2023 NHL Entry Draft

[Frozenice]

Reminds me of Carlsson. Maybe even Subban but without the underrated D/Physical game. His offense is very good.

If Dragicevic can do that at the NHL level, good for the team drafting him but I see him playing a more balanced game at the NHL level.

I sort of alluded to his offensive ability in my post but I think his skills aren’t elite enough to impose his will at the NHL level. I hope I’m wrong but that’s my take.

 

[Goldenhands]

who are the most underrated prospects in this draft class?

From the very top of the draft to the last round...

That kid.

 

[Goldenhands]

With a literal AHL line up. It's f***ing stupid.

We are gonna watch 7 teams ahead of us pick franchise players and get the next Kostitsyn then be reminded of how some washed up players who were out of the NHL 2 years later went on a tear for no reason.

After 4 thats wide open IMO, 5 or 8 thats basically the same, only the lottery odds get a bit worst.

 

[WeThreeKings]

After 4 thats wide open IMO, 5 or 8 thats basically the same, only the lottery odds get a bit worst.

I appreciate we see it differently. I see a clear drop off at 6. You can hope someone reaches in there, but after that it's a tier. And not a tier where I see an absolute game breaker which we desperately need.

 

[GlassesJacketShirt]

I appreciate we see it differently. I see a clear drop off at 6. You can hope someone reaches in there, but after that it's a tier. And not a tier where I see an absolute game breaker which we desperately need.

Sadly, I agree. The one gamebreaking talent who will likely drop out of the top six/seven players is Cristall, so there is hope that come our pick........oh who am I kidding, Habs would rather draft Halttunen (and I think one of the two picks will be him).

 

[MarkovsKnee]

Sadly, I agree. The one gamebreaking talent who will likely drop out of the top six/seven players is Cristall, so there is hope that come our pick........oh who am I kidding, Habs would rather draft Halttunen (and I think one of the two picks will be him).

No way Montreal drafts Halttunen in top 15. There's no reason to believe they would do that.

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

Sadly, I agree. The one gamebreaking talent who will likely drop out of the top six/seven players is Cristall, so there is hope that come our pick........oh who am I kidding, Habs would rather draft Halttunen (and I think one of the two picks will be him).

Cristall's skating is very worrisome.....I take Sale and Dvorsky over him all day at this point.

 

[le_sean]

Looking like we’ll be in that Dvorsky tier at the end of the day. Get ready for the all-Slovak line in Montreal.

Funnily enough, aside from being Slovakian, I think Slaf, Mesar and Dvorsky just naturally compliment each other well stylistically.

 

[Goldenhands]

Looking like we’ll be in that Dvorsky tier at the end of the day. Get ready for the all-Slovak line in Montreal.

Funnily enough, aside from being Slovakian, I think Slaf, Mesar and Dvorsky just naturally compliment each other well stylistically.

There is Honzek too, not impossible we draft him with the Florida pick, could become a Wheeler type of winger down the road.

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

Looking like we’ll be in that Dvorsky tier at the end of the day. Get ready for the all-Slovak line in Montreal.

Funnily enough, aside from being Slovakian, I think Slaf, Mesar and Dvorsky just naturally compliment each other well stylistically.

I think getting both Sale and Dvorsky would be a coup and they may even be there for us

 

[calder candidate]

A few of my picks below; note they all happen to be Euros, as per tradition at this point of the year

1. Dmitri Simashev
-Best defensive d-man I've seen since.........I want to say Guhle, but I think Simashev is even better one-on-one
-Gargantuan size meets good maneuverability
-Puck skills look good enough for transition and offensive refinement
-Currently 9th on my list and my top defender; 29th overall on the consolidated list (per Eliteprospects.com)

2. Martin Misiak
-Speedy, hardworking centre with size who should be a demon on the PK
-Has decent enough tools for some offensive projection
-As late '04 player, he might not be a homerun, but someone I could project as a third-line driver in the NHL
-Currently 32nd on my board; not ranked on consolidated list

3. Timur Mukhanov
-Typical small, speedy forward who holds some risk on frame alone; also has the Russian factor to consider
-Relentless and skilled, and his production has been decent for VHL play at this stage
-A great example of a player who NHL teams should rightfully be concerned with drafting high, but likely a better bet than some players going ahead of him
-Currently 38th on my board; not ranked on consolidated list

Agree in Simashev he basically unbeatable one on one even Michkov was swated away easily 3-4 time in a game… His shot isn’t great but the puck skills and the skating it is hard to understand how he doesn’t get more points. He has one of the the highest floor and celling, even is the offense never develop he could still be a very solid Slavin, Ekholm type D. If he was a RD he probably be in more top 10.

 

[bopeep]

There is Honzek too, not impossible we draft him with the Florida pick, could become a Wheeler type of winger down the road.

He looked great tonight live... incredible footwork for a big kid, good sized frame to fill in, soft hands... and for the amateur endocrinologists around, I can attest: he's baby faced with the possibility of a little peach fuzz

 

[Team_Spirit]

 

[NotProkofievian]

Came here to post this. He's really good at hockey.

