you and stuff like that, very informational. What you wrote was also very elaborate and detailed which I really appreciated. I really liked how you wrote your pros and even admitted your cons. I really don't have any critiques for you. Just keep writing, my friend!

Review: I feel like you did an excellent job in grabbing the reader's attention. The first sentence of it was really funny and I'm sure nobody took offense. I just feel like your whole media spot was pretty casual (which I liked). I like how you gave us past statistics that were really interesting.

Review: I thought this media spot was thought out really well. I liked how you gave each of them their own "special feature." I just love how you worded certain things. I don't believe that you included the name of the SHL team that they played for. I just feel like more information could've been said about your players.

Mikko Rantanen has made several transitions in his hockey career (TPS Liiga, Colorado Avalanche NHL, and now VHL). Mikko Rantanen felt like he deserved a fresh start in his hockey career. Rantanen really enjoyed his time with the Colorado Avalanche, but felt like being apart of Victory Hockey League for the next upcoming years. Mikko already had all of the essentials he needed in order to play hockey, but felt like he should buy some new hockey gear. In the recent past, Mikko did very well in the NHL for the Colorado Avalanche so he was able to pick up several different sponsorship deals (one of those deals happened to be with Bauer). Mikko had been using a mix of Bauer and CCM, but felt like he should fully commit to his sponsorship deal so he felt like he needed to go buy new gear by Bauer. His fellow Finnish buddy, Justus Virtanen, owns a Bauer shop so he decided to stop there as Mikko knew that his friend would give him discounted prices. Mikko drove down to the store and picked up all of his various gear. One thing that Mikko did that was extra was that he got the number "96" embroidered on both of the heels on his skates. He drove home pretty content with himself. The next day, he did all of his hygiene, ate breakfast. He felt that it was necessary to hang out with all of his buddies. His buddies would include Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, and Tyson Barrie. You might be wondering why Mikko invited Barrie to come hang out with him and boys even though he recently moved to Toronto. Conveniently, Tyson Barrie happened to be in town for a little bit. He texted everybody, and then got positives from everybody. Rantanen didn't want anything fancy at all whatsoever so he chose for everybody to go to Chick-Fil-A. Rantanen, as a humble guy, decided to pick everybody up in his red, glossy Porsche Panamera. When they finally arrived at Chick-Fil-A, they found a fairly large booth for all of them to sit and eat at. They all went up to the cash register to order. They all ordered somewhat similar items. When they got their food, they ate it all and started discussing important matters (hockey). MacKinnon started talking about how he appreciated the class VHL had for all of it's players and was excited for Mikko to bloom into the player he is in the VHL. Landeskog discussed how he's been enjoying the Avalanche's current success. Barrie talked about how it feels to play for Toronto. All of his buddies happened to be doing quite well. After they all chatted, he dropped everybody back at their places and then he returned home. Once Mikko returned home, he decided to take a long, warm shower to just think about how his day went. While he was in the shower he thought to himself, "today was really fun." After he got out of the shower, he made dinner, and then went to bed.

