Author Archives: Josh Tessler

Smaht Scouting’s Josh Tessler, Austin Garret and Ben Jordan looked back at the CHL Top Prospects Game in the latest episode of Smaht Talk! If you would like to listen to this episode, you can find an embedded link from SoundCloud below. Our podcast can also be found on iTunes, Spotify and Google Podcasts.

Photo Credit: Jeremy Champagne / Brandon Wheat Kings Carson Bjarnason is a 2023 NHL Draft eligible goaltender prospect and he plays for the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings. Bjarnason grew up just east of Brandon in Carberry, Manitoba. Prior to joining the Wheat Kings, Bjarnason had played U15 AAA hockey for the Southwest Cougars (Oak Lake,Continue reading “Scouting Report: Carson Bjarnason”

Photo Credit: Megan Connelly / Portland Winterhawks Luca Cagnoni is a 2023 NHL Draft eligible defenseman, who hails from Burnaby, British Columbia. Cagnoni plays for the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks.  Cagnoni was not selected in a WHL draft, but was listed and signed by the Portland Winterhawks in March of 2020. He had been playing forContinue reading “Scouting Report: Luca Cagnoni”

Photo Credit: Jeremy Champagne / Brandon Wheat Kings Nate Danielson is a 2023 NHL Draft prospect, who hails from Red Deer, Alberta and plays for the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings. Danielson was selected in the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft by Brandon and made his WHL debut during the 2020-2021 season. Prior to joining the WheatContinue reading “Scouting Report: Nate Danielson”

Photo Credit: Örebro Leo Carlsson is the top European prospect in the 2023 NHL Draft on the Smaht Scouting Preliminary Rankings.  He has spent the last two seasons mainly playing in the SHL for Örebro. Carlsson has been in the Örebro system since 2020. Before Örebro, he was playing U16 and U18 hockey for FärjestadContinue reading “Scouting Profile: Leo Carlsson”

Smaht Scouting’s Josh Tessler, Austin Garret and Jordan Malette discussed players that were ranked higher and lower on the Preliminary Smaht Scouting 2023 NHL Draft Rankings versus consensus. Towards the end of the episode, the three of them answered mailbag questions. If you would like to listen to this episode, you can find an embeddedContinue reading “Smaht Talk: Preliminary Rankings”

Photo Credit: Keith Hershmiller / Regina Pats Alexander Appleyard, Sebastian Jackson, Matthew Somma, Gray Matter, Ben Jordan, Mike Wright, Jordan Malette, Tobias Pettersson, Austin Garret and Josh Tessler combined their draft rankings and put together the official Smaht Scouting 2023 NHL Draft Preliminary Rankings. Below you will find the rankings and a high level summaryContinue reading “Preliminary 2023 NHL Draft Rankings”

Smaht Scouting’s Josh Tessler, Austin Garret and Jordan Malette discussed players that are close in ranking (from a consensus standpoint) and which players they would be pushing for over others. In addition, they discussed whether or not Adam Fantilli could unseat Connor Bedard as the #1 prospect in the class. If you would like to listen toContinue reading “Smaht Talk: Who You Taking?”

Smaht Scouting’s Josh Tessler and Austin Garret talked about Shane Wright being a healthy scratch in Seattle, David Jiříček making his NHL debut, which 2023 NHL Draft prospect are trending up / down and more. If you would like to listen to this episode, you can find an embedded link from SoundCloud below. Our podcastContinue reading “Smaht Talk: Who is Trending Up?”

Smaht Scouting’s Josh Tessler and Austin Garret discussed their early thoughts on 2023 NHL Draft eligible prospects. Players that were analyzed include Connor Bedard, Zach Benson, Gavin Brindley, William Whitelaw, Tanner Adams, Andrew Cristall, Mikhail Gulyayev, Caden Price, Luca Cagnoni, Calum Ritchie, Axel Sandin Pelikka, Oliver Moore, Will Smith, Jayden Perron, Leo Carlsson and CarterContinue reading “Smaht Talk: Zippy Zappe”