2023 NHL Entry Draft

[Jaynki]

Here is where I am right now but admittingly I don't watch a lot of games. I do however spent much of my free time reading, watching highlights and listening to podcasts about propsoects from all the fine people that do all the watching for me.

The usual top 4 - even though a concensus cluster forms at the top every year...rarely do they end up being the best.

1. Bedard
2. Fantilli
3. Michkov
4. Carlsson

5. Smith - his vision and creativity if off the charts but I heard a couple guys compare him to Drouin at the same age and that has poisoned me. He is still here based on his incredible skill
6. Moore - he is the most underrated guy IMO. A toolsy centre that is not easy to find
7. Leonard - love this guys compete. A bigger and more talented Lehkonen for sure.
8. Reinbacher - keeps showing he can be a stud. This ranking however is partly based on need.
9. Dvorsky - solid, safe pick
10. Perreault - not sure why this guys is so low on so many lists- he shines whenever I see him.
11. Benson - I know the scoring ability and compete is there, but just don't love this guy as much
12. ASP - can you imagine Hutson and ASP on the same PP unit? Not sure a team can have 2 small offensive d though.
13. Barlow - he also seems underrated in these parts. His shot, size etc will do him well in the NHL
14. Wood - His size certainly helps but has sneaky good patience.
15. Ritchie - A surefire reliable centre in the NHL - a safe pick per se
16. Stenberg - he reminds me a bit of Koivu - could be a steal later in round.
17. Danielson - big reliable centre
18. Musty - big guy with skills - sign me up
19. Yager - has talent but I just am not enamoured with him.
20. Gulyayev - I think is better than most realize; just doesn't get much exposure cause of where he is.
21. Simashev - moving up rankings, similar to Gulyayev
21. But - huge and talented - again Russian factor here.
22. Heidt - every team needs a bit of a pest with skills
23. Willander - showed how good he is a WC - he will move up rankings
24. Sale - he should be higher based on talent but he is a passenger too often.
25. Honzek - Nothing fancy but fits the typical 3rd line NHLer
26 Brindley - has some great compete.
27. Cristall - top 10 skils but not sure the rest is NHL calibre; worth a shot here in draft
28. Strbak - a big RHD from Slovakia - yeah that has Habs written all over it.
29. Gauthier - an NHLer for sure, just not a fancy one.
30. Bonk - defensive RHD with NHL pedigree
31. Hrabel - dunno much about goalies but we need one
32. Bjarnason - ditto

HM Lind - I like some crazy

Its not a bad thing that Smith is compared to Drouin.

Drouin was phenomenal in junior. He is one of the rare prospects who i thought was mindblowing good.

The issue is in his character and personality. Give Drouin talent to someone like Brendan Gallagher and you have an electric superstar.

Maybe Will Smith has a better character and temperament.

We will see, i don't see much of the comparjson with Drouin tho but Smith has ridiculous skills its not even funny.

 

[Garnet76]

I've been on the Michkov bandwagon for a while. He's the second best player in the draft and close to Bedard. The 3 year wait fits great with the rebuild. Hughes said maybe 3 more years. Hopefully in 3 years time Montreal has some other developed players, maybe a UFA signing or 2 and Michkov coming over on an entry level contract.
Montreal has 2 picks in the first round, and a stocked prospect pool, so it makes sense to swing for the fences with Michkov. The Habs are going to gradually get better in the next couple years. So this maybe the last shot at a superstar at the draft.

 

[Egresch]

Why? Because hes russian?

No, Kucherov is also Russian and has always been amazing in PO. I think he will be amazing pick for Habs. His 3 year contract in KHL should not be such a big issue. Situation in Russia can change pretty quick as Putin goes 6 feet under.

 

[JHabs]

This is not good.

 

[26Mats]

Its not a bad thing that Smith is compared to Drouin.

Drouin was phenomenal in junior. He is one of the rare prospects who i thought was mindblowing good.

The issue is in his character and personality. Give Drouin talent to someone like Brendan Gallagher and you have an electric superstar.

Maybe Will Smith has a better character and temperament.

We will see, i don't see much of the comparjson with Drouin tho but Smith has ridiculous skills its not even funny.