Mikko Rantanen has made several transitions in his hockey career (TPS Liiga, Colorado Avalanche NHL, and now VHL). Mikko Rantanen felt like he deserved a fresh start in his hockey career. Rantanen really enjoyed his time with the Colorado Avalanche, but felt like being apart of Victory Hockey League for the next upcoming years. Mikko already had all of the essentials he needed in order to play hockey, but felt like he should buy some new hockey gear. In the recent past, Mikko did very well in the NHL for the Colorado Avalanche so he was able to pick up several different sponsorship deals (one of those deals happened to be with Bauer). Mikko had been using a mix of Bauer and CCM, but felt like he should fully commit to his sponsorship deal so he felt like he needed to go buy new gear by Bauer. His fellow Finnish buddy, Justus Virtanen, owns a Bauer shop so he decided to stop there as Mikko knew that his friend would give him discounted prices. Mikko drove down to the store and picked up all of his various gear. One thing that Mikko did that was extra was that he got the number "96" embroidered on both of the heels on his skates. He drove home pretty content with himself. The next day, he did all of his hygiene, ate breakfast. He felt that it was necessary to hang out with all of his buddies. His buddies would include Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, and Tyson Barrie. You might be wondering why Mikko invited Barrie to come hang out with him and boys even though he recently moved to Toronto. Conveniently, Tyson Barrie happened to be in town for a little bit. He texted everybody, and then got positives from everybody. Rantanen didn't want anything fancy at all whatsoever so he chose for everybody to go to Chick-Fil-A. Rantanen, as a humble guy, decided to pick everybody up in his red, glossy Porsche Panamera. When they finally arrived at Chick-Fil-A, they found a fairly large booth for all of them to sit and eat at. They all went up to the cash register to order. They all ordered somewhat similar items. When they got their food, they ate it all and started discussing important matters (hockey). MacKinnon started talking about how he appreciated the class VHL had for all of it's players and was excited for Mikko to bloom into the player he is in the VHL. Landeskog discussed how he's been enjoying the Avalanche's current success. Barrie talked about how it feels to play for Toronto. All of his buddies happened to be doing quite well. After they all chatted, he dropped everybody back at their places and then he returned home.

Player Information Username: bagelbitesisbae Player Name: Mikko Rantanen Recruited From: Other (Casual Internet Browsing) Age: 22 Position: RW Height: 76 in. Weight: 216 lbs. Birthplace: Finland Player Page @VHLM GM

I'm so sad to say that I have retired from Victory Hockey League, but it doesn't mean that I'm going to be away from this website forever. This online forum has really treated me with the utmost respect and I am grateful that I was able to experience this website. I was able to accomplish the feat of being a successful player in the VHLM. I was apart of a really supportive organization with encouraging teammates/general managers. I'd like to give a special shoutout to @ShawnGlade for having belief in me as a player and being quite vigilant about making sure that each and every player was receiving their personal needs. Again, this isn't the end of me. I plan on creating another player when I get the time. Thank you! - Nathan MacKinnon

Hello, VHLers! I'm typically one of the only people who writes about NHL-related topics. I have been writing NHL-related things for all of you guys for quite some time. I like making content that satisfies your wants. I'm not going to make content that you guys don't want to read. So, if you guys have requests, please either DM me on Discord/@ me in the main VHL Discord chat or comment on this post. I've been really busy lately with a lot of stuff as that is the reason why I had to discontinue "Nathan MacKinnon," so please be patient with me. I'll try to do everybody's request ASAP. Thank you all for the support! - bagelbitesisbae

Mitch Marner is an elite NHL hockey player who has been able to make a big presence with his time as a Maple Leaf. His ELC contract has expired and Kyle Dubas (Toronto Maple Leafs GM) is in salary cap hell. Kyle Dubas has made it very clear that he really wants to re-sign him. Let's take a look at their salary cap. Toronto currently has $8,790,301 in salary cap space. Some of the top players that they have to re-sign are Jake Gardiner, Kasperi Kapanen, and obviously Mitch Marner. Kasperi Kapanen will probably get around 3mil+ and Jake Gardiner will probably get upwards of 4mil. If Kapanen happens to get 3mil and Gardiner happens to get 4mil, it only leaves Dubas with $1,790,301 in salary cap space which is obviously not enough to sign Mitch Marner. If you haven't heard yet, Toronto is looking to get rid of Nikita Zaitsev. If they happen to get rid of Zaitsev, that leaves the Maple Leafs with $6,290,301. $6,290,301 is still not enough to sign Marner. Reportedly, Patrick Marleau may get traded to the LA Kings which would be really beneficial for Kyle Dubas. If Marleau happens to leave, that gets rid of a $6,250,000 contract. If Toronto doesn't get a hefty contract like that in return, that leaves Toronto in a good spot to sign Marner. Marner probably wants to re-sign with Toronto as they're headed in a somewhat good direction. He also has bromance with Auston Matthews. Marner will probably get a contract worth around 11mil+. Should Toronto sign him and put themselves in a bad salary cap position? If they lose Marner, they'd be losing one of their top players. Marner has been able to produce very well for them, and would be a detrimental loss to the Maple Leafs. If Toronto can't figure something out, a lot of teams have the opportunity to offer him an offer sheet. What are your thoughts on Mitch Marner? What should Toronto do? (Put your thoughts down below!!!) Support me by liking my content! - Nathan MacKinnon

