Prospect Info: 2023 NHL Draft Thread

[Brodeur]

'Didn't have to overthink this' - Bedard tops McKenzie's pre-season draft ranking

From the moment he was granted exceptional status in 2020 and then burst onto the scene as a “double underager” at the 2021 Under-18 World Championship, the giddy anticipation has been that the 2023 NHL Draft would be the Connor Bedard Sweepstakes.

www.tsn.ca

For me, hockey season always feels like it gets a green light when Bob McKenzie posts his preliminary survey. To nobody's surprise, Connor Bedard is the consensus #1. Matvei Michkov seems like the consensus #2 purely on talent, but he could fall a bit on draft day since he's signed in the KHL through 2026. Some teams might not have the patience if there's a viable alternative.

Seems like a better than average year in quality and depth. Bob only had one D in his top 16 which seems to echo other lists that were published earlier.

Draft will be in Nashville this year. Things have been tweaked (maybe by ESPN) and the first round will now be on a Wednesday night with round 2-7 the next day.

Click to read more...

 

[Guadana]

I hope the Devils will no longer be contenders for the high pick this year. Anyway this is my early list of guys for Devils to watch.
Karlsson(if things will go bad way), Stramel, Ritchie, But, Halttunen, Barlow, Dvorsky. I have another players like Sale, Danielsen, Wood, Smith, Musty on my early list, but... it`s too early. I prefer to find good two way and\or power forward on that draft for Devils organisation. Reason why I have "top" group and second group. I believe. everything will change.

 

[The Wumpus]

This is supposed to be a legendary year for unranked overage mid-round European goalies

 

[Xirik]

We've laid the trap for Stventoddives, now we just need the bait....

Just from my brief look at this years draft I saw that there are a lot more "power forward" types in the 1st and 2nd round then in recent history.

Fantili, Stramel, Wood, Barlow, Halttunen, etc

​

 

[FooteBahl]

I hope the Devils will no longer be contenders for the high pick this year. Anyway this is my early list of guys for Devils to watch.
Karlsson(if things will go bad way), Stramel, Ritchie, But, Halttunen, Barlow, Dvorsky. I have another players like Sale, Danielsen, Wood, Smith, Musty on my early list, but... it`s too early. I prefer to find good two way and\or power forward on that draft for Devils organisation. Reason why I have "top" group and second group. I believe. everything will change.

The team Severson is traded to will fail miserably and win the lottery—I already saw this movie

 

[Hockey Sports Fan]

All I want from this draft, and I realize it's a tall order, is for neither Berard nor Michkov to end up in Philly or Chicago.

 

[Xirik]

All I want from this draft, and I realize it's a tall order, is for neither Berard nor Michkov to end up in Philly or Chicago.

I want Vegas to win the Lottery, HFboards would explode and it would finally cement the knights as the evil villains of the league.

 

[Guadana]

The team Severson is traded to will fail miserably and win the lottery—I already saw this movie

First round pick for retained Graves. That top 3 pick for devils after wining the lottery and draft of Karlsson. And it would finally cement the Devils as the evil cheaters of the league.

 

[TBF1972]

'Didn't have to overthink this' - Bedard tops McKenzie's pre-season draft ranking

From the moment he was granted exceptional status in 2020 and then burst onto the scene as a “double underager” at the 2021 Under-18 World Championship, the giddy anticipation has been that the 2023 NHL Draft would be the Connor Bedard Sweepstakes.

www.tsn.ca

For me, hockey season always feels like it gets a green light when Bob McKenzie posts his preliminary survey. To nobody's surprise, Connor Bedard is the consensus #1. Matvei Michkov seems like the consensus #2 purely on talent, but he could fall a bit on draft day since he's signed in the KHL through 2026. Some teams might not have the patience if there's a viable alternative.

Seems like a better than average year in quality and depth. Bob only had one D in his top 16 which seems to echo other lists that were published earlier.

