2023 Draft Sleeper Picks

[NotProkofievian]

With almost all the hockey in the books, who are your 2023 sleepers?

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[WeThreeKings]

Depends on your classification of a 'sleeper' but here are guys I love that aren't talked about enough:
Oscar Fisker Molgaard
Aydar Suniev
Arttu Karki
Ryan Conmy
Tanner Ludtke
Damian Clara
Petter Vesterheim
Adam Dybal
Leo Eperjese

 

[WayneGretzky]

Some guys I think are unlikely to be first round picks, but have a good likelihood of playing:

Strbak, Stramel, Gibson, Nelson, Molgaard, Edstrom, Morin

 

[LeProspector]

Some guys I think are unlikely to be first round picks, but have a good likelihood of playing:

Strbak, Stramel, Gibson, Nelson, Molgaard, Edstrom, Morin

Ah yes, a bunch of quality late Firsts/second rounders are “sleepers”….

 

[Castle8130]

I consider sleepers as not projected 1st rounders, so here are mine:

Carey Terrance, Tanner Ludtke, Easton Cowan, Tristan Bertucci, Andrew Gibson, Andrew Strathman, Coulson Pitre, and Nick Lardis (if that counts)

 

[WayneGretzky]

Ah yes, a bunch of quality late Firsts/second rounders are “sleepers”….

They sure are, I only have two of those guys in my top 40, none in my top 32, but I expect them to play in the NHL, not sure how you define a sleeper.

To me, it’s any player you don’t think is worth a first round pick, who still has the upside of being an impact player.

 

[NotProkofievian]

I consider sleepers as not projected 1st rounders, so here are mine:

Carey Terrance, Tanner Ludtke, Easton Cowan, Tristan Bertucci, Andrew Gibson, Andrew Strathman, Coulson Pitre, and Nick Lardis (if that counts)

Think Lardis probably goes at the tail end of the first, but otherwise nice list.

 

[Castle8130]

Think Lardis probably goes at the tail end of the first, but otherwise nice list.

Im really high on Lardis (16th on my list), so I wanted to mention him. Haven't seen him on anyones top 32 yet.

 

[NotProkofievian]

I'll mention Alex Ciernik. His resume looks a little too good to be ranked where he currently is.

 

[barriers]

I've enjoyed watching Denver Barkey these OHL playoffs. He's got the talent and moxie to go earlier but I imagine him being on the smaller side will push him to the later rounds.

 

[theslatcher]

From Sweden Wikman would count as a sleeper. Felix Nilsson has gotten on more people's radar but missed the U18s so still a bit of a sleeper.

 

[Kevin Musto]

I like Matthew Soto. Haven't seen him ranked anywhere.

 

[neelynugs]

some guys i like that all seem to be mid to later round options:

felix unger sorum, matthew mania, samuel urban, aiden fink, hudson malinoski, ryan conmy, cole knuble, sawyer mynio,
terrell goldsmith, joey willis, juha jatkola, andrei loshko, jonathan castagna, gavyn thoreson

 

[Gecklund]

Quinton Burns, Carter Sotheran, Thomas Milic, Alex Pharand, Jakub Dvorak, Kalem Parker, Jakub Stancl are all guys who aren’t ranked above the third who I see a good amount of potential in.

Guys in the 1st and 2nd who I think will outplay their draft position: Dmitri Simashev, Maxim Strbak, Tom Willander, Gracyn Sawchyn, Theo Lindstein

Big wildcard that has super high potential but man he reminds me of Sean Day: Cam Allen

 

[MichaelFarrell]

Danny Nelson; USNTDP; C/LW; 6’2” 190lbs
Big player with good athletic ability. Has a lot of potential and could be a player if he embraces a power forward role. I think he’ll go middle 2nd to early 3rd round.

Will Vote; USNTDP; RW; 5’7” 159lbs
Does he get drafted? He should. Will Vote is a small player that has tremendous hockey iq and grit. He’s a gamer who plays with a lot of heart and is a great complementary winger. He’s undersized for sure but he is definitely worth a late round pick.

