Welcome back to Top Shelf Prospects, the column that brings you the next crop of professional hockey players. Each day our LWOS Prospects Writers will bring you a new player profile or topical article in the lead-up to the 2023 NHL Draft. Be sure to bookmark the site, follow Ben Kerr, Kyle Pereira and Frederik Frandson on Twitter, and spread the word for the site that will bring you analytical and critical profiles and scouting reports! Last Word On Hockey Prospects is your new headquarters for everything “NHL Draft”! Today we bring you part one of our four part 2023 NHL Draft grades series!
2023 NHL Draft Grade: Part Four
Seattle Kraken: A
Picks: Eduard Sale, Carson Rehkopf, Oscar Fisker Mølgaard, Lukas Dragicevic, Caden Price, Andrei Loshko, Kaden Hammell, Visa Vedenpää, Zeb Forsfjäll, Zaccharya Wisdom
Value: Caden Price
Ron Francis earned this 2023 NHL Draft grade. One of the winners of the draft was the newest team in the NHL, the Seattle Kraken. They had a draft with hit after hit after hit. They ended up selecting ten players during the draft and their first five possessed wonderful value. Their first selection was with the 20th pick in the draft where they selected Eduard Sale. The talented winger from Czechia brings a lot of versatility to Seattle. He does pretty much everything at a high level, and the few flaws in his game only need to be fine-tuned. His playmaking, hockey sense, and hands are extremely good and allow him to make the smartest play rather than the flashy and risky play.
This wasn’t the only high IQ player they got as they also selected Oscar Fisker Mølgaard at 52nd overall. A great selection as they get a player who might be the smartest in the draft class. He won’t score a ton of goals, as his shot isn’t near NHL standard, but he will prevent a ton of goals against. He is such a reliable defensive forward that possesses good skating and playmaking. That late was a steal. Another was Caden Price all the way down in the late third round. A puck-moving defenseman with fine skating, who plays a relatively well-rounded game. Another three great value picks were Carson Rehkopf at 50th, Lukas Dragicevic at 57th, and Zeb Forsfjäll at pick 180. In terms of raw value for their picks, Seattle got the most.
St. Louis Blues: C+
Picks: Dalibor Dvorsky, Otto Stenberg, Theo Lindstein, Quinton Burns, Juraj Pekarcik, Jakub Stancl, Phil Fischer, Matthew Mayich, Nikita Susuyev
Value: Dalibor Dvorsky
With three first-round picks in the draft, most were expecting St. Louis to become one of the winners of the draft. In a stacked draft with a ton of quality, St. Louis almost couldn’t go wrong. However, while St. Louis did get a much deeper prospect pool, they didn’t quite live up to expectations. They did okay but failed to fully capitalize on their selections. Especially on day two, where they didn’t really hit on anything. On day one, they selected Dalibor Dvorsky, who is a great two-way center, with good size and a great hockey sense. He needs better skating, but if he can improve that he has all the tools to be a top-line center in the NHL. However, they did leave Oliver Moore and Zach Benson on the board.
Dvorsky was a strong start that the Blues followed up with Otto Stenberg. Another good pick, and one with an extremely high ceiling. His offensive arsenal contains everything you want, yet he hasn’t quite mastered the tools he has yet. However, his consistency is a question and will need both coaching and time to develop into an offensive monster. If he doesn’t the Blues might regret not taking Andrew Cristall or Quintin Musty. The final of the Blues first-round picks came at 29th overall where they went for Theo Lindstein. Once again, a fine player with strong defensive awareness, but he lacks the high ceiling of other defenders in the draft. Especially compared to Mikhail Gulyayev who was taken two picks later.
Overall, it wasn’t a bad draft for the Blues, but it could have been so much more.
Tampa Bay Lightning: B-
Picks: Ethan Gauthier, Jayson Shaygabay, Warren Clark, Jack Harvey, Ethan Hay
Value: Ethan Gauthier
The Tampa Bay Lightning didn’t have a ton of draft picks to use but managed to get the 37th overall pick with a trade with the Colorado Avalanche for Ross Colton. With the second-round pick, they selected Ethan Gauthier, who offers great skating and a brilliant work rate. While there were higher potential players available like Andrew Cristall, getting a great support player for the future isn’t bad at all. In many ways Gauthier is similar to Ross Colton but with the potential to develop more offensively. His high floor and grinding style should allow him to translate into a solid bottom-six forward even if the offensive development stagnates.
Outside of Gauthier, the Lightning had an okay draft. They didn’t get any steals but also weren’t making major blunders. Overall, it was a solid draft for the Lightnings position.
Toronto Maple Leafs: F
Picks: Easton Cowan, Hudson Malinoski, Noah Chadwick
Slight Value: Easton Cowan
This is the most critical 2023 NHL Draft grade. The worst team of the 2023 NHL draft was the Toronto Maple Leafs. While it’s not easy to have a great draft with only three picks, the strength and depth of the draft and the fact they had the 28th pick in the draft, should be made it possible for Toronto to acquire some type of value. However, the Leafs missed on all three chances, with their first-round pick being the biggest reach of the draft, as they drafted Easton Cowan. Only Craig Button had Cowan going around the first round.