Draft will be in Nashville this year. Things have been tweaked (maybe by ESPN) and the first round will now be on a Wednesday night with round 2-7 the next day.

good thing the devils went d-heavy in past drafts. they now can focus on forwards with an eye towards size and if their pick falls in the right spot, they could also target a top level goaltending prospect early.

 

[thethinglonger]

Way too early for this, but the 2023 draft is looking like a very good one. 2023 is headlined by, of course, Connor Bedard....just an unbelievable talent. If you get a chance to watch a game of his, you really should. The hashtags write themselves: #DieHardForBedard, #ItGetsWorseBeforeItGetsBedard, #CaptainBedard... And then there's Matvei Michkov who would be a sure-fire projection for going 1st overall in pretty much any other draft.

It's also looking like a great year for centers (especially tall centers), and it looks like the strongest WHL draft class in a long time.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the fact that it's looking like *another* strong year for Slovakia...headlined by Dalibor Dvorsky, but also boosted by the likes of Alex Ciernik, Ondrej Molnar and Maxim Strbak, among others. Cheers to Slovak Hockey!

At this point, I would consider it a pretty meh draft class for d-men. However, it should be noted that d-men are about a year or so behind in their maturity (in general), so while there may not be too many in any preseason/initial rankings, we'll see defensemen rise as the season progresses. It's also not uncommon for these early rankings to be more CHL-heavy for a variety of reasons.

That being said, here's a way too early top-15 rank for the 2023 draft class:

1) Connor Bedard, C, Regina Pats (WHL)
2) Matvei Michkov, RW, SKA St. Petersburg (KHL)
3) Adam Fantilli, C, Michigan (NCAA)
4) Dalibor Dvorsky, C, AIK (HockeyAllsvenskan)
5) Brayden Yager, RW, Moose Jaw (WHL)
6) Zachary Benson, LW, Winnipeg (WHL)
7) Leo Carlsson, C, Orebro HK (SHL)
8) Charlie Stramel, C, Wisconsin (NCAA)
9) Mikhail Gulyayev, LD, Omskie Yastreby (MHL)
10) Matthew Wood, RW, Connecticut (NCAA)
11) Cameron Allen, RD, Guelph (OHL)
12) Kasper Halttunen, RW, HIFK (Liiga)
13) Nate Danielson, C, Brandon (WHL)
14) Colby Barlow, RW, Owen Sound (OHL)
15) Calum Ritchie, C, Oshawa (OHL)

 

[StevenToddIves]

Strangely, the Devils organizations now only has two remaining weaknesses: centers and power/interior forwards. NJ is literally strong in every other facet of the prospect pool.

The 2023 draft class just so happens to be remarkably strong in centers and power/interior forwards. But I'm not going to get too into the early names yet because I'm hoping the Devils can stay in the post-season mix with this line-up -- I strongly feel the Devils are one of the most improved teams in the NHL going into this season.

It should be a fun year, both with the NHL and the draft/prospect watching.

 

[Devs3cups]

Craig Button just released his preliminary top 30 list for the 2023 NHL Draft.

2023 NHL Draft Prospect Rankings Connor Bedard Craig Button - TSN.ca

Regina Pats star Connor Bedard is the overwhelming favourite to go first overall in the 2023 NHL Draft, but a new face has rocketed into the No. 2 spot for TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button.

www.tsn.ca

1 Connor Bedard Regina (WHL)
2 Eduard Sale Brno (CZE)
3 Matvei Michkov St. Petersburg (KHL)
4 Adam Fantilli Michigan (NCAA)
5 Brayden Yager Moose Jaw (WHL)
6 Leo Carlsson Örebro (SHL)
7 Colby Barlow Owen Sound (OHL)
8 Dalibor Dvorsky AIK (SWE-Als)
9 Zach Benson Winnipeg (WHL)
10 Calum Ritchie Oshawa (OHL)

 

[Xirik]

I want one of
7 Colby Barlow
15 Charlie Stramel
17 Matthew Wood

If we don't pick any of those I will say its a failure of a draft!

Also LOL there is a prospect named Will Smith.

