2023 NHL Draft Thread

[traptor]

Would love Moore but seems like he's going to be gone by 16

[Sandman]

Draft Thoughts (Uncut Gems, Vol.8):

-C/LW Thomas Verdon is vanilla in a lot of ways, but he has more translatable assets than many of the players that will be picked before him in the draft. He's 5'11",176lbs, and compiled a tepid 46 points in 67 games for one of the better teams in the Q, the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. Verdon leans a bit more towards being a playmaker than a goal-scorer, but he did put up 5 goals (with 2 assists) in 9 playoff games. Not surprisingly, Verdon has been tagged with the old adage,"not great at anything, but good at everything". He's intelligent, and boasts a solid all-around game, with decent awareness in all areas. He exhibits good puck-protection, solid vision and creativity, and is a fine shooter with a quick release. His passing ability helps him immensely in the offensive zone, where he's able to create and exploit open space, and in transition, where he connects with teammates to advance the puck. He's a heads-up player, always scanning for options, and able to hold on to the puck for an extra second while those options become available. While he does get caught playing on the perimeter sometimes, he will often play around the net-front looking for tips and rebounds. Defensively, he shows awareness and a presence, with adequate positioning, but he could stand to be more impactful in this area- although his plus-20 led the team by 6. Mobility-wise, he's fairly average, but has a solid base of smooth mechanics and agility, and his puck skills help mask those deficiencies. Look for him in the later rounds.

-I'm a bit intrigued by Verdon's teammate on the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, D Emeric Gaudet. Gaudet is 6'5", and 185lbs, and he skates very well for a big man- although it's very obvious that he has a ton (no pun intended) of filling out to do. He's 19, and was passed over in last year's draft due to lack of offense and puck skill, although defensemen with his size have been drafted with less than his 23 points in 58 games in 2021-22. This season, he was third for D on the Huskies, with 27 points in 68 games, followed by 6 points in 9 games in the playoffs. Strangely enough though, while his regular season +14 was second on the Huskies behind Verdon, his -11 in the playoffs was by far a team-worst. Gaudet is not a gifted playmaker, nor does he have much puck skill or great handling ability, but he does own an excellent shot from the point. From what I've read, Gaudet gets time on both sides of special teams, which is encouraging. He also possesses good defensive awareness, and positioning, employing a long reach, an active stick, and the ability to angle attackers to boards to engage physically. Pretty sure he won't be picked, but he's worth mentioning.

-LHC Ethan Hay has his fair share of backers, and also detractors. Hay is 6'1",190lbs, and is your typical meat-and-potatoes, two-way C- and there's nothing wrong with that. Hay skates fairly well, and takes pride in his defense, shutting down other teams' top players, playing physically, and winning faceoffs. His style is details-oriented, disciplined, and projectable- he never cheats, and plays with energy and competitiveness. He's there with big hits, stick lifts, shot blocks, poke checks, and whatever else he needs to do to get the job done. His positioning and awareness in his own zone are exemplary, and he's a top penalty-killer. Simply put, his defense is NHL-level, while his game in the other 2 zones is not right now. He doesn't get too many opportunities to show what he can do in transition, but it's usually quick touches, deferring to his teammates. Offensively, he doesn't show a lot of vision or puck skill, putting up a 17-goal, 28-point season in 64 games for Flint of the OHL- but he did contribute a goal and 6 points in 7 playoff games. He keeps things simple, and he doesn't practice much deception- resulting in many of his passes getting picked off. Playmaking isn't his strong suit. He's not afraid of going to the middle, or crashing the net, but he tends to stay a little higher in the zone to be in the right position to switch to defense. Hay will be able to show more next year, with more ice-time and responsibility as some of the vets depart from the Firebirds, but he has a projectable checking game.

[cral12]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1672349151882010626

Thread with all the Top 10-20 lists we've posted, for reference:

https://twitter.com/user/status/1672273328768425984

[MrMike]

I really hope we some how get Matthew Wood. My wife works with his mother.

[the-rasta-masta]

If the Flames are able to get an earlier 1st round pick in a trade for Hanifin/Lindholm, would you trade 16 and 48 to STL for 25 and 29…?

[Pickle Juice]

Originally Posted by the-rasta-masta

If the Flames are able to get an earlier 1st round pick in a trade for Hanifin/Lindholm, would you trade 16 and 48 to STL for 25 and 29…?

Yes! Smart move in my opinion.

[Sofa GM]

Originally Posted by the-rasta-masta

If the Flames are able to get an earlier 1st round pick in a trade for Hanifin/Lindholm, would you trade 16 and 48 to STL for 25 and 29…?

I would not, his draft has a very good top end and lots of depth. The drop from 16 to 25 would be measurable and at the end of the first round vs second is not huge margin. In my opinion of course.

[mile]

Originally Posted by the-rasta-masta

If the Flames are able to get an earlier 1st round pick in a trade for Hanifin/Lindholm, would you trade 16 and 48 to STL for 25 and 29…?

How early? Like #3?


If it meant getting one of the top 5 forwards in this draft I would do it

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by traptor

Would love Moore but seems like he's going to be gone by 16

Was listening to Athletic mock draft podcast and he is still there when Flames pick, they passed on him for Samuel Honzek.

[stemit14]

Originally Posted by traptor

Would love Moore but seems like he's going to be gone by 16

Agreed. Watched some of his highlights and I think he’s a fantastic player. Love his skill set and of course his speed.

My ideal draft is for the flames to get 3 picks in the 13-25 range. They could come out of this draft with a ton of talent up front. There aren’t really any prospects that I am against drafting in that grouping but I hope the flames choose to go with offensively gifted players above all. Lots of the defencemen in that range sound like they are reliable and “safe” picks with little high end offensive upside. In a draft this deep in skilled forwards, I would love to see them capitalize on the opportunity.