However, with that said, Cowan isn’t a terrible player or an instant bust. He has great upside to his game with solid playmaking and stickhandling. He has a good motor and shows a nice hockey IQ but lacks great skating to counteract his lack of size and physicality. It’s a risky pick where the Leafs are banking on his skating and defensive game to improve a lot over the next couple of years. Cowan might turn into a top-nine player down the line, but with Andrew Cristall, David Edstrom, and Gavin Brindley still left on the board it was an unnecessary reach. Without any true options to recover on day two at their disposal, the Leafs became the team, who did the worst in the best draft class since 2005.
Vancouver Canucks: D+
Picks: Tom Willander, Hunter Brzustewicz, Sawyer Mynio, Ty Mueller, Vilmer Alriksson, Matthew Perkins, Aiden Celebrini
Value: Hunter Brzustewicz
The Vancouver Canucks have been a team in shambles over the past decade, and once again they seem to have missed a chance to move in the right direction. While their top pick Tom Willander in his own right is a solid player, with great upside, it also felt like an underwhelming 11th overall pick.
Willander is a strong two-way defenseman with a great defensive upside. He plays a mature game with great skating and plays with a lot of awareness in his own zone. Both when it comes to his positioning and cap control. However, his offensive potential is limited as he needs more creativity and an improved shot to truly be an offensive factor in the NHL. All in all, Willander is projected to be a top-four defenseman in the NHL, but at 11th in one of the best drafts in history, this feels like it could have been more than that. Fellow Swedish defender Axel Sandin Pellikka was available, and his potential does offer more upside than Willander.
On day two they also failed to truly capitalize on the depth of the draft class, as their only real value pick was Hunter Brzustewicz at 75th. Another defenseman with decent potential and upside. With some refinements to his game in both zones, he could be a partner to Willander as a top-four defender in the NHL. However, the rest of the picks felt like darts that missed the board. They had options to get a few late-round steals like Denver Barkey and Jayden Perron but went off the board with Sawyer Mynio.
Vegas Golden Knights: C
Picks: David Edstrom, Mathieu Cataford, Arttu Kärki, Tuomas Uronen
Value: David Edstrom
The Stanley Cup Champions have had a season to remember with a glorious cup run and a summer of celebrations. The party was put on hold for the draft, where Vegas did an okay job as well. They didn’t have a great draft, but their first overall pick held a good amount of value. David Edstrom could easily be the next Joel Eriksson Ek. A gritty, two-way center with size, great work rates, and who scores a ton of goals after winning net-front battles. Getting a player like this with the last pick of the first round could secure that the Knights stay hard to play against down the middle.
After day one, it felt like the Knights went back to celebrating their cups. They only had three more picks and didn’t really get that much value out of them. However, it’s doubtful that Vegas cares all that much. After all, they showed that winning can be done without building from the draft.
Washington Capitals: A-
Picks: Ryan Leonard, Andrew Cristall, Patrick Thomas, Cameron Allen, Brett Hyland, Antoine Keller
Value: Andrew Cristall
The Washington Capitals’ playoff streak and time as one of the best teams in the East is over. After only missing the playoff twice in sixteen years the Capitals finally seem to be committed to a rebuild. A rebuild that couldn’t have gotten off to a better start. With the 8th pick, they selected Ryan Leonard, who could be a more talented version of Tom Wilson. Leonard is modern power forward who possesses both a great shot and brilliant playmaking. All the skillset of Leonard with his skating and motor makes him a threat anywhere on the ice.
The great selections didn’t stop on day one. At 40th overall they got arguably the biggest value pick of the draft as they selected Andrew Cristall. The Canadian forward has some of the best edges in the class, as he can turn on a dime and create a ton of space for himself and unlock space to find his teammates. His breakaway speed and power do need work, but with his dynamic offensive skillset, Cristall has the potential to become an elite winger in the NHL. Getting a player like that at 40th is an outright robbery.
It’s also worth mentioning that the Capitals also got good value with their pick at 136. Here they selected Cameron Allen, who many view as a modern and good skating defenseman with strong leadership. While his potential isn’t as high as some of the rest, to get a player with his potential in the 5th round is great for the Capitals.
Winnipeg Jets: C+
Picks: Colby Barlow, Zachary Nehring, Jacob Julien, Thomas Milic, Connor Levis
Value: Colby Barlow
The Winnipeg Jets are heading into a slightly turbulent off-season. Rumours about players leaving and a rebuilding phase beginning during the upcoming season. A rebuild that might have seen its foundation being made during this draft. Especially with their first-round selection as they chose Colby Barlow at 18th overall. A good power forward with a good 200-foot game and who plays well with most player types. He also possesses great scoring abilities and can offer a lot of points along with his physicality. While Barlow needs to expand his offence a bit to truly unlock his potential, he is a wonderful player to build a potential rebuild around.
The second day was a bit more mixed for the Jets. There were a few missed chances where Barlow’s value is hard to deny. Players with high upside like Jayden Perron and Denver Barkey were missed as they selected Zachary Nehring at 82nd. A theme that somewhat continued the rest of the draft apart from getting Thomas Milic late in the fifth round. A strong goalie prospect, who has shown his worth and value at the World Juniors. A pick that does give some value to the second day and makes the draft acceptable for the Jets.
Main Photo: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
