2023 NHL draft rankings

[JohnC]

4 hours ago, Buffalonill said:

Did you all forget drury is the GM ? I'll put that trade at 0% 

Every GM in the league has to contend with cap issues in some form. It's not unusual that teams are forced to trade players they would prefer to keep. If Buffalo offered more for Miller than any other team, he would with no hesitation make the deal. It's a business and not personal. As far as his history with Buffalo, it's so long ago that he probably has no memories of his time here. 

 

[PerreaultForever]

On 4/25/2023 at 11:22 AM, GASabresIUFAN said:

There is a player who is currently 19th on my board but who will go higher on draft day who would be a steal for the Sabres on draft day at 13.  What? How can I guy ranked 19th be a steal at 13?  Great question. The answer is that he ranked much to low, but won’t be come draft day.  The player is Gabe Perreault.  The kid broke Matthews USNTDP scoring record this season with 125 pts, including 52 goals in 59 games. These numbers including his 5g 15 pts in 4 U18 games so far.  If this kid is still around at 13 you take him and smile at the way to years of NHL playoffs.

https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/meet-gabe-perreault-the-nhl-draft-prospect-that-broke-auston-matthews-scoring-record

Interesting player. I'd be afraid of him becoming another doesn't sign guy that holds out to play in some other city. 

 

[JohnC]

12 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

Interesting player. I'd be afraid of him becoming another doesn't sign guy that holds out to play in some other city. 

 

Why do you think that? 

[GASabresIUFAN]

On 4/26/2023 at 3:05 PM, PerreaultForever said:

Interesting player. I'd be afraid of him becoming another doesn't sign guy that holds out to play in some other city. 

 

Why? He’ll play one or 2 college seasons and sign.  Power, Mitts, Levi all signed. 

Edited May 1, 2023 by GASabresIUFAN

[kas23]

1 hour ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Why? He’ll play one and 2 college seasons and sign.  Power, Mitts, Levi all signed. 

Ignoring Vesey, we also had Portillo (who wasn’t going to sign) and Johnson who doesn’t look like he’s going to sign. I’ll add that Eichel signed, but having 2 of your 6 decent college players not signing seems concerning to me. I’d by lying if I said I enjoy this drama/distraction. 

[PerreaultForever]

23 hours ago, JohnC said:

Why do you think that? 

 

23 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Why? He’ll play one and 2 college seasons and sign.  Power, Mitts, Levi all signed. 

He might. He might not. Portillo, Johnson (probably) it's recent and I don't want to risk it on a high pick at this point. I'd rather sign some prairie boy who considers Western New York as a geographical upgrade or some northerner from the Yukon or outer Siberia even. Somebody who either has little choice but to sign with this CBA or genuinely would want to be here like Power, coming from Mississauga. 

I guess I'm just saying if you put two options in front of me and one is a college guy who might not sign later, I'm going with the other option. 

[French Collection]

USA easily gets by Slovakia 7-1 to play for the gold medal at the U18s. Will Smith with a hat trick.

[Crusader1969]

I think I’m in love     Came across this report while doing some digging into the Swedish prospects in the U18 finals

15.        Dimitri Simashev

In my opinion, Simashev is quite possibly the best defenceman in this draft, and by far the best defensive player. I pushed for him to be higher than this, but I’m accepting 15. He’s fluid on his skates, and very mobile, especially for a guy his size. He shuts down plays before they start; he reads and anticipates play very well, stepping up in the neutral zone with perfect timing to prevent entries without taking himself out of the play. He uses his size effectively and protects the puck really well, extending his long reach and using his free arm to shield off pressure. He’s not the most physical yet, but I think that’ll come when it’s necessary, he doesn’t really need to be right now, and he won’t take himself out of the play to throw a pointless hit. But don’t underestimate his offence either, there’s a lot more potential there than he gets credit for. If he has the puck, good luck getting it away from him; he controls the puck exceptionally well and adapts to pressure instantly, weaving through defences in transition and making it look easy. He’s a breakout wizard, great at escaping pressure with the puck, recovering it along the boards and combining his skating and puck protection to evade incoming pressure; he sniffs out contested pucks and turns them into offensive rushes in an instant. The stats still don’t suggest a very offensively skilled defenceman, but then you’ll watch him pull off like five insane plays in one shift that no other defenceman in this draft does, and you start to really see the potential that he has. To me, his upside is some of the highest in this draft, and I really believe that he can be a good #1 defenceman in the NHL some day. (Gray Matter)

