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The first round of the 2023 NHL Draft

By Chris Cerullo

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June 28, 2023 7:02 pm

The first round of the 2023 NHL Draft is being held live at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena at 7 pm. The draft can be viewed live on TV on TNT, Sportsnet, and TVA Sports.

Super phenom Connor Bedard will likely go first overall to the Chicago Blackhawks but how the rest of the first round goes is still a mystery. The Washington Capitals will be selecting 8th overall.

The big story of the first round outside of Bedard is where Russian winger Matvei Michkov will end up. Could it be with the Caps?

Let’s get drafting.

Draft Board

1. Chicago Blackhawks: Connor Bedard
Center – Regina Pats (WHL)

2. Anaheim Ducks: Leo Carlsson
Center – Orebro (Sweden)

3. Columbus Blue Jackets: Adam Fantilli
Center – Michigan (NCAA)

4. San Jose Sharks: Will Smith
Center – USA U-18 (NTDP)

5. Montreal Canadiens: David Reinbacher
Defenseman – Kloten (Switzerland)

6. Arizona Coyotes: Dmitri Simashev
Defenseman – Lokomotiv Yaroslavl Jr. (Russia)

7: Philadelphia Flyers: Matvei Michkov
Right wing – St. Petersburg (Russia)

8. Washington Capitals: Ryan Leonard
Right wing – USA U-18 (NTDP)

9. Detroit Red Wings: Nate Danielson
Center – Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)

10. St. Louis Blues: Dalibor Dvorsky
Center – AIK (Sweden)

11. Vancouver Canucks: Tom Willander
Defenseman – Rogle Jr. (Sweden)

12. Arizona Coyotes: Daniil But
Left wing – Lokomotiv Yaroslavl Jr. (Russia)

13. Buffalo Sabres: Zach Benson
Left wing – Winnipeg Ice (WHL)

14. Pittsburgh Penguins: Brayden Yager
Center – Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)

15. Nashville Predators: Matthew Wood
Right wing – UCONN (NCAA)

16. Calgary Flames: Samuel Honzek
Left wing – Vancouver Giants (WHL)

17. Detroit Red Wings: Axel Sandin Pellikka
Defenseman – Skelleftea Jr. (Sweden)

18. Winnipeg Jets: Colby Barlow
Left wing – Owen Sound Attack (OHL)

19. Chicago Blackhawks: Oliver Moore
Center – USA U-18 (NTDP)

20. Seattle Kraken: Eduard Sale
Left wing – Brno (Czechia)

21. Minnesota Wild: Charlie Stramel
Center – Wisconsin (NCAA)

22. Philadelphia Flyers: Oliver Bonk
Defenseman – London Knights (OHL)

23. New York Rangers: Gabriel Perreault
Right wing – USA U-18 (NTDP)

24. Nashville Predators: Tanner Molendyk
Defenseman – Saskatoon Blades (WHL)

25. St. Louis Blues: Otto Stenberg
Center – Frolunda Jr. (Sweden)

26. San Jose Sharks: Quentin Musty
Left wing – Sudbury Wolves (OHL)

27. Colorado Avalanche: Calum Ritchie
Center – Oshawa Generals (OHL)

28. Toronto Maple Leafs: Easton Cowan
Center – London Knights (OHL)

29. St. Louis Blues: Theo Lindstein
Defenseman – Brynas (Sweden)

30. Carolina Hurricanes: Bradley Nadeau
Left wing – Penticton (BCHL)

31. Colorado Avalanche: Mikhail Gulyayev
Defenseman – Omsk (Russia)

32. Vegas Golden Knights: David Edstrom
Center – Frolunda Jr. (Sweden)

Chicago Blackhawks #1 overall pick: Connor Bedard

Bedard, a center from the WHL’s Regina Pats, placed first among North American Draft prospects according to NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings. Bedard put up numbers during his junior career that have not been seen in the WHL in over 25 years. His 71 goals last season were the most by a WHL player since Pavel Brendl’s 73 in 1998-99. His 143 points were the highest single-season total by a WHL skater in 27 years.

Bedard was the first WHL player ever of exceptional status, meaning he played major junior hockey a year earlier than normally allowed due to his age.

This is Chicago’s second-ever time drafting first overall. In 2007, they selected Patrick Kane.

“I couldn’t be happier, and I can’t wait to get started,” Bedard said after being picked. “Making the team is the main goal. If that happens, you set more goals from there.”

The 17-year-old has said his favorite player in the league is Sidney Crosby. His first NHL game will be against the Penguins and Crosby if he makes the Blackhawks out of Training Camp.

Anaheim Ducks #2 overall pick: Leo Carlsson

Leo Carlsson, a center for Orebro of the Swedish Hockey League, placed first among international skaters according to NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings. In total, he has 52 points (20g, 32a) in 79 games the past two seasons playing in the top Swedish men’s league. This past season, he had 25 points (10g, 15a) in 44 games.

