2023 NHL Entry Draft

[Nucker 67]

33 minutes ago, HighOnHockey said:

Vancouver - Samuel Honzek

VAN takes Honzek over Moore, ASP and Benson?  Not sure how I'd feel about that. Although, I would become a fan after some time and support the pick. 

[ilduce39]

Pronman with a new list on the Athletic - has Danielson, Reinbacher and Dvorsky in the top 10.  
 

That still leaves Moore and Willander (or ASP) at 11 which would be great pickups.  
 

Definitely see where “deep draft” comes from and the price of swapping 11 to 19.

[Ilunga]

7 hours ago, HighOnHockey said:

 

I'd pass on Kalle Carlsson. Had my eye on him coming into the season but not only did he not improve on his numbers over last year, his per game numbers in the U20 league actually declined. And from watching him I just find him very bland. Nothing really stands out to get excited about. If we're after a two-way center out of Sweden I would much prefer Felix Nilsson.

 

For big defensemen, would love Dvorak, but I feel like he'll be gone by early in the 2nd. Of the big Swedish defenseman, I think Axel Hurtig goes before Kostadisnki or Berglund. Hurtig played big minutes for Sweden in the medal rounds at U18s. I've had my eye on Kostadinski for a while. Kind of interesting, but I'm not sure if he had an injury or something as he was benched for the entire medal round at the U18s.

 

Brady Cleveland is really interesting to me, in that of all the big defenseman in this draft, more than any others from what I've seen Cleveland has a legit mean streak. Definite questions around the overall talent level though. I don't know much about Mann or Sotheran, but another defenseman with some size who's also a pretty good player is Drew Fortescue.

 

I dunno what the cut-off is for a "big" defenseman, but Tristan Bertucci, Dylan MacKinnon and Artu Karki are all 6'2 and look like pretty good players that I believe should be available 3rd round and later.

Just for arguments sake as the Hockey writers article comparing him to Raty stated, Raty's production dropped off in his draft year.

 

 

Yeah I was checking out Felix Nilsson, his numbers are impressive in the J 20 however quite a few projections have him going before our pick in the third  round.

[hammertime]

1 hour ago, HighOnHockey said:

Seems almost fated if you ask me. Washington probably takes Michkov, and if Philly is still trying to build a "John Torterella team" that would mean Barlow or Leonard for them, so Reinbacher should be there. I said in my mock draft a couple years ago that I was convinced Lucas Raymond was a stud and Hakan Andersson would see that, so Detroit would pick him at 4. This year I'm saying Sandin-Pellikka is not all that, and I think Hakan Andersson will see that and they go Reinbacher at 9.

 

1. Chicago - Connor Bedard - Obviously

2. Anaheim - Adam Fantilli - Bruce Franklin has a long history drafting out of USHL and NTDP. Will Smith could make sense here, but Fantilli seems consensus BPA.

3. Columbus - Leo Carlsson - If there is one GM who does not have a rich and storied history drafting NTDP, it is Kekkalainen. Michkov is a strong possibility here, but Carlsson seems the most logical choice.

4. San Jose - Dalibor Dvorsky - Mike Grier is a rookie GM, but head scouting director Chris Morehouse has some history to go off. Morehouse was Kekalainen's head scout when they picked Tarasov, Marchenko, Chinakhov so Michkov could be possible here too, but given the difficulties Grier has already had signing Chmelevski, I'm betting he steers clear of the Russian here. Not much history for Morehouse out of the NTDP either.

5. Montreal - Will Smith

6. Arizona - Nate Danielson - Tampa picked out of CHL with almost every single first round pick of Plandowski's tenure there. I was thinking Barlow initially, but Danielson seems like the guy here.

7. Philadelphia - Ryan Leonard - Brent Flahr played a role in building the heavy Minnesota Wild we see today. He also has a long and successful history with the NTDP.

8. Washington - Matvei Michkov

9. Detroit - David Reinbacher

10. St Louis - Matthew Wood - Head scout Tony Feltrin is a Vancouver Island native, so I'd be surprised if Wood falls any further than this.

11. Vancouver - Samuel Honzek - Todd Harvey is the head scout, but when the GM has a background in amateur scouting, they'll tend to have a major say in early draft picks. Allvin never had a lot of early picks in Pittsburgh, and didn't have great success with the picks he had. Europeans via the CHL seems to be his specialty.

