Connor Bedard is the top prospect in the 2023 NHL Draft on the Smaht Scouting Preliminary Rankings.
He has spent the last three seasons, including this one with the Regina Pats of the WHL. The North Vancouver native was selected by Regina first overall in the 2020 bantam draft following two spectacular seasons with the West Vancouver Hockey Academy, where the hype all began.
Last season with Regina, Bedard put up very impressive numbers, amassing 100 points (51 G, 49 A) in 62 contests. This was good for fourth in league scoring as well as fourth in points per game at 1.61. In competition with the top of his own age group last season (U18 and U20 competitions), Bedard has more than proven his offensive talent putting up 10 goals and 15 points in 11 games across both tournaments.
This season, at the time of writing this (December 30, 2022), Bedard has absolutely torched the WHL competition, with 27 goals and 64 points across 28 games, and I can’t see him wavering much at all from his current production.
Bedard is a prospect whose impact will be felt immediately, and in an immensely positive way. His uncanny release, and ability to read and feed off his teammates is what allows him to create so many positive offensive chances and put up the numbers that we have become accustomed to see from him. Below I’ll break down his play in all three zones, as well as look at his skating.
Player Profile
D.O.B – July 17, 2005 Nationality – Canadian Draft Eligibility – 2023 Height –5’10” Weight –185 lbs Position – Center Handedness – Right
Bedard’s Style of Play
Offense
Connor Bedard is a generational offensive talent. Simple as that. He overwhelms opponents with his speed, pace, and ability to put defenders on their heels, and can finish any play off with his lightning quick release. In the offensive zone, one thing I really gravitate to with Bedard is his ability to read off his linemates. He is great at pushing the pace and drawing in defenders, and has no problem being the playmaker when he sees fit. He also loves to shoot the puck. Every time he winds up, he puts everything he has into his shots. Bedard has a knack for finding and creating open ice for himself, which pairs beautifully with his release. He can curl and drag the puck in tight to his skates and doesn’t lose any power on his shots. This opens far more shooting lanes and increases deception for opposing goalies. Bedard’s play on the forecheck is a work in progress, which will naturally improve as he adds muscle and fills out his top half. He plays with a chip on his shoulder and isn’t shy of engaging in puck battles. When taking on bigger opponents he often gets rubbed out of the play.
Filling out that frame will only improve Bedard's offensive game. With his competitive edge, it's only a matter of time until he fills out his frame and is fully engaged in puck battles. pic.twitter.com/zKPHWq9OcE
Bedard is great at drawing in attention when carrying the puck. This frees up his teammates and creates many quality scoring chances. Here he pulls in all four defenders forcing them to collapse their box. This opens up his teammate for an uncontested grade A chance.
Bedard draws in 4 defenders, collapsing the box. Feeds Borya Valis for easy tap-in. pic.twitter.com/Zx38DphAgK
One of my favorite Bedard clips from last summers (2022) World Junior Hockey Championship. He had just turned 17….
Going through some things for Bedard's report, and was reminded of this beauty. He had just turned 17… this is a ridiculous release.. #2023NHLDRAFTpic.twitter.com/l1xm9BDB2i
Bedard is not very active when it comes to the defensive side of the game. In many of my viewings I see a lot of coasting, and really no hurry to track back into the play in his own end. When he his defending, I feel he is often quick to transition the play the other way and is often thinking ahead to how the play will develop leading to offense. Similar to someone like Connor McDavid, Bedard has the skill and hockey sense to develop his consistency and play in his own end, it wasn’t until McDavid’s fourth year in the NHL that he really honed in on this aspect of his game. Given Bedard’s generational offensive ability, this won’t hinder his draft stock.
Play in Transition
When defending in transition, Bedard is a passenger. He hovers up high and is looking to transition the play into offense. It’s not often that we see Bedard pressuring and pursuing the opposing puck carrier, but rather deferring to teammates. He is effective in the neutral zone lifting sticks of off-puck players in attempt to disrupt zone entries, and when eager to do so, Bedard has a great stick defending zone entries.
When transitioning the play from defense to offense, Bedard is a magician. He’s got all sorts of tricks in his hat. He can beat you 1 on 1 with his skill using quick agile movements or shoulder fakes. He can feed off his teammates and never has any trouble finding open ice for himself. When carrying the puck up ice, Bedard does a great job scanning and assessing his options. What’s so impressive is that while he’s doing that, he can still separate himself from defenders and create space using a plethora of different dekes and deception tactics.
Connor Bedard is an extremely gifted generational offensive talent. Whichever team is lucky enough to have the lottery balls fall their way will be sprinting to the podium on June 28th to draft Bedard. Bedard’s innate scoring ability is one that we haven’t seen in along time, and I could see Bedard as a challenger for the 50-goal mark in most seasons he is not hampered by injury. Whichever team ultimately selects Bedard won’t be challenging for a Stanley Cup in the next couple years, and the continuous losing may spark a commitment to the defensive side of the game for him, like we saw with Connor McDavid a few seasons back.
Latest Update
December 30, 2022
stats from InStat and EliteProspects
Prospect report written by Ben Jordan. If you would like to follow Ben on Twitter, his handle is @BJordanNHL.
Looking for other scouting reports? Check out the Prospects tab for our other scouting reports.
Need a scouting report on a particular prospect, contact us today!
Adam Fantilli is the second ranked player on Smaht’s preliminary rankings and is currently the third leading scorer in the NCAA both in total points and in points per game.
Fantilli took the road less traveled as the Toronto native ventured south of the border to play for the Chicago Steel the previous two seasons so that he could play college hockey for the University of Michigan in the United States during his draft eligible season.
Last year Fantilli was in the top eight in the USHL scoring on a per game basis and was second on the Steel with 71 points which trailed only Jackson Blake on the Steel by three points despite playing seven less games.
Coming into the year Fantilli was widely regarded as a possible top 5 pick, but by quantitative and qualitative analysis he continues to perform closer to the first overall ranked player than the other players in the top five. The 6’2 pivot has had a torrid start to his collegiate career and will hopefully continue to impress at the World Juniors where he’ll play a significant role for Team Canada.
Player Profile
D.O.B – October 12, 2004 Nationality– Canadian Draft Eligibility – 2023 Height –6’2″ Weight –187 lbs Position – Center Handedness – Left
Fantilli’s Style of Play
Offense
Adam Fantilli has every tool that an NHL team would dream of having with their top overall selection. He’s got the physical tools of size, strength, speed and lateral mobility. He has amazing puck skill with the ability to do it at full speed and in small area situations. He can protect the puck, put his shoulder down and power through a defender, or put it under a defender’s stick and put them through the spin cycle.
His vision is high-end with the ability to find lateral teammates and move defenders out of passing lanes to open up new scoring opportunities. He has a heavy wrist shot and a dynamite one-timer. The power play could run through Fantilli or he could be the trigger man.
My favorite aspect of Fantilli’s offensive game this year has been his puck skill and play creation. His ability to press up into a defender and then put the puck under the defenseman’s stick here and then the laser beam of a shot for a low danger goal is one of my favorite highlights from his season.
Corson Ceulemans is not going to like watching this back in the film room. Fantilli just shredding ankles this past weekend pic.twitter.com/fZ1a5ea86c
I believe one of his best traits as a hockey player is that Fantilli almost always instantly gets his head up to scan to the dangerous areas of the ice after he gets by a defender to thread a medium/high danger pass. Rarely does he make a move past a defender where his first thought isn’t to take advantage of the odd-man situation and put pressure on the defenders in front of him.
Fantilli’s puck skill isn’t just used in one-on-one situations. He’ll often problem solve complex situations by utilizing his puck skill to split defenders or to situate himself in a position where he can get by a defender and draw a supporting defender off a teammate which is where Fantilli goes almost immediately after seeing the situation develop.
The clip below you see Fantilli split two defenders and then go by a third defender by putting the puck inside and then under the stick outside before Gretzky turning out of the pressure to scan and hit an open teammate. The level of confidence to attempt a play like this is commendable, but to pull it off seamlessly is what makes Fantilli one of this draft’s truly special talents.
There's solving neutral zone problems, and then there's just being the best player on the ice. Fantilli moving the puck in-and-out of defenders and taking an entry attempt with very little options and turning it into a controlled entry and a shot assist. pic.twitter.com/o0UbLJ2sr2
When Fantilli is at the top of his game he looks like an NHL player going to play in the beer league for a night. When he has the puck on his stick he makes it look like there isn’t a player in the NCAA who is going to be able to stop him and he does what he pleases while leaving defenders in the dust or made into highlight reel clips.
He invites pressure onto him before making high-end, precise passes. Whether it’s a no-look back pass below the goal line, or drawing a defender on him on the PP to open up a passing lane cross ice, Fantilli will often welcome defensive pressure to free up the spaces around him so he can hit open teammates moving towards the net or for an exit/entry.
There really isn’t much to pick apart in his offensive game this year. There are times he can take a backseat to Mackie Samoskevich or Seamus Casey/Luke Hughes when they activate. The only real issue I see is nit-picky but he can have a little bit of an inversion complex on offensive zone entries. What I mean by this is that when he’s carrying the puck in the defensive zone or through the defensive blue line a lot of his best options to pass are in front of him and if he doesn’t see them then he knows he can reset and get better options out in front of him. When any player enters an offensive zone entry the play to be made will be coming laterally or from behind the player with the puck and out of their direct line of vision. There are multiple ways to counteract this issue, but the most conservative way is to dump the puck deep. When Fantilli can’t pre-scan before hitting the entry he will sometimes play too conservatively and dump the puck when he has great secondary options if he were to slow his pace down on the entry or open up upon the entry.
Overall, he’s a dynamic offensive talent. When Fantilli has the puck on his stick he is one of the most fun players to watch in this draft class. He moves well off the puck to put himself in supportive positions and in positions to score.
Defensive Game
Adam Fantilli is a player that I’ve had to blend the last two years together to really get a full read on his defensive game. This past year at Michigan, Fantilli is taking faceoff draws but then goes and plays a traditional winger’s role in the defensive zone and forecheck. He’s playing the points in the defensive zone, but his forechecking responsibility does vary but oftentimes he’s the F1/F2 role.
