Adam Fantilli and Connor Bedard hold the 2023 IIHF Ice Hockey World Juniors trophy.
photo: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION / Tim Austen
The NHL Entry Draft started off as expected, but it didn’t take long for the element of surprise to kick in. Indeed, Canada’s Connor Bedard, the 2023 IIHF Male Player of the Year, was selected first overall by Chicago, but the second overall selection, owned by Anaheim, was Sweden’s Leo Carlsson. Carlsson played with Orebro this past season and looked impressive at the recent World Championship in Tampere.
This set the tone for a first round that saw Sweden play a starring role. Canada led the way with 12 of the 32 selections, but Sweden and the United States each had six. Russia had four, three of which came in the first 12 selections, and Slovakia two. Czechia and Austria had one each. In all, 14 of the 32 players (43.8 per cent) came from Europe.
Additionally, 19 of the 32 players have appeared in the IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship and 10 have already played at the IIHF World Juniors even though they have, for the most part, two years of eligibility remaining.
Shockingly, not a single Finn was taken in the first round, and of the 32 players chosen not one was a goalie (24 forwards, 8 defenders).
The Carlsson selection opened the board for Columbus, drafting third, and they took advantage of the availability of Canadian Adam Fantilli of the University of Michigan. Fantilli made history this past season, winning gold at both the World Juniors and World Championship, only the 11th player ever to achieve this double.
In the fourth slot, San Jose selected American Will Smith from the USNTDP, making three nations represented in the first four picks. All forwards, all different skills. Bedard is a pure talent, Carlsson a big two-way centre, Fantilli a physical offensive presence, and Smith a passer and scorer who likely will go to Boston College for a year or two before thinking about the NHL.
Selecting fifth, Montreal called the name David Reinbacher, an Austrian blueliner who became the highest-drafted Austrian blueliner in NHL history. Only Thomas Vanek has ever been drafted as high from their homeland. If Carlsson was a surprise in the second slot, Arizona threw a shock through Bridgestone Arena when they selected Dmitri Simashev sixth. A lanky defender who played junior with Yaroslavl in Russia this past year, few predicted he would go so high in the first round. As well, he has yet to play an IIHF event, making it difficult to compare him to his age cohort.
And if the Coyotes threw the dice with Simashev, the Flyers, drafting seventh, took that to another level when they announced the name Matvei Michkov. Two years ago, he looked to be on par with Bedard, but Michkov has been confined to play in Russia and is the great unknown of the draft. He is still under contract in the KHL for another three years, and no one can say what his development has been, so the Flyers might have a future superstar…or not.
Washington selected Ryan Leonard with the 8th choice. A teammate of Smith with the USNTDP, who will join Smith at Boston College, Leonard starred in the last two U18 tournaments, winning silver in 2022 and gold this past April. He had 23 points in 13 games in those two tournaments and demonstrated a physicality and skill any team could use.
In 9th, Detroit took Nate Danielson, a centre with the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL, and a season-long opponent of Bedard. Danielson hasn’t played in an IIHF junior event, but he already has three WHL seasons under his belt and will turn 19 before training camp this fall.
With the first of three first-round selections, the St. Louis Blues chose Slovakian Dalibor Dvorsky, who played in Sweden this past season as well as both the U18 and U20. A centre, he is skilled at both ends of the ice and will be an integral part of a team that won the Stanley Cup in 2019 and is looking to get back to the top sooner rather than later.
In 11th, Vancouver took a much-needed defender in the form of Tom Willander. He played in Sweden last year but will go to Boston University this coming season. Willander won a silver medal at the 2023 U18 and won’t turn 19 until early next year. Next up, Arizona was back with their second selection (courtesy of the Jacob Chychrun trade), and they took another Russian, Daniil But of Yaroslavl. He also is a long-term project who has no IIHF experience to his resume.