Watching the gold medal game, I did have the thought that Will Smith might be the next Drouin: great skill level, but often made the wrong decision and was butter soft in puck battles.

But that was just a thought wondering if he may turn out like Drouin, not my projection. I have no idea how to project what a 17 year old would like like at 27. And apparently the professionals who do that for a living also have a hard time will it.

 

[Jaynki]

Watching the gold medal game, I did have the thought that Will Smith might be the next Drouin: great skill level, but often made the wrong decision and was butter soft in puck battles.

But that was just a thought wondering if he may turn out like Drouin, not my projection. I have no idea how to project what a 17 year old would like like at 27. And apparently the professionals who do that for a living also have a hard time will it.

Drouin in juniors, for what its worth and for what i remember, was electric and played agressively and with an edge. Which he did not bring in Montreal. I thought he had it in Tampa Bay tho.

Its true that its a concern with Smith. I hope this fella goes top 4 and also Michkov so one of Fantilli and Carlsson falls to five!

Its hard to project prospects because there is a lot of randomness in the process. Lets say the batting average is .400. I think the goal of a professional scouting team is to beat the average batting. There will still be a lot of misses which is part of the normal distribution.

 

[26Mats]

Drouin in juniors, for what its worth and for what i remember, was electric and played agressively and with an edge. Which he did not bring in Montreal. I thought he had it in Tampa Bay tho.

Its true that its a concern with Smith. I hope this fella goes top 4 and also Michkov so one of Fantilli and Carlsson falls to five!

Its hard to project prospects because there is a lot of randomness in the process. Lets say the batting average is .400. I think the goal of a professional scouting team is to beat the average batting. There will still be a lot of misses which is part of the normal distribution.

And we only have a 42% chance of drafting 1, 2, 3, or 5, and a 58% chance of drafting 6th or 7th. So odds as re we're not drafting 5th anyways.

We'll just have to wait a week, see where we're drafting, and then we'll know if we have a shot at Smith or Michkov if he falls to 5, or not.

 

[Deebs]

This is not good.

Yikes

 

[MarkovsKnee]

This is not good.

"You can check out anytime you want, but you can never leave."

Fedotov is definitely get the full treatment.

 

[Naslund]

Russia is on the fast lane to becoming North Korea. Not many teams with a high pick will be willing to draft Michkov. He will drop to Washington, a team that will likely take the chance due to OV being there.

- Smith is gone at 4
- Michkov is a no draft.
- I don't think Reinbacher will be considered an option by HuGo.
- Benson, although very talented, is tiny, not ultra fast or a great shooter, and would compete as a LH winger with the deepest part of our prospect pool (Slaf, Farrell, Roy and Heineman).

That leaves players like Leonard, Wood, and Dvorsky. One of them will be in Montreal.

 

[Benstheman]

Russia is on the fast lane to becoming North Korea. Not many teams with a high pick will be willing to draft Michkov. He will drop to Washington, a team that will likely take the chance due to OV being there.

- Smith is gone at 4
- Michkov is a no draft.
- I don't think Reinbacher will be considered an option by HuGo.
- Benson, although very talented, is tiny, not ultra fast or a great shooter, and would compete as a LH winger with the deepest part of our prospect pool (Slaf, Farrell, Roy and Heineman).

That leaves players like Leonard, Wood, and Dvorsky. One of them will be in Montreal.

Huuu no.

 

[Naslund]

Huuu no.

Brace yourself for the possibility.

 

[JHabs]

"You can check out anytime you want, but you can never leave."

Fedotov is definitely get the full treatment.

Doesn't this feel very Jack Torrence like in The Shining?

*You've always been here*

 

[Patty Roy]

By no means an expert but my current top 7 as we approach the lottery...

1) Connor Bedard
2) Adam Fantilli
3) Leo Carlsson
4) Will Smith
5) Matvei Michkov
6) Ryan Leonard
7) Dalibor Dvorsky

 

[Hins77]

Watching the gold medal game, I did have the thought that Will Smith might be the next Drouin: great skill level, but often made the wrong decision and was butter soft in puck battles.

