2023 NHL Entry Draft

[hammertime]

2 hours ago, R3aL said:

I read scouting reports with a grain of salt and look at the date they were written and who wrote it. 
 

Out of curiosity who do you have with higher ceilings at 11 than wood? 
 

not just ranked ahead in your mind but with higher ceiling / top end potential 

Apples to apples Daniil But. He's got the size and the shot but he can also fly if he gets a lil runway infront of him. 

[R3aL]

13 minutes ago, hammertime said:

Apples to apples Daniil But. He's got the size and the shot but he can also fly if he gets a lil runway infront of him. 

I haven’t seen enough to have a true opinion on him. But he looks very interesting 

[HighOnHockey]

17 minutes ago, hammertime said:

Apples to apples Daniil But. He's got the size and the shot but he can also fly if he gets a lil runway infront of him. 

 

4 minutes ago, R3aL said:

I haven’t seen enough to have a true opinion on him. But he looks very interesting 

I'm with Hammer on this one. I haven't seen a ton of either but from what I've seen, discounting the Russian factor I would lean But.

[hammertime]

3 minutes ago, R3aL said:

I haven’t seen enough to have a true opinion on him. But he looks very interesting 

Wood is a very promising prospect as well. One thing I try to stick to as I've been burned many times before. Is I try to avoid ranking guys on potential. "Oh he will become a better skater, he will learn defense, he just needs coaching and his IQ will improve, he will fill out and become stronger on pucks" etc. I try to rank more on certainty "what is this player showing me right now". 

 

Yes that absolutely means that I'll miss on some gems. But I've just personally found more often than not when I've made these excuses about a player they have disappointed.

 

The fewer excuses I make for a prospect the higher they are on my board these days.  

[steviewonder20]

6 hours ago, smithers joe said:

i'm not advocating it, i'm just saying that canucks could go that direction. they talk about a quick turn around.

I don’t disagree. I have a bad feeling that we aren’t going to pick at 11th.

[R3aL]

3 hours ago, hammertime said:

Wood is a very promising prospect as well. One thing I try to stick to as I've been burned many times before. Is I try to avoid ranking guys on potential. "Oh he will become a better skater, he will learn defense, he just needs coaching and his IQ will improve, he will fill out and become stronger on pucks" etc. I try to rank more on certainty "what is this player showing me right now". 

 

Yes that absolutely means that I'll miss on some gems. But I've just personally found more often than not when I've made these excuses about a player they have disappointed.

 

The fewer excuses I make for a prospect the higher they are on my board these days.  

Where roughly do you have wood ranked right now?

 

Def a fair way of evaluation 

 

but every player comes with a degree of projection and question marks at this age even bedard, Fantilli , Carlsson, smith , Michkov the top of the draft 

 

The crown jewel bedard has his own - he is small, and he isn’t a skater like point or Hughes so will he be an nhl C as he is undersized? 
 

2. 

[R3aL]

3 hours ago, HighOnHockey said:

 

I'm with Hammer on this one. I haven't seen a ton of either but from what I've seen, discounting the Russian factor I would lean But.

Was there something you saw or heard that pushed you to the point you  feel that way?

 

i know you talked earlier about how potentially he could be a C with  his size and skating alone thst sounds interesting to me. I just don’t know enough 

 

 

[BarnBurner]

14 minutes ago, R3aL said:

Where roughly do you have wood ranked right now?

 

Def a fair way of evaluation 

 

but every player comes with a degree of projection and question marks at this age even bedard, Fantilli , Carlsson, smith , Michkov the top of the draft 

 

The crown jewel bedard has his own - he is small, and he isn’t a skater like point or Hughes so will he be an nhl C as he is undersized? 
 

2. 

Think Gretzky. 

 

Not comparing him to the Great One, but... Wayne wasn't the greatest skater, yet he was so illusive and magical. 

 

That's more than likely what people are projecting Bedard to be like. 

