2023 NHL Entry Draft

[hammertime]

4 hours ago, Kuzy said:

Right, not saying the player we select at BPA is a guaranteed success, but imo reaching for position tends to get you a Juolevi instead of a Tkachuk, for example. These roster holes you're referring to can also be filled through trades (like Hronek) and UFA/offer sheets. We addressed a need by trading a mid-to-late first and a early-mid second. If you keep those draft picks you hope and pray they turn out as good as Hronek but it's far more likely they don't.

 

It's a cumulative effect, I'd bet drafting BPA over the next 10 years and trading for positional need when the time is right would get you a much better team than just drafting positionally.

Yep Hronek only cost us Bo on pace for 50G.

 

We just need Lekkerimaki to score 50 so we can flip him for a 2C this is the way.

[-Vintage Canuck-]

 

[thad]

6 hours ago, VancouverHabitant said:

Big game for Prince George tonight! 

 

I'll be cheering for you 

Thanks buddy. Actually appreciated that when I saw it earlier. Had to come back and high five after the boys stepped up and took the balance swinging game tonight. What a game. Score looks like an asswhoopin but it really was a close one right to the end. I got me moneys worth on the whl playoff streaming package tonight alone lol. Hats off to both teams. It could have swung either way on some chances.

 

I don’t know the tech specifics of goaltending but one encouraging thing you saw tonight is Ty young’s ability to step in and rise to the moment for his team. Tonight was a pivotal point in the series and he was huge. Both teams played great, but he made big saves at big moments and stood tall on the pk late in the game. Looks like he’s not the type to get shook and can pull his weight in the big games when you need him the most. I don’t know if he checks all the boxes but he’s checking this one for cougars fans.
 

If I have any actual draft info to add from the game tonight its every time I watch Heidt, I come away thinking he might be a little bit better than I thought he was. 

[Pure961089]

I think with the way Washington has completely fallen off they're probably picking #8  but even in the Canucks finish 9th I think they're still in that second tier. 

 

Obviously I don't need to tell you the top 4 or 5 but after that anything can happen.  My 5-9 are as follows 

 

Benson

Smith

Moore

Crystal

Reinbacher

 

I think with maybe the exception of Benson any of those players can go anywhere.  But the Canucks would need to keep 9th over all with a 64% chance of picking there, they'd need to be very unlucky to drop to 10th and out of the second tier.  After that it's a crapshoot of Dyvorsky and Sale and more middle 6 wingers like Barlow and Wood.  There's always a chance that a team sees something special in a player other teams don't see and they (like Arizona) go off the board with a pick, that would be huge. 

Edited April 8, 2023 by Pure961089
redundancy

[TheQuietQuitter]

I'm starting to lean towards management having a plan to trade the pick to address the immediate roster concerns if they fall out of range for players they really like.

If that fails and we're still picking top 10, then I hope the Canucks draft who they've scouted as the most skilled player available with highest elite potential.

 

Don't ask me who that may be.  I've watched so much tape lately that I've become enamoured with aspects of everyone's game, and I'm beginning to see them all as Canucks through rose colored glasses.

 

My eyes are starting to hurt.  Let's just win a damn lottery pick for once.

[DownUndaCanuck]

I'd love to see PA's ranking list, I'm sure it'll be pretty similar to most scouts so nothing crazy, but with the 8-10th overall pick you just know we'll get a player we ranked a lot higher than other teams.

 

I think one of Moore, Leonard, Dvorsky or Smith will fall to us and then it's a tough decision between one of those future top 6 centers or Reinbacher.

 

How can you compare and decide on BPA when they're completely different positions in different leagues?

 

We have Petey, Miller for a good 3-5 years, Raty playing well and to be honest even Karlsson. Who's on RD down the pipeline? Woo lol. 

 

I know it'd be mad and he doesn't deserve to go 8th overall but I wouldn't be upset if we took Reinbacher that high. Fills out our team perfectly for the future.

[HighOnHockey]

18 hours ago, HKSR said:

Yeah I feel Reinbacher is this years Seider.

Well, I get that feeling a little bit too, but I also think a lot of folks are over-playing the comparison. Like because it happened with this one other defenseman with a few common attributes (RHS, size, European lower leagues) it must and will happen again in perfect syllogistic fashion.

 

I do think it's highly unlikely no defenseman goes before 10. I also think Reinbacher is the second best D available, but because of the Russian factor, Gulyayev will drop, making Reinbacher the highest ranked defenseman. I dunno who else might creep up there. Bonk? Dragicevic? Willander? Minnetian? Sandin-Pellikka? Top ten seems too high for any of them given the quality of forwards there. But yeah, I could see Reinbacher go as early as 6 or 7, but probably more like 8 or 9.

