2023 NHL Draft: Fisher's Two Round Mock Draft

[Larry Fisher]

Before the trades start flying in from Nashville, here is my attempt at a two-round mock for the 2023 NHL Draft:

First Round
1) Chicago Blackhawks — Connor Bedard
2) Anaheim Ducks — Adam Fantilli
3) Columbus Blue Jackets — Leo Carlsson
4) San Jose Sharks — Will Smith
5) Montreal Canadiens — Dalibor Dvorsky
6) Arizona Coyotes — Zach Benson
7) Philadelphia Flyers — Ryan Leonard
8) Washington Capitals — Matvei Michkov
9) Detroit Red Wings — David Reinbacher
10) St. Louis Blues — Oliver Moore
11) Vancouver Canucks — Tom Willander
12) Arizona Coyotes (from Ottawa) — Gabe Perreault
13) Buffalo Sabres — Eduard Sale
14) Pittsburgh Penguins — Axel Sandin Pellikka
15) Nashville Predators — Andrew Cristall
16) Calgary Flames — Nate Danielson
17) Detroit Red Wings (from New York Islanders) — Colby Barlow
18) Winnipeg Jets — Quentin Musty
19) Chicago Blackhawks (from Tampa Bay) — Dmitri Simashev
20) Seattle Kraken — Brayden Yager
21) Minnesota Wild — Daniil But
22) Philadelphia Flyers (from Los Angeles) — Ethan Gauthier
23) New York Rangers — Matthew Wood
24) Nashville Predators (from Edmonton) — Theo Lindstein
25) St. Louis Blues (from Toronto) — Calum Ritchie
26) San Jose Sharks (from New Jersey) — Gavin Brindley
27) Colorado Avalanche — Samuel Honzek
28) Toronto Maple Leafs (from Boston) — Oliver Bonk
29) St. Louis Blues (from Dallas) — Charlie Stramel
30) Carolina Hurricanes — Lukas Dragicevic
31) Montreal Canadiens (from Florida) — Otto Stenberg
32) Vegas Golden Knights — Riley Heidt

Second Round
33) Anaheim Ducks — Etienne Morin
34) Columbus Blue Jackets — Jakub Dvorak
35) Chicago Blackhawks — Mikhail Gulyayev
36) San Jose Sharks — Michael Hrabal
37) Montreal Canadiens — Kasper Halttunen
38) Arizona Coyotes — Gracyn Sawchyn
39) Buffalo Sabres (from Philadelphia) — Maxim Strbak
40) Washington Capitals — Adam Gajan
41) Detroit Red Wings — David Edstrom
42) Detroit Red Wings (from St. Louis) — Noah Dower Nilsson
43) Detroit Red Wings (from Vancouver) — Jayden Perron
44) Chicago Blackhawks (from Ottawa) — Trey Augustine
45) Buffalo Sabres — Kalan Lind
46) Nashville Predators (from Pittsburgh) — Caden Price
47) Nashville Predators — Tanner Molendyk
48) Calgary Flames — Koehn Zimmer
49) New York Islanders — Nick Lardis
50) Seattle Kraken (from Winnipeg) — Bradly Nadeau
51) Chicago Blackhawks (from Tampa Bay) — Danny Nelson
52) Seattle Kraken — Eric Pohlkamp
53) Minnesota Wild — Carter Sotheran
54) Los Angeles Kings — Hunter Brzustewicz
55) Chicago Blackhawks (from New York Rangers) — Anton Wahlberg
56) Edmonton Oilers — Carson Bjarnason
57) Seattle Kraken (from Toronto) — Jacob Fowler
58) New Jersey Devils — Oscar Fisker Molgaard
59) Anaheim Ducks (from Colorado) — Mathieu Cataford
60) Anaheim Ducks (from Boston) — Nico Myatovic
61) Dallas Stars — Carson Rehkopf
62) Carolina Hurricanes — Emil Jarventie
63) Florida Panthers — Cameron Allen
64) Minnesota Wild (from Vegas) — Luca Cagnoni

Selections By Team

Chicago Blackhawks
1) Connor Bedard
19) Dmitri Simashev
35) Mikhail Gulyayev
44) Trey Augustine
51) Danny Nelson
55) Anton Wahlberg

Anaheim Ducks
2) Adam Fantilli
33) Etienne Morin
59) Mathieu Cataford
60) Nico Myatovic