The Winnipeg Jets took Zach Benson 13th overall. Even though he just turned 18 six weeks ago, Benson has three years of WHL experience under his belt with the Winnipeg Ice. He’s not the biggest guy, but he is skilled with tremendous upside. Pittsburgh and new GM Kyle Dubas then took another Canadian, Brayden Yager, who was born in Saskatoon and played for Moose Jaw the last three years.
The hosts slotted in at 15, and it was the start of a new era for the Predators. GM David Poile is retiring and Barry Trotz is coming in as his replacement, and Andrew Brunette is the new head coach. Amid the roars and hoopla in Bridegstone, Matthew Wood’s name was called. Wood had seven goals and 13 points in the last U18 and played at the University of Connecticut. Born in Lethbridge, Alberta, he is big and strong and is a long-term project.
Calgary selected 16th and used their choice to pick the second Slovakian of the night, forward Samuel Honzek. He played in the WHL this past season with the Vancouver Giants, as well as parts of the last two World Juniors, his best stretch of play in junior coming after the U20s in Halifax.
Detroit, picking 17th and also for the second time, took Swedish defender Axel Sandin Pelikka. Some scouts call him the best blueliner in the draft. He played at both the U18 and World Juniors this past season, being named IIHF Directorate Best Defender in the former and winning a silver medal.
Winnipeg selected Colby Barlow with the 18th choice. He also played at the 2023 U18, for Canada, and had a strong season with Owen Sound in the OHL in 2022-23. The Blackhawks, with a selection acquired from Tampa Bay, were back to the podium for the 19th selection, where they chose Oliver Moore. He is another member of the USNTDP and had nine points in seven games with the gold-medal-winning Americans at the recent U18s in Switzerland.
The first Czech of the night was selected in the 20th position by the Seattle Kraken. That distinction went to Eduard Sale, a lanky forward who has played the last two seasons with Brno. He won an impressive silver medal with Czechia at this past World Juniors and also played at the 2022 and 2023 U18s.
Charlie Stramel out of the University of Wisconsin was selected 21st by the Minnesota Wild. He had played the previous two seasons with the USNTDP and has appeared in four junior events in the last two seasons—two U18s and two World Juniors. Back to the mic for the second time, the Flyers then chose Oliver Bonk, another OHL player, with London, at 22nd.
The New York Rangers, with the 23rd selection, kept the celebrations going for USA Hockey and its development program when Gabriel Perreault, son of longtime NHLer Yanic, became a Blueshirt. He had a record-breaking season with the NTDP for goals and points, a skilled scorer but more respected as a premier set-up man.
The host Predators used their second pick, 24th overall, to pick a talented blueliner in Tanner Molendyk. A native of British Columbia playing in the WHL with Saskatoon, he has developed a reputation for his offense from the back end. Otto Stenberg, the fourth Swede selected so far, went to St. Louis with the 25th pick. He has played in the last two U18s, winning medals at both events—gold in 2022, silver last year.
San Jose took Quentin Musty 26th, an American who has been playing with the Sudbury Wolves in the OHL. The Colorado Avalanche took another Canadian, Calum Ritchie, next. He won bronze with Canada’s U18 team this past year and also played in the OHL, with Oshawa.
Selecting 28th was Toronto under new general manager, Brad Treliving. He had to be absent from the draft floor until his old team, Calgary, selected 14th, but by number 28 he was actively involved in discussions around the Leafs’ table. In the end, they selected Easton Cowan, a teammate of Bok with the Knights. He just turned 18 last month and hadn’t been projected to be a first-rounder, but the Leafs liked his tremendous progress over the season.
The Blues, with their third selection of the night at 29th, took another Swedish defender, Theo Lindstein, who played with Stenberg on the last two medal-winning U18 teams. Carolina, with the 30th selection, chose Bradly Nadeau from Penticton in the B.C. provincial junior league. Despite his slight build, he has a wicked shot and has a full skill set in the offensive zone. He has committed to the University of Maine for the upcoming season.
With their second pick of the night, the Avs took a Russian, Mikhail Gulyayev, again gambling that a lack of international competition and experience won’t harm his development in the long run. And to finish off the first round, the Stanley Cup-winning Vegas Golden Knights selected David Edstrom, another member of Sweden’s silver-medal winning team from the 2023 U18s.
