2023 NHL Entry Draft

[hammertime]

1 hour ago, HighOnHockey said:

Wow. Pretty big upset for Slovakia. But worth noting just how young this Finland team was this year. Probably their two best players were both under-aged in Kiviharju and Helenius, but also four of their seven defensemen were under-aged.

 

Dvorsky and Strbak are the tournament MVPs right now. What a monster game for Dvorsky in particular, which shouldn't be too surprising when you consider Finland's young defense combined with the fact that Dvorsky is aleady 205+; he just bullied his way all over the ice in this one.

 

The tournament's two best defensemen went head to head today (my opinion, but also the two highest ATOI in the tournament) and once again their teams leaned on them heavily (24:26 for Kiviharju and 26:36 for Strbak).

 

I was a little disappointed with Kiviharju today, particularly with the net empty in the final couple minutes. The Kiviharju I know and love shoots from the blueline at every opportunity, whether blasting slapshots for rebounds or sneaking wristers through for deflections, it's probably been my favorite thing about his game: the chaos he creates around the opposing goalie. But today he was deferring to the older players, passing up so many shooting opportunities and looking for the one-timer to Halttunen on the left side almost every time.

 

@hammertime Another really impressive game for ya boi Pekarcik, leading Slovakian forwards in ice time at 23:02. The September birthday is interesting as it means he's practically a late birthday but still eligible for this draft; a good enough reason as any for a player to have been overlooked. I've been talking lately about how players don't effect their draft stock with this tournament as much as fans think, but in this case this kid exploded on the scene out of nowhere and it really seems like nobody saw this coming. In the video @TheQuietQuitter posted yesterday, Grant McCagg admitted to being caught off guard despite the fact that he's in regular conversation with NHL scouts, and suggested Pekarcik could go as early as the 2nd round.

Thanks for the cred.

 

Ya I've been super impressed with and watching Pekarcik for a while now. Sept 12th birthday so like 3 days older and he would be in the 2024 class right? Thought it was pretty remarkable that as a 16 yearold he was playing for HK Nitra Slovaks top mens league and was PPG in their U20. Like even if it was just Slovakia 2 as a 16 yearold shows real maturity so it doesn't catch me by surprise. I think it's on display here and contrasted you have Dvorsky every shift trying to put Slovikia on his back and plow his way through the entire opposition IMO he's just not going to have any success playing that way. Where Pekarcik is taking the opportunities that come naturally the puck is on his stick and off it and he's supporting looks more professional to me. Devorsky is definitely on display here this is his tourney he's absolutely a star. 

 

I thought this game and the Canada game were Dvorsky's best games I know he dropped 4 on Germany but he was playing red rover for most of that game. It's undeniable he is fantastic in the dot and there's some skill there and he bangs bodies. I guess what I take issue with is it just doesn't look translatable he's not Jager. 

 

In defense of Dvorsky he looks much better with the lead. In the germany game he settled down once they overcame the deficit. This game he involved his team mates more. as the tournament goes on he has turned the puck over less and less. There are very good tools there but I'm still not taking him higher than a Wood, Honzek, Halutten guys with great tools and big question marks. For a guy who probably has had the puck on his stick for more time than any other player at the u18 all of his points have come from the bang bang plays most of which Pekarcik had a stick in. Just sayin. 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 27, 2023 by hammertime

[Bure_Pavel]

33 minutes ago, DownUndaCanuck said:

Dvorsky with another big game, I think he's going to sky-rocket, maybe go 5-10th overall. The stronger his game seems, the more I'd be happy taking him over even Reinbacher. He's big, strong and may be closer to NHL ready than a lot of other guys, but the same could be said of Reinbacher.

Yeah I have these two ranked 6 and 7, would be over the moon if either were available when we pick. 

[Seannnp]

18 hours ago, Tank4Bedard said:

Meanwhile every year the canucks try to get the 8th spot in playoffs only to lose in R1

Detroit is no further in their development/rebuild than Vancouver, actually their quite a bit behind and they are building through the draft. Unfortunately for them there top picks havent exactly projected well. Draft picks are no guarantee with anyone even with Bedard.

 

No one tries to get to 8th spot but would be happy if thats where they ended up when the season ended as they still have the opportunity to play playoff games.

