2023 NHL Draft Thread: 7:00pm on ESPN

[Nextmanup]

Anyone watching?  Philly on the clock now at no. 7.

 

Sabres pick 13.

 

 

[Nextmanup]

DE-TROY-IT on the clock at 9...4 to go.

 

 

[Bad Things]

Let's go Buffalo!!!

[BillsFan4]

Some good players still sitting there. I thought maybe Buffalo would pick a defenseman with this pick but I don’t see one left worth pick #13.  There’s some really good forward prospects on the board!

 

Benson please! I can’t believe he’s still sitting there.

Moore would be good too

[Nextmanup]

We're on the clock!

 

[BillsFan4]

What are they waiting for?

 

please don’t trade back.

Yesss!!!!! Love this pick! Can’t believe he was still on the board!

[Nextmanup]

6 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said:

Some good players still sitting there. I thought maybe Buffalo would pick a defenseman with this pick but I don’t see one left worth pick #13.  There’s some really good forward prospects on the board!

 

Benson please! I can’t believe he’s still sitting there.

Hey, you got your guy.  He's small though.

 

 

[BillsFan4]

13 minutes ago, Nextmanup said:

Hey, you got your guy.  He's small though.

 

 

I’m honestly not worried about his size. He doesn’t play small.
 

Just love the way he plays so much! Sabres fans are going to like him IMO.

 

I thought he was one of the top 5-7 players in this draft. I would easily take him over at least 4-5 players drafted in front of him so far. I never thought he would make it out of the top 10.

 

 

Watch the highlight goal around 1 minute in!

Scouting report on Benson

 

https://lastwordonsports.com/hockey/2023/01/18/2023-nhl-draft-scouting-report-zach-benson/

 

 

Edited June 29, 2023 by BillsFan4

[BillsFan4]

Great pick by the Blackhawks. Crazy Moore fell to 19. I’d have taken him at 13 if Benson wasn’t there.

 

Man what a first round for Chicago between Bedard and Moore. Heck of a way to kick off their rebuild.

[Doc]

45 minutes ago, Nextmanup said:

Hey, you got your guy.  He's small though.

 

Conor Bedard is 5'10" and 185#.

[T&C]

48 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said:

I’m honestly not worried about his size. He doesn’t play small.
 

Just love the way he plays so much! Sabres fans are going to like him IMO.

 

I thought he was one of the top 5-7 players in this draft. I would easily take him over at least 4-5 players drafted in front of him so far. I never thought he would make it out of the top 10.

 

 

Watch the highlight goal around 1 minute in!

Scouting report on Benson

 

https://lastwordonsports.com/hockey/2023/01/18/2023-nhl-draft-scouting-report-zach-benson/

 

 

He looks naturally pissed off... climb on board.

[BillsFan4]

Nice pick by San Jose. I like Musty.

[Gregg]

I honestly don't know how anyone except those who really follow these prospects know how they will turn out as NHL players. Even the player the Blackhawks took who is supposed to be the next great generational talent, I have to be honest I never heard of him until yesterday. The NFL draft you know the players because college football is huge. Same for the NBA draft with college basketball. But the NHL and MLB draft are tough to get excited about because college hockey and baseball aren't big enough to follow. IMHO

[Doc]

32 minutes ago, Gregg said:

I honestly don't know how anyone except those who really follow these prospects know how they will turn out as NHL players. Even the player the Blackhawks took who is supposed to be the next great generational talent, I have to be honest I never heard of him until yesterday. The NFL draft you know the players because college football is huge. Same for the NBA draft with college basketball. But the NHL and MLB draft are tough to get excited about because college hockey and baseball aren't big enough to follow. IMHO

 

Nothing beats football because college FB is huge so you get to know the names.  And in the NHL, there are a lot of foreign players.

[Gregg]

1 minute ago, Doc said:

 

Nothing beats football because college FB is huge so you get to know the names.  And in the NHL, there are a lot of foreign players.

 

Agree with CFB and that is why the NFL draft is so exciting. But these foreign leagues in hockey I never see them on TV in America. I love hockey as it's my second favorite sport, but I don't know any of the players being drafted. This goes for every single year not just this draft.

[Jauronimo]

9 minutes ago, Doc said:

 

Nothing beats football because college FB is huge so you get to know the names.  And in the NHL, there are a lot of foreign players.

