McKeen's Hockey Final Draft Rankings for 2023

[Brock]

Top 32

MCKEEN'S 2023 NHL DRAFT - FINAL RANKINGS - TOP 32

McKeen's Hockey releases its final ranking for the 2023 NHL Draft. In advance of the release of their annual, McKeen's 2023 NHL Draft Guide, in early June.

www.mckeenshockey.com

Top 224 and HM's (behind a paywall)

Subscribe

www.mckeenshockey.com

Happy to share our Top 64 with you all:

1	Connor Bedard	C	5-10/185	17-Jul-05	Canada	Regina (WHL)	57-71-72-143
2	Adam Fantilli	C	6-2/195	12-Oct-04	Canada	Michigan (B1G)	36-30-35-65
3	Leo Carlsson	C	6-3/200	26-Dec-04	Sweden	Orebro (SHL)	44-10-15-25
4	Will Smith	C	6-0/175	17-Mar-05	USA	USN U18 (USDP)	59-51-75-126
5	Matvei Michkov	RW	5-10/170	9-Dec-04	Russia	SKA St. Petersburg-HK Sochi (KHL)	30-9-11-20
6	Zach Benson	LW	5-9/160	12-May-05	Canada	Winnipeg (WHL)	60-36-62-98
7	Dalibor Dvorsky	C	6-1/200	15-Jun-05	Slovakia	AIK (HockeyAllsvenskan)	38-6-8-14
8	Ryan Leonard	RW	5-11/190	21-Jan-05	USA	USN U18 (USDP)	56-50-43-93
9	Dmitri Simashev	D	6-4/200	4-Feb-05	Russia	Loko Yaroslavl-Loko-76 Yaroslavl (MHL)	33-1-11-12
10	Matthew Wood	RW	6-3/195	6-Feb-05	Canada	Connecticut (HE)	35-11-23-34
11	Oliver Moore	C	5-11/185	22-Jan-05	USA	USN U18 (USDP)	60-31-43-74
12	Colby Barlow	LW	6-0/195	14-Feb-05	Canada	Owen Sound (OHL)	59-46-33-79
13	Nate Danielson	C	6-1/185	27-Sep-04	Canada	Brandon (WHL)	68-33-45-78
14	Axel Sandin Pellikka	D	5-11/180	11-Mar-05	Sweden	Skelleftea (Swe J20)	31-16-20-36
15	Daniil But	LW	6-5/200	15-Feb-05	Russia	Loko Yaroslavl-Loko-76 Yaroslavl (MHL)	32-18-14-32
16	David Reinbacher	D	6-2/185	25-Oct-04	Austria	Kloten (Sui-NL)	46-3-19-22
17	Eduard Sale	LW	6-1/170	10-Mar-05	Czech	HC Kometa Brno (Czechia)	43-7-7-14
18	Samuel Honzek	LW	6-3/185	12-Nov-04	Slovakia	Vancouver (WHL)	43-23-33-56
19	Mikhail Gulyayev	D	5-11/170	26-Apr-05	Russia	Omskie Yastreby (MHL)	22-2-23-25
20	Lukas Dragicevic	D	6-1/190	25-Apr-05	Canada	Tri-City (WHL)	68-15-60-75
21	Gabe Perreault	RW	5-11/165	7-May-05	USA	USN U18 (USDP)	62-53-79-132
22	Otto Stenberg	C	5-11/180	29-May-05	Sweden	Frolunda (Swe J20)	29-11-15-26
23	Tom Willander	D	6-1/180	9-Feb-05	Sweden	Rogle (Swe J20)	39-4-21-25
24	Calum Ritchie	C	6-2/185	21-Jan-05	Canada	Oshawa (OHL)	59-24-35-59
25	Andrew Cristall	LW	5-9/165	4-Feb-05	Canada	Kelowna (WHL)	54-39-56-95
26	Gavin Brindley	C	5-8/165	5-Oct-04	USA	Michigan (B1G)	41-12-26-38
27	Bradly Nadeau	LW	5-10/165	5-May-05	Canada	Penticton (BCHL)	54-45-68-113
28	Anton Wahlberg	C	6-3/195	4-Jul-05	Sweden	Malmo (Swe J20)	32-14-13-27
29	Riley Heidt	C	5-10/180	25-Mar-05	Canada	Prince George (WHL)	68-25-72-97
30	Brayden Yager	C	5-11/165	3-Jan-05	Canada	Moose Jaw (WHL)	67-28-50-78
