GDT: The 2023 NHL Entry Draft - Nashville, TN - 4:00pm (AZ) - ESPN, ESPN+

[TheLegend]

What happened to the real draft thread? The one that had been open for a year?

It’s down the forum list and locked.
Just as I said it would be in favor of the GDTs.

 

[Jakey53]

Pronman is probably my favourite in the business so this is nice to see. Today has been a very easy day to separate the real pros from the idiots who watch highlight clips and read mainstream rankings.

Well, I guess you, I and everyone else are idiots.Let's be honest here. I don't think none of us liked the picks when first selected, but being Coyote's fans we came around, as usual. As a fan, I would not have selected either, even now after reading and seeing the players. They both were a reach in my "trained eye." I also didn't like the Geekie pick last year. As usual, time will tell.

 

[Jakey53]

Same thing almost every year. Coyotes make weird selections, we say something like WTF, than we watch some highlights and change our minds to something like "hey, look, the Guy can really play". But every hockey prospect has talent, especially in the top 50 of the draft. Gormley, Perlini, baby Sam, Boeds and others possessed great talent. Hayton was a reach but we convinced ourselves he deserves that 5 ov. Draft is not about getting talent, draft is about make right projection and take right guys. Then size vs skill. We passed on Marner but were we right?..

Very difficult to judge our first round. Two russians? Would I be happier if we ended up with Dvorski + Yager? absolutely not, I am not high on both, though they both kind of safer picks but where the risk is low reward is also low. But if we ended with Leonard and Wood, or Leonard + Simashev/But, or Simashev/But + Moore I definitely would be happier.

Little bit too much risk was taken but they have credit to do it. But here comes the responsibility.

I agree, and the way it sounds not many teams scouted the Russians like normal years, or at least that's the way it sounds. Maybe we will be the new Detroit and these kids turn into stars.

 

[MIGs Dog]

Having our new Russian friends play the next two seasons in the KHL mitigates the arena risk. Surely we will have a resolution by then...won't we...come on guys...stop joking around...

From the Athletic.

2023 Draft Grade: A-​

It’s been well documented that I was a believer in the two Lokomotiv players Dmitriy Simashev and Danil But. I thought they were high echelon pro prospects, and guys who if they played in the OHL would have been no doubt top 10 picks this season in the public discourse. It is a risk by Arizona in taking both of them, and getting them signed given the issues with their arena,

 

[TheLegend]

Size matters: Coyotes bet on big in identity-defining 2023 NHL Draft - PHNX Sports

NASHVILLE — Bill Armstrong has never disguised his desire for a bigger, stronger lineup. In his still-brief tenure as GM — and in spite of this ongoing

www.gophnx.com

 

[MIGs Dog]

Has anyone else noticed the size? Hopefully, they can play too.

Forwards
But...............6'5"
Castagna......6'2"
Nordh..........6'2"
Ludtke.........6'0"
Moroz..........6'2"
Bau..............6'5"

Defenseman
Simashev.....6'4"
Goldsmith...6'4"
Kipkie..........6'3"

Goalies
Hrabal..........6'7"
Thelin..........6'2"
Musser.........6'4"

Note: Funny that spell check tells me only "Nordh" is incorrect.

 

[PuckLife]

No... Most of this board was pretty livid about Hayton for a long time. It wasn't until a year later after his world juniors (and Zadina being even more unimpressive) that the tune changed a bit. But you know the biggest tragedy about the Hayton pick? In the end Chayka and co might have not even have been reaching very much at all. Maybe not over Hughes, but he wasn't wildly over picked. But then they proceeded to darn near ruin the prospect with the worst handling of a young player I have ever seen. He may be rounding into form a bit, but I wonder how much quicker he may have developed had he not sat for essentially what 2 years? And I also worry that his ceiling may have permanently been stunted because instead of working on his creativity and skill against his peers in critical growth years, he was trying to figure out how to be a better 3rd line checker so he got out of Rick Tocchet's dog house and into a game.

We may have similarly damaged Crouse and Boedker (at least he got some AHL time). They were physically ready for the league, but ended up focusing on third line two way roles way too early and never developed the offensive touch to hit their ceiling, the reason they were such high picks. Looks like Crouse is rounding into his projection now, but he might have always been there had they left him in Tucson for a couple years instead of straight to the third line.

The point is, for the most part it wasn't that we were absolutely wrong in our choices, the players were not carefully developed so they had a chance to be worth their selection. Looks like that is fixed now. We may still have some fallout, but the ceiling/value if some of these players hit is incredible, and we finally have the development approach to give them every chance to hit it.

great post - echo's my perspective completely.

 

[Llewzaher]

Interesting ... Hockey Prospects rankings ... What is funny is most people on that thread is saying it is the best by far , and yet we are losers for drafting the way we did

 

[Arizonatah Coyetis]

I agree, and the way it sounds not many teams scouted the Russians like normal years, or at least that's the way it sounds. Maybe we will be the new Detroit and these kids turn into stars.

