2023 NHL Entry Draft

[Herberts Vasiljevs]

13 minutes ago, Isam said:

Barlow and moore. Going on board if they got simashev or go balls deep for cristall.

Hopefully not Cristall.

[Ted Lasso]

6 minutes ago, Isam said:

But good debate. Gonna be down to cristall and danielson

You think they’d pass on ASP?

[Isam]

If Danielson is there then yes. Cristall is the ride the lightning pick

[hammertime]

12 minutes ago, Isam said:

But good debate. Gonna be down to cristall and danielson

I C Wat U Did There. 

[Isam]

Just now, hammertime said:

I C Wat U Did There. 

Those are the two players that they will argue over hammer

[Isam]

Have to add in Barlow cuz of his iq.

[CanucksJay]

And Ofcourse the canucks don't get lucky... 

 

[Pure961089]

With the 11th overall pick the Canucks are proud to select Otto Stenberg. 

Got a feeling about this one. 

[DudePerfect]

Mock Draft 1.0

1. CHI - Bedard

2. ANA - Fantilli

3. CBJ - Carlsson

4. SJ - Smith

5. MTL - Michkov

6. ARI - Benson

7. PHI - Reinbacher

8. WASH - Leonard

9. DET - Dvorsky

10. STL - Sale

11. VAN - Moore 

12. ARI - Sandin-Pelikka

13. BUF - Barlow

14. PIT - Wood 

15. NSH - Perreault

[Smashian Kassian]

On 5/6/2023 at 12:36 PM, Elias Pettersson said:

Matthew Wood was almost at a PPG in the NCAA as a 17-year-old.  This is unheard of.  Last guy to do that was Jonathan Toews.  Wood trained with Bedard for a year when he was 14 and lived at his home.  He has a deadly wrist shot and is huge.  He will never be the best skater on the ice, but if he can improve his skating 10% he will be a beast of a power forward.  They may even play him at centre next year, so he may pull a Tage Thompson and switch to centre.  A 6'4" 220 pound right-handed 2C would be like Manna from heaven for the Canucks.  We haven't had one of those types of guys since Ryan Kesler.

 

In 5 years, Matthew Wood may become one of the best players in this entire draft.  Tage Thompson was taken at 26 in 2016.  In a draft redo he goes top 5.  Same thing can happen with Wood...

 

Kent Johnson was over a PPG just a few years ago?

 

On 5/6/2023 at 12:51 PM, Herberts Vasiljevs said:

Not so bad as much as it is awkward. For some reason Dave Andreychuk comes to mind in that respect. 

 

I don't hate Matthew Wood. Its just that in my research of him this was seen as a major concern, that fact he was producing at a high rate still is a promising sign but these are things you always have to consider with prospects. At the very least whether or not this hampers his ceiling in-spite of the production.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, DudePerfect said:

Mock Draft 1.0

1. CHI - Bedard

2. ANA - Fantilli

3. CBJ - Carlsson

4. SJ - Smith

5. MTL - Michkov

6. ARI - Benson

7. PHI - Reinbacher

8. WASH - Leonard

9. DET - Dvorsky

10. STL - Sale

11. VAN - Moore 

12. ARI - Sandin-Pelikka

13. BUF - Barlow

14. PIT - Wood 

15. NSH - Perreault

Not a bad list at all...  

 

I would say that Montreal might want to take someone that can help sooner rather then later. 

Even though Philly is starving for centers, I can see them taking someone like Reinbacher, and if not Philly then Detroit.  

 

I can't shake the feeling that St Louis will take one of the US National Development players or a player from the CHL.  If you look at their draft history, they tend to favour the North American junior leagues.  

 

It's really sad what's all happened with Michkov, but I see him dropping all the way to Washington or Detroit.  

 

I'm curious if we see an Arizona trade.  They have the 6th and 12th overall pick.  

Montreal has 5th and 17th (17th could slip much further if Florida beats Toronto).  

 

If you're Anaheim, do you take 6th and 12th?  

