2023 NHL Entry Draft - Kraken Edition

[Fistfullofbeer]

I know we'd all like to add more "elite" prospects on the back end but I'm still in the BPA camp and if a center or a winger fits that I'd take him with our first rounder.

Overall I don't think this is a great draft class for defenders(though, you can certainly find some value in the 2nd or 3rd round) and I wouldn't try and "force" stuff because we haven't drafted a defender with a first round pick yet.

I'm also curious what Francis does with those 2nd rounders and if he might attempt to trade up for someone that either slips in the early 2nd or late 1st round.

I am all about the BPA as well. I was just pointing out that with how F heavy this draft class is there is a chance one of the good D-men could drop.

 

[majormajor]

I am all about the BPA as well. I was just pointing out that with how F heavy this draft class is there is a chance one of the good D-men could drop.

By the time you're around pick twenty, the menu of defenders available is just as good as the selection of forwards. This draft is more of a forward draft but not where we're picking.

 

[The Marquis]

32? Hehehe

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

By the time you're around pick twenty, the menu of defenders available is just as good as the selection of forwards. This draft is more of a forward draft but not where we're picking.

Right. I definitely feel the depth in the draft gives us a good chance to get an effective player where we pick. Both at forward or defense.

32? Hehehe

I mean sure. There is a chance ..

 

[RainyCityHockey]

Pronman's list on the Athletic(behind paywall)

2023 NHL Draft ranking: Connor Bedard is still No. 1, but who has moved up?

Connor Bedard tops Corey Pronman's March ranking of the top prospects at the 2023 NHL Draft.

theathletic.com

He's got guys like Sale(#16), Simashev(#17), Sandin-Pellikka(#18), Wood(#19), Molendyk(#20), Musty(#22), Bonk(#24) or Gulyayev(#25) in the range the Kraken will most likely draft.

Ha also has the Slovakian goalie from the world juniors in the first round.


I think using one of our 2nd rounders on a goalie might be a good idea cause one of those goalies should be available at that time.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

Pronman's list on the Athletic(behind paywall)

2023 NHL Draft ranking: Connor Bedard is still No. 1, but who has moved up?

Connor Bedard tops Corey Pronman's March ranking of the top prospects at the 2023 NHL Draft.

theathletic.com

He's got guys like Sale(#16), Simashev(#17), Sandin-Pellikka(#18), Wood(#19), Molendyk(#20), Musty(#22), Bonk(#24) or Gulyayev(#25) in the range the Kraken will most likely draft.

Ha also has the Slovakian goalie from the world juniors in the first round.


I think using one of our 2nd rounders on a goalie might be a good idea cause one of those goalies should be available at that time.

We picked up Kokko in the 2nd round last year didn't we? I don't know if we pick a goalie again early but would not be too surprised since we do have 3 x 2nd round picks.

It will be interesting to see how the teams ahead of us draft because from my reading outside of Reinbacher not many D-men are likely to go in the top-15 and despite that there are still high ceiling forwards available after the mid-first range. Plus all the D-men that have not been picked.

 

[RainyCityHockey]

We picked up Kokko in the 2nd round last year didn't we? I don't know if we pick a goalie again early but would not be too surprised since we do have 3 x 2nd round picks.

It will be interesting to see how the teams ahead of us draft because from my reading outside of Reinbacher not many D-men are likely to go in the top-15 and despite that there are still high ceiling forwards available after the mid-first range. Plus all the D-men that have not been picked.

Well, I think you can't have enough goalies in your prospect pool and those look very interesting.
Though, if a guy at another position is a better prospect than that's the way to go.

As far as defenseman goes, I'm not really impressed by this years class and even Reinbacher is somewhat of a question mark to me.
I'm also quite surprised by him being listed as early as #5 or #6 by some mock drafts cause I'm not sure he's got the talent over most of those forwards.

Though, given that this class is somewhat thin on centers and defenseman I do get that he might end up in the top ten cause teams value those way more than wingers and rather go for those two positions even if they might be a bit less talented.

