The 2019 NHL Draft gets underway tonight at 8 p.m. with the first round on the NBC Sports Network with Rounds 2-7 taking place the next day. The Washington Capitals pick at 25th.
The Hudson River neighbors New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers have the first two picks and it’s inevitable Jack Hughes and Kaapo Kakko will be selected. After that, the drama intensifies.
Here is the official first round order directly from NHL.com:
- New Jersey Devils
- New York Rangers
- Chicago Blackhawks
- Colorado Avalanche (via Ottawa)
- Los Angeles Kings
- Detroit Red Wings
- Buffalo Sabres
- Edmonton Oilers
- Anaheim Ducks
- Vancouver Canucks
- Philadelphia Flyers
- Minnesota Wild
- Florida Panthers
- Arizona Coyotes
- Montreal Canadiens
- Colorado Avalanche
- Vegas Golden Knights
- Dallas Stars
- Ottawa Senators (from Columbus)
- New York Rangers (from Winnipeg)
- Pittsburgh Penguins
- Los Angeles Kings (from Toronto)
- New York Islanders
- Nashville Predators
- Washington Capitals
- Calgary Flames
- Tampa Bay Lightning
- Carolina Hurricanes
- Anaheim Ducks (from Dallas via Buffalo
- Boston Bruins
- Buffalo Sabres (from St. Louis)
With the 25th pick the Washington Capitals select left winger Nils Hoglander: General Manager Brian MacLellan usually approaches these drafts by taking the best player available but as noted in the offseason predictions, there’s a good chance a forward will be taken.
The last time a forward was drafted was 2014 with Jakub Vrana as the 13th pick. Since this selection, there hasn’t been a forward selected until the 47th pick in the drafts since.
Prediction is that the Capitals will select Nils Hoglander from Sweden.
Nils Hoglander is a left winger and Elite Prospects said that :“Hoglander stands out with his exceptional puck skills and hands . Really good stickhandler and he loves to get creative with the puck, scoring spectacular goals at times. Decent skater who accelerates well and works very hard along the boards in the offensive zone.”
Hoglander is 18 years old and has a speed game like current Capitals Swedish prospect Axel Jonsson-Fjallby.