The fifth mock Hockey Buzz mock draft driven by the readers and a few special guests is in the final 12 picks. TC88 selected Brayden Yager for Minnesota followed by Bill Meltzer, HB Flyers blogger, adding Daniil But for Philadelphia. The Rangers, represented by me, selected Gavin Brindley, with eichiefs9, bringing Mikhail Gulyayev on board for Nashville. St. Louis, represented by aecliptic, and San Jose, with Russ Cohen picking, have made their picks with Colorado, represented by John Ryan, jryan88, and Toronto, with Michael Augello, HB Maple Leafs blogger, now up.
Zach Jarom did not go off the board with the Blackhawks pick, selecting Connor Bedard first overall, while Ryan Armstrong, climbdenali12, selected Adam Fantilli with Anaheim's pick, Zak McMillian, HB Blue Jackets blogger, went with Leo Carlsson's with Columbus' selection. Ken Peterson, Hockeygm. selected Matvei Michkov with Karine Hains picking Will Smith for Montreal. TJ Reilly selected David Reinbacher for Arizona while Bill Meltzer grabbed Ryan Leonard for Philly. Optimus-reim picked Zach Benson for Washington, Feds91stammer took Oliver Moore for Detroit while aecliptic closed out the top-10 with Dalibor Dvorsky for St. Louis, Below is the selection and voting poll, please weigh in with your view.
Picks 11-20 started with David Wong, OrcaBlue, selecting Axel Sandin-Pellikka for Vancouver with TJ Reilly adding Dimitri Simishov for Arizona. Paul Schott, lonsabres, picked Tom Willander for Buffalo with mkrisnosky, Matt Krisnosky's went with Matthew Wood for Pittsburgh. eichiefs9 added Colby Barlow for Nashville while Trevor Neufeld, HB Flames blogger, snagged Eduard Sale for Calgary. Feds91stammer selected Nate Danielson for Detroit, and Jacob Billingham, HB Jets blogger, picked Andrew Cristall Winnipeg. Zach Jarom, HB Blackhawks blogger, added Gabe Peerault for Chicago, with NYRangers1124 closing out the 10 picks with Quintin Musty for the Kraken.
First, some logistical information just for this blog: Thanks to all who have agreed to participate. All teams are spoken for, meaning we have a full complement of General Managers. As a reminder, when you have your pick, rationale for the selection, who else you considered and if you weighed a trade, please send that to me via email to
[email protected]. As said previously, for those who agree to participate, please make sure I have your real name to go with your Hockey Buzz ID.
In terms of trades, I am happy to have them proposed, but for ease of purpose of the draft, I would prefer not to slow down the making of picks and the voting by waiting for a vote on if the deal is fair. Due to the late start for the draft, my view for this year's iteration is no trades.
The draft is June 28 and we are starting the draft Thursday, June 15 in the morning. That will give us 13 days or so to complete the draft, even factoring in the Sabbath. For weekdays and Sunday, I will post a pick in the morning, then a second in the evening with voting in between, for at least the first half or so of the draft. The second half or so, we can run three per day if needed so we get all 32 picks by or on the morning of June 28.
As a reminder, for each pick, included should be: a) Selection and reasoning/scouting report, and b) Alternatives considered(both players and trades). Please provide me via email your pick with the aforementioned information following the posting of the prior pick on the site. If I become aware of a pick or a few picks in a row, I will email you to help facilitate moving the mock draft along. I will post the blog with the pick and the voting poll within each blog.
Overall Rules and Process
As mentioned previously, there is a little kicker. After the pick or trade is made, a poll will be posted to rate the selection or deal. If the majority of people like the pick or trade, that selection stands and it moves on to the next team’s picks. If not, the majority rules and that’s what happens with that team and pick. I have the last right of refusal to keep everything on the up and up and avoid ballot box stuffing. My request to you is that you take this seriously and not make a mockery of the mock draft, because that would be an insult to the others who are participating and makes the whole process a sham. But by playing this out, we get to have healthy debate and conversation to remain engaged up and possibly beyond the draft. If teams make deals and they occur before a team’s selection is due, that deal will play a part as to when each person’s selection occurs.
