2023 Mock Draft

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Draft Class: 2023

Published: Jun. 28, 2023 at 6:09 p.m.

DRAFT

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Round 1
1. Connor Bedard (Chicago Blackhawks) (Details: I don’t think I need to do much explaining here. The next face of the league goes to the most controversial team in the league. I will say though, I love the acquisition of Taylor Hall for the Blackhawks to play with Bedard.).
2. Adam Fantilli (Anaheim Ducks) (Details: Also a pretty obvious pick. Like a few other guys in this draft, he could easily be a 1st overall pick in other drafts that didn’t have Connor Bedard. Anaheim’s center depth looks scary after).
3. Leo Carlsson (Columbus Blue Jackets) (Details: Jarmo has said he is taking a future 1C with this pick, and Carlsson fits that bill the best. He’s a more complete player than Will Smith, who some have CBJ taking here, but I don’t see it. Carlsson just had a monster season for a draft eligible skater in the SHL, and he has one of the highest hockey IQs in the class.).
4. Will Smith (San Jose Sharks) (Details: On my personal rankings, Will Smith is lower on my board. To me he’s just a little bit of a worse version of Logan Cooley. Still, I don’t think the Sharks pass on the 4th center that ends up in this spot. He’s a very flashy and creative player, with questions about his compete level.).
5. Matvei Michkov (Montreal Canadiens) (Details: If Montreal believes Newhook is a center, I’m convinced they have taken a liking to Michkov. This would be a home run pick, and he’s the 2nd ranked prospect on my board. Such a rare, offensive talent and a future superstar. He has the skill set of Nikita Kucherov but likes to shoot more. Montreal takes their future face of the franchise and doesn’t look back.).
6. David Reinbacher (Arizona Coyotes) (Details: Reinbacher is lower than this on my board, but he feels like a Bill Armstrong type of player. Big, good defender and a solid skater, who ate up minutes playing against men. He’s probably the best dman in the class, although it’s close to Simashev. It’s a solid pick albeit a reach, but if he can fulfill some of his untapped offensive potential, he could become a first pair dman.).
7. Zach Benson (Philadelphia Flyers) (Details: Benson is one of my favorite players in the class, and the number 5 guy on my board. I think he’s a future stud. He’s an all-world passer, great hands, fantastic 2-way guy, underrated release and a tenacious player on the puck. Philly fans should be foaming at the mouth of the possibility of Benson and Gauthier on the same line. If Benson can improve his skating, the team that drafts him could have a future superstar on their hands.).
8. Tom Willander (Washington Capitals) (Details: Willander has a great combo of speed, size, strength and smarts. He knows how to use his body as well, making him a nightmare to play against. Washington has gone forward in round 1 for the past few years, so I think it’s high time they take a defender.).
9. Ryan Leonard (Detroit Red Wings) (Details: Ryan Leonard is the type of guy everyone loves to play with but everyone hates to play against. One of the most feisty players in the class, he’s seen as a guy who’d be great to have in the playoffs. His floor is fairly high, but I have questions on his ceiling, hence why I have him dropping a big.).
