It was a big week in the prospect world. Just two months removed from the initial draft date itself, the league finally put the ping pong balls to action and finalized the order for the 2020 NHL Draft Lottery, or as some refer to it, the Alexis Lafreniere sweepstakes. 

After a few shocking upsets in the qualifying rounds, at least if you are going by my predictions, we finally had a list of teams with a 12.5% shot at the dynamic winger out of Quebec. To the surprise of many, who thought it was destined to go the Oilers or Maple Leafs, the pick was awarded to the New York Rangers, who will now hold a first overall pick for the first time since 1965, where they also happened to take a Quebec born skater (Andre Veilleux, who never played pro hockey). If you have drafted or traded for any players from Broadway as of late, your stock just rose to new heights as they are expected to add an extremely strong price to what is already a very strong rising core. 

The first overall pick was not the only fate that decided on Monday night. We were also given the missing pieces to picks 9-15. To keep the theme alive, I thought I would dive into each team's potential picks, based on their organizational needs. I had already covered teams one through eight in a piece a few weeks back and if you did not happen to catch that, here is a quick recap:

1st Overall – Placeholder – The New York Rangers now officially own this pick, and are almost certain to choose Alexis Lafreniere.

2nd Overall – Los Angeles Kings – Extremely deep prospect pool already, and will be adding power forward Quinton Byfield to that mix. Watch out for LA.

3rd Overall – Ottawa Senators (from San Jose Sharks) – Strong up the middle, bit could use a skilled winger. Tim Stutzle goes at three.

4th Overall – Detroit Red Wings– Not top-end talent, but still strong up the middle and very heavy on the back end. Lucas Raymond is selected at four.

5th Overall – Ottawa Senators – While I contemplated a goaltender here, adding an extremely skilled winger who could pot 40-plus was too hard to pass. The Sens took Alexander Holtz at five.

6th Overall – Anaheim Ducks – Although they once had one of the strongest pipelines on the backend, it’s considered mediocre at best here in 2020. At six, it was an easy decision to add a high-end defender like Jamie Drysdale.

7th Overall – New Jersey Devils – Despite drafting Jack Hughes just one year ago, the Devils are the owners of multiple picks in the first round, which means they can address many of their holes. Marco Rossi was an easy choice here and is headed to New Jersey.

8th Overall – Buffalo Sabres – With goaltending and defense took care of, for now, the Sabres will be loading up on more offensive talent. Cole Perfetti fits the bill here and will drop to eight and head to Buffalo.

With the top eight complete, let’s take a look at the remaining seven.

I do want to stress that these picks do not necessarily reflect who they are likely to pick, but more who I believe would fill organizational holes. Keep an eye out for my mock draft as we get closer to the draft in October.

9th Overall – Minnesota Wild

Despite not owning a top-10 pick since the 2012 draft, the Minnesota Wild have fared well at the podium in recent years. Highlighted by the coveted Russian star-to-be Kirill Kaprizov, the Wild boast an underrated prospect core and look poised to turn the corner sooner rather than later. The Wild have historically built teams based on a defense-first mantra, and have generally remained an overaged, trap-style team. Things seem to be trending in a much different direction, and it would not surprise me in the slightest to see the club's offensive numbers skyrocket up the rankings in the next few years.

With well-known goal scorers such as Mathew Boldy and Adam Beckman on the left side, combined with the addition of Calen Addison to an already strong defensive core, a high-end centerman or right-wing should be on their high list of priorities. Luckily, Anton Lundell should be available at nine and could be the perfect complement to a list of offensive triggers climbing up the pipeline. 

Lundell is a responsible, two-way pivot who can still contribute on the scoresheet here and there.  He is already physically mature and has shown that he can compete among men already. He could be the perfect specimen to follow in Mikko Koivu's footsteps once he has moved on from the club.

My Prediction: Anton Lundell, C

10th Overall – Winnipeg Jets

The Jets have been a contender for a few seasons now, and because of that, their prospect pool has taken a slight hit, most notably up front. With names such as Ville Heinola and Sam Niku progressing towards full-time deployment, combined with newly acquired Neal Pionk and steady eddy Josh Morrissey, their blueline could afford to sit tight for now.

With their current captain and top-line right wing, Blake Wheeler just two weeks shy of hitting the 34-year mark, it may be time to think about adding another option to join Patrik Laine on that top-six. With that mindset, they have a nice bundle of wingers to choose from, all of which would be appropriate to go at 10. At which point it would be best to choose the best right wing available, and there is no better than OHL scoring machine, Jack Quinn. 