31	David Edstrom	C	6-3/185	18-Feb-05	Sweden	Frolunda (Swe J20)	28-15-13-28
32	Nick Lardis	LW	5-10/165	8-Jul-05	Canada	Pbo-Ham (OHL)	69-37-28-65
33	Kasper Halttunen	RW	6-3/205	7-Jun-05	Finland	HIFK (Fin-Liiga)	27-0-1-1
34	Jayden Perron	RW	5-9/165	11-Jan-05	Canada	Chicago (USHL)	61-24-48-72
35	Oliver Bonk	D	6-2/175	9-Jan-05	Canada	London (OHL)	67-10-30-40
36	Quentin Musty	LW	6-2/200	6-Jul-05	USA	Sudbury (OHL)	53-26-52-78
37	Trey Augustine	G	6-1/185	23-Feb-05	USA	USN U18 (USDP)	28-1, 2.14, 0.925
38	Tanner Molendyk	D	5-11/185	3-Feb-05	Canada	Saskatoon (WHL)	67-9-28-37
39	William Whitelaw	RW	5-9/170	5-Feb-05	USA	Youngstown (USHL)	62-36-25-61
40	Ethan Gauthier	RW	5-11/175	26-Jan-05	Canada	Sherbrooke (QMJHL)	66-30-39-69
41	Gracyn Sawchyn	C	5-11/160	19-Jan-05	USA	Seattle (WHL)	58-18-40-58
42	Carson Bjarnason	G	6-3/185	30-Jun-05	Canada	Brandon (WHL)	21-19, 3.08, 0.900
43	Aram Minnetian	D	5-11/190	19-Mar-05	USA	USN U18 (USDP)	61-7-24-31
44	Michael Hrabal	G	6-6/210	20-Jan-05	Czech	Omaha (USHL)	9-13, 2.86, 0.908
45	Jacob Fowler	G	6-1/215	24-Nov-04	USA	Youngstown (USHL)	27-9, 2.28, 0.921
46	Oscar Fisker Molgaard	C	6-0/165	18-Feb-05	Denmark	HV 71 (SHL)	41-4-3-7
47	Carson Rehkopf	LW	6-1/195	7-Jan-05	Canada	Kitchener (OHL)	68-30-29-59
48	Beau Akey	D	5-11/170	11-Feb-05	Canada	Barrie (OHL)	66-11-36-47
49	Danny Nelson	C	6-3/200	3-Aug-05	USA	USN U18 (USDP)	61-20-26-46
50	Etienne Morin	D	6-0/180	9-Mar-05	Canada	Moncton (QMJHL)	67-21-51-72
51	Felix Nilsson	C	6-0/175	22-Jun-05	Sweden	Rogle (Swe J20)	36-19-22-41
52	Maxim Strbak	D	6-1/205	13-Apr-05	Slovakia	Sioux Falls (USHL)	46-5-13-18
53	Jakub Dvorak	D	6-5/205	25-May-05	Czech	Bili Tygri Liberec (Czechia)	24-0-2-2
54	Carey Terrance	C	6-0/175	10-May-05	USA	Erie (OHL)	67-30-17-47
55	Jesse Kiiskinen	RW	5-11/180	23-Aug-05	Finland	Pelicans (Fin-U20)	31-20-23-43
56	Mathieu Cataford	C	5-11/185	1-Mar-05	Canada	Halifax (QMJHL)	68-31-44-75
57	Roman Kantserov	RW	5-9/175	20-Sep-04	Russia	Stalnye Lisy Magnitogorsk (MHL)	45-27-27-54
58	Tristan Bertucci	D	6-1/170	12-Jul-05	Canada	Flint (OHL)	63-11-39-50
59	Andrew Gibson	D	6-3/195	13-Feb-05	Canada	Soo Greyhounds (OHL)	45-7-14-21
60	Caden Price	D	6-0/185	24-Aug-05	Canada	Kelowna (WHL)	65-5-35-40
61	Charlie Stramel	C	6-3/215	15-Oct-04	USA	Wisconsin (B1G)	33-5-7-12
62	Coulson Pitre	RW	6-0/170	13-Dec-04	Canada	Flint (OHL)	59-25-35-60
63	Adam Gajan	G	6-2/165	6-May-04	Slovakia	Chippewa Steel (NAHL)	19-12, 2.57, 0.917
64	Hoyt Stanley	D	6-2/185	4-Feb-05	Canada	Victoria (BCHL)	53-4-34-38

Our draft guide should be available the first week of June. We're hard at work finishing it up.