Football draft is easy.  Every single eligible player comes from NCAA ball. Basketball is nearly the same.

 

Hockey drafts from so many different leagues. WHL, OHL, QMJL, BCHL, NCAA, USHL, KHL, and then every European country's pro leagues. It has got to be nearly impossible to compare players results across each of the leagues given the disparities in talent and the ages in play.  Some of these kids are playing against grown men. 

 

Meanwhile in the NFL we read about how hard it is to compare prospects across power conferences!

 

[BillsFan4]

Savoie must be pumped to see the Sabres draft his linemate.

 

I thought Benson was the better player this past season too. He’s younger than Savoie but still put up more points in less games all while being one of the best 2 way forwards and best PKers in juniors. He’s just relentless.
 

I am still so pumped he was available at #13! I was excited all night and woke up excited today.

 

 

The way Adams describes Benson’s game is exactly how I see him too. Pretty cool when the GM’s opinion of a player matches your own. I feel like it validates what I saw. It also makes me like Adams more 😂

[Gregg]

3 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said:

Savoie must be pumped to see the Sabres draft his linemate.

 

I thought Benson was the better player this past season too. He’s younger than Savoie but still put up more points in less games all while being one of the best 2 way forwards and best PKers in juniors. He’s just relentless.
 

I am still so pumped he was available at #13! I was excited all night and woke up excited today.

 

 

The way Adams describes Benson’s game is exactly how I see him too. Pretty cool when the GM’s opinion of a player matches your own. I feel like it validates what I saw. It also makes me like Adams more 😂

 

Does he have a chance to make the Sabres this year or does he need time in the minors/college to develop his skills for the NHL level?

[Jauronimo]

9 minutes ago, Gregg said:

 

Does he have a chance to make the Sabres this year or does he need time in the minors/college to develop his skills for the NHL level?

He has an outside chance but like his linemate and Sabres first round draft selection last year Savoie, Benson is likely to spend a year or two more in the CHL.  CHL rules are awful and forbid a player from playing in the professional minor leagues (AHL) before age 20.  Benson is 18 and Savoie is 19.  So its NHL or CHL and I think Adams would prefer both guys are seeing minutes rather than healthy scratches at the NHL level.

[Gregg]

1 minute ago, Jauronimo said:

He has an outside chance but like his linemate and Sabres first round draft selection last year Savoie, Benson is likely to spend a year or two more in the CHL.  CHL rules are awful and forbid a player from playing in the professional minor leagues (AHL) before age 20.  Benson is 18 and Savoie is 19.  So its NHL or CHL and I think Adams would prefer both guys are seeing minutes rather than healthy scratches at the NHL level.

 

This makes sense. At that age it probably is better to develop their skills and mature (physically) before playing at the pro level.

Edited June 29, 2023 by Gregg

[BillsFan4]

13 minutes ago, Gregg said:

 

Does he have a chance to make the Sabres this year or does he need time in the minors/college to develop his skills for the NHL level?

I think his game is close to being ready (if not already) but he needs time to bulk up. He needs to add some muscle/weight. I’m sure the Sabres will have him focusing on that this coming season. He had a shoulder injury late in the season so I’m not sure if that will impact his summer training or not but I don’t see him making the team either way this year. He’s at least a year out IMO.

 

I could definitely see him skipping the AHL though and jumping right from juniors to the NHL when he’s ready.

5 minutes ago, Jauronimo said:

He has an outside chance but like his linemate and Sabres first round draft selection last year Savoie, Benson is likely to spend a year or two more in the CHL.  CHL rules are awful and forbid a player from playing in the professional minor leagues (AHL) before age 20.  Benson is 18 and Savoie is 19.  So its NHL or CHL and I think Adams would prefer both guys are seeing minutes rather than healthy scratches at the NHL level.

I don’t even know that I’d want Benson in the AHL even if he was eligible. Too many goons and head-hunters in the AHL that would LOVE to crush a top prospect like Benson.

Benson is only 159lbs right now. He needs to add some muscle to his frame before he’s ready for the pros. He would get killed in the AHL right now.

 

I think his game is more suited for the NHL than AHL anyway, which is another reason why I could see him potentially skipping the AHL all together.

 

[BillsFan4]

There are some really good players still on the board!

 

Hoping one of a few defenseman fall to pick #39. 

[BillsFan4]

Love the Strbak pick! That’s kind of who I was hoping for at #39. So to get him at #45 is great.

