GDT: The 2023 NHL Entry Draft, June 28 - 29, 2023

[SoupNazi]

Here it is: The 2023 NHL Draft GDT.

Our list of picks is for reference below. I will update the OP if we make any deals with some of these picks throughout the day.

Will also try to update the OP as picks are made, and link to each prospect's discussion thread.

Round	Pick	#OA	Conditions	Pick Made/Disposition
1st	DET	9	N/A	9OA: Nate Danielson
1st	NYI	17	From Vancouver (1 Mar 2023). Hronek Trade.	17OA: Axel Sandin Pellikka
2nd	DET	41
2nd	STL	42	From St. Louis (21 Mar 2022). Leddy Trade
2nd	Van	43	From Vancouver (1 Mar 2023). Hronek Trade.
3rd	DET	73
4th	MIN	117	From Minnesota (3 Mar 2023). Sundqvist Trade.
5th	DET	137
6th	DET	169
7th	DET	201

Click to read more...

 

[SoupNazi]

Also, @Realgud 's Realgud draft simulator: Realgud draft simulator

 

[DamonDRW]

Is it today or tomorrow?

 

[Hen Kolland]

Is it today or tomorrow?

Tomorrow

 

[jaster]

I had to look it up, but here's the broadcasting details:

Round 1, June 28 (7 p.m. E.T.; ESPN, SN, TVAS)​

Rounds 2-7, June 29 (11 a.m. E.T.; NHLN, SN, TVAS)​

 

[jkutswings]

I feel so Jekyll and Hyde about this draft. On the one hand, I want all those assets and cap flexibility to land the Wings one or two major trade additions.

But then I run the draft simulator one more time and I'm like:

 

[jaster]

Started going a little deeper on these guys the past few days. I'm kind of excited about Leonard, Benson, and Moore. Leonard seems to have an appropriate amount of hype, but Benson seems like he's still a bit underrated by some, and Moore I think is underrated by many.

Assuming one of Leonard or Benson is available at 9, I hope we get one of them and then trade up to snag Moore.

That all said, I don't follow pre-draft prospects nearly as much as many of you, so go ahead, do it, put me on blast.

 

[Frk It]

Started going a little deeper on these guys the past few days. I'm kind of excited about Leonard, Benson, and Moore. Leonard seems to have an appropriate amount of hype, but Benson seems like he's still a bit underrated by some, and Moore I think is underrated by many.

Assuming one of Leonard or Benson is available at 9, I hope we get one of them and then trade up to snag Moore.

That all said, I don't follow pre-draft prospects nearly as much as many of you, so go ahead, do it, put me on blast.

Tell us why Moore is underrated. You have the floor.

 

[ZDH]

Moore will be there at 17. If we want him, we'll get him there.

Had this feeling all day today that they're going Perrault. Think the top 8 are set tbh and the choice will be between Perrault and Benson. Can't wait for tomorrow, stopped after work and loaded up on beer in case I'm running behind tomorrow.

 

[Detroit Knights]

Tell us why Moore is underrated. You have the floor.

 

[Zetterberg4Captain]

I just want to see us target high end skill in both the draft and a trade or 2..

If we target 2way guys and make no trades to improve the roster it'll be disappointing for a few days anyhow

 

[norrisnick]

Tell us why Moore is underrated. You have the floor.

So does Moore, but no ceiling.




Sorry...

 

[jaster]

Tell us why Moore is underrated. You have the floor.

Because he's a top-10 prospect, and a lot of people seem to have him outside the top-10.

 

[Run the Jewels]

Pre game getting started early, I like it.

 

[Frk It]

Because he's a top-10 prospect, and a lot of people seem to have him outside the top-10.

What makes him deserving of a top 10 prospect, other than his skating (which is obvious)?

(I don't appeciate you replying and not answering my question...this has been noted)

Moore will be there at 17. If we want him, we'll get him there.

Had this feeling all day today that they're going Perrault. Think the top 8 are set tbh and the choice will be between Perrault and Benson. Can't wait for tomorrow, stopped after work and loaded up on beer in case I'm running behind tomorrow.

I would be very happy with Perreault or Benson at 9.