If you have any questions, drop them here and I'll do my best to answer them all!

Click to read more...

 

[Eye of Ra]

Fantinelli ahead of Leo Carlsson, good one. He did not watch WC i see..

 

[tomd]

Fantinelli ahead of Leo Carlsson, good one. He did not watch WC i see..

Well setting aside your unnecessary snark, the two are very close. Just because Fantilli is ranked 2nd doesn't mean there is a big gap between them. I'd rank them 2A and 2B depending on team preference. The Ducks picking 2nd could have Fantilli ranked above Carlsson b/c of the type of player they are trying to build with while Columbus could have them reversed for the same reason. Although Carlsson looked great in the WC tournament, grading the two players based on that tournament is very problematic for lots of reasons including larger ice surface, "European" rules/style of play, linemates, and what position they were playing.

 

[WingsToPick4th]

Obviously it’s in no way a mock draft but If the wings drafted Simashev at 9 and Sale at 17 I would be dead inside lol

 

[kyle44]

Genuinely curious why Yager had a better playoffs than regular season but, since that time, seems to be dropping on most public lists. Is this a case of folks overrating U-18 performances or just getting better looks at certain guys at the U-18?

 

[Junohockeyfan]

How does Kasper Halttunen make it so high? 27 games and 1 assist? Just lighting it up.

 

[Junohockeyfan]

If the Habs could get Michkov (5OA), Yager (30OA) and Trey Augustine (37OA) with their first 3 picks, that would be a sensational draft.

 

[bossram]

Fantinelli ahead of Leo Carlsson, good one. He did not watch WC i see..

A short sample in a weird tournament shouldn't significantly alter anyone's opinions.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Fantinelli ahead of Leo Carlsson, good one. He did not watch WC i see..

Was he one of the villains in The Goonies?

 

[Kraken Jokes]

It seems like outside the top 5-7, rankings are absolutely all over the place this year.

 

[GlassesJacketShirt]

I dunno, I thought Fantilli looked fine in the World Championships and showed a more complete effort at both ends of the rink. His decision making in the offensive zone makes me wonder what he's doing at times, but his rush offensive potential is staggering.

He's the safe pick of the two.

Also liking the Simashev love. He has some clear weaknesses to work on (slap shot in particular, needs some more strength and be less risk averse) but I think his pros give him a high floor and a highly respectable ceiling.

 

[Gregor Samsa]

I’ve always wondered if wildly different lists are put out close to the draft because they get more clicks and having the same listing for the 100th time gets stale

 

[HanSolo]

Fantinelli ahead of Leo Carlsson, good one. He did not watch WC i see..

Doesn't seem like you did either. Or at least you only watched one country.

Carlsson looked very good and had the raw numbers, sure. But Canada couldn't figure out what line to play Fantilli on until the last three games of the tournament and the solution they landed on was to shove him with two players significantly slower than him. Carlsson had all tournament with the same line with far more effective players than Glass and Lucic. They had clear chemistry, and Carlsson benefitted from linemates who understood his game and who put themselves in position to complement Carlsson's game. While Fantilli's eventual line just ambulated around the offensive zone praying for openings. To say nothing of the fact that Carlsson has been used to playing with grown, professional men while this was Fantilli's first experience doing the same.

No one is going to contest that Carlsson had the better tournament. But its too small a sample with too many factors influencing their respective performances to say Carlsson is the better prospect now. The big sticking point for me is one guy was in his comfort zone playing against European and NHL pros, while the other guy spent his whole tournament learning how to do that on the fly while still looking relatively effective in spite of poor utilization.

As a Ducks fan I have no qualms about Anaheim picking Carlsson and I think he'd instantly be our best prospect. But in a bubble, considering every relevant factor, I think Fantilli performed well under the circumstances, and in my estimation he has a more diverse package of physical traits, tendencies, and skills which are at a high level and ones which are better suited to the way the NHL is played in the modern era. I concede he needs his brain to catch up to his body sometimes but that can come with good coaching and more experience playing higher quality hockey.

Either way, I don't think it's heresy to put Fantilli above Carlsson even with Carlsson having the better raw statline.

