It’s that time! The McKeen’s scouting staff has finalized our final rankings for the 2023 NHL Draft ahead of the release of our draft guide in a few weeks. As per usual, our list runs 224 players deep to match the number of selections in the draft, but we have included over 300 players when you include our Honorable Mentions.
Much to the surprise of no one, Connor Bedard remains our top ranked player, as he has been all season long. In fact, our top three remains unchanged from our midseason rankings with Adam Fantilli and Leo Carlsson holding down the second and third spots, respectively. There has been one change in our top five with Will Smith leapfrogging Matvei Michkov into the fourth position following his dominant second half and U18’s.
Russian defender Dmitry Simashev remains our top ranked blueliner but has now moved into the top ten. His combination of size, mobility, physicality, and improving offensive skill set is going to be alluring to NHL teams and we feel that his upside is the highest in a weaker crop for defenders.
A trio of Swedish players are among our biggest risers from our midseason list, with Tom Willander, Anton Wahlberg, and David Edstrom all jumping up into the first round. All three were excellent in the second half of the season, which culminated with strong performances at the U18’s. Willander, in particular, has a huge fan in our Director of Scouting, Brock Otten. “If you were to ask me who my favourite defender in the draft class is, I’d probably say Willander. He rarely makes a poor play and I believe that we are underappreciating his potential as an NHL defender because of how efficient and safe his game can be. I would be shocked if he does not become a quality second pairing guy at the NHL level and I don’t think the other defenders ranked in the first have that same assurance,” said Otten.
Another massive jumper in our list is Hamilton Bulldogs winger Nick Lardis. 98th on our midseason list, Lardis now finds himself ranked just inside of our first round. His play with Hamilton, following a trade from Peterborough has vaulted him up draft boards, including ours. His combination of quickness and scoring ability gives him a solid projection at the NHL level.
Despite having two goaltenders inside of our first round at midseason (Carson Bjarnason and Michael Hrabal), we ended the year with none. Trey Augustine is now our top ranked netminder, ranked in the mid second round. However, Augustine, Bjarnason, Hrabal, and USHL Clark Cup MVP Jacob Fowler are all closely ranked in that range.
Look for the release of our 2023 Draft Guide in the next couple weeks. It will include all of our rankings and reports, a mock draft, a preview of the 2024 NHL Draft, and much more. You can learn more about a subscription here.
| RANK | PLAYER | POS | HT/WT | DOB | NATION | TEAM | GP-G-A-PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Connor Bedard | C | 5-10/185 | 17-Jul-05 | Canada | Regina (WHL) | 57-71-72-143 |
| 2 | Adam Fantilli | C | 6-2/195 | 12-Oct-04 | Canada | Michigan (B1G) | 36-30-35-65 |
| 3 | Leo Carlsson | C | 6-3/200 | 26-Dec-04 | Sweden | Orebro (SHL) | 44-10-15-25 |
| 4 | Will Smith | C | 6-0/175 | 17-Mar-05 | USA | USN U18 (USDP) | 59-51-75-126 |
| 5 | Matvei Michkov | RW | 5-10/170 | 9-Dec-04 | Russia | SKA St. Petersburg-HK Sochi (KHL) | 30-9-11-20 |
| 6 | Zach Benson | LW | 5-9/160 | 12-May-05 | Canada | Winnipeg (WHL) | 60-36-62-98 |
| 7 | Dalibor Dvorsky | C | 6-1/200 | 15-Jun-05 | Slovakia | AIK (HockeyAllsvenskan) | 38-6-8-14 |
| 8 | Ryan Leonard | RW | 5-11/190 | 21-Jan-05 | USA | USN U18 (USDP) | 56-50-43-93 |
| 9 | Dmitri Simashev | D | 6-4/200 | 4-Feb-05 | Russia | Loko Yaroslavl-Loko-76 Yaroslavl (MHL) | 33-1-11-12 |
| 10 | Matthew Wood | RW | 6-3/195 | 6-Feb-05 | Canada | Connecticut (HE) | 35-11-23-34 |
| 11 | Oliver Moore | C | 5-11/185 | 22-Jan-05 | USA | USN U18 (USDP) | 60-31-43-74 |
| 12 | Colby Barlow | LW | 6-0/195 | 14-Feb-05 | Canada | Owen Sound (OHL) | 59-46-33-79 |
| 13 | Nate Danielson | C | 6-1/185 | 27-Sep-04 | Canada | Brandon (WHL) | 68-33-45-78 |
| 14 | Axel Sandin Pellikka | D | 5-11/180 | 11-Mar-05 | Sweden | Skelleftea (Swe J20) | 31-16-20-36 |
| 15 | Daniil But | LW | 6-5/200 | 15-Feb-05 | Russia | Loko Yaroslavl-Loko-76 Yaroslavl (MHL) | 32-18-14-32 |
| 16 | David Reinbacher | D | 6-2/185 | 25-Oct-04 | Austria | Kloten (Sui-NL) | 46-3-19-22 |
| 17 | Eduard Sale | LW | 6-1/170 | 10-Mar-05 | Czech | HC Kometa Brno (Czechia) | 43-7-7-14 |
| 18 | Samuel Honzek | LW | 6-3/185 | 12-Nov-04 | Slovakia | Vancouver (WHL) | 43-23-33-56 |
| 19 | Mikhail Gulyayev | D | 5-11/170 | 26-Apr-05 | Russia | Omskie Yastreby (MHL) | 22-2-23-25 |
| 20 | Lukas Dragicevic | D | 6-1/190 | 25-Apr-05 | Canada | Tri-City (WHL) | 68-15-60-75 |
| 21 | Gabe Perreault | RW | 5-11/165 | 7-May-05 | USA | USN U18 (USDP) | 62-53-79-132 |
| 22 | Otto Stenberg | C | 5-11/180 | 29-May-05 | Sweden | Frolunda (Swe J20) | 29-11-15-26 |
| 23 | Tom Willander | D | 6-1/180 | 9-Feb-05 | Sweden | Rogle (Swe J20) | 39-4-21-25 |
| 24 | Calum Ritchie | C | 6-2/185 | 21-Jan-05 | Canada | Oshawa (OHL) | 59-24-35-59 |
| 25 | Andrew Cristall | LW | 5-9/165 | 4-Feb-05 | Canada | Kelowna (WHL) | 54-39-56-95 |
| 26 | Gavin Brindley | C | 5-8/165 | 5-Oct-04 | USA | Michigan (B1G) | 41-12-26-38 |
| 27 | Bradly Nadeau | LW | 5-10/165 | 5-May-05 | Canada | Penticton (BCHL) | 54-45-68-113 |
| 28 | Anton Wahlberg | C | 6-3/195 | 4-Jul-05 | Sweden | Malmo (Swe J20) | 32-14-13-27 |
| 29 | Riley Heidt | C | 5-10/180 | 25-Mar-05 | Canada | Prince George (WHL) | 68-25-72-97 |
| 30 | Brayden Yager | C | 5-11/165 | 3-Jan-05 | Canada | Moose Jaw (WHL) | 67-28-50-78 |
| 31 | David Edstrom | C | 6-3/185 | 18-Feb-05 | Sweden | Frolunda (Swe J20) | 28-15-13-28 |
| 32 | Nick Lardis | LW | 5-10/165 | 8-Jul-05 | Canada | Pbo-Ham (OHL) | 69-37-28-65 |