 

[WeThreeKings]

I'd be taking Sale at this point. He and Cristall are probably the only ones in our range now I can see with a percentage chance of becoming PPG+. It's low but it's there.

Man this f***ing sucks.

 

[RationalExpectations]

I'd be taking Sale at this point. He and Cristall are probably the only ones in our range now I can see with a percentage chance of becoming PPG+. It's low but it's there.

Man this f***ing sucks.

If the Habs finish 6-10 somehow I d go Reinbacher Dvorsky before Sale

 

[WeThreeKings]

If the Habs finish 6-10 somehow I d go Reinbacher Dvorsky before Sale

Maybe Reinbacher definitely not Dvorsky

 

[DesmondDekker]

Crazy to think we are only 4-5 losses away from potentially drafting top 4. Getting an elite player, or even a generational one, FFS that would change our culture too.

This feels like 2016 when we started getting meaningless points in the second half of the season instead of fully embracing the tank.

 

[SOLR]

Do you really need an answer? Easy. There weren't any.

Take the win for calling the Habs 1st pick, but this constant self patting on the back is tiresome. To think that Slaf is still worthy of being the 1st pick after the season he had is questionable at best.

At this moment it is safe to say that the Habs scouting staff was duped by what many HFB scouts are routinely accused of: Falling in love with small sample sizes. Rewatch the draft discussion video that the Habs released. You'll see that Bobrov constantly gushes of what Juraj achieved during the Olympics and the Worlds. While yes, it was impressive for an underager, they practically ignored the rest of his season.

At this point it is looking like the "Wright" pick should have been either of the d-men Nemec or Jiricek.

To quote Hughes: Slaf's rookie season has been "Underwhelming".

I think your self patting a lot yourself in this post. One bad season by a #1 doesn't make a career. Juraj would always take a few years; everybody in the know knew this. So let's not jump the gun on this one. He's likely to be a good one.

I had Nemec #1 - I thought he was the best player in the draft IMO, 1 year didn't change my evaluation much.
He was also the best choice for the habs; starting a rebuild with a D is much better as they take a few years to get to the league and we needed him from a position POV. Argh.

 

[RationalExpectations]

Crazy to think we are only 4-5 losses away from potentially drafting top 4. Getting an elite player, or even a generational one, FFS that would change our culture too.

This feels like 2016 when we started getting meaningless points in the second half of the season instead of fully embracing the tank.

Still very likely, hard remaining schedule compared to other bottom teams, hardest conference... Still think VAN and SJS should finish ahead of MTL

 

[WeThreeKings]

Still very likely, hard remaining schedule compared to other bottom teams, hardest conference... Still think VAN and SJS should finish ahead of MTL

Hard remaining schedule isn't worth the digital space its posted on at this point.

 

[GlassesJacketShirt]

Cristall's skating is very worrisome.....I take Sale and Dvorsky over him all day at this point.

If Dvorsky is the crown jewel of our draft, then we're going nowhere quick. Much rather take a risk on Cristall's skating improving than Dvorsky's creativity and general gamebreaking qualities (which are not plentiful).

Sale, I'm more open to.

 

[Hacketts]

will suck again, just give it time.

Yeah I know we might win a couple before it gets worse, but just gotta respect the process.

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

If Dvorsky is the crown jewel of our draft, then we're going nowhere quick. Much rather take a risk on Cristall's skating improving than Dvorsky's creativity and general gamebreaking qualities (which are not plentiful).

Sale, I'm more open to.

You are being way too harsh on Dvorsky who dominates against kids his own age and was the best Slovakian forward last year at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup on a team that had both Slafkovsky and Mesar on it. I think Dvorsky is more likely to not only score more than Cristall in the NHL but he is also undisputedly better at everything else as well.

I am not going full McCagg on Dvorsky but I think he might make alot of people look silly for dropping him down their rankings. Obviously Cristall could make me look silly as well and that would not be the first time but I have him going about 10 spots after Dvorsky.

 

[RationalExpectations]

You are being way too harsh on Dvorsky who dominates against kids his own age and was the best Slovakian forward last year at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup on a team that had both Slafkovsky and Mesar on it. I think Dvorsky is more likely to not only score more than Cristall in the NHL but he is also undisputedly better at everything else as well.

I am not going full McCagg on Dvorsky but I think he might make alot of people look silly for dropping him down their rankings. Obviously Cristall could make me look silly as well and that would not be the first time but I have him going about 10 spots after Dvorsky.

I think it is classic over reaction regarding Dvorsky, he was a bit overrated and now he is underrated by many because he did not perform as well as some expected.

Dvorsky has a really great snipe for his age and maybe the 3rd best sniper behind Bedard and Michkov. Sure he is not flashy and I don t see him becoming a superstar but I could see him doing very well with a player like Dach on the 1st / 2nd line for example.

Numbers have not been good 14 points in 32 games in Allensvenskan but he was scoring at 2PPG in J20 Nationell, which is more than Slaf in Liiga and U20 Liga. Sure Allensvenskan is weaker than Liiga but this is still a pro league. Pettersson scored at close to a PPG in his draft year but he was 6 months younger and is a Swede. In the year prior to that he was scoring at a pace close to Dvorsky.