Last year and coming into this year I thought Fantilli was one of the best two-way players coming into the 2023 draft. It wasn’t uncommon for him to have shifts like the one below where he utterly dominated a team all 200ft in the USHL.
This year I still see the same aggressive and hard-on-pucks style of defense from Fantilli. However I do think there have been a few instances where he’s been beat off the boards against smaller or quicker players as well a few times he’s flown the zone during inopportune times. While Mackie Samoskevich (#11) makes the most egregious error during this play: Fantilli gets beat on the wall to start the play (#19) by a very slick move by Ryan Healey. He then peels off very wide and gets above the puck and doesn’t move back to recover to the dangerous area cross ice path that Mackie abandons.
Overall, he has a very active stick and is very good at separating players from the puck on the forecheck and along the boards. I wish I got to see him play a more traditional center role this year to better evaluate and project his defensive role for the NHL, but the tools are all there for a player who should be able to play down the middle in the NHL in a defensive capacity.
What the Data Says
Adam Fantilli has had a very efficient microstat dataset across my three game tracking of him so far. He’s involved in 37% of Michigan’s successful offensive zone transitions. While this eludes the usual 40% marker I’m looking for; I think it’s important to note that Fantilli is playing with Mackie Samoskevich and either Seamus Case or Luke Hughes on every shift. With an aggressive activation strategy utilized by Michigan’s defenseman, Fantilli finds himself competing for transition opportunities. He’s taken 70% of his shot attempts from dangerous areas of the ice, and 17% of his passes are to the dangerous areas of the ice as well. He’s moderately involved in defensive zone transitions and very involved in creating forechecking turnover opportunities. His team has a 64% Corsi while he’s on the ice.
The only concerning part for me is that two of the three games Fantilli played in he only had two shot attempts 5v5. I’d like to see him take another step and get himself to shooting areas instead of looking to facilitate play around the zone.
Projection
I think Adam Fantilli has cemented himself as the #2 pick in the 2023 draft barring an extreme extenuating circumstance. I think there’s an argument to be made that Fantilli could be the number 1 pick in the 2023 draft for some NHL teams. I think his 200ft game and his ability to play through the middle with his size and speed could come into play for an NHL team trying to decide who to pick at #1.
I think as a player Fantilli projects as a top 6 center and most likely a top line center for a team that’s picking that high in the draft. I believe there’s still room for him to grow in terms of creating more opportunities for himself to score, and his playmaking/creating ability is already high-end. I think his defensive game will need some refinement but his motor and his time with the Steel has shown a player able to play a 200ft game.
Latest Update
December 26, 2022
stats from InStat and EliteProspects
Prospect report written by Austin Garrett. If you would like to follow Austin on Twitter, his handle is @BMaster716.
Looking for other scouting reports? Check out the Prospects tab for our other scouting reports.
Need a scouting report on a particular prospect, contact us today!
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 Färjestad (his local club as Carlsson grew up in Karlstad, Sweden which is where Färjestad is based).
In his DY-1 campaign, he spent 14 games at the U20 level for Örebro and lit up the lamp. He tallied 27 points in 14 games. Carlsson was tied for first with Liam Öhgren for points per game at 1.93. Unstoppable. His performance at the U20 level proved that he was ready for the next challenge. Full-time SHL play and he is getting that this season.
Carlsson is a prospect who can be a cornerstone player in a few years. His combination of speed and size can make him difficult to beat in every zone. In the next four sections, I’ll break down his play in all three zones and his skating.
Player Profile
D.O.B – December 26, 2004 Nationality – Swedish Draft Eligibility – 2023 Height –6’3″ Weight –194 lbs Position – Center/Wing Handedness – Left
Carlsson’s Style Of Play
Offense
Carlsson’s forechecking is an area of his game that has extremely good promise, but is still in development. Carlsson’s position will be shifted throughout games. There are some shifts in which he seems to be used as a center and some shifts in which he is being used on the wing. Since he is flipping back and forth, he seems to be a little unsure of what his role is supposed to be on the forecheck. He isn’t sure if he is supposed to be an outlet option should one of his teammates win possession of the puck in a loose puck battle or if he should be the one laying down checks behind the red line in loose puck battles. So, for the most part, Carlsson tends to play more of the center role on the forecheck. He keeps his feet moving down low to key up outlet passing lane options for his teammates to utilize. While Carlsson does end up adopting more of the center role, he does do a great job leveraging his speed to get himself into position to get the inside track on loose pucks when none of his teammates are anywhere near the puck. He will also look to leverage his upper body strength to push past attackers should it be a very tight contested battle in which Carlsson has to use his frame to get himself into position to win the puck. In addition to leveraging his speed and size to get the inside track on puck battles, he has the reach to take away passing lanes by aligning his stick blade with the attacker’s stick blade and trapping them. He also has the reach to stick lift and cause puck disruption when skating just slightly behind the attacker.
When he wins possession in loose puck battles, he doesn’t like to hold onto the puck for too long. Looks for options down low in the slot and wires passes to them. He knows that he can’t hold onto the puck for a while because he has pressure in his rearview mirror. So, he wires the pass to the high danger area.
Checking out Leo Carlsson's shifts from yesterday's game.
Carlsson is gonna be a pain to go up against in loose puck battles. He uses his speed to fly past the first attacker, cuts in, grabs the puck. When the 2nd attacker puts pressure on him, he delivers a pass to the slot. pic.twitter.com/GErHqVTXcV
Carlsson does an excellent job of creating space for himself in heavy traffic situations with puck manipulation. He shifts the puck towards the attacker and then cradles it quickly to the other side. Then he skates into open ice and can put a quality shot on net or pass the puck to an open teammate.
Looking at some Leo Carlsson shift by shift and caught this beauty.
Manipulates the attacker at the perimeter with his puck placement and gets around the attacker by cradling the puck from forehand to backhand.
Sometimes he will look to curl the puck between his skates to put himself in a situation where he can try a backhand shot on net from an angle that is a bit more open versus if he had the puck out in front of him. Skates around the attacker and then can put a quality shot on net.
Leo Carlsson's (#91) stick-handling in this clip is excellent.
Good puck security by pushing the puck in towards his skates, avoids the attacker and then stick-handles through the legs when dealing with a second HV71 attacker. #2023NHLDraftpic.twitter.com/p244LPhZrU
Not only is his handling leading to quality opportunities for him, but he also does an excellent job of securing the puck while dealing with tight shoulder to shoulder pressure. But, not only can he maintain possession of the puck, he can also fire shots on net with pressure pushing into him.
When it comes to Carlsson cycling the puck, he runs the cycle extremely well no matter where he is in the offensive zone. Should he have the puck behind the red line, he looks to deliver quick feeds to the slot to net scoring chances. Carlsson has excellent vision and he identifies cross ice passing lanes in which he has to pass underneath the stick of an attacker while on the move.
Usually when Carlsson carries the puck in the offensive zone, he stops at the point to wait for the F2 and F3 to skate into the zone. That allows him to survey the ice and where the attackers are in position to his teammates. When he spots that his teammate is skating to net front, if he doesn’t have any other great options, he will aim to get the puck to his teammate as soon as his teammate is at net front. Carlsson is wired to create high danger chances.
When he doesn’t have possession of the puck but his teammates do, he will go up to the low slot and post up for deflections and tip-in opportunities. That has paid off in international play.
Should his teammates lose control of the puck, he usually falls back and plays conservatively as his teammates are slightly closer to the puck.
The only area (aside from Carlsson becoming slightly more assertive and physical) in the offensive zone that needs further development is his shot. Carlsson struggles to connect on his one-timer shots. When he looks to shoot the one-timer, the stick blade isn’t connecting with the puck. He is mistiming when his stick blade should make contact with the puck. In addition, when on the move, a lot of his shots are going wide. His plant skate isn’t lining up towards the net and that doesn’t allow him to be accurate with his shot when on the move. But, this is addressable. I’m not worried about his shot.
Defense
His positioning will alter. Some shifts he takes on the center role and some shifts he takes on the winger role. All-in-all, I like his defending quite a bit. He takes up space and draws oppositional puck movement into low danger. He does a good job assessing vulnerability and calling an audible to switch from defending like a center to defending like a winger. If he sees that an attacker and has the puck on his stick and he is the closest skater, he will use an active stick and trap them in low danger along the boards.
As stated above, sometimes Carlsson will defend like a winger and position himself at the perimeter to shut down puck movement from the point. He does a good job using his size and an active stick to swallow up space at open ice. He will extend his stick blade to match where the attacker has positioned his stick blade at open ice to prevent the attacker from getting a shot on net.
When oppositional puck movement is a bit far away from his positioning, he has good speed that he can leverage to get back in a hurry on the back check with his straight line strides.
In general, he stands close by his teammates when they are actively engaged for puck. He provides them with an outlet passing lane that they can exploit to quickly get the puck away from traffic. Once he gets the puck from the outlet pass, he quickly distributes the puck to a teammate near the blue line.
Carlsson is highly effective at mop up duty (loose puck recovery). He grabs onto loose pucks should his wingers struggle (in situations in which he wasn’t in position to provide an outlet lane) with capturing the puck during a tight battle.
Carlsson is a very tactical passer. If he has a tight lane and a teammate in view, he will take the lane and take it quickly. Carlsson is very good at distribution in tight lanes when pressure closes in on him as he looks to skate out of his own zone with the puck. He can shift the puck from forehand to backhand to secure the puck once the attack moves in tight and then he will complete a backhand saucer feed to a teammate in the neutral zone.
Even though sometimes he looks for the quick one touch outlet pass to a teammate, there are shifts in which Carlsson carries the puck out of the zone himself. Carlsson is quite good at pushing the puck past the defenseman who is putting pressure on him near the blue line after securing loose pucks along the half-wall. Once he pushes the puck past the attacker, he then picks the puck back up and uses his quality speed to push himself through the neutral zone. When he needs to push the puck away from pressure as he skates out of the zone, he will extend his reach and push the puck wide to secure it. If he knows that the traffic that he just dodged can get right back on him quickly, he will quickly and cleanly execute a pass to a teammate in the neutral zone and hit them in stride. While he can navigate the puck around traffic efficiently, sometimes the pressure can be overbearing. Carlsson evaluates traffic well and will double back to reset when there is absolutely no breathing room.
