We’ve been busy bees in this years mock draft — we kept the 6th overall pick and selected center Mason McTavish, we then decided to get a little fancy and pull off a “mockbuster” trade with our friends at Pensburgh and Knights on Ice. Now we’re picking at 30 (technically 29), and we’re taking center Zach Dean out of the QMJHL.
Zach Dean – Center
Birth date: January 04, 2003
Team: Gatineau Olympiques
Height: 6’0””
Weight: 176 lbs.
Shoots: L
The numbers don’t exactly jump out at you when you look at Zach Dean, but it’s important to note that he plays for a relatively low-scoring team in an otherwise high-scoring league. Having said that, just watching him for a few shifts you can see that he has a lot of offensive flare. Good hands, and a playmaker’s mindset. A comparable that comes to mind is Matt Duchene.
Dean also fills a need for the Red Wings, that’s why I took McTavish with the 6th pick.. Let’s face it, the Red Wings are weak up the middle and need to start kicking that can a little more. They’re flush with skilled wingers, so it would be nice to see them put some more investment in the center position.
Dean is an extremely creative, playmaking center that displays excellent vision. He’s one of the best passers in the class and can hold his own defensively as well. Showing consistency in his own end and driving the middle of the ice are areas of improvement.
-Future Considerations 2021 NHL Draft Guide
Consider Dean a ‘project’ type prospect. Not as close to NHL-ready as Mason McTavish, but give him a year or two, he’ll be ready to move into pro hockey, barring any sort of meteoric rise, which is not impossible. He missed some time this last season due to injury, so there’s some missed development there, especially with all of the pandemic’s impact on training. He has some tendencies that will need to be worked on — he tends to force the play in some situations which can put his team in a tough spot. Again, he’s not exactly surrounded by a ton of talent in Gatineau. At the end of the day, Zach Dean is a fun and flashy player that could grow into potential threat at even strength and power-play situations.
Here’s how the picks have played out in the 2021 NHL Mock Draft by SB Nation (remember, Arizona’s 1st rd pick was forfeited):
- Owen Power – BUF
- Matthew Beniers – SEA
- Dylan Guenther – ANA
- Luke Hughes – NJD
- William Eklund – CBJ
- Mason McTavish – DET
- Kent Johnson – SJS
- Simon Edvinsson – LAK
- Brandt Clarke – VAN
- Fabian Lysell – OTT
- Jesper Wallstedt – CHI
- Cole Sillinger – CGY
- Aatu Raty – MIN
- Corson Ceuelemans – DAL
- Chaz Lucius – NYR
- Matthew Coronato – STL
- Logan Stankoven – WPG
- Oskar Olausson – NSH
- Sebastian Cossa – EDM
- Isak Rosen – BOS
- Fyodor Svechkov – MIN
- Zachary Bolduc – VGK
- Carson Lambos – FLA
- Nikita Chibrikov – CBJ
- Francesco Pinelli – MIN
- Brennan Othmann – CAR
- Olen Zellweger – COL
- Simon Robertsson – NJD
- Zach Dean – DET
How do you grade the WIIM picks?
| A | 30 |
| B | 119 |
| C | 139 |
| D | 57 |
| F | 65 |