Nathan MacKinnon has been struggling and pushing through a lot of stuff so he hasn’t been able to be consistent in VHL. When he was consistent, he could’ve gotten to be apart of the recruitment team and would’ve been a future top VHLer. It’s quite sad how his career turned around so quickly, but he expects to make a permanent resurgence in the next few months. For right now though, he wants to go talk to all of his past colleagues to see how everything is going. Nathan MacKinnon decides to go on the VHL Discord and start talking like he wasn’t even gone. A lot of people were excited to see him. Some people knew him because of his utmost desire to be apart of the recruitment team (which he will achieve once he comes back consistently and permanently), and a lot of people knew him also because he still makes a lot of NHL content. When I went on the Discord, the first person to approach me was @ShawnGlade because I was a former player for Halifax. He was an ultimate legend for Halifax as a coach. He then got promoted to coach of Davos. @Beaviss also welcomed me back which was highly appreciated. I’ve definitely got a lot more work until I make my resurgence, but it’s most definitely going to happen because I love being apart of VHL. ✌? Nathan MacKinnon

Elias Pettersson has been able to put up points consistently ever since he was 15. When Pettersson transferred over to the top men's league in Sweden (the SHL), he was able to compile an impressive point total of 56 points in 44 games. We have to realize that Pettersson was playing against men who were a lot older than him. On the international stage, he was able to pick up impressive point totals as well with Sweden. His scoring abilities and creative play led him to being able to start the 2018-19 season with the Vancouver Canucks. Nobody really knew how good he was until he was able to show it in his rookie season with the Vancouver Canucks. Canucks coaching decided to put him on the first line with Brock Boeser and they both were able to find chemistry with one another. He thrived so much by being on the first line that he was able to attain 66 points in 71 games which is very, very impressive for a rookie. This incredible point total has put him in a really good position to win the Calder Memorial Trophy which is awarded to the top rookie in the NHL. He is currently competing with Jordan Binnington and Rasmus Dahlin for the Calder Memorial Trophy (which is quite impressive company). The fact that he was able to get 66 points while being on one of the lower-tier NHL hockey teams is quite impressive. Pettersson definitely has a lot more room to grow as player. He is expected to get more aggressive and physical as he puts on more weight. I expect Vancouver to build around Pettersson considering how good he is. - Nathan MacKinnon

Joseph Veleno is an elite scoring forward. He gained exceptipnal status which allowed him to go into major junior hockey a year earlier than usual. Exceptional player status signifies that you're a very elite forward. He was able to do pretty well his first season in major junior hockey which he was able to compile 43 points in 62 games which is quite good considering being only 15. Later on in his major junior hockey career, he wasn't able to put up amazing totals. Some people considered him unworthy of the exceptional player status. When he reached the draft, he was said to be a top 15 pick in the NHL draft. When the draft began, teams kept passing on Joe Veleno because they were scared of his offensive upside. Finally, with the 30th pick, Detroit chose Joe Veleno. Joe Veleno's fall was a surprise to most. Detroit seemed quite excited to have attained Joe Veleno. After the draft, he returned to Drummondville and was able to compile an impressive total of 104 points in 59 games. Detroit has been very impressed with Veleno's scoring abilities. Joe Veleno is now one of the most important pieces in Detroit's rebuild. Veleno may not have been ready to join major junior hockey early, but he had proved that can eventually be a dangerous scoring forward. - Nathan MacKinnon