[HighOnHockey]

Much like Korchinski's draft day surge up the rankings last year (my ma talked to his ma a couple days before the draft and they thought he was going at 10 to Anaheim), I think Dragicevic will surprise a lot of people on draft day. Dragicevic certainly doesn't have Korchinski's edges, but he's a fine overall skater, and teams are just gonna see a player with that much raw ability and who's 6'2. Contrary to how most fans think, NHL scouts aren't just looking at who's the best player right now or in three years, but who's the best player when he's 24 or 27. Former 1st overall Nugent-Hopkins finally hit at 29, as did Hall a couple years earlier we will recall. I don't care how bad he is defensively (and I've heard reports his decision-making has improved significantly throughout the year) teams are going to see that package of size and skill and someone will snatch him up early. I would guess in or around the top 15.

Edited April 8, 2023 by HighOnHockey

[hammertime]

I see that Matvei Michkov has finally had his weight maybe possibly updated. EP still has him at 148lbs but Buttons latest draft rankings has him at 172lbs which seems much more realistic. 

 

My 2 biggest hopes are that Michkov drops in our laps or Reinbacher is still on the board when we pick. If neither of those things happen I would not be opposed to trading the pick if a deal that made sense came along. 

[Isam]

20 hours ago, HighOnHockey said:

Doubt it.

Disagree. His shot is what is gonna carry him. He reminds me alot of Kadri.

[Isam]

Reinbacher being compared to josi or seider is not a good comparison. Reinbacher is a more cerebral type and is nowhere near as close in the athletic freak depth as those two. 

[hammertime]

12 minutes ago, Isam said:

Reinbacher being compared to josi or seider is not a good comparison. Reinbacher is a more cerebral type and is nowhere near as close in the athletic freak depth as those two. 

Reinbacher is Reinbacher. He isn't Josi or Sieder he's Reinbacher. Sieder and Josi aren't comparable players so it would be silly to compare him to both of them? Reinbacher happens to be better at hockey than either of them at his age he's not a physical as Sieder or as mobile as Josi but it doesn't matter because he is not those guys and he excels in areas those guys did not at his age. 

 

Will it translate? Who knows lots of players ranked by all the experts top 10 overall don't amount to a hill of beans some players undrafted go on to be 40 goal scores Ya Kuzz!

 

We don't know what he will be. What we can see is that he has the tools to be a special player. The rest is up to him and the people who develop him along the way. We haven't had many opportunities to take a RHD with top pairing upside at the draft in the last decade. The only instance I can think of is Soderstrom at this point Podkolzin vs Soderstrom is Moo . But at the time we took the BPA top 5 ranked player. 

[Elias Pettersson]

 

[higgyfan]

8 hours ago, DownUndaCanuck said:

I'd love to see PA's ranking list, I'm sure it'll be pretty similar to most scouts so nothing crazy, but with the 8-10th overall pick you just know we'll get a player we ranked a lot higher than other teams.

 

I think one of Moore, Leonard, Dvorsky or Smith will fall to us and then it's a tough decision between one of those future top 6 centers or Reinbacher.

 

How can you compare and decide on BPA when they're completely different positions in different leagues?

 

We have Petey, Miller for a good 3-5 years, Raty playing well and to be honest even Karlsson. Who's on RD down the pipeline? Woo lol. 

 

I know it'd be mad and he doesn't deserve to go 8th overall but I wouldn't be upset if we took Reinbacher that high. Fills out our team perfectly for the future.

It's not as bad as you think. Woo, Johansson, Kudryavtsev look promising, while Jurmo + McWade are possibles.

If they could somehow acquire a 2nd, there 2 or 3 decent looking RDs available.

[Guest]

8 hours ago, DownUndaCanuck said:

I'd love to see PA's ranking list, I'm sure it'll be pretty similar to most scouts so nothing crazy, but with the 8-10th overall pick you just know we'll get a player we ranked a lot higher than other teams.

 

I think one of Moore, Leonard, Dvorsky or Smith will fall to us and then it's a tough decision between one of those future top 6 centers or Reinbacher.

 

How can you compare and decide on BPA when they're completely different positions in different leagues?

 

We have Petey, Miller for a good 3-5 years, Raty playing well and to be honest even Karlsson. Who's on RD down the pipeline? Woo lol. 

 

I know it'd be mad and he doesn't deserve to go 8th overall but I wouldn't be upset if we took Reinbacher that high. Fills out our team perfectly for the future.

One dman always shoots up really high and I'd be shocked not see one taken before 8th 9th overall.  