That's why I'm not too interested in the Kraken just going for a defender´thanks to need(cause we haven't drafted one in the first round) and would rather just take the BPA even if it's winger.
We should be in a good position to have one of those falling to us and potentially becoming a 20+ goalscorer in this league.

Also, if you're truly set on drafting a defender in the first round the 2024 entry draft seems to have quite a few interesting ones.

 

[gstommylee]

We picked up Kokko in the 2nd round last year didn't we? I don't know if we pick a goalie again early but would not be too surprised since we do have 3 x 2nd round picks.

It will be interesting to see how the teams ahead of us draft because from my reading outside of Reinbacher not many D-men are likely to go in the top-15 and despite that there are still high ceiling forwards available after the mid-first range. Plus all the D-men that have not been picked.

I have heard the same about the first round prospects for dmen.

 

[Kat Predator]

Sure does feel like we need some more dmen in the prospect pool. There's Ryker Evans and some guys that may need to marinate even longer.

OTOH, this draft is extremely deep in forward talent. So it's possible the 18th forward is a better prospect overall than the 2nd or 4th dman.

 

[kranuck]

I strongly disagree with trading away first round picks or that this core actually having a window to compete/go for the cup.

To me the actual core is Beniers, Wright and whichever one of the other draft picks develops with a couple of McCann's, Burakovsky's and Bjorkstrand's springled in.

The rest of that core(Larsson, Oleksiak, Grubauer, Gourde etc.) are good complimentary players but nothing more and overall we have way too many of those to talk about this core "having a window", IMO.

Still, I'm curious to see how the season goes and at what position we'll draft next year.

Then everyone else needs to go. Start the rebuild now instead of having matty, wright, and a bunch of late firsts who don’t really become much of anything.

 

[RainyCityHockey]

Then everyone else needs to go. Start the rebuild now instead of having matty, wright, and a bunch of late firsts who don’t really become much of anything.

Looking around the league and taking into consideration that the St. Louis Blues are the exception to the rule I get what you're trying to say here.
There's always the possibility of this ending up as a middling team that is good enough to make the playoffs, but not really good enough to make any kind of noise when playing there.

Though, looking at those Pittsburghs, Tampas, Chicagos, Colorados etc. m there's a clear path.

You need at least
1 x top two pick
1 x top five pick
1 x top ten pick

We've already gotten the first two and given that success in the NHL isn't linear, I don't think it is out of the question that we add another top ten pick within the next couple of years.

I mean, we've got an insane shooting percentage this season that doesn't look sustainable to me and as soon as that comes back to earth we're in trouble just like we were in February.

On top of that is the fact that we do have additional picks and could trade up as well.

Of course, if we're in year five(and the start of Beniers and potentially Wright's prime) and still in the same position the discussion is a different one.

 

[Kat Predator]

Looking around the league and taking into consideration that the St. Louis Blues are the exception to the rule I get what you're trying to say here.
There's always the possibility of this ending up as a middling team that is good enough to make the playoffs, but not really good enough to make any kind of noise when playing there.

Though, looking at those Pittsburghs, Tampas, Chicagos, Colorados etc. m there's a clear path.

You need at least
1 x top two pick
1 x top five pick
1 x top ten pick

We've already gotten the first two and given that success in the NHL isn't linear, I don't think it is out of the question that we add another top ten pick within the next couple of years.

I mean, we've got an insane shooting percentage this season that doesn't look sustainable to me and as soon as that comes back to earth we're in trouble just like we were in February.

On top of that is the fact that we do have additional picks and could trade up as well.

Of course, if we're in year five(and the start of Beniers and potentially Wright's prime) and still in the same position the discussion is a different one.

I'd just add that it is a team sport. Just drafting a generational talent named McDavid and a couple of other high first round picks doesn't guarantee a thing. To win the Cup, you have to be the best team .

 

[kranuck]

I'd just add that it is a team sport. Just drafting a generational talent named McDavid and a couple of other high first round picks doesn't guarantee a thing. To win the Cup, you have to be the best team .

Edmonton is an incredibly poorly run team, got screwed over hard by the cap crunch, and still had McDavid drag them to the conference finals.