Transitional Play
If he is skating behind the rush at open ice, but not too far away from the puck carrying attacker, he will stick lift attackers to cause puck control disruption. If he is facing the rush, he will extend his stick blade out and try to knock the attacker off of the puck. In situations where Carlsson is at a bit of a distance, he does an excellent job of taking away space by manipulating the attacker with his stick blade placement. He can dictate where they end up and then he can trap them along the half-wall. By that point, he is in range to pick the attacker’s pocket, pivot out and wire a pass to a teammate who has a bit more room than he does.
Usually, Carlsson is very conservative with his play against the opposition’s puck movement. He will drop back and fill in for a defenseman who engaged in a puck battle and isn’t in position. That allows him to get open in the neutral zone, assess the puck movement, track passes, skate into the puck and grab a hold of the puck. He will then drive the puck back into the offensive zone.
But, he is also very conservative with his own puck movement. If he sees that he is face daunting pressure with no skating lane to use, he will complete a drop pass to his defenseman. That allows play to reset, the defenseman grabs control and enters the offensive zone with the puck.
When he is in possession of the puck in the neutral zone and spots an open teammate near the offensive zone blue line, he will pass to those teammates. Carlsson is tactical. He is constantly looking for options to get the puck into the offensive zone fast and he will consistently distribute accurate passes to his teammates even when under immense pressure. Carlsson will pass underneath the attacker’s stick when he identifies a teammate in range.
Skating
Overall, Carlsson has a good blend of speed and size. He constantly stays well aligned to puck movement. Carlsson has quick feet and can react to a pivot on a dime. When he first looks to generate speed when going after a loose puck in the neutral zone, he’ll use a crossover or two to get momentum and keep the momentum alive with lengthy stride extensions. The speed that he nets allows him to win puck battles shift-in shift-out. His quick feet allows him to react to a big change in puck movement. He will pivot, complete a crossover or two and use his straight line stride extensions to power him to loose pucks.
Carlsson doesn’t just do a good job of generating the speed necessary to get his hands on the puck. But, he also does a good job of surveying his opponent’s speed and matching it in situations where he is far back. He knows that he won’t be able to get to the puck based on his positioning. But, he does know that he can generate enough speed to get into a position where he can trap the attacker once the attacker nets possession of the loose puck.
When he gets onto North American ice, with his speed, if he develops his physical play, he is going to be a pain for his attackers. He is going to be able to close out gaps and complete shoulder checks to cause change in possession routinely.
Projection
It’s been a long report. I’ll be short here. I promise.
Carlsson is a potential cornerstone player. He has all the tools that teams look for in an impact player. A player that teams can count on no matter what the situation. He constantly looks for ways to move the puck up the ice and into high danger. There is one heck of a player in Leo Carlsson.
Latest Update
December 21, 2022
stats from InStat and EliteProspects
Prospect report written by Josh Tessler. If you would like to follow Josh on Twitter, his handle is @JoshTessler_.
Looking for other scouting reports? Check out the Prospects tab for our other scouting reports.
Need a scouting report on a particular prospect, contact us today!
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.
Connor Bedard is the most dynamic offensive threat in this draft class, period. He compliments his above average skating legs, with the ability to process the game at lightning quick rates. He already has an NHL caliber shot even from tough angles, and a ridiculously quick release. His elite hands allow him to manipulate defenders and free up time and space leading to him uncovering his desired quality offensive opportunities. With a tool box the size of his, offensively, I see him being a star at the NHL level from day one. (Ben Jordan)
Fantilli is closer to Bedard than he is to the rest of the draft class to me. His combination of skill, speed, size, and defensive prowess is exceptional and his microstats are just as exceptional as his counting stats to start the year at the University of Michigan. He’s able to make plays both using brute strength and deceptive lateral moves to get by defenders, and his decision making in completing passes to dangerous areas of the ice is mature beyond his years with 18% of his passes going to that part of the ice through two games. I would like to see him drive more in the neutral zone as he is playing second fiddle to Mackie Samoskevich in transition, but he’s successful on almost 77% of his offensive transitions. If he continues to improve he’ll push Bedard for the number one ranking all year. (Austin Garret)
Carlsson has been playing extremely well at the SHL level this season for Örebro. In the offensive zone, he will take over the cycle and will move laterally quickly to shift away from pressure as he sees that if he moves laterally he will skate into a quality passing lane that he can exploit. Carlsson’s vision and stick-handling can get him out of well-pressured jams in all three zones. He will find quality passing lanes in the neutral zone when looking for a teammate in stride to pass to and has no issue with maneuvering the puck around tight pressure. Carlsson hunts for loose pucks with speed and has the physicality to deliver quality checks along the boards to cause puck disruption in tight board battles. Carlsson is a prospect that we see being a reliable playmaker and playing in a line one role at the NHL level. (Josh Tessler)
Benson has consistently been one of the biggest play drivers on his lines and has dynamic, eye-popping skill to go with a stellar work ethic. Benson has enough offensive skill to be a true top line forward at the NHL level, and if his skating can improve to be more than average, he’ll be a threat every time he’s on the ice. Despite his average skating, we feel that Benson’s work ethic and skill outweigh the risk and that he can develop that aspect of his game. You can’t teach work ethic, and you can’t teach a player to be as smart as Benson is. He’s the top WHL forward not named Connor Bedard in the eyes of our staff, and his game has continued to grow as the season has gone along. (Matthew “Martin” Somma)
A smart and dynamic goal-scoring winger with exceptional deception and skating ability. Michkov dictates play when he’s on the ice, with constant delays and changes of pace, baiting poke checks to freeze defenders just enough to get by them, making up for his lack of a high-end top speed; making give-and-go plays all along the ice, using his teammates effectively, he’s not afraid to turn back in transition in order to maintain possession and open up new opportunities; he finds open ice extremely well and always positions himself to be a good passing option in the offensive zone. All this is designed with the end goal of creating space for himself in dangerous areas to let his lethal shot fly. He may look small, but he’s not easy to knock over, and he doesn’t shy away from physical battles. He has the potential to be a game-breaking talent, but there are some question marks around other areas of his game. His passing ideas and vision are great, but the execution less so, he’ll send soft passes to no one that are easily intercepted, or just miss his mark, often making his passes difficult to control; and he’ll sometimes look off the best play in favour of doing things himself, or just firing the puck on net. (Gray Matter)
#6 – Eduard Sale, LW, Brno
If your center is a bit weak in transition, have no fret. Eduard Sale can take over puck movement in the neutral zone for his center. When encountering traffic in the neutral zone, he can navigate around and secure the puck with his reach. If he is further back (towards his own zone) and he spots a teammate in stride or at the offensive zone blue line, he has shown that he will execute great passing feeds to get the puck to said teammate. When Sale doesn’t enter into the offensive zone as the F1, he constantly looks to establish positioning down low at net front to provide a backdoor shot passing option for the F1. While Sale does an excellent job of keying up those passing lanes, we aren’t seeing him find the back of the net regularly in Czech league play. His success with his shot is far more constant in international play. Should Sale start having consistent success with his shot in Czech league play, his stock could go up a bit. (Josh Tessler)
Cristall is the premier playmaker in this year’s draft. I mentioned before on the podcast but I’ll repeat here: he’s completed more total passes than all but two players in my North American dataset have attempted, he’s completed four more high/medium danger passes than anyone has attempted, and he is only one of two (Connor Bedard being the other) that has been involved in more than 50% of their team’s total successful offensive transitions in the CHL. He’s a magician with the puck on his stick with his skill, and his ability to thread passes all over the ice is high end. He’s going to make a hard push for the top 5 by the end of this year as his puck luck is regressing positively recently and the points are starting to stack up in bunches. (Austin Garret)
If it weren’t for Andrew Cristall, Jayden Perron would be the premier playmaker available in the draft. His ability to use puck movements to pull defenders out of position and open up passing lanes is genuinely remarkable. Especially off the rush, he’ll frequently enter the offensive zone with control and scan for all options before picking the specific gap in the opposition to exploit for a dangerous chance. This playmaking and creativity are undoubtedly at the forefront of what Perron offers but combined with his shiftiness and tremendous puck skills, you’re looking at quite the offensive juggernaut. At 8th overall, it’s a home run swing, but the upside justifies it. (Jordan Malette)
Brindley plays the center position so well and so effectively it’s shocking that he’s just a freshman in the NCAA. He supports his teammates offensively and defensively, he moves puck through the neutral zone and is the main puck transporter for the second line on Michigan, and, despite his size, he takes pucks to the dangerous areas of the ice to get his shot off. Coming into the year I was a bit concerned about his overall speed given his size, but he’s looked quick and defenders aren’t able to get on top of him. He’s one of the best shot generators to begin the year (per 60 he’s even ahead of Bedard 5v5 through two games) and 82% of his shots are coming from dangerous areas of the ice. He’s involved in 46.7% of his line’s successful offensive transitions and was successful at 90(!)% of them individually. One area of improvement will be to not just get to the middle of the ice for his shot, but also more with his passes as only 9% of his passes are to dangerous areas of the ice right now. (Austin Garret)
#10 – Calum Ritchie, C, Oshawa
Calum Ritchie offers value in all three zones, mainly through proper positioning that allows him to provide strong puck-side support, especially in the defensive end. Calum is typically the puck transporter through the middle of the ice navigating through pressure and entering the zone with control. In the attacking third, he can use body positioning and his reach to protect the puck and gain an advantageous position on defenders. Occasionally you’ll see flashes of nifty puck skills, but that is different from his expected playstyle. I’d say he definitely leans more towards a “high-floor” type of player as I don’t see an abundance of top-end traits, so depending on your philosophy, he may slide further back on your list in favour of higher-upside players. (Jordan Malette)
A dynamic and elusive offensive defenceman with good puck skills all around. He lacks some size and physicality, he gets knocked down easily, and can struggle with physical battles sometimes; but in spite of this, he defends decently well. He’s a bit chaotic at times, and likely still has a long way to go to be very effective defensively in the NHL, but he does a fine job of using his stick to block lanes, cut passes and pester opponents at all times, fused with his quickness and 4-way mobility to ensure that any attacker has a bad time. But he shines in transition, he adapts quickly and he doesn’t overhandle, he extends his reach to one side before shifting to the other, giving himself extra room to maneuver around opponents and maintain his speed and momentum. He times his activation well on the rush and in the offensive zone, and uses his speed to ensure he rarely ends up late on the backcheck or out of position defensively. (Gray Matter)