 

Not big or strong, but extremely high hockey IQ. 

 

Only time will tell.

[Herberts Vasiljevs]

Would anybody be disappointed if we picked Honzek. I wouldn't. He has the size that we're lacking, and seems like somebody that can fit like a glove in our top-9nno matter who he's playing with. And the thing that stands out to me the most is that he has this swagger which SCREAMS pro. 

[DownUndaCanuck]

I know there's a lot of chat about Wood and Barlow but I don't see Allvin taking one of these North American guys if there's a high-skilled kid (especially European) out there. We must have one of the most intensive set of European scouts in the league and I bet PA will see something we don't. He must be following ASP and Reinbacher closely as the rest of the league are, but it's interesting hearing Button talk about how he thinks Willander should be in that top category. I know Stenberg is likely to go in the late first round but I could so see PA taking him and shocking everyone. It's obviously hard to compare guys playing in different countries but the WJC is always a nice try (although obviously Stenberg's stats are going to look better - he's playing against men in the SHL so his development is a lot more front-heavy).

 

I wonder if drafting a guy who is more NHL-ready now comes into mind as well, surely Reinbacher and ASP are pretty close whereas a lot of the North American guys need time to cook.

 

I honestly wouldn't be mad if we go for Stennberg over Wood or Barlow if all the other big fishes are off the market by then, throw him in the AHL for a year or so and then he'll probably be NHL-ready by 19-20 and can break into the league with Raty.

[Phat Fingers]

On 6/2/2023 at 5:18 AM, spook007 said:

He would be worth the gamble. The things I mentioned came from scouting reports, 

They seem to think they are question marks as well. 
If he was a sure thing with his size, he'd be top 5-6 even in this draft. 6'4+ big power forward with best goal scoring record in the NCAA as a 17 year old since Toews...

 

I'm on the Wood train as well. There are likely players with higher floors than Wood at 11, but the potential to be playing at 6'4-6'5 well over 200lbs they don't have...

To be honest, I find it very hard to decide, who to go for this year. 
 

Do we go for skill?

speed?

Dman or Forward?

Center? RHD?

Size?

highest floor or biggest potential?

Are they prepared to wait, or do they need someone to join the team soonest (cap). 
Boom/Bust?

Normally a few stands out, but there are so many this year, and they all look like can't miss... 

History tells us differently though...

dyslexic and names are hard… so I only learn to spell drafted players after we select them… lol
 

So, this club is no longer adverse to Russian players, and Mich could drop, Smashing Smishev is a great option for a d man, and so is ASP and Timllander.

 

then there is Wood, the youngest player in the oldest level of play possible for a NA kid, and he jumped the que to enter NCAA a year ahead of most kids. 
 

and put up points, plays Center and has a ton of time to grow into his huge frame and just by having a man’s control of his body Vs a teenagers, well, ask the ladies, there are a lot of subtle differences that make a huge difference.

 

Here is what I like about Wood, he did not stay in a league where he would have easily dominated, he stole a year of development to show his play against men, and he dominated for parts and set records as the youngest player to do things in the NCAA.

 

so if a guy like Wood is there, he could be on our roster by next years end, Ala, Hughes and Brock.  
 

Wood is a year ahead of every USTDP player in this draft to showing he is NHL ready.

 

a sleeper pick.  
 

I don’t see a Casey Middlestad in this guy, but a Bo Horvat type upside with a massive wingspan which is ideal for a young third line Center.

 

A solid two way good skating Center with that wing span is like a 3rd D man in the key defensive position in our end.

 

Is he good in the dot, because if he has that in his resume I would not be disappointed or surprised if he is taken at 11 and is a steal at that spot.

 

But my sleeper draft day suprise is a deal for the 3rd OA and JT Miller to Columbus and a cap dump and we add a conditional pick from next year and Alvin take Leo Karlsson who steps in next year as our third line Center and we have a FA signing or a cap dump RHD fill in d man until next year.