Columbus Blue Jackets
3) Leo Carlsson
34) Jakub Dvorak

San Jose Sharks
4) Will Smith
26) Gavin Brindley
36) Michael Hrabal

Montreal Canadiens
5) Dalibor Dvorsky
31) Otto Stenberg
37) Kasper Halttunen

Arizona Coyotes
6) Zach Benson
12) Gabe Perreault
38) Gracyn Sawchyn

Philadelphia Flyers
7) Ryan Leonard
22) Ethan Gauthier

Washington Capitals
8) Matvei Michkov
40) Adam Gajan

Detroit Red Wings
9) David Reinbacher
17) Colby Barlow
41) David Edstrom
42) Noah Dower Nilsson
43) Jayden Perron

St. Louis Blues
10) Oliver Moore
25) Calum Ritchie
29) Charlie Stramel

Vancouver Canucks
11) Tom Willander

Buffalo Sabres
13) Eduard Sale
39) Maxim Strbak
45) Kalan Lind

Pittsburgh Penguins
14) Axel Sandin Pellikka

Nashville Predators
15) Andrew Cristall
24) Theo Lindstein
46) Caden Price
47) Tanner Molendyk

Calgary Flames
16) Nate Danielson
48) Koehn Zimmer

Winnipeg Jets
18) Quentin Musty

Seattle Kraken
20) Brayden Yager
50) Bradly Nadeau
52) Eric Pohlkamp
57) Jacob Fowler

Minnesota Wild
21) Daniil But
53) Carter Sotheran
64) Luca Cagnoni

New York Rangers
23) Matthew Wood

Colorado Avalanche
27) Samuel Honzek

Toronto Maple Leafs
28) Oliver Bonk

Carolina Hurricanes
30) Lukas Dragicevic
62) Emil Jarventie

Vegas Golden Knights
32) Riley Heidt

New York Islanders
49) Nick Lardis

Los Angeles Kings
54) Hunter Brzustewicz

Edmonton Oilers
56) Carson Bjarnason

New Jersey Devils
58) Oscar Fisker Molgaard

Dallas Stars
61) Carson Rehkopf

Florida Panthers
63) Cameron Allen

Click to read more...

 

[Juxtaposer]

The Sharks taking Brindley over Honzek would be pretty dumb IMO.

 

[Larry Fisher]

The Sharks taking Brindley over Honzek would be pretty dumb IMO.

If they want more size up front, Honzek would be an option there. Brindley is small but very skilled with a good motor/drive, somewhat similar to Sharks prospect Tristen Robins.

 

[Juxtaposer]

If they want more size up front, Honzek would be an option there. Brindley is small but very skilled with a good motor/drive, somewhat similar to Sharks prospect Tristen Robins.

Yes, that is somewhat similar to Robins and also half of our prospect pool. We have exactly zero big forwards with NHL potential in our system, never mind someone with potential as high as Honzek. I like Brindley, but not with Honzek on the board.

 

[Larry Fisher]

Yes, that is somewhat similar to Robins and also half of our prospect pool. We have exactly zero big forwards with NHL potential in our system, never mind someone with potential as high as Honzek. I like Brindley, but not with Honzek on the board.

That's fair, I figured the Sharks scouts would like that Brindley player type but perhaps he is redundant in their prospect pool like you are suggesting. You do have Bystedt, Coe and Lund as bigger bodies but definitely a lot more small, skilled forwards in the system.

 

[Mrfenn92]

Good list op

 

[Maticus]

Love your work Larry, just a couple questions.

Do you think the Canucks trade their 11th overall pick and how many 1st round picks you think will be traded in this deep draft?

 

[Larry Fisher]

Love your work Larry, just a couple questions.

Do you think the Canucks trade their 11th overall pick and how many 1st round picks you think will be traded in this deep draft?

Good questions, I don't have a crystal ball and I'm not as in the know as I used to be when I covered the league full time and networked with NHL scouts weekly, so this is pure speculation and guess work this year!

That disclaimer out of the way, I wouldn't trade that pick if I were Allvin/Rutherford. OEL buyout cleared some cap room and Garland should be moveable without attaching that 11th overall pick. Sounds like Boeser, Myers, Miller and others are staying. I would consider moving down to grab another pick if the offer was right. I have a big tier from 9-27 in my rankings, so whether you pick 11 or 19, the quality of prospect won't be that different (assuming Michkov isn't still there at 11 or some other shocking faller). So that might be worth exploring if you could get 19 + 40 for 11 or something along those lines, with another Top 50 pick to drop down. But outright trading 11th overall and trading out of the 1st round wouldn't make sense to me unless you are getting Alexis Lafreniere. In that case, absolutely I would trade 11th overall for Lafreniere. I would be kicking tires on Lafreniere tomorrow, especially after that Newhook trade. I would put together a similar package in a pitch to land Lafreniere, though I assume Montreal would have inquired there as well.