Touted as one of the drafts purest goal scorers, if not the purest, Quinn could alleviate some of the heavy lifting that will be tasked from Laine in the coming seasons. He plays sound defensively and could be a strong addition to their impressive list of young forwards. 

My prediction: Jack Quinn, RW

11th Overall – Nashville Predators

It's no secret that the Predators have a long history of snagging up defenders in the draft, and it will take some will power for the club's General Manager David Poile to pass up on a high-end blue liner that remains available in Jake Sanderson. However, with one of the league's strongest top-4 corps and 21-year-old Dante Fabbro evolving into a very solid contributor, it would be in his best interest to explore other options.

For me, that option is on the right side. Contrary to the left side, the Predators lack deep options at RW and should be looking to fill that void as soon as possible. Thus, brings us to Dawson Mercer, a consistent winger out of the QMJHL.

His numbers at the Junior level may not be as flashy as some of his peers in the first round, however, Mercer is a strong and intelligent player who can grind opponents down while finding the hard areas to create plays. He is the definition of a Swiss Army knife and his style meshes well with the brand of hockey coming out of Nashville. 

My prediction: Dawson Mercer, RW

12th Overall – Florida Panthers

The Panthers continue to disappoint, despite icing above-average rosters over the previous five seasons. In fact, the only promising storyline for them in that time frame would be the list of prospects they have managed to stockpile with those shortcomings. The Panthers have strong candidates in almost all areas on the depth chart, especially up the middle and in the crease. With players such as Owen Tippett and Grigori Denisenko poised to break out on each wing over the next season or two, an extra piece to their backend would go a long way.

Taking the smooth-skating defender, Jake Sanderson at 12 is just as much of a no brainer as it is highly unlikely that he falls this late. The 18-year-old has jumped up the rankings at an electric pace since January, and for good reason.

He is a smooth skater, one of the best in the draft, and can transition the puck at a high level. He plays sound defensively and holds the potential to grow into an offensive contributor. He carries a heavy shot and could undoubtedly man a power play in due time. If the Panthers get lucky enough to select a defenseman of this caliber this late in the round, consider that a major win for the organization.

My Prediction: Jake Sanderson, D

13th Overall – Carolina Hurricanes (from Toronto Maple Leafs)

The fact that the Hurricanes own a top-15 pick in this year's draft may just be the crime of the century. With an extremely strong and very young top-six core, along with arguably the best top-6 in the game, the Hurricanes have an easy decision on their hands.

Despite Alex Nedeljkovic finally looking ready to take on a role at the highest level, drafting a potential generational goaltender is well worth the gamble. 

Yaroslav Askarov is yet another exceptional goaltender rising from Russia and could be the X factor in pushing them towards NHL dominance in the next five years. He may take time, as the majority of goaltenders do, but his potential upside is through the roof and should be considered a steal at 13.

My preidciton: Yaroslav Askarov

14th Overall – Edmonton Oilers

McDavid, Draisaitl, and Nugent-Hopkins. It is safe to say that the Oilers are jam-packed with talent up the middle, and also boast some very solid talent on the backend. They could use some tinkering in the crease, but with the lone first-round talent already gone, its time they focus their attention the wing. 

Coming in as one of my more favored prospects in this draft pool, I have the Oilers taking the WHL standout Seth Jarvis. His speed is an obvious strength that will translate well at any level of competition. He creates the majority of his offense off the rush and carries the proper tools to convert on those opportunities. At 5-foot-10, 175-pounds, he is somewhat on the smaller size. However, despite that, enjoys going into the tough areas to fish out pucks. 

Despite a "slow" start to the season, Jarvis exploded on the scene after the Christmas break and capped off the 2019-20 campaign with a sensational 65 points over 29 games. 

My prediction: Seth Jarvis, RW

15th Overall – Pittsburgh Penguins

It’s been some time since the Penguins had to worry about a rebuild. However, with an aging core group, the Penguins must begin to look at strengthening all aspects of their pipeline. With some nice pieces upfront for trade bait, it would be worth taking a look at drafting a defender, something they have no done in the first round since 2012 where they took Derrick Pouliot. 

Kaiden Guhle is available and would be a fine pick at 15. With a couple of young names capable of playing strong offensive games in John Marino and Pierre-Oliver Joseph, Guhle's defensive-minded style could be a nice compliment to their growing core. At 6-foot-2, he is more than capable of withstanding those at the NHL level and play heavy minutes on their top-4.

My prediction: Kaiden Guhle, D

Thank you for joining me once again. As there are usually many different versions of thought processes when it comes to drafting, I would love to hear your thoughts. Find me on Twitter @hall1289.

Enjoy the first round.