Brayden Yager, seemingly one of the more polarizing names thus far, brings with him a straight line, puck dominant style of play that for myself is hard to overlook. Yager gets around the ice in all areas very well thanks to his elite ability to see plays unfolding. This makes up for some of the skating deficiencies that I see with Yager. There’s no denying his straight line skill, and his ability to rip shots from wherever and whenever he has space to do so, but for Yager to work his way up this board I’m looking to see him more involved in transition. Right now he’s too much of a passenger, and when he struggles to create space for himself, he can become a ghost for many shifts at a time. (Ben Jordan)
#13 – Axel Sandin Pellikka, RHD, Skellefteå
My personal favourite player so far this year, Sandin Pellikka is a ton of fun to watch. He’s a mobile offensive defenceman with really quick hands and a hard, accurate shot. Great at walking the line, using the threat of his shot with constant fakes to break defenders’ ankles, allowing him time and space to find the best play. High speed combines with his handling skill and use of fake passes to make him a great option in transition, preferring to carry when possible, rather than making long and predictable passes. Defensively, his rush defence is solid, but in the defensive zone he can struggle a bit to keep up, even at the junior level; he’ll need to work on that to be a very effective defender at the NHL level. (Gray Matter)
#14 – Oliver Moore, C, USNTDP
Last year it was Moore who was able to run on the top line with Gabe Perreault and Gracyn Sawchyn for the u17 team. This year the NTDP has seemed to task Moore with running his own line and he hasn’t disappointed. He is the most involved player in North America in transition (61.1% involvement in successful offensive transitions), his shot attempts 5v5 are dead even with counterpart Will Smith in both total shots and dangerous shot attempts, and 23.5% of his passes are going to the dangerous areas of the ice (which is 15% below Smith). Additionally he is an elite skater, is exceptional in defending the neutral zone and a great support in the defensive/offensive zone and has an underrated shot. My only gripe with Moore is his pension for attacking the zone at his top speed at all times. More speed variation that navigates his attack to the middle of the ice and opens up secondary rush options will make him a truly dynamic center prospect. (Austin Garret)
I’m a big Otto Stenberg fan. Before watching league play this season, I was quite intrigued with his playmaking off the rush last year and at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Tournament. When Stenberg has control of the puck, he takes ownership of the cycle and wants to be the one driving across the zone to hunt for quality passing lanes. When facing tight pressure down low in the corner, he does have the ability to pivot out of pressure, but sometimes he does have to pivot out multiple times when facing pressure from one attacker. Should a passing option have opened up over the course of Stenberg pivoting multiple times, the passing lane might have been taken away by an attacker by the time that Stenberg has broken free of pressure. His shot also needs more development. When shooting, especially on one-timers, he isn’t putting enough power into his shot. He isn’t shifting enough weight into his shot and thus reduces the power needed to elevate the puck. If Stenberg can improve his shot over the course of the season, his stock will rise. (Josh Tessler)
Riley Heidt is one of the more premier skaters in this 2023 class. He has extremely great edges and accelerates very quickly in all zones. Heidt excels with the puck on his stick when he’s using his skating ability to create separation from defenders. His skating is also an asset for him in transition where he is great at carrying the puck through the neutral zone and into the offensive zone. When Heidt is on the ice, he wants the play to run through him, and I love that. Through all my viewings thus far, I have never questioned his drive or willingness to drag himself and his teammates into the fight. With Heidt I see a player that could make the leap as a center in the NHL. Before he can make that leap he’ll want to improve his overall strength which will aid in his play along the wall and in puck battles down low. (Ben Jordan)
#17 – Will Smith, C, USNTDP
The Twitter highlight reel machine of the NTDP. Will Smith in the offensive zone with the puck on his stick is a defenseman’s ankles worst nightmare. His ability to use his small area skill to dangle through and around defenders is one of the best in the class. He’s one of the top players in the entire dataset at sending pucks to the dangerous parts of the ice, and he is the best player on one of the best lines in junior hockey right now. However, he does have a pension to go missing if his linemates aren’t able to get him the puck at even strength. He’s the least involved player in transition on his line (though he is successful on 77% of his transitions). He’s also best when using his stick to intercept passes and I’d like to see him better support his defensemen in the defensive zone to cement his status as projecting down the middle in the NHL. (Austin Garret)
There isn’t a player in this draft that excites me as much as William Whitelaw. The pace and dynamic skill set are a lethal combination that is the exact type of player I’m looking for early on day one of the draft. He can be absolutely electric dangling through defenders and can certainly create a ridiculous highlight reel. However, what drove me to be a touch bearish on Will is prioritizing shots from low danger and the inability to access high danger consistently. Especially at the USHL level, I’d like to see him look for dangerous passing options more often rather than a low-quality perimeter shot. The tools are certainly there for a top-ten player in my books, but I want to see them applied more frequently to be willing to make that swing on the upside. (Jordan Malette)
#19 – Dalibor Dvorsky, C, AIK
If you had asked me where Dalibor Dvorsky would be on our rankings earlier this summer, I likely would have said “somewhere in the top 10”. It was always going to be tough for Dvorsky to get past Michkov, Benson, Carlsson, Fantilli and Bedard, but I honestly thought without a doubt that Dvorsky would be in the top 10 range. Unfortunately, his stock has fallen this season. Dvorsky is being deployed as a center with AIK, but he isn’t a big factor when it comes to north-south puck movement. He isn’t overly involved in transition. Instead, Dvorsky looks to enter into the offensive zone as the F2 or F3 in some cases to provide an outlet passing lane should their puck carrying teammates run into tight pressure along the half-wall and red line boards. While that does allow Dvorsky to net quite a bit of puck touches, it’s the next move that has been a struggle for him. Getting a quality shot on net. At 5v5, he is struggling to get shots to the corners. The puck often ends up gloved or ricocheted off the goaltender’s pads. When Dvorsky is being deployed on the power play, he is finding more success with his shot but that can be attributed to having more open ice and not having pressure right on him. I’m hoping that we see a bounce back and the script is reversed come the next set of rankings. (Josh Tessler)
#20 – Caden Price, LHD, Kelowna
One of the more intriguing case studies thus far has been Caden Price. His play at the Hlinka left people thinking that this may be a top 10 pick in the 2023 draft. He has since had some consistency struggles in Kelowna, and some people are leaving him off their 1st round board. To me it boils down to this: this kid’s got all the tools to become a truly elite defender at the next level but is very early on in his development track. There are consistency concerns at this very moment. One game he may take those calculated risks, and have them pay huge dividends, other games he may look shy to make any gambles at all. Looking strictly at the tools, he is a premier puck distributor with elite vision and creativity. In his own end he uses his agility to shake forecheckers and afford himself a bit of extra time to start breaking the puck out of his zone. Price will grow ever more confident as the season goes along, and with that, I believe we’ll be seeing a lot more of the Price we saw at the Hlinka. Don’t be surprised to see him climb our rankings as the season goes along! (Ben Jordan)
A mobile, smooth-skating defenceman, Simashev is among the best defenders in this class; he shuts down plays before they start; he reads and anticipates play very well, he’ll step up in the neutral zone with perfect timing to prevent entries without taking himself out of the play. He’s big, and uses his size effectively; he 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 with time and maturity; he doesn’t really need to be super physical right now, but he’s certainly capable. If he’s got 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 points haven’t really come yet for Simashev, but he does so much that won’t show up on the scoresheet, everything he does makes life a lot easier for his teammates; whether he’s getting points or not, he’s making good things happen for his team in all three zones. (Gray Matter)
One of our more “outlandish” rankings based on consensus, Gracyn Sawchyn is the brains steering the ship in Seattle. There may not be another player in this draft that can think it the way Sawchyn can. In each of my viewings of him, there were multiple instances where it felt like he was plays ahead of his teammates. As you can imagine, this led to many broken plays, especially in the offensive zone. This is a player that I truly believe can a) play center at the NHL level, and b) will benefit immensely from being surrounded with other high IQ players. His play in the defensive zone is calm and refined, and always willing to make the risk adverse play to up the puck. (Ben Jordan)
There are many details of Luca Pinelli’s game to appreciate, but I’ll keep it brief and focus on my three favourites. Firstly, Pinelli constantly scans to find open pockets of space to sneak into. You can typically find him hovering high in the offensive zone, looking for the right time to pounce into space to be available for a dangerous pass. Once he gains that slight separation from defenders, he can unleash a one-timer that can beat the goalie from medium to long range. Next, I appreciate Luca’s tendency to keep his puck touches short and rarely overextend his possessions. He’s always looking for passing options to advance play, and the attack rarely breaks down on his stick. And finally, Luca never arbitrarily forces the puck up ice at all costs. Pinelli routinely turns back to reset to escape immediate pressure, buy time, and allow a teammate to get open for a controlled exit pass. It’s a minor detail, but it speaks to his prioritization of puck possession which is a significant component of my evaluation process. (Jordan Malette)
I was one of Danielson’s biggest supporters in our ranking, and I still feel that he could rise up the board as the season goes along. Danielson is a complete player that can defend, carry the puck, stickhandle through defenses and score. Danielson is still coming into his own offensively and as of right now, that’s what’s holding him back in our rankings. As a staff, we were unsure of whether or not Danielson was more than a third line center at the NHL level. If Danielson can improve offensively, then this is a ranking that we will revisit. In my eyes, I see a player that is an NHL center with solid two way ability and the potential to provide some secondary offense. He won’t drive the play in the offensive zone, but he’ll be reliable when called upon. (Matthew “Martin” Somma)
Cagnoni has taken a big step this WHL season. And it all stems from his tactical, mobile stride. He plays the gap extremely well, knowing exactly when to make that risky play up ice, or hold back. His skating routes are thought out and calculated, and that helps him navigate the ice extremely efficiently. This season he has shown offensive upside putting up 8-12-20 in 20GP. He has the perfect instincts on the rush, with a good idea of when to jump into the rush. For a two-way defenceman still in junior and growing, I was very impressed with his ability to not leave his partner out to dry. (Ben Jordan)
Despite the counting numbers not being as high as his WHL counterparts; Molendyk is a lot more efficient in transitions compared to Cagnoni and Price and is also hyper-active in the offensive zone with his dangerous passes and shot attempts. His skating is among the tops in North America for defensemen, but it’s his ability to reset and move pucks under control that is super impressive. The only thing missing from his dataset are the points, and given his success getting pucks to areas of the ice where goals are scored it only makes sense that points will be coming for Molendyk as the season progresses. (Austin Garret)
#27 – Alex Čiernik, LW/RW, Södertälje
If you are looking for someone who is constantly looking to key up give and go opportunities, Čiernik is someone to keep an eye on. He loves to key up give and go opportunities while driving up the neutral zone. When Čiernik is skating up the ice, he scans and looks for teammates along the boards right at the blue line. He delivers a pass to them and they drive the puck into the offensive zone. Čiernik enters the zone as the F2 and looks to establish open ice for himself in a medium and/or high danger spot. Then that allows the teammate who received the pass from Čiernik to deliver a pass back to Čiernik that could potentially generate a quality scoring chance. Prior to moving up to Allsvenskan, Čiernik had been producing at an excellent pace at 5v5 in Swedish J20 play. Since joining Södertälje in Allsvenskan, he is struggling to adapt to the amount of pressure that he is facing. The pressure at the next level is far more assertive and in his face. While he does have the stick-handling to navigate out of tight pressure, the speed that he has isn’t creating enough separation as he is netting in J20 play. But, he is doing a great job of navigating out of space and passing to high danger areas. It’s just a matter of time before he adapts and we start seeing him produce at 5v5 in Allsvenskan. As of now, he projects as a middle six forward. (Josh Tessler)