They will likely win a cup and go back to sucking.

 

[RainyCityHockey]

I'd just add that it is a team sport. Just drafting a generational talent named McDavid and a couple of other high first round picks doesn't guarantee a thing. To win the Cup, you have to be the best team .

Sure.

Though most teams that won a cup in the salary cap era drafted at least ones in the top two and got a pretty good prospect.

 

[Kat Predator]

Sure.

Though most teams that won a cup in the salary cap era drafted at least ones in the top two and got a pretty good prospect.

Sure.

Actually, most teams have a top 10 draft pick(s) on the roster somewhere, period. 31 of them won't win the Cup every year.

 

[RainyCityHockey]

Sure.

Actually, most teams have a top 10 draft pick(s) on the roster somewhere, period. 31 of them won't win the Cup every year.

But some do.

And besides the St. Louis Blues, basically every other team has had a combination of high draft picks(like I've mentioned) that the team developed well enough.

We'll see.

 

[Kat Predator]

But some do.

And besides the St. Louis Blues, basically every other team has had a combination of high draft picks(like I've mentioned) that the team developed well enough.

We'll see.

Glad you agree that only 1 team wins the Cup each season.

The Blues had a 3rd overall, 4th, 5th, 14th, 16th, 20th (2), 21st, 25th, and 26th on that roster. So 3 top 10 draft picks.

 

[GrungeHockey]

You draft BPA. The pick they will have will be low enough that even if it's a good pick it'll be years down the road before they impact. A D pick at that point likely 3-4 years at best.

You want to improve the D now you need to trade or spend in free agency. Target Conor Clifton or Orlov (if you can afford him). There's a few others, but imo Clifton is the best value for players available.

 

[RainyCityHockey]

Some more prospect talk.

Maybe a guy for the 2nd - 4th round?
Trey Augustine - Goalie - USA

Trey Augustine - 2023 NHL Draft Prospect Profile - The Hockey Writers NHL Entry Draft Latest News, Analysis & More

Trey Augustine will be one of the goaltenders that will hear his name called at the 2023 NHLEntry Draft this summer.

thehockeywriters.com

Also, having started to take a closer look at prospects I'm less and less interested in taking a defenseman in the first round unless Reinbacher(not likely), Sandin-Pellikka or maybe Gulyayev are available.

I do like Samuel Honzek, Matthew Wood, Eduard Sale(some have him dropping to the mid first round), Ryan Leonard, Nate Danielson or Reiley Heidt.

If Honzek would be a available I'd really like us to grab him cause he seems like a very good all around guy that, even if he ends up on the wing, has 20 goal potential but is also a playmaker/playdriver that also kills penalties.

Overall I think taking a foward might be the best way to go this year even if we'd all would like a more high profile defensive prospect in our prospect pool.

 

[majormajor]

Here's the middle part of my ranking, from eighth to eighteenth. HF changed the numbers. Some of these guys will fall to the Kraken pick:

1. Quentin Musty, 1/2W. Musty is another player with inconsistent efforts but he's trending very well. This is a big strong player with a very big talent level. Good skater, good shooter, great soft hands and playmaking ability. He has everything you can't teach, yet badly needs a tough teacher for the rest.
2. Samuel Honzek, 1/2W. A hulking winger that never misses an opportunity to take the puck to the net. Honzek is a bit slow and maybe a bit ungainly at this point but he's just filling out. Great hands and smarts.
3. Eduard Sale, 1/2W. Sale also loses ground because of inconsistent effort. He's underweight though so I can forgive him for not having the highest battle level at this point. He has a lot of skill for dangling and making plays. My uncertainty with him is how much stronger he'll get, because he isn't much of an athlete right now.
4. Ryan Leonard, 2F. A workhorse player that does Will Smith's defense for him. Leonard hits hard and plays with a terrific intensity. He has some quick hands in tight and a great shot.
5. Will Smith, 1/2W. Smith seems constitutionally disinclined to do the center duties supposedly given to him. Instead he waits like a Shark until the puck comes and then works his magic. Great playmaker but I think he'll be a maddening player for his coach.
6. Andrew Cristall, 1/2W. Cristall is a lot like Benson. Small great playmaker, just without the great two way game. There is some bust risk because he doesn't have a plan B. But I like his skating, I think he'll be slippery enough to make it as a top 6 winger.
7. Colby Barlow, 1/2W. Barlow looks a lot like James Neal to me. Big body, great shot, not the most versatile skater but fast in open ice. I could see 30 or 40 goals in the right situation. He seems diligent and lays some hits.
8. Dmitri Simashev, Top 4LD. Simashev is an elusive four-direction skater. And he's very big, which is a great combination for a D-man. He should be able to transition pucks with his wheels and also maybe play shutdown. His shot is terrible though so don't expect a lot of points.
9. Nate Danielson, 2/3C. Fast center in open ice, strong build, can score powerplay goals. Reminds me of Bo Horvat. I don't see much as far as playmaking or special defensive ability.
10. Mikhail Gulyayev, Top 4LD. Gulyayev is about as explosive a skater as Cale Makar. He has rocket skates. On the downside, he's 5'10 and not currently a shot threat. But with his ability to skate pucks he'll still be a transition demon and a strong possession player.