 

This is kinda the worst case scenario. I think I would be happy with any of Honzek, Sale, Barlow. I doubt they pass on ASP though. It would be a tough choice for me between the 4. There is a bug in my ear that says the 2 best players on the board are But and Simashev. Does Alvin have the Cajones?

[Gawdzukes]

3 hours ago, R3aL said:

I do think Benson-Miller-Mikehyev as a line combo would work very well in 2 years or whenever he was ready 

With the way we're seemingly looking at an all in approach I wonder if we target a player that could be ready sooner than say a Wood, or ASP. 

 

[Gawdzukes]

1 hour ago, HighOnHockey said:

Seems almost fated if you ask me. Washington probably takes Michkov, and if Philly is still trying to build a "John Torterella team" that would mean Barlow or Leonard for them, so Reinbacher should be there. I said in my mock draft a couple years ago that I was convinced Lucas Raymond was a stud and Hakan Andersson would see that, so Detroit would pick him at 4. This year I'm saying Sandin-Pellikka is not all that, and I think Hakan Andersson will see that and they go Reinbacher at 9.

 

1. Chicago - Connor Bedard - Obviously

2. Anaheim - Adam Fantilli - Bruce Franklin has a long history drafting out of USHL and NTDP. Will Smith could make sense here, but Fantilli seems consensus BPA.

3. Columbus - Leo Carlsson - If there is one GM who does not have a rich and storied history drafting NTDP, it is Kekkalainen. Michkov is a strong possibility here, but Carlsson seems the most logical choice.

4. San Jose - Dalibor Dvorsky - Mike Grier is a rookie GM, but head scouting director Chris Morehouse has some history to go off. Morehouse was Kekalainen's head scout when they picked Tarasov, Marchenko, Chinakhov so Michkov could be possible here too, but given the difficulties Grier has already had signing Chmelevski, I'm betting he steers clear of the Russian here. Not much history for Morehouse out of the NTDP either.

5. Montreal - Will Smith

6. Arizona - Nate Danielson - Tampa picked out of CHL with almost every single first round pick of Plandowski's tenure there. I was thinking Barlow initially, but Danielson seems like the guy here.

7. Philadelphia - Ryan Leonard - Brent Flahr played a role in building the heavy Minnesota Wild we see today. He also has a long and successful history with the NTDP.

8. Washington - Matvei Michkov

9. Detroit - David Reinbacher

10. St Louis - Matthew Wood - Head scout Tony Feltrin is a Vancouver Island native, so I'd be surprised if Wood falls any further than this.

11. Vancouver - Samuel Honzek - Todd Harvey is the head scout, but when the GM has a background in amateur scouting, they'll tend to have a major say in early draft picks. Allvin never had a lot of early picks in Pittsburgh, and didn't have great success with the picks he had. Europeans via the CHL seems to be his specialty.

 

Yawlanewlowhatabowski

 

I'm tongue tied with that pick. I like the pervious 4 players. Damn, I'm really hoping someone goes off the board and we get one of those guys.

[Nucker 67]

Looking at Tankathon, they have ASP at #13, Reinbacher at #14, Wood at #15 and Honzek at #24.

 

Benson is ranked #6 and Cristall is ranked #9. 

 

I guess everyone has their own list.

[Alflives]

Just now, NUCKER67 said:

Looking at Tankathon, they have ASP at #13, Reinbacher at #14, Wood at #15 and Honzek at #24.

 

Benson is ranked #6 and Cristall is ranked #9. 

 

I guess everyone has their own list.

Exactly. It’s all over the map after five. We will get a great prospect at 11. He could very easily, in three years, be more impactful than guys taken before him. 

[Gawdzukes]

4 minutes ago, NUCKER67 said:

Looking at Tankathon, they have ASP at #13, Reinbacher at #14, Wood at #15 and Honzek at #24.

 

Benson is ranked #6 and Cristall is ranked #9. 

 

I guess everyone has their own list.

They had Sale at 7 forever during the season while we were hovering there. They have him at 11 now and Cristall at 9. I don't really trust it for the players as far as rankings go. I think they are more interested in the tank part ... but I don't know where they get their list from so this is just a hunch.

[JustABandwagoner]

43 minutes ago, NUCKER67 said:

Looking at Tankathon, they have ASP at #13, Reinbacher at #14, Wood at #15 and Honzek at #24.

 

Benson is ranked #6 and Cristall is ranked #9. 