 

One detail to nitpick, Karlsson is not a center and shouldn't be really listed as one. He's played wing for the most part in Sweden, and exclusively in Abby. 

 

I hope that what you say is true, and we have a choice between Will Smith, Leonard, and Dvorsky. 

 

My fear is that there is a run on centers and Reinbacher is gone. I'm just tired of drafting wingers and our pipeline is bursting with them.  

 

Let me present a worst case scenario assuming that we draft 9th overall. 

 

Big four are gone, Will Smith, Zack Benson, Reinbacher, and Leonard. 

Who do you go for then? 

[Guest]

3 hours ago, HighOnHockey said:

Much like Korchinski's draft day surge up the rankings last year (my ma talked to his ma a couple days before the draft and they thought he was going at 10 to Anaheim), I think Dragicevic will surprise a lot of people on draft day. Dragicevic certainly doesn't have Korchinski's edges, but he's a fine overall skater, and teams are just gonna see a player with that much raw ability and who's 6'2. Contrary to how most fans think, NHL scouts aren't just looking at who's the best player right now or in three years, but who's the best player when he's 24 or 27. Former 1st overall Nugent-Hopkins finally hit at 29, as did Hall a couple years earlier we will recall. I don't care how bad he is defensively (and I've heard reports his decision-making has improved significantly throughout the year) teams are going to see that package of size and skill and someone will snatch him up early. I would guess in or around the top 15.

Maybe @thad can chime in as he's been watching the Prince George - Tri Cities playoff series. I think that a big playoff run could definitely swing the odds in Dragicevic's favour and see him in the early teens. 

 

I'm also shocked at how few d-men are ranked in the first round. Outside of Reinbacher, you have the two Russian d-men who are prime candidates to fall to the 2nd round. Then there's Axel, Bonk, and Dragicevic. Am I missing anyone? 

[higgyfan]

There are so many differing draft rankings out there that I am getting the 2018 (Hughes) vibe.  I could see

some surprising picks in the top 10, which could benefit the Canucks if a good player drops to them.

 

PA has to find a way to pick up a 2nd rounder.  There's a 2 or 3 RD gems in that round.

[hammertime]

1 hour ago, VancouverHabitant said:

One dman always shoots up really high and I'd be shocked not see one taken before 8th 9th overall.  

 

One detail to nitpick, Karlsson is not a center and shouldn't be really listed as one. He's played wing for the most part in Sweden, and exclusively in Abby. 

 

I hope that what you say is true, and we have a choice between Will Smith, Leonard, and Dvorsky. 

 

My fear is that there is a run on centers and Reinbacher is gone. I'm just tired of drafting wingers and our pipeline is bursting with them.  

 

Let me present a worst case scenario assuming that we draft 9th overall. 

 

Big four are gone, Will Smith, Zack Benson, Reinbacher, and Leonard. 

Who do you go for then? 

It's between Danielson/Ritchie/Barlow/Moore not a bad spot to be. 3 legit 200ft 2/3 C candidates on the board and a PWF with a cannon.

 

Think I go Ritchie but it's a hard choice I don't think any of them would be a bad pick. 

 

IMO Yager, Dvorsky and Sale are the landmines to avoid with the pick who seem to always be ranked in that range. 

[DownUndaCanuck]

2 hours ago, VancouverHabitant said:

One dman always shoots up really high and I'd be shocked not see one taken before 8th 9th overall.  

 

One detail to nitpick, Karlsson is not a center and shouldn't be really listed as one. He's played wing for the most part in Sweden, and exclusively in Abby. 

 

I hope that what you say is true, and we have a choice between Will Smith, Leonard, and Dvorsky. 

 

My fear is that there is a run on centers and Reinbacher is gone. I'm just tired of drafting wingers and our pipeline is bursting with them.  

 

Let me present a worst case scenario assuming that we draft 9th overall. 

 

Big four are gone, Will Smith, Zack Benson, Reinbacher, and Leonard. 

Who do you go for then? 

Think I'm looking at Dvorsky, Yager and even Moore, and considering Simashev and Gulyayev. We've got to avoid Cristall and Sale, as tempting as they might be.

 

I'd be pretty happy with Dvorsky or Yager though, sort of decent two way centers who can hopefully fill the 2 or 3C role one day.

[DownUndaCanuck]

3 hours ago, higgyfan said:

It's not as bad as you think. Woo, Johansson, Kudryavtsev look promising, while Jurmo + McWade are possibles.

If they could somehow acquire a 2nd, there 2 or 3 decent looking RDs available.

Yeah really wish we didn't trade our 2nd, it's basically a first rounder in any other draft. I'd have rather traded Rathbone and kept our 2nd and draft Bonk or Strbak or Allen, someone will fall to that pick.