2023 NHL Entry Draft

[HighOnHockey]

34 minutes ago, NUCKER67 said:

The thing with Willander that concerns me is that he's ranked pretty low (2nd round) by everyone, except Button. Looking at MyNHLDraft, which I believe combines all of the boards for their rankings, and Willander still doesn't make the 1st round on that list.

 

In fact, Gulyeyev, Simashev, Bonk and Molendyk are all ranked higher.

 

 Canucks have one shot at #11 to select an elite player. If they go with Willander, I will be disappointed. Allvin trying to assemble Team Sweden over here.

This statement is a little misleading. If we just look at the more reliable sources, and not indiscriminately at every source available on the internet, Sportsnet has Willander 18, the Hockey News finals rankings just came out and they have him 20. Obviously by far the most important and definitive ranking is McKenzie's, and he's only released his top 12. So Willander could be up closer to 11, we just don't know yet. Those three rankings are the most important because they're actually in regular conversation with NHL scouts, not just giving their own opinions. 18-20 would be a bit of a reach from 11 sure, but to say he's ranked 2nd round is a bit of a weak claim.

[Nucker 67]

3 minutes ago, chon derry said:

They have 1 pick. In the 1st rd. That’s it. When they traded away the 17oa for hronek. I was and still am a proponent of that trade. But  I now know the frustration of potentially losing a pick. And that’s what would happen if they choose benson.  Taking benson over a player with size overlooks everything tochetts been saying in just about every post game scrum. on what he thinks the team lacks currently. Picking diminutive players isn’t what the Canucks need right now. I sure hope for the benefit of the team looking forward tochett has some sway about size of the pick as a condition of the pick itself. 

Good point about Tocchet (and the team) wanting to change their identity and the way they play (more grit). I hadn't considered the coaching staff, but in a few years, who knows who will be coaching (maybe still Tocchet?). Canucks do need to get tougher, but maybe the #11 pick isn't the time to do that. 

 

Every time a big player is discussed, I can't help but think of Brendan Gaunce. 6'3" 219 C selected at #26. What a bust. Guy still can't nail down a job in the NHL.

 

Then there's Dakota Joshua who was drafted in the 5th round by TOR, and he's done pretty well. These types of players can be found in later rounds though.

 

As for good sized players at #11, I'd be happy with Dvorsky, Reinbacher, Wood or Danielson.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[chon derry]

11 minutes ago, NUCKER67 said:

Good point about Tocchet (and the team) wanting to change their identity and the way they play (more grit). I hadn't considered the coaching staff, but in a few years, who knows who will be coaching (maybe still Tocchet?). Canucks do need to get tougher, but maybe the #11 pick isn't the time to do that. 

 

Every time a big player is discussed, I can't help but think of Brendan Gaunce. 6'3" 219 C selected at #26. What a bust. Guy still can't nail down a job in the NHL.

 

Then there's Dakota Joshua who was drafted in the 5th round by TOR, and he's done pretty well. These types of players can be found in later rounds though.

 

As for good sized players at #11, I'd be happy with Dvorsky, Reinbacher, Wood or Danielson.

 

 

 

 

 

 

If other teams fans are fawning over benson and other forwards. . And I hope they are. Maybe their  picked off and rienbachers still there. There’s plenty of negative posts about rienbacher in this very thread. I would rather they take the chance on a guy that does have size and some snarl and does have exp playing for and against men already. Than an undersized player. Who on just size alone is at a serious disadvantage on his own. That’s my opinion. Never mind it being tochetts opinion too  , but it is. 

[R3aL]

44 minutes ago, chon derry said:

Low bar example. 

was for laughs

[chon derry]

4 minutes ago, R3aL said:

was for laughs

The smaller the player the more likely a giraffes going to loose a puck in his legs. I mean the puck must look like a pencil mark from that height. 

[Ted Lasso]

11 hours ago, Down by the River said:

Just to build off of my post earlier, given some of the talk of tiers, here is how things could look based on average rankings:

 

 

This is extremely crude and I did this really quickly, but lighter shades of the same color are basically me saying maybe they could fit with the rest of the tier but they seem to maybe be half a tier lower. 

 

I was quite surprised at how many recent rankings have Reinbacher in the 20s. 

 

Thanks for posting this - super helpful. 

According to this, the average (recent) rankings of the players the Canucks spent extra time with at the combine were:

 

Benson (6.6)  

Barlow (15.83) 

Danielson (18.83)

Wood (19.92)

Willander (26.42) 

 

While each of these prospects have appeared in the top 10 of at least one ranking, the average ranking amongst this group is about 17. 
 

Are we looking seriously at trading down? Or does this reflect who we expect to be there at 11?

 

For those that follow the draft more closely, does this tip their hand at where they are planning to pick?

Edited June 13, 2023 by Kenny Powers

[-Vintage Canuck-]

 

[KyGuy123]

12 hours ago, spook007 said:

Who do you see being our 2C next season if they trade Miller?

I think we tread water next season due to our Salary Cap issues regardless of who plays 2C. I imagine we give Raty some reps and I’d be ok with putting Podkolzin at Center as an experiment. I don’t see us being competitive until the OEL contract is off the books.

