Prospect Info: The 2023 NHL Entry Draft Thread

[voyageur]

Dom in North Bay is going be our next Helle. We do need RHD but going into the offseason with Lowry potentially penciled in as our #1 C if PLD and Scheifele are moved(which seems likely at this point) is beyond frightening lol. We have like ZERO down our pipeline for centres. Not convinced Perfetti is an NHL centre either.

That's a stretch. I wonder if the Jets trade Helle, if they draft a goalie in the upper rounds for once...like an Askarov or Wallstedt. Though FWIW Comrie I think is the highest drafted goalie in Jets history.

Centres are a year or two away I think. And you probably don't want to ruin development like the Jackets did with Kent Johnson and Cole Sillinger. So will be interesting to see how the Jets handle that position, through trade and development.

RD is thin but Lundmark should be ready for some NHL action next year in a reserve role. Would be nice if Salomonsson joined the Moose next year, but that might not be best for his development. I'm not too concerned about the RD if Heinola steps up to play LD, because with Morrissey and Heinola you are going to want complementary pieces. The Jets may not have those pieces, but I am not sure they are looking for them in the draft either. Any defenseman drafted now probably doesn't see any of this d core still in place by the time they are ready. Hell Morrissey might not even be here by then.

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

Not enough. I dont even think any of those guys are Montreal's A prospects. If were forced to deal PLD there and cant get Dach, at the very least we need their Florida 1st round pick and a guy like Owen Beck or Filip Mesar.

Presumably the 23 14th pick IS the Florida 1st. Riley Kidney is looking like a real bargain from where he was drafted. I would take him over either Beck or Mesar, easily.

I get what you’re saying. BUT, there’s a lot of guys with “potential” to play C… Perfetti, Lucius, Zhilkin, Lambert, Nikkanen.

Jets RHD prospects are basically Gawanke and Salomonsson. Unless you want to put Heinola on his off-side, but he’s not right handed.

RHD is this teams biggest weakness. Both on the Jets and prospect pool.

Dom could be a diamond in the rough… but I wouldn’t be banking my Goalie depth on a 7th rounder.

I think the assumption here is that we are losing both PLD and Scheifele. If not then it is certainly PLD. That instantly makes top 6 C our biggest weakness.

None of those C prospects you list is a strong candidate for top 6 C. Any of them MIGHT make it but just as likely none of them plays top 6 C in the NHL.

Agree about Dom. He is looking very good for a 7th rd pick but he is a long way from starting in the NHL.

 

[RabidOne]

That's a stretch. I wonder if the Jets trade Helle, if they draft a goalie in the upper rounds for once...like an Askarov or Wallstedt. Though FWIW Comrie I think is the highest drafted goalie in Jets history.

Centres are a year or two away I think. And you probably don't want to ruin development like the Jackets did with Kent Johnson and Cole Sillinger. So will be interesting to see how the Jets handle that position, through trade and development.

RD is thin but Lundmark should be ready for some NHL action next year in a reserve role. Would be nice if Salomonsson joined the Moose next year, but that might not be best for his development. I'm not too concerned about the RD if Heinola steps up to play LD, because with Morrissey and Heinola you are going to want complementary pieces. The Jets may not have those pieces, but I am not sure they are looking for them in the draft either. Any defenseman drafted now probably doesn't see any of this d core still in place by the time they are ready. Hell Morrissey might not even be here by then.

The problem with drafting a goalie as a Helle replacement is they take at least as long to develop as D. So what fo we do for the next 3 or 4 years.
One of those trades has to involve a goalie, or even two.

 

[Atoyot]

I get what you’re saying. BUT, there’s a lot of guys with “potential” to play C… Perfetti, Lucius, Zhilkin, Lambert, Nikkanen.

Jets RHD prospects are basically Gawanke and Salomonsson. Unless you want to put Heinola on his off-side, but he’s not right handed.

RHD is this teams biggest weakness. Both on the Jets and prospect pool.

Dom could be a diamond in the rough… but I wouldn’t be banking my Goalie depth on a 7th rounder.

Barron, Wagner, Gustafsson, Harkins, McGroarty. We definitely won't have a center depth issue anytime soon. Top end could be a concern though.

 

[voyageur]

The problem with drafting a goalie as a Helle replacement is they take at least as long to develop as D. So what fo we do for the next 3 or 4 years.
One of those trades has to involve a goalie, or even two.

That will be the interesting part...because I think there's a lot of UFA goalies this year, so you might see a lot of turnaround. Teams that need goalies are numerous. I think teams like Pittsburgh or Carolina or Ottawa might have nothing in terms of goalie prospects to offer but a serious need for starting roles. A team like Buffalo has Levi in the wings so do they move a goalie like Pekka-Lukkonen, and is that a goalie the Jets would want? I think teams like Philly, Montreal, San Jose, even Calgary could all be looking at different starting goalies next year. I honestly don't know who would be available that I would think could competently replace Hellebuyck. I might be inclined to make a lateral move, trade Helly to a team like Carolina that probably needs a consistent goaltender to get to the Finals, for a 1st plus prospects, and flip picks for a goalie like Vejmelka. And though the Jets don't have a 2nd round pick, I think they could get one, and maybe land a goalie like Bjarnason, since we can't beat Manitoban goalies, may as well draft one.

 

[Huffer]

The problem with drafting a goalie as a Helle replacement is they take at least as long to develop as D. So what fo we do for the next 3 or 4 years.
One of those trades has to involve a goalie, or even two.

That's part of the reason why I thought back 2 drafts ago that if the Jets had thoughts that Helle might not re-sign, or if they might need to move on, that Wallstedt would have been a good option. The timelines would have been close to lining up, as I think Wallstedt might be NHL ready after as little as 1 more season in the AHL.

