2023 NHL Draft Thread

[HighLifeMan]

Originally Posted by bdubbs

I ran the FC Mock 3 times and all 3 times Honzek was available when the Flames pick came up in the 2nd round...

That's because FC has him ranked by far the lowest of any reputable scouting service. His consolidated rankings put him at #23.

He won't be there at 48.

[Sandman]

Originally Posted by 1qqaaz

Just a friendly reminder that in 2005, the Flames drafted OHL forward Matt Pelech in the first round after he only had 6 points (1 goal) in 31 games.

They thought they had found the next Robyn Regehr I think…

[1qqaaz]

Oh yes, the Flames did try to play him as a defensemen, didn't they.

[Hot_Flatus]

https://theathletic.com/4506243/2023...corey-pronman/

In his mock, Corey Pronman has Owen Sound stud Colby Barlow going to the Flames at #16 this year.

I had not heard much about this kid, but he just put up a monster 46 goal season and only just turned 18 a few weeks ago. Apparently provides a bit of a two way game to go with his deadly release.

This would be the type of pick that would make finishing in this awful no mans land sting just a bit less than it does, but it seems like it may be a stretch that he is available @ #16 when the team picks. Certainly a trade up candidate if the new GM wants to make a splash imo.

[dustygoon]

Originally Posted by 1qqaaz

Just a friendly reminder that in 2005, the Flames drafted OHL forward Matt Pelech in the first round after he only had 6 points (1 goal) in 31 games.

[Sandman]

Originally Posted by 1qqaaz

Oh yes, the Flames did try to play him as a defensemen, didn't they.

Was he a forward at one time? Can’t recall….

[Sandman]

Originally Posted by Hot_Flatus

https://theathletic.com/4506243/2023...corey-pronman/

In his mock, Corey Pronman has Owen Sound stud Colby Barlow going to the Flames at #16 this year.

I had not heard much about this kid, but he just put up a monster 46 goal season and only just turned 18 a few weeks ago. Apparently provides a bit of a two way game to go with his deadly release.

This would be the type of pick that would make finishing in this awful no mans land sting just a bit less than it does, but it seems like it may be a stretch that he is available @ #16 when the team picks. Certainly a trade up candidate if the new GM wants to make a splash imo.

See page 24, post 474.

[Sandman]

Originally Posted by dustygoon

Thanks Sandman!!

So Reinbecher is better than Tim Ramholt, right? How did we draft that guy. 4 points in 12 games in B league in draft year. How did they even see the guy enough?

I’m sure he’s better than Ramholt, lol. He turned out be dynamic skating, and not much else.

[devo22]

Austrian national team coaches have been raving about his character and work ethic too. Really excited to see where he goes ... his rise over the past few months has been fun already, but a potential third top 10 pick in a span of four years would be pretty crazy. For context, we didn't have a single player drafted at all between 2006 and 2020. Having such an influx of young talent is pretty huge for such a small hockey country, especially since it's been a while since the Vanek/Grabner generation.

[Hot_Flatus]

Originally Posted by Sandman

See page 24, post 474.

Good insight, thanks. I'm starting to really love this prospect, especially given his age and production. For me, this is a prime trade up candidate for the franchise, but I don't think the team has the assets unless they find a partner interested in a player like Backlund or Lindholm as part of a bigger package and/or hockey trade to a team like the Wings or Blues.

[1qqaaz]

Nate Danielson, Colby Barlow, and Matthew Wood all seem like the types of guys who would go earlier than expected. All have good size and can produce. Danielson is a good skater. Barlow is good in the dirty areas. Wood is the largest and is good at protecting the puck. Musty could be in that group as well.

[dammage79]

At this point I'm hoping for a center. We got wingers. Defense is thin as hell but with the 16th pick you're reaching pretty deep to grab one after Reinbach and Sandin and the Russian. All 3 of which I fully expect to be gone before 16 anyways.

[Sandman]

Originally Posted by dammage79

At this point I'm hoping for a center. We got wingers. Defense is thin as hell but with the 16th pick you're reaching pretty deep to grab one after Reinbach and Sandin and the Russian. All 3 of which I fully expect to be gone before 16 anyways.

I agree, a C would be the best outcome. There's a ton of good D available in the 2nd round.

[dammage79]

Well I see it this way, We got the wingers, Flames are pretty good on the dev path for them. We have SOME center depth but that's going to look extremely different in the next two years. We have Zary to follow up one, but after that it's a crap shoot on the farm depth. Taking a Center here in this draft would really really go a long way to having C not be an issue in the near future and onward.

Like Sandman said, Defense a plenty in the later rounds to pluck from.

And if my hunch is correct and those 3 d men all go before 16th, then a couple of higher tier players fall to the Flames laps.

[Tbull8]

Originally Posted by dammage79

Well I see it this way, We got the wingers, Flames are pretty good on the dev path for them. We have SOME center depth but that's going to look extremely different in the next two years. We have Zary to follow up one, but after that it's a crap shoot on the farm depth. Taking a Center here in this draft would really really go a long way to having C not be an issue in the near future and onward.

Like Sandman said, Defense a plenty in the later rounds to pluck from.

And if my hunch is correct and those 3 d men all go before 16th, then a couple of higher tier players fall to the Flames laps.

