2023 NHL Draft Thread

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by Flamesfan05

Sutter was not around long enough to influence the recent drafts

Obviously they cut tie with him and want to go another direction. If he had stayed around, you can bet he would have his ways including the draft

So, coaches like Sutter have lots of say in drafting, but only after a few years, which also happens after the period most of them get fired, for draft picks that will absolutely mature by the time that coach is gone.

Starting the day off strong, I see.

[serratedmuffin]

For me sandman I completely agree. D All the way in round 2. I really like Strbak and lindstein as well. I'm not a fan of Morin, I see a low ceiling player. There a few wild card all offense rover types available in round 2 but I'm not sure I'd take them. Too much risk and I think the way to succeed in the playoffs is bigger stronger D to handle the physical play (although I don't see great options for that in round 2 this year)


Edit: autocorrect

[Sandman]

Originally Posted by serratedmuffin

For me sandman I completely agree. D All the way in round 2. I really like Strbak and lindstein as well. I'm not a fan of Morin, I see a low ceiling player. There a few wild card all offense rover types available in round 2 but I'm not sure I'd take them. Too much risk and I think the way to succeed in the players is bigger stronger D to handle the physical play (although I don't see great options for that in round 2 this year)

Tristan Bertucci has size, and some offensive upside IMO. 50 points in 66 games for Flint. He could be a riser. I still like Caden Price, who is 6’2”, as well. Jakub Dvorak is huge, and moves well, but perhaps not the greatest offensive player. Also, watch for Gavin McCarthy, who has serious upside, and is 6’1”.

[FlamesAddiction]

I ran a few simulations on different sites, and 2 of them had the Flames picking Gracyn Sawchyn in the 2nd round (48th). I am not sure how realistic it is that he would drop that far though. It would be amazing to get someone like the usual suspects in the 1st (Danielson, Heidt, Ritchie, Honzek, Yager, Perrault, Moore, etc...), then Sawchyn in the 2nd.

[sch19lks]

I really like Danielson, reminds me of Getzlaf at the same age. Lots of skill, but very raw. I wouldn’t mind him at 16 at all

[Sandman]

More Draft Thoughts:

-C/LW Tyler Peddle hasn't really lived up to being selected 2nd overall in the 2021 QMJHL Draft by Drummondville, and he's been all over the map this season for 2023 Draft predictions, after being high first-round/second round in the first few months of the year. Peddle is a 6'1",190lb power-forward who plays a hard-nosed, physical style, and is known for his shooting ability. 24 goals, and 41 points in 64 games for a 13th-place Voltigeurs squad that to me, has a very weak looking top-6, and finished 16th out of 18 teams in goals-for. He would no doubt have much better numbers on another team, and there wasn't the kind of progression this year that one would expect, as he had 35 points last year in 65 games, for an improvement of only 6 points this season. Peddle has a hard, accurate wrister with a quick, deceptive release, and he has an eye for open spaces in the offensive zone. He's an intimidating forechecker, and is excellent down low, and in front of the net. He can beat goalies with his shooting prowess from near or far, and off the rush while in stride. He is not without passing skill, as he has above-average offensive awareness, but he's definitely more of a finisher, as opposed to a facilitator- he needs a good playmaker on his line to get him the puck in order to maximize his skills. Skating-wise, he has a good, powerful stride in a straight line, with fairly good acceleration, but he needs work on his explosiveness, top-speed, edges, and agility- he's a bit slow in turns. His excellent puck-protection skills, work-ethic, and high motor mask a lot of his mobility issues, though. Defensively, Peddle has been working hard to improve his own-zone play, but he still has work to do in this area. He's able to clog lanes, and has a long reach, and he's getting better at limiting the time and space of his opponents, and of course- he brings his physical game with him defensively. He's hard and mean in the corners, and he's good at supporting his D in both ends of the rink. In transition, he makes himself a good option for passes, but he needs to further develop his off-puck game. This could be a player with a high ceiling, and a low floor, but there's enough skill and athleticism here to make him a 3rd/4th round selection.