Rounds two to seven will play out tomorrow, after which teams will hold rookie camps and decide how best to develop and nurture the talent they have selected these two hectic and all-important days.
This set the tone for a first round that saw Sweden play a starring role. Canada led the way with 12 of the 32 selections, but Sweden and the United States each had six. Russia had four, three of which came in the first 12 selections, and Slovakia two. Czechia and Austria had one each. In all, 14 of the 32 players (43.8 per cent) came from Europe.
Additionally, 19 of the 32 players have appeared in the IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship and 10 have already played at the IIHF World Juniors even though they have, for the most part, two years of eligibility remaining.
Shockingly, not a single Finn was taken in the first round, and of the 32 players chosen not one was a goalie (24 forwards, 8 defenders).
The Carlsson selection opened the board for Columbus, drafting third, and they took advantage of the availability of Canadian Adam Fantilli of the University of Michigan. Fantilli made history this past season, winning gold at both the World Juniors and World Championship, only the 11th player ever to achieve this double.
In the fourth slot, San Jose selected American Will Smith from the USNTDP, making three nations represented in the first four picks. All forwards, all different skills. Bedard is a pure talent, Carlsson a big two-way centre, Fantilli a physical offensive presence, and Smith a passer and scorer who likely will go to Boston College for a year or two before thinking about the NHL.
Selecting fifth, Montreal called the name David Reinbacher, an Austrian blueliner who became the highest-drafted Austrian blueliner in NHL history. Only Thomas Vanek has ever been drafted as high from their homeland. If Carlsson was a surprise in the second slot, Arizona threw a shock through Bridgestone Arena when they selected Dmitri Simashev sixth. A lanky defender who played junior with Yaroslavl in Russia this past year, few predicted he would go so high in the first round. As well, he has yet to play an IIHF event, making it difficult to compare him to his age cohort.
And if the Coyotes threw the dice with Simashev, the Flyers, drafting seventh, took that to another level when they announced the name Matvei Michkov. Two years ago, he looked to be on par with Bedard, but Michkov has been confined to play in Russia and is the great unknown of the draft. He is still under contract in the KHL for another three years, and no one can say what his development has been, so the Flyers might have a future superstar…or not.
Washington selected Ryan Leonard with the 8th choice. A teammate of Smith with the USNTDP, who will join Smith at Boston College, Leonard starred in the last two U18 tournaments, winning silver in 2022 and gold this past April. He had 23 points in 13 games in those two tournaments and demonstrated a physicality and skill any team could use.
In 9th, Detroit took Nate Danielson, a centre with the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL, and a season-long opponent of Bedard. Danielson hasn’t played in an IIHF junior event, but he already has three WHL seasons under his belt and will turn 19 before training camp this fall.
With the first of three first-round selections, the St. Louis Blues chose Slovakian Dalibor Dvorsky, who played in Sweden this past season as well as both the U18 and U20. A centre, he is skilled at both ends of the ice and will be an integral part of a team that won the Stanley Cup in 2019 and is looking to get back to the top sooner rather than later.
In 11th, Vancouver took a much-needed defender in the form of Tom Willander. He played in Sweden last year but will go to Boston University this coming season. Willander won a silver medal at the 2023 U18 and won’t turn 19 until early next year. Next up, Arizona was back with their second selection (courtesy of the Jacob Chychrun trade), and they took another Russian, Daniil But of Yaroslavl. He also is a long-term project who has no IIHF experience to his resume.
The Winnipeg Jets took Zach Benson 13th overall. Even though he just turned 18 six weeks ago, Benson has three years of WHL experience under his belt with the Winnipeg Ice. He’s not the biggest guy, but he is skilled with tremendous upside. Pittsburgh and new GM Kyle Dubas then took another Canadian, Brayden Yager, who was born in Saskatoon and played for Moose Jaw the last three years.
