2023 NHL Entry Draft

[Nucker 67]

7 minutes ago, hammertime said:

That was an absolutely comical shift. Thanks for sharing. 

 

Connor Garland eat your heart out. I was dizzy just watching.

Funny you mentioned Garland. That's sort of who he reminds me of. A Garland/Kuzmenko mashup maybe. 

 

Thinking: Canucks have Petey at C, with Raty developing. Is Raty capable of being the #2C one day?

 

Pettersson - Michkov

Raty

 

Or is his ceiling a #3C?

 

Pettersson

Smith/Moore/Yager/Dvorsky

Raty

 

 

The D in this Draft isn't as strong, so the Canucks could take Ds with the late 1st and 2nds if they wanted. 

 

 

[Warhippy]

Michkov may be scoring at a rate that is comparable to or better than Ovechkin but there's a SERIOUS thing people are missing and I truly don't give a randy shart how skilled you are because it matters.

 

Draft height/weight

Matvei Michkov.  5'10" 148 pounds

Alexander Ovechkin 6'3" 200 pounds

 

One of those bodies is NHL ready and proved it by literally running through guys in their rookie year.  The other body .....

 

Yes he may be as skilled as anyone else in the world and yes he's listed as heavy as 172 pounds in some places, most others have him at or around 150 pounds.  If we end up with him great, we hope that home run swing lands in the stands.  But that is a very tiny frame to expect to come over to the NA market of heavy hitters and grunts and expect to see success from.

 

See; Gilbert Brule.

[Isam]

2 minutes ago, Warhippy said:

Michkov may be scoring at a rate that is comparable to or better than Ovechkin but there's a SERIOUS thing people are missing and I truly don't give a randy shart how skilled you are because it matters.

 

Draft height/weight

Matvei Michkov.  5'10" 148 pounds

Alexander Ovechkin 6'3" 200 pounds

 

One of those bodies is NHL ready and proved it by literally running through guys in their rookie year.  The other body .....

 

Yes he may be as skilled as anyone else in the world and yes he's listed as heavy as 172 pounds in some places, most others have him at or around 150 pounds.  If we end up with him great, we hope that home run swing lands in the stands.  But that is a very tiny frame to expect to come over to the NA market of heavy hitters and grunts and expect to see success from.

 

See; Gilbert Brule.

Thing is, he is for real. Guys have trying to lay him out all year. Some succeed and most don't. The kid has adjusted his game from the emelin hit to a more nhl style of attack. We realize the height, but we also realize the adjustments this kid has made. He is legit the best player regardless of physical stats outside of bedard.

[hammertime]

8 minutes ago, Warhippy said:

Michkov may be scoring at a rate that is comparable to or better than Ovechkin but there's a SERIOUS thing people are missing and I truly don't give a randy shart how skilled you are because it matters.

 

Draft height/weight

Matvei Michkov.  5'10" 148 pounds

Alexander Ovechkin 6'3" 200 pounds

 

One of those bodies is NHL ready and proved it by literally running through guys in their rookie year.  The other body .....

 

Yes he may be as skilled as anyone else in the world and yes he's listed as heavy as 172 pounds in some places, most others have him at or around 150 pounds.  If we end up with him great, we hope that home run swing lands in the stands.  But that is a very tiny frame to expect to come over to the NA market of heavy hitters and grunts and expect to see success from.

 

See; Gilbert Brule.

Waynevei Gretzkov 

[HighOnHockey]

Just for kicks I thought I'd try ranking the top ten prospects over the next three drafts:

 

1. Connor Bedard (2023)

2. Aron Kiviharju (2024)

3. Matvei Michkov (2023)

4. James Hagens (2025)

5. Michael Misa (2025)

6. Adam Fantilli (2023)

7. Leo Carlsson (2023)

8. Henry Brzustewicz (2025)

9. Porter Martone (2025)

10. Macklin Celebrini (2024)

 

[Warhippy]

13 minutes ago, Isam said:

Thing is, he is for real. Guys have trying to lay him out all year. Some succeed and most don't. The kid has adjusted his game from the emelin hit to a more nhl style of attack. We realize the height, but we also realize the adjustments this kid has made. He is legit the best player regardless of physical stats outside of bedard.

 

9 minutes ago, hammertime said:

Waynevei Gretzkov 

Look, I absolutely get his skill.  Don't mistake that for anything else.  The kid might be the most purely skilled player in this draft 

 

But you can not for one second not worry that his incredibly slight stature will be a detriment to him or that bulking him up ala the NA way will have a detrimental effect on his skating or ability to play the way he does.

