Author: Dan Stewart

By Zackery Robert

Lights camera action Off to Hollywood, The Los Angeles Kings have been drafting since their inception in 1967 and have been able to see the fruits of their labour finally pay off in 2012 and 2014 with two Stanley Cup victories, we will visit their drafting history and go over a few of their best and worst picks in their franchise.

Starting off we will take a look back to the 1984 draft and go all the way to the ninth round pick 171 where the Kings selected Luc Robitaille. Robitaille played 19 full seasons in the NHL and 14 of them with the Kings between 1986 and 2006. Robitaille was the Calder winner in 1987 for rookie of the year with an impressive 84 points in 79 games. This would be the springboard into a very successful tenure with the Kings, between 1986-1994 Robitaille would never go below a point per game in a season and would have four 100 point seasons, two 50 goal seasons and one 60 goal season. His second tenure with the club came during 1997-2001 where he would have three 30 goal seasons. Robitaille would come back for two more seasons with the Kings before retiring at the end of the 2006 season with 1394 points in 1431 games. He would have his jersey retired with the Kings on January 20th 2007, an amazing career for anyone, even more so for a ninth round pick.

Next up we will move all the way from the 80s, past the 90s and into 2000s, in particular 2005, where the Kings would be up to the podium 11th. This draft was famous for amazing players, Sidney Crosby, Carey Price, Tuukka Rask, and of course who the Kings would select 11th, Anze Kopitar. After his draft Kopitar would play one more year in the Swedish Elite League and then make his move to L.A. and the NHL. His rookie season went well with 61 points in 72 games and his career flourished from there. With 12 20 goal seasons and three 30 goal seasons to date and 60 or more points in 14 of his 17 seasons so far, Kopitar has been nothing short of a first line centre. Kopitar is also recognized as one of the best two way forwards of the 2010s with two Selke trophies to go along with one Lady Byng trophy in 2016. Another impressive stat is that in the Kings’ two Stanley cup winning playoff runs Kopitar had exactly a point per game in both playoffs, 26 points in 26 games in 2014 and 20 points in 20 games in 2012, it shows that when Kopitar is on his game the Kings can thrive. He has been at the core of their team for those 17 seasons and will go down not only as a hall of game player but a Kings legend.

Now this is where it gets tough, the Kings have a lot of more great picks all over the board as well. You have Drew Doughty, Johnathan Quick, Butch Goring. For what it’s worth I would go between Butch Goring and Jonathan Quick because Goring was a fifth round pick and in his, albeit short tenure, with the club in the 70s he put up 616 points in 658 games played, these numbers are ridiculous for a defenseman even in the 1970s and he did it right from his rookie season. However for this choice it will be Jonathan Quick, it’s hard to find a position more impactful than an NHL goalie, along with a quarterback or a pitcher, and Quick has a resume with the Kings better than all others before him. With two Jennings trophies, a Conn Smythe and Two Stanley cups his resume is tough to ignore. Quick ended his tenure with the Kings this season and ended it with 370 wins. Quick was a top five goalie in his prime for years in the league and allowed the Kings to be cup champions with his play in net. Quick deserves this spot, he was a third round pick who in hindsight would’ve been a top ten pick.

Now moving on from the best and moving to the ones that left much to be desired. We will start by heading to the Kings’ first ever draft and look at their number one overall pick, Rick Pagnutti. Pagnutti played zero games for the Kings and zero games in the NHL. He spent the majority of his pro career in the AHL before finishing in the NAHL in 1977. He put up good points in those leagues for a defenseman but he played in no games in the NHL and being a first overall pick for a brand new team this has definitely landed Pagnutti on this list.

Moving only one year after this 1967 draft we see the Los Angeles Kings at the number seven spot for the 1968 draft and again go for defence and choose Jim McInally. Once again this pick did not go quite how the Kings had hoped, McInally played in zero games for the Kings and zero in the NHL. He played for the AHL, IHL, and EHL during his playing career before retiring in 1971. The Kings first two ever picks in the NHL draft had not gone over very well. But so is the NHL draft you never know how your picks are going to go, sometimes a first overall pick isn’t a home run.

Third up on this list is coming in from the 1985 draft. With the ninth pick the L.A. Kings chose Craig Duncanson, the left winger was an OHL product who had a fairly nice draft year with 63 points in 53 games. He would follow that up in the 1986 season with 110 points in 61 games in the OHL. Sadly he was never able to reproduce anywhere near the success he had in the OHL to the NHL. Duncanson played a total of 28 games for the Kings scoring six points. He was subsequently traded to the Minnesota North Stars in 1990.

Current day kings have a pretty good mix of forward and defence prospects. However, given that their prospects pool is now beginning to run low on defence it would be better for the Kings to draft focused on the blue line for their first pick in the draft. The Kings have a total of five picks in this year’s draft as follows, 2nd, 3rd (PIT), 4th, 5th, 6th and given their standing in the league at the end of the season, their first selection would end up somewhere between 55-64. The Kings are a fast moving team with some quality forwards up front and some young defence in the back so bringing in a defence who can rush the puck and continue those breakouts would be ideal. A couple players like Etienne Morin or Aram Minnetian could help fit that mood and given that they may be closer to lower second high third round picks the Kings could have their choice of either when they’re up in the second round.

For more information on the 2023 NHL Draft class be sure to pick up your copy of the comprehensive DraftPro 2023 NHL Draft Guide.

https://draftprospectshockey.com/draftpro-2023-nhl-draft-guide/

By Zackery Robert

Coming in at 13 is the spring break state, Florida. The Panthers have been around since 1993 and have what will now be 30 years of drafting history. We’ll take a look back and see just how those 30 years have gone.

For the majority of the Panthers franchise, a lot of their best picks have come within the last 15 years or so. One of those choices being current captain Alexsander Barkov, the former second overall pick was a surprise and somewhat of a disappointment to some when chosen second as people believed it should have been Seth Jones second overall instead of his eventual fourth overall placement. However Barkov has continued to show that he is one of the top centres in the league, the two way dynamo has been a threat in the league for years and has been just what the Panthers have needed for even longer. With a Lady Byng trophy and a Frank J. Selke trophy to his name Barkov is proving just how valuable he is, with 631 points in 664 games played, Barkov is poised to go down as the best Florida Panther of all time.

Up next was Barkov’s tag team partner for many years, Jonathan Huberdeau. Huberdeau was drafted third in the 2011 draft and turned out to be immensely valuable to the Panthers organisation. In 671 games Huberdeau put up an impressive 613 points. For a team that lacked a lot when it came to offence Huberdeau put up great numbers and proved his value and helped carry the team offensively with Barkov for many years.

Thirdly we will go to the 2014 draft where the Panthers were the first overall pick, and chose Aaron Ekblad. What’s important with this pick is that it helps Florida be a year in year out playoff contender which was not their usual look during the seasons before. Ekblad has been a 50 point defenseman and can definitely get there again. He has all the capabilities to be that top pair guy when healthy and he allows the Panthers to build a blue line around him. He adds strength to their blue line and with a high scoring offence and an up and coming goalie who could potentially be a top five goalie in his prime, the Panthers look to have a lot going for them in the future.

Now looking towards some of the Panthers less favourable picks in their history we will first talk about Petr Taticek. Taticek was drafted ninth overall in 2002 and his career in the NHL lasted three games with no points. After his three games stint in the 2005-2006 season Petr would leave North America in favour of European hockey in the 2006-2007 and further play his career out until his retirement in 2020.