#28 – Ondrej Molnár, LW, Nitra
Molnár is zippy. He has quality speed and uses it well in all three zones. Molnár is constantly using his speed to adjust his positioning when his teammates have control of the puck. He is looking to key up potential passing lanes for his teammates to use. His speed also allows him to keep good positioning on the forecheck. He maintains quality pace, but he isn’t assertive. He stands from a little bit of a distance, but his presence alone does force the opposition to skate the puck along the boards instead of at open ice. Unfortunately, Molnár has struggled with his production over the course of the season (to date). He has spent the majority of his time playing with Nitra at the Extraliga level in Slovakia, but was struggling to find the back of the net and key up high and medium danger chances. Molnàr was recently sent back down. Hopefully he finds immediate success, regains his confidence and comes back to the Extraliga in fighting form. I have seen him find success with his one-timer shooting and distribution off the rush and I can’t wait to see him produce more consistently. (Josh Tessler)
Hrabal is the top goaltender prospect in the 2023 NHL Draft class. He is a reliable goaltender, who has excellent size and speed. When protecting the post, Hrabal owns the post. He forces the shooter into trying to shoot for the far side as he doesn’t leave an open spot for the shooter on the short side. With his size and speed, he is quick to react to changes in puck movement. So even if a shooter thinks he has a quality backdoor option, Hrabal can react in time to take it all the space away and force the attacker to try to get the puck up towards the far post and in. When traffic intensifies right in front of him, he shifts his head around the attacker to maintain a sight line on the puck carrying attacker. He constantly moves his head to react to the attacker (the one in front of him) shifting over a bit as the attacker is looking to eliminate Hrabal’s sight lines. In addition, he has an excellent glove and will capture shots from the slot with ease. If you are looking for a reliable goaltending prospect who is already well developed, Hrabal fits the bill. (Josh Tessler)
#30 – Hunter Brzustewicz, RHD, Kitchener
Brzustewicz is one of my favourite prospects from the OHL this season, and in this entire class. He’s the perfect blend of skill and strength. He’s got a relatively small frame but makes up for it in muscle. One of the more impressive aspects of his game is his ability to use his upper body strength to shake off his opponent, freeing up lanes to break out the puck. Of all the defenceman on this list, I think Brzustewicz consistently makes the best first pass out of the zone. His quick stick on defence and ability to defend the rush make him a very competent two-way defender. His offensive ability has peaked this season as well. After leaving the USNTDP, where Seamus Casey and Lane Hutson took most of the opportunity offensively last season, he has done a good job quarterbacking a top power play and chipping in at even strength as well. I see Brzustewicz as a middle pair guy, that could play all situations, similar to the mould of Neal Pionk. (Ben Jordan)
Leonard runs as the second fiddle on the NTDP top line, and he’s an elite option as a second fiddle at that. Leonard’s best weapon is his wrist shot where he’s able to load both on the rush as well as catch and shoot. He has very good puck skill and is able to dangle his way past oncoming defenders in the neutral zone as well as he possesses good small area skill in the offensive zone to get off the wall and move into the middle of the ice. Overall, I’d like Leonard to take another leap as a playmaker. His vision isn’t poor, but a lot of his game is predicated on Smith finding him in a chain-linked play or Perreault springing him off a one-touch pass. He’s involved a decent amount in transition (35%) but his passing metrics are pretty low for the dataset overall. If Leonard can develop his vision and playmaking to another level he could rise even higher in the rankings. (Austin Garret)
#32 – Bradly Nadeau, C, Penticton
Nadeau does two things that are high end regardless of what league he plays in: He’s the highest involved player in transition and he has the highest percentage of his passes going to dangerous areas of the ice. Those two things combined directly correlate to his very good point production that he’s had over the course of the first month and a half of the season. Nadeau needs to be more engaged in the defensive zone and be harder on the puck, as well as in the forecheck. However, his combination of speed, vision, and his quick, accurate, and hard shot make him a dynamic offensive weapon. (Austin Garret)
HM – Theo Lindstein, LHD, Brynäs
Lindstein is a two-way defenseman who does an excellent job of closing out gaps. He traps attackers who are attempting to skate into the slot consistently. His success with trapping can be accredited to his excellent active stick. When he gains possession of the puck in his own zone, he is quick with distribution. He doesn’t like to hold onto the puck for long. If the forecheck pressure does intensify, he has shown that he can pivot out routinely and quickly complete a pass. When moving the puck through the neutral zone, should he attract pressure, he will pivot, double back and then complete a backhand pass to an open teammate in the neutral zone (on the opposite side of the ice). Lindstein has proven that he is a reliable distributor from the back end. In the offensive zone, he will pinch up for pucks, but it’s mostly to preserve the offensive attack when a loose puck appears. When he has the puck on his stick in the offensive zone, he is mostly trying low danger shots from the point and hoping that a puck is deflected in or looking to dump pucks into the corner. I’d like to see him start leveraging his excellent straight line speed and pivoting to drive further into the zone so he can complete passes to teammates in high danger areas. If he starts utilizing his skating to open up quality passing lanes and starts producing at 5v5 regularly, he will be bumped up in our next set of rankings. (Josh Tessler)
HM – Jesse Nurmi, LW, KooKoo
Nurmi is an interesting case this year, he’s moved up and down my list like no one else early on this season. He’s an outstanding passer, and sees the ice very well; he scans a lot which I particularly like. As well, he’s a pretty strong defensive player, especially for a winger; he positions himself well, drops down low to support his defencemen, and is quick on loose pucks; he reads play extremely well and uses his speed to rush in and block a pass before it happens. He’s a good option on the penalty kill with his strong defensive play and speed, allowing him to mount a counterattack should the opportunity arise. When he’s on, he’s relentless, constantly causing turnovers in every zone with his speed, using his reach and body well to force opponents into quick decisions; if he can bring this more consistently, he’ll start climbing up my board again. He’s fast, and he handles the puck well; doesn’t overhandle much, and he’s strong on his stick, allowing him to keep control of the puck and cut through defences at the junior level. He’s good at controlling the puck close to his body, but outside of being strong on his stick, he doesn’t do too much in the way of protecting the puck; right now he mostly just takes the space that’s given to him, rather than creating his own; without improvement in that area, he’ll likely struggle to find or create space in the NHL. (Gray Matter)
One of the more fun players in the draft, Mukhanov is a quick and shifty dual-threat winger with a knack for sneaking into dangerous areas and making himself available. Good awareness of his surroundings, and he reacts to play quickly and with confidence. His best asset is likely his shot, it’s accurate, heavy, and deceptive, and he can score from anywhere, in a variety of ways; he loves the curl-and-drag wrister, changing the angle just enough to fool the goaltender. But he’s a creative playmaker as well, he positions himself well in the offensive zone to be a passing option, while looking around, planning for his next play. He can blow the defensive zone early, leaning too heavily towards offence, but for the most part he’s responsible enough defensively for a winger: he recognises holes in coverage and attempts to fill them, covering for his defencemen when needed, and he’s usually pretty strong on the backcheck. (Gray Matter)
HM – Alexander Rykov, F, Chelyabinsk
A smart and reliable centre, Rykov is pretty well-rounded, he doesn’t excel at any one particular thing, but he’s just solid across the board, and he thinks the game well. He’s elusive, particularly along the boards, he spins off checks well and uses changes of speed to evade pressure. However, his puck control is lacking, he loses the puck often, especially along the boards; but he’s decently quick and always makes an effort to get it back immediately. He puts himself in good spots offensively without the puck, and he’s a skilled passer, able to adapt his passes quickly to different situations. He reads play well, and he probably won’t wow you with anything, but he’ll just make smart, simple plays all the time; and he’s got a great motor, he’s always active and making an effort at both ends of the ice. (Gray Matter)
A heavy power forward equipped with a pro hockey frame and above average shot. There’s a lot to like this early on with Barlow but there are many aspects of his game that I would like to see refined before committing to a higher placement. This is a player that I don’t see being able to drive his own line. He has great hands in tight areas, and can unleash a bomb of a wrister, but to see him reach his potential, he’d benefit immensely from a centerman with vision and distribution skills. He has the body to retrieve pucks down low and win puck battles, but is not super engaged in carrying the puck into the offensive zone. He has the ability to kill penalties at the next level, and could slot in on a second power play, giving him some versatility. Would love to see Barlow develop his play off the puck, as well as the ability to stay engaged with the play in the defensive zone. (Ben Jordan)
Denver plays at a high pace which is the obvious standout in his game. His footwork enables him to navigate pressure with agility and gain separation with a few strides. He can be a pest on the forecheck, disrupting attempted zone exits and forcing turnovers. Finally, I am most impressed with his ability as a playmaker, especially off the rush. He can identify passing lanes and exploit them before they close, creating chance after chance. Denver’s combination of pace and creativity off the rush offers are great building blocks for an exciting prospect. (Jordan Malette)
HM – Emil Järventie, F, Ilves
Järventie is one of my early favourites this year, although he’s fallen a fair bit for me since the beginning of the season. He’s just a fun watch; he’s not big, or very strong, but he brings a lot of skill, speed, and overall fun energy. He’s a skilled handler, he has excellent passing vision, and I’ve seen his ability to thread passes through tight spaces, but too often he just passes into skates or sticks; the skill and the vision is there, but the execution isn’t yet; which is a bit of a pattern in his game. He’s got a pretty good shot on him too, powerful, he makes slight adjustments to his angle before releasing, pulling the puck towards him just enough to sneak it by defenders, and catch goalies off guard. Usually pretty good on the forecheck, he moves his stick quickly in any direction to intercept passes. He has some really good tools, just hasn’t figured out how to put them all together yet. He’s likely got a long road ahead of him in terms of development, but it could be a worthwhile bet to make for a team who’s willing to take their time with him. (Gray Matter)
HM – Jakub Dvorak, LHD, Liberec
Dvorak is a strong defender in his own zone. He provides a physical presence in the corner and does an excellent job of using his active stick to trap attackers. Dvorak will be rather assertive with pressure and will aim to trap attackers on the rush before the rush reaches the perimeter. When defending in the neutral zone, he will look to stick lift attackers on the rush and cause puck disruption. While Dvorak excels in closing out gaps and canceling out oppositional puck movement, I’d like him to improve on his speed to loose pucks. He will sometimes struggle with activating his speed after changing direction to adjust to loose puck movement. If he can improve upon his speed, his stock will go on the rise. (Josh Tessler)
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 to this episode, you can find an embedded link from SoundCloud below. Our podcast can also be found on iTunes, Spotify and Google Podcasts.
