2023 NHL Entry Draft

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

I don't think it's too early to get excited about the upcoming NHL entry draft and I get more excited every time I see Florida lose. Could the Habs have 2 lottery picks?  I won't count my chickens though as I remember St. Louis being in last place on Jan 2nd the year they won the cup.  Wouldn't it be crazy if Florida went into the tank and they were sellers at the deadline?  That would be a dream scenario. 

 

It doesn't look like they will have a top 4 pick unless they get lucky when they draw the ping pong balls but they could have 2 picks in the 7-15 range.  Who do you like in that range as it's very likely Bedard, Fantilli, Carlson and Michkov will all be gone by then. Should they package their picks to move up and get that 1 elite player?  It should be another exciting draft for Hab fans. 

[GHT120]

Currently, Dalibor Dvorsky is ranked 4-10th on his Elite Prospects summary (ignoring a "19th" outlier) ... average 7.6 ... turns 18 a few days before the draft ... 6'1", 201 lbs centre who can be seen playing on Team Slovakia ... chance for the Habs to complete their very own SLO line?

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

1 hour ago, GHT120 said:

Currently, Dalibor Dvorsky is ranked 4-10th on his Elite Prospects summary (ignoring a "19th" outlier) ... average 7.6 ... turns 18 a few days before the draft ... 6'1", 201 lbs centre who can be seen playing on Team Slovakia ... chance for the Habs to complete their very own SLO line?

 

I know he was very highly rated going into this year, have read some reports saying he hasn't progressed this year like some others but I am no scout. He is one of the younger players in the draft. Certainly getting another high end center to compliment Suzuki would help if Dach is going to play the wing on that line. 

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

 

This is one site I pay attention to, currently they have Dvorsky going #9 to the Habs. It is still very early. 

 

http://www.mynhldraft.com/NHL-Mock-Draft/

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

The Panthers lose their 3rd in a row (awesome). If the season ended today we would be drafting around 8 and 11.  Still a long way to go but we are not that far from the 1/2 way mark of the season.  Habs have a game with Florida coming up. Hope the Habs win in regulation, don't want an overtime game. 

[alfredoh2009]

19 minutes ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:

The Panthers lose their 3rd in a row (awesome). If the season ended today we would be drafting around 8 and 11.  Still a long way to go but we are not that far from the 1/2 way mark of the season.  Habs have a game with Florida coming up. Hope the Habs win in regulation, don't want an overtime game. 

 

 Let's send Wideman over there

[tomh009]

18 hours ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:

The Panthers lose their 3rd in a row (awesome). If the season ended today we would be drafting around 8 and 11.  Still a long way to go but we are not that far from the 1/2 way mark of the season.  Habs have a game with Florida coming up. Hope the Habs win in regulation, don't want an overtime game. 

8th and 9th based on points percentage; Nashville and Vancouver are only a point behind Florida and have two and three games on hand.

[Habsfan89]

On 12/22/2022 at 12:46 AM, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:

I don't think it's too early to get excited about the upcoming NHL entry draft and I get more excited every time I see Florida lose. Could the Habs have 2 lottery picks?  I won't count my chickens though as I remember St. Louis being in last place on Jan 2nd the year they won the cup.  Wouldn't it be crazy if Florida went into the tank and they were sellers at the deadline?  That would be a dream scenario. 

 

It doesn't look like they will have a top 4 pick unless they get lucky when they draw the ping pong balls but they could have 2 picks in the 7-15 range.  Who do you like in that range as it's very likely Bedard, Fantilli, Carlson and Michkov will all be gone by then. Should they package their picks to move up and get that 1 elite player?  It should be another exciting draft for Hab fans. 

If we can get a top 10 and top 15 it would be great pick the best playmaking defensemen in the draft and pick the top goaltender in the draft. Would make ths rebuild great👍. 

[DON]

13 minutes ago, Habsfan89 said:

If we can get a top 10 and top 15 it would be great pick the best playmaking defensemen in the draft and pick the top goaltender in the draft. Would make ths rebuild great👍. 

Maybe use one pick as part of trade for a d-man or goalie prospect. Like Dach trade.

Otherwise go boring and take best players available, then in the 2nd or 3rd round could aim for specific position, especially with goalies being so darn hard to project.

(i always picture Button going gaga over Habs getting Fucale, when think of drafting a goalie early)

If Habs manage to get a 3rd late 1st round pick, Hughes did try and package 26 & 33 last draft, so he isnt scared to try and move up at least.

[dlbalr]

15 minutes ago, Habsfan89 said:

If we can get a top 10 and top 15 it would be great pick the best playmaking defensemen in the draft and pick the top goaltender in the draft. Would make ths rebuild great👍. 

 

There's no goalie worthy of being a lottery selection.  I know you want them to draft a goalie early but if there isn't a first-round-worthy goalie, they shouldn't be taking a goalie in the first round.

