2023 NHL Draft June 28 and 29, Nashville, TN (Selections - 13, 39, 45, 86, 109, 141, 173, 205)

[Fly Boy]

The U18s have been an influence across both of the last two drafts - Ostlund, Kulich, and Rosen all had strong U18's to go along with their pre-draft years. Strong skaters permeate all three drafts - not universal but the majority are, some even to an eye-opening level. This draft looks like it is full of folks they have taken previously with positionless, smaller, quick inside driven forwards. What will be intriguing is if they break out of that to look for size or grit or even defensemen in the top few rounds.

First guy that made me think of is Wood. Doesn't necessarily fit with the second part however.

 

[Fjordy]

First guy that made me think of is Wood. Doesn't necessarily fit with the second part however.

Skating... It seems Adams likes good skaters, he can take not so good skater in round 3-4, but in the first and second rounds he usually takes good skaters. Although I may be wrong. But I think all of Adams' picks in rounds 1-2 had no skating problems.

 

[TheBarnIsElectric]

I'm one who definitely follows the draft and pays attention to prospects, but with the NHL draft in particular I think it's folly to think you have certainty about what these kids will turn into. I have doubts even about the top draft picks and I think that is reasonable. I also don't watch nearly as much as many others so that tempers my opinions a bit too.

Of course I have my favorites each year. From the last 10 years or so, the drafts that stand out to me because I felt really strongly one way or another were:

2015 - I was pissed and a surprised that they didn't take Vince Dunn in the second. For some reason I just knew he was going to be a player and I knew there was connections with the Pegulas. Thought it was a done deal, or should I say a Dunn deal? No, no I probably shouldn't.
2016 - Didn't hate Nylander as a prospect, but hated the pick right away. All those D available and such a huge need. That one was pretty clear mistake the minute they announced it and I think most agreed at the time.
2017 - I loved the Mittelstadt pick. I watched him in the u18s the year before and came away thinking this kid is a gamer. Seems to just be rounding into that at the NHL level now, fortunately.

 

[JLewyB]

Do we have the rankings based on advanced analytics that had our draft picks last year all in the top 10 or 15 except for this year?

 

[The Blunder Years]

Some recent thoughts.

Almost every draft, very skilled small forwards fall. DeBrincat and Stankoven are recent ones that were taken so much later than they should have, and people knew this on draft day. I could see Brindley and Perron sliding this year due to size. Brindley to me is a great prospect who has a pretty complete skill set that would be awesome if he somehow fell to one of our seconds. Hey maybe Benson falls to 13 too. Would be a home run if so.

I would be happy with Reinbacher, Simashev, ASP, or Willander at 13. All four are great d prospects and would be fine at our draft position.

I think we could be in the position to trade up one of our seconds to target a falling prospect in the 1st or early 2nd. Our prospect pool is so loaded that I would like to see us try to maximize the quality of prospect in the draft, if It costs a mid round pick to move a 2nd up a few spots.

 

[Bendium]

We have too many smallish forwards coming up the pipe and not enough spots on the big club for them. so...

Do not draft another smallish forward! If that all you think will be worth the 13th pick then trade it.

There are some very skilled forwards with excellent size in the top half of the draft. I think Rosen is the odd man out of the Sabres lineup. I would package him with a second for a top 15 pick, and draft a forward with size. This would reset that mispick, adding size and putting off its NHL arrival a few years when there is more space and the ELC is needed.

 

[Ace]

My worst case scenario is all 11 of these off the board:

Bedard
Fantilli
Carlsson
Michkov
Smith
Leonard
Dvorsky
Benson

Simashev
Reinbacher
Willander

I don’t think they all will be gone. I think the forwards will be. But I could never find a 12th and 13th player to put in the want enough to not want to trade the pick category.

If they are all gone I guess im in for getting a big forward like But or Wood. Or one that plays big like Barlow at least. Gives us something in the pool we don’t have.

I’m not on the ASP train unless all three other D are gone. Then there is enough of a drop for me that I’d understand the pick even if I don’t love the long term fit.

Moore is the wild card. He has traits they’ll love (best skater in the class. All out effort) but his brain cant get up to speed and he seems uninterested in slowing down. Seen too many of those guys become nothing. But they might like him…and I’d get it.

I‘d understand Danielson too…he just doesn’t excite me much.

 

[Fjordy]

We have too many smallish forwards coming up the pipe and not enough spots on the big club for them. so...

Do not draft another smallish forward! If that all you think will be worth the 13th pick then trade it.

