Prospect Info: 2023 Draft Thread (Yotes picking #6 & #12)

[lanky]

I do think a bad WJC could make his stock free fall though.

Shitty part is that he doesn't get to go.
Things are shaping up for him to be available at 5 OA or maybe even later. That thought is incredibly exciting for a fan of these over-achieving Coyotes.

 

[Jakey53]

Winnipeg Ice is a great team and Bensen is their best player most nights.

Like rt says, he's small and a winger. You and rt know a hell of a lot more than me when it comes to these junior kids, so I do trust your judgement, but I have always liked size. I think BA traded Garland because size, so I kind of think Bensen is not the type of player BA wants. Of course, I could be totally wrong.

 

[lanky]

Like rt says, he's small and a winger. You and rt know a hell of a lot more than me when it comes to these junior kids, so I do trust your judgement, but I have always liked size. I think BA traded Garland because size, so I kind of think Bensen is not the type of player BA wants. Of course, I could be totally wrong.

I agree.
I think Bedard and Michkov are elite and therefore it's easy to overlook the fact that they're similar in size to Benson. Benson IS a better player than Savoie and Geekie right now and is obviously worth a high pick. I just don't see it happening with Bill and with the quality of other options he'll be facing.

 

[hbk]

Like rt says, he's small and a winger. You and rt know a hell of a lot more than me when it comes to these junior kids, so I do trust your judgement, but I have always liked size. I think BA traded Garland because size, so I kind of think Bensen is not the type of player BA wants. Of course, I could be totally wrong.

We took Cooley at 3 and Bensen's teammate at 11. Skill is skill and sometimes when a kid is that talented you just grab him when you can. Bensen has skill. is he going to be #5 on my list? Don't know. I'm just not willing to rule it out just yet. By taking 2xC's in the first round we aren't necessarily married to a C with our 1st round pick. We have the ability to be flexible.

It's a good draft but there are some scouts now talking like their is a major drop off around the 16 pick mark. something to be aware of as the rest of the year plays out.

 

[Freddy Sjostrom]

Nightmare scenario for @Dr VinnyBoombatz

​

 

[moosemeister]

First spin on Tankathon went

Chicago
Arizona
Anaheim

 

[Arizonatah Coyetis]

My spin...

1. OTT
2. NSH
3. ANA
4. CHI
5. CB
6. SJ
7.ARI

 

[Vinny Boombatz]

I never do the tankathon, it's so depressing

 

[Jakey53]

First spin on Tankathon went

Chicago
Arizona
Anaheim

I did it three times. We picked 7th, 1st, and 3rd. They say three times a charm.

 

[Dead Coyote]

Yeah, Dvorsky and Sale are not having "expected" seasons while guys like Riley Heidt who were in the 20-30 range have excelled, I fully expect Heidt to be within the top 20 given his production this season.

I would love it that Sale continues to lower his value and we can get him with our 2nd round pick, that would be a steal.

Let's assume we're picking 5 OA and that the top 4 (including Michkov) have been taken.

I think that Smith, Yager and Sale are firmly in the next tier. Is anyone else really impressing this season. Like putting up huge numbers? Even Yager and Sale have earned their spot in this tier more from past performance than from this regular season. It seems like Smith is the one player making a statement that he definitely belongs top 5.

Dvorsky and Sale aren't having expected seasons??? If you're going to praise Carlsson for what he's doing, you have to praise Sale and Dvorsky as well. Sale is playing in the Czech men's league, roughly (very roughloy) equivalent to the SHL or Liiga, last year as a 16yo put up a 2.0 PPG playing in the U20 league- there's no doubt he'd be putting up better than that if he were playing in that league still. Dvorsky is also playing in a mens league. It's below the SHL, yes, but it's still a mens league.

the USHL is a decent league, but even NCAA is much more competitive, and I don't think basing things solely on statistics in a worse league should be indicative of rankings.

It's certainly not impossible that scouts might rank those guys more or less than Smith, but it's definitely not clear cut. Personally while I like Smith his level of production in the USHL doesn't make me go "holy shit", and his production in the USDP isn't particularly special either. His eye test is pretty good, mind you. But I'd prefer to draft someone who has experience in a mens league already than someone who doesn't, all other things being equal.

 

[Freddy Sjostrom]

It's certainly not impossible that scouts might rank those guys more or less than Smith, but it's definitely not clear cut. Personally while I like Smith his level of production in the USHL doesn't make me go "holy shit", and his production in the USDP isn't particularly special either. His eye test is pretty good, mind you. But I'd prefer to draft someone who has experience in a mens league already than someone who doesn't, all other things being equal.

He has to maintain, but he’s on pace to beat Keller and Cooley.

 

[lanky]

He has to maintain, but he’s on pace to beat Keller and Cooley.

Gotta collect them all.

 

[rt]

Dvorsky and Sale aren't having expected seasons??? If you're going to praise Carlsson for what he's doing, you have to praise Sale and Dvorsky as well. Sale is playing in the Czech men's league, roughly (very roughloy) equivalent to the SHL or Liiga, last year as a 16yo put up a 2.0 PPG playing in the U20 league- there's no doubt he'd be putting up better than that if he were playing in that league still. Dvorsky is also playing in a mens league. It's below the SHL, yes, but it's still a mens league.

the USHL is a decent league, but even NCAA is much more competitive, and I don't think basing things solely on statistics in a worse league should be indicative of rankings.

