2023 NHL Entry Draft - Kraken Edition

[majormajor]

Sweden was really good in that tournament(lost the final in OT against the US) and that's why you see guys like Tom Willander, Anton Wahlstrom or David Edstrom all of a sudden moving up in different mock drafts.

Lol I just ran the draft sim and picked up Willander at 20, and Wahlstrom and Edstrom with the next two picks.

Not very realistic, I think all the Swedes* are underrated on that list. They actually just moved Willander up from the second round after the U-18s, so that's no excuse.

*except Sandin-Pelikka.

 

[kihei]

BPA and though I kind of hope the BPA is a defenseman.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

Lol I just ran the draft sim and picked up Willander at 20, and Wahlstrom and Edstrom with the next two picks.

Not very realistic, I think all the Swedes* are underrated on that list. They actually just moved Willander up from the second round after the U-18s, so that's no excuse.

*except Sandin-Pelikka.

Do you mean it is unlikely that neither of those 3 are available 20?

 

[majormajor]

Do you mean it is unlikely that neither of those 3 are available 20?

My guess is that Willander goes between about 8 and 16 and Edstrom and Wahlberg will go late 1st / early 2nd.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

My guess is that Willander goes between about 8 and 16 and Edstrom and Wahlberg will go late 1st / early 2nd.

I am hoping that one of the players like that drop into the 2nd. If GMRF and team see a guy they like drop, I can definitely see them move up.

 

[majormajor]

BPA and though I kind of hope the BPA is a defenseman.

I think there's a good chance that Simashev will be there at #20. I think he's a special player - great skater for 6'4, defends very well, and can skate pucks with ease. Shutdown + Transition.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

I think there's a good chance that Simashev will be there at #20. I think he's a special player - great skater for 6'4, defends very well, and can skate pucks with ease. Shutdown + Transition.

I don't know much about Simashev but this draft is kind of crazy. I can easily see players that are top-10 on some teams lists into the 20s.

 

[RainyCityHockey]

Do you mean it is unlikely that neither of those 3 are available 20?

I don't think anyone can actually answer this question.

Willander got a huge push from his performance at the U-18 tournament but anything beyond 10 - 12 is up in the air.

He could go as high as #10, but he could also still be available when we pick.

I think there's a good chance that Simashev will be there at #20. I think he's a special player - great skater for 6'4, defends very well, and can skate pucks with ease. Shutdown + Transition.

Simashev is interesting but his offense, so far, has not shown up at all.

Also, looking back at last years draft I still have a hard time seeing Francis drafting a russian player.
Especially in the first round and with the political situation still nowhere near being resolved.

Here's a scouting report for people to read.

Scouting Report: Dmitri Simashev - Smaht Scouting

Smaht Scouting's Gray Matter takes an in-depth look at 2023 NHL Draft prospect Dmitri Simashev (Loko Yaroslavl).

smahtscouting.com

 

[majormajor]

Simashev is interesting but his offense, so far, has not shown up at all.

I don't think he has the shot for it. But in my book, a player who can get you into the offensive zone in addition to playing a shutdown defensive role is already very valuable.

Also, looking back at last years draft I still have a hard time seeing Francis drafting a russian player.
Especially in the first round and with the political situation still nowhere near being resolved.
/[/URL]

That's the mindset I hope other teams have.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

I don't think he has the shot for it. But in my book, a player who can get you into the offensive zone in addition to playing a shutdown defensive role is already very valuable.



That's the mindset I hope other teams have.

If Mitchkov falls outside the top-5, all bets are off. I just think this draft is so full of interesting names but after Bedard, Fantilli, Mitchkov, Carlsson the prospects are definitely all over the place. Players like Yaeger, Cristall, Honzek, etc. who are in top-10 for some lists are in the 20s for others.

 

[RainyCityHockey]

I don't think he has the shot for it. But in my book, a player who can get you into the offensive zone in addition to playing a shutdown defensive role is already very valuable.



That's the mindset I hope other teams have.

Looking at last years draft, it clearly was the mindset Francis had.
He could've drafted Trikozov three times in the 2nd round but always chose a different guy.

 

[majormajor]

If Mitchkov falls outside the top-5, all bets are off. I just think this draft is so full of interesting names but after Bedard, Fantilli, Mitchkov, Carlsson the prospects are definitely all over the place. Players like Yaeger, Cristall, Honzek, etc. who are in top-10 for some lists are in the 20s for others.