Here how this will work: each evening (for now, one pick per day, but we will go to two when we get to second half of the mock draft and possibly even before that, so that we complete on time) the team’s selector will email me at [email protected] their pick and their rationale for that selection. If making a trade, the same applies, and all the selectors have been listed below along with their screen name if from this site or their twitter handle if external to help facilitate making trades. I will post that pick and rationale on the site and create a voting poll. For now, I was thinking solely just a yes or no vote for the poll, but if people want me to list other options for the selection at that pick number in cases of a no vote, I am happy to do so, to help make it more robust.
With the 25th overall pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Level Draft, the St. Louis Blues, represented by aecliptic, select Calum Ritchie, C, Oshawa, OHL
From The Hockey Writers:
"Ritchie is a skilled, offensive centerman with pro size and top-tier hockey IQ. When he is at his best, he’ll dazzle fans and his opponents with silky-smooth stickwork, allowing him to maneuver through crowds and into the scoring areas of the ice. Once he is in those areas, he often looks to find the perfect way to finish the play, whether it’s a heavy wrist shot or a pass to an open teammate. He is quite adept at surveying his options and executing based on the decisions he makes. He’s the type of player that makes things happen almost every time he’s on the ice, one way or another.
Ritchie fits the bill as a creative, playmaking centerman. He is effective at carrying the puck and can maintain possession for long periods of time without interruption. While he has a deceptively hard shot, he is unselfish with the puck almost to a fault. He is the type of centerman that offensive wingers love to play with, and the key to unlocking his offensive potential at the pro level could be finding him wingers that can cash in on the plays that he makes.
That unselfishness with the puck does come at a cost, however. There are times where he refuses to put the game on his stick and instead forces the puck to a teammate to escape pressure. Even though he has the skill and ability to evade pressure and make the “selfish” play, he often plays it safe and defers to his teammates. Perhaps it is because of this unselfishness that his point totals this season aren’t anything to go crazy over. While wearing the alternate captain’s ‘A’ on his sweater, Ritchie had 24 goals and 59 points in 59 games this season with the Oshawa Generals.
Perhaps it is because of this unselfishness that his point totals this season aren’t anything to go crazy over. While wearing the alternate captain’s ‘A’ on his sweater, Ritchie had 24 goals and 59 points in 59 games this season with the Oshawa Generals."
“This year, wearing an “A” as a 17-year-old with the Generals, he’s been arguably their most consistent forward while playing a key role on the penalty kill and late in games in the faceoff circle (where he is really strong). I’d like to see him pick up a bit more of an acceleration gear from a standstill (his stride can look a little short/stunted/heavy), and fill the scoresheet a little more (though the talent around him has something to do with that too), but there’s a lot to like.” – Scott Wheeler (from “2023 NHL Draft top 64 prospects: Scott Wheeler’s March ranking”, The Athletic, 3/1/23)
“He looks like a top prospect, but he’s quite inconsistent. Ritchie has long stretches where he doesn’t make much of an impact, and plays too much on the perimeter. The toolkit screams “good NHL player,” and I think eventually he will be that, but he may frustrate you along the way.” – Corey Pronman (from “2023 NHL Draft prospects: Bedard No. 1 on Corey Pronman’s ranking, Fantilli and Michkov next”, The Athletic, 3/7/23)
“The Generals forward has picked up his offensive production lately, but he’s struggled to stick around a point per game. Ritchie has shown evasive puck skill and a high-end shot in spurts, and his playmaking stems from intelligence, but he just hasn’t been able to find the scoresheet as much as he’d like.” – Tony Ferrari
With the 26th overall pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Level Draft, the San Jose Sharks, represented by Russ Cohen, select Danny Nelson, C/W, US NTDP
Rationale:
Nelson is smart, versatile, and he's already a shutdown defensive player with his offense starting to emerge. At 6'3" he can impact games at those important times. Nelson scored some clutch goals at the U18s and earned his gold medal as a result.