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 podcast can also be found on iTunes, Spotify and Google Podcasts.
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 Carter Sotheran.
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.
The Smaht Scouting team has prepared scouting notes on several European prospects who will be playing for their country at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup (July 31-August 6) in Red Deer, Alberta.
For the preview on American and Canadian prospects, please click here.
“Excellent speed and good skating extensions to foster quality acceleration. Good posture. Good ankle flexion. Quality turns and pivots and then getting quality speed off the turn as he leans on his edges. When skating up along the red line at the corner, he looks to pass pucks to the slot especially when he is facing heavy pressure. He constantly looks to pass pucks to high and medium danger, but struggles to connect with his line-mates as they are slower. When Molnár has a lot of pressure on him right after he drove up the ice, he has no choice but to pass to the slot and hope for the best. He can be a little too overconfident in his reach. His reach is solid, but when he extends the puck far out he needs to secure the puck a bit better when danger arises. While Molnár does need to address puck control through the course of his draft year, his speed allows him to be a constant threat and hopefully his fellow Slovaks at Hlinka can match his acceleration to give him quality passing options.” – Josh Tessler
Samuel Sisik
DOB: March 17, 2005
Height: 5’7”
Weight: 150 lbs
Position: Left Wing
Team: SaiPa (Liiga / U20)
Hometown: Bratislava, Slovakia
Draft Year: 2023
“Likes to work the cycle in low danger areas before cutting in. Sisik usually will skate towards the corner before skating parallel to the red line. When he has the puck on the outside, past the perimeter, he doesn’t bring the puck in himself, instead he looks to complete passes to teammates in low danger who aren’t far from him. He does position himself nicely at net front for rebound collection. He can get around a defender putting pressure on his upper body to grab a hold of a rebound and put a quality follow-up shot on net. Ideally, I’d like him to develop a more assertive style of forechecking as he struggles to implement tight pressure and be slightly more assertive about attacking the middle of the ice.” – Josh Tessler
Jakub Chromiak
DOB: November 2, 2005
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 183 lbs
Position: Right Handed Defenseman
Team: HK Dukla Trencin
Hometown: Ilava, Slovakia
Draft Year: 2024
“Chromiak is a shifty skater with great crossovers and solid puck skills. He isn’t the biggest defender but will lead with the body in order to separate attacking players from the puck. Chromiak is a late 2005 birthday, meaning that he isn’t eligible until the 2024 draft, but I see some tools that you can mold into a capable NHL defender.” – Matthew Somma
Sweden
Theo Lindstein
DOB: January 5, 2005
Height: 6’0”
Weight: 176 lbs
Position: Left Handed Defenseman
Team: Brynäs IF (SHL and J20)
Hometown: Gävle, Sweden
Draft Year: 2023
“Very conservative and reliable defender. Not a ton of offensive upside. But, has solid positioning, stay well aligned to puck movement. Quality skater and has good speed to loose pucks. Pass first puck mover in transition. Doesn’t often carry the puck up the ice himself at least not at the SHL level. Need to work on defending zone a bit better when facing a puck carrier at the half wall and an opponent behind the red line. Needs to be slightly better at keeping his head on a swivel to track the opponent behind him / behind the red line. Good pressure and stayed well aligned to oppositional puck movement in the corner. Doesn’t really have the upper body strength to push attackers out of the slot. While he doesn’t have the ability to really push attackers out of the way with his upper body, Lindstein does maintain good alignment to the puck carrier looking to move the puck down the ice in the neutral zone, takes away space and forces the attacker to dump the puck.” – Josh Tessler
Otto Stenberg
DOB: May 29, 2005
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 176 lbs
Position: Center
Team: Frölunda (SHL and J20)
Hometown: Stenungsund, Sweden
Draft Year: 2023
“Quick. Always on his feet. Reacting well to oppositional puck movement. Good reach with the puck. Attacks the middle, but I’d like to see him drive inside more consistently. Opts to take a lot of shots from further out when he runs out of room instead of trying to work the cycle by passing the puck back to the point. Soft hands with his stick handling and can rely on his handling to push the puck away from pressure. Good presence at both ends of the ice. Has good tools, but needs to figure out how to use them to be consistently effective from shift to shift. ” – Josh Tessler
Noah Dower Nilsson
DOB: April 25, 2005
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 168 lbs
Position: Center
Team: Frölunda (SHL and J20)
Hometown: Strömstad, Sweden
Draft Year: 2023
“Doesn’t have the speed to be that assertive on the forecheck. Needs to use his reach to take away gaps when defending the rush in the neutral zone. Needs to be far more assertive and close out gaps when on the forecheck. He looks to take away space by extending his stick out, but it doesn’t really take away space as the attacker can get the puck to a teammate without dealing with the obstacle. Looks to find open gaps down low to exploit and open up passing lanes for his teammates to pepper pucks through. Keys up goals for himself down low. Since he distribute the puck quite nicely down low, he should be a key offensive producer at Hlinka.” – Josh Tessler
Kalle Carlsson
DOB: March 2, 2005
Height: 6’0”
Weight: 181 lbs
Position: Centre / Center
Team: Örebro HK (SHL and J20)
Hometown: Strömstad, Sweden
Draft Year: 2023
“Not really in your face defensively that much. Extends out his stick from a far. He gets into position to key up passing lanes but its clear that his line-mates don’t trust him at the U20 level. Looks to cut in from the corner to net front and use his stick-handling reach to push the puck away from attackers and then slip the puck in right before the goaltender can shift over in time. Good cross ice pass through tight spaces to a teammate rushing into the zone and Carlsson is gliding in comparison. With his dual threat combination of leveraging quality reach stick-handling and excellent passing ability, he could put up a decent amount of points at Hlinka.” – Josh Tessler
Czechia
Adam Jecho
DOB: March 24, 2006
Height: 6’3”
Weight: 187 lbs
Position: Right Wing
Team: Tappara (U18)
Hometown: Zlin, Czechia
Draft Year: 2024
“The 16-year-old physical specimen hailing from Zlin, Czechia had an eye-opening 21/22 campaign, racking up 36 points in 43 games for Tappara U18’s in the U18 SM-sarja. He also represented Czechia at the 2021 Hlinka Gretzky tournament, where he registered an assist in 4GP. Jecho has suited up for Czechia multiple times as a double-underager and has produced quite well in those situations. Jecho looks to be well on his way to becoming a first-round selection in the 2024 NHL Draft, and his rare combination of size, strength and skating ability has given him the upper hand playing against his opponents. Jecho is a dual-threat in the offensive zone and can beat you with a shot or with a deke. It will be interesting to see if his ability to drive the net and muscle off defenders to garner a scoring chance continue at this tournament, as Jecho will be facing older, tougher and more skillfully developed players. Look for Adam Jecho to have himself a strong tournament.” – Paul Zuk
Eduard Sale
DOB: March 10, 2005
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 168 lbs
Position: Left Wing
Team: HC Kometa Brno
Hometown: Brno, Czechia
Draft Year: 2023
“I want to see Sale quicker to loose pucks and more aggressive on oppositional puck movement. When he has control of the puck in low danger with pressure in front of him, he ends up passing at the perimeter instead of using his weight to push in and cut to the inside. Good reach to secure possession of the puck in tight quarters as pressure was on him. The reach extension allowed him to push the puck just far enough and then went five hole. Good puck security when he has the puck on his stick. Well-aligned with his pivots and has good reach that can come in handy on the forecheck and backcheck. Can be very methodical with his approach in getting open ice down low at the net front. You will see him deliver a tap pass (give and go) when in a 2-on-1 situation. The defender then shifted over to Sale’s teammate and that allowed Sale to skate to the net, then the teammate ends up passing to Sale down low.” – Josh Tessler
Michael Hrabal
DOB: January 20, 2005
Height: 6’6”
Weight: 198 lbs
Position: Goaltender
Team: HC Sparta Praha (Czechia U20)
College Commitment: University of Massachusetts
Hometown: Praha, Czechia
Draft Year: 2023
“Takes up a lot of space in net with his frame. Controls rebounds well. Good glove on low danger shots. Shifts around traffic at net front to get a view of the oppositional puck carrier. Tracks cross zone puck movement well. Can control his rebounds nicely even on shots from high danger, pushes puck to the corner boards with his pads. When facing medium danger shots that he is squared up for, he has a good glove on them. Good job of using the blocker to push pucks to the corner and good usage of the stick to push the puck away in high danger. Hrabal has good side to side movement when facing side to side movement in the low slot. He can glove shots nicely after shifting to the side. Good reactionary up/down time on shots coming from low danger with traffic in front of him, Hrabal shifts his head over and identifies the exact second in which the attacker winds up and then he falls to the butterfly.” – Josh Tessler
