I don’t think that does it, BUT I think Anaheim could trade it since they already have two top 6 C’s.


If I’m Anaheim, I’d say

3rd overall
Kings 1st
Ceulemans
LDDB
2024 third


At minimum

I would probably take that deal, though I'd love to find a way to work Peeke in instead of the third and add a prospect going back the other way as necessary to balance.

With scouts polled by the Athletic being essentially 50/50 on Fantilli/Carlsson i would not be doing this if I am CBJ unless management is for some reason wayyyyyyyy more passionate on one and sure that Anaheim is too

Hate it. There are plenty of NHL sources saying Carlsson is just as likely to go 2nd OA. I'd be interested in this kind of trade if they had fallen to 4 and were trying to get 3 or 2, but 3 is going to get them one of Fantilli or Carlsson and that's outstanding.

Yeah both will be studs but different play style which is fine. If Carlsson turns into Nicolas Backstrom, I’d say that’s amazing

What's a LDDB?

It's more a matter of position, Fantilli is the stronger Center prospect as Carlsson has played exclusively wing the last couple of seasons, and CBJ's lack of a 1C is well known while they are stacked at wing.

Lol Lucas Del Bel Belluz, our second last year

I’d pass tbh, there’s no guarantee who anheim takes as there are a lot of people who say that Fantilli and Carlsson are the 3rd and 4th best player in this draft and will go 2/3 and are very comparable. The wild card is Michkov, who people say is the 2nd best player in the draft and if not for the issues with Russia and his contract in the KHL he would be the 2nd OA pick.

Played wing in the SHL like another pretty good center these days named Pettersson. Carlsson is going to be a center. Every person who has looked into him thoroughly knows this.

If it's something that "everybody" knows it wouldn't be listed as a talking point on so many draft profiles on him, so let's reign in the "I know more than you" attitude there bud. If it was obvious, it would be obvious to everyone.

Looking back at Peterson's draft profile, it lists his as a pivot, so if he player wing in the SHL, he was playing both, where Carlson hasn't touched C while he's been in the SHL from the profiles I've read.

For every scout saying Carlsson over Fantilli, there is another saying Smith over Carlsson. Just stay put and take the best player available. Everyone in the top-5 of this draft is insanely talented.

BPA is Michkov

BPA is a bit of a misnomer. People assume it just means the most talented player, but as teams build their draft lists, they take position, character and availability into consideration. BPA on Columbus' list should be Carlsson or Smith since Michkov's availability is a huge question mark.

It's also possible that Anaheim takes Michkov at 2 and Fantilli falls into the CBJ's lap.

Michkov is the second best talent in this draft. I am all for Fantilli if he is there. There is an argument for Carlsson if you value position/availability that much, With that said, organizational needs are always evolving, we aren't competing for a cup next year, and realistically Smith and Michkov's NHL timelines are closer than most are willing to admit.

I agree he is the second-best talent in the draft, but he is at minimum 3 years in the KHL before coming over. Smith is going to be one year at BC and then turn pro. That's a two-year difference in time of arrival and no small deal. Carlsson - while no guarantee - appears to be NHL ready and could step in as early as this year. Next year at the latest.

While not contending for a cup, they are still trying to win as soon as possible to try and maximize Gaudreau's prime. Carlsson gets them closer to that than either of the other two. Michkov probably has the best career of the three, but it would come at the cost of not having a top center and not being able to compete as a team in the near future. The center position is everything in the NHL, and CBJ are rightly going to prioritize it in this draft.

Organizational needs are always evolving, except in the CBJ's case where center ice has been a need for 23 years.

Closer to the draft, both teams will have done their player interviews and have combine results to analyze. Perhaps Anaheim decides Michkov is the best player for them anyway and Columbus then happily gets their choice of Fantilli, Carlsson, and Smith. I don't see a reason to entertain pick swaps in the top five until much, much closer to the draft. Tidbits always leak about team preferences leading up to the drafts (though rarely from Columbus).

We have a difference in opinion and thats fine. I respect your opinion and there's no point in going much deeper back and forth but i guess my hangup and last time stating my case here is If Connor Bedard had some odd (very hypothetical) circumstance where he pledged he would go to college for three years but then sign with the franchise that drafted him afterward, he would still be the surefire pick at 1. Michkov's talent is far closer to Bedard than Fantilli (let alone Carlsson/Smith). I'd be ecstatic to grab him at 3. If they don't though, I just hope its Carlsson/Fantilli over Smith.

Sure, that's a pretty wild and specific hypothetical, but I agree, Bedard is that special. Maybe Michkov is close, but I still value center over wing, especially considering our long-standing inability to acquire one. This seems like our golden opportunity, and it may come at the expense of passing on Michkov.

Ideally, ANA will take the Russian and we won't have to worry about it.

At the end of the day, CBJ have a very good scouting staff and Jarmo is going to have a lot more info to base the decision on than us, so I'll trust whatever direction they choose to go in.

I appreciate the discussion.

Will Michkov be at the combine? I haven't heard either way, but it seems like logistically he'd have a hard time getting there.

Not positive. I saw a report that Sergei Fedotov (Mickov's Agent) said Michkov would "attend" the draft. Not sure if that means in person or if he meant via zoom or something. Would really be something to see him make his way here.

Remember when CBJ smuggled Zherdev out of Russia through the embassy in Ottawa? Maybe Jarmo could pull off something similar and miraculously bring Michkov over early... One can dream. If anyone could do it, I'd put my money on Jarmo.

I was thinking about it the other day. Wasn't sure if Ovi would pull some strings if he fell to Washington or something crazy like a smuggling could happen. Would be insane value for whatever team pulls it off if they were to