Bedard has crushed all expectations this year and has firmly planted himself in the first overall position. Now that the 2023 World Juniors are firmly in the rearview mirror, its time to take another deep-dive into the top prospects for the 2023 Draft. He profiles similarly to David Jiricek physically, but with a more defensive tilt to his game. Jesse Nurmi, LW, KooKoo U20 (U20 SM-sarja), 58. At the time of writing, he leads all defenseman in points per game and is on pace to have one of the most impressive offensive seasons in league history amongst defensemen of any age, not just draft eligible ones. He has been impressive thus far, scoring six points in 14 games with Sochi, with four of those points being goals. Fantilli is currently averaging about one and a half points per game on a University of Michigan team filled to the brim with talent. I have questions about his talent level, though. With a hot start in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) as a 17-year-old Leo Carlsson has shot up draft boards and quickly made the top tier of the draft a four-player group. During every draft cycle there are a handful of prospects who are 5-foot-10 or shorter who get a ton of praise in public scouting circles before unceremoniously sliding on draft day. Priority Draft including defenceman Blake Fiddler, picked first-overall by the Edmonton Oil Kings. I think hell stick at centre, too (nice to see him at 53 percent in the circle so far this year). Hes got one of the best shooting actions in motion Ive ever seen. Ravndahl spent parts of three seasons with the Prince Albert Mintos program, recording 25 points in 50 games played. The big question with Dvorsky for a while was whether or not hed be a centre or a winger long term. 2023 Whl Bantam Draft - Elite Prospects 2023 Whl Bantam Draft Add to Favorites This is a custom user-submitted ranking. Id be quite surprised if he slid all the way to 16 (where I have him ranked), because a right-handed centre with his shot has a ton of value to NHL teams. This past season, he played for the Chicago Cougars of the United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL) and scored 11 points (two goals, nine assists) 10 games. Riley Heidts excellent acceleration and edge work make him a natural choice as the lead puck carrier for zone entries and he has excelled in that role. Smith is an incredibly shifty playmaker who can create high danger plays at will by threading passes through traffic, stickhandling around pressure, or taking a shot of his own. Hes great along the wall on the cycle, but he can also occasionally make a play that pulls you out of your seat. Hell make the soft play to the middle of the ice from the perimeter, or go there to get to rebounds or position himself on screens/tips. And while hell fade in stretches, the talent level is clear. But thats what the Austrian has done in Switzerlands top flight this season, where he plays over 20 minutes in a game more often than he plays under it. His June birthday makes him one of the younger players on this list and he has already accomplished a lot, including leading a Slovak Hlinka Gretzky Cup team that featured Juraj Slafkovsky and Filip Mesar in scoring as an underager, producing well above a point per game in Swedens J20 level last year, and now producing in his draft year in the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan (while clicking at two points per game in stints back down at J20). He just has a unique ability to impose his will on the game. Ondrej Molnar, LW (Erie) The way he wheels across the top of the circles and then play-makes from the high slot is special. Its powerful when it needs to be and light and adjustable when it needs to be. Some scorers tunnel-vision the net and even though the goalie is his focus, theres a lot to his game between the offensive-zone blue line and the shot he takes thats inventive. Hes the kind of player who can beat you with a pass, a dangerous wrister (in fact, while he has played facilitator so often in games this year, hes got an excellent wrister while moving), or a deke. He has a great release on his shot, and he has a knack for manipulating shooting lanes or goalie positioning in just a split second to give himself a better scoring chance. Beyond his natural skill in possession, he also impresses with his smarts with the puck, his cerebral play style, and his ability to play to his linemates. Check out his skating and awareness! Hes a big winger whose game really fit right from the get-go on North American ice, quickly establishing himself as a a go-to player in all-situations for the Giants (even though he was an underager, Slovakia was playing him a ton early on in the world juniors, too). The top pick in the 2021 OHL Priority Selection, Musty is one the focal points of the Wolves offence and would be their leader in shots on goal, assists and points were it not for a few weeks lost in January to a hand injury (following up on a strong showing at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup this summer). Sign up for EP Premium to create your own ranking. The SHL demands a lot of players when it comes to physicality and defensive effort, both of which Carlsson has excelled at. Hesa clever beyond belief, maneuverable facilitator and playmaker who plays the game with a light touch and a heady spatial awareness of not only where his teammates are, but where he is in the flow of play (and relative to defenders). Hes also a strong skater who is light on his edges, builds speed quickly into flight to put defenders on their heels and/or create separation, leads a lot of neutral-zone carries into entries, and makes plays into space for himself or his linemates at pace. They are: 1, 2-4, 5-6, 7-22, 23-33, 34-64+. Once he refines his game some more and adds more muscle as he ages, watch out. He projects as a pass-first playmaking centre with a middle-six floor, first-line potential, and clear PP value (in multiple roles, too, because hes great around the net and below the goal line but can also run it from the flank). At this point I think his offensive abilities will at least make him a power play threat even if his skating never catches up. Hes a pro-sized, hardworking pivot who can skate and excels in driving through the middle of the ice, pushing tempo, and playing with energy. Roman Kantserov, RW (Magnitogorsk) I like the way he has learned to hunt and come up with pucks, too. This year, though he has struggled defensively in his limited minutes in the KHL, he has looked dominant at both ends in his returns to the MHL and comfortable in the second-tier VHL. With the World Junior Hockey Championship coming. He sustained