Edited April 30, 2023 by Crusader1969

[Eleven]

23 minutes ago, Crusader1969 said:

I think I’m in love     Came across this report while doing some digging into the Swedish prospects in the U18 finals

15.        Dimitri Simashev

In my opinion, Simashev is quite possibly the best defenceman in this draft, and by far the best defensive player. I pushed for him to be higher than this, but I’m accepting 15. He’s fluid on his skates, and very mobile, especially for a guy his size. He shuts down plays before they start; he reads and anticipates play very well, stepping up in the neutral zone with perfect timing to prevent entries without taking himself out of the play. He uses his size effectively and protects the puck really well, extending his long reach and using his free arm to shield off pressure. He’s not the most physical yet, but I think that’ll come when it’s necessary, he doesn’t really need to be right now, and he won’t take himself out of the play to throw a pointless hit. But don’t underestimate his offence either, there’s a lot more potential there than he gets credit for. If he has the puck, good luck getting it away from him; he controls the puck exceptionally well and adapts to pressure instantly, weaving through defences in transition and making it look easy. He’s a breakout wizard, great at escaping pressure with the puck, recovering it along the boards and combining his skating and puck protection to evade incoming pressure; he sniffs out contested pucks and turns them into offensive rushes in an instant. The stats still don’t suggest a very offensively skilled defenceman, but then you’ll watch him pull off like five insane plays in one shift that no other defenceman in this draft does, and you start to really see the potential that he has. To me, his upside is some of the highest in this draft, and I really believe that he can be a good #1 defenceman in the NHL some day. (Gray Matter)

That is interesting for sure. 6'4", 201, too.  But he is Russian (I know you came upon him while looking at Swedes) and there is of course the concern that he won't be allowed to come over--and his Elite Prospects page (https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/708607/dmitri-simashev ) suggests that he's not leaving for North America until 2025.

Edited April 30, 2023 by Eleven

[DarthEbriate]

2 hours ago, Eleven said:

That is interesting for sure. 6'4", 201, too.  But he is Russian (I know you came upon him while looking at Swedes) and there is of course the concern that he won't be allowed to come over--and his Elite Prospects page (https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/708607/dmitri-simashev ) suggests that he's not leaving for North America until 2025.

That's only 2 seasons now, meaning he'd be able to jump the pond at age 20, just as maybe Novikov could potentially do this summer. If the Sabres rate him as a possible top-pair guy, it'd be hard to let him get past 13.

[Crusader1969]

3 hours ago, Eleven said:

That is interesting for sure. 6'4", 201, too.  But he is Russian (I know you came upon him while looking at Swedes) and there is of course the concern that he won't be allowed to come over--and his Elite Prospects page (https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/708607/dmitri-simashev ) suggests that he's not leaving for North America until 2025.

2025 sounds about right 

[Flashsabre]

Anytime I see someone mention a player they like for this draft on any Sabres site the automatic response is “he will be long gone by the Sabres selection” By my calculations 27 players will be selected in the first 12 picks of the draft.😀

They will have their choice of about half a dozen very talented forwards at their pick. Whether ASP or Reinbacher will be there is unknown. I have a feeling one of them will be but will the Sabres see them as the best player available will be the key.

There seem to be a good group of dmen that will go late first into the second round.

[Rasmus_]

9 hours ago, Crusader1969 said:

I think I’m in love     Came across this report while doing some digging into the Swedish prospects in the U18 finals

