As we get closer and closer to the 2023 NHL draft, more teams are putting the finishing touches on their draft lists and preparing the strategies they’ll take into next week’s hugely important event. One of the teams with a lot on the line is the Vancouver Canucks, who pick eleventh and are looking to add to their pipeline of young talent. The Athletic’s Thomas Drance wrote today that he’s “heard throughout the draft preparation process that positional need” will “loom large in Vancouver’s consideration” as they finalize their final draft list. (subscription link) The positions of need, according to Drance, are at center and at right-handed defenseman.
Drance also named several prospects he has “been hearing that the organization is high on” entering the draft, and are under consideration for the team’s top pick at #11 overall. Those players are WHL center Nate Danielson, Slovakian pivot Dalibor Dvorsky, Swedish right-shot blueliner Tom Willander, and OHL winger Colby Barlow. Three of those four prospects are centers or right-shot defensemen, so it does seem quite likely that the Canucks will end up spending their top pick on a player of either of those positions, though there is obviously room for a surprise selection just like at any NHL draft.
Some other notes about the draft from across the NHL:
- One of the top picks under a more significant media microscope leading into the draft is the Montreal Canadiens’ top pick at #5 overall. That’s because this draft is considered to have a clear top tier of four center prospects, meaning if each of the four teams ahead of Montreal chooses to select one of those pivots, the draft could truly open up at the fifth pick. Speaking on the 32 Thoughts podcast, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said “there’s a lot of teams that think if [the Canadiens] don’t get [USNTDP Center Will Smith] they’re taking Reinbacher,” meaning Austrian right-shot blueliner and projected top defensive prospect David Reinbacher. We previously covered reports that the Canadiens were “seriously considering” Reinbacher alongside Smith’s teammate Ryan Leonard, and now a key insider has added to those rumors of Montreal’s interest in Reinbacher.
- Also on the 32 Thoughts podcast, Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek spoke on the San Jose Sharks (owners of the fourth overall pick) stating “they want defensemen and they want goaltenders.” Marek wondered about the team’s interest level in Reinbacher, and whether that would lead to them trading down at the draft once again after doing so at last year’s event. It has already been reported that the Canadiens are “aggressively” looking to move up in the draft, so perhaps based on this report a potential one-spot pick swap that would secure the Sharks Reinbacher and the Canadiens Smith could be in play. It must be noted, though, that it is incredibly rare for top-five picks to change hands, so the more likely scenario is always that each team simply picks from the pool of players left available to them.
Kind of puzzling how teams and media outlets are bringing positional needs into play. Why don’t you take the best pick available if you’re lucky enough to pick at #4 or #5? (or ar least whoever you believe is the prospect with the highest potential/upside at the time of the draft).
Maybe I could understand postional needs influencing your choice when it comes to late 1st/early 2nd round. In that range it’s becoming more and more of a crapshoot, and you could as well take the position you think you’ll need in 2 years time. But at #4?
Never really understood how the Devils spent their #2 on Simon Nemec. He had a good transition to North American hockey though in his D+1 season so maybe this will turn out to be a wise choice.
Well when the New York Islanders had the #1 pick and had a need for a goaltender, they chose Rick DiPietro, who led them to a new dynasty of Stanley Cups and posted Hall of Fame numbers, despite being ranked like 30th by all pundits.
Oh.
But as a serious answer, the difference between 4 and 5 in this draft is pretty negligible. You either get a potential 1C, or a potential top pairing defenceman. If you picked Reinbacher with, say, the #1 pick, I would personally reserve the right to smack you in the head. But 4 and 5… Not much difference.
You’ll sometimes see some head-scratchers too, like a team trading up to pick someone ranked lower. Usually this happens because there’s rumblings someone before them has eyes on “their guy”. And if the trade-off is a third or fourth round pick, picks that are pretty unlikely to result in an NHL player… It’s worth it if the team’s internal scouts value him that highly. Though I can’t recall an instance where that move has worked out well in the long term.