2023 NHL Entry Draft

[-Vintage Canuck-]

 

[Isam]

22 minutes ago, -Vintage Canuck- said:

 

Lol. Don't tease us man.

[HKSR]

On 1/30/2023 at 11:59 PM, HighOnHockey said:

Not sure how many people will be interested in the 2024 draft this early, but I noticed a few people talking about it in the past couple days, and thought I'd try my hand at a ranking. Besides, the way the Canucks are going right now, this retool might take a minute. A couple of notes: it looks like a pretty average draft overall. The defense is strong, looks right up there with '21 or '22, certainly better than '20 or '23. So far it looks like the forward class might suffer from a lack of size at the top end, but keep in mind they're 16/17, so heights are not necessarily final. It also suffers because a bunch of the best '06 forwards happen to be late birthdays so not eligible until 2025 - Hagens, Spence, Gavin, Martone, McQueen.

 

1. Aron Kiviharju LD 5'10 - It's actually been a pretty underwhelming year for Kiviharju, but for now I still have him number one based on pedigree. Shades of Nicklas Lidstrom more than a pure offensive dynamo, so I'd feel better about having him first if he was more like 6'1.

2. Macklin Celebrini C/LW 5'11 - Elite skill, crafty, creative, with a power element to his game. I've seen him throw some thunderous body checks too. But his superpower is his play in tight around the net; he doesn't just bat at loose pucks, he has the wherewithal and confidence to look for the quick pass or take the extra split second to lift the puck or pull it around the goalie.

3. Konsta Helenius C/RW 5'11 - Hands down the most purely skilled player in the draft from what I've seen. But he also has very high hockey IQ and plays a fairly mature pro-style game. You wouldn't call him a power forward exactly, but he's never shy about taking and giving bumps.

4. Cole Eiserman LW 5'11 - Reminiscent of guys like Matthews and Miroshnichenko - relentless in pursuit of the puck in the offensive zone, a raging bull driving the net down the wing, and he can score from practically anywhere in the zone with his shot.

5. Zayne Parekh RD 6'0 - An offense-first right shot defenseman, but from what I can tell he looks pretty solid defensively too; can tend to be a little over-aggressive but it usually works well enough for him at the OHL level. Maybe his best asset is his ability to walk the offensive blueline and get shots through.

6. Ivan Demidov RW 5'11 - Left shooting right wing with elite skill and hockey sense. I haven't seen him since the '21 Hlinkas, but he left an impression as an almost double under-ager.

7. Berkly Catton C/LW 5'10 - Maybe the best 200-foot hockey IQ among forwards in the draft. At the U17 challenge he out-witted everyone all over the ice, except when he came up against James Hagens and that USA powerhouse, but to be fair Hagens is a different kind of special.

8. Cayden Lindstrom LW/C 6'5 - I've been so impressed with how smooth and agile a skater he is for a guy his size.

9. Henry Mews RD 6'0 - Not without his flaws but he's a well-rounded right shot defenseman. Another one I've seen throw some bone-crunching hits. Has the tools to go earlier in the draft but I still have questions about some of his decision-making with the puck and lackadaisical effort without it

10. Nathan Villeneuve C 6'0 - Brilliant skater, both in terms of speed and agility. Pays attention to his defensive responsibilities but also shows some skill and offensive creativity.

A lot of smaller players on that list....

[HighOnHockey]

1 hour ago, HKSR said:

A lot of smaller players on that list....

I remember going into Evander Kane's draft year he was listed at 5'10, and then being very confused reading the scouting reports talk about what a power forward he was. This is still their D-1 year, and who knows when the vital stats were updated. I would expect some of them still have an inch or two to go. Guys like Celebrini and Eiserman play power forward-type games, so if they actually do max out at 5'11, it will be tricky for them to fully adapt their games to the NHL level

[HKSR]

1 minute ago, HighOnHockey said:

I remember going into Evander Kane's draft year he was listed at 5'10, and then being very confused reading the scouting reports talk about what a power forward he was. This is still their D-1 year, and who knows when the vital stats were updated. I would expect some of them still have an inch or two to go. Guys like Celebrini and Eiserman play power forward-type games, so if they actually do max out at 5'11, it will be tricky for them to fully adapt their games to the NHL level

I'm sure some of those guys will have a bit of a growth spurt.  In which case, they'll probably separate themselves from the pack.

[Isam]

In this draft and where our second first is atm, I don't think we should be drafting pelinka- sandin or reinbacher in the first with our second pick. I think they are being overvalued too much based on the world juniors. I think we need to take the best two forwards that are available at our picks and focus on defensemen in the second round where we can find some outstanding value.

[Isam]

Sorry meant to say sandin pelikka ^

[Diamonds]

10 minutes ago, Isam said:

In this draft and where our second first is atm, I don't think we should be drafting pelinka- sandin or reinbacher in the first with our second pick. I think they are being overvalued too much based on the world juniors. I think we need to take the best two forwards that are available at our picks and focus on defensemen in the second round where we can find some outstanding value.