I've been under the impression that the only time they were able to actually scout them live was at that tournament in Belarus. Have they said that they actually had scouts active in Russia at all? I could've missed it.

IF their only live viewing actually was that tournament in Belarus then sure, they scouted them more than other teams, but just barely.

 

[PainForShane]

I don't really follow prospects, but I was very surprised at both our 6 and 12 picks. After watching some highlights, reading some things, ok the picks make sense and Simashev has potential to be truly exceptional. And then he describes But as the "Tage Thompson from Russia" -- Bill drafted Tage Thompson in STL so maybe he saw the same thing in But.

But like... we passed on Michkov. Michkov.

idk anymore. Hope you're right Bill! You've definitely earned the benefit of the doubt from your drafting record in STL but I really hope you're right. In the meantime let's go get an arena

 

[Jagged Ice]

I don't really follow prospects, but I was very surprised at both our 6 and 12 picks. After watching some highlights, reading some things, ok the picks make sense and Simashev has potential to be truly exceptional. And then he describes But as the "Tage Thompson from Russia" -- Bill drafted Tage Thompson in STL so maybe he saw the same thing in But.

But like... we passed on Michkov. Michkov.

idk anymore. Hope you're right Bill! You've definitely earned the benefit of the doubt from your drafting record in STL but I really hope you're right. In the meantime let's go get an arena

The Coyotes sat down with Michkov according to Craig. It didn't go well and didn't last long. I'm glad we don't have to deal with him.

 

[PainForShane]

The Coyotes sat down with Michkov according to Craig. It didn't go well and didn't last long. I'm glad we don't have to deal with him.

Read his most recent gophnx article where he mentioned it but not fully. Did he discuss it more in depth in one of the phnx pods?

 

[Jagged Ice]

Read his most recent gophx article where he mentioned it but not fully. Did he discuss it more in depth in one of the phnx pods?

He did yesterday.

 

[PainForShane]

He did yesterday.

Listened to the relevant parts in both of yesterday's pods, couldn't find anything related to Michkov (below are the 2 pods I looked at).




Are you sure it was Morgan who mentioned and not someone else? Would definitely appreciate a link if you can easily find. Thx!

 

[Jagged Ice]

Listened to the relevant parts in both of yesterday's pods, couldn't find anything related to Michkov (below are the 2 pods I looked at).




Are you sure it was Morgan who mentioned and not someone else? Would definitely appreciate a link if you can easily find. Thx!

Yes, it was Morgan. There's a chance that it was the day before but I'm almost positive it was yesterday.

 

[hbk]

I don't really follow prospects, but I was very surprised at both our 6 and 12 picks. After watching some highlights, reading some things, ok the picks make sense and Simashev has potential to be truly exceptional. And then he describes But as the "Tage Thompson from Russia" -- Bill drafted Tage Thompson in STL so maybe he saw the same thing in But.

But like... we passed on Michkov. Michkov.

idk anymore. Hope you're right Bill! You've definitely earned the benefit of the doubt from your drafting record in STL but I really hope you're right. In the meantime let's go get an arena

Judging by Morgans comments in last couple days it was clear Michkov wanted nothing to do with aZ.

 

[Jormungandr]

Listened to the relevant parts in both of yesterday's pods, couldn't find anything related to Michkov (below are the 2 pods I looked at).




Are you sure it was Morgan who mentioned and not someone else? Would definitely appreciate a link if you can easily find. Thx!

“ When the Montréal Canadiens chose Austrian defenseman David Reinbacher with the fifth overall pick, talented SKA Saint Petersburg forward Matvei Michkov was available for the taking. The problem for the Coyotes was that after meeting with Michkov before the draft, they came away with the distinct impression that he wanted no part of the franchise.”

Quote from Craig’s article after day 1 of the draft.

From Russia with gloves: Coyotes pull NHL Draft surprise with Simashev at No. 6, But at No. 12 - PHNX Sports

NASHVILLE — There was a Russian waiting for the Coyotes when the No. 6 pick at the 2023 NHL Draft rolled around. And they took him. The only catch? It wasn't

www.gophnx.com

 

[Bonsai Tree]

I heard a comment from our #2 scout on a video that the team considered trading down but would have had their hearts broken had someone taken Simashov. I call bullshit. Picking #6 in a draft no team would have "its heart set" on one particular player. Maybe they had no takers.

BA is going to come up in every conversation about Michkov and Michkov v Simashev careers for the next 15 years.

 

[hbk]

I heard a comment from our #2 scout on a video that the team considered trading down but would have had their hearts broken had someone taken Simashov. I call bullshit. Picking #6 in a draft no team would have "its heart set" on one particular player. Maybe they had no takers.