 

I guess everyone has their own list.

I've even seen Cristall fall to the 2nd round LOL 

[R3aL]

1 hour ago, Gawdzukes said:

With the way we're seemingly looking at an all in approach I wonder if we target a player that could be ready sooner than say a Wood, or ASP. 

 

I think our management will pick the best asset on their list and they will give them the patience required. That’s what they’ve done, and said in regards to drafting and developing 

[R3aL]

2 hours ago, HighOnHockey said:

Seems almost fated if you ask me. Washington probably takes Michkov, and if Philly is still trying to build a "John Torterella team" that would mean Barlow or Leonard for them, so Reinbacher should be there. I said in my mock draft a couple years ago that I was convinced Lucas Raymond was a stud and Hakan Andersson would see that, so Detroit would pick him at 4. This year I'm saying Sandin-Pellikka is not all that, and I think Hakan Andersson will see that and they go Reinbacher at 9.

 

1. Chicago - Connor Bedard - Obviously

2. Anaheim - Adam Fantilli - Bruce Franklin has a long history drafting out of USHL and NTDP. Will Smith could make sense here, but Fantilli seems consensus BPA.

3. Columbus - Leo Carlsson - If there is one GM who does not have a rich and storied history drafting NTDP, it is Kekkalainen. Michkov is a strong possibility here, but Carlsson seems the most logical choice.

4. San Jose - Dalibor Dvorsky - Mike Grier is a rookie GM, but head scouting director Chris Morehouse has some history to go off. Morehouse was Kekalainen's head scout when they picked Tarasov, Marchenko, Chinakhov so Michkov could be possible here too, but given the difficulties Grier has already had signing Chmelevski, I'm betting he steers clear of the Russian here. Not much history for Morehouse out of the NTDP either.

5. Montreal - Will Smith

6. Arizona - Nate Danielson - Tampa picked out of CHL with almost every single first round pick of Plandowski's tenure there. I was thinking Barlow initially, but Danielson seems like the guy here.

7. Philadelphia - Ryan Leonard - Brent Flahr played a role in building the heavy Minnesota Wild we see today. He also has a long and successful history with the NTDP.

8. Washington - Matvei Michkov

9. Detroit - David Reinbacher

10. St Louis - Matthew Wood - Head scout Tony Feltrin is a Vancouver Island native, so I'd be surprised if Wood falls any further than this.

11. Vancouver - Samuel Honzek - Todd Harvey is the head scout, but when the GM has a background in amateur scouting, they'll tend to have a major say in early draft picks. Allvin never had a lot of early picks in Pittsburgh, and didn't have great success with the picks he had. Europeans via the CHL seems to be his specialty.

 

If he doesn’t go to San Jose I just can’t see Montreal taking him. And I would agree he could be dated to have a baton hand off from Ovie in Washington. It would be a cool story line. 
 

ans that would be one where those extra few wins and demko starts could burn a little.

 

I’ve fully accepted honzek could go high. From 9-11 would be the absolute highest I think he could go. 
 

i wouldn’t be ecstatic just because when I watch him sometimes I think a lot of his success is just due to his size and strength but I also maybe over watched him ripped him a part more than others now to this point. And I would support the pick with everything I have if we took him. 
 

I’ve also heard some insiders say STL could be high on Barlow and ASP. So we will see. Wood there would make sense though and look like a STL guy. 

[Smashian Kassian]

Article in the province today (Kuzma) that mentioned the Canucks really like ASP.

 

My thought is ASP looks like a legit Top 4 D you could bank on, but fairly unspectacular. We've been down this road before with Juolevi - granted knee injuries really did him in, he showed the puck skills & IQ to be a player otherwise - so I'm a little weary, but at the same time if we were picking 19th I'd be over the moon with him, so he's a good player. For those that follow a little closer @HighOnHockey @R3aL (?) I wonder how he compares to Victor Soderstrom who profiled similarly.

 

The question boils down too how much room is there to grow b/c he's certainly a good player, but is he going to be a McDonagh-type 'smooth & unspectacular but highly effective' top pair guy, or a really good 3/4 second pair guy 

 

 

Edited May 31, 2023 by Smashian Kassian

[Wolfgang Durst]

dynamic offensive swedish defencemen like Adam Boqvist, Söderström, Liljegren and Sandin-Pellikka all looked great with their excellent skating on the larger european ice. It's apparent that the advantage of outstanding skating seems to diminish on the smaler north american ice. Once these prospects play on the smaller ice in north america they do no longer look that dominant. Based on what I have seen from Boqvist, Söderström and Liljegren I highly doubt that ASP will become more than a No.4 D-Man in the NHL.