an injury during the World Juniors that has kept him out of play for a while, but hopefully he can return to dominating the WHL soon. The biggest arguments against him are his size and skating, since a 5-foot-10 winger often needs to be an above average skater to make an impact in the NHL and Cristall is not quite there. Hes a commanding offensive defenceman who is at his best when hes looking to take charge with his feet. And while we dont often see smaller defenceman taken as high as I have him ranked here, he doesnt play small and I like his game at both ends of the ice because of his mobility and the confidence with which he reads the play. Hes scoring roughly half a point per game there and has spent a few games in the J20 Nationell as well, Swedens top junior league, where he has shown that he is clearly a step above his age group, scoring nearly two points per game there. Wood is a rangy, goal-scoring forward who has silky hands for his size (considering the long stick he uses, hes got great control on the toe of his blade out wide and the heel in tight to his feet), a marksmans shot inside the offensive zone (both through a natural shooting motion and his one-timer), and a sixth sense for arriving around the net/slot at the right time. Sign up for EP Premium to create your own ranking. Hes also got some of the quicker hands and better touch on this list. Hes got quick hands one-on-one, he drops pucks back into his shooting stance effortlessly, and hes got a beautiful curl-and-drag motion. One of my favourites in this class, Cristall isa creative, slippery playmaker who isnt afraid to try things and possesses a rare ability to hang onto pucks, pull eyes and bodies towards him, and then expose opposing structures to the weak side of coverage. I love the way he shields pucks and waits for his opportunities to attack. The 2023 draft is led by three maybe four A-plus (or close) prospects at the very top, a superb collection of high-end talents at forward behind them that will run deep into the first round and produce additional stars, and better depth on defence and in net than I anticipated when the year started. Theres a lot to work with though. Each of those guys played quite well at the tournament for draft eligible players, but nobody at the tournament of any age could hand the offensive pressure of Bedard. He can pick apart opposing defenses with pin-point passes and sly fakes, and his effort level is admirable. Ill be shocked if he doesnt become a playmaking top-six centre and PP1 creator. Selected first overall in the WHL bantam draft that year, he played 22 games with the Winnipeg Ice in 2019-20 when he became . Its all there. The biggest question following Reinbachers great performance last year in the Swiss League (SL), the second-tier Swiss professional league, was if he had more offense in his game to show. Hes gotdecent hands when he pushes through the middle. Not Clayton Keller. Calgary, Alta. He has scored some highlight-reel goals in the WHL but he also excels at finding pockets of space off of coverage and remaining involved on offence and defence. 2 in the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft with the pick between Bedard and Yager (he and Yager were actually teammates in minor hockey), is a talented and hardworking playmaker who keeps himself involved in the play off the puck and then makes plays between battles in possession of the puck. Elite Prospects - CSDHL 13U Stats 2022-2023 Hes a treat to watch in possession and processes the game at such an advanced and rapid level. He was more impressive than his already-impressive 61-points-in-68-games season last year (where he led the Cougars in scoring), and the same is true in his strong production on a middle-of-the-pack Cougars team this year. He problem-solves his way out of trouble as well as anyone in this age group. He hasnt looked out of place against men and has scored points at an excellent rate so far for a draft eligible player. The annual Western Hockey League bantam draft coming on May 7 will be full of mixed emotions for hundreds of Grade 9 kids in Western Canada and parts of the United States. Hes got some of the best soft skill in the draft. Hell make plays to the inside from the perimeter on one shift, and then go right to the guts of the ice to make something happen in a congested area the next. WHL Bantam Draft 2023 - full list of selections with facts and stats. 2 pick in the 2021 OHL Priority Selection and an OHL First All-Rookie Team member. Alex Ciernik, LW/RW, Sdertlje SK J20 (J20 Nationell), 37. Team management chose the name "Rebels". He is agile enough that I expect hell be very successful on zone entries in the NHL some day, giving his team a chance to control play in the offensive zone whenever he touches the puck. Maxim Strbak, RD, Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL), 40. Theres a lot of belief out there that hes going to be a good, well-rounded NHLer. The Clubs that miss the playoffs are placed into a lottery for the 1st round only. And despite suffering a lower-body injury in a KHL preseason game, Michkov (who played to a goal a game last year in the MHL) played to a goal a game in Russias second-tier VHL and has been very productive for his age since the move to Sochi in the KHL. He uses his speed and skill to blow by defenders in the neutral zone and pressure in-zone defenders who struggle to anticipate his next move. Sandin Pellikka had a great showing for Sweden at the World Juniors, and is now probably the favourite to be the first defenseman drafted in 2023. And even at 6-foot-2 and about 200 pounds, hes one of the best skaters in this draft. Jake Leschyshyn (/ l s n / leh-SIH-shuhn; born March 10, 1999) is an American-born Canadian professional ice hockey forward for the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect to the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Within his movement patterns, he can handle the puck on a string. Manage Settings Leonard is a prospect thateveryonelikes. Founded in 2009, The Hockey Writers is a premier destination for news and information on everything hockey. with the Wolverines). Hes a natural scorer and creator, but hes also got plus vision and deft touch (though I wouldnt say his creativity is necessarily a strength). by. Only Hughes. Paul Fischer, LHD (NTDP) Although he is just 5-foot-9, Perron is earning more and more buzz as a potential first rounder due to his excellent skating, playmaking, and offensive awareness. WHL Bantam Draft: December Top 22 - #5 - #1 January 1, 2021 | In General, WHL Draft | By Ashley It's The Final Countdown!!!!
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