Vasili Podkolzin is a Russian forward who has incredible, fast moving hands. He has been projected to go 3rd overall for quite some time, and has been able to pick up some decent totals in his career. He doesn't have a very high hockey IQ which puts him at a pretty big disadvantage. As we have seen over the years, players with a low hockey IQ tend to be heavily reliant on their teammates (and usually turn out to be busts). One of those busts being Nail Yakupov (who is also a Russia native). Podkolzin will be playing for SKA Saint Petersburg, and the question will be whether he wants to stays in Russia or go play professional hockey in the U.S.. SKA Saint Petersburg pays their players hefty salaries which is seen as attractive by a lot of different players. You have to look at it, is he too risky to pick? Is his past stats deceiving? He hasn't been getting a lot of recognition because of his recent totals. Put your opinions down in the comments. I would love to hear them!

Bobrovsky would put Philly in a safer position. Hart still hasn't proved himself to be that number one goalie. He could possibly develop more in the coming of years, but Philly really needs a consistent goalie. Philly has a lot of offensive and defensive assets, but not a bonafide number one goalie.

There are a lot of possible high quality free agents this Summer that a lot of NHL teams want to snag. NHL teams need to make sure that they're able to sign their existing players before trying to entice another player to come to their team. A lot of the time when a team finally signs all of their current players, it hinders their chances of getting one of those top players in free agency. Though, a lot of teams are willing to trade away their players to make space for top quality free agents. One thing for most teams is that they don't like making big splashes (or big signings) because they want to continue on with the development of their prospects. Some of the possible top free agents this Summer are Erik Karlsson, Matt Duchene, Artemi Panarin, and Sergei Bobrovsky. Erik Karlsson used to be the Ottawa Senators captain, but then had personal troubles that were related to his wife. The Senators then traded Karlsson to San Jose for various assets that the they could use in the future and the present. Karlsson is probably not going to re-sign in San Jose so he's going to end up in free agency. There has been a lot of talk about how Karlsson is aging slowly, and he isn't really, really highly sought after. Another thing with him is that a lot of the time he has to compensate for himself defensively through making offensive-related contributions on the ice. Some teams though could be looking for a 1D caliber defenseman. (*cough cough* Tampa Bay Lightning). He most definitely could re-sign with the Sharks as well as they're quite a competitive team. Matt Duchene got chosen to go to the Colorado Avalanche and played for them for almost 9 years. Later on in his career, he parted ways with the Avalanche because of how poorly they were doing. Duchene got traded to the Ottawa Senators, and he managed to attain 107 points in 2 seasons for the Sens. Duchene then later on went to the Columbus Blue Jackets where he was able to have a little taste of playoff hockey. No deal has been made for Duchene to return to Columbus so there is a good chance that Duchene will be one of the several top free agents. There could be a possible homecoming for Matt Duchene back in Colorado, but the chances are slim considering his past relations with Joe Sakic. Artemi Panarin started his career with Chicago and then eventually went to Columbus where he has found a lot of success. He has made it outwardly clear that he doesn't want to return to the Blue Jackets. Based off of numerous articles, it looks like he wants to go to teams where their city has a lot of different stuff to do besides hockey (Florida Panther and the New York Rangers). He is a really good player who does everything right. He's a very top quality player who would be a good asset for any team. Sergei Bobrovsky is a two-time Vezina Trophy winner. Bobrovsky has also made somewhat apparent that he doesn't want to return to the Columbus Blue Jackets. He has managed to be pretty consistent with his save percentages and goals against average. He is currently 30 so he he probably has 6 or 7 more years in the league which isn't too bad. There are several teams who're in dire need of a goalie like Bobrovsky. He's going to be quite expensive so teams need to make sure that they can afford him. One of the teams Bobrovsky could go to is the Philadelphia Flyers. They don't have a number one goaltender, and Bobrovsky would automatically make them a playoff contender. This free agency is sure to be exciting. A lot of teams are going to be vying to get these players, but they're going to also have to watch to make sure that they have enough money for these top notch players. Thank ya'll for the support. It's been a pleasure to offer VHL NHL-related content as this website is usually primarily focused on whatever is going in VHL. I might return to VHL in the next year or so. Be prepared to see the comeback of Nathan MacKinnon!!! (To support me, like my content! Give me constructive feedback/ideas for new content) - Nathan MacKinnon

Possibly, I will have to do more research though.