As for the second question, I do think a few 1sts in the 20-32 range could be moved for win-now talent but cap space is at a premium for most the contenders/playoff teams still picking in the back half of the first round. If DeBrincat, Karlsson, Hellebuyck and other big fish are traded tomorrow, we'll likely see 1st rounders in this deep draft as part of those packages, as per usual.

 

[superdeluxe]

Seattle would love if Yager fell to them at 20.

 

[thestonedkoala]

The last thing Minnesota needs is more defensemen; Brodin, Lambos, O'Reilly, Hunt in the minors along with a few other dark horses, Spurgeon, Faber, Addison...and again a few other dark horses. Minnesota passing up on Molgaard in the 2nd is bad.

 

[Larry Fisher]

Seattle would love if Yager fell to them at 20.

Familiarity with Firkus aside, that would be a steal. But I've seen Yager mocked a lot to Chicago at 19 and I'm thinking his friendship with Bedard makes that a likely pick as well.

The last thing Minnesota needs is more defensemen; Brodin, Lambos, O'Reilly, Hunt in the minors along with a few other dark horses, Spurgeon, Faber, Addison...and again a few other dark horses. Minnesota passing up on Molgaard in the 2nd is bad.

Minnesota scouts, pre-Guerin, loved their D from the Dub and I could see them having eyes for that Portland pairing. You can never have enough D and those two are 3-4 years away from playing in the NHL, so a lot can and will change by then. You aren't drafting a D in the second round that is going to step in and contribute next season.

 

[thestonedkoala]

Minnesota scouts, pre-Guerin, loved their D from the Dub and I could see them having eyes for that Portland pairing. You can never have enough D and those two are 3-4 years away from playing in the NHL, so a lot can and will change by then. You aren't drafting a D in the second round that is going to step in and contribute next season.

Brodin and Spurgeon are signed for a while. Faber is coming up, so that's 3 of the 4 in the top 4. And then you have O'Reilly and Hunt progressing in the minors and pushing to make it now. And then behind them is Peart, who just had an excellent season.

Minnesota has zero depth at center if Rossi, Bankier don't make it. They only have Khus.

 

[Larry Fisher]

Brodin and Spurgeon are signed for a while. Faber is coming up, so that's 3 of the 4 in the top 4. And then you have O'Reilly and Hunt progressing in the minors and pushing to make it now. And then behind them is Peart, who just had an excellent season.

Minnesota has zero depth at center if Rossi, Bankier don't make it. They only have Khus.

Fair points for sure, the counter point would be Brodin and Spurgeon could be gone by the time Sotheran and Cagnoni arrive. Those timelines may not overlap. But I get what you are saying, you’d prefer the Wild draft by position to address some organizational weaknesses or avoid organizational strengths with those second-round picks.

 

[Lucky Luke]

Matvei Michkov will not fall to #8.

 

[Larry Fisher]

For those interested, I did a recap of my 2023 Mock Draft with mediocre results as per usual:

3 Hits
Connor Bedard to Chicago, Will Smith to San Jose, Tom Willander to Vancouver
2 Close Calls
Tanner Molendyk to Nashville a round late, Noah Dower Nilsson to Detroit a round early
27 of 32 through first round
Gavin Brindley, Ethan Gauthier, Andrew Cristall, Lukas Dragicevic, Riley Heidt were misses who all went in second round
51 of 64 through second round
Nick Lardis, Jacob Fowler, Noah Dower Nilsson, Hunter Brzustewicz, Mathieu Cataford, Koehn Ziemmer, Caden Price and Jayden Perron went in third round; Luca Cagnoni went in fourth round; Eric Pohlkamp, Carter Sotheran and Cameron Allen went in fifth round; and Emil Jarventie went in seventh round