 

I get the frustration with past management teams/front office but none of that past BS is on them. Theyve said what they wanted to do and are doing what they said they would. Theres no surprises. We arent mortgaging the future for quick fixes, we havent abandoned our farm team/system. The future for the first time in 8 years looks to be promising but there is lots of work to do. Lets see what happens over the next 1-2 years if PA and JR can build this team into a contender. 

[Off_The_Schneid!]

1 hour ago, KyGuy123 said:

With Reinbacher, Lindstein, Willander, ASP I’m starting to see a path where we draft a Dman or with Dvorsky, Moore a 2-way Center who can play behind Pettersson who is also one of the better defensive Centers in the league. 
 

Im glad the crowd of finishing 11th overall has calmed down now that it seems like there is around 15 guys who could go top 10 this year. I do not see a scenario where we don’t draft a Dman or Center this draft as it has been documented that is what they have wanted in return for their big guns (Horvat, Miller) in a trade. 
 

Dvorsky, Moore, Reinbacher are my 3 targets and if one is there you take it and run. Prioritize RHD and at this point I’d take Dvorsky over Moore but ok if the scouting staff goes for the speed element. 
 

Exciting times this year and we still have a shot in the draft lottery. 

Leonard would be the exception IMO but it’s looking like he would be gone before our pick anyways 

[Bure_Pavel]

12 hours ago, HighOnHockey said:

 Yeah Smith vs Dvorsky vs Leonard is a razor tight call. Personally I think both Smith and Leonard will eventually find their way to playing center in the NHL, but if you don't think they will then you probably have to go Dvorsky. I've been flip flopping the three around for months now.

 

 

I think Leonard would be capable to play center in the NHL, the thing that makes me skeptical is that whole top line of the U18 team is going to Boston College next year so he will likely be on Smiths wing again next year. At some pointy he would have to transition to center which is harder when you havent played the position in two + years, not that he doesnt have the skill set. There are so many little details to master to be a effective 2 way center in the NHL.

Edited April 27, 2023 by Bure_Pavel

[hammertime]

Wow Norway threw down on Germany!!!!!! Holy smokes.

[hammertime]

What a goal by Cristal there!!! Credit Huet has been hard to beat this tournament. All of the best goalies have had throw away games.

Edited April 27, 2023 by hammertime

[Herberts Vasiljevs]

Wow what a day...

[Guest]

1 hour ago, I.Am.Ironman said:

2003 i believe was the last time. Only non forward in the top 10 was Marc-Andre Fleury at 1st overall. I looked it up last week.

2003 was the last year that no dman was taken in the top 5 I think? 

[Off_The_Schneid!]

1 hour ago, I.Am.Ironman said:

2003 i believe was the last time. Only non forward in the top 10 was Marc-Andre Fleury at 1st overall. I looked it up last week.

Does it matter if the defenceman taken in the top 10 were bad picks though? 
 

2004- Cam Barker, Ladislav Smid,Boris Valabik

 

2005- Jack Johnson, Brian Lee, Luc Bourdon (RIP)

 

2006- Erik Johnson , 

 

2007- Thomas Hickey,Karl Alzner, Keaton Ellerby

 

2008- Drew Doughty, Zach Bogosian, Luke Schenn, Alex Petrangelo

 

2009- Victor Hedman,OEL, Jared Cowan 

 

2010- Erik Gudbranson, Dylan McIlrath,

 

2011- Adam Larson, Dougie Hamilton, Jonas Brodin

 

2012- Ryan Murray, Griffin Reinhart, Morgan Reilly, Hampus Lindholm, Matt Dumba, Derick Pouiliot,Jacob Trouba, Slater Koekkoek

 

2013- Seth Jones, Darnel Nurse, Rasmus Ristolainen

 

2014- Aaron Ekblad, Haydn Fleury, 

 

2015- Noah Hanifin, Ivan Provorov, Zach Werenski

 

2016- Olli Juolevi, Mikhail Sergachev

 

2017- Miro Heiskanen, Cale Makar, 

 

2018- Rasmus Dahlin, Quinn Hughes, Adam Boqvist, Evan Bouchard

 

2019- Bowen Byram, Moritz Seider, Philip Broberg, Victor Soderstrom,

 

2020- Jake Sanderson, Jamie Drysdale, 

 

2021- Owen Power, Luke Hughes, Simon Edvinsson, Brandt Clarke

 

2022- Simon anemic, David Jiricek, Kevin Korchinski, Pavel Mintyukov 

 

Its gotten better in the most recent years but I don’t think that “ because it doesn’t happen often “ should be reasoning to think that a D will go top ten because a lot of those selections were bad ones

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, Off_The_Schneid! said:

Does it matter if the defenceman taken in the top 10 were bad picks though? 
 

