2020 NHL Draft: Anaheim Ducks select Jacob Perreault with No. 27 pick

The Anaheim Ducks held two picks in the first-round of the 2020 NHL Draft. General manager Bob Murray selected defenseman Jaime Drysdale at No. 6 overall, and added some pop to their prospect pipeline.

With the 27th pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, the Anaheim Ducks select right-winger Jacob Perreault from the Sarnia Sting of the OHL. Perreault finished with 39 goals and 70 points in 57 games in the 2019-20 season.

He is known as a goal-scorer who knows how to manipulate opposing goaltenders by using different angles to get his shot off. He’s 5-foot-11, 192 pounds and should spend another year developing his game. Sportsnet Canada compares the 18-year-old’s game to Chicago Blackhawks forward Alex DeBrincat.

Perreault went seven spots higher in our SB Nation mock draft, here is what our experts had to say about him leading up to the draft:

“Devin wrote this profile about Perreault back in April. The concerns and frustrations about Perreault are real. Defensively, he is not that sharp. It did not help at all that Sarnia as a team was bad at that aspect of the game. There are times where one has to wonder about the work ethic both on and off the ice. I get it. These are issues that any team will have to work with him to address. He will need to ultimately want to change those things to make it in pro hockey at all. However, I absolutely think the effort to do so is not only possible but absolutely worth it for the Devils to take him on.

Perreault’s skills alone would warrant this. His skating is an asset. He can be quick, he skates smoothly, and he can weave through traffic well enough. While he is not large, he can win pucks in battles along the boards and facilitate offense. Perreault is more than a shooter. However, being a shooter is absolutely Perreault’s best role. His shot release is among the best in the draft class. Whether he is in tight or from distance, he can wire pucks to the net. For those who want a shooting right winger, then Perreault has the skills you would want in one.

He also has the production to back up the skills. Perreault is a two-time 30+ goal scorer in the OHL. He scored 30 in 2018-19 as a 16-year old with 22 coming at even strength. The only 2020 draft eligible players who scored more even strength goals than Perreault in 2018-19 were Dylan Holloway, Cole Perfetti, Alexis Lafreniere, Alexander Holtz, Dawson Mercer, and Quinton Byfield per Pick224. That is an excellent group of forwards to be a part of as they will all be drafted in the first round. A 17-year old Perreault improved on that in 2019-20 with 24 even strength goals and 39 goals in all situations. Again, those who outscored him among even strength goals consists of a who’s who of this draft class and only five players scored more than 39 total goals in their respective leagues. While production is not everything, you want to see future scoring wingers to have it to backup their skillset. Perreault has been doing so since breaking into the OHL in 2018, which is very encouraging for the future. Being productive prior to your draft eligible year adds confidence to a player’s production being more than just a function of being with better players or a strong system. It is a big reason why his odds for making it as a NHL player are better than most other potential players available at this range of the draft, per Brian’s post last week.”

Perreault’s father — Yanic — played 14 NHL seasons, putting up 516 points in 849 games. His career included time with the Los Angeles Kings, Montreal Canadiens, Nashville Predators, Phoenix Coyotes, Chicago Blackhawks and three separate stints with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

What do you think of the pick?