It's certainly not impossible that scouts might rank those guys more or less than Smith, but it's definitely not clear cut. Personally while I like Smith his level of production in the USHL doesn't make me go "holy shit", and his production in the USDP isn't particularly special either. His eye test is pretty good, mind you. But I'd prefer to draft someone who has experience in a mens league already than someone who doesn't, all other things being equal.

Dvorsky and Sale aren't having expected seasons??? If you're going to praise Carlsson for what he's doing, you have to praise Sale and Dvorsky as well. Sale is playing in the Czech men's league, roughly (very roughloy) equivalent to the SHL or Liiga, last year as a 16yo put up a 2.0 PPG playing in the U20 league- there's no doubt he'd be putting up better than that if he were playing in that league still. Dvorsky is also playing in a mens league. It's below the SHL, yes, but it's still a mens league.

the USHL is a decent league, but even NCAA is much more competitive, and I don't think basing things solely on statistics in a worse league should be indicative of rankings.

It's certainly not impossible that scouts might rank those guys more or less than Smith, but it's definitely not clear cut. Personally while I like Smith his level of production in the USHL doesn't make me go "holy shit", and his production in the USDP isn't particularly special either. His eye test is pretty good, mind you. But I'd prefer to draft someone who has experience in a mens league already than someone who doesn't, all other things being equal.

When you look at NTDP stats that’s the combined number against NCAA and USHL.

Smith's production level is extremely good right now. He's at 1.81ppg. Best in the NTDP.

Last season, Cooley was 1st with 1.47ppg. Year before that it was Lucius at 1.51 (but extremely small sample - 13gp). Year before that it was Pastujov at 1.02ppg.

Year before that was the best NTDP class ever with Hughes at over 2ppg (best ever draft season), Turcotte (who went 5th overall) at 1.68, Caufield at 1.56, and Zegras at 1.45 and Boldy at 1.26ppg.

Year before that was Wahlstrom at 1.52ppg. Year before that was Norris at 1.00ppg.

Before that was Keller at 1.73 and the year before that was Bracco (among draft eligibles) at 1.45ppg.

So going back 8 years at the NTDP, Smith has the best production (so far) of any draft eligible player other than Jack Hughes.

He has to maintain, but he’s on pace to beat Keller and Cooley.

I should’ve kept scrolling. Haha.

 

[zerekstar]

There are a lot of impressive guys in the draft but not much size and not a lot of D. Still the Coyotes should draft BPA and they will come out with a winner.

 

[Vinny Boombatz]

It just pains me to no end that Chicago is going to get Bedard. That just sucks

 

[rt]

It just pains me to no end that Chicago is going to get Bedard. That just sucks to hard

As long as we get Fantilli, I’ll get over it.

 

[JasonDemersWasOkay]

I'm personally excited to see Chicago get the best #1 prospect since Matthews. No fanbase has suffered more in the last decade.

 

[GhostofYotesFan47]

Man would I love for Dvorsky to really crank it up at WJC and beyond. Kind of like Slaf did with the Olympics.

If Yager, Benson, Will Smith and Dvorsky makes that second tier look as good as the top tier last year I will feel much better about how this season is going. I think two of those players are already close to doing that.

Keller-Cooley-Guenther
Maccelli-Geekie-Benson

Yeah that's a pretty small top 6 of it all pans out but boy is it skilled.

I'm finding my interest in Benson is growing similar to how my interest in Caufield grew. I'm finding it hard not to make him my 4th best prospect.

I also find it odd that we often kick Schmaltz out of our lineups, he's been well worth his contract. His last 2 years are a larger dollars, but he's on a 62 point pace and has looked awesome the last 2 seasons. He's bros with Keller, Crouse, and Fisher, all players I imagine spend a long time in Arizona. He's just as much a part of the core as those 3 are.

 

[GhostofYotesFan47]

1. Bedard
2. Fantilli
3. Carlsson
4. Benson
4.5 Michkov
5. Barlow
6. Yager
7. Ritchie
8. Dvorsky
9. Sale
10. Smith

I think this is my top 10. I'm curious how many of you have Barlow and/or Ritchie in yours.

 

[MIGs Dog]

1. Bedard
2. Fantilli
3. Carlsson
4. Benson
4.5 Michkov
5. Barlow
6. Yager
7. Ritchie
8. Dvorsky
9. Sale
10. Smith

I think this is my top 10. I'm curious how many of you have Barlow and/or Ritchie in yours.

You're obviously a guy that recognizes 11 is better than 10.

 

[rt]

1. Befard
2. Fantilli
—————
3. Michkov
4. Carlsson
5. Smith
—————
A whole mess

 

[Jakey53]

It just pains me to no end that Chicago is going to get Bedard. That just sucks

Original six team, what did you expect?

 

[hbk]

WJC pre tournament game on tsn now. Geunther wears 11.

 

[rt]

Just disgusting

 

[Freddy Sjostrom]

Michkov loaned to Sochi

We always try to give our players the opportunity to develop. After successfully progressing through the MHL and VHL, the time has come for Matvei to play in the KHL and receive a lot of minutes on the ice. We held a good conversation with Matvei, notably speaking about the aspects of the sport which he must improve including his physical play and his game across all zones. Ice hockey isn't just about goals, you also have to defend solidly, play well at neutral ice, land hits and block pucks. Even if a player scores goals, he will make things worse for the team if he doesn't block shots. You have to be clever in all zones. I would like to wish Matvei success, and we are waiting for him in Saint Petersburg again. We want him to continue scoring goals while improving the details. Yes, he can sense a goal better than anyone in the world, but he must improve the details if he wants to become a top KHL player.