Next to the 2007 draft where the Panthers held pick number 10. With that pick the Panthers elected to draft defender Keaton Ellerby, Ellerby was always more of a defensive defenseman but he was never able to quite hold on to a spot in the league. Ellerby played a total of 125 games for the Panthers organisation and scored a total of 17 points in that span. He spent three and a half seasons with the NHL team and 150 games for their AHL affiliate before being moved to the Winnipeg Jets for two seasons until going to play in Europe. Ellerby was drafted in 2007 which held a lot of top four or better defenseman. Ryan Mcdonagh was drafted 12th, Kevin Shattenkirk was drafted 14th, and of course PK Subban was drafted 43rd overall. Ellerby never panned out to be more than a bottom pairing player and being 10th overall, one would definitely hope for better.

Now this choice may come as a bit of a surprise but given the placement of the pick and the short tenure and production for 80% of the tenure I believe it makes sense as maybe not one of the worst but definitely not a top five worthy pick. In 1993 Rob Niedermayer was chosen fifth overall, and while he wasn’t a bad player by any means he was just not what a top five pick should be. In total he scored 459 points in 1153 games, even as a two way centre that would not necessarily be top five pick worthy. In two of his eight seasons with the Panthers Niedermayer scored 61 points in 82 in 1996 and in 1999 he scored 51 points in 82 games. Every other year he was not able to score more than 38 points and in total Niedermayer played 81 or more games in three of those eight Panther seasons. With a top five pick and choosing a centre you would expect them to turn into a first line centre and for Rob Niedermayer that wasn’t him.

The current day Florida Panthers are looking at the draft with no first round pick and with only five picks in total for the 2023 draft, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th (ARZ), it will be hard to boost their already middle of the pack prospect pool. Their top prospects would be Anton Lundell and Matthew Samoskevich. Their defence prospects look a little too thin for comfort so with their first pick on the 2023 draft which looks like it’ll be somewhere around 47-50 the Panthers should look at a player like Brady Cleveland, a big guy who can hit and move the puck will most definitely help jumpstart breakouts for their high speed offence and will add a necessary crunch to the Panthers’ backend.

For more information on the 2023 NHL Draft class be sure to pick up your copy of the comprehensive DraftPro 2023 NHL Draft Guide.

https://draftprospectshockey.com/draftpro-2023-nhl-draft-guide/

By Zackery Robert

One third of the way through this series we now go back up north and take a stop again in the province of Alberta and look at the Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers are known for many things in the league, the greatest player of all time, the current best player in the league, and of course some of the worst drafting and developing in recent history. It may just look like that the Oilers are on their way out of that horrendous drafting slump that we saw during the 2010s and are showing some promising young prospects.

To begin we will look at their most successful draft choice ever, Wayne Gretzky was not drafted by the Oilers his WHA team sold him to then WHA team Edmonton Oilers. Nevertheless, in 2015 the Edmonton Oilers won the draft lottery and moved up one spot to own the right to select first in 2015. Of course with doing so they selected Connor McDavid, the best prospect since Sidney Crosby. Currently McDavid sits at 850 career points in 569 career games he has five Art Ross trophies, two (with an impending third) Hart trophies, three (with an impending fourth) Ted Lindsay trophies and now his first ever Rocket Richard trophy. All of this was done in only eight seasons, he has a better career sheet then most hall of fame players had when they retired fully. He is the undisputed number one player in the league and he made that known with a dominant 153 point season that included 64 goals and 89 assists. This is an obvious no brainer when it comes to successful Oilers picks, McDavid is number one.

Next we will rewind 36 years and go into the third round of the 1979 draft where the Oilers held the 48th overall pick and chose former WHA player Mark Messier. An integral part of the Oilers of the 80s where they won four Stanley cups. Messier played with the Oilers from 1979-1991 before moving on to the New York Rangers. In his time in Edmonton he scored 1034 points in 851 games for a career points per game of 1.22. Messier proved even more just how valuable he was when he led the Gretzky-less Oilers to a Stanley cup in 1990, he scored 129 points that year and captured the Hart and Lester B.Pearson award as league’s MVP. The Oilers retired Messier’s number 11 on February 27th 2007 further cementing him in Oilers history as an all-time great.

For the third and final top choice draft pick we will look at the 1980 draft where Paul Coffey was selected sixth overall. Even though he only played seven seasons with the Oilers Paul Coffey recorded unheard of stats for a defenseman. All but one of his seven seasons were over a point per game and between 84-86 he scored 126, 121, and 138 points and secured only two Norris trophies in those three years, Rod Langway would win in 1984, even more impressive is that Coffey was aged 22-24 during this time, these are unheard of numbers and at such an early age for his career. He still is to this day, the Oilers’ franchise defenseman.

For the Oilers of the 1990s-2010s their drafting was very suspect that left a lot to be desired. I mean three straight years of number one picks and they still could not get out of the top ten draft picks for years. Between 2009-2019 the Oilers made it out of the top ten picks only once in 2017 with the 22nd pick choosing Kailer Yamamoto. Other than that year every other year in that time frame was 10th or better.

When looking at these picks in particular one that stands out like a sore thumb is that of 2012 first overall pick Nail Yakupov, Yakupov struggled mightily after his first year in the league, he never got better and neither did the Oilers. Yakupov never had the skill to help bring the Oilers out from the basement and it never appeared in his NHL career anywhere else. During his four years in Edmonton he put up a stat line of 252 games 50 goals and 61 assists for 111 points. After that Yakupov was traded to the St Louis Blues for a conditional third round pick which eventually turned out to be Stuart Skinner, the best thing Yakupov did for the Oilers was getting traded. After his NHL career Yakupov has continued to play back in Russia in the KHL where he will more than likely stay for the foreseeable future.

Next up we move back three years to 2009 where the Oilers held the 10th pick in the draft and chose Magnus Paajarvi. Paajarvi played in parts of three seasons in the organisation where he amassed 163 games and 58 points. He never caught up to the game with the Oilers which seemed to be a trend for a lot of their picks in that time. After his stint in the NHL finished in 2019, Paajarvi went overseas and has played in the KHL and most recently in the SweHL. Unfortunately this was just another pick that could not bring the Oilers out from the woods and alas they were still lost.

For the final player to speak on we will move away from the 2000s and go back to the 1994 entry draft where the Oilers were selecting fourth overall. They went ahead and chose Jason Bonsignore, the 6 ‘4 centre from New York. Unfortunately nothing much ever came up for this pick, Bonsignore played in only 21 games for the Oilers and scored three points. Following that he was traded away at the end of 1997 ending his tenure with the Oilers at only three and a half years.

In 2023 the Oilers look to be on Better ground prospect wise, with Dylan Holloway, Reid Schaefer, and Xavier Bourgault leading the pack. Now with the Oilers locking up sixth best in the league and playoff bound one can assume that their pick will end up anywhere around 25th or later so once draft bound the Oilers should solely focus on finding a quality defence prospect.

Their total picks going into the 2023 draft counts at four with a 2nd, 5th, 6th, and 7th so we shall guesstimate that they will land around 57-60 with their first pick in the draft. In this area here are two prospects the Oilers should focus on to better their blue line. Jakob Dvorak and Gavin McCarthy, two sizeable defenseman that can help add a punch with some speed and that can drive plays for the Oilers, we will see what happens in Nashville on June 28th.

For more information on the 2023 NHL Draft class be sure to pick up your copy of the comprehensive DraftPro 2023 NHL Draft Guide.

https://draftprospectshockey.com/draftpro-2023-nhl-draft-guide/

By Zackery Robert

Moving on to Motown and to the Detroit Red Wings. The Wings have had a storied franchise to date with countless great players and picks. They have drafted and developed well in the past and present. The Wings have had much team success and look to continue that in the future with great players, picks and development.