[Nucker 67]

I remember when Seider was picked by DET in 2019, Seider was ranked at #13, but DET saw their guy and went for it, drafting Seider at #6. It was a very bold move with guys like Cozens, Zegras, Soderstrom, Podkolzin, Boldy and Caufield still available.

 

Maybe Allvin is thinking the same thing if they take Willander at #11.

 

Yzerman nailed it though, but will Allvin?  

 

 

[Pure961089]

1 hour ago, NUCKER67 said:

Canucks still need elite players, regardless of position. 

 

Virtanen filled a need too, when Benning thought the Canucks should get grittier and needed that power forward. He was not the right choice.

 

Looking back at slighter players in 2014 like Willy Nylander, Dylan Larkin and Nik Ehlers, who VAN passed on, to try and get tougher. But look at them now, compared to Jake. 

 

Yes, Quinn Hughes needs a really good RD partner, but I'm not sold that Willander is the guy. How long is it going to take him to get here? 4-5 years? They need someone for Quinn sooner than that.

 

 

Juolevi filled a need as well and he didn't work out.  Everytime a team drafts out of need it ends in disaster.  Remember when the Canadians drafted KK?  That was a need pick and it took him 5 years before he started showing promise.  Over the years the Canucks have benefited from other teams reaching for off the board players.  Thank you Arizona and Montreal for Quinn Hughes.   Let other teams reach and let the Canucks pick bpa. 

[HighOnHockey]

36 minutes ago, Kenny Powers said:

Thanks for posting this - super helpful. 

According to this, the average (recent) rankings of the players the Canucks spent extra time with at the combine were:

 

Benson (6.6)  

Barlow (15.83) 

Danielson (18.83)

Wood (19.92)

Willander (26.42) 

 

While each of these prospects have appeared in the top 10 of at least one ranking, the average ranking amongst this group is about 17. 
 

Are we looking seriously at trading down? Or does this reflect who we expect to be there at 11?

 

For those that follow the draft more closely, does this tip their hand at where they are planning to pick?

While the dinners obviously do mean something, as others have said it's often also with players the team is on the fence about. And it would make sense not to do them with guys like Leonard, Dvorsky or Reinbacher, because if they're there you obviously pick them, no questions asked. But it makes sense to do the dinners with the players you think will probably be there but you're just not quite as sure about and want a more complete picture of as people. And you have to imagine that it's not only at the team's discretion. Players can only have these extended meetings with so many teams. They and their agents/camps will hope to arrange these dinners with teams in their expected range.

[R3aL]

51 minutes ago, Kenny Powers said:

Thanks for posting this - super helpful. 

According to this, the average (recent) rankings of the players the Canucks spent extra time with at the combine were:

 

Benson (6.6)  

Barlow (15.83) 

Danielson (18.83)

Wood (19.92)

Willander (26.42) 

 

While each of these prospects have appeared in the top 10 of at least one ranking, the average ranking amongst this group is about 17. 
 

Are we looking seriously at trading down? Or does this reflect who we expect to be there at 11?

 

For those that follow the draft more closely, does this tip their hand at where they are planning to pick?

The public lists are very different from the team lists lets just say that. And Bob Macs list will help illustrate this I think.

[RWJC]

39 minutes ago, Pure961089 said:

Juolevi filled a need as well and he didn't work out.  Everytime a team drafts out of need it ends in disaster.  Remember when the Canadians drafted KK?  That was a need pick and it took him 5 years before he started showing promise.  Over the years the Canucks have benefited from other teams reaching for off the board players.  Thank you Arizona and Montreal for Quinn Hughes.   Let other teams reach and let the Canucks pick bpa. 

Totally! Save positional drafting for potentially around 3 or 4 and onwards. BPA is absolutely the best option for the first 3 rounds. 

Edited June 13, 2023 by RWJC

[R3aL]

50 minutes ago, -Vintage Canuck- said:

 

Will be a better interview than Mark Masters god hes like a robot : 

 

https://www.tsn.ca/chl/mark-masters-zach-benson-s-game-hair-flowed-during-dynamic-draft-season-1.1970341

 

 

This one was better, but Sam makes me laugh when he said how sick was that or the mullet is looking pretty tight.. ahha:

 

 

 

 

I am disappointed hes an Oilers fan being a local boy but for him cant tell it doesn't matter where he gets drafted.

 

Was cool to see he actually compares himself to Point and Marner good awareness. And he does just want to get stronger and stronger. He isn't SLOW, and he is a good skater. Hes just not a burner. Perhaps if he adds power to his lower body the speed will improve?

[spook007]

1 hour ago, KyGuy123 said:

I think we tread water next season due to our Salary Cap issues regardless of who plays 2C. I imagine we give Raty some reps and I’d be ok with putting Podkolzin at Center as an experiment. I don’t see us being competitive until the OEL contract is off the books.