10. Dalibor Dvorsky (St. Louis Blues) (Details: After trading center Ryan O’Reilly at the deadline, St. Louis has a need at the position. Dvorsky in my eyes is he’s good at pretty much everyone but a master of none. He’s fallen a bit on draft boards compared to the start of the year, but he’s still an enticing prospect and a guy who I see as a high end future 2C.).
11. Dmitri Simashev (Vancouver Canucks) (Details: Simashev, a guy who has been labeled a sexy pick recently, is a fantastic and smooth skater, and uses it to his advantage when he defends. Everyone knows Vancouver needs help on the defensive size of the puck, so I think I can easily see them take this rangy defender who could have some offensive upside as well. He can be what they wanted Tyler Myers to be.).
12. Gabe Perreault (Arizona Coyotes from Ottawa Senators) (Details: Perreault has a rocket shot and good hands, and can drive play decently well. His huge knock is his skating, but if he can improve significantly on it, you’re looking at a guy who will perennially sniff 30 goals a year.).
13. Axel Sandin Pellikka (Buffalo Sabres) (Details: Since Buffalo already has a bevy of high end forward prospects, they elect to go defense here. Although on the smaller side, Sandin Pellikka is strong along the boards and in the defensive zone, and he posses high end offensive tools. I feel that him and Owen Power could make a great, mobile pair on defense.).
14. Brayden Yager (Pittsburgh Penguins) (Details: With Crosby and Malkin being unable to stick around forever, the Pens elect to take a center who was at one point projected to go top 5. He’s a great passer and good on transition, plays a 200 foot game and he’s got a wicked release. Being mentored by Crosby and Malkin ain’t so bad either. I could see this end up being a steal.).
15. Daniil But (Nashville Predators) (Details: Barry Trotz wants to draft skill early, and take some chances. No player fits this bill like But. He’s big, but don’t let that fool you. He’s got silky mitts and he’s an extremely accurate passer, and can get pucks in tight areas that not many hockey players can. With a decent release on top of this, he’s an extremely intriguing prospect, and we could be wondering why he wasn’t drafted higher one day.).
16. Oliver Moore (Calgary Flames) (Details: Moore slips in this mock because I am not very high on him. The good traits he does posses he doesn’t use very properly. I don’t think his ceiling is very high either. Despite this, many people have fallen in love with his game and his skill would be too tantalizing to pass up for Calgary here, who’s having a mass exodus of players. With Lindholm and Backlund both slated to be packing up their bags soon, Moore is a pretty good nab for Calgary all things considered.).
17. Matthew Wood (Detroit Red Wings from New York Islanders).
18. Andrew Cristall (Winnipeg Jets).
19. Lukas Dragicevic (Chicago Blackhawks from Tampa Bay Lightning).
20. Mikhail Gulyayev (Seattle Kraken).
21. Nate Danielson (Minnesota Wild).
22. Quentin Musty (Philadelphia Flyers from Los Angeles Kings).
23. Eduard Sale (New York Rangers).
24. Colby Barlow (Nashville Predators from Edmonton Oilers).
25. Étienne Morin (St. Louis Blues from Toronto Maple Leafs).
26. Calum Ritchie (San Jose Sharks from New Jersey Devils).
27. Samuel Honzek (Colorado Avalanche).
28. Gavin Brindley (Toronto Maple Leafs from Boston Bruins).
29. Michael Hrabal (St. Louis Blues from Dallas Stars).
30. Riley Heidt (Carolina Hurricanes).
31. Koehn Ziemmer (Colorado Avalanche from Florida Panthers).
32. Ethan Gauthier (Vegas Golden Knights).