To begin we will start in the 1983 draft where the Red Wings made possibly their most franchise defining pick when they selected Steve Yzerman with the fourth overall selection. Yzerman spent his entire 22 year career with the Red Wings winning three Stanley cups during that time. Yzerman has a Conn Smythe, a Lester B. Pearson (currently a Ted Lindsay trophy), and a Frank J. Selke trophy to his name to go along with 1755 points in 1514, to say this pick was a winner is an understatement, Yzerman is an all time great NHL player and easily winds up on this list as one of the best picks Detroit has ever made in their history.

Detroit has had many great picks and they have come from all over the draft not just in the first or second round. For this pick we will move to the 1989 draft in round three pick number 53 and see Nicklas Lidstrom chosen with this pick. Lidstrom is a hall of fame defenseman holding a ridiculous seven Norris trophies and one Conn Smythe. He has over 1100 points in over 1500 games and was the Captain for many seasons after Yzerman.

Making a list of just a few of Detroit’s best draft picks is quite difficult when you take a look at their drafting history. You have Zetterberg in the seventh round, you have Fedorov in the fourth round, you have Chris Osgood in the third round and you have Pavel Datsyuk in round six. The Red Wings have one of the best drafting histories out of any team in the league so this choice is a hard one but nevertheless the choice is Pavel Datsyuk. Datsyuk was a career Red Wing with over 900 points in over 900 games, the accolades he won are enough to put him on this list, with three Selke trophies and four Lady Byng trophies in his showcase to go along with two Stanley cups, Datsyuk is a Red Wing legend and will most definitely have his number in the rafters of the Joe Louis arena in the not so distant future.

Moving on from the best of their picks to the picks that did not reach their potential. To start we will go back to the 1976 draft where the Red Wings held the fourth overall pick and selected Fred Williams. Williams was also a WHA pick the same year but never played in the WHA. For his NHL career Williams only played in one year during the 1976-1977 season playing 44 games. In those 44 games Williams held a stat line of two goals five assists for seven points. After that season he went and played down in the minors and other leagues until his retirement after the 1982 season. Only three picks later the Blues chose Bernie Federko who ended up with over a 1000 point career. Williams just did not pan out and with that he ended up on this list.

When doing these lists, the most important factors are, where were they drafted and how successful was that draft pick for the team. Nothing else goes into account when making up these lists of players. This next player was the number one overall pick back in 1986 and did not hit his stride until moving on to a different team. Joe Murphy was the first overall pick for the Red Wings back in 1986 and subsequently began playing for the organisation the following season. Murphy played a total of three and half seasons before moving to Edmonton. In that time he split games between the Red Wings and their affiliate, the Adirondack Red Wings. In his time with the big club Murphy’s totals were 90 games and 32 points. Upon leaving he was able to notch seven 40+ point seasons and seven 20 goal seasons, with two being 30+ goal seasons. However for the Red Wings this pick ended up being a bust as it was not the most productive tenure for a first overall pick that you would expect. For that reason Murphy winds up on this list.

Finally we end off this list at the 1985 draft with Detroit selecting Brent Fedyk eighth overall. Upon making his pro debut in 1987, Fedyk split five seasons between the Red Wings and their affiliate. In total Fedyk played 162 games for the Red Wings scoring 56 points before being traded away for a mid round draft pick. Fedyk would play a vast majority of his games in the minors before hanging it up after the 1999-2000 season, which he played in Germany, Fedyk did not pan out and struggled to stay in the NHL as a whole. For that reason Fedyk winds up as the third and final player to be on this list.

Currently in 2023 the Detroit Red Wings look poised to have a fairly nice future with some of their prospects developing well. Steve Yzerman their current gm has done a terrific job so far in terms of course correcting the Red Wings’ rebuild after their powerhouse team in the early 2000s. They have a very even mix of forward and defence prospects. Detroit was always known to favour European players and it looks like much is the same with the current day Red Wings as some of their most touted young guns and prospects are, Swedish defenseman Simon Edvinsson, German defence standout Moritz Seider, Swedish winger Lucas Raymond, Swedish defender William Wallinder and their most recent pick Austrian winger Marco Kasper. With five of their lost brightest young players being European it would make sense for Detroit to look more heavily and favourably at one of Europe’s best and brightest prospects.

They have a boat load of picks coming in this draft and many early round picks too, 1st, 1st (NYI), 2nd, 2nd (VAN), 2nd (STL), 3rd, 4th (MIN), 5th, 6th, 7th, with 10 total picks Detroit is armed for this upcoming draft. Right now Detroit lands at the ninth overall pick and can go no lower than 12th in the draft so if we look at the top 15 draft eligible prospects and given Detroit’s history of European player drafting one can see them targeting any of these next three players, Czech forward Eduard Sale, Austrian defender David Reinbacher, or Swedish defender Axel Sandin Pellikka. It would make more sense for them to draft a defenseman because there are plenty of higher quality forwards in the later rounds compared to higher quality defensemen and given their current defence core, bringing in a high grade defence prospect would bolster their potential blue line a few years down the road with players like Moritz Seider and Simon Edvinsson already there.

For more information on the 2023 NHL Draft class be sure to pick up your copy of the comprehensive DraftPro 2023 NHL Draft Guide.

https://draftprospectshockey.com/draftpro-2023-nhl-draft-guide/

By Zackery Robert

Next we travel from Ohio to the great state of Texas where we take a look at the Dallas Stars franchise. Formerly moving from Minnesota to Dallas in 1993 the Stars would find success by the end of the decade and would hope for more going into the new millennium.

Dallas made their first appearance at the NHL entry draft in June of 1993 where they held the ninth overall pick. For the purpose however of looking at the most successful picks in the franchise we will flip to the 1994 draft where in the fifth round the Stars would use the 124th pick to select their franchise goalie in Marty Turco. After playing four years at the University of Michigan and then two more in the IHL, Turco finally debuted for the Stars in the 2000 season. Turco would then hold the net for the Stars from 2000-2010 with multiple 30 win seasons and one 40 win season Turco would finish off his playing time in Dallas with 262 wins, good for number one in franchise history.

Coming up next was a player who was technically drafted by Minnesota but since the team moved to Dallas and he played a vast majority of his games with the Stars he will be a part of this list. Mike Modano, recognized as one of the best American players of all time and formerly recognized as the best American player, was selected first in the 1988 draft. Modano had an impressive career spanning into four decades from the 80s-10s, during his prime he would constantly be in the 70-90 point range and would amass over 1300 points in his career. Modano would help lead the Stars to a Stanley cup in the 1999 season. Modano would have his number retired by the Stars in the 2014 season on March 8th.

Coming in next is another member of the 1999 cup winning team. Jere Lehtinen was the 88th overall selection in the 1992 draft by the Minnesota North Stars, eventually the Dallas Stars. Lehtinen only ever suited up for the Dallas Stars and was a big part of the team’s success during his full 14 year career. He was one of the league’s top defensive forwards winning three Frank J. Selke trophies as the league’s best defensive forward. He scored 514 points in his 875 games and, as mentioned earlier, captured a Stanley cup with the team in 1999. Lehtinen is one of only three Stars players to have his jersey retired, He was honoured on November 24th 2017.

Now for picks that did not go according to plan. We will start at the 2009 draft where Dallas held the right pick and selected centre Scott Glennie. Glennie had a lot of potential but his potential never came close to being matched. Glennie suited up in only one NHL game recording zero points. After that he was a consistent AHL player until his full retirement after the 2016-2017 season. In this draft there were actually a good amount of defensemen drafted after Glennie which the Stars could have used in this current age. Players like Nick Leddy, Ryan Ellis, Calvin De Haan, and Dmitri Kulikov, and along with forward Ryan O’Reilly there were plenty of more suitable options they could have chosen looking back.