My gut has been thinking for a while that we will take Barlow at 9 and Willander at 17. We will see if that is what happens. I think Barlow plays the game a way that Draper/Yzerman will really appreciate and will see him as a good guy to come playoff time. I think Willander is in the mold of what they like on the blue line and will be the Hakan first rounder that they see as replacing Hronek. I think they will like he is going the NCAA route and playing at BU. He has said he is going there specifically to develop more offensively.

But they could go a lot of ways with these picks. We will see how the board plays out.

 

[ZDH]

Yea I could see that.

Fellow Canadians - Benson is on TSN in 2 hours. They're showing a replay between the Ice and the Pats. Been looking for as much footage of Benson that I can get so a full game vs Bedard will make for some good tape.

Americans - you get wnba and and a hot dog eating contest.

 

[Holden Caufield]

Exciting times ahead tomorrow.
I like the class and see a lot of offensive potential in these prospects. Much, much more then most years.
I believe it Management plays their cards right we should come away with some nice building blocks.

I personally hope we keep both the 9th and 17th picks.

 

[Detroit Knights]

What makes him deserving of a top 10 prospect, other than his skating (which is obvious)?

(I don't appeciate you replying and not answering my question...this has been noted)


I would be very happy with Perreault or Benson at 9.

My gut has been thinking for a while that we will take Barlow at 9 and Willander at 17. We will see if that is what happens. I think Barlow plays the game a way that Draper/Yzerman will really appreciate and will see him as a good guy to come playoff time. I think Willander is in the mold of what they like on the blue line and will be the Hakan first rounder that they see as replacing Hronek. I think they will like he is going the NCAA route and playing at BU. He has said he is going there specifically to develop more offensively.

But they could go a lot of ways with these picks. We will see how the board plays out.

just admit it.

Ken Daniels: Wallinder walks the line, drops it back for Willander now Wallinder back to Willander. One-timerrrrrrr **silence** GOOOOOOOOALLL!!! TIPPED BY SODERBLOM.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

What makes him deserving of a top 10 prospect, other than his skating (which is obvious)?

(I don't appeciate you replying and not answering my question...this has been noted)


I would be very happy with Perreault or Benson at 9.

My gut has been thinking for a while that we will take Barlow at 9 and Willander at 17. We will see if that is what happens. I think Barlow plays the game a way that Draper/Yzerman will really appreciate and will see him as a good guy to come playoff time. I think Willander is in the mold of what they like on the blue line and will be the Hakan first rounder that they see as replacing Hronek. I think they will like he is going the NCAA route and playing at BU. He has said he is going there specifically to develop more offensively.

But they could go a lot of ways with these picks. We will see how the board plays out.

Well let's talk about his skating for a second.

I read he broke McDavid's records at BioSteel at the same age group. It's not one of those this guy skates pretty well. It is a he skates at a McDavid, MacKinnon level. The program said he was the best skater since Larkin and in their opinion better than him. That seems an important distinction. Now do his hands keep up quite the same, of course not, because even Bedard would have issues at #1 if they did at this point. But he has an extremely elite tool, one that you could argue is massively important in the modern NHL.

He has driven his own line as well for an entire year, he wasn't a part of the mega line with the USMNTDP. To describe more of him as a player here is a quote from an Athletic article on Moore

"For me, Oliver drives the team. He drives the team on the ice, off the ice. He just does everything so hard,” Galivan said. “He’s not a loud guy, he’s not rah-rah or any of that. He leads by example and he has been a fantastic influence on not just the ’05 birth year but the ’06 birth year. He’s a captain for a reason. All of the physical attributes, all that stuff’s great, but he’s a hell of a leader, which is tough to do in this group of kids because they’re all the same age so to stand out in that regard is not easy. There’s a lot of really good leaders in this group and I think Oliver’s even probably a step ahead of them in that.”

