The fifth mock Hockey Buzz mock draft driven by the readers and a few special guests rolls into the next 12 picks. TC88 and Bill Meltzer, HB Flyers blogger, made their selections for Minnesota and Philadelphia, respectively, with the Rangers, represented by me, and eichiefs9, for Nashville, up next.
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 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 21st overall pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Level Draft, the Minnesota Wild, represented by TC88, Todd Piepho, select Brayden Yager, C, Moose Jaw, (WHL)
Yager was once a staple among the top 10 rankings, but a "regression" in 2023 now has him ranked between 7-20 by most experts. The reason I put "regression" in quotes is because that is likely due to looking at his decrease in goals from 2022. Goals down from 34 goals (63 games) to 28 (67 games) but points up from 59 (.94 PPG) to 78 (1.16 PPG). I could see the concern in goals if he wasn't rounding out his game in other ways, especially as a center. He's also been mentioned to have a top 5 shot in this draft, so on a line with Kaprizov and (maybe) Zuccarello, all he has to do is get open and find the back of the net. Maybe the biggest positive from this season is the fact that he was second in points per game amongst players in the WHL playoffs with 1.60 (6 goals and 10 assists in 10 games) behind Connor Bedard who had a ridiculous 2.86 PPG. Love to see players who elevate their games when it matters most.
As mentioned above, the biggest strength to his game is likely his booming shot, what some have described as "Yager bombs". I mean, come-on, that's pretty cool "a Yager bomb setup by Kirill the Thrill and the Norwegian Hobbit Wizard". He has an NHL release with unbelievable accuracy and also scored a number of goals off one-timers. He's also described as a good, but not elite skater. Not overly explosive, but has good speed once he gets going. Similarly, not the most creative player on the ice but has good hands, electing to drop the shoulder and go through players to get an open shot more often than not.
With all other players, there are concerns. For Yager, the biggest concern may be whether or not he plays center in the NHL. He's a solid two-way player, but has shown some inconsistencies in his own end. All-in-all Yager could be one of the steals in this draft, especially with his shot and the fact that he elevated his game during the playoffs.
The dream for the Wild would be for Yager to be ready to go by the 2024/25 season when the Wild are still carrying the dead-cap space from Parise and Sutter (over $14M!) and will be looking for cheap players who can contribute. The 2025/26 season may be more likely which is also the last season of Kaprizov's contract before he becomes a UFA, and looks like the Wild's best chance at a deep cup run as they can add a few more pieces to the roster with the dead cap savings.
Other players considered were Calum Ritchie and Samuel Honzek. Ritchie seems like a safer pick but with less upside, while Honzek is a huge player at 6' 4" who moves well and is loaded with skill but is the riskiest of the 3. I could also seeing the Wild moving the pick to a team who would be willing to retain salary on a player who could help them now.
With the 22nd overall pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Level Draft, the Philadelphia Flyers, represented by Bill Meltzer, HB Flyers blogger, select Daniil But, LW, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, (KHL)
This is a BPA pick on a player with a sky high upside: 6-foot-5 and highly skilled. Surprisingly agile for such a huge-framed player. It's a speculation pick because, in our organization, only Ken Hoodikoff was able to scout the player in person. Everyone else had to rely on video. But the collection of tools here and home run potential was ultimately too tempting to pass up.
Also considered: numerous prospects but it ultimately came down to But.
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, Sunday, June 25 am
24 Nashville via EDM - eichiefs9, Sunday, June 25 am,
25 St. Louis via TOR - aecliptic, Sunday, June 25 pm
26 San Jose via NJ - Russ Cohen, Sunday, June 25 pm
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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