2023 NHL Entry Draft

[hammertime]

4 minutes ago, HighOnHockey said:

 

I'd kind of agree with both of you. I know QQ said initially Gulyayev would be his next preferred D after Reinbacher. From a purely hockey perspective I prefer Gulyayev, but if I'm the GM of an NHL team, I'd probably have to take ASP before Gulyayev. Wouldn't take either at 11 though to be honest. I still have Sandin-Pellikka around 15. Gulyayev I have around 10, based just on hockey.

 

Miroshnichenko and Yurov both fell at least 10-15 spots last year. The cause of Miro's fall could be split between the Russia factor and his illness so it's hard to say exactly how much was what. For a recent reference Hendrix Lapierre fell maybe 5-10 spots due to long-term health concerns, albeit very different from Miro's. Jared Cowen, Brett Connolly, Alex Galchenyuk barely fell at all but I suppose it could be argued their injuries weren't expected to have lasting effects compared to Miro's cancer and Lapierre's concussions. All in all I suspect Miro's drop was less due to the health issue and more to the Russia factor. I had Yurov top 5 on my final list and there's zero doubt in my mind he was a top ten talent. So I'm expecting every Russian with the exception of maybe Michkov to fall upwards of 15 spots again this year from where they should go. Michkov will be really tough to pass up on any time after the first four or five picks. I doubt any of Gulyayev, Simashev or But go in the top 25, and some could even fall to the second round.

 

Just for fun, figured I'd do my top 5 D at each position:

 

LD

Mikhail Gulyayev

Dimitri Simashev

Theo Lindstein

Jakub Dvorak

Etienne Morin

(HM Caden Price, Tanner Molendyk)

 

RD

David Reinbacher

Maxim Strbak

Axel Sandin-Pellikka

Aram Minnetian

Lukas Dragicevic

(HM Oliver Bonk, Beau Akey, Tom Willander

Interesting Dragicevic over Bonk, Wallander 

I guess tools wins. 

 

Agreed on the left though for the Canucks specifically I'll have Simashev. 

 

 

[AlwaysACanuckFan]

25 minutes ago, hammertime said:

This is probably who I take if Reinbacher is off the board. If I'm being realistic. 

 

I'm also trying to keep in mind that what I want and what Alvin wants don't seem to align. But I'm a fan and he's the GM for a reason as much as I disagree I do trust the process and that there are people who's full time job this is. 

 

I think we will be picking cherries again. Expect we will draft the highest ceiling player on the board with our pick. 

Just curious if you could rank these players in  highest ceilings, how would you rank them

Dvorsky 

Sandin Pellikka 

Sale

Stennberg

Danielson 

[HighOnHockey]

17 minutes ago, hammertime said:

Interesting Dragicevic over Bonk, Wallander 

I guess tools wins. 

 

Agreed on the left though for the Canucks specifically I'll have Simashev. 

 

That's exactly it. What's he gonna be at 25 or 28. Brent Burns is a great example. Obviously he is on another level than Dragicevic in terms of size, but it took him many years to really come into his own and flourish after moving to defense after he was drafted. At least Dragicevic made the move a couple years earlier.

[Warhippy]

1 hour ago, hammertime said:

I sorta talked about this. Yzerman is or appears to be building through the draft piece by piece. He is currently drafting the players that take the longest to cook. He has a strong future D corps. Last year he grabbed Kaspar. This year I expect he will grab another foundational C Danielson/Honzek or a PWF Barlow/Wood or both. 

 

I think next year is the year he starts picking cherries. 

I have to agree.

 

Yzerman walked in to a Tampa group with everything he needed but supplementary pieces.  He found those pieces fast.  With a rebuilding team you can cherry pick exactly what you want.  He has two more years to do that.

 

I'd agree to this assessment.  Taking a D and a C or vice versa.  He has the time and picks to do it.  Any of the following with that first pick in Dvorsky/Leonard/Reinbacher/Danielson and a supplementary grab of Wood/Barlow/Gyulyayev or Honzek sets that team up even more than what they've already done.