Cristall is a guy we should talk about. It's not just a small chance that he'll be there at #20, it's probably a likelihood. He had a lot of bad games in the WHL playoffs and U18s. Big time boom-bust player. What are the chances that he just got worn out as the season went on, and that he'll bounce back on a high trajectory?

He wouldn't be a very versatile player - Yager would fit better on a hard skating two-way team like the current Kraken. Although I don't see as much upside with him.

I've got a couple other guys that I would say have very high upside, but would need to make big changes in their game to fit on a fast structured club like the Kraken (or Hurricanes), that's Quentin Musty and Matthew Wood. Wood is a very poor skater. Once he gets going though he looks like Draisaitl or Mark Stone so it's a tough one. He isn't going to be getting in on the forecheck much. Quentin Musty has all the physical ability and elite scoring tools but just too many zero compete moments. He could be a beast but is afraid to battle, it seems. This could be a player that transforms with coaching, or maybe he'll just drive all of his coaches insane.

I wonder how much you would factor in what kind of team the Kraken are, or that you want them to be? Do we just set that aside?

Looking at last years draft, it clearly was the mindset Francis had.
He could've drafted Trikozov three times in the 2nd round but always chose a different guy.

Only about 5% of players are Russian so there's no way of knowing if not drafting a Russian in a given year is deliberate or not.

I understand that you lower them somewhat based on the geopolitical risk but if you're putting them down a whole tier or two then you're just taking on more risk from the alternative player. You exchange Russia risk for risk that the player isn't good enough to make it.

 

[Fuhrious]

I've got a couple other guys that I would say have very high upside, but would need to make big changes in their game to fit on a fast structured club like the Kraken (or Hurricanes), that's Quentin Musty and Matthew Wood. Wood is a very poor skater. Once he gets going though he looks like Draisaitl or Mark Stone so it's a tough one. He isn't going to be getting in on the forecheck much.

Dylan Strome has made me veeeeeeeeeery wary of prospects with skating flaws. Similar to other sports throwing around the cliche "you cant teach speed", it just feels like an unfixable problem for a player to have. Especially with how much the game is tilted towards speed these days, and the already massive gap in skating skill/speed between the NHL and juniors.

 

[majormajor]

Dylan Strome has made me veeeeeeeeeery wary of prospects with skating flaws. Similar to other sports throwing around the cliche "you cant teach speed", it just feels like an unfixable problem for a player to have. Especially with how much the game is tilted towards speed these days, and the already massive gap in skating skill/speed between the NHL and juniors.

The reason I brought up Draisaitl and Stone is because similar things were said about them as prospects.

 

[sigma six]

I'm on the Simashev train myself- hard to argue with a D who's not only big and fast, but has that positional awareness and smarts. I don't think his offensive stats tell the whole tale since he seems to be a good passer, just not a great shooter.

I realize offensively gifted d-men are all the rage but by then we'll have Dunn and Nelson covering that function. Adding this guy will make the corps balanced as well as skillful.

 

[RainyCityHockey]

I'm on the Simashev train myself- hard to argue with a D who's not only big and fast, but has that positional awareness and smarts. I don't think his offensive stats tell the whole tale since he seems to be a good passer, just not a great shooter.

I realize offensively gifted d-men are all the rage but by then we'll have Dunn and Nelson covering that function. Adding this guy will make the corps balanced as well as skillful.

I think we'd be best suited in taking a forward at #20.
The defensive prospects aren't great this year while a couple of good forwards(most likely wings) will be available at that pick.

 

[majormajor]

I'm on the Simashev train myself- hard to argue with a D who's not only big and fast, but has that positional awareness and smarts. I don't think his offensive stats tell the whole tale since he seems to be a good passer, just not a great shooter.

I realize offensively gifted d-men are all the rage but by then we'll have Dunn and Nelson covering that function. Adding this guy will make the corps balanced as well as skillful.

One way I'd put it - imagine that Adam Larsson was also great at skating the puck and was your best zone entry player. That's super valuable even if he isn't a shooter.

I think we'd be best suited in taking a forward at #20.
The defensive prospects aren't great this year

There's really only Reinbacher among #1 upside D, which is unusually sparse, but after that the draft is normal for D.