There are some very skilled forwards with excellent size in the top half of the draft. I think Rosen is the odd man out of the Sabres lineup. I would package him with a second for a top 15 pick, and draft a forward with size. This would reset that mispick, adding size and putting off its NHL arrival a few years when there is more space and the ELC is needed.

Not sure if this is the right tactic. You can get a physical forward in the trade, but you probably won't get the skill. I would not pass by a player like Benson for example. Just take BPA.

 

[Der Jaeger]

My worst case scenario is all 11 of these off the board:

Bedard
Fantilli
Carlsson
Michkov
Smith
Leonard
Dvorsky
Benson

Simashev
Reinbacher
Willander

I don’t think they all will be gone. I think the forwards will be. But I could never find a 12th and 13th player to put in the want enough to not want to trade the pick category.

If they are all gone I guess im in for getting a big forward like But or Wood. Or one that plays big like Barlow at least. Gives us something in the pool we don’t have.

I’m not on the ASP train unless all three other D are gone. Then there is enough of a drop for me that I’d understand the pick even if I don’t love the long term fit.

Moore is the wild card. He has traits they’ll love (best skater in the class. All out effort) but his brain cant get up to speed and he seems uninterested in slowing down. Seen too many of those guys become nothing. But they might like him…and I’d get it.

I‘d understand Danielson too…he just doesn’t excite me much.

I don't see it as worst case. Barlow, But, and Wood are players that the Sabres could really use. Particularly Barlow. His game is exactly what the Sabres need. I don't see him being available as worst case.

Same with But and Wood. Especially But. If he's available, I see him as the Sabres pick. He's a power forward in development, that does a lot of everything aside from having an elite shot. Which means he'll be more apt to be a net front player.

Wood also has a ton of room for development but he's not a great skater, and Adams tends to shy away from poor skaters.

I think if the draft fell this way, Adams is deciding between Barlow and But, and that's a great choice to have.

 

[Asymmetric Solution]

My worst case scenario is all 11 of these off the board:

Bedard
Fantilli
Carlsson
Michkov
Smith
Leonard
Dvorsky
Benson

Simashev
Reinbacher
Willander

I don’t think they all will be gone. I think the forwards will be. But I could never find a 12th and 13th player to put in the want enough to not want to trade the pick category.

If they are all gone I guess im in for getting a big forward like But or Wood. Or one that plays big like Barlow at least. Gives us something in the pool we don’t have.

I’m not on the ASP train unless all three other D are gone. Then there is enough of a drop for me that I’d understand the pick even if I don’t love the long term fit.

Moore is the wild card. He has traits they’ll love (best skater in the class. All out effort) but his brain cant get up to speed and he seems uninterested in slowing down. Seen too many of those guys become nothing. But they might like him…and I’d get it.

I‘d understand Danielson too…he just doesn’t excite me much.

I'd go Barlow or But in this situation and feel pretty good. Wood is getting a ton of hype and he looks great but I'm not as high on him as others but I guess I'd be ok with that after those other two.

 

[Zman5778]

Not sure if this is the right tactic. You can get a physical forward in the trade, but you probably won't get the skill. I would not pass by a player like Benson for example. Just take BPA.

Besides, it's not like there's THAT much "smallness" coming up in the ranks. Savoie and Kisakov are our only guys under contract that are under 5'11".

Yeah a few guys need to add mass/bulk/muscle/etc......but we're far from diminutive.

 

[Fjordy]

Besides, it's not like there's THAT much "smallness" coming up in the ranks. Savoie and Kisakov are our only guys under contract that are under 5'11".

Yeah a few guys need to add mass/bulk/muscle/etc......but we're far from diminutive.

Yes, it's nonsense that we are small. I don't see anything wrong if the player is not too tall, but they have the skills. It's unlikely that Devils is disappointed that they have Bratt and Hughes.

 

[Ace]

I don't see it as worst case. Barlow, But, and Wood are players that the Sabres could really use. Particularly Barlow. His game is exactly what the Sabres need. I don't see him being available as worst case.

Same with But and Wood. Especially But. If he's available, I see him as the Sabres pick. He's a power forward in development, that does a lot of everything aside from having an elite shot. Which means he'll be more apt to be a net front player.

Wood also has a ton of room for development but he's not a great skater, and Adams tends to shy away from poor skaters.

I think if the draft fell this way, Adams is deciding between Barlow and But, and that's a great choice to have.

Well it’s called my worst case because I think there is a drop after those 8 forwards and those 3 D. Just imagine there being a tier break after those groups that is where trade for a player or trade down would live. If I’m not getting one of the 11 I listed…I’d rather move the pick for a player or trade down for more assets than take the pick at 13.