-Watch out for LHD Sawyer Mynio of the WHL Champion Seattle Thunderbirds, as he might be a big riser on draft day. Most outlets have him at 6'0", and around 170 lbs, but the T-Birds website lists him at 6'1". 31 points in 68 games, which sounds pretty vanilla, but consider that he's playing on a blueline clogged with the likes of Kevin Korchinski, Luke Prokop, Jeremy Hanzel, and Nolan Allan. Also consider that Mynio is tied for 2nd (with Korchinski) on Seattle, and 8th overall in the WHL, with an incredible plus/minus of +50. This is a skilled, smooth-skating, puck-moving defenseman, who plays a calm, composed game at both ends of the ice. He can unleash a powerful wrister, or one-timer, and he can pinch at opportune times. Great one-on-one skills, and good positioning in all areas. He can even play a physical game. Shows good compete, and high motor, but doesn't get too flashy. Only 4 points in 19 games in the playoffs, but I'm sure that's because the older players are getting the lion's share of the ice-time. 3rd round, but I can easily see him sneaking into the 2nd.

[Sandman]

This is Belarussian LHD Daniil Karpovich. I don't know a lot about him, but he's 6'4", 209lbs. In some draft lists, particularly those near the start of the season, I've seen his name pop up. In the MHL this year, he put up a pretty jaw-dropping 35 points in 47 games, good for fourth in the league for D, but pretty amazing for an 18 year-old (he's an older prospect with a Dec.6th birthday). The most I can find on him is that he has all the tools, plays a physical brand of hockey, but near the beginning of the season he was said to be not the best thinker. Take a look, looks like he moves well, and has a good shot:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RoNgo5geY4

[Rutuu]

With Conroy coming in and focusing on the draft by what we're hearing out of the local media...how many NHLers can we get out of this class with our 5 picks?

You can turn a team around REALLY quickly if you can get 3 in a draft class.

2011...Screw you Feaster...3 nhlers from 7 picks (Gaudreau / Sven / Granlund)

2012...screw you Feaster...2 from 7 picks (Jankowski, Kulak)

2013...screw you Feaster/Burke...1 from 8 picks (Monahan)...we had 3 firsts this year and picked the eyes out of the guys that didn't make it.

2014 1 from 6 picks (Bennett)

2015 we got Mangiapane, Andersson and Kylington with 5picks. 3 for 5

2016 we got 4 nhlers, if you count Philips...from 9 picks. Tkachuk, Dube, Fox and Philips.

***Imagine if Monahan never got hurt, Fox didn't have Ranger PJs, GMs didn't have a cloak and dagger collusion deal about bridge deals...sigh***

2017 2 NHLers from 5 picks (Valimaki and Ruzcika)

2018 0 from 5 picks...first pick was in the 4th round, three there and then a 6th and 7th rounder...Hamonic trade...ugh...

2019 possibly 2 from 5 picks again...Wolf and Pelletier


Give our amateur scouts more to work with and I feel they can do wonders restocking this team quickly.
...

[sureLoss]

Pronman and Wheeler do a 2 round mock draft.

https://theathletic.com/4522876/2023...shared_article

Pronman has the Flames taking RD Axel Sandin-Pelikka in the 1st round calling him the best puck mover in the the draft.

In the 2nd round has them taking C Felix Nilsson, a 2 way center whose stock kept rising as a season went on in Sweden.

[ForeverFlameFan]

I would be cheering in the streets if we got Sandin Pelikka. I don't see him falling to us though. A team like the Coyotes will likely use Ottawa's pick at 12 from the Chychrun trade if he's still there. They have a few top end forward prospects and need to grab a franchise D.

[1qqaaz]

Originally Posted by Rutuu

With Conroy coming in and focusing on the draft by what we're hearing out of the local media...how many NHLers can we get out of this class with our 5 picks?

You can turn a team around REALLY quickly if you can get 3 in a draft class.

2011...Screw you Feaster...3 nhlers from 7 picks (Gaudreau / Sven / Granlund)

2012...screw you Feaster...2 from 7 picks (Jankowski, Kulak)

2013...screw you Feaster/Burke...1 from 8 picks (Monahan)...we had 3 firsts this year and picked the eyes out of the guys that didn't make it.

2014 1 from 6 picks (Bennett)

2015 we got Mangiapane, Andersson and Kylington with 5picks. 3 for 5

2016 we got 4 nhlers, if you count Philips...from 9 picks. Tkachuk, Dube, Fox and Philips.

***Imagine if Monahan never got hurt, Fox didn't have Ranger PJs, GMs didn't have a cloak and dagger collusion deal about bridge deals...sigh***

2017 2 NHLers from 5 picks (Valimaki and Ruzcika)

2018 0 from 5 picks...first pick was in the 4th round, three there and then a 6th and 7th rounder...Hamonic trade...ugh...

