2023 NHL Entry Draft

[WinterLion]

The great thing is that if we're picking 17th with the Panthers pick, there will be some great options there as this draft seems to have a very clustered feel after the top 6-7 (some may even say between 5-12), but there will a good player that will drop.

After the top 4 of Bedard, Fantilli, Carlsson and Michkov

(in no particular order)

Benson
Smith
Reinbacher
Dvorsky
Leonard
Sale
Barlow
Cristall
Danielson
Moore
Yager
ASP
Wood

That makes 17 right there, so we'd be guaranteed 2 of the above players...Some might obviously have Honzek or Musty in there, but the point is, there will be a talented player on the board at 17.

It's a very good top 20 no doubt. I'm not in any rush to move that pick. This is a great draft year.

 

[McGuires Corndog]

You always want good prospects to show they are still good prospects prior to the draft.

It will only be good news for us if Yager and Dvorsky announce they are viable top 5 picks as they were seen prior to the year.

Well said.

Would definitely be more comfortable with Yager at 5 than I would be with Dvorsky.

 

[Andrewcoursol]

The great thing is that if we're picking 17th with the Panthers pick, there will be some great options there as this draft seems to have a very clustered feel after the top 6-7 (some may even say between 5-12), but there will a good player that will drop.

After the top 4 of Bedard, Fantilli, Carlsson and Michkov

(in no particular order)

Benson
Smith
Reinbacher
Dvorsky
Leonard
Sale
Barlow
Cristall
Danielson
Moore
Yager
ASP
Wood

That makes 17 right there, so we'd be guaranteed 2 of the above players...Some might obviously have Honzek or Musty in there, but the point is, there will be a talented player on the board at 17.

getting 2 good prospects in the 1st round alone is why the habs should not trade the florida pick for the right to sign PLD 1 year sooner

 

[Kobe Armstrong]

Expecting a couple risers once the memorial cup shakes out

As much as I hate on Smith, he is probably the most intriguing forward available when looking at the current mix of players on the Habs, but we will have a lot of RHS

 

[Nico Cauzuki]

getting 2 good prospects in the 1st round alone is why the habs should not trade the florida pick for the right to sign PLD 1 year sooner

because your so sure he will sign here has a UFA? all he said was that he would like to play for the Habs not that it would be the only team he would play for

If Florida's pick is what it takes to get Dubois then you do it without any hesitation PLD is a beast you dont risk losing that for a #17 pick that may or may not make the NHL let alone be has good as Dubois

 

[DiglettDangles]

Yes interesting mix of the two, but likely never the best in any of those categories.
Skating: N, R, J (As much as I am a Reinbacher fan, his skating is not as fluid as Nemec)
Shot: J, R, N
Passing : N, R, J
Physicality : J, R, N (Reinbacher plays physically but Jiricek is just a beast)
Defensively : N, R, J (Reinbacher uses his physicality better than Nemec but I have never been more impressed in a Dman defensive IQ at the draft than I have been with Nemec)

I agree with the rankings. Maybe Reinbacher better defensively then Nemec.
From one point of view, you can see Reinbacher really belongs in the same discussion as Jiricek and Nemec. He's literally never the worst of the three for all the skills you decided to list.

If we add more skills:
Potential: J>N>R
Injury History: N/R>J
Hockey IQ: N>R/J?
Star personality/chutzpah: J>R>N
Leadership: ?

From another point of view though, he's also never the best. If I'm taking a D instead of one of the incredible forwards from the top 10, I kinda want that D to have an elite tool that stands out way above his comparables. I just don't see what his defining trait will be. You can't just be quite good and be a star in this league. Jack-of-all-trades are valuable but are rarely picked top 10.

But I've said it in the past - if there's one thing the Habs know how to draft, it's D.
If we select Reinbacher, then I have confidence they saw "it", and vice versa.

If we were to do the opposite exercise, which would unfortunately be corrupted by what we know of their D+1, where would 2022-level Nemec and Jiricek be picked in the 2023 draft? I think Nemec would be in the conversation at 7+ and would push Reinbacher down a bit to 10+. Jiricek could also go 7+ but with the big injury and this year's talent level, he might have gone 13+. I think all three would be in a tier with Leonard, Dvorsky, Yager, Moore and Sale.

 

[DramaticGloveSave]

There will definitely be a good player at 17, so ideally we can keep that pick in any PLD trade. Ideally we build a package around Anderson who can step in a provide some PLD qualities for the Jets. Then add a guy like maybe Jordan Harris. Anderson and Harris should be a decent offer.

 

[Mrb1p]

And the fact that there's like 10 different names that all seem like they could be viable picks at 5th doesn't help

There's not 10 names that would be viable. Its Benson and Reinbacher with Smith. Even I can admit that Wood, Heidt and Cristall shouldn't be in this conversation. Neither should Yager (4 pp assists guys, come on.), Dvorsky and Moore/Leonard.