 

[Brodeur]

Looks like Steven Ellis recently left The Hockey News for The Daily Faceoff. Here's his initial draft rankings:

2023 NHL Draft: Early Top 32 Rankings

The 2023 NHL draft is loaded with high-end talent and has enough depth to satisfy teams outside the lottery. Here’s...

www.dailyfaceoff.com

 

[StevenToddIves]

Still haven't made up my mind on writing detailed draft capsules for the 2023 draft, but I've been watching a ton of Conor Bedard and I'll probably put up something on him pretty soon. The kid is simply amazing, and you should all make the effort to check out his WHL games (or highlights) if possible.

Though I do not foresee the Devils being in the mix for #1 overall this year, Bedard is special -- I'd say he's the best #1 pick since Auston Matthews, with Jack Hughes checking in at #3 in all of the drafts since 2016. I see Bedard's upside as a goal scorer on Matthews' level, although just behind Matthews in terms of overall dominance, which is far from a slight since Bedard is quite frankly great at absolutely everything.

 

[My3Sons]

Still haven't made up my mind on writing detailed draft capsules for the 2023 draft, but I've been watching a ton of Conor Bedard and I'll probably put up something on him pretty soon. The kid is simply amazing, and you should all make the effort to check out his WHL games (or highlights) if possible.

Though I do not foresee the Devils being in the mix for #1 overall this year, Bedard is special -- I'd say he's the best #1 pick since Auston Matthews, with Jack Hughes checking in at #3 in all of the drafts since 2016. I see Bedard's upside as a goal scorer on Matthews' level, although just behind Matthews in terms of overall dominance, which is far from a slight since Bedard is quite frankly great at absolutely everything.

Please please please don't make me go to the main prospects board. I can't be subjected to "wide pond hockey turns" and "against men" and have any connection to reality. After all the likes I've given you I think you owe me that much. Another ten or twenty years of prospect writing and by then I'll be so senile it won't matter. Just hang on until then.

 

[glenwo2]

I had to do a double-take when I first saw this thread pop-up.

I was like "The season hasn't even started and ALREADY we're talking about the 2023 Draft? Damn...talk about Pessimism"

 

[StevenToddIves]

I had to do a double-take when I first saw this thread pop-up.

I was like "The season hasn't even started and ALREADY we're talking about the 2023 Draft? Damn...talk about Pessimism"

The argument can be made that talking about the draft amounts to optimism. We are ideally looking at the future stars of hockey.

To wit, I don't foresee any way on earth Conor Bedard begins his stellar NHL career on the New Jersey Devils. Quite simply, the Devils just are much closer to the playoffs than to the bottom of the league. But I'm still not going to shut up about Bedard, because he's a special talent in hockey, the sport I love.

The reason I love the draft is because we, as hockey fans, can leave our pessimism and jadedness behind and all root for kids who are working hard to achieve their dream.

 

[Cheddabombs]

So this is a pretty good draft at the top huh?

 

[Forge]

Leo Carlsson off to a great start in the shl. He won't keep it up I imagine (his pace would obliterate guys like eklund or holtz's DY production). Right now he's pacing at Daniel Sedin rates.

 

[Devils090]

Can we draft a coach instead

 

[Blackjack]

So this is a pretty good draft at the top huh?

yeah, but we wouldn’t draft those guys, we’d pass on them for someone we could have gotten at #6.

 

[Forge]

So this is a pretty good draft at the top huh?

The top 5 is just absurd

 

[TBF1972]

Leo Carlsson off to a great start in the shl. He won't keep it up I imagine (his pace would obliterate guys like eklund or holtz's DY production). Right now he's pacing at Daniel Sedin rates.

when i first looked at 2023 draft class, i was mainly looking for center with size and carlsson was the first cstching my interest. seeing like him and the devils started the season i hope he remains a pipe dream.

 

[Xirik]

when i first looked at 2023 draft class, i was mainly looking for center with size and carlsson was the first cstching my interest. seeing like him and the devils started the season i hope he remains a pipe dream.

I've said this before but I just want one of the four-ish power forwards that look to be 1st rounders.