2004- Cam Barker, Ladislav Smid,Boris Valabik

 

2005- Jack Johnson, Brian Lee, Luc Bourdon (RIP)

 

2006- Erik Johnson , 

 

2007- Thomas Hickey,Karl Alzner, Keaton Ellerby

 

2008- Drew Doughty, Zach Bogosian, Luke Schenn, Alex Petrangelo

 

2009- Victor Hedman,OEL, Jared Cowan 

 

2010- Erik Gudbranson, Dylan McIlrath,

 

2011- Adam Larson, Dougie Hamilton, Jonas Brodin

 

2012- Ryan Murray, Griffin Reinhart, Morgan Reilly, Hampus Lindholm, Matt Dumba, Derick Pouiliot,Jacob Trouba, Slater Koekkoek

 

2013- Seth Jones, Darnel Nurse, Rasmus Ristolainen

 

2014- Aaron Ekblad, Haydn Fleury, 

 

2015- Noah Hanifin, Ivan Provorov, Zach Werenski

 

2016- Olli Juolevi, Mikhail Sergachev

 

2017- Miro Heiskanen, Cale Makar, 

 

2018- Rasmus Dahlin, Quinn Hughes, Adam Boqvist, Evan Bouchard

 

2019- Bowen Byram, Moritz Seider, Philip Broberg, Victor Soderstrom,

 

2020- Jake Sanderson, Jamie Drysdale, 

 

2021- Owen Power, Luke Hughes, Simon Edvinsson, Brandt Clarke

 

2022- Simon anemic, David Jiricek, Kevin Korchinski, Pavel Mintyukov 

 

Its gotten better in the most recent years but I don’t think that “ because it doesn’t happen often “ should be reasoning to think that a D will go top ten because a lot of those selections were bad ones

Thanks for putting that together... 

 

I guess Ironman's point stands though, it's very very unlikely that we don't see at least 1 if not 2 d-men taken in the top 10. 

He's not saying that you should do it, but if you're projecting to see who's available at 11, you're pretty safe accounting for one or two d-men in the top 10. 

[Gawdzukes]

12 hours ago, HighOnHockey said:

Thanks for posting. I like that Grant McCagg. Yeah Smith vs Dvorsky vs Leonard is a razor tight call. Personally I think both Smith and Leonard will eventually find their way to playing center in the NHL, but if you don't think they will then you probably have to go Dvorsky. I've been flip flopping the three around for months now.

 

28 minutes ago, Off_The_Schneid! said:

Leonard would be the exception IMO but it’s looking like he would be gone before our pick anyways 

 

22 minutes ago, Bure_Pavel said:

I think Leonard would be capable to play center in the NHL, the think that makes me skeptical is that whole top line of the U18 team is going to Boston College next year so he will likely be on Smiths wing again next year. At some pointy he would have to transition to center which is harder when you havent played the position in two + years, not that he doesnt have the skill set. There are so many little details to master to be a effective 2 way center in the NHL.

I'm liking Leonard best so far I think. He has more genuine skill than Dvorsky. Depends what you want I guess. I'd probably take Smith, then, Leonard next.

[HighOnHockey]

25 minutes ago, Bure_Pavel said:

I think Leonard would be capable to play center in the NHL, the think that makes me skeptical is that whole top line of the U18 team is going to Boston College next year so he will likely be on Smiths wing again next year. At some pointy he would have to transition to center which is harder when you havent played the position in two + years, not that he doesnt have the skill set. There are so many little details to master to be a effective 2 way center in the NHL.

I wouldn't be too worried about it. Gotta keep in mind how experimental and innovative USA Hockey is lately. They invented Antonio Stranges, they put Seamus Casey the whole way through the program on his off side. Aside from taking faceoffs Perreault and Leonard are practically playing center already anyways. Smith is always the high man in the defensive zone, the other two are coming back and playing down low. They all carry the puck through the neutral zone pretty evenly (when Minnetian isn't doing it), and in the offensive zone they're all so smart they can rotate around pretty fluidly. Also note that I said "will eventually find their way to playing center in the NHL." I think of guys like Benn, Seguin, Couture, Hertl, who all started on the wing in the NHL and were gradually transitioned to center, whether or not they play there all the time.