This is the quote from the long-time strength and conditioning quote,

Oliver Moore is the 2023 NHL Draft prospect who makes fast players look slow

Moore could be a top-10 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, with "God-given" speed and athleticism currently on display at the 2023 U18 worlds.

theathletic.com

Dan Muse was also effusive in his praise of Moore the player, person and skill set. I think he has things to work on, does he slow the game down enough to his advantage, something that really took Larkin until year 3 in the NHL to figure out... But he has something you cannot teach to base honing his skills around and a high drive on and off the ice to believe in gambling shaping that in the right development. There he is going to a trusted college program and hopefully our new coaches in Grand Rapids and Detroit. He is already acknowledging that he is working on this. He was compared to Gutter Gauthier and Mark Scheifele for how much he loves the game and how he approaches it. I like Oliver Moore a lot, he isn't a finished product and we are probably lucky he isn't because he wouldn't be around for our pick if he was. People spend a lot of time talking about his floor and no ceiling, there is plenty there to work with and by almost all accounts a very serious and high character player to work with once that pick is made.

 

[AlwaysSunnyInDetroit]

Why can't you just let it go already?

Lighten up

 

[Frk It]

Well let's talk about his skating for a second.

I read he broke McDavid's records at BioSteel at the same age group. It's not one of those this guy skates pretty well. It is a he skates at a McDavid, MacKinnon level. The program said he was the best skater since Larkin and in their opinion better than him. That seems an important distinction. Now do his hands keep up quite the same, of course not, because even Bedard would have issues at #1 if they did at this point. But he has an extremely elite tool, one that you could argue is massively important in the modern NHL.

He has driven his own line as well for an entire year, he wasn't a part of the mega line with the USMNTDP. To describe more of him as a player here is a quote from an Athletic article on Moore


This is the quote from the long-time strength and conditioning quote,

Oliver Moore is the 2023 NHL Draft prospect who makes fast players look slow

Moore could be a top-10 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, with "God-given" speed and athleticism currently on display at the 2023 U18 worlds.

theathletic.com

Dan Muse was also effusive in his praise of Moore the player, person and skill set. I think he has things to work on, does he slow the game down enough to his advantage, something that really took Larkin until year 3 in the NHL to figure out... But he has something you cannot teach to base honing his skills around and a high drive on and off the ice to believe in gambling shaping that in the right development. There he is going to a trusted college program and hopefully our new coaches in Grand Rapids and Detroit.

You don’t have to sell me on the athletic ability or the skating.

I heard on a podcast he ran the mile among the fastest of anyone in the country at his age and could have probably been an Olympian track and field athlete if he wanted to go that route.

As we know though, it takes more than being a super athlete to be a high end hockey player. I’ve heard a lot of stories about how good of an athlete Helm was/is. Something like he had a 40 inch vertical jumping off 1 leg or along those lines.

My concern with Moore is his ceiling might be capped for some similar concerns as Helm. They said in the Black Book that they thought his IQ was poor and not only does he not make his linemates better but he might make them worse.

That is pretty damning stuff. I didn’t get to watch a ton of junior aged hockey myself to say I share that opinion, and if I was watching the USDP I would have been more focusing on the Smith/Leonard/Perreault line.

It’s an interesting debate and we will have to see how he develops. I had him high to start the year but I’ve heard that concern from enough people to where I am more comfortable with him in the teens if he is there.

 

[Detroit Knights]

Well let's talk about his skating for a second.

I read he broke McDavid's records at BioSteel at the same age group. It's not one of those this guy skates pretty well. It is a he skates at a McDavid, MacKinnon level. The program said he was the best skater since Larkin and in their opinion better than him. That seems an important distinction. Now do his hands keep up quite the same, of course not, because even Bedard would have issues at #1 if they did at this point. But he has an extremely elite tool, one that you could argue is massively important in the modern NHL.

He has driven his own line as well for an entire year, he wasn't a part of the mega line with the USMNTDP. To describe more of him as a player here is a quote from an Athletic article on Moore


This is the quote from the long-time strength and conditioning quote,

Oliver Moore is the 2023 NHL Draft prospect who makes fast players look slow

Moore could be a top-10 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, with "God-given" speed and athleticism currently on display at the 2023 U18 worlds.

theathletic.com

Dan Muse was also effusive in his praise of Moore the player, person and skill set. I think he has things to work on, does he slow the game down enough to his advantage, something that really took Larkin until year 3 in the NHL to figure out... But he has something you cannot teach to base honing his skills around and a high drive on and off the ice to believe in gambling shaping that in the right development. There he is going to a trusted college program and hopefully our new coaches in Grand Rapids and Detroit. He is already acknowledging that he is working on this. He was compared to Gutter Gauthier and Mark Scheifele for how much he loves the game and how he approaches it. I like Oliver Moore a lot, he isn't a finished product and we are probably lucky he isn't because he wouldn't be around for our pick if he was. People spend a lot of time talking about his floor and no ceiling, there is plenty there to work with and by almost all accounts a very serious and high character player to work with once that pick is made.

look...i don't want to be THAT GUY, but I suppose i will just throw this out there...