Jan Šprynar
DOB: February 26, 2005
Height: 6’0”
Weight: 170 lbs
Position: Right Wing
Team: Rimouski (QMJHL)
Hometown: Zatec, Czechia
Draft Year: 2023
“Šprynar’s best quality is his lethal shot. Jan doesn’t need too much time to rip a quick wrister into the top corner, giving the goaltender barely any chance to react. His ability to launch a one-timer makes him a threat on the powerplay and I would imagine he is used as a focal point for one of their units. He operates mostly in the F3 role where he can survey the zone and rotate into space for dangerous shots from the slot when the time is right.” – Jordan Malette
Jakub Dvořák
DOB: May 25, 2005
Height: 6’4”
Weight: 192 lbs
Position: Left Handed Defenseman
Team: Bili Tygri Liberec
Hometown: Liberec, Czechia
Draft Year: 2023
“Big defender. Quick to loose pucks in his own zone. Will utilize the boards to move the puck to a teammate when he is in a jam with a forechecker right at him. Keeps really good pace with the furthest attacker in the neutral zone and the defensive zone. Good man on man presence. Has good reach that he can leverage in tight puck battles in his own zone. Boxes opponents out in his own slot. Shots going wide from medium danger. Really good reach that he can leverage should he be coming from behind oppositional puck movement, allows him to poke check and steal possession. He will sandwich you in the corners. Shovel zone exit passes when he is right at the blue line and a teammate is in close proximity. Excellent stretch passing. Will pinch up and try shots from medium danger, just beyond the perimeter.” – Josh Tessler
Finland
Aron Kiviharju
DOB: January 25, 2006
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 157 lbs
Position: Left Handed Defenseman
Team: TPS (Liiga and U20)
Hometown: Esbjerg, Denmark
Draft Year: 2024
“The best Finnish defensive prospect arguably since Miro Heiskanen in 2018, Aron Kiviharju is an incredibly talented blueliner in basically every facet of the game. Kiviharju was originally born in Denmark but represents Finland internationally and has played seemingly his entire career there. The 5’10”, 157lb defender is slated to play for TPS in Liiga to start next season, meaning he’ll be playing top level professional hockey at just 16 years old, an incredible feat. Kiviharju was an assistant captain for TPS’ U20 squad this past season, where he registered 30 points in 35 games, as a 15/16-year-old. A master in the defensive zone as well as in transition, Kiviharju can wow fans and scouts alike with his agility and skill handling the puck. He can fool opponents seemingly quite easy which allows for him to show off his talented puck distribution skills. His offensive zone work could use some polishing, which I’m sure he’ll look to work on this upcoming season in Liiga. That’s not to say he’s a stranger to offense, but his shot and overall instincts in the attacking third of the ice could use some improvement to fully round out his two-way game. All eyes will be on the projected first overall selection in the 2024 NHL Draft when the Hlinka Gretzky tournament starts on July 31st.” – Paul Zuk
Kasper Halttunen
DOB: June 7, 2005
Height: 6’3”
Weight: 192 lbs
Position: Left Wing
Team: HIFK (Liiga and U20)
Hometown: Helsinki, Finland
Draft Year: 2023
“Halttunen is an agile skating, big forward who has the skill to be both a physical forward while also being a force in transition. His vision and ability to quickly identify plays lags behind his skating ability and off puck ability to be a goal scorer at the moment. His agility for his size is extremely impressive, however there were a few times in the games I watched where he was slow off the blocks and was caught from behind when I thought he had clear breakaways. His shot is sneaky but isn’t overpowering, and I like his motor in the defensive zone and the forecheck as he’s able to use an active stick to create turnovers. His production profile is intriguing, and if he can get a bit faster in his processing decisions (or better options post-scanning) he could really excel.” – Austin Garret
Emil Järventie
DOB: April 4, 2005
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 159 lbs
Position: Left Wing
Team: Ilves (Liiga and U20)
Hometown: Tampere, Finland
Draft Year: 2023
“His reaction timing to puck movement is delayed and that doesn’t allow him to seal gaps and go to the puck. Solid transitional puck movement up the ice in transition and that can be credited to his excellent north-south speed. While he does have good straight line speed, he is a knocked knee skater and the knocked knee is hurting his mobility and that hurts his speed when moving east – west. Trouble with his edges. Will bobble possession in the neutral zone. Too long of a release on his shot. The pull back has to be shorter and ideally he shouldn’t be staring down the puck while he shoots. Back puck protection in close quarters down low. When skating up on the rush on a breakaway, he struggles to get the puck on net. When the goaltender was in the butterfly, he tried to go high post but missed wide.” – Josh Tessler
Germany
Leon Willerscheid
DOB: April 10, 2005
Height: 6’2”
Weight: 192 lbs
Position: Goaltender
Team: Kölner Haie (DEL)
Hometown: Brühl, Germany
Draft Year: 2023
“Slight gap underneath the glove that opponents are exposing. Good push with his pads to move from side to side to defend against a cross slot pass and one-timer, pushes the puck to the corner with his pads. Overlaps the post with his stick. Will expose too much of his five hole. He does push a lot of rebounds to low danger with deflections off of his stick. He does needs to be careful with how far out of the crease he commits being too because it can make it a challenge to cover the back door should the puck end up with an opponent at the back door. Will give up a decent number of high danger rebounds off of low danger point shots, but he does have a solid glove on shots from low danger. ” – Josh Tessler
Linus Brandl
DOB: April 1, 2005
Height: 6’0”
Weight: 183 lbs
Position: Forward
Team: Jungalder Mannheim (DNL U20)
Hometown: Not Listed / Germany
Draft Year: 2023
“Brandl plays the center position with a high intensity, two-way approach. His skating stride is a bit too hunched over but he is still able to generate good speed and has decent lateral agility. He can transport pucks through the center of the ice but doesn’t possess high-end puck skill or playmaking ability. He’s at his best when he’s making short, effective passes through the neutral zone and playing low-to-high in the offensive zone. Even though he’s listed at 6’0, 183 pounds he gets pushed around too much at the u20 level in Germany for my liking. He will get pushed off the puck too easily as well as bumped off of rush lanes off the puck. If he can get to the dangerous areas of the ice off puck in the Hlinka he could end up with a good tournament.” – Austin Garret
Lua Niehus
DOB: March 26, 2005
Height: 5’9”
Weight: 154 lbs
Position: Left Handed Defenseman
Team: Jungalder Mannheim (DNL U20)
Hometown: Utzendorf, Switzerland
Draft Year: 2023
“Good reach in tight pressure to extend the puck away from the attacker when looking to shake free and pass to a teammate. Will look to try a backhand pass along the boards should he get into a tight puck battle along the boards and wants to try to get the puck to his teammate further up the boards and closer to the blue line. Looks to pinch up for a loose puck and then skates up to the red line to try a shot from the corner. Does have shifts where he skates up and wants to pass to the slot, but no one is there and he gets trapped in the corner by an attacker. I would like to see Niehus improving his positioning as there are moments in which he over commits to an attacker at the point with the puck, skates towards him and bends down to attempt to block the shot but the attacker shoots above the stick and gets the puck to high danger.” – Josh Tessler
Kevin Bicker
DOB: January 29, 2005
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 174 lbs
Position: Forward
Team: Jungalder Mannheim (DNL U20)
Hometown: Schwabach, Germany
Draft Year: 2023
“Ancillary viewings of him through Brandl: just wanted to add his skill and skating popped off the screen more than a couple times watching Brandl. It wouldn’t shock me for him to be one of the more impressive forwards to come out of the Hlinka for Germany.” – Austin Garret
Switzerland
Valdemar William Hull
DOB: January 2, 2005
Height: 6’2”
Weight: 190 lbs
Position: Center / Left Wing
Team: Gottéron (U20)
Hometown: Fribourg, Switzerland
Draft Year: 2023
“I appreciated his attention to detail on the defensive side of the puck. He is always supporting down low as the centreman ensuring play can’t develop towards the front of his net. Hull is constantly surveying for threats, tying up sticks and marking attackers to deny passing lanes. On the offensive, he is able to use his size to play through contact especially by winning space in front of the net where he will frequently score from.” – Jordan Malette
Leo Braillard
DOB: July 5, 2005
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 165 lbs
Position: Forward
Team: Biel-Bienne (U20)
Hometown: Not Listed / Switzerland
Draft Year: 2023
“Braillard is a shooter, and shooters shoot. I see flashes of solid transitional play as well as strong skating mechanics, but I do worry about him being absent a lot of the time if he isn’t in a position to take a shot. Braillard is a natural goal scorer that can finish in a variety of ways, so he’s a player to keep an eye on for the Swiss team in this tournament.” – Matthew Somma
The Smaht Scouting team has prepared scouting notes on several Canadian and American prospects who will be playing for their country at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup (July 31-August 6) in Red Deer, Alberta.
For the preview on European prospects, please click here.
