2023 NHL Draft Thread

[Sandman]

Wow! You work quickly! Thanks Cral!

[Sandman]

Originally Posted by serratedmuffin

I could be wrong but I thought he played center near the end of the year. Any chance he can stick at center or is LW his only position in the future?

He is listed as being a C/LW on many sites, but I saw him listed as LW for most of the season, so I just assumed. If he’s as comfortable playing C, that can only help his draft stock- we all LOVE the big centers who can skate! I know it would make picking him more attractive to me!

[Snuffleupagus]

Originally Posted by Fighting Banana Slug

Button has the Flames looking at Yager, Danielson and Honzek.
Will certainly be a good player at 16. Really curious where the D men shake out. I think Centre should be the focus, but always BPA, so I am really open to pretty much anything in the first round (except a goalie,lol)

I don't think there's a Makar in this draft so please no defenseman, this team needs a skilled forward badly, so for this years draft, the hell with the BPA

[Sandman]

No Makar, but Axel Sandin-Pelikka is as blue chip as you can get. Either way, there’s a ton of quality D in the second and third rounds, although we currently don’t own a third.

[Poe969]

How far can thr Flames move up in the draft? What teams do you think would be willing to move their first?

[Rejean31]

Originally Posted by Royle9

I could see Columbus going Carlsson if they don’t win 1st o/a.
Jarmo likes his euros

Except when they are named Pulijarrvi.

[Royle9]

Originally Posted by Rejean31

Except when they are named Pulijarrvi.

Yep, he big brained that one.
Had most people questioning it on draft day too.

[dammage79]

Originally Posted by Poe969

How far can thr Flames move up in the draft? What teams do you think would be willing to move their first?

You mean by trading up from 16? Can't imagine any higher than maybe 13th and that'd be a steep price.

If you means by Lottery, 10 spots. Highest they can pick is 6th. Probability is so low its not worth mentioning but here it is anyways, half a percentage point.

[ForeverFlameFan]

Originally Posted by Poe969

How far can thr Flames move up in the draft? What teams do you think would be willing to move their first?

I don’t think any team not in the playoffs is moving their 1st. MAYBE willing to move down a couple of spots outside the top 10 for a mid pick in return. I hope we stand pat.

What we do need to do is see if one of the teams with an extra 1st would be willing to move it.

[1qqaaz]

I believe these are the only teams that have never won a draft lottery (from oldest to youngest):

1. Vancouver
2. Calgary Flames
3. San Jose Sharks
4. Anaheim Ducks
5. Arizona Coyotes
6. Minnesota Wild
7. Nashville Predators
8. Vegas Golden Knights

Note that all 8 of these teams are in the West...

[1qqaaz]

Originally Posted by cral12

One word, as Peter Loubardias would say, "look out".

Talked with CP's outstanding residential NHL draft specialist Sandman and I've put together his awesome prospect profiles (so far) on our website - Upside Hockey.

Have them in the order of our most recent lottery edition rankings.

Check it out at:
https://bit.ly/upsidenhldraftprofiles

Thanks, great stuff. I spent way too long looking at this.

[Sandman]

Yeah, I don’t see a scenario where any team sells off a lottery pick. Washington picks 8th, and they want to stay competitive for Ovi, but even then I can’t see them dealing that pick. Pittsburgh picks 15th, and they’re in the same boat as Washington- they want to compete as long as they have Crosby and Malkin, but I still don’t think they deal the pick, unless it’s massive overpayment. There are some teams that have multiple first-rounders (Detroit, Anaheim, St Louis, Chicago, SJ), so there’s a slim chance you could get one of their late firsts, but I don’t imagine it would be cheap.

[Naitix]

If we somehow win the lottery and take Will Smith it would be game changing, what is it like a 3% chance? It is not bad honestly, could happen - so I'm excited to watch.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by naitix

if we somehow win the lottery and take will smith it would be game changing, what is it like a 3% chance? It is not bad honestly, could happen - so i'm excited to watch.

0.5%

[Heavy Jack]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

0.5%

[Sandman]

More Post-U18 Draft Thoughts:

-Back home in Sweden's J20 Liiga, Axel Landen (pronounced by the commentators as Lan-DAYNE), is considered somewhat of an "offensive defenseman", being 5th in the Liiga for U-18 defenseman, with an odd stat line of 10 goals, 6 assists, for 16 points in 44 games- which sounds more like a goal-scoring forward. In the U-18 Tournament, he was very hard to notice, as he patrolled on the third-pairing, and had no points in 7 games. That said, his performance was indicative of what I believe he will be if he ever makes the show- a swift moving, defensive stalwart, that can move the puck, and kill penalties- and there's nothing wrong with that. Yes, Landen is an excellent skater, on a 6'1" frame, and is not without puck skill. He is able to close in on attackers, eliminating time and space with his mobility, positioning, and airtight gap control, and he likes the physical game. Hard in the corners, in front of the net, and along the boards-works hard, and makes himself difficult to play against. Keeps it pretty simple, but plays with pace, makes a nice first-pass, and doesn't seem to make too many mistakes. His mobility gives him the option to transition the puck out himself, but he seems to defer to teammates more often. Needs to work on his shot, and maybe his offensive game. Third/ Fourth round pick.