 

We needed a right handed D prospect with high end potential in the system.

[Jauronimo]

28 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said:

I think his game is close to being ready (if not already) but he needs time to bulk up. He needs to add some muscle/weight. I’m sure the Sabres will have him focusing on that this coming season. He had a shoulder injury late in the season so I’m not sure if that will impact his summer training or not but I don’t see him making the team either way this year. He’s at least a year out IMO.

 

I could definitely see him skipping the AHL though and jumping right from juniors to the NHL when he’s ready.

I don’t even know that I’d want Benson in the AHL even if he was eligible. Too many goons and head-hunters in the AHL that would LOVE to crush a top prospect like Benson.

Benson is only 159lbs right now. He needs to add some muscle to his frame before he’s ready for the pros. He would get killed in the AHL right now.

 

I think his game is more suited for the NHL than AHL anyway, which is another reason why I could see him potentially skipping the AHL all together.

 

I hear you on that.  Its just frustrating to watch guys like Savoie put up ridiculous numbers in the WHL and flounder for 2 more years.  Benson and Savoie have nothing left to prove in junior hockey.  It would be nice if they could play in a league where they would be challenged and their game would grow while they both develop NHL frames.

[BillsFan4]

this Strbak pick just made too much sense not to happen. He’s exactly what we needed in our system. I think long term he could pair extremely well with Dahlin and/or Power. 
 

https://www.flohockey.tv/articles/11080821-2023-nhl-draft-profile-maxim-strbak-a-warrior-defenseman

 

https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/sports/college/msu/hockey/2022/12/15/msu-hockey-adds-to-momentum-with-world-class-talent-maxim-strbak/69726689007/

 

 

 

 

25 minutes ago, Jauronimo said:

I hear you on that.  Its just frustrating to watch guys like Savoie put up ridiculous numbers in the WHL and flounder for 2 more years.  Benson and Savoie have nothing left to prove in junior hockey.  It would be nice if they could play in a league where they would be challenged and their game would grow while they both develop NHL frames.

Yeah I get it. But I honestly don’t think he’s physically mature enough to handle the AHL and I wouldn’t went to take that injury risk. I think the Sabres will have him focus on putting on muscle this season. Like you said, he doesn’t have much left to prove in juniors.

 

I wouldn’t mind savoie playing in the AHL though!
 

But even without Savoie rochester will still have some good young prospects hitting the system this year so it should be fun to watch! The amount of talent that will be coming through rochester in the next few years is insane.

Edited June 29, 2023 by BillsFan4

[BillsFan4]

Here’s the Big 2 way power forward Sabres fans wanted!

 

Sabres having a heck of a draft so far.

Edited June 29, 2023 by BillsFan4

[muppy]

so here is the rest of the Sabres draft with some commentary on each pick #ckg37

 

Quote

Round 2:

-C Anton Wahlberg(Malmo-SWE). I'll resist the temptation to make any Marky Mark puns and simply note that he had 6 points at the '23 WJC's to help pace the Swedes to a silver medal. (That pick was acquired from the Flyers.)

-D Maxim Strbak(Sioux Falls-USHL): 5-13=18 in 46 games for the Stampede and also was Slovakia's team captain at the WJC, racking up 6 points. He's heading to Michigan State. 

Round 3: D Gavin McCarthy(Muskegon-USHL): Quentin Musty was the local product who was more well-known, BUT Gavin's a local guy too. He had 27 points for the Lumberjacks last season and noticed 4 goals on the PP. He's committed to Boston U.

Round 4: LW Ethan Miedema(Kingston-OHL): Overall, between Windsor and the Frontenacs, Ethan noticed 52 points and 32 assists.

Round 5: G Scott Ratzlaff(Seattle-WHL): He backstopped the Thunderbirds to a WHL title this season, notched 5 shutouts and a 2.15 GAA. (Seattle MIGHT be on my radar for a roadie next season...and yes, that includes watching the T-Birds and Everett Silvertips as well as the Kraken.)

Round 6: D Sean Keohane(Dexter Southfield School-MA): 4 goals and 12 assists this season for the team while serving as its captain. Committed to Harvard.

Round 7: D Norwin Panocha(Eisbaren Berlin DEL U-20; GER): 22 points in 34 games and added 5 points in 8 playoff games. He'll be moving up to the main squad for next season.