 

That’s JT Miller, the 11th OA, throw in a prospect, and a conditional 2024 pick which would likely be our second…. Of course. 
 

we will only trade the draft pick anyways.

 

with the deal for Hronek the RHD has been upgraded already.

 

Leo gives us a Leo to combat the Edmonton Leo and JT Miler goes home to be a hero in Ohio with Johnny Hockey.

 

We have a hot Goal tending prospect, that has massive sell high potential at this very moment and with JT going out, and a cap dump coming back and Leo coming in on a entry level cost controlled option at center, it’s suddenly a sky high one two punch down the middle that is exciting and extremely attractive long term with the cost controlled RFA player.

 

Columbus gets a guy that they can build around who is not Likely to flee at the first opportunity.

 

Roslivich (sp?) regressed heavily this year and is due a contract, I don’t think they have a guy to take as a cap dump on defence and any winger they think won’t re sign there, cause it’s Ohio, is fine by me.

 

we can easily add a Garland and or a Brock to the deal as a sweetener.

 

We have the following tradable assests as prospects.

 

Silvos, 
Klimovich

Podz

Rathbone

Woo***

Hoglander 

and if the Jackets need to fool their fans, our Karlsson as center…

 

(Woo is not going anywhere, Alvin has spoken about resigning him)

 

Leo Karlsson had Leon Drisital Up side.  
 

Dyslexic so you can fix my name errors. Thankx… 

 

lol. 

[Phat Fingers]

1 minute ago, Phat Fingers said:

dyslexic and names are hard… so I only learn to spell drafted players after we select them… lol
 

So, this club is no longer adverse to Russian players, and Mich could drop, Smashing Smishev is a great option for a d man, and so is ASP and Timllander.

 

then there is Wood, the youngest player in the oldest level of play possible for a NA kid, and he jumped the que to enter NCAA a year ahead of most kids. 
 

and put up points, plays Center and has a ton of time to grow into his huge frame and just by having a man’s control of his body Vs a teenagers, well, ask the ladies, there are a lot of subtle differences that make a huge difference.

 

Here is what I like about Wood, he did not stay in a league where he would have easily dominated, he stole a year of development to show his play against men, and he dominated for parts and set records as the youngest player to do things in the NCAA.

 

so if a guy like Wood is there, he could be on our roster by next years end, Ala, Hughes and Brock.  
 

Wood is a year ahead of every USTDP player in this draft to showing he is NHL ready.

 

a sleeper pick.  
 

I don’t see a Casey Middlestad in this guy, but a Bo Horvat type upside with a massive wingspan which is ideal for a young third line Center.

 

A solid two way good skating Center with that wing span is like a 3rd D man in the key defensive position in our end.

 

Is he good in the dot, because if he has that in his resume I would not be disappointed or surprised if he is taken at 11 and is a steal at that spot.

 

But my sleeper draft day suprise is a deal for the 3rd OA and JT Miller to Columbus and a cap dump and we add a conditional pick from next year and Alvin take Leo Karlsson who steps in next year as our third line Center and we have a FA signing or a cap dump RHD fill in d man until next year.

 

That’s JT Miller, the 11th OA, throw in a prospect, and a conditional 2024 pick which would likely be our second…. Of course. 
 

we will only trade the draft pick anyways.

 

with the deal for Hronek the RHD has been upgraded already.

 

Leo gives us a Leo to combat the Edmonton Leo and JT Miler goes home to be a hero in Ohio with Johnny Hockey.

 

We have a hot Goal tending prospect, that has massive sell high potential at this very moment and with JT going out, and a cap dump coming back and Leo coming in on a entry level cost controlled option at center, it’s suddenly a sky high one two punch down the middle that is exciting and extremely attractive long term with the cost controlled RFA player.

 

Columbus gets a guy that they can build around who is not Likely to flee at the first opportunity.

 

Roslivich (sp?) regressed heavily this year and is due a contract, I don’t think they have a guy to take as a cap dump on defence and any winger they think won’t re sign there, cause it’s Ohio, is fine by me.