 

[Arthur Morgan]

Top 32

MCKEEN'S 2023 NHL DRAFT - FINAL RANKINGS - TOP 32

McKeen's Hockey releases its final ranking for the 2023 NHL Draft. In advance of the release of their annual, McKeen's 2023 NHL Draft Guide, in early June.

www.mckeenshockey.com

Top 224 and HM's (behind a paywall)

Subscribe

www.mckeenshockey.com

Happy to share our Top 64 with you all:

1	Connor Bedard	C	5-10/185	17-Jul-05	Canada	Regina (WHL)	57-71-72-143
2	Adam Fantilli	C	6-2/195	12-Oct-04	Canada	Michigan (B1G)	36-30-35-65
3	Leo Carlsson	C	6-3/200	26-Dec-04	Sweden	Orebro (SHL)	44-10-15-25
4	Will Smith	C	6-0/175	17-Mar-05	USA	USN U18 (USDP)	59-51-75-126
5	Matvei Michkov	RW	5-10/170	9-Dec-04	Russia	SKA St. Petersburg-HK Sochi (KHL)	30-9-11-20
6	Zach Benson	LW	5-9/160	12-May-05	Canada	Winnipeg (WHL)	60-36-62-98
7	Dalibor Dvorsky	C	6-1/200	15-Jun-05	Slovakia	AIK (HockeyAllsvenskan)	38-6-8-14
8	Ryan Leonard	RW	5-11/190	21-Jan-05	USA	USN U18 (USDP)	56-50-43-93
9	Dmitri Simashev	D	6-4/200	4-Feb-05	Russia	Loko Yaroslavl-Loko-76 Yaroslavl (MHL)	33-1-11-12
10	Matthew Wood	RW	6-3/195	6-Feb-05	Canada	Connecticut (HE)	35-11-23-34
11	Oliver Moore	C	5-11/185	22-Jan-05	USA	USN U18 (USDP)	60-31-43-74
12	Colby Barlow	LW	6-0/195	14-Feb-05	Canada	Owen Sound (OHL)	59-46-33-79
13	Nate Danielson	C	6-1/185	27-Sep-04	Canada	Brandon (WHL)	68-33-45-78
14	Axel Sandin Pellikka	D	5-11/180	11-Mar-05	Sweden	Skelleftea (Swe J20)	31-16-20-36
15	Daniil But	LW	6-5/200	15-Feb-05	Russia	Loko Yaroslavl-Loko-76 Yaroslavl (MHL)	32-18-14-32
16	David Reinbacher	D	6-2/185	25-Oct-04	Austria	Kloten (Sui-NL)	46-3-19-22
17	Eduard Sale	LW	6-1/170	10-Mar-05	Czech	HC Kometa Brno (Czechia)	43-7-7-14
18	Samuel Honzek	LW	6-3/185	12-Nov-04	Slovakia	Vancouver (WHL)	43-23-33-56
19	Mikhail Gulyayev	D	5-11/170	26-Apr-05	Russia	Omskie Yastreby (MHL)	22-2-23-25
20	Lukas Dragicevic	D	6-1/190	25-Apr-05	Canada	Tri-City (WHL)	68-15-60-75
21	Gabe Perreault	RW	5-11/165	7-May-05	USA	USN U18 (USDP)	62-53-79-132
22	Otto Stenberg	C	5-11/180	29-May-05	Sweden	Frolunda (Swe J20)	29-11-15-26
23	Tom Willander	D	6-1/180	9-Feb-05	Sweden	Rogle (Swe J20)	39-4-21-25
24	Calum Ritchie	C	6-2/185	21-Jan-05	Canada	Oshawa (OHL)	59-24-35-59
25	Andrew Cristall	LW	5-9/165	4-Feb-05	Canada	Kelowna (WHL)	54-39-56-95
26	Gavin Brindley	C	5-8/165	5-Oct-04	USA	Michigan (B1G)	41-12-26-38
27	Bradly Nadeau	LW	5-10/165	5-May-05	Canada	Penticton (BCHL)	54-45-68-113
28	Anton Wahlberg	C	6-3/195	4-Jul-05	Sweden	Malmo (Swe J20)	32-14-13-27
29	Riley Heidt	C	5-10/180	25-Mar-05	Canada	Prince George (WHL)	68-25-72-97
