2023 NHL Entry Draft

[River Meadow]

Slaf sucks, that’s is all.

They shoulda buried him in the minors or Europe until he was 'ready'. 20..21..22....

I am honestly so mad.

Burned a year off his ELC for nothing too.

 

[DramaticGloveSave]

They shoulda buried him in the minors or Europe until he was 'ready'. 20..21..22....

I am honestly so mad.

Burned a year off his ELC for nothing too.

Well at least he’ll never command a large contract lol

 

[Jabba11]

Too much love for William Smith on these boards.

Put Benson versus him in a phone booth, an Octagon, a ring, a rink, Benson will come out victorious. It’s not even funny.

 

[The Last Red]

Does anyone have a video or something of Smith that showcases what he could do? Ive watched a few basic highlight ones and it's really not impressing much, plus the score in the games is usually already 7-1 or something in favour of USDP.

I actually saw Will Smith play in person about two weeks at the USA Arena in Plymouth, MI, and while he seems like a very good player (and tall), the comparisons to Logan Cooley are totally inapt. His playing style is literally the total opposite of Cooley's. If i had to compare his style to a current NHL center's it would probably be Bo Horvat, which, BTW, is fine.

BTW, Lane Hutson's brother Cole, will likely be better than Lane, and Cole Eiserman is probably a top 3 pick in the 2024 draft (He's Caufield but with size).

 

[River Meadow]

Too much love for William Smith on these boards.

Put Benson versus him in a phone booth, an Octagon, a ring, a rink, Benson will come out victorious. It’s not even funny.

Put them in a slapping contest and Will Smith will win EZ.

 

[Paddy17]

They are both very very good. But Will Smith will be the logical choice for Habs. He have insane skillset, talented C, he is the Logan Cooley of this draft. But... if Habs prefer to pick Zach Benson, thats a really good choice aswell. I really like him and one of both will be a great consolation prize to dont pick top 4.

Yeah, I'd pick Smith too, but wouldn't be mad if we picked Benson.

If we win #2, I'd pick Carlsson, but wouldn't be mad if we picked Fantilli.

With these prospects, there are still so many factors that could influence their development. They all have more development road ahead than behind at this point (to become a good NHL player). Anyone making definite calls on a player should be taken with a grain of salt.

I actually saw Will Smith play in person about two weeks at the USA Arena in Plymouth, MI, and while he seems like a very good player (and tall), the comparisons to Logan Cooley are totally inapt. His playing style is literally the total opposite of Cooley's. If i had to compare his style to a current NHL center's it would probably be Bo Horvat, which, BTW, is fine.

Wouldn't he be closer to Zegras than Horvat?

 

[DramaticGloveSave]

Too much love for William Smith on these boards.

Put Benson versus him in a phone booth, an Octagon, a ring, a rink, Benson will come out victorious. It’s not even funny.

To be honest I don’t really love any of the options at 5. But think Smith should definitely be in the mix. He has the production and actually grades pretty well with good size, nasty puck skills and elite vision. The skating and compete are a bit mediocre but that’s really the only thing holding him back from the big 4 and I don’t think either are fatal flaw bad and I do actually think he competes well in the ozone

 

[The Last Red]

Yeah, I'd pick Smith too, but wouldn't be mad if we picked Benson.

If we win #2, I'd pick Carlsson, but wouldn't be mad if we picked Fantilli.

With these prospects, there are still so many factors that could influence their development. They all have more development road ahead than behind at this point (to become a good NHL player). Anyone making definite calls on a player should be taken with a grain of salt.


Wouldn't he be closer to Zegras than Horvat?

Maybe. Both are thin but Zegras might be a bit flashier.

 

[SlafySZN]

Maybe. Both are thin but Zegras might be a bit flashier.

Yeah he is a bit more flashier but i think Smith is a better player in general

 

[Mrb1p]

Too much love for William Smith on these boards.

Put Benson versus him in a phone booth, an Octagon, a ring, a rink, Benson will come out victorious. It’s not even funny.

Agreed, Benson would eat his ass up.

Wait.

.

First take I agree with all decade.

 

[Kobe Armstrong]

Does it make it the right pick? If it end up being the BPA yes if he is a bust than no…

This is the argument that doesn't make sense to me. Grant's scouting ability means very little to me and I don't use him as a significant resource in that regard, he's essentially on the same playing field as some other HF posters and individual scouting services for me.

His value to me is knowing who the Habs are going to pick, regardless of it is a good pick or not. But could be a bust but if we pick him top-10 and McCagg called it 3 months in advance out of nowhere, that would be quite something.