-D Arvid Bergstrom was another player I really liked, on a Swedish defense with a lot of fun players to watch. 3 points in 7 games, but back home in the J20, he had 23 points in 41 games- good enough for 23rd in D scoring, and 4th for players under 18. He's fairly young still too, with a June birthday. Bergstrom is like a poor-man's Axel Sandin-Pelikka, with great skating and pace, and a robust offensive toolkit. He's 5'11", but does not get intimidated by physicality, although he doesn't initiate contact often- instead, he uses smarts, positioning, and a quick stick to kill plays, or steal pucks. His separation speed and puckhandling gives him time and space to make the right decisions- he connects on outlet passes, both short and long, or he can skate it out in transition by himself. Excellent sense and anticipation, top-tier playmaking skills, and runs the point with patience. although using that word undermines his fine motor. Some say he's still pretty raw, and needs refinement in some areas of his decision making, particularly in his own zone- though he looked pretty solid in this tournament to me. He's a good all-around player, and is good defensively, but he's not a stalwart- he could use work in that area, along with a bit more physicality. Obviously, he's on the small side, so he needs to get bigger and stronger. He also needs to work on his shot- he walks the line and distributes just fine, but it's hard to say if his offense will translate to the NHL. 4th round.

-Remember Be-bop and Rocksteady from the Ninja Turtles? Sweden had two blueliners that reminded me of them, in 6'5" 214lb Kristian Kostadinski, and 6'4", 203lb Axel Hurtig. Both are solid, not spectacular, stay-at-home players, with average speed, who play a simple, meat-and-potatoes game. Both have pretty good hockey sense for the D zone, where they play a punishing, physical brand of hockey, with quality positioning and anticipation, as well as gap control. Huge wingspans with their reach, and smart sticks, which help them clog lanes, and smother attackers. Neither will get too involved in transition, instead deferring to other players, although both can create a quality outlet pass. Neither one of these players will ever be counted on for offense, and indeed- neither will ever develop those skills. I would put Hurtig ahead as a player- he seems to be more mobile, and better with the puck, and I think he's showing up on most mocks, way before KK. I would pick Hurtig for the 3rd/4th round, and KK for the 5th/6th.

-I've already raved about Team Canada D Tristan Bertucci, and I did mention his partner for 3 games, D Quinton Burns- but I have to talk about him, because I liked him very much. Burns is one of those players that comes with the adage, "good at everything, but not elite at any one thing". Burns has excellent 4-directional mobility, and he uses it to play a solid, 200-ft game. He is 6'1", and is quite physical to separate man from puck, and he's a bit mean down low, in front of the net, and boards. Takes away time and space, and frustrates opponents, and causes turnovers. Bit of a shift disturber- you could tell he was reining it in a bit for this tourney, so as not to take penalties. Quality vision and anticipation, makes good reads with hard, crisp passes, and even affects transition, with his feet and hands, and he makes nice outlets,too. Burns exhibits great puck-protection, and distributes the puck well in the attacking zone, but has far more room to grow offensively. Owns a nice, hard shot, too. 29 points in 54 games, to go with 106 PIMs for Kingston of the OHL- pretty good stats, playing for a team that finished 17th out of 20 teams, and second-worst in Goals-for, and he was 12 points ahead of the next defenseman on his team. I think this kid is just scratching the surface, and will one day make a good second-pairing guy. 3rd/4th round.

[Francis's Hairpiece]

Originally Posted by cral12

One word, as Peter Loubardias would say, "look out".

Talked with CP's outstanding residential NHL draft specialist Sandman and I've put together his awesome prospect profiles (so far) on our website - Upside Hockey.

Have them in the order of our most recent lottery edition rankings.

Check it out at:
https://bit.ly/upsidenhldraftprofiles

Awesome write up! Really great stuff. One question I have is what # is Riley Heidt? I read through a couple of times and must have missed him.

[1qqaaz]

Originally Posted by Francis's Hairpiece

Awesome write up! Really great stuff. One question I have is what # is Riley Heidt? I read through a couple of times and must have missed him.

He's 40th on the spreadsheet, but isn't on the Prospect Profiles.

[ForeverFlameFan]

Originally Posted by Sandman

Yeah, I don’t see a scenario where any team sells off a lottery pick. Washington picks 8th, and they want to stay competitive for Ovi, but even then I can’t see them dealing that pick. Pittsburgh picks 15th, and they’re in the same boat as Washington- they want to compete as long as they have Crosby and Malkin, but I still don’t think they deal the pick, unless it’s massive overpayment. There are some teams that have multiple first-rounders (Detroit, Anaheim, St Louis, Chicago, SJ), so there’s a slim chance you could get one of their late firsts, but I don’t imagine it would be cheap.

Detroit and Calgary seem like ideal partners. If the Flames went the rebuild route, I would love to somehow grab Raymond for Hanifin+. I know that's a pipe dream, but Hanifin with Seider would be a fantastic pairing in Detroit. Bonus if we could land that additional pick if Lindholm was involved (assuming Lindholm doesn't want to be here).

[Flamesfan05]

Flames are over due for some luck