Cheers amigo. That's another 4 years. Are we really willing to wait that long with Petey, QH and Demko? Or more importantly are they willing to wait? 
Not saying you are wrong, but if this is the case, then signing Hronek now doesn't make any sense at all. Might as well just let us sink to the bottom and cash in on Petey and Demko and start a total rebild. 
 

Unless we some how get a Calsson or Fantilly to replace Miller, I don't see us getting rid of Miller. 
To me at least it looks like the future is to push for play offs at all costs, and see if Petey, Miller, Demko and QH are able to carry the team into the play offs. 
 

They definitely need to find out now, if they are the future or not. 

[I.Am.Ironman]

1 hour ago, KyGuy123 said:

I think we tread water next season due to our Salary Cap issues regardless of who plays 2C. I imagine we give Raty some reps and I’d be ok with putting Podkolzin at Center as an experiment. I don’t see us being competitive until the OEL contract is off the books.

I think management's plan is being competitive with OEL. It makes no sense to wait until OEL is done.

[HighOnHockey]

28 minutes ago, R3aL said:

Will be a better interview than Mark Masters god hes like a robot : 

 

https://www.tsn.ca/chl/mark-masters-zach-benson-s-game-hair-flowed-during-dynamic-draft-season-1.1970341

 

 

This one was better, but Sam makes me laugh when he said how sick was that or the mullet is looking pretty tight.. ahha:

 

 

 

 

I am disappointed hes an Oilers fan being a local boy but for him cant tell it doesn't matter where he gets drafted.

 

Was cool to see he actually compares himself to Point and Marner good awareness. And he does just want to get stronger and stronger. He isn't SLOW, and he is a good skater. Hes just not a burner. Perhaps if he adds power to his lower body the speed will improve?

Yeah I certainly wouldn't be disappointed with Benson at 11 - would prefer him to ASP and probably even Perreault, as far as smaller guys go. But there are other guys I'm hoping will be there. My current top 15: 1. Bedard 2. Carlsson 3. Fantilli 4. Michkov 5. Smith 6. Sale 7. Dvorsky 8. Leonard 9. Gulyayev 10. Reinbacher 11. But 12. Danielson 13. Simashev 14. Benson 15. Barlow

 

Can't exactly remember my last list I posted, but my only real changes lately are Michkov falls to 4 - I've always said I will do my list strictly based on hockey and upside, not geopolitics, but with listed weights ranging from 148-161, Michkov missing the combine now has significant hockey implications. And the other main change is Sale has jumped past Dvorsky, for basically the reasons @hammertime has levied against Dvorsky - while his shooting/goal-scoring and his passing/playmaking are upper echelon, his skating and puck skills are well below elite. Still love him for the combination of the super high floor and at least some chance at elite upside, but the more I watch of Sale the more I get strong Lucas Raymond vibes - a winger playing underweight for pro, with elite offensive skill and a highly mature, responsible two-way game. Sale is certainly a step down from Raymond in terms of both offensive skill and defensive acumen, but the difference between 5'10 and 6'2 frames goes a long way towards balancing them out.

 

But anyway, back to the point of this post, I've been putting a lot of time into my top 75 as I'm going to miss the CDCML draft and so will need to submit a list prior to the draft. And it occurred to me, if I remove But and Simashev from my list, Benson lands nicely at 11th overall, so while I can say I would prefer Sale or Danielson, I couldn't possibly be dissapointed with Benson going in the range I have him listed.

Edited June 13, 2023 by HighOnHockey

[Odd.]

5 hours ago, HighOnHockey said:

Better than Gulyayev you think???

Yep imo
 

Willander, Simashev, Gulyayev, Reinbacher

[Bure_Pavel]

My 1st Round Mock Draft

 

ROUND 1	TEAM	ORIGINAL	PLAYER	DETAILS

1		-	Connor Bedard
2		-	Adam Fantilli
3		-	Leo Carlsson
4		-	Will Smith
5		-	David Reinbacher
6		-	Matvei Michkov
7		-	Ryan Leonard
8		-	Dalibor Dvorsky
9		-	Matthew Wood
10		-	Oliver Moore
11		-	Axel Sandin Pellikka
12			Zach Benson
13		-	Eduard Sale
14		-	Colby Barlow
15		-	Nate Danielson
16		-	Brayden Yager
17			Tom Willander
18		-	Gabe Perreault
19			Samuel Honzek
20		-	Calum Ritchie
21		-	Dmitri Simashev
22			Andrew Cristall
23		-	Mikhail Gulyayev
24			Otto Stenberg
25			Lukas Dragicevic
26			Riley Heidt
27		-	Quentin Musty
28			Charlie Stramel
29			Daniil But
30		-	Kasper Halttunen
31			David Edstrom
32		-	Oliver Bonk

[HighOnHockey]

1 minute ago, Odd. said:

Yep imo
 

Willander, Simashev, Gulyayev, Reinbacher

Interesting, I don't exactly disagree. I'm a shitty skater myself and it's always the thing I find most difficult in evaluating prospects. I can see the straight line speed as well as the edges and evasiveness are all top notch with Willander. Reminds me a little bit of Jake Sanderson in his draft year come to think of it. But I'm just not sure Willander has the separation gear that Gulyayev has.