If you're Columbus, do you take 6th and 12th?  

 

[Elias Pettersson]

6 minutes ago, Smashian Kassian said:

 

Kent Johnson was over a PPG just a few years ago?

 

 

I don't hate Matthew Wood. Its just that in my research of him this was seen as a major concern, that fact he was producing at a high rate still is a promising sign but these are things you always have to consider with prospects. At the very least whether or not this hampers his ceiling in-spite of the production.

Kent Johnson was 18 in his first year in the NCAA.  He had 101 points in the BCHL as a 17 year old.  Matthew Wood had 85 points in the BCHL as a 16 year old.  Big difference.  Wood will only be 18 next year heading into his second year in the NCAA.  He could win the Hobey Baker award as an 18-year-old, similar to Adam Fantilli.  

 

I'm hoping they play him at centre next season to see what he can do up the middle.  He reminds me of Tage Thompson.  Wood is huge but has silky mitts.  His hands are soft as butter.  Dude is gonna be a beast of a power forward once he improves his skating.  He will be the steal of the 2023 draft for whoever takes him, similar to Tage who went 26th and was even traded before he could even show his stuff...

[King Heffy]

6 minutes ago, Elias Pettersson said:

Kent Johnson was 18 in his first year in the NCAA.  He had 101 points in the BCHL as a 17 year old.  Matthew Wood had 85 points in the BCHL as a 16 year old.  Big difference.  Wood will only be 18 next year heading into his second year in the NCAA.  He could win the Hobey Baker award as an 18-year-old, similar to Adam Fantilli.  

 

I'm hoping they play him at centre next season to see what he can do up the middle.  He reminds me of Tage Thompson.  Wood is huge but has silky mitts.  His hands are soft as butter.  Dude is gonna be a beast of a power forward once he improves his skating.  He will be the steal of the 2023 draft for whoever takes him, similar to Tage who went 26th and was even traded before he could even show his stuff...

Seeing Wood and Rickwood on the Grizz was a thing of beauty.  You're right about his hands, and he also has excellent hockey sense and work ethic.  He's been consistently rising up the rankings over the last couple of years, and I expect him to continue to do so.  The Canucks desperately need some size in their top 6, and his skating is good enough to get him where he needs to be.

[Elias Pettersson]

3 minutes ago, King Heffy said:

Seeing Wood and Rickwood on the Grizz was a thing of beauty.  You're right about his hands, and he also has excellent hockey sense and work ethic.  He's been consistently rising up the rankings over the last couple of years, and I expect him to continue to do so.  The Canucks desperately need some size in their top 6, and his skating is good enough to get him where he needs to be.

Those silky mitts came from training every day for a year with Connor Bedard.  When Wood lived at his house for a year he said that Connor used those small nets in the backyard.  It was for target practice.  That's how Connor got his shot accuracy.  I am sure Wood learned a few things from Bedard.  And yes he has great hockey IQ as well.  Knows where the other players are on the ice.  Which is why I think he will be a centre in the NHL.

 

I do have some concerns about his skating, but Tage Thompson isn't a great skater either.  If you are 6'4" and 220 pounds and you can deke past 3-4 guys then speed isn't as important.

[King Heffy]

1 minute ago, Elias Pettersson said:

Those silky mitts came from training every day for a year with Connor Bedard.  When Wood lived at his house for a year he said that Connor used those small nets in the backyard.  It was for target practice.  That's how Connor got his shot accuracy.  I am sure Wood learned a few things from Bedard.  And yes he has great hockey IQ as well.  Knows where the other players are on the ice.  Which is why I think he will be a centre in the NHL.

 

I do have some concerns about his skating, but Tage Thompson isn't a great skater either.  If you are 6'4" and 220 pounds and you can deke past 3-4 guys then speed isn't as important.