The 2019 NHL draft is going to be a very exciting draft this year. There are several bona fied future NHL superstars. Some of the big names in the draft being Jack Hughes and Kaapo Kakko. This particular draft is supposed to be very deep meaning that you probably don't have to have one of the top two picks to be able to get a good player that can be significant help to your team. There are always busts though in the NHL draft. Busts usually happen because of lack of development or just mediocre hockey IQ. We are going to take a look at which players will go to which teams. At the end of this article, there will be a summarized analysis created by me. NEW JERSEY DEVILS - Jack Hughes NEW YORK RANGERS - Kaapo Kakko CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS - Bowen Byram COLORADO AVALANCHE - Alex Turcotte LOS ANGELES KINGS - Vasili Podkolzin The New Jersey Devils will pick Jack Hughes with their 1st overall pick. They could possibly choose Kaapo Kakko, but Jack Hughes will provide the Devils with a deadly one two punch down the middle. Nico Hischier will center the second line which will then provide the Devils with more depth. This acquisition could possibly push the Devils into a playoff spot next season. Jack Hughes is a competitive, smart playmaker who can jump into the right areas of play. His height may try to deceive you, but some of the best NHL players are smaller. The New York Rangers will take Kaapo Kakko most definitely if Jack Hughes is selected by the New Jersey Devils. Kakko will help the New York Rangers with their rebuild into becoming a playoff contender. Kakko is NHL-ready and has been playing against men that are a lot older than him. He is a consistent goal scorer while also being able to make smart plays. He has a really high hockey IQ which will help him play in the NHL as well. A lot of articles are talking about whether he is better than Hughes. Only time will tell! The Chicago Blackhawks will take Bowen Byram 3rd overall. The Blackhawks have been taking quite a lot of talented defenseman over the years. Bowen Byram keeps on getting positive recognition from various different sources. He's an offensively-minded defenseman that is talented in almost all other aspects. His defense could use a little bit of work, but so far, he looks like he could be a franchise defenseman in the coming of years. They could take an offenseman, but due to the fact of how hard it is to get a defenseman of his caliber, I am quite sure that the Blackhawks will probably take him. The Colorado Avalanche will take Alex Turcotte 4th overall. Alex Turcotte is a talented center that has been playing on the second line. He was injured for almost half of the season, but was able to bounce back and attain 62 points in 37 games. 62 points in 37 games is quite the total, but he might not be NHL-ready right off of the bat due to him not having a sufficient amount of experience. Another negative factor to him is that he has been playing against players that aren't as talented as players in the WHL, OHL, and other leagues. Alex Turcotte will provide Colorado with a possible one two punch down the middle. Colorado doesn't have a lot of offensive depth so adding a player like Alex Turcotte won't hurt anything. The Los Angeles Kings will take the risk of drafting Vasili Podkolzin 5th overall. He has been playing in Russia, and he possesses a lot of talent. He has very good hands, but his skating could use some work. He's going to be either a bust or a beauty. Another thing that is kind of concerning is as to whether he's willing to go to the U.S. to play in the NHL or just stay in Russia to play for SKA Saint Petersburg. We will have to wait and see! I feel like this is going to be a very interesting draft. It's going to be somewhat deep, but not fully. I feel like there is going to be a gem in the later part of the first round (Cole Caufield). Stay tuned for the possibility of more 2019 NHL Draft-related content. (And NHL content as well!) I appreciate the support! Don't forget to give this post a like!!! :))