30	Brayden Yager	C	5-11/165	3-Jan-05	Canada	Moose Jaw (WHL)	67-28-50-78
31	David Edstrom	C	6-3/185	18-Feb-05	Sweden	Frolunda (Swe J20)	28-15-13-28
32	Nick Lardis	LW	5-10/165	8-Jul-05	Canada	Pbo-Ham (OHL)	69-37-28-65
33	Kasper Halttunen	RW	6-3/205	7-Jun-05	Finland	HIFK (Fin-Liiga)	27-0-1-1
34	Jayden Perron	RW	5-9/165	11-Jan-05	Canada	Chicago (USHL)	61-24-48-72
35	Oliver Bonk	D	6-2/175	9-Jan-05	Canada	London (OHL)	67-10-30-40
36	Quentin Musty	LW	6-2/200	6-Jul-05	USA	Sudbury (OHL)	53-26-52-78
37	Trey Augustine	G	6-1/185	23-Feb-05	USA	USN U18 (USDP)	28-1, 2.14, 0.925
38	Tanner Molendyk	D	5-11/185	3-Feb-05	Canada	Saskatoon (WHL)	67-9-28-37
39	William Whitelaw	RW	5-9/170	5-Feb-05	USA	Youngstown (USHL)	62-36-25-61
40	Ethan Gauthier	RW	5-11/175	26-Jan-05	Canada	Sherbrooke (QMJHL)	66-30-39-69
41	Gracyn Sawchyn	C	5-11/160	19-Jan-05	USA	Seattle (WHL)	58-18-40-58
42	Carson Bjarnason	G	6-3/185	30-Jun-05	Canada	Brandon (WHL)	21-19, 3.08, 0.900
43	Aram Minnetian	D	5-11/190	19-Mar-05	USA	USN U18 (USDP)	61-7-24-31
44	Michael Hrabal	G	6-6/210	20-Jan-05	Czech	Omaha (USHL)	9-13, 2.86, 0.908
45	Jacob Fowler	G	6-1/215	24-Nov-04	USA	Youngstown (USHL)	27-9, 2.28, 0.921
46	Oscar Fisker Molgaard	C	6-0/165	18-Feb-05	Denmark	HV 71 (SHL)	41-4-3-7
47	Carson Rehkopf	LW	6-1/195	7-Jan-05	Canada	Kitchener (OHL)	68-30-29-59
48	Beau Akey	D	5-11/170	11-Feb-05	Canada	Barrie (OHL)	66-11-36-47
49	Danny Nelson	C	6-3/200	3-Aug-05	USA	USN U18 (USDP)	61-20-26-46
50	Etienne Morin	D	6-0/180	9-Mar-05	Canada	Moncton (QMJHL)	67-21-51-72
51	Felix Nilsson	C	6-0/175	22-Jun-05	Sweden	Rogle (Swe J20)	36-19-22-41
52	Maxim Strbak	D	6-1/205	13-Apr-05	Slovakia	Sioux Falls (USHL)	46-5-13-18
53	Jakub Dvorak	D	6-5/205	25-May-05	Czech	Bili Tygri Liberec (Czechia)	24-0-2-2
54	Carey Terrance	C	6-0/175	10-May-05	USA	Erie (OHL)	67-30-17-47
55	Jesse Kiiskinen	RW	5-11/180	23-Aug-05	Finland	Pelicans (Fin-U20)	31-20-23-43
56	Mathieu Cataford	C	5-11/185	1-Mar-05	Canada	Halifax (QMJHL)	68-31-44-75
57	Roman Kantserov	RW	5-9/175	20-Sep-04	Russia	Stalnye Lisy Magnitogorsk (MHL)	45-27-27-54
58	Tristan Bertucci	D	6-1/170	12-Jul-05	Canada	Flint (OHL)	63-11-39-50
59	Andrew Gibson	D	6-3/195	13-Feb-05	Canada	Soo Greyhounds (OHL)	45-7-14-21
60	Caden Price	D	6-0/185	24-Aug-05	Canada	Kelowna (WHL)	65-5-35-40
61	Charlie Stramel	C	6-3/215	15-Oct-04	USA	Wisconsin (B1G)	33-5-7-12
62	Coulson Pitre	RW	6-0/170	13-Dec-04	Canada	Flint (OHL)	59-25-35-60
63	Adam Gajan	G	6-2/165	6-May-04	Slovakia	Chippewa Steel (NAHL)	19-12, 2.57, 0.917
64	Hoyt Stanley	D	6-2/185	4-Feb-05	Canada	Victoria (BCHL)	53-4-34-38