If somehow all 11 are gone Id really like a trade back because I’m getting one of the next group anyway…and I don’t particularly care which.

 

[Der Jaeger]

Well it’s called my worst case because I think there is a drop after those 8 forwards and those 3 D. Just imagine there being a tier break after those groups that is where trade for a player or trade down would live. If I’m not getting one of the 11 I listed…I’d rather move the pick for a player or trade down for more assets than take the pick at 13.

If somehow all 11 are gone Id really like a trade back because I’m getting one of the next group anyway…and I don’t particularly care which.

I don't see the same tier break. I think Barlow and But are better prospects than Willander and on par with Benson.

I see their tier break around 16-18.

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

I think if the draft fell this way, Adams is deciding between Barlow and But, and that's a great choice to have.

This is much closer to best case than worst case imo. At least the Barlow part.

Besides, it's not like there's THAT much "smallness" coming up in the ranks. Savoie and Kisakov are our only guys under contract that are under 5'11".

Yeah a few guys need to add mass/bulk/muscle/etc......but we're far from diminutive.

Don't we have a bunch of kids right at 5'11" though? If you make the cutoff 6' like it probably should be, it looks like a bit more of an issue.

 

[NotABadPeriod]

Besides, it's not like there's THAT much "smallness" coming up in the ranks. Savoie and Kisakov are our only guys under contract that are under 5'11".

Yeah a few guys need to add mass/bulk/muscle/etc......but we're far from diminutive.

It's not size that we should focus on, it's jam and grit. We need some guys who are going to embrace the dirty work along the boards and in front of the net, who will just be a PITA to play against. (The corollary to that is, of course, don't draft Justin Kea in the third round just for that reason...)

 

[Zman5778]

Don't we have a bunch of kids right at 5'11" though? If you make the cutoff 6' like it probably should be, it looks like a bit more of an issue.

It's not size that we should focus on, it's jam and grit. We need some guys who are going to embrace the dirty work along the boards and in front of the net, who will just be a PITA to play against. (The corollary to that is, of course, don't draft Justin Kea in the third round just for that reason...)

As @NotABadPeriod refers to -- I don't and won't put a firm number on height/weight when it comes to "size". I'm much more interested in if a player is a PITA to play against. If you're a pest and physical, I don't care if you're Gerbe-sized or Tage-sized.

Do we need some of that in the organization? Boy howdy. I don't think the first round is the place to find it this year though.

 

[ValJamesDuex]

Does anyone think we might start seeing a few player deals this weekend or more likely next week ?

 

[Ace]

Does anyone think we might start seeing a few player deals this weekend or more likely next week ?

I hope so. Columbus already made two deals…I hope GMs would be motivated to not let the market get changed around them while they twiddle their thumbs

 

[toddkaz]

I don't know if this is a dumb question but are players like Michkov or Simashev going to be at the draft? What stops them from not going back if they are? Or is not like the 80s and 90s where Russians hid in suitcases to escape Russia?

 

[Jim Bob]

I don't know if this is a dumb question but are players like Michkov or Simashev going to be at the draft? What stops them from not going back if they are? Or is not like the 80s and 90s where Russians hid in suitcases to escape Russia?

I would doubt it due to the hoops they need to just through to get travel visas, but you never know.

This is not like the Cold War era. The biggest challenge right now is that the US has closed their consulate in Russia and so players need to go to the US consulate in another country to get a travel visa.

 

[Chainshot]

I don't know if this is a dumb question but are players like Michkov or Simashev going to be at the draft? What stops them from not going back if they are? Or is not like the 80s and 90s where Russians hid in suitcases to escape Russia?

Michkov has said he will be attending. I haven't dug around to see if Simashev will be, but I would expect so, Daniil But as well.

 

[Bendium]

Not sure if this is the right tactic. You can get a physical forward in the trade, but you probably won't get the skill. I would not pass by a player like Benson for example. Just take BPA.

Normally I would agree with you, but KA has shown a tendency to fall in love and just sit on his prospects, and not trade them to balance the needs of the NHL team or balance the prospect pool. So even at BPA, he needs to avoid quintupling down on taking the smallish skilled forward that slides down the board because of his size.

 

[Jim Bob]

Coyotes 2023 Draft Options: Matthew Wood vs. Gabe Perreault - The Hockey Writers Arizona Coyotes Latest News, Analysis & More

With two first-round picks in the 2023 NHL Draft, the Coyotes have plenty of options. But who should they take at 12th overall?

thehockeywriters.com

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

Michkov has said he will be attending. I haven't dug around to see if Simashev will be, but I would expect so, Daniil But as well.

I'm pretty sure But already confirmed a week or two back.