麻豆传媒映画

There are a lot of different draft strategies out there. You can go for quantity, acquiring as many picks as possible and hoping for the best. You can go full bore into analytics, ignoring any player that doesn鈥檛 have a high enough INV% and ESP1/60. You can draft for need, aiming to fill in gaps in your roster and system with every pick. You can even draft according to .

Ultimately, most teams are trying to draft the best player available, which isn鈥檛 so much a drafting strategy as it is the end goal of every single team.

There is, however, another way. Instead of drafting the best player available, you can draft the best听name听available. These are guys with name intangibles that you just can鈥檛 teach. Literally, you can鈥檛 teach them, because they鈥檙e given these names at birth.

Picking the best name available makes a lot of sense when it comes to catering to your fans. Fans love wearing jerseys with the names of their favourite players, so why not make them the best names possible? Why have a 鈥淪mith鈥� jersey when you could have a 鈥淏utcher鈥� jersey? Names matter.

Also, if you鈥檙e going to hearing a player鈥檚 name said by your team鈥檚 play-by-play announcer for the next decade or so, why not have it be a name that is fun to say?

I produced a list of the , and the Canucks came through, picking one of my top names available: the guy with the metalcore last name, Jack Rathbone.

Rathbone came in at sixth overall in my name rankings last year. Will the Canucks grab a top-20 name this year?

Honourable Mentions: Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Jack McBain, Ryan O鈥橰eilly (please get picked by Buffalo), Xan Gurney, Samuel L鈥橧talien, Jan Sir, Oliver True, Dawson Butt.

Special Mention: Rickard Hugg

His name could potentially shorten to Dick Hugg, which is amazing, but it was also enough for him to make the list last year. No two-time finishers for this list. But I will note that 鈥淗ugg鈥� could also translate from Swedish as 鈥渟tab,鈥� 鈥渃hop,鈥� or 鈥渉ack,鈥� and Dick Chop is also still hilarious.

20 | Jake Wise

Wise is just a great name to put on the back of a jersey. Also, you get to say, 鈥淭hat was a Wise pick,鈥� when he gets selected at the draft. He鈥檚 just let down by a mediocre first name, which is why he鈥檚 likely to go in the second or third round, instead of the first.

19 | Dominik Bokk

Bokk played a little with Elias Pettersson for the V盲xj枚 Lakers last season and has some high-end skill, enough to make him a potential first-round pick. He鈥檚 a tremendous offensive talent and matches that talent with a tremendous name: Dominik Bokk is a superb name, even if it lends itself too easily to chicken jokes.

18 | Jacob Schmidt-Svejstrup

Hyphenated last names are already going to a mouthful for a play-by-play announcer and then you go and make the second name 鈥淪vejstrup.鈥� What a monster of a last name.

17 | Matthew Grouchy

That鈥檚 not a real last name; that鈥檚 the name of a rejected dwarf. 鈥淲e鈥檝e already got Grumpy, don鈥檛 need another bad-tempered dwarf in the house.鈥�

16 | Blade Jenkins

His last name is only good because of its association with Leeroy Jenkins, but 鈥淏lade鈥� is a superb first name for a hockey player. He just needs to petition his team to let him put his first name on his jersey.

Blade is expected to go late in the second round or early in the third round of the draft. If you can get a guy named 鈥淏lade鈥� in the third round, you have to do it.

15 | Logan Cash

When you go to buy his jersey and get it customized, be sure to tell them, 鈥淛ust make the jersey out to 鈥楥ash.鈥欌��

14 | Shaw Boomhower

.

Boomhower isn鈥檛 going to get drafted 鈥� he鈥檚 in his second year of eligibility and had just 16 points in the OHL 鈥� but he does share a name with one of the greatest characters in television history, even if it鈥檚 spelled slightly differently.

13 | Derek Gentile

He loses points for the thoroughly ordinary first name, but seeing 鈥淕entile鈥� on the back of a hockey jersey makes it all worth it.

12 | Alexis Gravel

He definitely has some grit to his game.

Yes, he鈥檚 a goalie. No, I will not apologize for that joke.

11 | Wyllum Deveaux

Willem Dafoe is definitely going to sue this guy for identity theft.

Deveaux will surely slide down the draft after missing most of the season with mono and a knee injury, making him an intriguing prospect in later rounds, particularly namewise.