 

[RainyCityHockey]

There's really only Reinbacher among #1 upside D, which is unusually sparse, but after that the draft is normal for D.

But it seems pretty good at forward, especially on the wing.

I'm all for BPA and don't think defense is what we should go for in round one this year.

But I guess we've got about five and a half weeks to discuss this stuff before we see what happens in Nashville.

 

[majormajor]

But it seems pretty good at forward, especially on the wing.

I'm all for BPA and don't think defense is what we should go for in round one this year.

But I guess we've got about five and a half weeks to discuss this stuff before we see what happens in Nashville.

To clarify - I think we're both trying to make BPA arguments.

I have Simashev ranked #12 currently and think he might be BPA at our pick. It isn't about team needs (though you can make an argument there).

 

[majormajor]

To clarify - I think we're both trying to make BPA arguments.

I have Simashev ranked #12 currently and think he might be BPA at our pick. It isn't about team needs (though you can make an argument there).

For further context - My list is just based on my viewings but this isn't out of left field. Simashev is the #1 rated D on the board for Elite Prospects (at #10 on their March ranking) and HockeyProspect / Blackbook (#7 mid-season).

 

[RainyCityHockey]

Latest Mock Draft by the Hockey Writers.

2023 NHL Draft: Baracchini's Mock Draft - The Hockey Writers Latest News, Analysis & More

With the draft lottery completed, fans are anticipating as to who could be part of their favourite team for the future.

thehockeywriters.com

They have us taking Andrew Cristall at #20 with Riley Heidt(#19), Samuel Honzek(#21), Gabe Perreault(#22) and Koehn Ziemmer(#23) right around our pick.

Sportsnet latest mock draft.

Sportsnet's 2023 NHL Draft Prospect Rankings: Final Edition

In his final draft rankings of the season, Sam Cosentino shares his top 32 prospects before a more specific mock draft in June.

www.sportsnet.ca

 

[The Marquis]

Latest Mock Draft by the Hockey Writers.

2023 NHL Draft: Baracchini's Mock Draft - The Hockey Writers Latest News, Analysis & More

With the draft lottery completed, fans are anticipating as to who could be part of their favourite team for the future.

thehockeywriters.com

They have us taking Andrew Cristall at #20 with Riley Heidt(#19), Samuel Honzek(#21), Gabe Perreault(#22) and Koehn Ziemmer(#23) right around our pick.

Sportsnet latest mock draft.

Sportsnet's 2023 NHL Draft Prospect Rankings: Final Edition

In his final draft rankings of the season, Sam Cosentino shares his top 32 prospects before a more specific mock draft in June.

www.sportsnet.ca

I’d be happy with that.

 

[RainyCityHockey]

Corey Pronman and Scott Wheeler combined 2 round mock draft for the Athletic(paywall).

NHL Mock Draft: Pronman and Wheeler predict the first two rounds

The Athletic's prospects experts, Corey Pronman and Scott Wheeler, take turns making the first 64 selections of the upcoming draft.

theathletic.com

According to that draft we'd take.
20 - Quentin Musty(LW - Sudbury)
50 - Coulson Pitre(RW - Flint)
52 - Andrew Gibston(RHD - Sault Ste. Marie)
57 - Beau Akey(RHD - Barrie)

 

[majormajor]

Corey Pronman and Scott Wheeler combined 2 round mock draft for the Athletic(paywall).

NHL Mock Draft: Pronman and Wheeler predict the first two rounds

The Athletic's prospects experts, Corey Pronman and Scott Wheeler, take turns making the first 64 selections of the upcoming draft.

theathletic.com

According to that draft we'd take.
20 - Quentin Musty(LW - Sudbury)
50 - Coulson Pitre(RW - Flint)
52 - Andrew Gibston(RHD - Sault Ste. Marie)
57 - Beau Akey(RHD - Barrie)

I love that draft.

Musty is high HIGH skill, with a big strong frame, and he can move. One of the top per minute scoring rates in all of junior. He has a compete issue that would make him a poor fit as is. Seems afraid of contact on the wall. This is a guy that tough coaching could potentially transform into a beastly top line winger. I think you take the long path with him and make him work for every minute he gets. But there's risk too and a reason why a lot of teams will pass on him, you don't want to have to teach compete.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

Picking at 20 is going to be more relaxed I think. We have some decent options available already and likely that some prospects drop.