Next we will travel back to the 1996 draft where the Stars held a top five pick at number five and went to the blue and chose Richard Jackman. Jackman was not what the Stars had hoped for, for being such a high pick it would have been quite disappointing to see him struggle to maintain a spot in the NHL. Jackman ended up playing 38 games for the Dallas Stars before being traded away to the Boston Bruins. In those 38 games Jackman scored three points. It is never easy to see such a high pick not pan out but unfortunately that is the case sometimes.

Finally we will take a look at goal for the Stars and rewind to the 2001 entry draft where they held pick 26 and used it on Jason Bacashihua. In this series thus far we have not had one goalie on this list but in case for the Stars they had very low picks during a lot of their drafts and many times they did not have a first round pick at all. But when a goalie goes in the first round they must have something special because not a lot of them go in the first round. For Bacashihua he never laced them up for the Dallas Stars and developed for five more seasons before going into the NHL and with a record of 4-10-1 in his first season he never lived up to that first round status. Only playing one more year in the NHL in 2006-2007 Bacashihua finished with a career record of 7-17-4. It is very hard when drafting a goalie anytime, let alone in the first round, but for the lack of return the Stars got for drafting him in the first round, Bacashihua winds up on this list.

In 2023 the Stars gm Jim Nill has assembled a pretty potent offence with Hintz, Robertson, Pavelski, etc and with a goalie who looks to be one of the league’s best in his prime, the Stars look to be quite formidable for the foreseeable future. The Stars finished eighth in the league and have a first round matchup with the Minnesota Wild. They definitely have their sights set on a deep run as they traded away their first round pick to help aid in that deep run.

But when June arrives and the draft is upon us the Stars will have a draft choice lineup that looks like this: 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and for what can make this draft a success for the Stars is if they focus on defence. Their first pick could end up being in the late 50s so we will look to mid second round players to target. For the Stars, some good prospects to target would be Aram Minnetian, Andrew Strathmann, and Etienne Morin. Some mid-size defensemen with speed that can help continue that current offensive threat of the Dallas Stars.

For more information on the 2023 NHL Draft class be sure to pick up your copy of the comprehensive DraftPro 2023 NHL Draft Guide.

https://draftprospectshockey.com/draftpro-2023-nhl-draft-guide/

Top 10 Two Way Defensemen in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft

By Isaiah Bouchard

The 2023 NHL entry draft is getting ever closer to hockey fans, and the excitement fans have for who their teams are going to draft this year is ever higher as the regular seasons across the globe are coming to an end, and playoff season is just around the corner. And there is a lot for fans to be excited for this year, as the draft is looking like one of the strongest in years.

Connor Bedard is looking increasingly like a franchise-level player, rivaling the likes of Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Nathan Mackinnon, Austin Matthews, and Connor McDavid. Adam Fantilli would have been a first-overall pick in arguably the last six drafts, Leo Carlsson is the next big center to come out of Sweden, and he is a must-grab in the top 5. And, of course, there is the Russian sniper: Matvei Michkov, who, despite being signed to the KHL until 2026, is so good that any team picking in the top 5 will be more than willing to wait for the Russian star.

But after the big 4 in this year’s draft, who fills out the remaining slots is always an exciting mystery come draft day. Teams must allocate their scouting resources to best support the organization’s roster on draft day. Who needs the top defensemen? Say, over-the-top sniper or goaltender? That is why we at DraftPro are excited to present an in-depth look at every position and who best thrives in that position. Who is the best sniper? The best power forward? offensive defensemen? Hopefully, after this 8-part series, all these questions will be answered.

Seven DraftPro scouts were asked their top 5-7 players for the following positions: sniper, playmaker, two-way forward, power forward, offensive defenseman, defensive defenseman, two-way defenseman, and goaltender. Their lists were recorded separately, and then once all seven scouts handed in their lists, their results were compared to one another. The final lists you read here determined the average each player placed. This is not a ranking of the best players overall, simply a ranking of who is the best for each given position. Players may be placed on multiple lists, as many players are not one-dimensional, and can not be forced into one category.

Thank you to the following scouts for providing their lists: Jared Brown, Matt Hnatiuk, Tyler Karoway, Andrew LeBlanc, Murray Caldwell, Andy Miller, and Jody Horak.

The two-way defenseman is what many consider to be the norm for a modern-day defenseman. As the name suggests, the two-way defensemen excel at both ends of the ice. As the game gets faster, being able to assist the offense in any way has become a more and more crucial aspect of a defender’s game. But while offensive defensemen are growing popular as well. Their lack of focus on the defensive end can harm their team at times. Coaches expect more from their defensemen these days, so a good two-way defenseman is, of course, going to grow in popularity as the game evolves. As utility in players continues to grow in importance.

So who are the best two-way defensemen in the 2023 NHL draft class? Here are DraftPro’s TOP 10 Two Way Defensemen:

First, here are the honorable mentions, players who did not have enough consensus in our scout’s analysis to crack the top ten or players who seemed to fit other roles better: Paul Fischer, Dimitry Simashev, Mikhail Gulyayev, Andrew Strathman, Theo Lindstein, Beau Akey, and Maxim Strbak.

Aram Minnetian, Boston College, NCAA, #61-71 overall (2nd-3rd Round).

“Minnetian is the most well-rounded defenseman in the NSDP. Called upon to play in big situations and is a commanding presence on the blue line.” – Andrew LeBlanc.

To start off this list, we have a solid late-2nd-round defenseman in the draft, Aram Minnetian. As Andrew said, Minnetian has been building a reputation in the American leagues. Mainly the USHL and NSDP. In the NSDP particularly, he has a very respectful 22 assists and 7 goals. Minnetian is just about what you expect from a second-round two-way D- Man, he’s reliable and will likely fit in anywhere he ends up going.

Oliver Bonk, London Knights, OHL, #23-33 overall (1st-2nd Round).

“Plays a smart, defensive game, makes good breakout passes, has a great shot from the offensive blue line, and is not afraid to skate It up when the opportunity presents itself.” – Jody Horak.

Suspect to see Oliver Bonk a lot on these lists, as Oliver Bonk offers a lot as a defenseman. Some two-way defensemen will tend to favor either offense or defense over the other, and think of Oliver Bonk as a two-way defenseman who favors offense. And with his awesome shooting, Oliver Bonk can be relied upon to play both roles whenever needed. But don’t shirk too much on his defense, as his skating allows him to recover easily when the opposing breakout forces the team back.

Tom Willander, Rögle BK J20, J20 Nationell, #32-42 overall (1st-2nd Round).

“Willander uses his excellent skating and four-way mobility effectively on both sides of the puck. He can lead the rush and act as a fourth forward occasionally off the Ozone cycle. Then he uses his feet to manage the opposing rush and close his gaps quickly when the carrier is along the boards, forcing them into making a challenging play with the puck.” – Jared Brown.

Willander also makes a second appearance on these lists, as, like Bonk, Willander offers a lot offensively for his team. Willander is going to be a great second-round pick, as he provides a very dynamic and effective playstyle.

Luca Cagnoni, Portland Winterhawks, WHL, #37-47 overall (2nd Round).

“Excellent 2-way defender. Steers opponents to the outside that break through the middle. Has a laser of a wrist shot and a heavy slap shot.” – Murray Caldwell.