AA was pretty fast too......................

JUST SAYING! Ok, now back to your regular scheduled programming...

 

[jaster]

What makes him deserving of a top 10 prospect, other than his skating (which is obvious)?

(I don't appeciate you replying and not answering my question...this has been noted)

Lol. I answered the question that was asked! In a very literal way

I'm still going to mention his skating, because it's elite plus, and I value skating probably a hair more than the average fan. I didn't realize how good it is until going down the rabbit hole recently. It's borderline generational. Advanced metrics supposedly show that the only player with better skating at his age was McDavid.

IQ is the other quality I value maybe more than most. He by all accounts has that in spades.

Compete is maxed out.

Shot is plus.

Transition game projects amazingly at the NHL level.

Collectively, these strengths (skating, IQ, compete, shot) are the ones that can't easily be taught, and are difficult to improve on if you don't have those talents. The obvious conclusion is that this gives him a high floor, but what excites me more is that it sets the stage for a very high ceiling.

The question marks in his game is a short list to me. The size/strength quotient is one, but with the strengths listed above, I couldn't give a flying F about that with an 18yo. It's one of the easier things to work on and he has plenty of time. Some question his offensive talent, but I think he gets sold short there. His production at the NTDP was remarkable, given his scrub linesmates compared to the top-3 forwards, and the fact he had a lot less PP time. I'm not worried about offensive talent. The last question I've seen is his processing speed, and this one is more legit. I don't claim to know how that will project to the NHL level for him. It's what snagged Zadina, so it's a risk. But it's a risk that stands in the face of so many key strengths. And if it turns out to not be a problem, I think you could see a player who could be the steal of the draft if he falls outside the top-10.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

You don’t have to sell me on the athletic ability or the skating.

I heard on a podcast he ran the mile among the fastest of anyone in the country at his age and could have probably been an Olympian track and field athlete if he wanted to go that route.

As we know though, it takes more than being a super athlete to be a high end hockey player. I’ve heard a lot of stories about how good of an athlete Helm was/is. Something like he had a 40 inch vertical jumping off 1 leg or along those lines.

My concern with Moore is his ceiling might be capped for some similar concerns as Helm. They said in the Black Book that they thought his IQ was poor and not only does he not make his linemates better but he might make them worse.

That is pretty damning stuff. I didn’t get to watch a ton of junior aged hockey myself to say I share that opinion, and if I was watching the USDP I would have been more focusing on the Smith/Leonard/Perreault line.

It’s an interesting debate and we will have to see how he develops. I had him high to start the year but I’ve heard that concern from enough people to where I am more comfortable with him in the teens if he is there.

Coach Muse would elevate him at times and use him a Leonard as the #1 matchup when it really called for it. He turned one of his linemates into a borderline 1st rounder in Nelson so he didn't hurt him a ton.

I didn't love the USMNTDP a bunch to start the year and actually got higher on most of the players. It would seem the black book outside of maybe Perreault has those guys rated consistently lower. Maybe they are right, maybe it was the year I feared entering it. When I saw them though I saw pretty useful hockey players. Then you look at what the program has cranked out recently and that those guys have also generally beaten timelines on NHL availability and I find it an intriguing gamble on the part of their scouting team.

 

[jaster]

My concern with Moore is his ceiling might be capped for some similar concerns as Helm. They said in the Black Book that they thought his IQ was poor and not only does he not make his linemates better but he might make them worse.

Fascinating. Truly. Everything I've read about his IQ and what he opens up for his linemates has been the opposite. I haven't watched the kid enough to form a strong opinion on that, but if there's debate, then sure, it changes the equation. But "low IQ" is news to me.