I think hes going to play in the NHL next year and be successful on raw ability from the jump. He can push into space. Brindleys a plus-level skater who gets through his extensions quickly (including from a standstill), excels on his edges, rounds corners sharply, and darts around the ice, hunting pucks and pushing through holes. He provides a ton of offense in transition as well as in the offensive zone where he seems to create scoring chances at will. In fact, its not even the only element of his shooting arsenal that is one of one. Sign up for EP Premium to create your own ranking. Expectations were unfairly high for Connor Bedard coming into his draft year, with the generational talent label floating around in many draft conversations. Noah Dower Nilsson is purely an offensive player at this point, but hes a very skilled one. Hes going to be a transition monster. There have been times this season, though, where he has looked like hes trying a little too hard to impress and make things happen instead of allowing the game to come to him. Founded in 2009, The Hockey Writers is a premier destination for news and information on everything hockey. Danielson plays a well-rounded two-way game, is a proficient penalty killer, wants to make a difference in all areas when hes on the ice and blends good overall skill with his effort. Honourable mentions (sorted alphabetically): Beau Akey, RHD (Barrie) On talent, and upside, and pedigree, his game checks all three boxes. When you package all of that skill with a dogged work ethic that keeps him around pucks all the time, and youve gota tremendous player. Still, though he is a dominant junior player and could chase down a 50-goal season this year, its also fair to ask if his advanced growth gives him less runway for improvement (he really does look like a man already). After the season, the WHL holds a draft specifically to allow teams to add bantam players in an orderly manner to their protected lists. Each of those guys played quite well at the tournament for draft eligible players, but nobody at the tournament of any age could hand the offensive pressure of Bedard. When he does go there, too, Ive seen him show that dexterity he has getting sticks on tips and redirects. Cam Squires, RW (Cape Bretton) Eduard Sale is a great offensive winger who currently leads all U20 players in scoring as a 17-year-old in the top Czechian professional league. 2023 WHL Draft Rankings - Elite Prospects 2023 WHL Draft Rankings Add to Favorites This is a custom user-submitted ranking. Leonard is a prospect thateveryonelikes. close. Gabriel Szturc, C (Kelowna) If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. He has the potential to change the trajectory of an NHL franchise and will likely score a ton of goals along the way. This top 64 is made up of 46 forwards, 17 defencemen and one goaltender. Finally, Barlow has been one of the best goal scorers in junior hockey so far this year, scoring 36 goals in just 42 Ontario Hockey League (OHL), a 56-goal pace over the rest of the season. He skates quite well for his size, hes got good hands and dexterity, hes got great feel and sense for the pressures that exist on the ice, and hes by all accounts a great teammate and kid who is coachable and pays attention to the details of the game. He can pick apart opposing defenses with pin-point passes and sly fakes, and his effort level is admirable. He works hard when hes on the ice, making high effort plays without the puck that give me more confidence that he will continue to play as a center in the NHL. There are many whove settled on Perreault as more of a mid-to-late-round first because of the combination of his skinny frame and the linemates he plays with. Ive seen him create breakaways with ease, win races he should, and send defenders sliding when he stops up on them with a head of steam. This draft class marks a decade of me doing this work, and I still believe this 2023 group is rivalled only by 2015 among the talent pools Ive scouted to date. He has a good shot but hasnt been encouraged to use it much in Liiga yet. Hes got good tools all around with solid speed, stick skills, and defensive play. In order to get away from scouting peewees, the WHL instituted a bantam draft. Hes just a natural creator for himself and others who manufactures offence in a variety of ways. The way he walks through coverage and hangs onto pucks is special. Gauthier brings a lot to the table. Fantilli is currently authoring one of the most impressive draft eligible NCAA seasons in recent memory with the only competition being Jack Eichels dominant 2014-15 season where he put up 71 points in 40 games. And he always seems to be around it. He can beat you by pushing through lanes to the middle third, driving the net, or dropping a shoulder to take space that isnt there. He has a great shot, but more often than not he scores goals because he slipped his defender and managed to find the space and time necessary to score a goal. Hes eager physically. Calgary, Alta. Hes still got room to get stronger, too, so its not as though hes a finished product. He has added a ton of strength since arriving at the program so that he can overwhelm junior level players with his power and speed. Hell make plays through seams. Hes got an impressive one-timer from the right flank and can really lean into and rip his catch-and-release or in-stride wrister. His size is obviously a talking point, and theres a boom or bust element to his projection, but hes a first-round talent and a clear play creator on a team with a few of them in Chicago this year. He has also shed some of the selfishness and force-it plays that could frustrate me and others at lower levels (hes making better decisions onshot selection, overhanding less, utilizing his linemates better, etc. Benson is currently outscoring two of his teammates in Matthew Savoie and Conor Geekie who were both drafted in the top-11 of the 2022 Draft. And after how good he looked as an underager at U18 worlds in Germany last April, nobody has been surprised by his near goal-per-game breakout this season (in fact, I wrote I wont be surprised if he challenges Smith and Moore on the stat sheet this year while providing all of the energy that he does in my preseason ranking). After