Luca Cagnoni has been building up a reputation as an offensive defenseman, but his defensive abilities shouldn’t be overlooked. Sure, he has 64 points in 67 games, that sure seems like an offensive defenseman, but I would argue what separates Cagnoni apart from other offensive defensemen is his defensive qualities. Excellent positioning and vision let him play those big defensive minutes as well. A very versatile defenseman overall, much like Bonk and Willander.

Caden Price, Kelowna Rockets, WHL, #31-41 overall (1st-2nd Round).

“Top pairing defenseman in his young career, he plays in all situations. Smooth skating defender who has excellent speed in reverse, creates a lot of turnovers due to his speed, stamina of a mule, elite IQ with a mountain of strength, grit, determination, intensity, drive, and willingness to outwork the opponent.” – Murray Caldwell.

Another defenseman to come out of the WHL with exceptional offensive abilities, Price is similar to Cagnoni in many ways. But what makes him a great two-way defender as well is his pest-like playstyle. Being a hard-working player on both ends of the ice, Price’s mindset and drive will naturally make him a tough defenseman to play against.

Hunter Brzustewics, Kitchner Rangers, OHL, #22-32 overall (1st Round).

“Hunter is a player that shows excellent confidence as well as poise at either end of the ice. He is very capable of stopping the opposition with smart defensive play or making excellent passing plays to create offensive zone chances. Offensively he reads plays well and jumps into open areas to become an option for his linemates. Defensively he closes out that space quickly to force the opponent to rush their play.” – Matt Hnatiuk.

With 51 assists, Brzustewics plays exactly how every coach wants their defense to play. That is, really well in every position on the ice. Like many on this list, Brzustewics is an outstanding offensive player, who does not sacrifice any defensive qualities to his game. Suspect Brzustewics to make the big passes by finding those passing lanes. This quality alone makes him an outstanding two-way D-Man, but his accuracy and cautious behavior make him a stout defender as well.

Cameron Allen, Guelph Storm, OHL, #35-45 overall (2nd Round).

“Allen is a very talented two-way defenseman. He doesn’t have the skill set of Brzustewicz yet, but he can defend much better than Brzustewicz does. Allen skates well and can start a breakout effectively.” – Andy Miller.

Cameron Allen is our first two-way defenseman who is defensive first, and offense second. This is usually the case, but this year is a big draft year for offensive defensemen, so there will naturally be some overlap. Allen may be under 6 feet, but he doesn’t play like it and is not afraid to throw the body around. Allen also has excellent leadership qualities, as he led Team Canada to gold in the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup. He also led the whole tournament in assists. Since then, Allen has cruised his way through this season in Guelph, being the top stud defenseman that he seems almost destined to be.

Tanner Molendyk, Saskatoon Blades, WHL, #24-34 overall (1st-2nd Round).

“His aggressiveness along the boards, his relentless on puck carriers, and defensive stickwork make an absolute pain to play against. Once he gets the puck off the opposition’s stick, the puck is up ice in a blink of an eye from one his laser quick passes, and he’s setting up shop on the blue line creating havoc for his opponent.” – Tyler Karoway.

An underrated offensive player, Molendyk just barely beat out Allen and Brzustewics for this #3 spot. All players are great in their own ways. Brzustewics is arguably the best offensively, Allen is better defensively, and Molendyk is a happy medium between the two. And look at that, this is a Top 10 for two-way defensemen. I love it when things work out nicely. Right now, we have Molendyk just barely in the first round. He could easily slip a few spots up or a few spots down, making him a highly contested option for the early second round if he does.

Axel Sandin-Pellikka, Skellefteå, SHL, #8-14 overall (1st Round).

“As a smaller player Sandin-Pellikka has had to become very strong with his defensive stick work. His timing on stick lifts and poke checks have given him the edge on his opposition to get the puck back on his stick before transitioning up ice. He can really show off his talent’s once he enters the offensive zone as he has pinpoint passing and finds ways to create offense any time the puck touches his stick.” – Tyler Karoway.

Axel Sandin-Pellikka is arguably the best defenseman overall in this draft. Sitting in the top 15 of all players in the draft, Sandin-Pellikka can do it all. He at first developed a reputation as a top offensive defenseman, like so many others on this list, but over time he has developed his defensive skills. Mainly, his stick-checking and positioning has gotten really good. While Sandin-Pellikka is an excellent player, is he the best at the two-way role? While he is undoubtedly a fantastic offensive defenseman, there is one player who is slightly better at playing that two-way role…

David Reinbacher, EHC Kloten, National League, #16-26 overall (1st Round).

“Reinbacher is a big guy who uses his reach and body well to stop the rush. Continuously gaining confidence to pinch and make plays in the offensive zone.” – Andrew LeBlanc.

Assuming he makes it to the NHL, Reinbacher will join the short list of Austrian-born NHL players, and with his fast-growing popularity in the scouting community, he may just be one of the best in recent memory. The biggest guy on this list, Reinbacher, has naturally good reach and defensive advantages over the others. While he started off as a second or even later-round pick to many, his performances at the World Juniors and hard-nose, tenacious play style has led him to grow in popularity. I fully Suspect Reinbacher to grow as an excellent breakout defenseman, as he shows great promise in the skating department as well. With his combination of skating, checking, and senses, David Reinbacher from EHC Kloten is the best two-way defenseman in the 2023 NHL draft class.

For more information on the 2023 NHL Draft class be sure to pick up your copy of the comprehensive DraftPro 2023 NHL Draft Guide.

https://draftprospectshockey.com/draftpro-2023-nhl-draft-guide/

By Zackery Robert

Next stop Ohio, in the year 2000 the Blue Jackets began their drafting journey. During their early years Columbus had many high selections and could have set themselves up for grey long term
Success. Some of those choices helped that hall and some choices hindered that goal.

To start it off we will go back to the 2002 NHL entry draft when Columbus held the first overall pick. With their pick they selected Rick Nash and he ended up turning out to be their franchise superstar. Nash scored two 40 goal seasons during his time in Columbus and captured himself the Rocket Richard trophy for most goals in the 2003-2004 season, actually tying with Jarome Iginla and Ilya Kovalchuk with 41 goals. Nash had highlight reel goals and was a force with the puck. He was just what the Blue Jackets needed to help kick start their new franchise at the time, culminating with Nash having his number 61 retired by the Blue Jackets in March of 2022, being the first Blue Jacket to receive this honour.

Next up we will look at the current captain of the Blue Jackets, Boone Jenner. Jenner was drafted in the second round of the 2011 NHL entry draft 37th overall and has become their longest tenured player currently on the team. He is a quality player who can eat up minutes and play well at both ends of the ice. He provided stability to a team that until recently was not able to attract many to its team. Fast forward to 2023 with a couple high end forwards and a first line defensemen and high end prospects, Columbus looks to have a bright future ahead.

Rounding out this part of the article we will stop at the 2015 draft and see the Blue Jackets select defenseman Zach Werenski. Werenski was a part of that incredible 2015 class that seemed to have no shortage of high end first round picks. Werenski was selected eight overall and it has paid off very well for the franchise in desperate need of a top pair defenseman. He is a 40-50 point player currently with the potential to hit at a 60 point level when playing a full 82 game season. He is big and skates fast and has many of the tools to be a top defenseman in the league at only 25 years old.

Columbus had many high picks in the 2000s and shockingly a vast majority of them never panned out. We will start with 2008 sixth overall pick Nikita Filatov. Filatov had a lot of upside to his skill set but sadly nothing ever came of it. Filatov played in parts of three seasons with the Blue Jackets totalling 44 games played with them 13 points to go along with those games. After that he was traded away to the Ottawa Senators for a third round pick in 2011. He barely played for one season in Ottawa before returning to Russia to end his career in 2019.

