Arctic Ice Hockey’s First Annual NHL Mock Draft: Pick #29

Hey all! Welcome to Arctic Ice Hockey's first annual NHL Mock Draft. Over the next thirty days, Ryan, Tim and myself will attempt to telepathically channel the minds of NHL General Managers as they complete their final rankings in preparation for the 2012 NHL Draft being held June 22, 2012 in Pittsburgh, PA.

In some instances, our analysis will require less insight than others *cough* *Edmonton* *cough*.

So without further adieu, we present our loyal readers with the twenty-ninth overall pick of Arctic Ice Hockey's 2012 Mock Draft.

Lou Lamoriello: With the twenty-ninth overall selection in this years draft, the New Jersey Devils are pleased to select…

Rankings: CSS (19 NA), ISS (26), TSN (26), Hockey Prospectus (37)

The Skinny: While it might make sense for the Devils to take a goalie prospect here — especially considering they decided to keep it as opposed to forfeit it as part of the Ilya Kovalchuk signing — it’s difficult to overlook the spare parts they have used in making their defensive pairings.

Hockey Prospectus:

Skjei is quite an intriguing prospect to scout, as while average across the board aside from his size and skating, it’s the latter that is clearly visible every time he plays and generates his value. Skjei is a well above-average to elite skater who moves as well as you’ll find in a 6’3″ player. I’ve seen instances where forwards would get two or three steps behind him and with a few side steps he would catch up to them. His first step is pretty explosive and makes him very dangerous on the rush as he regularly will take the puck out of his own end and bring it up through the opponent’s blue line with ease. Skjei’s puck skills are solid for a big man, but compared to a wide talent pool they’re pretty average. The same can be said for his puck-moving skills as well which is why despite that one high-end ability, I don’t think he has a significant offensive ceiling. In his own end, he uses his mobility well to stay with his checks, but doesn’t use his large frame as much as he could and seems a bit timid at times. Whoever drafts him will be betting on the tremendous physical tools and hoping something else in his game takes a jump forward along the way to really propel his value. – Corey Pronman

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