“Whitelaw’s impact at Shattuck, the USHL, and the Hlinka development camp has been hard to ignore. Despite being an undersized forward he plays a very gritty, pest role with a lot of skill. He’s hard on pucks and physical along the boards. In the Hlinka camp I thought Whitelaw shined brightest compared to his peers. His skill radiated on every puck touch and oftentimes had the people in the stands making audible gasps with his deft passing or nifty puckhandling. He’s at his best when he’s the puck dominant player on the ice. He was one of the best prep school players as an underager due to his speed and ability to move pucks up and down the ice to dangerous areas. In the USHL it took some time to iron out some of his high school habits. He moved to wing in the USHL and his defensive responsibilities looked a bit shaky to begin as he was more puck watching than scanning the ice. By the end of his USHL season he was once again the puck dominant offensive player who thrived in setting teammates up for chain linked plays. He’s one of the top forwards on the USA in the Hlinka and they will lean on him heavily to generate a lot of the offensive opportunities for their team. I hope to see him stick down the middle at the Hlinka as I thought it fits his skillset a lot more, and be prepared to have Whitelaw make a few highlight reel plays throughout the tournament.” – Austin Garret
Lucas St. Louis
DOB: March 30, 2005
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 161 lbs
Position: Left Handed Defenseman
Team: Dubuque (USHL)
College Commitment: Harvard University
Hometown: Old Greenwich, Connecticut
Draft Year: 2023
“Lucas St. Louis is a highly mobile and intelligent defender that will surely play a major role at the Hlinka for Team USA. There is this aura of elegance that comes along with Lucas’ game. He never tries to do too much or make things overcomplicated, but every play is calculated, efficient, and executed near perfectly. He is incredibly confident under pressure and can escape oncoming pressure without giving the defender a smidge of chance in a successful takeaway. On the defensive side, Lucas uses his stick constantly to deny passing lanes and keep dangerous passes from penetrating.” – Jordan Malette
Quentin Musty
DOB: July 6, 2005
Height: 6’2”
Weight: 203 lbs
Position: Left Wing
Team: Sudbury (OHL)
Hometown: Hamburg, New York
Draft Year: 2023
“Musty is a big, power forward who played on the top line for Sudbury in his DY-1 year. He’s a bit of a heavy skater who struggles to generate speed with a short stride and poor edge work in crossovers, however he has plenty of skill and shows a unique ability to be able to play both on the perimeter and in the dirty areas in the offensive zone. His transition game is predicated upon one-touch passes as his skating doesn’t lend itself to end-to-end rushes, but once he’s in the offensive zone he’s a lot of fun to watch with his vision and his ability to get to dangerous areas of the ice. He dominated the Hlinka camp with his size and skill. He should be a big factor for the US forward group.” – Austin Garret
Andrew Strathmann
DOB: February 27, 2005
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 174 lbs
Position: Left Handed Defenseman
Team: Tri City (USHL)
College Commitment: University of North Dakota
Hometown: Beach Park, Illinois
Draft Year: 2023
“Strathmann caught my eye at the Hlinka development camp, especially in the Blue/White scrimmages at the end of the camp that were used to decide the final cuts. The first thing that sticks out with Strathmann is his aggressive, risk-taking offensive game. He’s a player that isn’t afraid to jump into plays, and to put himself in 50/50 plays that could end up leading to odd-man rushes against if they don’t pan out. He has great puck skill and was great at the Hlinka camp at finding passing or rush lanes to maintain control in defensive exits. His USHL tape from last year wasn’t indicative of the player I watched over the summer as he was very conservative and deferred to his very offensive leaning partners to do the heavy lifting in transition and the offensive zone. Strathmann poses the potential to be one of the better defenders in this tournament, but also there is the possibility that his risk-taking backfires.” – Austin Garret
Tanner Adams
DOB: September 2, 2005
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 170 lbs
Position: Right Wing / Center
Team: Tri City (USHL)
College Commitment: University of Wisconsin
Hometown: Northport, New York
Draft Year: 2023
“Tanner Adams put up surprisingly good transition numbers in his USHL tape that I watched. He was a more effective transporter of the puck than Gavin Brindley, and was a super efficient passer moving pucks around the zone and into/out of the defensive and offensive zone. His improvement in generating offensive from the mid-March to the end to the end of the year was super impressive. His last two games I tracked were over 5 shots on net 5-v-5 and was involved in over 60(!!)% of his team’s successful transitions. His ability to make high-end plays in the offensive zone under pressure isn’t there yet like it is with Gavin Brindley, but it wouldn’t shock me to see Tanner Adams become a household name after the Hlinka for the 2023 draft.” – Austin Garret
Canada
Cameron Allen
DOB: January 7, 2005
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 190 lbs
Position: Right Handed Defenseman
Team: Guelph (OHL)
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario
Draft Year: 2023
“The projected top 10 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, Guelph Storm defenceman Cam Allen certainly turned heads in his rookie season in the OHL. The Toronto, Ontario product racked up an impressive 37 points in 65 games as a 16/17 year old, and even earned First-Team All Rookie honours, as well as winning the OHL rookie of the year award. Allen has been named the Captain for Team Canada at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, where he’ll look to showcase his strong two-way game to anyone watching. Allen thrives in just about every zone on the ice, as he’s not overly phased under pressure and can use his outlets to avoid any possible turnovers. He’s also extremely capable of getting his body or his stick in passing lanes to disrupt opponent’s offensive zone time. Allen also has a high hockey IQ, and seems to be a step ahead of his opponent’s decision making most of the time, which he uses to his benefit. Allen’s also strong at distributing the puck to his teammates and can dish out some lethal passes giving teammates easy goals. Not to mention his slapshot and wrist shot, both of which are extremely powerful and accurate. His ability to be deceptive and hard to predict in the offensive zone allows him time and space to make proper decisions and best set his team up to score. Look for Cam Allen to have a stellar showing for Team Canada.” – Paul Zuk
Zachary Benson
DOB: February 5, 2005
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 150 lbs
Position: Center
Team: Winnipeg (WHL)
Hometown: Chilliwack, British Columbia
Draft Year: 2023
“Elite competitor with flashes of high end skill and upside. I felt that Benson was the best player on his line with Conor Geekie and Mikey Milne with Winnipeg this past season. Benson’s skating is smooth with elite edge work and pace. Benson has top line upside given what he can do with the puck. There’s a certain deceptiveness to Benson’s game, as if he has the puck on a string. He can lead defenses both with his eyes, body language and stick. Benson has a similar offensive skill set as Matthew Savoie, but I see more of a dynamic element to Benson’s game. Both players can take control of a shift and be the driving force on their lines, but with Benson, there isn’t a single shift where I don’t see that dynamic play driving forward.” – Matthew Somma
Brayden Yager
DOB: January 3, 2005
Height: 6’0”
Weight: 161 lbs
Position: Center
Team: Moose Jaw (WHL)
Hometown: Dundurn, Saskatchewan
Draft Year: 2023
“Yager is a pure goal scorer with one of the best shot releases in this tournament. The puck leaves his stick in a flash and he’s an elite sniper whose shot is a threat from just about anywhere on the ice. Yager’s skating is above average and he can be a dangerous threat on the rush. Yager’s puck skills give him the ability to beat defenders one on one, which gives him enough space to get a shot off. He’ll be relied upon as the trigger man on Canada’s power play in this tournament. I’d like to see Yager be more of a creator of offense in this tournament.” – Matthew Somma
Calum Ritchie
DOB: January 21, 2005
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 174 lbs
Position: Center
Team: Oshawa (OHL)
Hometown: Oakville, Ontario
Draft Year: 2023
“Calum was my favourite forward at the recent Team Canada Hlinka selection camp and was able to develop great chemistry with Matthew Wood & Zach Benson. Ritchie was at the forefront for a ton of offense normally using his body to protect the puck and dominate in the cycle game. He is incredibly difficult to disposses from the puck and while in possession is always scanning for high danger passing lanes which enables him to be an effective playmaker. In camp, he was part of an effective powerplay unit that will play a major role in Team Canada’s success in the tournament.” – Jordan Malette
Riley Heidt
DOB: March 25, 2005
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 179 lbs
Position: Center
Team: Prince George (WHL)
Hometown: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Draft Year: 2023
“Heidt profiles as a player with high end hockey sense and skating ability. He knows exactly where to position himself on the ice in order to contribute offensively and he constantly moves to keep himself in a position to create something. Heidt possesses a good shot, strong playmaking ability and soft hands, but where he’ll make his mark is on the mental side of the game. Few players can process the game as quickly as Heidt can, and even fewer are able to act on it.” – Matthew Somma
Tanner Molendyk
DOB: February 3, 2005
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 176 lbs
Position: Left Handed Defenseman
Team: Saskatoon (WHL)
Hometown: Kamloops, British Columbia
Draft Year: 2023
“Molendyk is a bit of a loose cannon. He’s unpredictable in his own end and gets puck focused, but I do see flashes of high end skill in his game. There are no doubts about his skating, however. Molendyk is an elite skater with elite crossovers, acceleration, agility, and edge work. He’s a better skater than most of the defensemen that I tracked last season, and that included players such as Kevin Korchinski and Denton Mateychuk. Molendyk’s offensive game has been a bit inconsistent, but with the way he moves with the puck on his stick, it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s a dominant player for Saskatoon this year.” – Matthew Somma
Colby Barlow
DOB: February 14, 2005
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 190 lbs
Position: Right Wing
Team: Owen Sound (OHL)
Hometown: Vaughan, Ontario
Draft Year: 2023
“Colby is a quality producer off of the rush. He will skate after loose pucks in the neutral zone, win possession and then look to find shooting lanes in the offensive zone to exploit. He has the makings of a quality puck transporter from zone to zone to zone. Barlow wants to be the one that push pace, but doesn’t have the power stride to get himself in gear to generate a lot of separation. Since he doesn’t always gain the necessary separation that he needs, he will engage in tight pressure in the neutral zone and offensive zone. In those situations, he ends up looking down and losing confidence in his handling of the puck. So, over the course of his draft year, the hope is that he will acquire both the handling and the power stride to gain separation and put quality shots on net off the rush.” – Josh Tessler
Caden Price
DOB: August 24, 2005
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 181 lbs
Position: Left Handed Defenseman
Team: Kelowna (WHL)
Hometown: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Draft Year: 2023
“Price quickly made himself known at the Hlinka Selection camp and caught my eye in his first few shifts. While under control of the puck, he is highly confident and able to solve any problem or escape any pressure that comes his way making him extremely effective in successfully exiting the zone. He has the ability to shut down plays using both body positioning and stickwork to disposses the opposition and chain that disruption into a stretch pass up ice to a breaking teammate. He may not wrack up points or play a key powerplay role at the Hlinka, but at 5v5 he will be a big factor in ensuring the puck remains out of his defensive zone and into the attacking third.” – Jordan Malette