Next up is another fairly disappointing pick, in 2004 Columbus held the eighth overall pick and chose French winger Alexandre Picard. Picard really struggled to gain any momentum in his playing career and bounced in between the NHL and AHL for five years before being a full time AHL player before moving overseas to continue his career. In total Picard played 67 games in the NHL all for the Blue Jackets scoring only two assists total in those games. Another high pick gone by the wayside for the Blue Jackets.

To finish off this list we will only have to look ahead one year to the 2005 entry draft where Columbus again held the sixth overall pick. With this pick the Blue Jackets chose centre Gilbert Brule. Brule had a nice junior career before going into the NHL but once again it did not translate to any success with the Blue Jackets. In 146 games played for the Blue Jackets Brule only scored 32 points and after splitting part of the 2006-2007 season in the NHL and AHL. He was traded to the Oilers for Raffi Torres.

During this tumultuous drafting and development time the team was led by general manager Doug MacLean and for whatever reason their drafting under him was brutal to say the least and upon his departure on April 19th 2007 his interim general manager replacement Jim Clark did not fare any better. In his first and only draft at the helm of the team his first-round pick, eight overall, was used to select Alexandre Picard, and if you read this article you will know exactly how that turns out for the Blue Jackets.

Currently in 2023 the ship is being led by general manager Jarmo Kekalainen and under his tutelage his team has seen an abundance of highly touted projects join the organisation through the draft. Names that come up are Kent Johnson, Cole Sillinger, Denton Mateychuk, David Jiricek and Yegor Chinakov, all of which are A level prospects and have shown good signs of growth in their respective games. Which is very good news for the current Columbus Blue Jackets as they sit as one of the bottom two teams in the league this year and look at a top three or four pick in the draft this year. When you’re this high you never draft for news and always go with the best available player. With that information the Columbus Blue Jackets will be looking at Conner Bedard, Adam Fantilli, Leo Carlsson and Matvei Michkov. The ladder of the four players seems quite intriguing as if the Blue Jackets were to be at the third or fourth pick it could make sense given their current pool of high level prospects to draft Michkov and let him stay for his duration of his contract in the KHL as they wouldn’t desperately need him right away and he is a talent that cannot be denied so Columbus could be a fantastic landing spot for the young Russian star if they sit with the chance at selecting him at the bottom end of the top five picks. We will see what the Blue Jackets do with their nine picks this year at the 2023 draft, 1st, 1st (LAK), 2nd, 3rd, 3rd (CGY), 4th, 4th (WPG), 5th (BOS), 7th.

For more information on the 2023 NHL Draft class be sure to pick up your copy of the comprehensive DraftPro 2023 NHL Draft Guide.

https://draftprospectshockey.com/draftpro-2023-nhl-draft-guide/

By Zackery Robert

Coming up next in this series is the defending Stanley Cup champions the Colorado Avalanche. The Avs have had a lot of success in recent years culminating in a Stanley Cup last season. For this article the same will apply to the Avalanche as it did to the Coyotes, players drafted by the original franchise who came over to Colorado and played for the Avalanche can be considered for the best and worst picks of the franchise.

Starting off we will turn to the old Quebec Nordiques franchise which moved to Colorado in 1995. This player was drafted by the Nordiques but played their entire career with the Franchise including the majority of his career in Colorado. Joe Sakic was the number 15 overall pick in the 1987 draft and had his two most point productive seasons as a Colorado Avalanche with 120 and 118 points respectively. He won his two Stanley Cups as a player with the Avalanche and his third as the general manager of the Avalanche just last season. Sakic won the Conn Smythe in 1996 and in the 2000-2001 season earned himself a Hart trophy, Lady Byng trophy and Lester B. Pearson trophy as the league’s MVP with his 118 point season.

Next up is former number one overall pick Nathan MacKinnon. MacKinnon started off hot with a Calder trophy winning season and then began to taper off. Turn to the 2017-2018 season and he punched through the wall with 97 points in 74 games and since then he has been unstoppable. The last six seasons have all been over a point per game and with this season being his first hitting the century mark in points it seems that MacKinnon has only higher to go being only 28 this year.

Now if you’ve followed this series much you will notice that this next player is the most recently drafted player to make a team’s best draft choices list. Cale Makar was the fourth overall pick in 2017 coming out of the Alberta Junior Hockey League, or AJHL, after two seasons in the NCAA Makar began his NHL career. Makar stunned in his first season winning the Calder trophy and it has only gotten better since then. With his last three seasons being at a point per game or higher Makar looks to be the next best defensemen in the league for the next decade. To his resume, Makar has a Stanley Cup, a Conn Smythe and a Norris trophy to go along with the Calder trophy. In only four seasons he has a better resume then 80% of defencemen who have played 10 plus years in the NHL.

Coming off of three amazing picks for the franchise we will now shift gears to three picks that did not do much for the franchise. Coming up first is former 2014 first round pick Conner Bleackley. Bleackley was drafted 23rd overall and never even signed with the Avalanche, being redrafted two years later to the St Louis Blues in the fifth round. Bleackley has never suited up for an NHL game and has been a constant AHL player and is currently an ECHL player. This pick never panned out and two picks later Boston drafted David Pastrnak who is having a superstar year for the Bruins with a 60+ goal season this year.
Next we will take a look at the 2010 draft where Colorado held pick 17 and went with centre Joey Hishon. Hishon was a good junior player so his stock must’ve been close to a middle six centre which would have been very good for 17th, but Hishon never made much of an impact on that potential. He played 13 games for the Avalanche and scored one goal with one assist. Totalling two career points Hishon would go overseas to finish out his playing career after the 2017-2018 season. Colorado would subsequently struggle for the next few years with top picks in 2011 and 2013 and no pick in the first round in 2012 so it would have been nice for this pick to help in the future but unfortunately that wasn’t the case.

Thirdly we will go back to the 2002 entry draft. Colorado had a very late first round pick at number 28 and used it to choose Jonas Johansson. The Swedish winger would bounce around the AHL and ECHL until finally cracking an NHL roster for one game in the 2005-2006 season for the Washington Capitals. He would never make it back to the NHL after that, continuing his play in the minors until moving back to Europe and playing in multiple locations until his retirement in 2017. This first round was not heavy with long term players but with Johansson never playing for the Avalanche, this pick should be on this list.

Joe Sakic has done a remarkable job building this team since his tenure began and their development of their prospects has been mid-level at best so as it stands to see some improvement if they would like to continue long term success around their core of MacKinnon, Rantanen, Landeskog, and Makar. So in a draft as deep as this one it pays to put more effort into who to draft when you won’t need the players to join right away but rather in 3 to 4 seasons.

Currently Colorado sees themselves back in the playoffs and trying to run it back and win back-to-back cups, once that is all finished they will look at the draft and looking at the draft Colorado holds four picks, 1st, 5th, 6th, 7th. With Colorado looking at a 50 win season and their recent history of playoff success, a prediction of their first round pick landing between 26-32 seems decently accurate, nothing is a guarantee in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, so with that Colorado should look for a forward at this pick. In their recent seven drafts they have held seven first round picks which three have been traded away which leaves four left and two are forwards which one hasn’t developed much yet being a 2021 pick. At the tail end of the first round there are forwards like Calum Ritchie, Otto Stenberg, Kohen Ziemmer and Kasper Haltunnen. With these names it would be foolish to pass up on the idea of a first round forward. My personal opinion would be centre for the Avs so the first three names make more sense but we will have to see how their run ends up in order to decide who they will truly draft in June.