BA is going to come up in every conversation about Michkov and Michkov v Simashev careers for the next 15 years.

I think michkov comparison would have happened if it wasn’t reported that the player wanted no part of the organization. Now i think u have to compare against Dvorsky/Leonard.

 

[Kaizen]

I heard a comment from our #2 scout on a video that the team considered trading down but would have had their hearts broken had someone taken Simashov. I call bullshit. Picking #6 in a draft no team would have "its heart set" on one particular player. Maybe they had no takers.

BA is going to come up in every conversation about Michkov and Michkov v Simashev careers for the next 15 years.

And/or the ask was too big. Some of the commentators speculated that the price was high to move up and that is also consistent with BA asking for the moon and backing off his ask as required.

 

[rt]

“ When the Montréal Canadiens chose Austrian defenseman David Reinbacher with the fifth overall pick, talented SKA Saint Petersburg forward Matvei Michkov was available for the taking. The problem for the Coyotes was that after meeting with Michkov before the draft, they came away with the distinct impression that he wanted no part of the franchise.”

Quote from Craig’s article after day 1 of the draft.

From Russia with gloves: Coyotes pull NHL Draft surprise with Simashev at No. 6, But at No. 12 - PHNX Sports

NASHVILLE — There was a Russian waiting for the Coyotes when the No. 6 pick at the 2023 NHL Draft rolled around. And they took him. The only catch? It wasn't

www.gophnx.com

Friedman reiterated this on 32 Thoughts Pod, also.

 

[Arizonatah Coyetis]

Kind of hard to convince another team to trade up for a guy they know you're not picking anyways. PHI just had to wait and they knew it.

 

[rt]

Jason Bukala is an absolute fraud. He was horrendous on the broadcast. And now he’s on 32T Pod running his mouth and just exposing himself. Saying Simashev woudlve been there at 15th when many reputable sources have commented based on unnamed team sources that isn’t true. And then he badmouths the But pick by saying that while it’s possible could one day be a #1 center, he sees him as more of a #2 center in the NHL. Gee, I think we can deduce that he’s literally never seen this kid play hockey at all, and hasn’t even bothered to read the scouting reports. What a fool.

 

[PainForShane]

“ When the Montréal Canadiens chose Austrian defenseman David Reinbacher with the fifth overall pick, talented SKA Saint Petersburg forward Matvei Michkov was available for the taking. The problem for the Coyotes was that after meeting with Michkov before the draft, they came away with the distinct impression that he wanted no part of the franchise.”

Quote from Craig’s article after day 1 of the draft.

From Russia with gloves: Coyotes pull NHL Draft surprise with Simashev at No. 6, But at No. 12 - PHNX Sports

NASHVILLE — There was a Russian waiting for the Coyotes when the No. 6 pick at the 2023 NHL Draft rolled around. And they took him. The only catch? It wasn't

www.gophnx.com

Yeah I saw the article but was hoping for more in depth. If it's not there no worries but if there's like a podcast / audio of Morgan (or someone else) rambling for 30 seconds to a minute about Michkov explicitly stating something like, "yeah I'd rather stay in Russia than play in AZ" that's what I'd love to hear about. If it's not there no worries, but if it is then would love to see that.

Put another way, I believe all of you and Craig's reporting just want the full context behind it if possible. Craig if you're reading this I'm sure I'm not the only one a bit stunned as to the Yotes passing on Michkov even though Simashev seems to have extremely high upside and according to Bill is a unicorn D-man... however last year Michkov outplayed Bedard at the worlds so he is clearly a unicorn as well.

Thanks @Jormungandr (and everyone else) but looking for an in-depth audio reason if it's there (I couldn't find it after looking for a bit). Thanks!

 

[hbk]

Yeah I saw the article but was hoping for more in depth. If it's not there no worries but if there's like a podcast / audio of Morgan (or someone else) rambling for 30 seconds to a minute about Michkov explicitly stating something like, "yeah I'd rather stay in Russia than play in AZ" that's what I'd love to hear about. If it's not there no worries, but if it is then would love to see that.

Put another way, I believe all of you and Craig's reporting just want the full context behind it if possible. Craig if you're reading this I'm sure I'm not the only one a bit stunned as to the Yotes passing on Michkov even though Simashev seems to have extremely high upside and according to Bill is a unicorn D-man... however last year Michkov outplayed Bedard at the worlds so he is clearly a unicorn as well.

Thanks @Jormungandr (and everyone else) but looking for an in-depth audio reason if it's there (I couldn't find it after looking for a bit). Thanks!

What more do you need? He doesn’t want to play for Arizona. The meeting didn’t go well. By the end of the meeting the Coyotes had soured on Michkov the person. I love Michkov the hockey player and agree we will likely regret this. That being said you saved yourself a big headache and constant questions and instead got another player who you are excited about.