Carlsson told ESPN’s Emily Kaplan that he also idolizes Sidney Crosby and models his game after him. The Ducks passed up on Adam Fantilli, who was penciled into this second spot for quite some time, to take Carlsson.

Columbus Blue Jackets #3 overall pick: Adam Fantilli

Adam Fantilli, a center for the University of Michigan in NCAA Division 1 Hockey, was the second ranked North American skater in NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings. Playing as a true freshman at Michigan, Fantilli sliced up college puck to the tune of 65 points (30g, 35a). It was the best freshman season in college hockey since current Winnipeg Jets star Kyle Connor recorded 71 points for Michigan in the 2015-16 season.

His ridiculous season led to him being selected for the All-Big Ten Freshman Team, All-Big Ten First Team, and Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors. In postseason play, he set the record for most goals (7) and points (11) in a Big Ten tournament and was named the MVP of the tournament.

All of that culminated with him winning the Tim Taylor Award for best freshman of the year and the Hobey Baker Award for the top overall college player of the year. With his Hobey Baker win, he became just the third freshman ever to win the prestigious trophy after Paul Kariya (1993) and Jack Eichel (2015).

San Jose Sharks #4 overall pick: Will Smith

Will Smith, a center for the USA’s under-18 development team, scored 51 goals in 60 games last season and added 76 assists. He also recorded 42 points in 20 games in the USHL and 20 points in 7 games at the U18 World Junior Championship. With that latter performance, he was named U18 WJC Best Forward and U18 WJC Most Valuable Player.

Smith walked up to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song and was tasked to sing it by ESPN’s Emily Kaplan. He obliged.

Montreal Canadiens #5 overall pick: David Reinbacher

David Reinbacher, a right-handed defenseman for the Kloten Flyers in Switzerland, is a six-foot, two-inch, 187-pound defender that played top minutes against men in Switzerland’s top league this past season. The right-shot blueliner had the second-best offensive draft season by a player in National League history, behind just Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews.

After an impressive performance as one of Austria’s alternate captains at the 2023 World Junior Championship, Reinbacher featured in this summer’s World Championship after already seeing seven games of senior international experience.

Arizona Coyotes #6 overall pick: Dmitri Simashev

Dmitri Simashev, a left-handed defenseman for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in Russia, had 12 points in 29 MHL games last season. He also played in 18 KHL games, recording zero points. Simashev finished with the 10th most points for U18 defensemen in the MHL, but had the fifth best scoring rate.

Simashev is a big defender, standing at six-foot, four-inches and weighing 200 pounds. He has two years remaining on his KHL contract.

Philadelphia Flyers #7 overall pick: Matvei Michkov

In 27 KHL games with HC Sochi this past season, Matvei Michkov recorded 20 points (9g, 11a). Even if you include the three games he played for SKA St. Petersburg to start the year where he was sometimes skating less than two minutes a game, his .67 points per game rate was the highest for a draft-eligible player in KHL history.

Michkov also starred for Russia at the 2021 IIHF World Under-18 Championship, going head-to-head with the consensus top prospect in his draft class, Connor Bedard. Despite coming up short to Canada and Bedard in the Gold Medal Game, Michkov led all players in scoring with 16 points (12g, 4a) and was named MVP of the tournament.

Washington Capitals #8 overall pick: Ryan Leonard

Ryan Leonard, a Boston College commit, ended his 2022-23 season with a standout offensive performance in the U18 World Championship for the USA. In seven games, Leonard blitzed the competition for 17 points (8g, 9a) and scored the overtime, gold-medal winner against Sweden.

In 57 games for the U18 national team, he amassed 94 points (51g, 43a) which was good for third-best on the team. In 17 games in the USHL, he recorded 20 points (11g, 9a). Leonard played on the top line and was used at all situations, averaging over 17 minutes per game.

Read RMNB’s full story.

Detroit Red Wings #9 overall pick: Nate Danielson

Nate Danielson is the captain of the Wheat Kings and led the team in goals (33), assists (45), and total points (78). Brandon struggled in the WHL, finishing 17th in the standings but Danielson was a bright spot.

Danielson told ESPN’s Emily Kaplan that he models his game after Buffalo’s Dylan Cozens and Montreal’s Nick Suzuki.

St. Louis Blues #10 overall pick: Dalibor Dvorsky

Dalibor Dvorksy played the majority of the 2022-23 season against men in the second tier of pro hockey in Sweden. He recorded 14 points (6g, 8a) in 38 games which doesn’t seem all that impressive but it was good for the eighth-best age-17 season in HockeyAllsvenskan history. His .37 points per game see him rank above names like Elias Pettersson (.36), Jesper Bratt (.35), William Karlsson (.29), and Andre Burakovsky (.26) in terms of their respective outputs in the league at 17 years old.