 

[KingBogo]

Presumably the 23 14th pick IS the Florida 1st. Riley Kidney is looking like a real bargain from where he was drafted. I would take him over either Beck or Mesar, easily.



I think the assumption here is that we are losing both PLD and Scheifele. If not then it is certainly PLD. That instantly makes top 6 C our biggest weakness.

None of those C prospects you list is a strong candidate for top 6 C. Any of them MIGHT make it but just as likely none of them plays top 6 C in the NHL.

Agree about Dom. He is looking very good for a 7th rd pick but he is a long way from starting in the NHL.

Agreed. I have my doubts that any of our current prospects turn out to be top 6 centers. Maybe Perfetti but I see it more likely he stays at wing. We will have to draft these early in the 1st rounds annd also a stud RHD. We will be starting the rebuild with some nice complementary pieces but no true franchise type players that we will need.

 

[Atoyot]

Sandin-Pelikka's a RHD.

 

[drumzan]

Sandin-Pelikka's a RHD.

He’s #17 on McKenzie’s mid-season rankings. You now have me intrigued!

 

[cg98]

Gavin Brindley, Matthew Wood or Koehn Ziemmer would be nice picks for RW.

 

[ps241]

Just glad we didn’t trade away out 1st.

 

[KingBogo]

Just glad we didn’t trade away out 1st.

I thought all along there was way too much uncertainty to trade away a likely mid round 1st in a strong draft.

 

[GaryPoppins]

The problem with drafting a goalie as a Helle replacement is they take at least as long to develop as D. So what fo we do for the next 3 or 4 years.
One of those trades has to involve a goalie, or even two.

I think they trade for a goalie that’s a cap dump for another team and have Holm in the background if traded. Would force a tandom which teams seem to be trending towards.

 

[RabidOne]

I am all for picking up another goalie.
Kings look like a different team since they dumped Quick.

 

[Atoyot]

He’s #17 on McKenzie’s mid-season rankings. You now have me intrigued!

He's a wonderful skater and puck mover, on the smaller side though.

 

[WolfHouse]

I am all for picking up another goalie.
Kings look like a different team since they dumped Quick.

I always feel like a new man after a quick dump.

 

[DEANYOUNGBLOOD17]

I always feel like a new man after a quick dump.

Faster on the ice at the very least!!!

 

[Fire Chevy]

If he was available when the Jets were picking I really like Brayden Yager as a C prospect

 

[Heldig]

Me too.

Looking back at the first year of Jets 2.0, we had:
-4 top-6 Fs--Ladd, Little, Wheeler, Kane, but none of them were close to PPG
-1 all-star quality D--Buff, plus a good, but not great, supporting cast (Enstrom , Bogo)
-No goaltending
-No prospect depth

Looking at next season, minus some combo of Scheifele, PLD, Wheeler Pionk, Schmidt we will have:
-4 top 6 Fs: Connor, Ehlers, Perfetti, Nido, but no top-6 C. Connor is all-star quality and Ehlers, when healthy and if given the minutes, has scored PPG
-1 Norris-level D and a young, unproven supporting cast, albeit with upside (Snerg, Heinola)
-A Vezina-quality G IF he re-signs
-A much better prospect pool
-(Back to the subject at hand...) Whatever we get in trade for our expendable players, which will be an impressive array of players, prospects and draft picks. A center will have to be included.
-If Helle leaves we will be no worse off than our first season here, but with much, much more in the prospect pool thanks to multiple high picks and trades at the draft

I'm ready to start over, if that's what it takes to clear the stench and give the fan base hope for the future. Are you, Mark?

A rebuild (or not) hinges on what Hellebucyk does, IMO.

If he wont re-sign then it needs to be a tear down and rebuild.

If Helle wants to stay it has to be a more strategic changing of the core.

 

[Buffdog]

So, looks like we pick 19th barring a SC semi-final appearance?

And Florida's 1st (maybe available in a PLD trade?) Is 15

Who has some favorites?

 

[snowkiddin]

So, looks like we pick 19th barring a SC semi-final appearance?

And Florida's 1st (maybe available in a PLD trade?) Is 15

Who has some favorites?

My favourite player in this draft is Connor Bedard. Unless you’re asking me my favourite way to eat eggs, and in that case, it’s over-easy.

 

[tbcwpg]

So, looks like we pick 19th barring a SC semi-final appearance?

And Florida's 1st (maybe available in a PLD trade?) Is 15

Who has some favorites?

Florida's pick wouldn't be 15th because they made the playoffs. That pick is 17th.

 

[Buffdog]

My favourite player in this draft is Connor Bedard. Unless you’re asking me my favourite way to eat eggs, and in that case, it’s over-easy.

I meant in the 15-20 zone, smart-ass

Lol

 

[Huffer]

I meant in the 15-20 zone, smart-ass

Lol

It's hard to tell who might be available as you can look at a half dozen lists and it's different names in that range. I like Hockeyprospect.com, and I try to compare their list to someone like McKenzie at time as well.

Some names that peak my interest (but no way of knowing if any will be there) are (in no order because I don't know a lot about them):

Sam Honzek (C)
Ryan Leonard (C)
Oliver Moore (C)
Brayden Yager (C)
David Reinbacher (RD)
Axel SP (RD)

There are a bunch of other wingers in that range as well (Perreault, Cristall, Barlow), but all things being equal, I'd love to add more C's and certainly more RD's into the pool.

 

[drumzan]

So, looks like we pick 19th barring a SC semi-final appearance?

And Florida's 1st (maybe available in a PLD trade?) Is 15

Who has some favorites?

I posted in the tank thread- Jets can pick 18th if they lose in first two rounds of playoffs, AND, NY Islanders advance to at least the third round.