Our draft guide should be available the first week of June. We're hard at work finishing it up.

If you have any questions, drop them here and I'll do my best to answer them all!

Where are the player write ups? in the past Ive been able to go to the rankings and click on the players and most of them would have the write up about them from the guide along with them broken down into 5 categories, Skating, Skill, Shot, IQ and Physicality.

I subbed and hoped to do some reading, however there's nothing to read on these players, any idea how soon the guide will be out? my draft begins this Thursday.

 

[Seb]

Reinbacher at 16 is bold considering he's gonna be picked top 10

 

[ZDH]

Obviously it’s in no way a mock draft but If the wings drafted Simashev at 9 and Sale at 17 I would be dead inside lol

I always say I trust Yzerman no matter what but the TV would be out the window and into the parking lot if that's how our draft goes.

Sale is so meh. I don't know what I'm missing but obviously I'm missing something. Not impressed.

 

[Bubbles]

Genuinely curious why Yager had a better playoffs than regular season but, since that time, seems to be dropping on most public lists. Is this a case of folks overrating U-18 performances or just getting better looks at certain guys at the U-18?

Definitely people overrating tournament performances, as usual.

Weird to see Hoyt Stanley being put at 64. He's more of a late round candidate and seems like a random name they plucked to be on the list.

 

[Tube Skates]

I don’t understand why Morin is so low on peoples rankings. I watched at least 10 of his games this year and was on the third or fourth before I realized he wasn’t an overager. Plays a very good all around game with a few minor flaws and is coachable. Some kids are over scouted. I’m sure he hasn’t been viewed enough for proper assessment

 

[Czechboy]

Any more Czechs after Dvorak?

 

[displacedsabre]

Oh no my dream of Simashev at 13 to the Sabres is starting to die

 

[Castle8130]

Happy to see my boy's Bertucci and Gibson in the top 60! Huge fan of both

 

[Ace]

Oh no my dream of Simashev at 13 to the Sabres is starting to die

It’s funny because fans of other teams see Simashev at 9 and react with “thats ridiculous and I will destroy anyone who drafts him that high” and we Sabres fans see it and say “oh no…why is someone else talking about our Simashev?”

 

[Brock]

Genuinely curious why Yager had a better playoffs than regular season but, since that time, seems to be dropping on most public lists. Is this a case of folks overrating U-18 performances or just getting better looks at certain guys at the U-18?

Our Western scouts just aren't incredibly high on Yager. This is especially true of assistant director of scouting Derek Neumeier. They have concerns over his puck management, decision making, and overall upside as a playmaker. From talking to other scouts in this line of work from other scouting agencies, they have similar concerns.

How does Kasper Halttunen make it so high? 27 games and 1 assist? Just lighting it up.

All about projection. Halttunen definitely scares me a bit and he wouldn't be as high on my own personal list, but he does have fans within our team of scouts, especially in Europe. That combination of size, skating ability, and scoring potential is rare to find these days. He just didn't get a ton of ice time in Liiga. When he played against his peers in the U20, he was at a goal per game. I think having him just outside the first round is fair and valid.

 

[Brock]

I’ve always wondered if wildly different lists are put out close to the draft because they get more clicks and having the same listing for the 100th time gets stale

Or because different scouts have differing opinions on players, leading to a variance in rankings? I assure you that if you were to look at the lists of NHL teams at the draft, you'd see even more wildly different lists. It's the nature of the business. There are always going to be a few players who are universally loved. After that, it's simply a matter of opinion.

 

[Brock]

Where are the player write ups? in the past Ive been able to go to the rankings and click on the players and most of them would have the write up about them from the guide along with them broken down into 5 categories, Skating, Skill, Shot, IQ and Physicality.

I subbed and hoped to do some reading, however there's nothing to read on these players, any idea how soon the guide will be out? my draft begins this Thursday.

Those write ups you speak of come from the draft guide, which won't be released until the first or second week of June. Once it's released, they will be synched with the players to create profiles. All of those write ups are still being written as we prepare to release the guide. It's just not feasible to get the guide out any faster. You can finalize your rankings leading up to and just after the U18's and then it's the grind of getting the guide completed.

Many of those players do have lengthy write ups and reports. At the bottom of the Top 32, for example, you will see player tags. They are included in all of our pieces thanks to our web master. Click on the player you want and you'll find all the pieces written about said player.

Apologize that the guide won't be out before your draft. That's a very early one. Other than maybe The Hockey News, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone getting a guide out that quickly/early.

Reinbacher at 16 is bold considering he's gonna be picked top 10

Totally. We understand that he'll probably be the first defender drafted...and early. We just have other preferences. I answered a similar question on twitter too. I like Reinbacher. I just feel like he's more likely to be a solid second pairing guy. That obviously has a ton of value, but I (and we) like the potential ceiling of a few other players ahead of him.

With so many high end forwards available this year, I'd probably steer clear of drafting a defender that early this year. I think the top defender in the class is just as likely to come out of the second round as he is the first.