 

Sandin Pellikka struggled in the SHL on a stacked Skellefteä team and was demoted to the Junior team during the season. I agree that he looked great when playing against his peers, in the swedish U20 Nationell and in the under 18 tournament but he hasn't proved to be effective playing against men at the pro level. Hence the risk associated with Sandin Pellikka is far greater than the risk of selecting a player like Reinbacher who has already played 2 years against men at pro level.

 

to sum it up:

there will be plenty of options for the Canucks at #11 and therefore it will be crucial for Allvin and his team to spend lots of time to evaluate these prospects to make sure they make the right choice. Are Canucks willing to take another gamble or do they decide to go with the safe pick? That's the key question from my point of view.

Edited May 31, 2023 by Wolfgang Durst

[spook007]

6 hours ago, Gawdzukes said:

With the way we're seemingly looking at an all in approach I wonder if we target a player that could be ready sooner than say a Wood, or ASP. 

 

That's where I see them picking Barlow. 

[Nucker 67]

7 hours ago, Wolfgang Durst said:

dynamic offensive swedish defencemen like Adam Boqvist, Söderström, Liljegren and Sandin-Pellikka all looked great with their excellent skating on the larger european ice. It's apparent that the advantage of outstanding skating seems to diminish on the smaler north american ice. Once these prospects play on the smaller ice in north america they do no longer look that dominant. Based on what I have seen from Boqvist, Söderström and Liljegren I highly doubt that ASP will become more than a No.4 D-Man in the NHL.

 

Sandin Pellikka struggled in the SHL on a stacked Skellefteä team and was demoted to the Junior team during the season. I agree that he looked great when playing against his peers, in the swedish U20 Nationell and in the under 18 tournament but he hasn't proved to be effective playing against men at the pro level. Hence the risk associated with Sandin Pellikka is far greater than the risk of selecting a player like Reinbacher who has already played 2 years against men at pro level.

 

to sum it up:

there will be plenty of options for the Canucks at #11 and therefore it will be crucial for Allvin and his team to spend lots of time to evaluate these prospects to make sure they make the right choice. Are Canucks willing to take another gamble or do they decide to go with the safe pick? That's the key question from my point of view.

Really interesting thoughts, the Euro mobile D (ASP, Gulyeyev) may struggle, or not excel as much, on the smaller NA ice. I guess maybe that's where the Canucks are fortunate, to have Hughes. 

 

Makes me kind of think the Canucks should take an American or Canadian kid with the #11. The last time VAN's 1st pick was a NA forward was in 2015 (Boeser) It's time.

 

Unfortunately, I can't see Reinbacher dropping out of the Top 10. 

 

Wood

Moore

Barlow

Benson

 

 

Edited May 31, 2023 by NUCKER67

[HighOnHockey]

9 hours ago, Smashian Kassian said:

Article in the province today (Kuzma) that mentioned the Canucks really like ASP.

 

My thought is ASP looks like a legit Top 4 D you could bank on, but fairly unspectacular. We've been down this road before with Juolevi - granted knee injuries really did him in, he showed the puck skills & IQ to be a player otherwise - so I'm a little weary, but at the same time if we were picking 19th I'd be over the moon with him, so he's a good player. For those that follow a little closer @HighOnHockey @R3aL (?) I wonder how he compares to Victor Soderstrom who profiled similarly.

 

The question boils down too how much room is there to grow b/c he's certainly a good player, but is he going to be a McDonagh-type 'smooth & unspectacular but highly effective' top pair guy, or a really good 3/4 second pair guy 

 

 

This is my issue with ASP, I don't think he'll have the chops to be a defensive defenseman on the level of a McDonagh. He's more of an offensive and puck-moving defenseman, but I also don't see him as close to one of these elite offensive defenseman like a Makar, Hughes or Fox. I see him as more a 40-50 point type of guy who's solid in his own zone.. I'll say again, would be a pretty disappointing pick at 11 overall given the quality of forwards expected to be available at the pick.

[HighOnHockey]

1 hour ago, NUCKER67 said:

Really interesting thoughts, the Euro mobile D (ASP, Gulyeyev) may struggle, or not excel as much, on the smaller NA ice. I guess maybe that's where the Canucks are fortunate, to have Hughes. 