Fisher’s 2023 Mock Draft (draft position in parenthesis)
First Round
1) Chicago Blackhawks — Connor Bedard
2) Anaheim Ducks — Adam Fantilli (3)
3) Columbus Blue Jackets — Leo Carlsson (2)
4) San Jose Sharks — Will Smith
5) Montreal Canadiens — Dalibor Dvorsky (10)
6) Arizona Coyotes — Zach Benson (13)
7) Philadelphia Flyers — Ryan Leonard (8)
8) Washington Capitals — Matvei Michkov (7)
9) Detroit Red Wings — David Reinbacher (5)
10) St. Louis Blues — Oliver Moore (19)
11) Vancouver Canucks — Tom Willander
12) Arizona Coyotes (from Ottawa) — Gabe Perreault (23)
13) Buffalo Sabres — Eduard Sale (20)
14) Pittsburgh Penguins — Axel Sandin Pellikka (17)
15) Nashville Predators — Andrew Cristall (40)
16) Calgary Flames — Nate Danielson (9)
17) Detroit Red Wings (from New York Islanders) — Colby Barlow (18)
18) Winnipeg Jets — Quentin Musty (26)
19) Chicago Blackhawks (from Tampa Bay) — Dmitri Simashev (6)
20) Seattle Kraken — Brayden Yager (14)
21) Minnesota Wild — Daniil But (12)
22) Philadelphia Flyers (from Los Angeles) — Ethan Gauthier (37)
23) New York Rangers — Matthew Wood (15)
24) Nashville Predators (from Edmonton) — Theo Lindstein (29)
25) St. Louis Blues (from Toronto) — Calum Ritchie (27)
26) San Jose Sharks (from New Jersey) — Gavin Brindley (34)
27) Colorado Avalanche — Samuel Honzek (16)
28) Toronto Maple Leafs (from Boston) — Oliver Bonk (22)
29) St. Louis Blues (from Dallas) — Charlie Stramel (21)
30) Carolina Hurricanes — Lukas Dragicevic (57)
31) Colorado Avalanche (from Florida) — Otto Stenberg (25)
32) Vegas Golden Knights — Riley Heidt (64)
Second Round
33) Anaheim Ducks — Etienne Morin (48)
34) Columbus Blue Jackets — Jakub Dvorak (54)
35) Chicago Blackhawks — Mikhail Gulyayev (31)
36) San Jose Sharks — Michael Hrabal (38)
37) Tampa Bay Lightning (from Montreal) — Kasper Halttunen (36)
38) Arizona Coyotes — Gracyn Sawchyn (63)
39) Buffalo Sabres (from Philadelphia) — Maxim Strbak (45)
40) Washington Capitals — Adam Gajan (35)
41) Detroit Red Wings — David Edstrom (32)
42) Detroit Red Wings (from St. Louis) — Noah Dower Nilsson (73 to Detroit)
43) Nashville Predators (from Vancouver) — Jayden Perron (94)
44) Chicago Blackhawks (from Ottawa) — Trey Augustine (41)
45) Buffalo Sabres — Kalan Lind (46)
46) Nashville Predators (from Pittsburgh) — Caden Price (84)
47) Detroit Red Wings (from Nashville) — Tanner Molendyk (24 to Nashville)
48) Calgary Flames — Koehn Ziemmer (78)
49) New York Islanders — Nick Lardis (67)
50) Seattle Kraken (from Winnipeg) — Bradly Nadeau (30)
51) Philadelphia Flyers (from Tampa Bay) — Danny Nelson (49)
52) Seattle Kraken — Eric Pohlkamp (132)
53) Minnesota Wild — Carter Sotheran (135)
54) Los Angeles Kings — Hunter Brzustewicz (75)
55) Chicago Blackhawks (from New York Rangers) — Anton Wahlberg (39)
56) Edmonton Oilers — Carson Bjarnason (51)
57) Seattle Kraken (from Toronto) — Jacob Fowler (69)
58) New Jersey Devils — Oscar Fisker Molgaard (52)
59) Anaheim Ducks (from Colorado) — Mathieu Cataford (77)
60) Anaheim Ducks (from Boston) — Nico Myatovic (33)
61) Dallas Stars — Carson Rehkopf (50)
62) Carolina Hurricanes — Emil Jarventie (217)
63) Florida Panthers — Cameron Allen (136)
64) Minnesota Wild (from Vegas) — Luca Cagnoni (123)

Mocks are never easy and time will tell how the draft results pan out relative to my predictions!

 

[Misery74]

For those interested, I did a recap of my 2023 Mock Draft with mediocre results as per usual:

3 Hits
Connor Bedard to Chicago, Will Smith to San Jose, Tom Willander to Vancouver
2 Close Calls
Tanner Molendyk to Nashville a round late, Noah Dower Nilsson to Detroit a round early
27 of 32 through first round
Gavin Brindley, Ethan Gauthier, Andrew Cristall, Lukas Dragicevic, Riley Heidt were misses who all went in second round
51 of 64 through second round
Nick Lardis, Jacob Fowler, Noah Dower Nilsson, Hunter Brzustewicz, Mathieu Cataford, Koehn Ziemmer, Caden Price and Jayden Perron went in third round; Luca Cagnoni went in fourth round; Eric Pohlkamp, Carter Sotheran and Cameron Allen went in fifth round; and Emil Jarventie went in seventh round