 

This is the epitome of home run or foul and man....some team is going to strike it big or seriously have buyers remorse with him for the same reasons

[Diamonds]

18 hours ago, NUCKER67 said:

If VAN isn't in the Top 3 (Bedard, Fantilli, Carlsson), my choices

 

1a - (C) Smith, (RW) Michkov, (C/LW) Benson, (C) Moore, (C/RW) Leonard

1b - (RD) SandinPellikka, (LD) Simashev, (RD) Reinbacher, (RD) Dragicevic

2a - (RD) Willander, (RD) Bonk, (RD) Allen, (G) Hrabal

VAN needs a 2b

Ooo, I'll play this game.

 

1a - (RW) Michkov, (C) Smith if Michkov off the board

1b - (C) Yager (hoping he falls), (C) Ritchie

If Islanders get hot and pick falls to 18-20 (RD) Reinbacher 

2a - (RD) Strbak, (RD) Bonk 

[Warhippy]

4 minutes ago, HighOnHockey said:

Just for kicks I thought I'd try ranking the top ten prospects over the next three drafts:

 

1. Connor Bedard (2023)

2. Aron Kiviharju (2024)

3. Matvei Michkov (2023)

4. James Hagens (2025)

5. Michael Misa (2025)

6. Adam Fantilli (2023)

7. Leo Carlsson (2023)

8. Henry Brzustewicz (2025)

9. Porter Martone (2025)

10. Macklin Celebrini (2024)

 

Similar to mine.

 

Honestly, the next 3 seasons are absolutely the seasons to be bad during for our organizational needs for top talent in specific positions.

[Isam]

3 minutes ago, Warhippy said:

 

Look, I absolutely get his skill.  Don't mistake that for anything else.  The kid might be the most purely skilled player in this draft 

 

But you can not for one second not worry that his incredibly slight stature will be a detriment to him or that bulking him up ala the NA way will have a detrimental effect on his skating or ability to play the way he does.

 

This is the epitome of home run or foul and man....some team is going to strike it big or seriously have buyers remorse with him for the same reasons

We shall see. Big thing will be to watch the combine and the fms testing. Love that the nhl brought this in, cuz it is the best way to measure how injury prone a player is gonna be. 

Anyways, good to have you back in this thread warhippy and can give us some insight on the vees this year.

[Diamonds]

If we get lucky and Michkov does drop to us then I think the Canucks have to select him and then pick a safe player with the Islanders pick. To me this means picking one of the centers that falls out of the top 10.

 

I think the probability of Michkov falling is actually quite high. He has incredible skill but there will be at least one team turned off by his size or his 3 more years of commitment to the KHL.

Edited February 14, 2023 by Diamonds

[Isam]

18 minutes ago, HighOnHockey said:

Just for kicks I thought I'd try ranking the top ten prospects over the next three drafts:

 

1. Connor Bedard (2023)

2. Aron Kiviharju (2024)

3. Matvei Michkov (2023)

4. James Hagens (2025)

5. Michael Misa (2025)

6. Adam Fantilli (2023)

7. Leo Carlsson (2023)

8. Henry Brzustewicz (2025)

9. Porter Martone (2025)

10. Macklin Celebrini (2024)

 

No Cole eiserman? Athletically, that kid is off the charts.

[Hogs & Podz]

24 minutes ago, Warhippy said:

Michkov may be scoring at a rate that is comparable to or better than Ovechkin but there's a SERIOUS thing people are missing and I truly don't give a randy shart how skilled you are because it matters.

 

Draft height/weight

Matvei Michkov.  5'10" 148 pounds

Alexander Ovechkin 6'3" 200 pounds

 

One of those bodies is NHL ready and proved it by literally running through guys in their rookie year.  The other body .....

 

Yes he may be as skilled as anyone else in the world and yes he's listed as heavy as 172 pounds in some places, most others have him at or around 150 pounds.  If we end up with him great, we hope that home run swing lands in the stands.  But that is a very tiny frame to expect to come over to the NA market of heavy hitters and grunts and expect to see success from.

 

See; .

Okay... Maybe he turns out to be more like a Kucherov?  But Gilbert... Come on now.

[hammertime]

4 minutes ago, Warhippy said:

 

Look, I absolutely get his skill.  Don't mistake that for anything else.  The kid might be the most purely skilled player in this draft 

 

But you can not for one second not worry that his incredibly slight stature will be a detriment to him or that bulking him up ala the NA way will have a detrimental effect on his skating or ability to play the way he does.

 

This is the epitome of home run or foul and man....some team is going to strike it big or seriously have buyers remorse with him for the same reasons

I think you certainly have to construct your roster appropriately as you would with Bedard.