 

2019:  Seider RHD, Soderblom LW, Tuomisto LHD

2020:  Raymond LW (shoots right), Wallinder LHD, Neiderbach LW

2021:  Edvinsson LHD, Cossa G, Buium LHD, Mazur LW (shoots right)

2022:  Kasper LW, James LW, Lombardi LHC, Mehlenbacher RW (shoots left)

 

You can see exactly what he is doing.  If you look carefully; the smallest group of those picks is predominantly forwards on the wing which is great.  But the next smallest are all 6 foot or more and feisty as hell.  Then you look at the blue line picks and they are all monsters.  What is even more interesting is with all of the picks Yzerman HAS made, one can say there are currently a lot of misses.  But at the same time, so very few have actually even been shown the doors of the AHL as many are still in collegiate programs or in Europe.  

 

There is no home run centres yet or significant amounts of RHD but the depth is there and growing giving them options and with 28 current picks in the next 3 drafts and a significant amount of cap space Yzerman is building things the way he knows how.  Depth size and skill.

[YearoftheNuck]

This mock draft seems a little out to lunch IMO. They have Moore at 6 (he might still crack the top ten, but I definitely don’t see him being selected as early as sixth).
 

And they have us selecting Cristall when Dvorsky and Reinbacher are still on the board. 
 

I feel like whoever put together this mock draft forgot to watch the U18 tournament lol 

 

https://dknation.draftkings.com/platform/amp/2023/5/8/23715237/nhl-mock-draft-2023-post-lottery-drawing-ducks-blackhawks-canadiens-connor-bedard

[YearoftheNuck]

26 minutes ago, AlwaysACanuckFan said:

Just curious if you could rank these players in  highest ceilings, how would you rank them

Dvorsky 

Sandin Pellikka 

Sale

Stennberg

Danielson 

I would go:

 

Dvorsky 

Sandin Pellikka 

Sale

Danielsson

Stennberg

[Warhippy]

OK I have made comments on him before and I need to know why Eduard Sale?

 

I have heard him compared to Marion Hossa but I don't see it.

 

He has height, and apparently is bigger than his listed weight suggests.  I like that he's an RW that shoots left because that is poison to almost any goalie without a quality glove or likes to play the floor.

 

But knowing he'd be another 2-3 year project what is it about this guy that would be beneficial to vancouver should he be taken?

[Ghostsof1915]

2 minutes ago, Warhippy said:

OK I have made comments on him before and I need to know why Eduard Sale?

 

I have heard him compared to Marion Hossa but I don't see it.

 

He has height, and apparently is bigger than his listed weight suggests.  I like that he's an RW that shoots left because that is poison to almost any goalie without a quality glove or likes to play the floor.

 

But knowing he'd be another 2-3 year project what is it about this guy that would be beneficial to vancouver should he be taken?

This is why I get puzzled. Even amateur scouts that have been doing this for decades, don't agree on prospects. I get upset when Vancouver takes the wrong player.

But in the end you are looking at 18 year olds and projecting where they will be 7 years from now. As a lot of us know. We were very different people at 18 than even 22 let alone 25. When you're a teen you think you know everything. When you are in your 20's you realize you don't really know anything.

 

What gets me is CDC at times seems to want to ice a team of Johnny Hockey's. A team that's small, and skilled. Because you know potential, you can't pass up potential.

What we should be focusing on is what role can that player be on our club. And even if he doesn't meet our needs can we trade him to get other assets back?

 

[Bure_Pavel]

6 hours ago, HighOnHockey said:

Based on Bob McKenzie's top 12, I think the player I'd be most excited for the Canucks to pick, out of players who might realistically be available, would be Eduard Sale. High floor, high ceilling, probably not too far off from NHL-ready. 6'2 and uses his size and physicality as well as you could expect from a player this age who isn't specifically known as a "power forward". Of course if Michkov is still available you trample small children if need be as you run to the podium. Don't care who else is on the board.