2023 NHL DRAFT ORDER
1 Chicago - Zach Jarom, HB Blackhawks blogger, Connor Bedard, C, Regina (WHL)
2 Anaheim - Ryan Armstrong - climbdenali12, Adam Fantilli, C, Univ. of Michigan
3 Columbus - Zak McMillian, HB Blue Jackets blogger, Leo Carlsson, C, Orebro HK, (SHL)
4 San Jose - Ken Peterson, Hockeygm, Matvei Michkov, RW, SKA, KHL
5 Montreal - Karine Hains, HB Canadiens blogger, Will Smith, C, US NTDP
6 Arizona - slimtj, TJ Reilly, David Reinbacher, D, Kloten (SWISS)
7 Philadelphia - Bill Meltzer, HB Flyers blogger, Ryan Leonard, RW, US, NTDP
8 Washington - optimus-reim, Zach Benson, LW, Winnipeg, WHL
9 Detroit - Feds91Stammer, Oliver Moore, C, US NTDP
10 St. Louis - aecliptic, Dalibor Dvorsky, C, AIK, Slovakia
11 Vancouver - David Wong, OrcaBlue, Axel Sandin-Pellikka, D, Skelleftea Jr. (SWEDEN-JR.)
12 Arizona via OTT - slimtj, TJ Reilly, Dimitri Simishov, D, Yaroslavl Jr. (RUSSIA-JR.)
13 Buffalo - Paul Schott, lonsabres, Tom Willander, D, Rogel BK, Sweden
14 Pittsburgh - mkrisnosky, Matt Krisnosky, Matthew Wood, RW, University of Connecticut
15 Nashville - eichiefs9, Colby Barlow, LW, Owen Sound
16 Calgary - Trevor Neufeld, HB Flames blogger, Eduard Sale, LW, Bryno (Czech)
17 Detroit via NYI - Feds91stammer, Nate Danielson, C, Brandon (WHL)
18 Winnipeg - Jacob Billingham, HB Jets blogger, Andrew Cristall, LW, Kelowna, (WHL)
19 Chicago via TB - Zach Jarom, HB Blackhawks blogger, Gabe Perreault, RW, US NTDP
20 Seattle - NYRangers1124, Quintin Musty, LW, Sudbury (OHL)
21 Minnesota - TC88, Todd Piepho,
[email protected], Brayden Yager, C, Moose Jaw, (WHL)
22 Philadelphia via Columbus via LA - Bill Meltzer, HB Flyers blogger, Daniil But, LW, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, (KHL)
23 NY Rangers - Jan Levine, Gavin Brindley, RW, University of Michigan
24 Nashville via EDM - eichiefs9, Mikhail Gulyayev, D, OMSK Jr
25 St. Louis via TOR - aecliptic, Calum Ritchie, C, Oshawa (OHL)
26 San Jose via NJ - Russ Cohen, Danny Nelson, C/W, US NTDP
27 Colorado - John Ryan, jryan88, Monday, June 26, am
28 Toronto via BOS - Michael Augello, HB Maple Leafs blogger, Monday, June 26, am
29 St. Louis via DAL - aecliptic, Monday, June 26, pm
30 Carolina - BINGO!, Chris Cole, Monday, June 26, pm
31 Montreal via FLA - Karine Hains, HB Canadiens blogger, Tuesday, June 27, am
32 Vegas- Brendan Smith, tbsmith, Tuesday, June 27, am
Looking forward to running this again. We had a ton of fun the last few seasons. That should be the same again this year with New York having the 23rd pick in the first round.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
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