[Isam]

1 minute ago, hammertime said:

I think you certainly have to construct your roster appropriately as you would with Bedard.

Yup, but this is the type of risk we should take. Both you and me have come up with the big rangy center option that you would probably have to take at the isles pick. 

[Warhippy]

15 minutes ago, hammertime said:

I think you certainly have to construct your roster appropriately as you would with Bedard.

Bedard you build your roster around

 

Michkov you build your roster to insulate

 

Last night's game, Hughes was the only player throwing any snarl in to the play.  Hughes.  

11 minutes ago, Isam said:

Yup, but this is the type of risk we should take. Both you and me have come up with the big rangy center option that you would probably have to take at the isles pick. 

Again, not arguing his skill.  You just have to understand the risks associated and it's honestly worrisome to think about but that's a tomorrow problem post draft

[HighOnHockey]

11 minutes ago, Isam said:

No Cole eiserman? Athletically, that kid is off the charts.

Athletically, yeah. He has elements of guys like Matthews and Miroshnichenko. but I don't think he thinks the game at an elite level. Yes, I know a lot of pundits questioned Miro's hockey IQ last year too, and I always disagreed. But the more I watch of Eiserman away from Hagens, the more I'm disenchanted. Once he gets the puck inside the faceoff dots, he's unstoppable, but without Hagens constantly feeding him prime opportunities from those positions, he doesn't have a lot of impact on the play throughout an average shift (until he does). Even going back to his year at Shattuck St. Mary too, Celebrini was the obvious driver of that line. Eiserman is still in my top five for 2024, but if he peaks at 5'11 he's never really going to be able to adapt his game to the NHL. But a guy like Martone who's already 6'3, cerebral, deceptive and also plays a physical in-your-face game, but is only listed at 170, I'm betting that kid will fill out and turn into a monster.

[Warhippy]

23 minutes ago, Hogs & Podz said:

Okay... Maybe he turns out to be more like a Kucherov?  But Gilbert... Come on now.

I don't know if you were of age when he was drafted.  But he was being compared to Yzerman, there was conversation in late 2003 and early 2004 about him being the first player chosen after Crosby.  He was 165 pounds when weighed at the combine but was arguably one of the most skilled players in the draft bar none.  CBJ threw him in to the ring at that size and weight and his first couple of games.  Scored 4 points in 7 games then broke his collarbone.  Immediately broke his leg two games after he returned and was sidelined the entire season.  The kid was absolutely an amazing player and should have been handled far better but CBJ threw him to the wolves and he was destroyed for it.

 

THAT is the risk Michkov has and what any team drafting him needs to be aware of.

[Isam]

2 minutes ago, Warhippy said:

Bedard you build your roster around

 

Michkov you build your roster to insulate

 

Last night's game, Hughes was the only player throwing any snarl in to the play.  Hughes.  

Again, not arguing his skill.  You just have to understand the risks associated and it's honestly worrisome to think about but that's a tomorrow problem post draft

True, but i watched the kid alot and he is for real and playing in the highest men's league outside of the nhl. His side to side movement with and without the puck is insane.

[Warhippy]

4 minutes ago, HighOnHockey said:

Athletically, yeah. He has elements of guys like Matthews and Miroshnichenko. but I don't think he thinks the game at an elite level. Yes, I know a lot of pundits questioned Miro's hockey IQ last year too, and I always disagreed. But the more I watch of Eiserman away from Hagens, the more I'm disenchanted. Once he gets the puck inside the faceoff dots, he's unstoppable, but without Hagens constantly feeding him prime opportunities from those positions, he doesn't have a lot of impact on the play throughout an average shift (until he does). Even going back to his year at Shattuck St. Mary too, Celebrini was the obvious driver of that line. Eiserman is still in my top five for 2024, but if he peaks at 5'11 he's never really going to be able to adapt his game to the NHL. But a guy like Martone who's already 6'3, cerebral, deceptive and also plays a physical in-your-face game, but is only listed at 170, I'm betting that kid will fill out and turn into a monster.

A dream for me is Bedard this year and celebrini next year.  Two Vancouver boys for top picks would be a dream in consecutive years

[hammertime]

1 minute ago, Warhippy said:

Bedard you build your roster around

 

Michkov you build your roster to insulate

 

Last night's game, Hughes was the only player throwing any snarl in to the play.  Hughes.  

Again, not arguing his skill.  You just have to understand the risks associated and it's honestly worrisome to think about but that's a tomorrow problem post draft

Insulation usually goes around?? 

 

It's also probably the best thing for our club. How long have you and I been wanting to add snarl. Maybe it forces our hand to get a few Reid Schafer, Will Cuylle types in the system.