 

One other thing I'm gonna say now and will continue to say leading up to the draft, is I know we fans tend to get really locked in to certain public rankings, but NHL teams' rankings are all going to look very different outside of the top 3 or 4. Prepare yourselves for the possibility that the Canucks pick a prospect nobody expects them to pick even though there are "higher ranked" players still on the board. I'm not sure who that might be (my whole point is it will be unexpected), but my best guesses would be David Edstrom or Samuel Honzek.

Yeah Sale is a guy that Ive seen drop in some rankings and he has dropped in my rankings a bit to be honest as well, as I had him ranked 6th going into the year. He would be a great pick at 11 though. He already plays a pro style game and really is at his best when against tougher competition. He had a great U20 tourny which is a very tough tournament for any U18 player not named Bedard. He is the all time leader in points/season in the U20 Czech league by a U17 player, and his frame is projectable to the NHL (similar build to Petey). No really glaring holes in his game, his defensive game could use work but I think you can say that about almost every prospect in this draft class. He thinks the game so well and it allows him to excel when playing with other top players. 

[BCNate]

There are a number of mock drafts out there that have Benson falling into the 10-15 range.  

 

If he is there, it most likely means that ASP and Reinbacher are not, but if all three are, who do you take?

 

I 1000% take Benson.

[HighOnHockey]

37 minutes ago, Warhippy said:

OK I have made comments on him before and I need to know why Eduard Sale?

 

I have heard him compared to Marion Hossa but I don't see it.

 

He has height, and apparently is bigger than his listed weight suggests.  I like that he's an RW that shoots left because that is poison to almost any goalie without a quality glove or likes to play the floor.

 

But knowing he'd be another 2-3 year project what is it about this guy that would be beneficial to vancouver should he be taken?

Ew no. I hope I never hear those two names in a sentence together again. I love Sale but Marian Hossa was the best defensive winger of the past two decades.

 

Lucas Raymond has some Hossa in him, just lacks the size. I see a lot of Hossa in Gleb Trikozov as well, albeit a very flawed Hossa. But Sale? He's also not as explosive as Hossa. Sounds like lazy people making comparisons based on nationality.

 

That said, I think I'd take him top ten, probably over Benson. Same reason I'm a sucker for Leo Carlsson and was for Miro and Trik last year; just love players that blend skill and power the way these guys do. I'm not sure I see another player quite like that in this draft (exclude Bedard, Fantilli, Michkov from this, they're all on a different level). Dvorsky, Barlow, Wood, Danielson, and some other 6'3 plus prospects are more powerful but I'm not sure any are on Sale's skill level. And then you have your more skilled prospects like Smith, Perreault and some 5'10 and under kids, but none that are going to be able to handle themselves down low like Sale can.

[Nucker 67]

31 minutes ago, BCNate said:

There are a number of mock drafts out there that have Benson falling into the 10-15 range.  

 

If he is there, it most likely means that ASP and Reinbacher are not, but if all three are, who do you take?

 

I 1000% take Benson.

Oh that would be a tough call, Benson is the better player, but the Canucks need Cs and Ds and to pass on the two best RDs in the Draft for a small winger? Might not go over well. but seeing Benson on Petey's wing in a couple of years might be exciting.

[Bure_Pavel]

8 minutes ago, HighOnHockey said:

Ew no. I hope I never hear those two names in a sentence together again. I love Sale but Marian Hossa was the best defensive winger of the past two decades.

 

Lucas Raymond has some Hossa in him, just lacks the size. I see a lot of Hossa in Gleb Trikozov as well, albeit a very flawed Hossa. But Sale? He's also not as explosive as Hossa. Sounds like lazy people making comparisons based on nationality.

 

That said, I think I'd take him top ten, probably over Benson. Same reason I'm a sucker for Leo Carlsson and was for Miro and Trik last year; just love players that blend skill and power the way these guys do. I'm not sure I see another player quite like that in this draft (exclude Bedard, Fantilli, Michkov from this, they're all on a different level). Dvorsky, Barlow, Wood, Danielson, and some other 6'3 plus prospects are more powerful but I'm not sure any are on Sale's skill level. And then you have your more skilled prospects like Smith, Perreault and some 5'10 and under kids, but none that are going to be able to handle themselves down low like Sale can.

