Arctic Ice Hockey’s First Annual NHL Mock Draft: Pick #30

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 thirtieth overall pick of Arctic Ice Hockey's 2012 Mock Draft.

Dean Lombardi: With the thirtieth overall selection in this years draft, the Los Angeles Kings are pleased to select…

Rankings: CSS (75 NA), ISS (27), TSN (29), Hockey Prospectus (39)

The Skinny: The Kings just won the 2012 Stanley Cup icing a big group of forwards. Samuelsson fits the bill. Along with size and grit, he also has a lot of raw skill that could actualize itself while playing with the likes of Mike Richards and Jeff Carter.

Hockey Prospectus:

The son of Ulf Samuelsson has had an interesting pre-draft career. He turned heads as a 16-year-old with the USNTDP, then went over to Sweden to play for his father but struggled and ended up transferring to the WHL mid-season. Samuelsson is a tremendously advanced physical player, whose body at the least could be NHL-ready in two years if not by next season. He projects as a high-end physical player at the top level due to his strength, grittiness, and the way he protects the puck in battles. That said, I didn’t see that high-end physical game as much in the WHL as I have at other times. He has above-average puck skills, and although he isn’t going to light the world on fire offensively, he can make creative plays and should be accounted for when his team has the puck in the offensive zone. He plants himself in front of the net well, and when watching him at younger age levels, it was somewhat amusing seeing some defensemen try to dislodge him. His solid hockey sense and vision, when combined with his puck skills and body, are the makings of an above-average offensive player. Skating has always been Henrik’s main problem. While his movement is not as horrid as it was one or two years ago, it is still notably below average and he does have mechanical issues with his stride as opposed to the kind of problem a summer of power skating will fix. – Corey Pronman

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