 

[SlafySZN]

Agreed, Benson would eat his ass up.

Wait.


First take I agree with all decade.

Right? Life is so simple lol

 

[BeliveauFan4ever]

Not much love for the draft eligibles.

Barlow twice, Rehkopf and Lardis once.

I raise you one Barlow.

Three categories…

 

[TomKosto]

Better because he's taller I guess, he does naturally cover more ground because he has longer legs, longer arms and a longer stick. Benson is a better skater though, all in all, they both do the same thing. I think Benson is a much better player when it comes to vision, it's probably best in the draft, even over Bedard, for Benson. Smith has the edge in size and shot, but he never shoots.




These two are good.

Such a tough call at 5...we really need to not missed or our rebuild gonna be long. Hughes talked a lot about acquiring a 3rd 1st rounder pretty much all year. It would be nice to draft 3 times in the top30. We need some quantity if we don't draft in the top4 thix year.

 

[ReHabs]

Can’t draft someone called Will Smith, come on now, get real.

 

[River Meadow]

Can’t draft someone called Will Smith, come on now, get real.

You're right..

Ethan Gauthier​

Beautiful little petit gars de chez nous with a beautiful Quebecois name

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

Habs 1st round history is pretty bad, especially the years where McCagg called the picks. If he's right it usually means bad juju for Habs.

Pretty much this. He did get Juulson, who was hurt a lot, but ended up as nothing. Same with Scherbak.

Habs are better off to go with what McCagg thinks and pick someone else.

I wonder if Benson's injury will scare off any teams if he doesn't return before the playoffs end.

Doubt it. Numerous players that missed way more time were still drafted high. Though, it did hurt Krebs I think.

Can’t draft someone called Will Smith, come on now, get real.

Come on now, get jiggy with it.

 

[River Meadow]

Come on now, get jiggy with it.

Na na na na na na na,

Na na na na na na...

Gettin Jiggy Wit It.

 

[calder candidate]

This is the argument that doesn't make sense to me. Grant's scouting ability means very little to me and I don't use him as a significant resource in that regard, he's essentially on the same playing field as some other HF posters and individual scouting services for me.

His value to me is knowing who the Habs are going to pick, regardless of it is a good pick or not. But could be a bust but if we pick him top-10 and McCagg called it 3 months in advance out of nowhere, that would be quite something.

Yes it would be something but calling the winning lottery numbers isn’t the same calling the lossing lottery number that on my ticket… To me I see no value in everyone knowing who MTL is targeting in the draft, everyone want the inside info but if everyone knows it, it likely just make KH job harder

 

[Habs Icing]

I was sorta 50/50 on them until I watched an interview with Will Smith yesterday.

He's from Massachusetts(red flag 1), when asked which player in the NHL he most looks forward to playing against he said Matthews(red flag 2), and his face just gives me a bad vibe(physiognomy is real dammit).

So I'm now leaning towards Benson

Why are Massachusetts and Matthews red flags? And what's wrong with his face?

 

[Fatbiggie]

Why are Massachusetts and Matthews red flags? And what's wrong with his face?

I’m guessing:
Massasuchetts = He’s a Bruins homer
Matthews = He’s a Leafs Homer
Face = He’s no Fresh Prince

 

[BergevinBurner]

Why are Massachusetts and Matthews red flags? And what's wrong with his face?

He has the face of a player that'll be soft and disappear in the playoffs, just trust me on it

 

[SamHabsFan]

Better because he's taller I guess, he does naturally cover more ground because he has longer legs, longer arms and a longer stick. Benson is a better skater though, all in all, they both do the same thing. I think Benson is a much better player when it comes to vision, it's probably best in the draft, even over Bedard, for Benson. Smith has the edge in size and shot, but he never shoots.




These two are good.

after watching that, I think id rather draft Moore and Perron instead of leonard and smith haha, obviously its only 1 game but, very impressive stuff. If Moore was given the 1st line center role would he be in front of Smith in rankings?

 

[Habs Icing]

He has the face of a player that'll be soft and disappear in the playoffs, just trust me on it

What about the two red flags?

 

[Goldenhands]

after watching that, I think id rather draft Moore and Perron instead of leonard and smith haha, obviously its only 1 game but, very impressive stuff. If Moore was given the 1st line center role would he be in front of Smith in rankings?

0 Doubt. Im still trying to figure out who has the lowest motor between Smith and Musty. Moore is more suited for the wing though and will likely end up there at the NHL level.