Maybe a better Andre Burakovsky, hard to find a really good comparison to him. 

[Off_The_Schneid!]

47 minutes ago, Bure_Pavel said:

Yeah Sale is a guy that Ive seen drop in some rankings and he has dropped in my rankings a bit to be honest as well, as I had him ranked 6th going into the year. He would be a great pick at 11 though. He already plays a pro style game and really is at his best when against tougher competition. He had a great U20 tourny which is a very tough tournament for any U18 player not named Bedard. He is the all time leader in points/season in the U20 Czech league by a U17 player, and his frame is projectable to the NHL (similar build to Petey). No really glaring holes in his game, his defensive game could use work but I think you can say that about almost every prospect in this draft class. He thinks the game so well and it allows him to excel when playing with other top players. 

Sale screams Yzerman pick to me 

St Louis has to be taking Barlow 

All this ASP talk, I think the Canucks have a pretty good read on Swedish players so if they take him I would be confident with the pick . 
 

Chicago- Bedard 

Anaheim- Fantilli 

CBJ- Carlson 

San Jose- Smith 

Montreal- Leonard 

Arizona- Mitchkov 

Philadelphia- Benson 

Washington- Dvorsky

Detroit- Sale

St. Louis- Barlow 

Vancouver- Reinbacher

 

 If Detroit selects Reinbacher:

Vancouver- Wood / Honzek ( whoever they have higher ) 

 

[Herberts Vasiljevs]

Who do you guys like more between Wood and Honzek. That's a tricky one for me.

[Goalie Interference]

2 hours ago, hammertime said:

But I'm a fan and he's the GM for a reason as much as I disagree I do trust the process and that there are people who's full time job this is. 

Dude, don't sell yourself short. You know he reads this forum, right? You know he's browsing these posts for wisdom and unique insights. He's *looking* for our input. 

 

Or at least that's what I tell myself 

[Bure_Pavel]

55 minutes ago, Herberts Vasiljevs said:

Who do you guys like more between Wood and Honzek. That's a tricky one for me.

For me its Wood quite easily. He is bit younger, has exceeded expectations at every level, and has the better offensive tools. His adjusted production of 0.97 pts/game in NCAA blows Honzek's 1.30 pts/game in the WHL out of the water. 

Edited May 10, 2023 by Bure_Pavel

[Herberts Vasiljevs]

14 hours ago, KyGuy123 said:

Chi: Bedard

Ana: Fantilli

Cbj: Carlsson

SJS: Michkov

MTL: Smith

Ari: Reinbacher

Phi: Leonard

Wash: Benson

Det: Dvorsky

STL: ASP 

VAN……….. 

 

I can see it shaking out that way and to me that is worst case scenario. At that point I think I go with Moore due to

position and floor. Wood, Barlow, Sale, Perrault are all great players but they are either wingers or have some sort of similarities (Raty/Wood due to them hopefully correcting their skating or playing Centre) 

 

I think Moore playing with speed and up the middle could breakout when removed from the shadow of the top line he had in front of him. I see similar upside with Dvorsky and Moore but I’d take Dvorsky if it was between the two and available. 
 

 

Sale or Moore. Damn that's a doozie.

Edited May 10, 2023 by Herberts Vasiljevs

[Nucker 67]

Moore is s curiosity. He was ranked pretty high for a long time, then didn't have a great U18, dropped and now seems to be around mid-round.  Meanwhile, Wood played on a line with Celebrini (possibly next years' 1st overall), and he had some success. IMO, buyer beware on Wood.

 

Who did Moore play on a line with for Team USA? Probably not "Celebrini calibre" teammates.

 

Moore could be a steal for some team picking around #10-15.  That speed. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Diamonds]

1 hour ago, Herberts Vasiljevs said:

Who do you guys like more between Wood and Honzek. That's a tricky one for me.

I think Wood has better offensive potential, but at this point Honzek is probably more likely to be a C in the NHL. I would still lean Wood between the two.