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| ROUND 1 | TEAM | ORIGINAL | PLAYER | DETAILS |
|---|
| 1 |  | - | Easiest pick ever. | |
| 2 |  | - | Although there is an argument that Michkov could be the second best player in this draft, I don't believe Anaheim will take the risk. Fantilli is easily a top-3 talent in 2023. | |
| 3 |  | - | Columbus badly needs a center with as high of a ceiling as Carlsson. I could see Kekalainen going off the board for Will Smith, but I believe CBJ will take Carlsson. | |
| 4 |  | - | For me, San Jose will select whichever of Carlsson or Smith is available at this pick. It is way too early for a defenseman to be selected, and Michkov is still too big of a wild card for San Jose, in my opinion. Smith is the best player available at 4. | |
| 5 |  | - | Something about Michkov to Montreal makes sense to me. I really don't see them drafting a defenseman this high, there's an outside chance of it, but I don't believe it. Anyway, Michkov would be a great addition to what is arguably the best prospect group at forward in the league. Imagine in 5 years or so the Canadiens have Caufield AND Michkov scoring goals for them. Sure, it's a risk, but it's a risk Montreal can afford. | |
| 6 |  | - | Reinbacher seems like Arizona's guy to me. They're definitely selecting at least one defenseman with their two first round selections, and I think they jump on Reinbacher before any other team can select him. They need a defensive prospect badly, so this makes sense for them even if the pick is somewhat off the board. | |
| 7 |  | - | The Flyers haven't drafted a bona fide center in the first round since 2017 when they drafted Nolan Patrick and Morgan Frost. Cutter Gauthier is listed as a LW/C, but I think the Flyers should draft someone who is a pure center. Dvorsky has put up really good numbers in the Allsvenskan league, and to me is the best center available at this pick. | |
| 8 |  | - | The Capitals lack a lot of real high-end prospects, which makes sense considering they've been contending for years. They have some center prospects, namely Connor McMichael and Hendrix LaPierre, but I don't see either of those guys turning into potential 1C options. Oliver Moore could be that for the Capitals. Sidenote: I believe the Capitals are as low as Michkov will slide if he does fall out of the top 5. It just makes too much sense for him to end up in Washington with Ovechkin being there. | |
| 9 |  | - | Benson is a big wild card in this draft. I've seen him ranked around 5-7, I've seen him drop as far as 14-15. I believe he has a very high ceiling with an equally low floor. That said, I believe in the Red Wings' ability to develop prospects, and I believe they will go with the winger at 9. They've got really strong defensemen, and a really good center prospect in Marco Kasper. | |
| 10 |  | - | First thing, I do not believe the Blues will keep all 3 of their first round picks. I believe they have a solid core they could build around, and trading one or both of their later firsts could help them contend sooner. That said, I believe they will select someone at #10, and that someone will be a center. As tempting as it would be to draft a defenseman here, I think adding a future potential top 6 center will be key to a Blues retool. I believe a one-two of Thomas and Danielson could be deadly in a few years. | |
| 11 |  | - | Looking at the Canucks draft history and prospect pool, it's pretty clear they are in need of a defenseman. They haven't drafted one in the first two rounds since 2018, when they drafted Hughes and Jett Woo, so I think they go with the best defenseman available at 11. It also helps that Sandin Pellikka is a Swede. | |
| 12 | |  | Now that Arizona has their defenseman, I believe they will go best winger available and select Perreault. They have some truly great talent down the middle with Cooley and Geekie, and I could see Perreault being a great future linemate for either of those centers. | |
| 13 |  | - | The Buffalo Sabres have an underrated deep prospect pool. I don't believe they need a defenseman here, as they have 5 solid young defenseman under contract who will play either in the NHL or AHL next season. Their forward prospect depth is crazy deep, and they have a future Vezina winner in net. I could see them trading this pick to win now, but if they don't I think But makes sense here. He has high upside, and I don't think Buffalo should be afraid of the risk. But is under contract in the KHL until 2025, so we won't be seeing him in North America likely until the fall of that year, right in time for what could be the opening of Buffalo's cup window. | |
| 14 |  | - | The Penguins desperately need to draft some high end prospects. They have one really significant forward prospect in Sam Poulin, and I think they go with the big winger at 14. (It is tempting to go with Andrew Gibson here, who is the highest ranked Soo Greyhound in this draft.) | |