The Kraken don't need to overemphasize taking centers, and that's great because the value in the middle of this first round is probably in the wingers. Musty and Honzek are big rare type wingers and both might be there when the Kraken pick.

 

[RainyCityHockey]

Some more content.

Hockey Writers Prospect Corner


Elite Prospects Top 80 - March 2023

 

[luapejrug]

I'm intrigued by Gabe Perreault. Play driving winger currently playing with the USNDTP. Wright needs a winger like this to hit his potential.

 

[majormajor]

I'm intrigued by Gabe Perreault. Play driving winger currently playing with the USNDTP. Wright needs a winger like this to hit his potential.

Andrew Cristall might also be there around 20, and looks more skilled than Perreault.

I do think that Wright needs a star playmaker next to him if he's going to be a star. He's too passive to be the guy.

 

[RainyCityHockey]

Another video from the Hockey Writers.
They're talking about the(ir) top 16 and some other stuff.
Gotta keep in mind that some of those guys are going to fall and should be available when we're on the clock.

I'm intrigued by Gabe Perreault. Play driving winger currently playing with the USNDTP. Wright needs a winger like this to hit his potential.

Andrew Cristall might also be there around 20, and looks more skilled than Perreault.

I do think that Wright needs a star playmaker next to him if he's going to be a star. He's too passive to be the guy.

Two interesting guys you name here.

Cristall seems like a hit or miss guy but at around #20 you should be willing to take a gamble/hit for the fences.

BTW: I'm pretty high on Samuel Honzek.
Though, I think he might go higher than expected and could be out of our reach.

 

[RainyCityHockey]

Looking at a couple of other guys potentially in the 2nd round.

A guy I like that ir rising quite a bit is swedish defenseman Tom Willander.

Tom Willander - Stats, Contract, Salary & More

Eliteprospects.com hockey player profile of Tom Willander, 2005-02-09 Stockholm, SWE Sweden. Most recently in the undefined with Boston Univ.. Complete player biography and stats.

www.eliteprospects.com

2024 NHL Mock Draft | NHL Projected Lines

Full round 2024 NHL mock draft projections, with trades and compensatory picks based on weekly team projections and college and amateur player rankings.

www.lines.com

He's a right shot defenseman with good size that is playing a very good all around game.
Can move the puck, plays well and physical defensively and seems to be on the rise.

Another guy is swedish center Anton Wahlberg.
He's got solid size(6'2), speed and creativity.
Could be a good pickup with one of our 2nd rounders.

Anton Wahlberg - Stats, Contract, Salary & More

Eliteprospects.com hockey player profile of Anton Wahlberg, 2005-07-04 Malmö, SWE Sweden. Most recently in the AHL with Rochester Americans. Complete player biography and stats.

www.eliteprospects.com

2024 NHL Mock Draft | NHL Projected Lines

Full round 2024 NHL mock draft projections, with trades and compensatory picks based on weekly team projections and college and amateur player rankings.

www.lines.com