Quinn Hughes was drafted 7th overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. Cale Makar was drafted 4th overall by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. Makar and Hughes are both offensively minded defenseman who're both considerably small as well. Quinn Hughes played for the University of Michigan and was able to compile 33 points in 32 games in his second season which amounts to more than a point per game. He is known to be a very elite offensive defenseman who can make smart plays with lot's of ease. His +/- in the NCAA with the University of Michigan was -2. Since he has a very small build, it's hard for him to be able to stay on the puck. He's going to need to work on holding his ground as player so he doesn't get the puck taken away from him consistently. He recently moved over into the NHL to play with the Vancouver Canucks. He has 1 point in 2 games which is considerably good considering he got placed into the NHL right away. Having that small amount of NHL experience will help him get acclimated for next season. He is definitely going to be an exciting player in the coming of years! (FUN FACT: When he went to the Draft Combine, he requested that they don't take his height or weight so that in the draft they don't pick over him because of his size.) Cale Makar is currently playing with the University of Massachusetts (Amherst). In his first season as a minutemen, he was able to compile 21points in 34 games.In his second season as a minutemen, he has been able to compile 48 points in 39 games this season (counting the playoffs). He has led his team from being a subpar ice hockey team into a competitive, championship contender. He has surely gotten a lot of leadership experience considering they made him captain of the UMass Minutemen ice hockey team. Before he went to UMass, he got the opportunity to be one of the best defensemen at the U-20 WJC. Makar got 8 points in 7 games during that time. (To any Avs fans out there, once he's done in the playoffs, he could possibly join the Avalanche lineup. He would hopefully make an impact on our team!) To sum up this article, they're both really good, exciting young players. They have a simiular build and they both are offensively minded defensemen. Hughes got 2 years of college experience, and Makar got the same as well. We will see how both of these players flourish throughout their professional hockey careers. You might see one of them win the Calder Memorial Trophy next year! The NHL is definitely shaping into a place where young talent can come in and find their place. Please support me by liking it! - Nathan MacKinnon

Oh, hell no. At least Detroit has Jonathan Bernier and Mike Green. Craig Anderson's time is almost up, and Thomas Chabot is basically their best defenseman now.

(I decided to do an update because their franchise player just got traded. If you liked this piece of content, hit the like button!) The Senators are in a complete hell hole that is sure to become a lot worse. Two seasons ago, the Ottawa Senators made it deep into the playoffs with no indication of trouble, whatsoever. Last season in November, Ottawa, Colorado, and Nashville decided to do a blockbuster, three-way deal. Nashville got Kyle Turris, Ottawa got Matt Duchene, and Colorado got quite the package that included Samuel Girard, Shane Bowers, and OTT's 1st round pick (just to name a few). Little did Ottawa know is that they gave away a decent top 6 forward in Shane Bowers and a 1st round pick that is worth a lot more than it was worth at the beginning of last season. Now, if you haven't heard yet, Ottawa recently just traded Erik Karlsson for a package of assets and several players. You need to look at what they exactly got. Pierre Dorion strikes again, and got fleeced. Also, if you haven't recently heard, Duchene said that he'd have to wait and see what Erik Karlsson does. Uh, Matt Duchene, Erik Karlsson just got traded so I'd assume that you'd be leaving as well (getting traded or heading off to free agency). If Duchene leaves, Stone is probably leaving as well. That leaves OTT with basically Chabot and Brady Tkachuk. Oh, one more thing, Pierre Dorion traded away Mike Hoffman for literally nothing. Let's analyze what the Ottawa Senators currently have, and we will go from there. They CURRENTLY have Mark Stone, Matt Duchene, Thomas Chabot, Brady Tkachuk, and future roster player, Logan Brown. That's very bad if you ask me. Detroit and Montreal are probably a lot better than Ottawa now. They decided to trade away Erik Karlsson who would've at least carried the Ottawa Senators. Their organization is very, very sad right now. The Ottawa Senators staff is trying to make their package of assets sound like something good. The return Ottawa got is not even close to how much EK is actually worth. We don't know if EK is going to sign an extension with San Jose, but still, that trade was horrific. We will have to see how every pans out, but the way it's looking right now is that Colorado has a great shot at the 1st overall pick this year. Comment down below how badly you think Ottawa will do!