Exactly.  Once he gets to the NHL, he'll be mentored by the vets and likely be in the same kind of situation.  Look at what Pavelski has done for Johnston and imagine a guy like Miller doing the same for Wood.   He's willing and able to benefit from being immersed in that kind of situation, which is something that you can't really teach and is a massive indicator of whether or not a player will hit his ceiling.

[R3aL]

58 minutes ago, Smashian Kassian said:

 

Kent Johnson was over a PPG just a few years ago?

 

 

I don't hate Matthew Wood. Its just that in my research of him this was seen as a major concern, that fact he was producing at a high rate still is a promising sign but these are things you always have to consider with prospects. At the very least whether or not this hampers his ceiling in-spite of the production.

Kent Johnson 

Beniers

Power

 

were all on that team and were 

 

1 power

2 beniers 

5 johnson 

 

Overall picks and all had awesome draft years.

good to bring that up 

 

My only concerns for him were his skating, not playing C this year and just thinking this draft had better options in the top tier. But he’s changed my opinion as the year has gone on and he cemented thst during the u18s

I see an absolute monster on the rise here.

 

he’s a player that I would get 125% behind drafting at 11.

 

kid is absolutey competitive. Wants to be the GUY. His puck skills are as high end as they come, he’s an elite finisher, he’s got size. So he’s got 4 top tier traits that are nhl level traits.

 

1. drive / work ethic 

2. Puck skills

3. shooting / finishing 

4. SIZE

 

other things going for him:

 

- he has great hockey iq and can play with top tier talent. 
 

- he has improved his skating as the season has gone on and at the u18s I saw a guy that looks like with strength training and some power skating work over the summer his skating won’t be a negative or hold him back.

 

- he’s right handed, always welcome here

 

what could be key in how he develops:

 

- is the plan for him to play C next year? It does make sense at his age that they had him on the wing this year. But if the plan is him at C next year and he’s being projected as a C by teams that interview him he could go well

Before our draft pick 

 

I’m wanting Wood or Reinbacher at 11 right now. Would also love Ryan Leonard and am opening my mind to a surprise pick of Honzek or Willander.

 

I still do like ASP but I’m not as crazy about him as I was earlier in the year. And I could listen and participate in a discussion that Willander could be the better of the two and fit our teams future better with being a future partner for Hughes.

 

im going to make tiers before the draft but I’m super high on:

 

Wood

Reinbacher

Leonard

Dvorsky

 

Right now. Especially if projecting wood/Leonard as Centres.

 

I still like guys like:

 

ASP

Danielson

Moore

Barlow

 

Sale, Honzek and Willander I’m truly digging into deeper and opening my mind to them potentially being targets at 11.

 

[King Heffy]

Part of the reason I was not happy with the NYI pick getting moved was the hope we'd take Wood with that pick.  He's already moved so far up the rankings there's little to no chance he'd even be available now.

[Smashian Kassian]

1 hour ago, Elias Pettersson said:

Kent Johnson was 18 in his first year in the NCAA.  He had 101 points in the BCHL as a 17 year old.  Matthew Wood had 85 points in the BCHL as a 16 year old.  Big difference.  Wood will only be 18 next year heading into his second year in the NCAA.  He could win the Hobey Baker award as an 18-year-old, similar to Adam Fantilli.  

 

I'm hoping they play him at centre next season to see what he can do up the middle.  He reminds me of Tage Thompson.  Wood is huge but has silky mitts.  His hands are soft as butter.  Dude is gonna be a beast of a power forward once he improves his skating.  He will be the steal of the 2023 draft for whoever takes him, similar to Tage who went 26th and was even traded before he could even show his stuff...

 

Good response. I forgot about the age as opposed to draft status part of it. 

 

When I first dug into Matthew Wood I saw ALOT made about his skating ability, despite his stats. When I watched video I didn't see the quickest player as far as foot-speed but you saw his offensive skills were evident, and not a one trick pony either; IQ, playmaking & scoring ability.

 

In some ways he kinda reminded me of Brock but he's certainly futher ahead at this point. I'm getting back into now so I'll have to take another look. I could see the Tage comp, I actually liked Tage in his draft year, he seemed to have every offensive tool but at a lesser school & perhaps less developed (like Wood now I suppose).