Carey Terrence, Erie Otters, C, 6’1” 174
I like Terrence’s potential as a middle six player. He’s got good size, he can skate, and he can score. He won’t drive offense and likely isn’t a center at the professional level, but he could be a good up-and-down the lineup winger that has two-way potential and can provide offense. Mid 2nd to 3 round pick.

Andrew Strathmann, Youngstown Phantoms, D, 5’11” 174 lbs
Not sure if Strathmann is considered a “sleeper” but I don’t think any major scouting services have him going in the first round. Strathmann is a smooth skating offensive-mind defender. He reminds me a lot of Letang in terms of play style. He has a ton of potential, but is likely a boom-bust pick that comes with some risk. He is a great playmaker with good offensive instincts and Power Play QB potential. Bit of a wild card pick because I could see him going anywhere from late first to the 3rd round.

 

[Kabetogama]

Felix Nilsson. Great season with Rögle J20, 18 games with Rögle in SHL and was awarded an SHL-contract until 24/25. Typical late bloomer. Good play for Sweden but was unfortunately injured for the U18s.

 

[RedHawkDown]

I think Bradley nadeau will be a star

 

[Antiillafire]

A lot of the players listed here aren’t even sleepers they are just second-early third rounders that people think should be ranked higher.

 

[Chainshot]

I'll mention Alex Ciernik. His resume looks a little too good to be ranked where he currently is.

His skating is just a treat to watch.

 

[Chainshot]

A lot of the players listed here aren’t even sleepers they are just second-early third rounders that people think should be ranked higher.

Isn't that how it usually goes though? Most of us don't really know who is going to turn out. It's rare to find someone who pulled hard for a certain player to be selected higher who then turns into something.

 

[Antiillafire]

Isn't that how it usually goes though? Most of us don't really know who is going to turn out. It's rare to find someone who pulled hard for a certain player to be selected higher who then turns into something.

I was thinking more about guys rounds 4-5+, like I don’t think Nadeau is a sleeper, he is often viewed as a late first round pick. I guess unless one views such and such player from the top 2 rounds really well and should go much much higher.

 

[NotProkofievian]

A lot of the players listed here aren’t even sleepers they are just second-early third rounders that people think should be ranked higher.

Be the change you want to see in the world, and name a sleeper.

 

[Chainshot]

I was thinking more about guys rounds 4-5+, like I don’t think Nadeau is a sleeper, he is often viewed as a late first round pick. I guess unless one views such and such player from the top 2 rounds really well and should go much much higher.

If we're looking at that, I would go with someone like Jiri Pekarcik who CSB has as at 41 on their European skater list. He looks like he is someone how has the skating and awareness to eventually be a player. And Milton Oscarson mainly because he's huge and showed he could keep up with his peers in a role at the U20's - CSB has him at 65 for their EU list. I might include Cedzo too after his U18 showing - he seems like a PITA but I don't have much other than that.

For a NA - Gavin McCarthy from Muskegon of the USHL; rangy RHD with some developing 2-way game. He's aggressive in what I've seen, moves the puck crisply.

Edit - I would also give a shout out to an OA in Spencer Sova from Erie who looked like one of the few players who knew what they were doing on the ice and his Dev Camp showing last year in Buffalo, he looked better in some areas than Zach Metsa, five years his senior.

 

[Kobe Armstrong]

Rykov forsure

 

[MichaelFarrell]

A lot of the players listed here aren’t even sleepers they are just second-early third rounders that people think should be ranked higher.

You have no idea where these players are ultimately going to end up. Do you know how many players I think will be like late first rounders and end up going in the third-fourth rounds?

It really doesn’t make much sense for me to say “this is a guy with tremendous talent that I would take in the 6th round” because if I really felt something was there in that player he’d be ranked a lot higher on my rankings. Look at Ty Nelson. I wouldn’t have considered him a sleeper pick because I had him ranked in the first round. He ended up going in the third ultimately making him a sleeper pick.