[hammertime]

2 minutes ago, HighOnHockey said:

I wouldn't be too worried about it. Gotta keep in mind how experimental and innovative USA Hockey is lately. They invented Antonio Stranges, they put Seamus Casey the whole way through the program on his off side. Aside from taking faceoffs Perreault and Leonard are practically playing center already anyways. Smith is always the high man in the defensive zone, the other two are coming back and playing down low. They all carry the puck through the neutral zone pretty evenly (when Minnetian isn't doing it), and in the offensive zone they're all so smart they can rotate around pretty fluidly. Also note that I said "will eventually find their way to playing center in the NHL." I think of guys like Benn, Seguin, Couture, Hertl, who all started on the wing in the NHL and were gradually transitioned to center, whether or not they play there all the time.

Totally agree. USA hockey is really doing a great job where Canada hockey is well ............. lets just say they are settling like a lot very settled. 

[hammertime]

Team Latvia Cap Mateiko one to maybe watch. He's going to handle much of the load vs sweden in this msmatch.

[HighOnHockey]

1 hour ago, hammertime said:

Thanks for the cred.

 

Ya I've been super impressed with and watching Pekarcik for a while now. Sept 12th birthday so like 3 days older and he would be in the 2024 class right? Thought it was pretty remarkable that as a 16 yearold he was playing for HK Nitra Slovaks top mens league and was PPG in their U20. Like even if it was just Slovakia 2 as a 16 yearold shows real maturity so it doesn't catch me by surprise. I think it's on display here and contrasted you have Dvorsky every shift trying to put Slovikia on his back and plow his way through the entire opposition IMO he's just not going to have any success playing that way. Where Pekarcik is taking the opportunities that come naturally the puck is on his stick and off it and he's supporting looks more professional to me. Devorsky is definitely on display here this is his tourney he's absolutely a star. 

 

I thought this game and the Canada game were Dvorsky's best games I know he dropped 4 on Germany but he was playing red rover for most of that game. It's undeniable he is fantastic in the dot and there's some skill there and he bangs bodies. I guess what I take issue with is it just doesn't look translatable he's not Jager. 

 

In defense of Dvorsky he looks much better with the lead. In the germany game he settled down once they overcame the deficit. This game he involved his team mates more. as the tournament goes on he has turned the puck over less and less. There are very good tools there but I'm still not taking him higher than a Wood, Honzek, Halutten guys with great tools and big question marks. For a guy who probably has had the puck on his stick for more time than any other player at the u18 all of his points have come from the bang bang plays most of which Pekarcik had a stick in. Just sayin. 

 

 

It's interesting though because when you watch Dvorsky at the pro level, he's the one in the position you speak of regarding Pekarcic. There he defers to veteran teammates, tries his best to support the play off the puck and attend to his defensive duties. But here everyone on both teams knows that Dvorsky is the guy. Is supposed to be the guy. Has to be the guy. If I may refer again to the recently posted Grant McCagg interview, he mentions some data tracking from the tournament that has Dvorsky with I forget if he said 8 or 9 zone entries a game, a pretty ridiculous number (just for context I believe elite NHL forwards clock at about 6 or 7 per game). So when you criticize him for skating into traffic and such, it's largely a matter of pure volume (McCagg didn't mention his zone entry success rate percentage). He's just being relied on to carry the puck so goddamn much for this team.

[hammertime]

8 minutes ago, HighOnHockey said:

He's just being relied on to carry the puck so goddamn much for this team.

This is very true......... And ..... If your'e honest how has that looked? 

[Gawdzukes]

28 minutes ago, hammertime said:

This is very true......... And ..... If your'e honest how has that looked? 

[Odd.]

1983 being the last time a defenseman wasn’t drafted in the top 10, I’d have to think this year may be the first time in 40 years we don’t see one drafted top 10.

 

Smith, Benson, Perrault, Moore, Leonard, Dvorsky, Reinbacher, ASP, Wood, Yager, Šalé… all of these guys are top 10 picks and only about 5 of these guys will actually be selected top 10. Insane draft 
 

I’m torn. Id have to think of Reinbacher is available at 11, knowing our situation at defense, it would be criminal not to draft him. He would be a #2 right beside Hughes and can make the jump to the AHL next year.

Edited April 27, 2023 by Odd.

[hammertime]

29 minutes ago, Gawdzukes said:

Is this a soy boi reference??