CapFriendly.com User-Generated Mock-Draft

ROUND 1	TEAM	ORIGINAL	PLAYER	DETAILS

1	-	Connor Bedard	I don’t think I need to do much explaining here. The next face of the league goes to the most controversial team in the league. I will say though, I love the acquisition of Taylor Hall for the Blackhawks to play with Bedard.
2	-	Adam Fantilli	Also a pretty obvious pick. Like a few other guys in this draft, he could easily be a 1st overall pick in other drafts that didn’t have Connor Bedard. Anaheim’s center depth looks scary after
3	-	Leo Carlsson	Jarmo has said he is taking a future 1C with this pick, and Carlsson fits that bill the best. He’s a more complete player than Will Smith, who some have CBJ taking here, but I don’t see it. Carlsson just had a monster season for a draft eligible skater in the SHL, and he has one of the highest hockey IQs in the class.
4	-	Will Smith	On my personal rankings, Will Smith is lower on my board. To me he’s just a little bit of a worse version of Logan Cooley. Still, I don’t think the Sharks pass on the 4th center that ends up in this spot. He’s a very flashy and creative player, with questions about his compete level.
5	-	Matvei Michkov	If Montreal believes Newhook is a center, I’m convinced they have taken a liking to Michkov. This would be a home run pick, and he’s the 2nd ranked prospect on my board. Such a rare, offensive talent and a future superstar. He has the skill set of Nikita Kucherov but likes to shoot more. Montreal takes their future face of the franchise and doesn’t look back.
6	-	David Reinbacher	Reinbacher is lower than this on my board, but he feels like a Bill Armstrong type of player. Big, good defender and a solid skater, who ate up minutes playing against men. He’s probably the best dman in the class, although it’s close to Simashev. It’s a solid pick albeit a reach, but if he can fulfill some of his untapped offensive potential, he could become a first pair dman.
7	-	Zach Benson	Benson is one of my favorite players in the class, and the number 5 guy on my board. I think he’s a future stud. He’s an all-world passer, great hands, fantastic 2-way guy, underrated release and a tenacious player on the puck. Philly fans should be foaming at the mouth of the possibility of Benson and Gauthier on the same line. If Benson can improve his skating, the team that drafts him could have a future superstar on their hands.
8	-	Tom Willander	Willander has a great combo of speed, size, strength and smarts. He knows how to use his body as well, making him a nightmare to play against. Washington has gone forward in round 1 for the past few years, so I think it’s high time they take a defender.
9	-	Ryan Leonard	Ryan Leonard is the type of guy everyone loves to play with but everyone hates to play against. One of the most feisty players in the class, he’s seen as a guy who’d be great to have in the playoffs. His floor is fairly high, but I have questions on his ceiling, hence why I have him dropping a big.
10	-	Dalibor Dvorsky	After trading center Ryan O’Reilly at the deadline, St. Louis has a need at the position. Dvorsky in my eyes is he’s good at pretty much everyone but a master of none. He’s fallen a bit on draft boards compared to the start of the year, but he’s still an enticing prospect and a guy who I see as a high end future 2C.
11	-	Dmitri Simashev	Simashev, a guy who has been labeled a sexy pick recently, is a fantastic and smooth skater, and uses it to his advantage when he defends. Everyone knows Vancouver needs help on the defensive size of the puck, so I think I can easily see them take this rangy defender who could have some offensive upside as well. He can be what they wanted Tyler Myers to be.
12		Gabe Perreault	Perreault has a rocket shot and good hands, and can drive play decently well. His huge knock is his skating, but if he can improve significantly on it, you’re looking at a guy who will perennially sniff 30 goals a year.
13	-	Axel Sandin Pellikka	Since Buffalo already has a bevy of high end forward prospects, they elect to go defense here. Although on the smaller side, Sandin Pellikka is strong along the boards and in the defensive zone, and he posses high end offensive tools. I feel that him and Owen Power could make a great, mobile pair on defense.
14	-	Brayden Yager	With Crosby and Malkin being unable to stick around forever, the Pens elect to take a center who was at one point projected to go top 5. He’s a great passer and good on transition, plays a 200 foot game and he’s got a wicked release. Being mentored by Crosby and Malkin ain’t so bad either. I could see this end up being a steal.
15	-	Daniil But	Barry Trotz wants to draft skill early, and take some chances. No player fits this bill like But. He’s big, but don’t let that fool you. He’s got silky mitts and he’s an extremely accurate passer, and can get pucks in tight areas that not many hockey players can. With a decent release on top of this, he’s an extremely intriguing prospect, and we could be wondering why he wasn’t drafted higher one day.
16	-	Oliver Moore	Moore slips in this mock because I am not very high on him. The good traits he does posses he doesn’t use very properly. I don’t think his ceiling is very high either. Despite this, many people have fallen in love with his game and his skill would be too tantalizing to pass up for Calgary here, who’s having a mass exodus of players. With Lindholm and Backlund both slated to be packing up their bags soon, Moore is a pretty good nab for Calgary all things considered.
17		Matthew Wood
18	-	Andrew Cristall
19		Lukas Dragicevic
20	-	Mikhail Gulyayev
21	-	Nate Danielson
22		Quentin Musty
23	-	Eduard Sale
24		Colby Barlow
25		Étienne Morin
26		Calum Ritchie
27	-	Samuel Honzek
28		Gavin Brindley
29		Michael Hrabal
30	-	Riley Heidt
31		Koehn Ziemmer
32	-	Ethan Gauthier