2019 possibly 2 from 5 picks again...Wolf and Pelletier


Give our amateur scouts more to work with and I feel they can do wonders restocking this team quickly.
...

The Flames only had 5 picks in this draft and Broissoit is an NHLer.

[dammage79]

Originally Posted by ForeverFlameFan

I would be cheering in the streets if we got Sandin Pelikka. I don't see him falling to us though. A team like the Coyotes will likely use Ottawa's pick at 12 from the Chychrun trade if he's still there. They have a few top end forward prospects and need to grab a franchise D.

Sandin-Pelikkas stock has been rising since the U-18s, I doubt he makes it out of the top 10.

[Tkachukwagon]

Some more recent mock drafts for the Flames at #16:

The Hockey Writers: Brayden Yager

NHL.com: Samuel Honzek or Otto Stenberg

Sportsnet: Otto Stenberg

Sporting News: Gabe Perreault

The Sports Bank: David Reinbacher

McKeen's Hockey: Lukas Dragicevic

Recruit Scouting: Nate Danielson

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by Tkachukwagon

Some more recent mock drafts for the Flames at #16:



Sporting News: Gabe Perreault

[1qqaaz]

Originally Posted by Tkachukwagon

Some more recent mock drafts for the Flames at #16:

The Hockey Writers: Brayden Yager

NHL.com: Samuel Honzek or Otto Stenberg

Sportsnet: Otto Stenberg

Sporting News: Gabe Perreault

The Sports Bank: David Reinbacher

McKeen's Hockey: Lukas Dragicevic

Recruit Scouting: Nate Danielson

I don't know if we should be excited or worried about how different every mock draft is.

[dammage79]

Originally Posted by 1qqaaz

I don't know if we should be excited or worried about how different every mock draft is.

Excited. There is a lot of top line caliber talent even down in our range.

[1qqaaz]

Originally Posted by dammage79

Excited. There is a lot of top line caliber talent even down in our range.

I agree that it's exciting from a Flames perspective.

I'm just afraid that elite talent will fall to the Oilers and they actually draft someone good.

[Tkachukwagon]

The Hockey Writers did a Superlatives article on the 2023 Draft:

https://thehockeywriters.com/2023-nh...rlatives-best/

Some of my favorites:

Best Skater

Winner: Oliver Moore (Runners up: Connor Bedard, Mikhail Gulyayev, Bradly Nadeau, Tom Willander, Dmitri Simashev)

Oliver Moore is easily the best skater in the 2023 Draft, with the power to accelerate remarkably quickly, and the edgework to dance around d-zone coverage with the puck. He projects as a high-end NHL skater as a result, with the speed and hands to provide his team with tons of controlled zone entries. Moore is going to be one of the better skaters in the NHL from the first moment he steps on the ice and has the potential to be an impactful top-six center.

Most Likely To Compete in the NHL All-Star Hardest Shot Competition

Winner: Daniil But

Daniil But has gone under the radar a bit this year, as many Russian prospects will, but he is worthy of note for his massive frame (6-foot-5), and his shot which is heavy with a capital “H”. Now, for But to actually make the All-Star skills competition with the NHL’s current rules, he would need a lot of things to go right in his development, but if the NHL decides to follow the example of the NBA and bring in specialists for the skills competitions, then But will likely be a shoe-in to compete for the Hardest Shot at some point in his career.

Most Likely to Outperform Expectations

Winner: Gavin Brindley

Gavin Brindley is one of my favourite players in this draft and I think he’s a clear first-round talent. Should he fall into the second round or later, Brindley would immediately be in “draft steal” territory. He’s one of the most competitive players in this year’s group, with enough energy to drive a line despite his lack of size (5-foot-9). Brindley has tons of offensive skill which will give him a chance to be a top-six winger, but he works hard enough and is good enough in puck battles to play as a bottom-six winger if the skill doesn’t really pop at the NHL level.

[SuperMatt18]

I kind of want Oliver Moore just because we could use a guy that has speed to burn.

[dammage79]

Originally Posted by 1qqaaz

I agree that it's exciting from a Flames perspective.

I'm just afraid that elite talent will fall to the Oilers and they actually draft someone good.

Pffft, who cares about the Oilers. They proven time and time again they can get iylt done with even two of the best players in the world at their peak.