| 15 |  | - | The Predators have a plethora of talent up front in their prospect pool, so I think they go defense here. Willander and Gulyayev are the two best defensemen left, and I think the Predators jump on Willander. I could see Willander making the jump to Josi's right side before Josi retires. | |
| 16 |  | - | I think Calgary goes either center or defense with this pick. Ryan Leonard has slipped quite a bit in this draft, but I don't think he makes it past Calgary or Nashville. | |
| 17 | |  | Although Detroit has a very solid prospect pool on defense, adding one more to the crop isn't a bad idea, in my opinion. Gulyayev is a very talented offensive defenseman, who can become a top pairing player with Mo Seider or a really good second pairing defenseman behind Simon Edvinsson. He has one more year left in the KHL, after which Detroit could try to bring him over. | |
| 18 |  | - | The Jets haven't drafted a defenseman in the first round since Ville Heinola in 2019. I believe they have plenty of talent in their forward pool, and Simashev would be a great future defenseman for the Jets. Like Gulyayev, Simashev has just one year left in the KHL before being eligible to come to North America. Lukas Dragicevic is tempting here being a RHD, but Simashev is leaps and bounds better than Dragicevic in my opinion. The defense drop-off from here is pretty pronounced. | |
| 19 | |  | I believe Chicago's pick here comes down to Matthew Wood or Eduard Sale. Both are fairly offensively gifted wingers, but I give the edge to Wood. | |
| 20 |  | - | If Chicago takes Wood, Seattle will take Sale. Vice versa. The Kraken have two solid center prospects to build around, and adding a potential top six winger to the mix will keep them competitive for a long time. | |
| 21 |  | - | The Wild have a very good future 1C in Marco Rossi. Brayden Yager could turn into a very good 2C right behind him. Yager can also play the wing if the Wild don't believe in developing him at center. | |
| 22 | |  | The Flyers drafted a future 1C at #7, and here I think they take a potential top six winger. That said, Cristall could be a high ceiling low floor kind of prospect. I'm curious to see how he eventually transitions out of junior. | |
| 23 |  | - | At this point in the draft, I believe there's a good chance the team selecting in this mock draft isn't the team selecting on draft night. That said, I will do my best. The Rangers are good on defense, great in goal, so I think a forward is the logical pick. | |
| 24 | |  | The Predators could use a center in the prospect pool, I think they pick up Heidt here. I'm not certain he'll turn into a 1C, but he could be a good 2C or a great 3C in the future. | |
| 25 | |  | Again, I'm not certain the Blues keep either of their next two picks. I don't think it'll hurt for them to start building their future defensive corps, and Bonk is a very solid two-way defenseman with top 4 potential. | |
| 26 | |  | The Sharks should draft a defenseman here. They acquired a great defensive prospect in Mukhamadullin in the Meier trade, and I think they will pick up Dragicevic here. Not the best defensively, but with the right core around him, he could thrive. | |
| 27 |  | - | Full transparency, I am an Avalanche fan. I'm a pretty big fan of Stenberg and his defensive game, and would love the Avalanche to pick him up. However, I think this pick is being used to trade for someone they can use now with Landeskog being out for the upcoming season. | |
| 28 | |  | (For some reason this guy was ranked 436th???) I think the Leafs could target Molendyk at 28, especially since they just moved on from Sandin at the trade deadline. Molendyk plays a great two-way game, which compliments the Leafs nicely. I worry about how high his ceiling truly is, but he could be a decent contributer down the road. | |
| 29 | |  | Musty is a pretty solid playmaking winger who could contribute to the Blues future top 6. | |
| 30 |  | - | I think Carolina likes the idea of a future middle six center with a strong defensive awareness. Edstrom fits the bill here. | |
| 31 | |  | Charlie Stramel is a very large center, already 6'3" 216 lbs, with good puck skills. He could become an elite 3C for the Canadiens in the future. | |
| 32 |  | - | I don't think the Golden Knights care about building for the future. And that's not meant to be a slight against the organization, they did just win the Cup. However, I believe they want to win as many cups as they can in as little time. That said, I believe they will draft the best player available at 32, that being Calum Ritchie. Will he ever play a game in Vegas? We shall see. |
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