There will be zero surprises in the 2023 NHL Draft until the fourth pick. That is basically locked in stone. Throughout this entire process we’ve known Connor Bedard will be the No. 1 pick, and nothing in a million years will change that.
2023 NHL Mock Draft: Connor Bedard is the can’t-miss talent leading the class
Here’s our full projection for the first round.
Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
Why? Because he’s just that good. There is Victor Wembanyama levels of hype to his game, or if you prefer a hockey reference: Connor McDavid, but to an even higher degree. A lot of players have been compared to Wayne Gretzky over the years, and everyone has failed to some degree — but there’s just something magic about watching Bedard play that makes it feel possible that he could be the great one.
After that, there’s one lock at No. 2: Adam Fantilli. Any other draft he’d be a No. 1 prospect, so the Ducks will be thrilled he’s there when they pick. Leo Carlsson is a safe lock at No. 3 — and then it gets a lot more murky. This is a pretty lean draft on elite talent outside of the top five, which makes scouting the 2023 class more difficult than normal.
2023 NHL Mock Draft
Pick | Team | Player | Position | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chicago Blackhawks | Connor Bedard | C | Regina (WHL) |
| 2 | Anaheim Ducks | Adam Fantilli | C | Michigan (NCAA) |
| 3 | Columbus Blue Jackets | Leo Carlsson | C | Orebro (SHL) |
| 4 | San Jose Sharks | Matvei Michkov | RW | Sochi (KHL) |
| 5 | Montreal Canadiens | Will Smith | C | Boston College (NCAA) |
| 6 | Arizona Coyotes | David Reinbacher | D | Kloten (NL) |
| 7 | Philadelphia Flyers | Zach Benson | C | Winnipeg (WHL) |
| 8 | Washington Capitals | Dalibor Dvorsky | C/RW | AIK (Allsvenskan) |
| 9 | Detroit Red Wings | Ryan Leonard | C/LW | Boston College (NCAA) |
| 10 | St. Louis Blues | Axel Sandin Pellikka | D | Skelleftea (AIK) |
| 11 | Vancouver Canucks | Oliver Moore | C | Minnesota (NCAA) |
| 12 | Arizona Coyotes (from Ottawa) | Tom Willander | D | Boston College (NCAA) |
| 13 | Buffalo Sabres | Eduard Sale | RW | Brno (Czechia) |
| 14 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Matthew Wood | C/LW | UConn (NCAA) |
| 15 | Nashville Predators | Mikhail Gulyayev | D | Omskie Yastreby (KHL) |
| 16 | Calgary Flames | Colby Barlow | LW | Owen Sound (OHL) |
| 17 | Detroit Red Wings (from NY Islanders) | Gabe Perrault | RW | Boston College (NCAA) |
| 18 | Winnipeg Jets | Nate Danielson | C | Brandon (WHL) |
| 19 | Chicago Blackhawks (from Tampa Bay) | Brayden Yager | C | Moose Jaw (WHL) |
| 20 | Seattle Kraken | Dmitri Simashev | D | Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (KHL) |
| 21 | Minnesota Wild | Andrew Cristall | LW | Kelowna (WHL) |
| 22 | Philadelphia Flyers (from Los Angeles) | Samuel Honzek | C | Vancouver (WHL) |
| 23 | New York Rangers | Calum Ritchie | C | Oshawa (OHL) |
| 24 | Nashville Predators (from Edmonton) | Otto Stenberg | C/W | Frolunda (Sweden J20) |
| 25 | St. Louis Blues (from Toronto) | Quentin Musty | LW | Sudbury (OHL) |
| 26 | San Jose Sharks (from New Jersey) | Oliver Bonk | D | London (OHL) |
| 27 | Colorado Avalanche | Daniil But | LW | Loko Yaroslavl (MHL) |
| 28 | Toronto Maple Leafs (from Boston) | Tanner Molendyk | D | Saskatoon (WHL) |
| 29 | St. Louis Blues (from Dallas) | Gavin Brindley | RW | Michigan (NCAA) |
| 30 | Carolina Hurricanes | Riley Heidt | LW/C/RW | Prince George (WHL) |
| 31 | Montreal Canadiens (from Florida) | Lukas Dragicevic | D | Tri-City (WHL) |
| 32 | Vegas Golden Knights | Bradly Nadeau | C | Maine (NCAA) |
- Matvei Michkov could easily fall much lower. This is a really difficult pick to project. There’s no doubt he’s an elite talent who could be a Top 3 pick in any draft (including this one), but Russia’s war with Ukraine, paired with the fact he can’t come over until 2026-27 at the earliest might mean he’s a risk too big for a team to take inside the Top 5.
- Keep an eye on Eduard Sale. If there’s a chance for a major riser to inside the Top 10 (or higher) it’s him. Far from a finished product, there are some unicorn traits to his game like his passing vision and touch that could cause a GM to fall in love. There’s risk here, sure, but also a chance for a home-run player.
- Gavin Brindley is a weird player to project. There’s so much to love about his game while watching him fly to the puck like a rabid wolverine (forgive the pun, I know he’s playing a Michigan), but he has a very small frame. At 5-foot-9 and 157 pounds he’s the smallest first round prospect in the draft, and that could cause him to fall.
- Don’t sleep on Bradly Nadeau. Might as well make this a bookmark for five years from now. I have him going late in the first round, but he could be the steal of the class. A mechanically-perfect Junior-A prospect, we’ll really need to see how he can hold his own against older, stiffer competition. Still, there’s a very real chance he could make a major impact in the NHL one day and be an absolute steal for a playoff team with the luxury of rolling the dice.
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