Fisher’s 2023 Mock Draft (draft position in parenthesis)
First Round
1) Chicago Blackhawks — Connor Bedard
2) Anaheim Ducks — Adam Fantilli (3)
3) Columbus Blue Jackets — Leo Carlsson (2)
4) San Jose Sharks — Will Smith
5) Montreal Canadiens — Dalibor Dvorsky (10)
6) Arizona Coyotes — Zach Benson (13)
7) Philadelphia Flyers — Ryan Leonard (8)
8) Washington Capitals — Matvei Michkov (7)
9) Detroit Red Wings — David Reinbacher (5)
10) St. Louis Blues — Oliver Moore (19)
11) Vancouver Canucks — Tom Willander
12) Arizona Coyotes (from Ottawa) — Gabe Perreault (23)
13) Buffalo Sabres — Eduard Sale (20)
14) Pittsburgh Penguins — Axel Sandin Pellikka (17)
15) Nashville Predators — Andrew Cristall (40)
16) Calgary Flames — Nate Danielson (9)
17) Detroit Red Wings (from New York Islanders) — Colby Barlow (18)
18) Winnipeg Jets — Quentin Musty (26)
19) Chicago Blackhawks (from Tampa Bay) — Dmitri Simashev (6)
20) Seattle Kraken — Brayden Yager (14)
21) Minnesota Wild — Daniil But (12)
22) Philadelphia Flyers (from Los Angeles) — Ethan Gauthier (37)
23) New York Rangers — Matthew Wood (15)
24) Nashville Predators (from Edmonton) — Theo Lindstein (29)
25) St. Louis Blues (from Toronto) — Calum Ritchie (27)
26) San Jose Sharks (from New Jersey) — Gavin Brindley (34)
27) Colorado Avalanche — Samuel Honzek (16)
28) Toronto Maple Leafs (from Boston) — Oliver Bonk (22)
29) St. Louis Blues (from Dallas) — Charlie Stramel (21)
30) Carolina Hurricanes — Lukas Dragicevic (57)
31) Colorado Avalanche (from Florida) — Otto Stenberg (25)
32) Vegas Golden Knights — Riley Heidt (64)
Second Round
33) Anaheim Ducks — Etienne Morin (48)
34) Columbus Blue Jackets — Jakub Dvorak (54)
35) Chicago Blackhawks — Mikhail Gulyayev (31)
36) San Jose Sharks — Michael Hrabal (38)
37) Tampa Bay Lightning (from Montreal) — Kasper Halttunen (36)
38) Arizona Coyotes — Gracyn Sawchyn (63)
39) Buffalo Sabres (from Philadelphia) — Maxim Strbak (45)
40) Washington Capitals — Adam Gajan (35)
41) Detroit Red Wings — David Edstrom (32)
42) Detroit Red Wings (from St. Louis) — Noah Dower Nilsson (73 to Detroit)
43) Nashville Predators (from Vancouver) — Jayden Perron (94)
44) Chicago Blackhawks (from Ottawa) — Trey Augustine (41)
45) Buffalo Sabres — Kalan Lind (46)
46) Nashville Predators (from Pittsburgh) — Caden Price (84)
47) Detroit Red Wings (from Nashville) — Tanner Molendyk (24 to Nashville)
48) Calgary Flames — Koehn Ziemmer (78)
49) New York Islanders — Nick Lardis (67)
50) Seattle Kraken (from Winnipeg) — Bradly Nadeau (30)
51) Philadelphia Flyers (from Tampa Bay) — Danny Nelson (49)
52) Seattle Kraken — Eric Pohlkamp (132)
53) Minnesota Wild — Carter Sotheran (135)
54) Los Angeles Kings — Hunter Brzustewicz (75)
55) Chicago Blackhawks (from New York Rangers) — Anton Wahlberg (39)
56) Edmonton Oilers — Carson Bjarnason (51)
57) Seattle Kraken (from Toronto) — Jacob Fowler (69)
58) New Jersey Devils — Oscar Fisker Molgaard (52)
59) Anaheim Ducks (from Colorado) — Mathieu Cataford (77)
60) Anaheim Ducks (from Boston) — Nico Myatovic (33)
61) Dallas Stars — Carson Rehkopf (50)
62) Carolina Hurricanes — Emil Jarventie (217)
63) Florida Panthers — Cameron Allen (136)
64) Minnesota Wild (from Vegas) — Luca Cagnoni (123)

Mocks are never easy and time will tell how the draft results pan out relative to my predictions!

Caps get two top 15 prospects, a lot to like.

Great work.