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[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

Was listening to Athletic mock draft podcast and he is still there when Flames pick, they passed on him for Samuel Honzek.

The NHL.com mock draft also has us taking Honzek.

16. Calgary Flames

Kimelman -- Samuel Honzek, LW, Vancouver (WHL): Honzek's strength and hockey IQ stood out this season, his first in the Western Hockey League after coming over from his native Slovakia. He showed he could make plays off the rush and use his big body (6-3, 195) to hold off defenders to create time and space to use his quick, heavy shot. He missed nearly two months because of a bad skate cut to his left calf sustained during the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship, but he looked recovered when he returned and his testing at the NHL Scouting Combine removed any lingering doubts about his quickness and power.

Morreale -- Samuel Honzek: Honzek is a power forward with good hands and skating ability. He had 56 points (23 goals, 33 assists) in 43 games to become the third-highest Vancouver rookie scorer in a single season after Fabian Lysell (62 points, 2021-22) and Gilbert Brule (60 points, 2003-04).

https://www.nhl.com/news/2023-mock-n...?tid=277764372

And here's what EP says about him:

Rare is a shift where Honzek’s ability to protect the puck doesn’t appear. The 6-foot-4 winger gets and keeps defenders on his backcheck, using body positioning to create offence. But instead of just brute-forcing plays, he plays with a ton of finesse. He fakes cutbacks in one direction before going the other, turns to wait for pressure to arrive before accelerating, and combines the edges with in-motion handling to slip around defenders. -EliteProspects 2023 NHL Draft Guide

https://www.eliteprospects.com/playe.../samuel-honzek

[dammage79]

Man, it's been tough flip flopping for months but I'm on the Yager train. I get big time Pavelski vibes from him.

1. Yager
2. Danielson
3. Ritchie
4. Simashev
5. Moore

Thats my block in preference, only thing that disrupts that block for me is if an ASP or a Michkov or Leonard perform an epic slide down to 16.

I really really want one more pick in the same range. Badly. Give me my serotonin dump conny and make it happen.

[bigrangy]

I really will be surprised if he is available but I would really want Matthew Wood from this draft. As good a bet as anyone to be a superstar outside of the top 5.

[stemit14]

With so much diversity in the rankings from the 8th overall pick onwards, I wonder which player or players drop in the draft?

My guess right now would be Reinbacher. Most draft projections have him going in the top ten but with so much offensive talent available, I wonder if a guy that is projected to be a solid top four defenseman but not likely to be an eilte top pairing guy ends up dropping. I get the feeling draft reports are putting him in the top ten just because “surely someone has to take a defencemen in the top ten - right?” But it would not surprise me if most teams are not eager to do it at the expense of picking Yager, Moore, Cristall, Perreault, Sale, Danielson or Barlow.

The question is if the flames should take him if he drops? I tend to be biased and prefer high offence forwards with early first round picks so I would rather he go to someone else before the flames pick. Especially since I doubt he would make it past the flames since they are lacking in defence prospects.


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[Fan69]

Originally Posted by stemit14

With so much diversity in the rankings from the 8th overall pick onwards, I wonder which player or players drop in the draft?

My guess right now would be Reinbacher. Most draft projections have him going in the top ten but with so much offensive talent available, I wonder if a guy that is projected to be a solid top four defenseman but not likely to be an eilte top pairing guy ends up dropping. I get the feeling draft reports are putting him in the top ten just because “surely someone has to take a defencemen in the top ten - right?” But it would not surprise me if most teams are not eager to do it at the expense of picking Yager, Moore, Cristall, Perreault, Sale, Danielson or Barlow.

The question is if the flames should take him if he drops? I tend to be biased and prefer high offence forwards with early first round picks so I would rather he go to someone else before the flames pick. Especially since I doubt he would make it past the flames since they are lacking in defence prospects.


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As i see it if we can get three picks before 25 we can walk away with two high end centers. To my mind it would be crazy to miss out on a center heavy draft where picks into the mid twenties have star potential in a position thats almost impossible to fill. This is a once in a decade draft dont screw it up by oicking up a defencemen until the second round

[ForeverFlameFan]

Originally Posted by the-rasta-masta

If the Flames are able to get an earlier 1st round pick in a trade for Hanifin/Lindholm, would you trade 16 and 48 to STL for 25 and 29…?

I don't think that's wise. Would rather trade for an earlier second using our own 2nd and a 3rd. 16th is too valuable. I also think 48th OA is still a good spot to be in.

[Rick M.]

Originally Posted by ForeverFlameFan

I don't think that's wise. Would rather trade for an earlier second using our own 2nd and a 3rd. 16th is too valuable. I also think 48th OA is still a good spot to be in.

I thought we didn’t have a 3rd.

[Royle9]

Jesus, Honzek would be the worst case scenario in my mind.
The guy is big and can skate pretty well for his size, but he’s by no means a projected top 6 forward and likely not a flashy impact player at the NHL level just a big body who uses it to shield pucks but not a bruising forward.

Of all the lists and players available around our pick id be genuinely disappointed to use it on Honzek.

[ForeverFlameFan]

Originally Posted by Rick M.

I thought we didn’t have a 3rd.

If we don't then use one in a different year. Regardless, I'd rather we use the pick at 16. This draft has 2015 vibes where we can find a faller from the top 16 fall into our laps like Barzal/Connor/Chabot.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by ForeverFlameFan

If we don't then use one in a different year. Regardless, I'd rather we use the pick at 16. This draft has 2015 vibes where we can find a faller from the top 16 fall into our laps like Barzal/Connor/Chabot.

I really doubt anyone will trade the Flames an early 2nd round pick for the 48th plus a third from the 2024 draft.