10 | Martin Bucko

Look, bucko, I鈥檓 not going to let Jordan Peterson ruin the word 鈥渂ucko.鈥�

Bucko is ranked 80th among European skaters by Central Scouting.

9 | William Worge Kre眉

I鈥檓 a sucker for a good umlaut. Also, if he makes it to the NHL, his fans could be called the Kre眉 Crew.

Unfortunately, that鈥檚 a longshot. Kre眉 was ranked 92nd among European skaters by Central Scouting in their mid-term rankings, but he鈥檚 fallen completely off their list since. He鈥檚 still intriguing 鈥� a 6鈥�6鈥� defenceman with some raw talent to go with his size 鈥� and a team might like his potential enough to grab him with a late-round pick. Considering his name, they would negligent not to draft him.

8 | Wyatte Wylie

This name's alliteration per 60 is through the roof. It鈥檚 just a fun name to say and one that鈥檚 sure to be a favourite of in-arena announcers everywhere.

Wylie also sounds like 鈥渨ily,鈥� which means 鈥渟killed at gaining an advantage, especially deceitfully,鈥� which is a great trait for a hockey player and also lends itself immediately to comparisons to the greatest of Looney Tune characters, Wile E. Coyote.

This is a multi-dimensional hockey name, folks.

7 | Angus Crookshank

This is just a wonderfully Scottish name and there just aren鈥檛 enough Scottish names in the NHL. Add in that he shares a name with Hermione Granger鈥檚 cat (more or less) and this is just a superb name.

Crookshank is a local boy from North 麻豆传媒映画who played for the Langley Rivermen and had 45 points in 42 games. He鈥檚 slated to go to the University of North Hampshire after the draft, where he could be a late-round pick.

6 | Mareks Mitens

I like to think that his parents named him after seeing Marek Malik鈥檚 unlikely for the Rangers. Unfortunately, that goal came seven years after Mitens was born, but it鈥檚 still wonderful that his name sounds like a tribute to Marek鈥檚 magical mitts.

Mitens uses a different kind of glove than Malik, however, as he is a goaltender. Latvia has produced some pretty good goaltenders, but he鈥檚 a longshot to get drafted, as he鈥檚 already 20 and is coming off a bad year in the NCAA.

5 | Andrew Coxhead

Look, I鈥檇 like to tell you that I am too mature to chortle at the name 鈥淐oxhead,鈥� but I would be lying.

4 | Bode Wilde

Bode Wilde is expected to get picked in the middle of the first round. The Minnesota Wild aren鈥檛 picking until 24th overall. You know that that means: they need to trade up in the draft. You know that a Wild jersey with 鈥淲ilde鈥� on the back would sell like crazy. Don鈥檛 pretend it wouldn鈥檛.

Also, 鈥淏ode鈥� is a very .

3 | Arttu Nevasaari

R2-D2 never apologizes. Ever.

2 | Jett Woo

There鈥檚 a beautiful simplicity to this name. It brings to mind action star Jet Li or .

It helps that Woo is an elite skater, making his name 鈥淛ett鈥� an accurate description of him on the ice. He鈥檚 a potential first-round pick, ranked 21st by Hockey News, , and . There鈥檚 a possibility that he falls to the second round, where he might be available for the Canucks, who could use another defenceman prospect like Woo and could definitely use someone with an awesome name like Woo.

There鈥檚 another 鈥淛ett鈥� available in the draft, but let鈥檚 be frank: Jett Alexander is not a great name. Adding the last name 鈥淎lexander鈥� immediately makes the first name 鈥淛ett鈥� ten times lamer.

1 | Nando Eggenberger

Frenemy-of-the-blog Wyatt Arndt has been ever since he first heard his name and it鈥檚 understandable: this is an all-time great name. It鈥檚 an obvious pick for the best name of the 2018 draft class.

Eggenberger is a legitimate prospect too. He has great speed and a superb release on his shot. He鈥檚 been playing against men in the top Swiss league. He鈥檚 ranked all over the place, however.

Central Scouting has him 48th among European skaters. , which would make him a third-round pick, while , suggesting a team might take him in the second round. .

Eggenberger鈥檚 name also has endless marketing possibilities. Okay, correction, it has one marketing possibility, but it鈥檚 a good one: Nando鈥檚 needs to make a breakfast sandwich, call it the Egg 鈥榥鈥� Burger, and hire Eggenberger to be the spokesman for the commercials. Job done.
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