While I’m a big proponent of picking the Best Player (or Prospect) Available across the NHL Entry Draft board, what I really mean a lot of time is the best forward available, as defensemen are, in my humble opinion, harder to gauge, and usually take longer to develop.
That said, although it pained me a bit to make this particular pick, the value represented by defenseman Carson Lambos was good to pass up with the 23rd pick in the SBN NHL Mock Draft, as the Winnipeg Ice blueliner’s average draft ranking averages out to 15.5.
The smooth-skating Lambos was the second overall pick in the 2018 WHL Bantam Draft and appeared in five games with the then Kootenay Ice that season, tallying his first goal in the league.