I agree with the rankings. Maybe Reinbacher better defensively then Nemec.
From one point of view, you can see Reinbacher really belongs in the same discussion as Jiricek and Nemec. He's literally never the worst of the three for all the skills you decided to list.

If we add more skills:
Potential: J>N>R
Injury History: N/R>J
Hockey IQ: N>R/J?
Star personality/chutzpah: J>R>N
Leadership: ?

From another point of view though, he's also never the best. If I'm taking a D instead of one of the incredible forwards from the top 10, I kinda want that D to have an elite tool that stands out way above his comparables. I just don't see what his defining trait will be. You can't just be quite good and be a star in this league. Jack-of-all-trades are valuable but are rarely picked top 10.

But I've said it in the past - if there's one thing the Habs know how to draft, it's D.
If we select Reinbacher, then I have confidence they saw "it", and vice versa.

If we were to do the opposite exercise, which would unfortunately be corrupted by what we know of their D+1, where would 2022-level Nemec and Jiricek be picked in the 2023 draft? I think Nemec would be in the conversation at 7+ and would push Reinbacher down a bit to 10+. Jiricek could also go 7+ but with the big injury and this year's talent level, he might have gone 13+. I think all three would be in a tier with Leonard, Dvorsky, Yager, Moore and Sale.

Thats because youre comparing him to a guy that has already one of the best shot in the league, a guy that thinks the game as good as any.

Reinbachers shot, skating and defending is 100% elite territory, Id argue his package is actually what will make him elite. He scores so high on all skills that thats the quality. He reminds me of Heiskanen and McAvoy. Just an all-around guy with A's everywhere. Heiskanen does have the +++ skating speed but I think Reinbacher compensates that a lot with his physicality and his better shot.

 

[RationalExpectations]

I agree with the rankings. Maybe Reinbacher better defensively then Nemec.
From one point of view, you can see Reinbacher really belongs in the same discussion as Jiricek and Nemec. He's literally never the worst of the three for all the skills you decided to list.

If we add more skills:
Potential: J>N>R
Injury History: N/R>J
Hockey IQ: N>R/J?
Star personality/chutzpah: J>R>N
Leadership: ?

From another point of view though, he's also never the best. If I'm taking a D instead of one of the incredible forwards from the top 10, I kinda want that D to have an elite tool that stands out way above his comparables. I just don't see what his defining trait will be. You can't just be quite good and be a star in this league. Jack-of-all-trades are valuable but are rarely picked top 10.

But I've said it in the past - if there's one thing the Habs know how to draft, it's D.
If we select Reinbacher, then I have confidence they saw "it", and vice versa.

If we were to do the opposite exercise, which would unfortunately be corrupted by what we know of their D+1, where would 2022-level Nemec and Jiricek be picked in the 2023 draft? I think Nemec would be in the conversation at 7+ and would push Reinbacher down a bit to 10+. Jiricek could also go 7+ but with the big injury and this year's talent level, he might have gone 13+. I think all three would be in a tier with Leonard, Dvorsky, Yager, Moore and Sale.

From my perspective Bedard Michkov are too good not to be top 2 (ignoring politics) but after that for me Jiricek Nemec Reinbacher are in the discussion with Fantili and Carlsson just because 1Ds are such a rare commodity. It is not because he is not the best in any tool that he won t be the best player overall. As an example I had Hedman 1OA in 2009 and preferred him over Doughty, Pietrangelo and Karlsson from the year before but for me he was not as good as Karlsson as far skating goes or as good in the Ozone as Doughty in the previous year !

 

[The Great Weal]

I’d say both are a cut above Reinbacher.

Jiricek was drafted 6th last year in a significantly worse draft so drafting a worse player in Reinbacher at 6 this year will make me upset.

 

[Playmaker09]

There's not 10 names that would be viable. Its Benson and Reinbacher with Smith. Even I can admit that Wood, Heidt and Cristall shouldn't be in this conversation. Neither should Yager (4 pp assists guys, come on.), Dvorsky and Moore/Leonard.

Thats because youre comparing him to a guy that has already one of the best shot in the league, a guy that thinks the game as good as any.

Reinbachers shot, skating and defending is 100% elite territory, Id argue his package is actually what will make him elite. He scores so high on all skills that thats the quality. He reminds me of Heiskanen and McAvoy. Just an all-around guy with A's everywhere. Heiskanen does have the +++ skating speed but I think Reinbacher compensates that a lot with his physicality and his better shot.

It was 2 PP assists, and the excitement over his game yesterday had nothing to do with points anyway. It had to do with how involved and competitive he was in all three zones.

I've been resident Yager hater #1 all year, but if he competes like he did last night he's a better Oliver Moore in every way and a surefire top 8 pick. Possibly as high as 4 if Michkov drops.