But that was just a thought wondering if he may turn out like Drouin, not my projection. I have no idea how to project what a 17 year old would like like at 27. And apparently the professionals who do that for a living also have a hard time will it.

Drouin had issues outside the rink early on his career. Nobody here could project that he was going to bust, with the way he was playing juniors/1st year at tampa.
Those off ice issue at the beginning of his pro career just killed his career, same thing for Galchenyuk. Or those guys like Desharnais, Kuznetsov, Mike Richards fell a cliff before 30 years old. This not normal, but there is some reason why.

 

[MarkovsKnee]

Doesn't this feel very Jack Torrence like in The Shining?

*You've always been here*

It does seem to be unique to Fedotov though.

Mukhamadullin came over after his KHL season finished and played for San Jose's farm team. Sharks picked him up in Meier trade. He's a former late 1st round draft pick of NJD. He did really well in AHL, and I expect he makes their team next year.

Fedotov really pissed off someone in that organization. It's basically slave labour treatment now.

 

[26Mats]

Drouin had issues outside the rink early on his career. Nobody here could project that he was going to bust, with the way he was playing juniors/1st year at tampa.
Those off ice issue at the beginning of his pro career just killed his career, same thing for Galchenyuk. Or those guys like Desharnais, Kuznetsov, Mike Richards fell a cliff before 30 years old. This not normal, but there is some reason why.

Also, the game changed around 2017 when they started calling hooking to the hands, etc.. After that, the game opened up even more. Poor skaters like Galchenyuk saw there production plummet.

But yeah, some of the players you mentioned and others have had substance abuse problems. That deteriorates the body and they can't produce when they get to their late 20s or early 30s.

 

[WinterLion]

I get the feeling hfboards may not be thrilled by the Habs first selection.

 

[R Zardo]

To be fair none of them have actually left Russia yet. Putin still has time to slash their tires...

Chibrikov is here practicing with the Moose and could dress in the playoffs.

 

[habsfan891]

I get the feeling hfboards may not be thrilled by the Habs first selection.

I have a feeling it's going to be a reach for another we believe he will be the best player in 4 years guy

 

[26Mats]

I get the feeling hfboards may not be thrilled by the Habs first selection.

Why?

I have a feeling it's going to be a reach for another we believe he will be the best player in 4 years guy

I just worry about drafting for size or need.

I have no problem with drafting big players that are good. I just want good players, regardless of position or size.

 

[JHabs]

It does seem to be unique to Fedotov though.

Mukhamadullin came over after his KHL season finished and played for San Jose's farm team. Sharks picked him up in Meier trade. He's a former late 1st round draft pick of NJD. He did really well in AHL, and I expect he makes their team next year.

Fedotov really pissed off someone in that organization. It's basically slave labour treatment now.

Hmm, did anyone explain how/why Michkov's dad was killed?

Circumstantial situations, perhaps, but surface level causes speculation that there are intimidation tactics at work here.

 

[Jaynki]

I have a feeling it's going to be a reach for another we believe he will be the best player in 4 years guy

Yes its true. We would be in a so better spot with Shane Wright.

 

[WinterLion]

Why?


I just worry about drafting for size or need.

I have no problem with drafting big players that are good. I just want good players, regardless of position or size.

I feel like the team may draft a player that is a bit more raw if they feel like they can develop them into something. So basically take a player that doesn't look as good now but that they feel can grow into becoming a better player. And yes I think size may be factored in.

 

[Mrb1p]

Russia is on the fast lane to becoming North Korea. Not many teams with a high pick will be willing to draft Michkov. He will drop to Washington, a team that will likely take the chance due to OV being there.

- Smith is gone at 4
- Michkov is a no draft.
- I don't think Reinbacher will be considered an option by HuGo.
- Benson, although very talented, is tiny, not ultra fast or a great shooter, and would compete as a LH winger with the deepest part of our prospect pool (Slaf, Farrell, Roy and Heineman).

That leaves players like Leonard, Wood, and Dvorsky. One of them will be in Montreal.

Smith skates a lot worse than Benson and hes at best 2 inches taller and probably the softest player in the whole draft.