 

we can easily add a Garland and or a Brock to the deal as a sweetener.

 

We have the following tradable assests as prospects.

 

Silvos, 
Klimovich

Podz

Rathbone

Woo***

Hoglander 

and if the Jackets need to fool their fans, our Karlsson as center…

 

(Woo is not going anywhere, Alvin has spoken about resigning him)

 

Leo Karlsson had Leon Drisital Up side.  
 

Dyslexic so you can fix my name errors. Thankx… 

 

lol. 

Still want a RHD this draft and dang it, we can’t draft all the players…

still think the RHD and or Center at 11 with no trade is the most obvious thing to occur on draft day with a trade maybe to clear cap with a sweetener prospect on the way out… 

 

 

but just in case the media are bored with the cap space talk, start a JT trade idea to occupy our fan base until the cup between Las Vegas and Florida is over and my eyes stop bleeding.  

[Phat Fingers]

2 minutes ago, Phat Fingers said:

Still want a RHD this draft and dang it, we can’t draft all the players…

still think the RHD and or Center at 11 with no trade is the most obvious thing to occur on draft day with a trade maybe to clear cap with a sweetener prospect on the way out… 

 

 

but just in case the media are bored with the cap space talk, start a JT trade idea to occupy our fan base until the cup between Las Vegas and Florida is over and my eyes stop bleeding.  

Maybe CBJ are fed up with Boquivist and it’s an our attempt to get all the RHD from the Hughes draft we thought were going to there and Hughes long gone to Detroit… 

[spook007]

53 minutes ago, Phat Fingers said:

dyslexic and names are hard… so I only learn to spell drafted players after we select them… lol
 

So, this club is no longer adverse to Russian players, and Mich could drop, Smashing Smishev is a great option for a d man, and so is ASP and Timllander.

 

then there is Wood, the youngest player in the oldest level of play possible for a NA kid, and he jumped the que to enter NCAA a year ahead of most kids. 
 

and put up points, plays Center and has a ton of time to grow into his huge frame and just by having a man’s control of his body Vs a teenagers, well, ask the ladies, there are a lot of subtle differences that make a huge difference.

 

Here is what I like about Wood, he did not stay in a league where he would have easily dominated, he stole a year of development to show his play against men, and he dominated for parts and set records as the youngest player to do things in the NCAA.

 

so if a guy like Wood is there, he could be on our roster by next years end, Ala, Hughes and Brock.  
 

Wood is a year ahead of every USTDP player in this draft to showing he is NHL ready.

 

a sleeper pick.  
 

I don’t see a Casey Middlestad in this guy, but a Bo Horvat type upside with a massive wingspan which is ideal for a young third line Center.

 

A solid two way good skating Center with that wing span is like a 3rd D man in the key defensive position in our end.

 

Is he good in the dot, because if he has that in his resume I would not be disappointed or surprised if he is taken at 11 and is a steal at that spot.

 

But my sleeper draft day suprise is a deal for the 3rd OA and JT Miller to Columbus and a cap dump and we add a conditional pick from next year and Alvin take Leo Karlsson who steps in next year as our third line Center and we have a FA signing or a cap dump RHD fill in d man until next year.

 

That’s JT Miller, the 11th OA, throw in a prospect, and a conditional 2024 pick which would likely be our second…. Of course. 
 

we will only trade the draft pick anyways.

 

with the deal for Hronek the RHD has been upgraded already.

 

Leo gives us a Leo to combat the Edmonton Leo and JT Miler goes home to be a hero in Ohio with Johnny Hockey.

 

We have a hot Goal tending prospect, that has massive sell high potential at this very moment and with JT going out, and a cap dump coming back and Leo coming in on a entry level cost controlled option at center, it’s suddenly a sky high one two punch down the middle that is exciting and extremely attractive long term with the cost controlled RFA player.