15.        Dimitri Simashev

In my opinion, Simashev is quite possibly the best defenceman in this draft, and by far the best defensive player. I pushed for him to be higher than this, but I’m accepting 15. He’s fluid on his skates, and very mobile, especially for a guy his size. He shuts down plays before they start; he reads and anticipates play very well, stepping up in the neutral zone with perfect timing to prevent entries without taking himself out of the play. He uses his size effectively and protects the puck really well, extending his long reach and using his free arm to shield off pressure. He’s not the most physical yet, but I think that’ll come when it’s necessary, he doesn’t really need to be right now, and he won’t take himself out of the play to throw a pointless hit. But don’t underestimate his offence either, there’s a lot more potential there than he gets credit for. If he has the puck, good luck getting it away from him; he controls the puck exceptionally well and adapts to pressure instantly, weaving through defences in transition and making it look easy. He’s a breakout wizard, great at escaping pressure with the puck, recovering it along the boards and combining his skating and puck protection to evade incoming pressure; he sniffs out contested pucks and turns them into offensive rushes in an instant. The stats still don’t suggest a very offensively skilled defenceman, but then you’ll watch him pull off like five insane plays in one shift that no other defenceman in this draft does, and you start to really see the potential that he has. To me, his upside is some of the highest in this draft, and I really believe that he can be a good #1 defenceman in the NHL some day. (Gray Matter)

 

Sounds great, off to watch video on him.  Is he a righty?

[French Collection]

52 minutes ago, Rasmus_ said:

 

Sounds great, off to watch video on him.  Is he a righty?

LHD

[steveoath]

15 hours ago, Crusader1969 said:

I think I’m in love     Came across this report while doing some digging into the Swedish prospects in the U18 finals

15.        Dimitri Simashev

In my opinion, Simashev is quite possibly the best defenceman in this draft, and by far the best defensive player. I pushed for him to be higher than this, but I’m accepting 15. He’s fluid on his skates, and very mobile, especially for a guy his size. He shuts down plays before they start; he reads and anticipates play very well, stepping up in the neutral zone with perfect timing to prevent entries without taking himself out of the play. He uses his size effectively and protects the puck really well, extending his long reach and using his free arm to shield off pressure. He’s not the most physical yet, but I think that’ll come when it’s necessary, he doesn’t really need to be right now, and he won’t take himself out of the play to throw a pointless hit. But don’t underestimate his offence either, there’s a lot more potential there than he gets credit for. If he has the puck, good luck getting it away from him; he controls the puck exceptionally well and adapts to pressure instantly, weaving through defences in transition and making it look easy. He’s a breakout wizard, great at escaping pressure with the puck, recovering it along the boards and combining his skating and puck protection to evade incoming pressure; he sniffs out contested pucks and turns them into offensive rushes in an instant. The stats still don’t suggest a very offensively skilled defenceman, but then you’ll watch him pull off like five insane plays in one shift that no other defenceman in this draft does, and you start to really see the potential that he has. To me, his upside is some of the highest in this draft, and I really believe that he can be a good #1 defenceman in the NHL some day. (Gray Matter)

I think it makes a tonne of sense to pick him if he's there.  If i have read info correctly He would be ending his contract at the same time as poltapov. Settling them both in together for easier transition to NA. 

It could be likely that Novikov or any other D prospect could be ready for the Sabres so backfill would be helpful for pipeline.

Edited May 1, 2023 by steveoath

[Brawndo]

Fun tool if you want to monitor prospects draft rankings over a period of time 

 

https://piyer97.shinyapps.io/NHLDraft2023/

Enter first name to find 

[French Collection]

3 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

Fun tool if you want to monitor prospects draft rankings over a period of time 

 

https://piyer97.shinyapps.io/NHLDraft2023/

Enter first name to find 

Thanks, I like it.

[Crusader1969]

1 hour ago, Brawndo said:

Fun tool if you want to monitor prospects draft rankings over a period of time 

 

https://piyer97.shinyapps.io/NHLDraft2023/

Enter first name to find 

Simashev 📈

[French Collection]

6 minutes ago, Crusader1969 said:

Simashev 📈

I think we all agree that Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is horrible on many fronts. It’s unfortunate kids like this weren’t able to play U20 or U18 World tournaments.

[GASabresIUFAN]

17 hours ago, Flashsabre said:

Anytime I see someone mention a player they like for this draft on any Sabres site the automatic response is “he will be long gone by the Sabres selection” By my calculations 27 players will be selected in the first 12 picks of the draft.😀

They will have their choice of about half a dozen very talented forwards at their pick. Whether ASP or Reinbacher will be there is unknown. I have a feeling one of them will be but will the Sabres see them as the best player available will be the key.

There seem to be a good group of dmen that will go late first into the second round.

