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Draft Grades: Pacific Division

Bruce Bennett / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The 2016 NHL Draft is in the books, and every club is likely leaving Buffalo believing they've improved.

In reality, though, some did better than others when it came to stocking their organizations with the right ingredients for future success.

Here's our evaluation of the teams in the Pacific Division:

Anaheim Ducks

Draft picks

Round Pick Player
1 24 Max Jones
1 30 Sam Steel
3 85 Joshua Mahura
4 93 Jack Kopacka
4 115 Alex Dostie
7 205 Tyler Soy

The Ducks landed a couple of solid forward prospects late in the first round. Jones has issues with discipline, but his offensive skills are undeniable. Steel can skate, has a high hockey IQ, and put up 70 points in 72 OHL games. The Ducks did well getting Mahura and Soy in the third and seventh rounds, respectively.

Grade: B-

Arizona Coyotes

Draft picks

Round Pick Player
1 7 Clayton Keller
1 16 Jakob Chychrun
3 68 Cam Dineen
6 158 Patrick Kudla
7 188 Dean Stewart

The Coyotes were one of the consensus winners of the draft, and they made the most of it despite having only five picks. They managed to get a tantalizing center and two defensemen with potential in their first three selections.

Keller was one of the most productive players in the history of the U.S. national team program, Chychrun could evolve into a top defensive prospect, and Dineen was one of the best blue-liners in the OHL.

Arizona had the cap space to take Pavel Datsyuk's contract from the Detroit Red Wings, who had to package the 16th pick to make it work. That allowed the Coyotes to move up from No. 20 and grab Chychrun.

Grade: A+

Calgary Flames

Draft picks

Round Pick Player
1 6 Matthew Tkachuk
2 54 Tyler Parsons
2 56 Dillon Dube
3 66 Adam Fox
4 96 Linus Lindstrom
5 126 Mitchell Mattson
6 156 Eetu Tuulola
6 166 Matthew Phillips
7 186 Stepan Falkovsky

The Flames were the other consensus winner, and it's an assessment that's hard to argue. They snagged a blue-chip forward in Tkachuk, who was expected by many to go in the top four.

Calgary also acquired an affordable veteran goaltender in Brian Elliott from the St. Louis Blues. Parsons was a bit of a reach in the second round, but the Flames were clearly focused on improving their goaltending - now and in the future.

Grade: A

Edmonton Oilers

Draft picks

Round PIck Player
1 4 Jesse Puljujarvi
2 32 Tyler Benson
3 63 Markus Niemelainen
3 84 Matthew Cairns
3 91 Filip Berglund
5 123 Dylan Wells
5 149 Graham McPhee
6 153 Aapeli Rasanen
7 183 Vincent Desharnais

Puljujarvi fell into the Oilers' lap when the Columbus Blue Jackets chose Pierre-Luc Dubois at No. 3, but they still deserve credit for nabbing the phenomenal Finnish forward when they did, rather than opting for Tkachuk or another player in the four spot.

The rest of Edmonton's draft was very well done, too. Benson has simply been plagued by injuries, and he was a nice get who could have gone off the board earlier.

The Oilers have plenty of forward prospects, and addressing on the blue line was clearly a priority. Edmonton used four of its nine picks on defensemen.

Grade: A-

Los Angeles Kings

Draft picks

Round Pick Player
2 51 Kale Clague
4 112 Jacob Moverare
5 142 Michael Eyssimont
7 202 Jacob Friend

The Kings didn't have much to work with, but they did get a strong two-way defenseman in Clague late in the second round. He put up a 43-point season for Brandon in the WHL, and was a good value pick considering he was Central Scouting's eighth-highest ranked North American defenseman.

Grade: C+

San Jose Sharks

Draft picks

Round Pick Player
2 60 Dylan Gambrell
4 111 Noah Gregor
5 150 Manuel Wiederer
6 180 Mark Shoemaker
7 210 Joakim Blichfeld

Like the Kings, the Sharks didn't have a first-round pick, and it's hard to make shrewd moves like the Coyotes did when most of the five picks you do have are late in their respective rounds.

Gambrell has been on scouts' radars for a long time, but his upside is limited. Gregor potted 28 goals and 73 points in 72 games for Moose Jaw in the WHL.

Grade: C

Vancouver Canucks

Draft picks

Round Pick Player
1 5 Olli Juolevi
3 64 William Lockwood
5 140 Cole Candella
6 154 Jakob Stukel
7 184 Rodrigo Abols
7 194 Brett McKenzie

Jim Benning may not be the smoothest when it comes to free agents, but he made out reasonably well at the draft table this weekend.

Juolevi was the first defenseman off the board, and rightfully so. The Canucks and their fans should be giddy about landing an elite defensive prospect, and Lockwood has the offensive skills that could make him a nice complementary winger in the future.

Vancouver should be pleased with those two selections, even if the rest of its draft class is a bit underwhelming.

Grade: B

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