 

Columbus gets a guy that they can build around who is not Likely to flee at the first opportunity.

 

Roslivich (sp?) regressed heavily this year and is due a contract, I don’t think they have a guy to take as a cap dump on defence and any winger they think won’t re sign there, cause it’s Ohio, is fine by me.

 

we can easily add a Garland and or a Brock to the deal as a sweetener.

 

We have the following tradable assests as prospects.

 

Silvos, 
Klimovich

Podz

Rathbone

Woo***

Hoglander 

and if the Jackets need to fool their fans, our Karlsson as center…

 

(Woo is not going anywhere, Alvin has spoken about resigning him)

 

Leo Karlsson had Leon Drisital Up side.  
 

Dyslexic so you can fix my name errors. Thankx… 

 

lol. 

Duslexic or fat fingers , I'm no better. My fingers are all over the keyboard so I'll be the last to say anything. 
 

Yes I think it was Elias Petterson that suggested something along these lones to get Carlsson. You can sign me up for that trade as well... it would set us up for the next 7-8 years and free cap space. An absolute dream. 
 

If Michov drops, its a no brainer...

 

But most likely outcome is Wood if he is avaiable. The potential upside is huge, and he could easily become one the best from the draft...

[hammertime]

8 hours ago, R3aL said:

Where roughly do you have wood ranked right now?

 

Def a fair way of evaluation 

 

but every player comes with a degree of projection and question marks at this age even bedard, Fantilli , Carlsson, smith , Michkov the top of the draft 

 

The crown jewel bedard has his own - he is small, and he isn’t a skater like point or Hughes so will he be an nhl C as he is undersized? 
 

2. 

I have But at 9 in this tier.

6 Reinbacher

7 Danielson

8 Simashev 

9 But

 

I have Wood sorta clumped into this group. Where I am very comfortable in saying each of them would complement our core and slide right into our top 6 but doesn't have to start there. 

10 Sale

11 Barlow

12 Leonard

13 Wood I'm good with Wood here as I've seen what Miller Pete can do with Brock and I think Wood would be a clear upgrade. 

 

My top 15 I feel safe to hit on all 15 of those picks. Sure there are always questions but I'm taking the guys with more answers. Other lists may have a greater appetite for guys like ASP, Benson, Perreault, Gulyayev, Dvorsky, Moore, Cristal. I'm not sure if their Hughes or Honka personally. Probably would have traded a small moon for Honka in 2015. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[hammertime]

57 minutes ago, spook007 said:

But most likely outcome is Wood if he is avaiable. The potential upside is huge, and he could easily become one the best from the draft...

My one reservation here and I too feel that nervousness that Wood could flip the script and be a top 5 pick heindsight......... Is do I have Post Tkachuk stress disorder? 

Edited June 3, 2023 by hammertime

[spook007]

11 minutes ago, hammertime said:

I have But at 9 in this tier.

6 Reinbacher

7 Danielson

8 Simashev 

9 But

 

I have Wood sorta clumped into this group. Where I am very comfortable in saying each of them would complement our core and slide right into our top 6 but doesn't have to start there. 

10 Sale

11 Barlow

12 Leonard

13 Wood I'm good with Wood here as I've seen what Miller Pete can do with Brock and I think Wood would be a clear upgrade. 

 

My top 15 I feel safe to hit on all 15 of those picks. Sure there are always questions but I'm taking the guys with more answers. Other lists may have a greater appetite for guys like ASP, Benson, Perreault, Gulyayev, Dvorsky, Moore, Cristal. I'm not sure if their Hughes or Honka personally. Probably would have traded a small moon for Honka in 2015. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interesting list... a few big surprises to mainstream... 

Simashev, But and Danielson all in top 9... 

 

What makes both you and HoH seem so high on But and Danielson ahead of Wood? Just curious

[HighOnHockey]

9 hours ago, R3aL said:

Where roughly do you have wood ranked right now?