For more information on the 2023 NHL Draft class be sure to pick up your copy of the comprehensive DraftPro 2023 NHL Draft Guide.

https://draftprospectshockey.com/draftpro-2023-nhl-draft-guide/

By Zackery Robert

Sixth in this draft day history series is the Carolina Hurricanes. A fairly new franchise in terms of drafting history, only drafting for what will be 26 years this draft in June. Never holding the number one pick, let’s see what the Hurricanes have been able to do in those 26 years.

To start off we will go with a Hurricanes legend, Cam Ward. Ward was drafted 25th in the 2002 draft and began to play for the Hurricanes in the 2005-2006 season. Ward burst onto the scene with a Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe in his rookie year. This was for sure a sign of things to come as Ward would backstop the Hurricanes for a total of 13 seasons out of his 14 and totaling 318 wins for the club, most by any Hurricanes goalie in franchise history.

The next player is probably one of their most successful players to put on the Canes jersey. Eric Staal was drafted in the 2003 in the first round pick number two and Staal burst onto the scene in his second season scoring 45 goals and 55 assists for a 100 point season at only 21. Staal would play the first 12 years in Carolina between 2003-2016 before being traded at the deadline in the 2015-2016 season to the Rangers. Scoring 775 points during his tenure with the Hurricanes, Staal will go down as one of the best Hurricanes in their history when he’s all said and done.

Third on this list is someone who has the potential, if they are here long enough, to be the best drafted Hurricane and that is Sebastian Aho. Aho was selected in the second round pick 35 in 2015. So far in his young career he has been electric and has brought that top forward back to Carolina since Eric Staal in his prime. So far Aho has over 450 points in a little more than 500 games played in his career, with four 30 goal campaigns already, Aho looks poised to be the best Hurricane when he hangs up his skates.

Now on to players who could have fared better for the Hurricanes during their respective tenures. First up would be third overall selection in the 2005 draft, Jack Johnson. Johnson never played one game for the Hurricanes before being traded away to the Los Angeles Kings in 2006 for not much of a spectacular return. In 2005 Johnson was third, but there were future hall of fame names selected shortly after him starting at number five with Carey Price, then at number 11 with Anze Kopitar and at 21 with Tuukka Rask. With many more viable options that had nice careers Johnson will definitely go down as a bust of a pick for the Hurricanes.

Next up is former fourth overall pick Andrew Ladd. Ladd was selected in the 2004 draft and played three years for the club before being traded to the Blackhawks. The Hurricanes had a solid return for Ladd in Tuomo Ruutu, but Ladd never played at a fourth overall selection level, in 137 games Ladd scored 50 points. It was more beneficial for Ladd then it was for the Hurricanes, winning a Stanley Cup and then being traded to a team that will also win a Stanley Cup in his short time with them.

Third and final choice is former seventh overall pick Haydn Fleury. The defensemen was drafted in 2014 and just never got it clicking in his career. Fleury played 167 games for the Hurricanes and scored 24 points. He struggled to gain footing in the league and was traded away to the Ducks part way through the 2020-2021. He has continued to bounce around since leaving Carolina and has played on four different teams in the last three seasons.

Currently the Hurricanes are a playoff bound team and are looking like strong contenders so the draft is probably not very high on their list of things to focus on just yet. But when June comes around the Hurricanes hold nine picks in total: 1st, 2nd, 3rd (PHI), 4th, 5th, 5th (VAN), 6th, 6th (CHI), 7th. Right now the Hurricanes are stocked up on forward and with their top prospect being rookie Seth Jarvis, the blue line should be their focus. Given their season, a pick between 27-32 wouldn’t be a surprise so to focus on that area and their need for defence they should keep close eyes on the following three defence, Theo Lindstein, Oliver Bonk, and Lukas Dragicevic. All three will add a steady mix of offence and defence which will benefit the Hurricanes greatly for such a low selection.

For more information on the 2023 NHL Draft class be sure to pick up your copy of the comprehensive DraftPro 2023 NHL Draft Guide.

https://draftprospectshockey.com/draftpro-2023-nhl-draft-guide/

Top 10 Defensive Defensemen in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft

By Isaiah Bouchard

The 2023 NHL entry draft is getting ever closer to hockey fans, and the excitement fans have for who their teams are going to draft this year is ever higher as the regular seasons across the globe are coming to an end, and playoff season is just around the corner. And there is a lot for fans to be excited for this year, as the draft is looking like one of the strongest in years.

Connor Bedard is looking increasingly like a franchise-level player, rivaling the likes of Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Nathan Mackinnon, Austin Matthews, and Connor McDavid. Adam Fantilli would have been a first-overall pick in arguably the last six drafts, Leo Carlsson is the next big center to come out of Sweden, and he is a must-grab in the top 5. And, of course, there is the Russian sniper: Matvei Michkov, who, despite being signed to the KHL until 2026, is so good that any team picking in the top 5 will be more than willing to wait for the Russian star.

But after the big 4 in this year’s draft, who fills out the remaining slots is always an exciting mystery come draft day. Teams must allocate their scouting resources to best support the organization’s roster on draft day. Who needs the top defensemen? Say, over-the-top sniper or goaltender? That is why we at DraftPro are excited to present an in-depth look at every position and who best thrives in that position. Who is the best sniper? The best power forward? offensive defensemen? Hopefully, after this 8-part series, all these questions will be answered.

Seven DraftPro scouts were asked their top 5-7 players for the following positions: sniper, playmaker, two-way forward, power forward, offensive defenseman, defensive defenseman, two-way defenseman, and goaltender. Their lists were recorded separately, and then once all seven scouts handed in their lists, their results were compared to one another. The final lists you read here determined the average each player placed. This is not a ranking of the best players overall, simply a ranking of who is the best for each given position. Players may be placed on multiple lists, as many players are not one-dimensional, and can not be forced into one category.

Thank you to the following scouts for providing their lists: Jared Brown, Matt Hnatiuk, Tyler Karoway, Andrew LeBlanc, Murray Caldwell, Andy Miller, and Jody Horak.

The defensive defenseman, or the shutdown defenseman, has been around in hockey since players wished for their net to not be scored on. Back then, it wasn’t uncommon to see defensemen prioritize size and physicality over speed or any kind of offensive qualities. Their points will be low, rarely cracking 10 assists, and scoring a goal was out of the question. Nowadays, defensemen are expected and allowed to do a lot more on the ice. As a result, the traditional defensive defenseman has become less common in modern hockey. But that doesn’t mean a really good defensive defenseman can’t find any success in the game or favor with their coach. So who plays the best defensive hockey in the draft? Well, there is no better way to answer that question than to list out DraftPro’s Top 10 defensive defensemen.

Because the defensive defenseman is becoming increasingly uncommon, it was difficult to find ten players to put on this list. So, as a result, there are only two honorable mentions to give: Matteo Mann and Theo Lindstein.

Tom Willander, Rögle BK J20, J20 Nationell, #32-42 overall (1st-2nd Round).

“Willander uses his excellent skating and four-way mobility effectively on both sides of the puck. He can lead the rush and act as a fourth forward occasionally off the Ozone cycle. Then he uses his feet to manage the opposing rush and close his gaps quickly when the carrier is along the boards, forcing them into making a challenging play with the puck.” – Jared Brown.

It’s fair to say that Tom Willander operates more as a two-way defenseman rather than a pure defensive defenseman, but that is true for many on this list. As mentioned earlier, pure defensive defensemen are becoming rarer these days. But that doesn’t mean defensemen with defensive qualities are fading in relevance, far from it, and that is precisely why Willander is so intriguing as a prospect. With excellent skating qualities, Willander shows just how much the defensive strategies have shifted in the game. He also has a solid frame to him, so it is likely we will see his defensive game develop even more so as he gains the confidence to throw his body around.

