Mocking the draft II

Mock drafts are far more entertaining than they are constructive, given that it’s all but impossible to predict, at one time, what 30 general managers are going to do, but it’s still fun to take a peak and guess what the Kings might do at No. 19 next week. NHL.com has released a few mock drafts, all of which naturally start with Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin going 1-2, but then vary greatly. As far as the Kings are concerned, the mock drafts are unanimous…unanimous in their disagreement, that is. All five have the Kings taking a forward, as almost everyone presumes they will, but they all offer different candidates. Here’s a look at the mock drafts, and the prospects involved…

Adam Kimelman has the Kings taking Vladimir Tarasenko, a winger from the KHL.

Mike Morreale has the Kings taking Jeff Skinner,  a winger from the OHL.

Brad Holland has the Kings taking Emerson Etem, a winger from the WHL.

An anonymous Eastern scout has the Kings taking Evgeny Kuznetsov, a center from the KHL.

An anonymous Western scout has the Kings taking Brock Nelson, a high-school center from Minnesota.

So the projected picks are all over the place, from the KHL to the CHL to high school. The most interesting pick might be Etem, a native of Long Beach, but several other mock drafts have Etem going in the top 10.