The six-foot, one-inch, 201-pound center did excel for the second season in a row at the Swedish junior level as well. In 43 games in the J20 Nationell league spread over his age-16 and age-17 seasons, Dvorsky has put up 61 points (30g, 31a). That scoring rate (1.42 points per game) puts him in elite company yet again. The list of names he has outpaced includes Henrik Sedin (1.38), William Nylander (1.32), Elias Lindholm (1.29), and Lucas Raymond (1.15).

Vancouver Canucks #11 overall pick: Tom Willander

At the J20 level for Rögle BK, Tom Willander finished the regular season with 25 points in 39 games. Willander is headed to Boston University for the upcoming season. Standing at just over six feet tall and a little under 200 pounds, he fits the model of new-age NHL defensemen.

Willander played in 39 total games for Sweden at the national level, where he racked up 8 goals and 18 assists.

Arizona Coyotes #12 overall pick: Daniil But

Daniil But is a towering six-foot, five-inches tall and 203 pounds at just 18 years old. He has played some games in the KHL but has seen most of his success in the MHL the past two seasons, putting up a combined 35 goals and 76 points in 81 games.

But played for Russia’s U18 team at the Hlinka Gretzky, Black Sea Cup and the European Youth Olympics.

Buffalo Sabres #13 overall pick: Zach Benson

The only real knock on Zach Benson is his size as he stands at only five-foot-nine, and weighs just 163 pounds. Outside of that, Benson has been an elite point producer on good Winnipeg Ice teams in the WHL.

Last season, Benson recorded 98 points (36g, 62a) in 60 games and was the third-highest scorer in the WHL behind only Bedard (143) and Chase Wheatcroft (107). It was his third year in the WHL with Winnipeg after starting his CHL career as a 15-year-old during the 2020-21 campaign and putting up 20 points (10g, 10a) in 24 games.

Pittsburgh Penguins #14 overall pick: Brayden Yager

In his most recent season, Brayden Yager led the Moose Jaw Warriors to the playoffs with 78 points in 67 games. He added 16 points in 10 playoff games.

He scored 34 goals in 63 WHL games as a 16-year-old and was named CHL Rookie of the Year. In the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, he led Canada to a gold medal.

Nashville Predators #15 overall pick: Matthew Wood

Matthew Wood had a fantastic freshman season in Connecticut, tallying 34 points (11g, 23a) in 35 games. He also played a large role for Canada at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky and 2023 U18 World Junior Championship.

Wood’s last season before college hockey saw him lead the Victoria Grizzlies of the British Columbia Hockey League. He put up 45 goals and 85 points in only 46 games there. He finished with the most goals and points by a rookie and won the Bruce Allison Memorial Trophy as the BCHL rookie of the year.

Calgary Flames #16 overall pick: Samuel Honzek

Despite missing around 20 games this past season due to an injury suffered at the World Juniors, Samuel Honzek was Vancouver’s best player with 56 points in 43 games. Honzek is a big center, standing at six-foot, four-inches tall and weighing 185 pounds.

Honzek has past experience playing against men as post of his season prior to jumping over to the WHL came in Slovakia’s top league. He put up 14 points in 29 games in his last season there.

Detroit Red Wings #17 overall pick: Axel Sandin Pellikka

Axel Sandin Pellikka is an offensive defenseman that lit up the J20 Nationell level in Sweden last season. He recorded 36 points in 31 games and added an additional five points in 22 games at the senior SHL level.

He was named the best defender in the J20 Nationell league and led all blueliners in goals. He also won a silver medal with Sweden at the 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.

Winnipeg Jets #18 overall pick: Colby Barlow

Colby Barlow loves to shoot the puck and he is very good at it. In his first OHL season, he was a 30-goal scorer for the Attack and this past season he potted 46 more goals which ranked fifth in the entire league. He adds an above-average defensive game to that goal-scoring which makes him a likely early pick.

At the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, Barlow played a bit of a limited role and still managed to come out of the action a point-per-game player with five points (2g, 3a) from five games.

Chicago Blackhawks #19 overall pick: Oliver Moore

In 61 games with the US National Development Team Program last season, Oliver Moore put up 31 goals and 75 points. ESPN draft analysts labeled Moore as the best skater in the draft.

In the USHL, he notched 25 points in 23 games. At the 2023 U18 World Juniors he put up nine points in seven games on the way to a gold medal. Moore is committed to the University of Minnesota for next season.

Seattle Kraken #20 overall pick: Eduard Sale

Eduard Sale played a lot of hockey this past season, getting into 72 games for club and country. The Czech winger is another player in this draft class that played the majority of the year against men. He put up 14 points (7g, 7a) in 43 games, playing limited minutes for Brno in the Czech Extraliga. The 14 points are tied for the sixth-most in a single season by a U18 player in the league.

