Mock Draft: Eric Balnar predicts the draft...

The NHSL draft is nearly here. 

On Monday 11 October at 7:00PM, the General Managers of the Stars, Brewers and Xtreme will head to the war-room at Big Shed Brewing and select their teams.

Each team has already selected their two marquee players to build their team around. Everybody has signed a coach to lead the charge. 

Now to determine the rosters of each team. This is where the speculation begins...

NHSL and Ice Hockey commentator Eric Balnar has been tasked with giving us all a "mock draft" on who he thinks will go first overall and how the draft will play out. He'll be selecting from this list. 

Each day we'll reveal an extra "round" to the tally. Read on to see who he picks. 

But first, the draft rules:
- The draft order was selected at random on live TV two weeks ago. The order is 1. XTreme 2. Brewers 3. Stars.
- It will be a snake draft. This means that the Stars pick third in round one, but first in round two.
- For the first six rounds, teams can't select players from the same club on back-to-back picks



Marquee Players signed:
Adelaide Xtreme: Joey MacDougall (Forward) and Jeremy Friederich (Goalie)
Port Adelaide Brewers: Steve Best (Forward) and Zach Boyle (Defense)
Noarlunga Stars: Jake Riley (Forward) and Jan Koubek (Forward)

Eric Balnar's Mock Draft

Round 1 Pick 1 (Xtreme): Nathaniel Benson - While the Xtreme do not have a defenseman signed to their roster, it's hard to look past 21-year-old Nathaniel Benson. He finished second in the Premier League in scoring (45 points), scored three goals in the Jokers' Championship Series win, has experience in Canada and is an emerging Australian star. Benson and MacDougall would form a formidable 1-2 punch down the middle and pretty much allow any other forward to easily slide on a line with them. Great chance for MacDougall to mentor young Benson.

Round 1 Pick 2 (Brewers): Tyler Leeming - Will General Manager Bill Newbound and Head Coach Mitch Villani stick with something tried, tested and true? Those two Red Wings already have fellow club member Steve Best on board and they could look to add Leeming here. Tyler is a multiple-time recipient of the MVP award and has won three championships with the Red Wings. The Canadian forward plays hard and is versatile. Forms a great combo with Best and a serious scoring threat with Boyle feeding them from the blue line. 

Round 1 Pick 3 (Stars): Josh Harding - Head coach Sami Mantere and General Manager Matt Lothian don't have a defenseman or goalie signed at all, leaving a big hole on the back-end to fill. I think Harding would be a good fit here. A smart, reliable and legendary puck-moving defenseman. He would be a player with a hockey IQ to play with Jan Koubek, and a great point man on a power play featuring Jake Riley.