 

Def a fair way of evaluation 

 

but every player comes with a degree of projection and question marks at this age even bedard, Fantilli , Carlsson, smith , Michkov the top of the draft 

 

The crown jewel bedard has his own - he is small, and he isn’t a skater like point or Hughes so will he be an nhl C as he is undersized? 
 

2. 

 

9 hours ago, BarnBurner said:

Think Gretzky. 

 

Not comparing him to the Great One, but... Wayne wasn't the greatest skater, yet he was so illusive and magical. 

 

That's more than likely what people are projecting Bedard to be like. 

 

Not big or strong, but extremely high hockey IQ. 

 

Only time will tell.

Completely agree. I've been thinking a lot the past couple years about "on-puck" vs "off-puck" playmaking. There's those super skilled guys who love to have the puck on their stick all the time and make plays - think Stutzle, Perfetti, Kemell, Lambert, Lysell, Savoie. And then there's guys who do there best work offensively away from the puck, skating routes and getting into areas. Holtz, Rossi, Lekkerimaki, Guenther and this year Dvorsky,  It's easy to think of this dichotomy as playmakers vs. goal-scorers, but the more I think about it, the more I think that would be an over-simplification. Marco Rossi was the guy that first got me thinking about this in-depth. A guy his size and not the fastest skater, how was he as effective as he was? And the more I watched I realize he doesn't control the puck as I would have expected from such a skilled offensive player. The puck moves faster than a skater can; he would get a lot of touches but would be constantly giving it up and looking to get in position to get it back.

 

The last two generational Canadian talents, but especially McDavid, were far more about what they did with the puck. Gretzky and Bedard are obviously magic with the puck, but I think for both it was what they did off the puck that was their bread and butter. I remember Gretzky talking about he and his dad would watch hockey games together and track where the puck would tend to go in every different situation, like some kind of hockey Yi Qing. It's always been the thing that most stood out about Bedard from when I first saw him at a young age, he would just seem to suddenly appear in areas out of nowhere and pounce on loose pucks. Not the fastest skater but has a pretty explosive first step and change of direction to get into those areas quickly, but more importantly it's all about the routes. Was the thing I was so amazed about with Holtz in his draft was his ability to skate routes off the puck that would leave multiple options open offensively and then jump on the right play at the right time, Bedard just takes that to another level.

[spook007]

1 minute ago, hammertime said:

My one reservation here and I too feel that nervousness that Wood could flip the script and be a top 5 pick heindsight......... Is do I have Post Tkachuk stress disorder? 

I was actually about to write that same thing. 
I fear in our eagerness to address RHD ( and rightly so), we could end up in a Tkachuk v OJ again. 
please don't let time repeat itself... 

[HighOnHockey]

10 hours ago, R3aL said:

Was there something you saw or heard that pushed you to the point you  feel that way?

 

i know you talked earlier about how potentially he could be a C with  his size and skating alone thst sounds interesting to me. I just don’t know enough 

 

 

 

I guess the main thing is I'm not sold on Wood's playmaking ability. Disclaimer here that I said the same thing about Byfield, McTavish, Gauthier in their draft years, and every one went much earlier in the draft than I had them ranked. McTavish I hadn't watched a ton and looks like I was just plain wrong about (in my defense I did start to come around on him late in his draft year after U18s). Gauthier i'm still hesitant about. And Byfield I just found him a little sluggish in his processing and reaction time with limited time and space. I would put Wood in the Byfield category. There's definitely some higher level creativity and play creation going on, but does it happen at high enough speeds to be effective in the high-danger areas that are so important for skilled centers in the NHL? I never doubted Byfield as a center because of his skating, I just didn't think he'll be quite on the level of center many fans and pundits seemed to think he would. Wood doesn't have Byfield's skating ability, and I'm just not convinced I see an NHL center. But is a little bit better skater and I also think processes the game at a slightly higher level. I'm not all that convinced on either But or Wood as a center, but I could see But as a center more than I could see Wood there.