playing on Russias Hlinka Gretzky team twosummers ago, But played to a point-per-game level in the MHL as one of its top 2005s last season and began his draft year on a tear in the MHL, scoring 11 goals in his first 15 games of the season before earning a mid-October promotion to the KHL for the first time (he has since scored his first two pro goals and has bounced between the KHL and MHL). Name. I have questions about his talent level, though. Hes an up-tempo playmaker and dynamic skater (in straight lines, through his three-step acceleration from a standstill, and around corners through his crossovers) who looks to involve himself more than you might expect at his size. Hes an entry machine driving play through the neutral zone and across the line in control. Trending Players. But youll also see him make the heady escape play out of his own zone under pressure at five-on-five, or slide into a passing line to intercept a pass, or disrupt an opposing carrier with a tight gap and active stick. Crafty is the best word to describe his game. He goes to the front of the net and will bail out to make effort plays. 2022 NHL Draft Tracker: Matthew Seminoff Matthew Seminoff has made quite the name for himself on a talented Kamloops Blazers roster that boasts three potential draft picks at the 2022 NHL draft. 2022 WHL Prospects Draft Results - First Round #1 - Medicine Hat Tigers Name: Gavin McKenna Position: Forward Hometown: Whitehorse, Yukon Team: Rink Hockey Academy Kelowna U18 Prep Stats: 35 GP - 23G-42A-65 points #2 - Tri-City Americans Name: Jackson Smith Position: Defence Hometown: Calgary, Alta. (other than Brad Lambert who's half Sask) but we'll see how the kids develop. 2023 NHL Draft: Breaking down the WHL Defensemen in the CHL Top Prospects game Joel Henderson. Hes a very responsible defender who shuts down tons of rush attempts with an active stick and stellar positioning.David Reinbacher (#64 blue) (Draft 2023) just overskating former NHLer Alex Formenton, following up on his shots, winning a puck against Formenton and Former NHler Tim Heed before serving his teammate on a plate. Priority Draft including defenceman Blake Fiddler, picked first-overall by the Edmonton Oil Kings. The biggest arguments against him are his size and skating, since a 5-foot-10 winger often needs to be an above average skater to make an impact in the NHL and Cristall is not quite there. 10 Puck Touches: . Hes strong. This had many drawbacks including the need for extensive scouting systems along with the related expense, as well the added pressure on peewee-aged players (12-13 year-olds). WHL News. The drafts order of selection depends on where the team finishes in the League standings. The biggest question following Reinbachers great performance last year in the Swiss League (SL), the second-tier Swiss professional league, was if he had more offense in his game to show. Perron is so agile that his lack of size and strength dont often hinder his game, however he will need to develop a bit of a physical game (like Logan Stankoven) if he wants to grow into his full potential as a top-six forward in the NHL. He may become a darn good, hard and heavy bottom-six player at the next level in time, but hell have to show me more to warrant a projection higher than that (a projection some others do still believe in). He has shown a knack for making big plays at big moments. The combination of his skating, shot, and playmaking skills makes him a true offensive weapon. Lenni Hameenaho has been an early riser this year, establishing himself as a prospect to watch while playing in the Finnish Liiga where he has scored at roughly a half point per game pace as a draft year player. Emil Jarventie, LW, Ilves U20 (U20 SM-sarja, 64. Hes got high-end speed with his galloping crossover strides and strong acceleration from a standstill (with continued work to do to take his first two steps up a notch and find an even quicker gear), which help him carry the puck up the ice or join in transition as the trailer whenever he has to play catchup. Denver Barkey, C, London Knights (OHL), 63. 17, is one of the top prospects for the 2022 NHL Entry Draft , even though he was denied exceptional status by the WHL in 2019. . Fantilli is a big, strong, powerful kid who takes pucks from the wall to the interior with force, and ease, and speed. My best guess at a player who has great skill but might slide on draft day due to his height is Gavin Brindley. Ryan Leonard is a high energy winger who never takes his foot off the gas in terms of both speed and effort. He gets shots off extremely fast and without bobbles in catch-and-release sequences. His skills make him very well suited as a center at the next level with good size, a coveted right-handed shot, good defensive habits (kills penalties quite well), and solid faceoff results. As always, Ive broken down the full ranking into tiers to give you a better sense for the fluidity within groupings and the drop-offs between them. Jesse Nurmi, LW (KooKoo) Everett, by virtue of finishing with the third-best overall record in the 2021-22 regular season, will select 20th overall in the first round. He too often looks like the third guy on his line. January 2023 WHL Draft Ranking update | Top-80 Joel Henderson. They are: 1, 2-4, 5-6, 7-22, 23-33, 34-64+. Publishing date 2022-10-13 User Anonymous Views 18875 Favorited 3 Share Embed 2023 WHL Draft Rankings Tyler Peddle, LW (Drummondville) Reinbachers got pro size, desired handedness, and a really strong foundation of tools that all but guarantee hell become an NHLer. Dvorsky is a highly-talented and intelligent playmaker who can threaten defenders and coverage in a variety of ways, whether thats carving them up in control and finishing cleanly from the home plate area, or sliding off of coverage to find pockets of space to get open into. If he can keep up that pace then he could very well lock himself in as the second best prospect in the draft. Id like to see him pick up a bit more of an acceleration gear from a standstill (his stride can look a little short/stunted/heavy), and fill the scoresheet a little more (though the talent around him has something to do with that too), but theres a lot to like.
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