 

[Mrb1p]

Jiricek was drafted 6th last year in a significantly worse draft so drafting a worse player in Reinbacher at 6 this year will make me upset.

There's no need to be upset because 1. Jiricek shouldve gone top 3 and 2. Reinbacher is just as good.

It was 2 PP assists, and the excitement over his game yesterday had nothing to do with points anyway. It had to do with how involved and competitive he was in all three zones.

I've been resident Yager hater #1 all year, but if he competes like he did last night he's a better Oliver Moore in every way and a surefire top 8 pick. Possibly as high as 4 if Michkov drops.

3 secondary assists and one primary on the PP, sorry. The fact is this shouldn't change our evaluation, what you've seen all year is what he is. He's gonna be a NHL forward for sure, just not one worthy of a top 5 in such a deep draft.

Hes already a better Oliver Moore, I actually like Yager, a lot. He's just not in Benson's territory.

 

[The Great Weal]

There's no need to be upset because 1. Jiricek shouldve gone top 3 and 2. Reinbacher is just as good.

I had Jiricek at 2 and have Reinbacher at 7. I don’t think they are just as good.

 

[Mrb1p]

I had Jiricek at 2 and have Reinbacher at 7. I don’t think they are just as good.

Well, Reinbacher did outproduce Jiricek in a better league. He's also a better skater, thats pretty factual. I guess Reinbacher does have less hype to him, because he came out of nowhere.

Even if he's not quite at the level of Jiricek, it doesn't make him a bad selection at #5, Jiricek is likely the best defensive prospect in the world at this point, with Nemec and Reinbacher.

 

[WeThreeKings]

It was 2 PP assists, and the excitement over his game yesterday had nothing to do with points anyway. It had to do with how involved and competitive he was in all three zones.

I've been resident Yager hater #1 all year, but if he competes like he did last night he's a better Oliver Moore in every way and a surefire top 8 pick. Possibly as high as 4 if Michkov drops.

Just want to highlight this.

Even if you've disliked or had concerns about a prospect throughout the year, no one needs to die on that hill and can change their evaluation based on new evidence.

Too often some discussions happen here based on people digging in to defend an earlier evaluation. Things change FAST for teenagers.

 

[BergevinBurner]

There's not 10 names that would be viable. Its Benson and Reinbacher with Smith. Even I can admit that Wood, Heidt and Cristall shouldn't be in this conversation. Neither should Yager (4 pp assists guys, come on.), Dvorsky and Moore/Leonard.

I know that those 3 guys are the consensus on this board, but looking at some of the lists out there it looks completely wide open after 4.

With NHL central scouting having Wood and Leonard over Benson for North American skaters and Dvorsky and Sale over Reinbacher for European, I wouldn't be surprised if those views are mirrored by some NHL scouting departments.

Depending on how playoffs/U18s go I could also see guys like Cristall or Yager making a case for joining that group above if they have impressive enough showings.

 

[BeliveauFan4ever]

Adding a late 1st is more important than a another 2nd. I think Habs will ecstatic to grab a player like Honzek or Musty with their late pick. They want size and skill, Musty and Honzek fit perfectly on that. I'm high on both and if Habs add another 1st... Musty can be there. Honzek... I would select him with Florida pick, high potential, really skilled for a big guy. They are both great wildcard in this draft with Matthew Wood (only issue is his skating).

I hear you, but if Musty was 5’10 I doubt he’d be in the top 32. Questionable drive/consistency.

 

[BeliveauFan4ever]

Would folks think if Calum Ritchie went to Habs w/ their 2nd rounder?

(full scenario: Benson or Reinbacher taken 5th, and the Fla pick is dealt)

 

[The Great Weal]

I don't think I'd be terribly upset with Yager. He brings that speed element that nobody else besides Caufield would bring in the top 6.

 

[SOLR]

I don't think I'd be terribly upset with Yager. He brings that speed element that nobody else besides Caufield would bring in the top 6.

You mean more than anyone else we have including Caufield.

 

[The Great Weal]

You mean more than anyone else we have including Caufield.

CC has above average speed

 

[SOLR]

CC has above average speed

He's very very far from Yager. CC is not fast. Barzal is fast.

 

[The Great Weal]

He's very very far from Yager. CC is not fast. Barzal is fast.

Barzal is top 10 maybe even top 5 in skating. CC is well above average which to me makes him fast.

 

[MonkeyBusiness]

I'd try to move up with Florida's pick to get Yager. I don't think I'd be comfortable taking him at #7 (if we end up there), and I certainly wouldn't want to take him at 5 or 6.

 

[SwiftyHab]

Yager is a great prospect and I haven't been worried about his production all year. Happy to know the Habs have talked to him a lot since he's a viable option at 6 or 7.

You guys are all idiots! It’s spelt J-A-G-R!