1 | | - | | It cannot get anymore obvious. |
2 | | - | | The Ducks will take Fantilli here, he will develop into their 1C and they will have their choice of McTavish or Zegras on his wing with the other as the 2C |
3 | | - | | Just as much as a lock as number 1, the Jackets need a top line center and Carlsson as everything they are looking for. He may not play the physical game like Fantilli but he brings a leadership quality and incredible offensive abilities to the team. |
4 | | - | | This has been reported since the lottery, Smith to the Sharks makes the most sense, Greer's son and Smith went to school together. Smith is going to fill the void Couture leaves when he retires. |
5 | | - | | This pick is the first that presents some options. The Habs have a young forward group with tons of potential and right handed top defencemen do not grow on trees. Reinbacher has been heavily linked to the Canadians, the only other player I see being taken here would be Leonard and Leonard feels like a bit of a reach at 5th in my opinion. |
6 | | - | | The Coyotes land a terrific offensive mind with Benson who will be able to play on the top line with Cooley or on a line with Connor Geekie his teammate in Juniors. |
7 | | - | | A lot of people have SPA or Leonard here, but in all honesty it seems to me that Philly needs better center depth at this moment and Dvorsky is the answer to their struggles. I personally see him filling out like Giroux. |
8 | | - | | The Capitals would not miss out on selecting Michkov if he is on the board. They like their Russian players and the are in need of a new top end talent for when Ovi retires, he will pair very well with Miroschnichenko and form the future top line for the capitals. |
9 | | - | | This is a Yzerman pick if I have ever seen one, Detroit grabs a future top pair right shot d-man. |
10 | | - | | St. Louis needs to bring in guys that are going to change the game for them. Moore is a speedy center that has a great offensive presence and he rounds out the top ten in the 2023 draft. |
11 | | - | | He is from Vancouver and he had a hell of a year in Junior, although he was lackluster in the playoffs, that is why I have him falling a few positions. |
12 | | | | The Yotes are not afraid to go off the board and I see them taking the final piece to their future top line of Benson, Cooley, and Perreault here. He lit up his peers this season and if he can bring that to the NHL in the future the Yotes will have a steal of player on their hands. |
13 | | - | | Sabres are looking to solidify their depth wing positions for the future and Wood is the perfect player to put behind Tuch and Thompson to learn from other big men. |
14 | | - | | Barlow was projected to be a top 5 selection at the beginning of the season but has since fallen down the board slightly, Pittsburg needs prospects everywhere and this pick makes sense for them as he will be ready in 2 years to come into the lineup and help bring the Crosby era to a new era. |
15 | | - | | Leonard plays the style of Hockey Trots won a cup with in Washington, Trots makes his first selection with a guy that drafts have as high as 5th overall and as low as 25th overall. |
16 | | - | | Sales slide stops here, Calgary likes drafting guys with size and his experience in Europe may be enough to earn him a spot on the roster this year, it is a stretch but we have certainly seen crazier. |
17 | | | | Detroit has a great prospect pool already, and with Veleno and Zadina not really panning out how they hoped I believe they fill the center slot they thought Veleno here with Danielson. |
18 | | - | | The Jets are in need of better defensive prospect and look to take a highly skilled puck moving defenseman in the first round. |
19 | | | | Besides Nazar they really do not have any high end ring wing prospects so I believe they take a right winger here to aid in developing that side of the ice. |
20 | | - | | Seattle has Riker Evans and he is their top defensive prospect, they need to draft someone that can be a potential top defenseman on a team and that is exactly where Dragicevic comes in, tons of skill and dominated in the WHL |
21 | | - | | Everyone and their mother knows the Wild are in need of a game changing center and help on the offensive side of the puck, Heidt can play center or he can play either wing and he will get you points, this is a huge pick up for the Wild a third of the way through the first round. |
22 | | | | Back to Philly with pick number 22 and they helped out their front end early in the draft now they get a guy that will be solid defenseman in the NHL with Lindstein. |
23 | | - | | The one thing the rangers certainly do not need is another Left Winger, Luckily Yager can play the other two positions needed in Center and Right Wing, he is an easy choice for New York. |
24 | | | | the Preds already addressed their offensive needs earlier in the draft and now they take Price to help get them a Top 4 d-man to develop in their system. |
25 | | | | The Blues will most likely look to fill a center position, winger position and defenseman position with this year's first round. They have addressed their center situation and now they change and look to the wing, Musty is an interesting prospect who looked good throughout the entire season including the playoffs, with a year or two of development he will most likely be looking to secure a roster spot with the blues. |
26 | | | | The Sharks have already grabbed their future 1C with the fourth overall and they are now going to be looking to get him some talented wingers outside of Eklund. Honzek scores and uses his body and he will be a great piece to add to their future core. |
27 | | - | | The Avs have some center prospects in their system right now but none as good as Ritchie, I see this being an easy decision for them at 27. |
28 | | | | The Leafs take a waiver on a guy who was projected much higher at the start of the season and look to develop him into the person he was once considered to be. Good late 1st round pick for them. |
29 | | | | The final piece to the Blues first round plan is a defenseman and they take the guy who can impact the game in multiple ways with Bonk. He can generate offense and he can shut people down, solid 1st round for the Blues. |
30 | | - | | Carolina needs secondary scoring and they love Finnish players, is there an easier pick outside the top ten? |
31 | | | | He is from Quebec and he is over a point per game in junior, it seems like fans will be happy to see a French Canadian here. |
32 | | - | | A big slip due to size concerns but the Knights just won the Cup and they want to fill their system with talented guys they can trade in the future, Pinelli has that talent to offer. |