The hosts slotted in at 15, and it was the start of a new era for the Predators. GM David Poile is retiring and Barry Trotz is coming in as his replacement, and Andrew Brunette is the new head coach. Amid the roars and hoopla in Bridegstone, Matthew Wood’s name was called. Wood had seven goals and 13 points in the last U18 and played at the University of Connecticut. Born in Lethbridge, Alberta, he is big and strong and is a long-term project.
Calgary selected 16th and used their choice to pick the second Slovakian of the night, forward Samuel Honzek. He played in the WHL this past season with the Vancouver Giants, as well as parts of the last two World Juniors, his best stretch of play in junior coming after the U20s in Halifax.
Detroit, picking 17th and also for the second time, took Swedish defender Axel Sandin Pelikka. Some scouts call him the best blueliner in the draft. He played at both the U18 and World Juniors this past season, being named IIHF Directorate Best Defender in the former and winning a silver medal.
Winnipeg selected Colby Barlow with the 18th choice. He also played at the 2023 U18, for Canada, and had a strong season with Owen Sound in the OHL in 2022-23. The Blackhawks, with a selection acquired from Tampa Bay, were back to the podium for the 19th selection, where they chose Oliver Moore. He is another member of the USNTDP and had nine points in seven games with the gold-medal-winning Americans at the recent U18s in Switzerland.
The first Czech of the night was selected in the 20th position by the Seattle Kraken. That distinction went to Eduard Sale, a lanky forward who has played the last two seasons with Brno. He won an impressive silver medal with Czechia at this past World Juniors and also played at the 2022 and 2023 U18s.
Charlie Stramel out of the University of Wisconsin was selected 21st by the Minnesota Wild. He had played the previous two seasons with the USNTDP and has appeared in four junior events in the last two seasons—two U18s and two World Juniors. Back to the mic for the second time, the Flyers then chose Oliver Bonk, another OHL player, with London, at 22nd.
The New York Rangers, with the 23rd selection, kept the celebrations going for USA Hockey and its development program when Gabriel Perreault, son of longtime NHLer Yanic, became a Blueshirt. He had a record-breaking season with the NTDP for goals and points, a skilled scorer but more respected as a premier set-up man.
The host Predators used their second pick, 24th overall, to pick a talented blueliner in Tanner Molendyk. A native of British Columbia playing in the WHL with Saskatoon, he has developed a reputation for his offense from the back end. Otto Stenberg, the fourth Swede selected so far, went to St. Louis with the 25th pick. He has played in the last two U18s, winning medals at both events—gold in 2022, silver last year.
San Jose took Quentin Musty 26th, an American who has been playing with the Sudbury Wolves in the OHL. The Colorado Avalanche took another Canadian, Calum Ritchie, next. He won bronze with Canada’s U18 team this past year and also played in the OHL, with Oshawa.
Selecting 28th was Toronto under new general manager, Brad Treliving. He had to be absent from the draft floor until his old team, Calgary, selected 14th, but by number 28 he was actively involved in discussions around the Leafs’ table. In the end, they selected Easton Cowan, a teammate of Bok with the Knights. He just turned 18 last month and hadn’t been projected to be a first-rounder, but the Leafs liked his tremendous progress over the season.
The Blues, with their third selection of the night at 29th, took another Swedish defender, Theo Lindstein, who played with Stenberg on the last two medal-winning U18 teams. Carolina, with the 30th selection, chose Bradly Nadeau from Penticton in the B.C. provincial junior league. Despite his slight build, he has a wicked shot and has a full skill set in the offensive zone. He has committed to the University of Maine for the upcoming season.
With their second pick of the night, the Avs took a Russian, Mikhail Gulyayev, again gambling that a lack of international competition and experience won’t harm his development in the long run. And to finish off the first round, the Stanley Cup-winning Vegas Golden Knights selected David Edstrom, another member of Sweden’s silver-medal winning team from the 2023 U18s.
Rounds two to seven will play out tomorrow, after which teams will hold rookie camps and decide how best to develop and nurture the talent they have selected these two hectic and all-important days.