 

Edited May 9, 2023 by Smashian Kassian

[Elias Pettersson]

12 minutes ago, R3aL said:

Kent Johnson 

Beniers

Power

 

were all on that team and were 

 

1 power

2 beniers 

5 johnson 

 

Overall picks and all had awesome draft years.

good to bring that up 

 

My only concerns for him were his skating, not playing C this year and just thinking this draft had better options in the top tier. But he’s changed my opinion as the year has gone on and he cemented thst during the u18s

I see an absolute monster on the rise here.

 

he’s a player that I would get 125% behind drafting at 11.

 

kid is absolutey competitive. Wants to be the GUY. His puck skills are as high end as they come, he’s an elite finisher, he’s got size. So he’s got 4 top tier traits that are nhl level traits.

 

1. drive / work ethic 

2. Puck skills

3. shooting / finishing 

4. SIZE

 

other things going for him:

 

- he has great hockey iq and can play with top tier talent. 
 

- he has improved his skating as the season has gone on and at the u18s I saw a guy that looks like with strength training and some power skating work over the summer his skating won’t be a negative or hold him back.

 

- he’s right handed, always welcome here

 

what could be key in how he develops:

 

- is the plan for him to play C next year? It does make sense at his age that they had him on the wing this year. But if the plan is him at C next year and he’s being projected as a C by teams that interview him he could go well

Before our draft pick 

 

I’m wanting Wood or Reinbacher at 11 right now. Would also love Ryan Leonard and am opening my mind to a surprise pick of Honzek or Willander.

 

I still do like ASP but I’m not as crazy about him as I was earlier in the year. And I could listen and participate in a discussion that Willander could be the better of the two and fit our teams future better with being a future partner for Hughes.

 

im going to make tiers before the draft but I’m super high on:

 

Wood

Reinbacher

Leonard

Dvorsky

 

Right now. Especially if projecting wood/Leonard as Centres.

 

I still like guys like:

 

ASP

Danielson

Moore

Barlow

 

Sale, Honzek and Willander I’m truly digging into deeper and opening my mind to them potentially being targets at 11.

 

I wouldn't be surprised at all if Philly takes Wood at 7.  Especially if they feel he can be a centre in the NHL.  Could be their new Eric Lindros.  And yes, I agree, I believe they played Wood at wing because he was 17 years old, and they didn't want to give him the responsibility of playing centre at such a young age in the NCAA.  Wood was basically the youngest player in the NCAA last year.

Edited May 9, 2023 by Elias Pettersson

[YearoftheNuck]

1 hour ago, VancouverHabitant said:

Not a bad list at all...  

 

I would say that Montreal might want to take someone that can help sooner rather then later. 

Even though Philly is starving for centers, I can see them taking someone like Reinbacher, and if not Philly then Detroit.  

 

I can't shake the feeling that St Louis will take one of the US National Development players or a player from the CHL.  If you look at their draft history, they tend to favour the North American junior leagues.  

 

It's really sad what's all happened with Michkov, but I see him dropping all the way to Washington or Detroit.  

 

I'm curious if we see an Arizona trade.  They have the 6th and 12th overall pick.  

Montreal has 5th and 17th (17th could slip much further if Florida beats Toronto).  

 

If you're Anaheim, do you take 6th and 12th?  

If you're Columbus, do you take 6th and 12th?  

 

Great post. I agree with basically all of it. 
 

In regards to the your questions at the end, usually I would say no, neither team to should make that trade, as IMO it is all about quality over quantity and the team that lands the best player in any given trade is the team that wins the trade. However, if I’m Columbus I do think I wouldn’t make that trade. As good as Carlsson looks, walking away with Leonard and ASP for example would be just too sweet to pass on (Reinbacher and Danielsson, or Dvorsky and Sale, etc etc). Man the coyotes can really expedite their rebuild this draft!