from Ryan Dixon of Sporsnet,
Leo Carlsson was delightfully honest when asked at the NHL Scouting Combine how much he knew about the city of Columbus.
There’s a very good chance the young Swede will land there as the third-overall pick at the NHL Draft in a couple weeks, but that doesn’t mean he’s got much of a grasp on the city just yet.
“I can find it on a map,” he said with a smile, noting that was at least a good start.
It was also a good reminder that there’s still a lot of learning — from all sides — going on at the combine. Carlsson is one of the few faces — along with Adam Fantilli and, of course, Connor Bedard — that are fairly recognizable thanks to their status as high-end prospects. But there were also a ton of guys with NHL futures floating around the LECOM Harborcenter who don’t stand out in the crowd just yet — especially at the back end of the rink.
The 2023 draft preamble has been defined by Bedard and a bunch of other incredibly talented forwards long touted to have many goals, assists and dollars in their future. That might obscure the fact there are also some very intriguing goalies and defencemen in the mix who could have something to say about how the first round of the draft plays out.
So, as we empty the notebook after a day of hearing kids huff and puff on the notorious Wingate bike, let’s spend make sure to give some shine to the blue-liners and puckstoppers.
from Dobber Prospects,
The 2023 NHL Draft Class is a special one for a number of reasons. First, it contains an undoubtedly generational talent. Second, its depth is remarkable, our Top 50 prospects are, in our estimation, first-round talents. Third, it was the first draft class to regain the privilege of a normal draft year, free from the effects of Covid-19 health and safety policies.
The class strength made scouting it more exciting than last years class, for instance, but it also gave us a fair few headaches. A class with 50 clear top-32 candidates made finalizing our Top 32 board an arduous task, with players deserving of first-round recognition getting pushed down past 45 on our board. Our entire 30 to 50 range is really tight, but we had to rank them in some order, so we split hairs on most of the names in that range. Beyond 50, however, we fall to the tiers of players who are all exciting for various reasons but we remain skeptical of their upside or certainty for one reason or another, which is more indicative of B-grade prospects.
Our ranking meetings always featured contentious debates ranging from an individual players projectability to ideological debates on what we do/should value in players. The scouting team put in a ton of work and the result should hopefully demonstrate that. Were excited to continue to diversify our analytical processes and to expand into more forms of scouting content next season!...
Without further ado, the Dobber Prospects Final Ranking for the 2023 NHL Draft starts off with a name that most hockey fans will be familiar with by now:
read on
"Top 50 prospects are, in our estimation, first-round talents"
First time i've seen this opinion. I hope it's true. Means we have 5 shots at first rounders, Come on Steve and company. Work some magic!
I hope that the wings keep all 1st and 2nd round picks.
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