Kaden Hammell, Everett Silvertips, WHL, #97-117 overall (3rd Round).

“Hammell’s shutdown positioning and brute strength stop anyone coming into his zone. Strong on his stick and pushes the play to the walls to negate any scoring chances.” – Tyler Karoway.

At 6’2″ and over 180 lbs, Hammel is a flashback to the days of old for defensive defensemen. Playing on a ‘not bad but also not good team’ in Everett also makes his -3 plus/minus not too shabby either. I know plus/minus triggers people, but I can only cite their height and weight so many times. In all seriousness, Hammell is a good option for the later rounds, and many gem defensemen are often found in rounds 3-7.

Brady Cleveland, University of Wisconsin, NCAA, #93-103 overall (2nd-3rd Round).

“Cleveland is a big defender who typically positions himself well and makes good reads. He is an average skater but uses his size and reach to compensate at times. Cleveland can get caught flat-footed and take penalties occasionally, but he is at his best when he has a bit of a mean streak and plays physically.” – Andy Miller.

Playing most of his games in the USDP, Cleveland has over 100 penalty minutes! This may seem like an alarming stat, but it’s not always so clear. One just has to look at the traditional role of the enforcer or antagonizer type of player to see the value they can bring to the team. Getting under players’ skin and rallying your teammates behind you are excellent qualities. Cleveland also finished his year in the USDP with a +18 +/-, which reflects he doesn’t let these penalty minutes get in the way of his defensive game.

Andrew Gibson, Soo Greyhounds, OHL, #81-91 overall (2nd Round).

“Gibson is a big defender who defends well but also has a bit of an offensive side to his game. He makes good breakout passes and has demonstrated some good hands in tight. Gibson does need to be aware of elite level players/skaters on the opposing team so that he does not get caught flat-footed.” – Andy Miller.

Almost over 200 lbs at 18 years old, while also being 6’3″, Gibson has a good chance at being drafted this year on his physical size alone. On top of that, he’s a steadfast defender who can provide some offensive assistance from time to time. He had a great season in the NOJHL in his younger years, winning many awards for his time with the Soo Thunderbirds. Now he’s slowed down slightly in the tougher OHL competition, but not enough for scouts to dismiss him. Not at all, in fact, as he still makes the top 100 in many overall rankings. Gibson could just have a rockier path than most in his journey to the NHL.

Jakub Dvorak, Bili Tygri Liberec, Czechia, #50-60 overall (2nd Round).

“He’s got good mobility and a rangy active stick to confidently defend the rush and keep attackers at bay, away from the middle of the ice. Also possess the big frame to play physical man-on-man and has a strong stick to be harder on picks to win those important puck battles in the Dzone.” – Jared Brown.

Coming in at 6’5″ and 205lbs, I feel like I’m announcing a pro wrestler rather than a 17-year-old hockey player. Dvorak may just be the largest skater in the top 100, maybe even the whole draft, and that is why he is currently sitting in the 2^nd round selection at the time of writing this. Dvorak plays interesting for a big player, as he has solid skating behind him, helping get in position and avoid the cliched ‘pylon’ insult thrown towards many big bulky defensemen. Being 17 years old, Dvorak is only going to get bigger, so he will be a very interesting player to see develop for sure.

David Reinbacher, EHC Kloten, National League, #16-27 overall (1st Round).

“Reinbacher’s tight gap control, blend of mobility, strong defensive stick checking, and physicality make him highly effective at shutting down the rush. He can stop the cycle as he knows how to close players off along the perimeter and pin them while a teammate comes in to recoup the puck.” – Jared Brown.

A perfect example of how defensive techniques have changed in hockey, Reinbacher prioritizes speed and mobility to shut down offense in a very effective way. He has excellent motor which helps him utilize these techniques more effectively and also helps him recover faster. Reinbacher’s performance at the World Juniors showcased his playstyle’s effectiveness, as one could see the momentum shift when he stepped onto the ice. He was always willing to throw himself in front of any opponent, no matter how outmatched his team was.

Oliver Bonk, London Knights, OHL, #23-33 overall (1st-2nd Round).

“He always seems to be in the right place at the right time because he has such strong awareness on the ice. He also is very strong defensively and displays excellent gap control when backing into his zone. When defending in his zone, you can expect effective, consistent play with the added bonus of quick puck movement to get the puck out of his end.” – Matt Hnatiuk.

Speaking of momentum shifting, we now look at Oliver Bonk. He plays a very similar style to Reinbacher, but his style is more effective in more situations. He’s excellent at breakout passing and can naturally shift his game to an offense-focus blue liner. Bonk seems to have many advantages to his game, but his excellent defensive awareness and solid passing are two to definitely take home. However, Bonk appears to be more focused on offense, which is a shame because his defensive abilities are pretty high. He would be a very effective shutdown defenseman if he wanted to be. We will have to wait and see how he develops.

Maxim Strbak, Michigan State University, NCAA, #49-59 overall (2nd Round).

“I found Strbak to be a great partner and would work well with Brzustewicz or Bonk as he has some offensive skills but thinks defense first. He gets in the passing and shooting lanes and is comfortable in both ends of the ice.” – Andy Miller.

Playing in the U18 and U20 Sarja leagues before coming to the USHL and now NCAA, Strbak’s success in a variety of situations and leagues is a testament to his skill as an all-around defender. His defensive skill, in particular, transfers best from league to league, as his defensive positioning is one of the best in the draft. As Andy mentioned, he would be a great partner to pair with more offense-focused defensemen, as he can cover for his buddy when the game starts to heat up in the Dzone. This sounds dirty, but it isn’t. This is just how hockey people talk.

Dmitri Simashev, Loko-76 Saroslavl, MHL, #19-29 overall (1st Round).

“Reads and anticipates very well defensively, makes good breakout passes, has a great shot from the offensive blue line, and is not afraid to skate it up when the opportunity presents itself.” – Jody Horak.

Another big player, standing just a little under Dvorak at 6’4″, Simashev is another steadfast, smart defenseman who knows how to play his role well. This type of defenseman isn’t flashy but is a crucial player on your team. Simashev offers that defensive stability while also easing pressure and helping to shift momentum with his breakout passing. Arguably the purest defensive defensemen on this list, it is nice to see someone like Simashev succeed, excel at his game, and get recognition from scouts. He’s a hard player to predict where he will be picked in the draft, as his rankings range from late first round to early third. But no doubt he will be a highly valued asset to his team, and coaches will love his defense-first mindset.

Cameron Allen, Guelph Storm, OHL, #35-45 overall (2nd Round).

“A stay-at-home defenseman who is positionally sound and strong in front of his own net.” – Jody Horak.

Cameron Allen is an old-school defenseman in many ways. He loves playing physical man-on-man hockey, has excellent shut-down positioning, and can make great passes to make him a bit of a two-way defenseman if needed. But where Allen shines is his tenacity and drive to play. He led Canada to gold in the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in 2022 and was seen actually leading out there on the ice. Fighting for his teammates and standing up for his coach. He’s every coach’s dream defenseman, making him undoubtedly one of the best overall in the draft. While he may fall short in individual skill-based qualities like skating, shooting, puck control, etc. Allen arguably has one of the best mindsets out of all the defensemen in the draft. He’s going to play for his team and play the style of game that he needs to play. So while he may not be the best defenseman overall, Cameron Allen of the Guelph Storm is the best defensive defenseman in the 2023 NHL draft class.

For more information on the 2023 NHL Draft class be sure to pick up your copy of the comprehensive DraftPro 2023 NHL Draft Guide.

https://draftprospectshockey.com/draftpro-2023-nhl-draft-guide/