The six-foot, two-inch, 174-pound left wing notched six points (1g, 5a) in seven games as Czechia took down a silver medal at the 2023 IIHF U20 World Championship. Sale was selected by the Barrie Colts of the OHL in the 2022 CHL Import Draft but chose to stick it out in Czech pro hockey as opposed to coming over and playing North American junior.

Minnesota Wild #21 overall pick: Charlie Stramel

Before heading to Wisconsin, Charlie Stramel played for the US National Team Development Program. With the NTDP last season, he recorded 10 goals and 12 assists in 26 games. In 33 games for the Badgers this past year, he put up 12 points (5g, 7a) in 33 games.

Stramel played at the last two World Junior Championships for the USA and notched four total points in eight games.

Philadelphia Flyers #22 overall pick: Oliver Bonk

This past season saw Oliver Bonk’s coming out party in the OHL. He tallied 40 points in 67 games for the Knights and added 11 points in 21 playoff games.

He was named to the CHL All-Rookie Team after the year ended. He also played for Team Canada at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup last summer.

New York Rangers #23 overall pick: Gabriel Perreault

Labeled the smartest player in the draft by ESPN, Gabriel Perreault just set a new single-season scoring record for the USNDTP as he racked up 53 goals and 79 assists in 63 games. At the U18 World Junior Championships, he recorded 18 points (5g, 13a) in seven games.

He is set to attend Boston College next season with linemate and Capitals draftee Ryan Leonard.

Nashville Predators #24 overall pick: Tanner Molendyk

Tanner Molendyk put up 37 points (9g, 28a) in 67 games for the Saskatoon Blades last season. He also played five games for Canada in the Hlinka Gretzky Cup and recorded four points (1g, 3a).

Molendyk’s top strength is his skating ability and his high compete level.

St. Louis Blues #25 overall pick: Otto Stenberg

Otto Stenberg played in 23 games in the SHL last season and tallied three points. At the J20 Nationell level, he added 26 points in 29 games.

Despite those somewhat low scoring numbers, he had an incredibly impressive U18 World Junior Championship. At those games, he recorded 16 points in seven games.

San Jose Sharks #26 overall pick: Quentin Musty

Quentin Musty starred with the Wolves last season as he tallied 78 points (26g, 52a) in 53 OHL games. He also added a goal and three assists in four playoff games.

Musty represented the US at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, recording one goal and four assists in four games.

Colorado Avalanche #27 overall pick: Calum Ritchie

This season, Calum Ritchie tallied 24 goals and 35 assists in 59 games in the OHL. ESPN’s draft analysts said Ritchie had trouble with a shoulder injury that may have impacted his production.

Ritchie played for Canada at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup and U18 World Juniors, recording 19 points (7g, 12a) in 12 games.

Toronto Maple Leafs #28 overall pick: Easton Cowan

ESPN’s draft analysts gave Easton Cowan a very nice NHL comparable of TJ Oshie. Cowan, in his first OHL campaign, put up 20 goals and 33 assists for the Knights in 68 games.

Cowan is an energy-bug type player that projects to be a middle-six, all-situations center.

St. Louis Blues #29 overall pick: Theo Lindstein

Theo Lindstein split last season between the J20 Nationell level and the SHL. In the J20, he tallied seven points in 14 games. He added one goal and an assist in 32 SHL contests.

With Sweden’s U-18 national team, Lindstein was a point-per-game player. He notched 15 points (4g, 11a) in 15 games.

Carolina Hurricanes #30 overall pick: Bradly Nadeau

Bradley Nadeau had an absurd season in the BCHL with the Penticton Vees. He tallied 113 points (45g, 68a) in 54 games. He is committed to the University of Maine for next season.

Nadeau has size concerned as he comes in under six feet tall and weighs less than 165 pounds.

Colorado Avalanche #31 overall pick: Mikhail Gulyayev

Mikhail Gulyayev, much like his teammate and Caps prospect Ivan Miroshnichenko, bounced around the various levels in Russia last season. He played 13 games in the KHL, and picked up one assist there. In the VHL, he had four assists in 12 games. In the MHL, he was most impressive, putting up 25 points (2g, 23a) in 22 games. He also added 10 points in 17 playoff games.

Gulyayev won a gold medal with Russia at the 2021 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and another at the Youth Olympics in 2020.

Vegas Golden Knights #32 overall pick: David Edstrom

David Edstrom played most of last season in the J20-Nationell in Sweden, where he tallied 28 points in 28 games. He played 11 games at the senior SHL level and grabbed four points.

Edstrom was great at the U18 World Junior Championships, putting up eight points in seven games.

Headline photo via NHL press release

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