Only way I'd want be grabbing a dman at 16 is if Reinbacher falls a bit. Not likely but he looks like a potential top pairing Mo Seider type dman. Sandin-Pellika looks solid but doesn't excite me as much.

Yager
Barlow
Cristall

are the 3 guys I see being potentially available at 16 that have the upside I hope the Flames target.

[Sandman]

Draft Thoughts:

I really thought I had Brayden Yager pegged, and I may have misled some people on what kind of player he is. I apologize profusely. Scouting reports on him have changed fairly drastically since the first third of the WHL season, when he was talked about glowingly- even compared somewhere to Patrice Bergeron in his approach to defense (can't find the article now). Brayden Yager is still an offensive weapon (78 points in 67 games for Moose Jaw), and they say his main weapon is his shot, which can be lethal- but why then, only 28 goals? Surely nothing to sniff at, but not the kind of numbers one would expect. It seems there are caveats to most aspects of Yager's game, from his shooting, to his playmaking, to his skating, and his defense. His inconsistent off-puck game is being criticized as well, and may be the root of his problems. At even strength, he doesn't seek out the high-danger areas to exploit his shot well enough, or recieve passes, and he spends too much time on the perimeter, with few touches, and not much on-puck time. Yager's vision and passing are good enough, but he often passes to low-danger. Many writers say his playmaking isn't his best trait, and he could be more accurate with his shot. In transition, his exits are good when he's passing, and not carrying, but his entries are inefficient. Defensively, he's inconsistent as well, and doesn't always succeed in keeping opponents out of danger areas, or separating them from the puck. He can be overly aggressive sometimes, passive other times. Another part of the problem is that he has a hitch in his skating- he has sound technique, but poor acceleration and edges. Fast in a straight line, but loses speed in crossovers. Perhaps his numbers are inflated in Moose Jaw, where they have the 8th-best goals-for, but have a pretty good top-6 in my estimation. I'm reading an article right now that compares him to Mike Hoffman. Yikes. I still think he'll be a good player at the NHL level, but he has a lot to iron out. He's been slipping in some mocks, out of the top-10, and I think he may slip some more, but I still see potential.

[Tbull8]

Originally Posted by Sandman

Draft Thoughts:

I really thought I had Brayden Yager pegged, and I may have misled some people on what kind of player he is. I apologize profusely. Scouting reports on him have changed fairly drastically since the first third of the WHL season, when he was talked about glowingly- even compared somewhere to Patrice Bergeron in his approach to defense (can't find the article now). Brayden Yager is still an offensive weapon (78 points in 67 games for Moose Jaw), and they say his main weapon is his shot, which can be lethal- but why then, only 28 goals? Surely nothing to sniff at, but not the kind of numbers one would expect. It seems there are caveats to most aspects of Yager's game, from his shooting, to his playmaking, to his skating, and his defense. His inconsistent off-puck game is being criticized as well, and may be the root of his problems. At even strength, he doesn't seek out the high-danger areas to exploit his shot well enough, or recieve passes, and he spends too much time on the perimeter, with few touches, and not much on-puck time. Yager's vision and passing are good enough, but he often passes to low-danger. Many writers say his playmaking isn't his best trait, and he could be more accurate with his shot. In transition, his exits are good when he's passing, and not carrying, but his entries are inefficient. Defensively, he's inconsistent as well, and doesn't always succeed in keeping opponents out of danger areas, or separating them from the puck. He can be overly aggressive sometimes, passive other times. Another part of the problem is that he has a hitch in his skating- he has sound technique, but poor acceleration and edges. Fast in a straight line, but loses speed in crossovers. Perhaps his numbers are inflated in Moose Jaw, where they have the 8th-best goals-for, but have a pretty good top-6 in my estimation. I'm reading an article right now that compares him to Mike Hoffman. Yikes. I still think he'll be a good player at the NHL level, but he has a lot to iron out. He's been slipping in some mocks, out of the top-10, and I think he may slip some more, but I still see potential.

I agree with your assessment. Anyone at 16 is likely to have some warts though, or they would be a top 5 lock. I would still rather the team swing for the fences on a player like Yager that has shown flashes, rather than the classic "good 2 way player that will likely be a middle 6 forward" that we've seen them go for in the past.

[Jiri Hrdina]

The lack of progression in Yager's YoY numbers do concern me.

[Royle9]

Odd how far Yager has fallen even going back to last year. 2 years ago he was almost considered a top 3-5 pick.

Never a fan of guys who are trending downward year after year, sounds like a guy the Flames cant afford to take a flyer on unless they acquire another 1st. Much rather swing for Wood/Cristal/Barlow/Danielson/Brindley

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by Royle9

Odd how far Yager has fallen even going back to last year. 2 years ago he was almost considered a top 3-5 pick.

Never a fan of guys who are trending downward year after year, sounds like a guy the Flames cant afford to take a flyer on unless they acquire another 1st. Much rather swing for Wood/Cristal/Barlow/Danielson/Brindley

Charlie Stramel is another guy who has fallen. Thought to be a top 15/top 10 guy at the start of the year. Now might slip out of the 1st. Cam Allen has fallen a ton.

I see Quientin Musty, Tom Willander, Danny Nelson and Otto Stenberg all as potential risers that could go higher in the NHL draft than where they are shown across most lists.