[tomh009]

5 hours ago, dlbalr said:

There's no goalie worthy of being a lottery selection.  I know you want them to draft a goalie early but if there isn't a first-round-worthy goalie, they shouldn't be taking a goalie in the first round.

100%. And goalies are almost always high-risk selections, so just because we picked one in the first round doesn't come even close to guaranteeing that the goalie will become an NHL regular, let alone a starter.

[DON]

 

https://www.eliteprospects.com/draft-center/2023

 

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

I think this road trip has removed any doubt about the Habs being sellers at the deadline. The Yotes have won 3 in a row so only a couple points behind. Unless something out of the ordinary happens it looks like the Habs will finish 6-10 from the bottom. Hopefully Florida didn't gain a lot of confidence tonight. 

[Prime Minister Koivu]

6 hours ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:

I think this road trip has removed any doubt about the Habs being sellers at the deadline. The Yotes have won 3 in a row so only a couple points behind. Unless something out of the ordinary happens it looks like the Habs will finish 6-10 from the bottom. Hopefully Florida didn't gain a lot of confidence tonight. 

Watching Bedard has me very much wanting a bottom four finish so that we have a shot. 

[GHT120]

9 hours ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:

... The Yotes have won 3 in a row so only a couple points behind ...

 

And two games in hand ... not that "games in hand" necessarily means anything at this end of the standings.

[Commandant]

Habs are 6th worst in points percentage.

 

The idea that this team cant finish bottom five seems to be wrong.  They absolutely can.

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

9 minutes ago, Commandant said:

Habs are 6th worst in points percentage.

 

The idea that this team cant finish bottom five seems to be wrong.  They absolutely can.

 

They could finish bottom 5 if Suzuki doesn't recover from his current slump. I think he has 2 or 3 points in his last 10 games. Without him going they are in big trouble. 

[tomh009]

18 minutes ago, Commandant said:

Habs are 6th worst in points percentage.

 

The idea that this team cant finish bottom five seems to be wrong.  They absolutely can.

Bottom four looks quite possible, but bottom three less likely.

[Commandant]

9 hours ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:

 

They could finish bottom 5 if Suzuki doesn't recover from his current slump. I think he has 2 or 3 points in his last 10 games. Without him going they are in big trouble. 

 

Even if he comes out of his slump there is no secondary scoring and i think montembault is coming back to earth.

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

Florida loses! Awesome!  They are digging a bit of a hole.  To equal last year's record they will have to finish the year 42-1-2, obviously not going to happen but to catch a wild card berth they will likely need at least 95 points (last year it took 100 points).   That means finishing the year roughly 30-15.  Not impossible but certainly very difficult. 

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

That was a huge loss by Florida today. It was like a 4 point game playing the Rangers who are one of the teams they will have to catch.  That pick is looking better all the time. Ottawa might pass them tonight. 

[GHT120]

14 hours ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:

That was a huge loss by Florida today ... That pick is looking better all the time ...

 

Florida doesn't even have a first-round pick until 2026 to try to acquire reinforcements (no 2023 3rd or 2024 2nd either) ... but getting Barkov and Ekblad back is quite a talent boost ... HOWEVER, Knight and Bobrovsky are doing their best to Help the Habs.

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

33 minutes ago, GHT120 said:

Florida doesn't even have a first-round pick until 2026 to try to acquire reinforcements (no 2023 3rd or 2024 2nd either) ... but getting Barkov and Ekblad back is quite a talent boost ... HOWEVER, Knight and Bobrovsky are doing their best to Help the Habs.

 

Yes, so I can't really see them being buyers at the deadline as they went all in last year. I read the Florida chat rooms a bit and a lot of fans think Ekblad has been awful this year, perhaps nagging injuries are affecting his play but they are very frustrated with him. I think Florida is biding it's time this year as they will have more flexibility next year with some big contracts (Yandle, Hornqvist) coming off the books.  

 

After Florida plays Arizona on Tuesday they play 9 of 11 on the road against a lot of really good teams. A really tough stretch.  They have already lost as many games this year  as they did all last year.  Looking like a really good year to have their #1 pick.  Still a long way to go and a lot of talent there so they could still turn it around but they are digging themselves a deep hole.  

 

 

 

 

[DON]

7 minutes ago, GHT120 said:

Florida doesn't even have a first-round pick until 2026 to try to acquire reinforcements (no 2023 3rd or 2024 2nd either) ... but getting Barkov and Ekblad back is quite a talent boost ... HOWEVER, Knight and Bobrovsky are doing their best to Help the Habs.

Getting interesting, Panthers odds of making playoffs getting pretty low. 

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

2 hours ago, DON said:

Getting interesting, Panthers odds of making playoffs getting pretty low. 

 

They are getting lower by the day it seems. They also have the 6th toughest schedule remaining, Montreal the toughest. Arizona with the easiest so they could surpass the Habs. 

 

https://www.tankathon.com/nhl/remaining_schedule_strength