I'm personally really hoping we get Strbak with our 2nd. If our 1st round picks end up being something like 6 and 15 then I can see the Canucks taking Michkov at 6 if he slides and then a safer bet C like Calum Ritchie or Nate Danielson at 15.

[Isam]

9 minutes ago, Diamonds said:

I'm personally really hoping we get Strbak with our 2nd. If our 1st round picks end up being something like 6 and 15 then I can see the Canucks taking Michkov at 6 if he slides and then a safer bet C like Calum Ritchie or Nate Danielson at 15.

Would take Ritchie at 15. Danielson is a good player, but I can't see the nucks taking him. Just see him as a fourth line center.

[DeNiro]

I hope they don’t get too hung up on drafting a D man if we have the 13 or later pick unless they’re the clear BPA.

 

This team still needs to beef up its center depth. Losing Bo left a massive hole there and there are no guarantees Raty will pan out.

 

But also if a really good winger drops take ‘em! We need more talent everywhere in the system.

 

That being said I really hope we can somehow get another late first and draft Dragicevic. I think we’d be kicking ourselves if we passed on another local kid that brings everything we need.

[HighOnHockey]

2 hours ago, Isam said:

In this draft and where our second first is atm, I don't think we should be drafting pelinka- sandin or reinbacher in the first with our second pick. I think they are being overvalued too much based on the world juniors. I think we need to take the best two forwards that are available at our picks and focus on defensemen in the second round where we can find some outstanding value.

I'm going to make a point to watch some HC Kloten games in the coming weeks because this is an important topic regarding the Canucks - given multiple high firsts and the need for RHD - and I'd like to be able to comment but I just don't know the player well enough. You seem to generally know what you're talking about but to say Reinbacher is being over-rated based on his World Juniors, something feels way off there. I did like his game at the WJCs but it's hard to get a good read on a player in that kind of situation where their team is so badly overwhelmed. On paper it's actually his season in the NL that has me so intrigued. His p/g are the best ever by a U19 defenseman in the Swiss NL, even ahead of Roman Josi - and that's a league I have ranked as the 6th best in the world, just a shade below Liiga.

[kenhodgejr]

just our luck we will win games down the stretch and will be drafting something like 15 and 23 

[Dixon Ward]

David Reinbacher, rhd, might be an interesting choice in the mid teens of the the 1st round.  He has size and plays in all situations as a 17 year old in a men's league.  I will be tracking him for the rest of the year

[Isam]

13 minutes ago, HighOnHockey said:

I'm going to make a point to watch some HC Kloten games in the coming weeks because this is an important topic regarding the Canucks - given multiple high firsts and the need for RHD - and I'd like to be able to comment but I just don't know the player well enough. You seem to generally know what you're talking about but to say Reinbacher is being over-rated based on his World Juniors, something feels way off there. I did like his game at the WJCs but it's hard to get a good read on a player in that kind of situation where their team is so badly overwhelmed. On paper it's actually his season in the NL that has me so intrigued. His p/g are the best ever by a U19 defenseman in the Swiss NL, even ahead of Roman Josi - and that's a league I have ranked as the 6th best in the world, just a shade below Liiga.

Been watching kloten myself. Yeah the offense is nice, but he does need a ton of work on his gap control. Scary thing for me is his side is a dead ringer for his brother Tobias and that is what stopped him at the next lvl. The offense and his shot too are kind of giving me alarm bells.

[Isam]

35 minutes ago, HighOnHockey said:

I'm going to make a point to watch some HC Kloten games in the coming weeks because this is an important topic regarding the Canucks - given multiple high firsts and the need for RHD - and I'd like to be able to comment but I just don't know the player well enough. You seem to generally know what you're talking about but to say Reinbacher is being over-rated based on his World Juniors, something feels way off there. I did like his game at the WJCs but it's hard to get a good read on a player in that kind of situation where their team is so badly overwhelmed. On paper it's actually his season in the NL that has me so intrigued. His p/g are the best ever by a U19 defenseman in the Swiss NL, even ahead of Roman Josi - and that's a league I have ranked as the 6th best in the world, just a shade below Liiga.

Good thing you will notice is his stick. When he uses it on the checking side, he is extremely talented. He does shy away from the physical game and his puck retrieval down low in his zone leaves something to be desired.

[-Vintage Canuck-]

 

[DeNiro]

26 minutes ago, -Vintage Canuck- said:

 

Naslund used to snipe from that angle all the time.

 

Sick shot!

[HighOnHockey]

6 hours ago, Isam said:

Good thing you will notice is his stick. When he uses it on the checking side, he is extremely talented. He does shy away from the physical game and his puck retrieval down low in his zone leaves something to be desired.

Well that's pretty normal for a teenager in a top pro league. It's more about just good sense and problem-solving to find ways to make other plays when you're physically over-powered. His physical play seemed fine at World Juniors. Anyways, let's table this discussion and come back to it in a couple weeks. Looks like Kloten plays this Sunday morning and I'm actually off work that day.

[GB5]

1 hour ago, -Vintage Canuck- said:

 

I watched that game, it is so much more impressive if it can be viewed at full speed.

 

Bedard exploded into the shooting lane from the corner and sniped it, real thing of beauty

[-Vintage Canuck-]