There are a clear top 6 players in Bedard, Fantilli, Michkov, Carlsson, Smith and Benson.  Bedard, Fantilli, W. Smith, and Carlsson will be drafted in the top 6.  After that who knows. Benson and Michkov are top 6 talent, but Michkov could slip because of the Russian issues and Benson could slip because or his size like Savoie did. My guess all 6 will be drafted in the top 10, but after that the guys ranked 7-17 could all be available and all probably have similar draft grades on most NHL boards.  This draft reminds 2019 when the US and Canadian U18 teams were loaded and guys like Caufield, Newhook and Krebs fell to 15, 16, & 17.  Spencer Knight went 13th that year.  We are going to get a really talented player this year at 13.  With 2 seconds, I suspect KA’s plan will be to get the BPA on his list at 13 and then grabs some D in the second.

Here is a bold prediction.  If KA gets a forward at 13 and Östlund stays in Sweden, KA trades Östlund for a D, much like the Nylander for Joki trade.

Edited May 1, 2023 by GASabresIUFAN

[French Collection]

13 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Here is a bold prediction.  If KA gets a forward at 13 and Östlund stays in Sweden, KA trades Östlund for a D, much like the Nylander for Joki trade.

Östlund is better than Nylander so if this happens he better get a darn good Dman.

Östlund may be ready to challenge for a a spot on the Sabres when KA is ready to move on from someone like Krebs. He could also be the 3C to force Krebs to 4C.

[Crusader1969]

1 hour ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

There are a clear top 6 players in Bedard, Fantilli, Michkov, Carlsson, Smith and Benson.  Bedard, Fantilli, W. Smith, and Carlsson will be drafted in the top 6.  After that who knows. Benson and Michkov are top 6 talent, but Michkov could slip because of the Russian issues and Benson could slip because or his size like Savoie did. My guess all 6 will be drafted in the top 10, but after that the guys ranked 7-17 could all be available and all probably have similar draft grades on most NHL boards.  This draft reminds 2019 when the US and Canadian U18 teams were loaded and guys like Caufield, Newhook and Krebs fell to 15, 16, & 17.  Spencer Knight went 13th that year.  We are going to get a really talented player this year at 13.  With 2 seconds, I suspect KA’s plan will be to get the BPA on his list at 13 and then grabs some D in the second.

Here is a bold prediction.  If KA gets a forward at 13 and Östlund stays in Sweden, KA trades Östlund for a D, much like the Nylander for Joki trade.

assuming Johnson doesn't sign, I would hope that the Sabres draft 2 if not 3 dmen with their 4 picks in the 1st and 2nd round

[LabattBlue]

1 hour ago, Crusader1969 said:

assuming Johnson doesn't sign, I would hope that the Sabres draft 2 if not 3 dmen with their 4 picks in the 1st and 2nd round

The Sabres only have 3 picks in the first two rounds. Traded a 2nd rounder for Greenway. 😉

[Crusader1969]

4 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

The Sabres only have 3 picks in the first two rounds. Traded a 2nd rounder for Greenway. 😉

oh right   The Johnson pick would be next season.  

[French Collection]

We’re getting to the time of year when draft lists get finalized. I want to see where the Dmen rank, I think the Sabres have a shot at all of them. This isn’t a year where there are Dmen solidly in the top 10.

Sandin-Pellikka’s stock probably rose with a strong U18 tournament.

Reinbacher would be my choice, I think a team may take him earlier than Buffalo, like the Wings did with Seider a few years ago.

Gulyalev I have not seen but I will watch a few videos of him before the draft.

Simashev sounds like a Mule type Dman with some offensive upside.

Bonk could end up in the second round but he will get a lot more views as London is looking like an OHL finalist and have a shot at the Memorial Cup.

Dragicevic did not impress me at the U18s. There were a few good plays but he didn’t dominate vs his peers. A point per game Dman in the WHL but his defensive game is weak.

Molendyk is getting extra views in the playoffs but I haven’t read too much about him.

Price was OK at the U18s.

Lindstein played well for Sweden at the U18s.

Willander also looked good for Sweden.

There will be lots of options for a Dman in the 2nd round. It would be awesome for the Sabres scouts to luck out on other teams passing a guy they want like the Kulich pick last year.