 

Makes me kind of think the Canucks should take an American or Canadian kid with the #11. The last time VAN's 1st pick was a NA forward was in 2015 (Boeser) It's time.

 

Unfortunately, I can't see Reinbacher dropping out of the Top 10. 

 

Wood

Moore

Barlow

Benson

 

 

The KHL actually uses North American sized ice now.

[HighOnHockey]

16 hours ago, HighOnHockey said:

Seems almost fated if you ask me. Washington probably takes Michkov, and if Philly is still trying to build a "John Torterella team" that would mean Barlow or Leonard for them, so Reinbacher should be there. I said in my mock draft a couple years ago that I was convinced Lucas Raymond was a stud and Hakan Andersson would see that, so Detroit would pick him at 4. This year I'm saying Sandin-Pellikka is not all that, and I think Hakan Andersson will see that and they go Reinbacher at 9.

 

1. Chicago - Connor Bedard - Obviously

2. Anaheim - Adam Fantilli - Bruce Franklin has a long history drafting out of USHL and NTDP. Will Smith could make sense here, but Fantilli seems consensus BPA.

3. Columbus - Leo Carlsson - If there is one GM who does not have a rich and storied history drafting NTDP, it is Kekkalainen. Michkov is a strong possibility here, but Carlsson seems the most logical choice.

4. San Jose - Dalibor Dvorsky - Mike Grier is a rookie GM, but head scouting director Chris Morehouse has some history to go off. Morehouse was Kekalainen's head scout when they picked Tarasov, Marchenko, Chinakhov so Michkov could be possible here too, but given the difficulties Grier has already had signing Chmelevski, I'm betting he steers clear of the Russian here. Not much history for Morehouse out of the NTDP either.

5. Montreal - Will Smith

6. Arizona - Nate Danielson - Tampa picked out of CHL with almost every single first round pick of Plandowski's tenure there. I was thinking Barlow initially, but Danielson seems like the guy here.

7. Philadelphia - Ryan Leonard - Brent Flahr played a role in building the heavy Minnesota Wild we see today. He also has a long and successful history with the NTDP.

8. Washington - Matvei Michkov

9. Detroit - David Reinbacher

10. St Louis - Matthew Wood - Head scout Tony Feltrin is a Vancouver Island native, so I'd be surprised if Wood falls any further than this.

11. Vancouver - Samuel Honzek - Todd Harvey is the head scout, but when the GM has a background in amateur scouting, they'll tend to have a major say in early draft picks. Allvin never had a lot of early picks in Pittsburgh, and didn't have great success with the picks he had. Europeans via the CHL seems to be his specialty.

 

12. Arizona - Zach Benson - CHL again, but they took the heavy center with the first pick, so they go all skill and upside here.

13. Buffalo - Colby Barlow - Under Jerry Forton they've gone mostly CHL or Europe (Sweden), but not a long track record with NTDP.

14. Pittsburgh - Oliver Moore - Minnesota connection with the new head scout Nick Pryor.

15. Nashville - Eduard Sale - Nashville is always impossible to predict under this regime. They'll go BPA from anywhere and everywhere.

16. Calgary - Tom Willander - Flames head scout Tod Button has drafted mostly from CHL and especially OHL in the first round. But he has also taken Valimaki, Kylington and Andersson with early round picks.

17. Detroit - Axel Sandin-Pellikka - Yzerman and co. passed on the smallish Swede at 9, but Andersson is stoked to get a second chance at the kid. Detroit is loaded with big, talented D in the system now they can afford to take a flyer on the powerplay specialist.

18. Winnipeg - Gabe Perreault - Jets head scout Hillier has a long and successful track record with the USHL/NTDP.

19. Chicago - Brayden Yager

20. Seattle - Calum Ritchie

21. Minnesota - David Edstrom

22. Columbus - Daniil But

Edited May 31, 2023 by HighOnHockey

[Gawdzukes]

9 hours ago, spook007 said:

That's where I see them picking Barlow. 

Yup, I could really see him as a guy they are looking at it no one slips like Reinbacher, or Leonard. He'd probably be great on either Miller or Petey's wing and definitely adds elements we are dearly missing. They also say he's the one guy probably guaranteed to get 9 games at least. When looking at his stats my fear is Jake Virtanen, but he appears to play a different game.