Yesterday we broke down the middle group of the 2023 NHL Draft. Today we turn to the other highly desired position, defenders. The 2023 NHL Draft didn’t start out as the most attractive draft in this regard, but other blueliners emerged as the season progressed that will be of significant interest to NHL teams. Today we break down the top names.
step 1
1.David Reinbacher
2. Dmitry Simashev
rank 2
3.Tom Willander
level 3
4. Axel Sandin-Pellikka
5. Tanner Molendyk
6. Oliver Bonk
7. Mikhail Gulyayev
8. Luke Dragicevic
9. Maxim Strbak
Level 4
10. Etienne Morin
11. Arttu Karki
12. Theo Lindstein
13.Luca Cagnoni
14. Daniil Karpovich
15. Beau Akey
16. Caden Price
17.Cameron Allen
18.Gavin McCarthy
19.Andrew Gibson
20. Hunter Brzustewicz
21. Jakub Dvorak
22. Aram Minnetian
23.Andrew Strathman
24. Emil Pieniniemi
Most scouts will name David Reinbacher, Tom Willander, Dmitri Simashev, and Axel Sandin-Pellikka as the top four defensemen in this draft in a specific order, but that order is not consensus.
Given Reinbacher’s track record against men and not having to deal with a Russian variable, there’s a good chance he’ll be the first defender to be called up. He is of good size and mobility, he is good in competition and provides offense. He is aiming to be a senior two-way defenseman in the NHL.
In my opinion, as a pure player, Simashev is not far from Reinbacher. He’s taller, but also a strong skater and competitor who can make a lot of stops. Simashev has an offense but considering what Reinbacher has shown this year in a top league I would say his puck play is superior. Simashev still has more than enough skill to move pucks and score big minutes in the NHL. A team has to bite the bullet on their KHL contract for at least two more years, but eventually, in the first round, someone probably will because six-foot-tall defenders who can skate and have skill don’t come easily are to be found.
Tom Willander is rising fast. He’s one of the best skaters in this draft, although he’s also a decent size, he plays hard and showed more offense as the season progressed. Colleague Max Bultman has compared his development to Jake Sanderson’s in his draft season, and I don’t think it’s crazy to tie the dots together. Willander will enter the draft very early.
Axel Sandin-Pellikka and Mikhail Gulyayev are the two smaller high-end puck-moving defenders in this draft. There are some scouts who love Gulyayev and think he might belong in the top half of the first-round pick, and some who aren’t 100 percent convinced would put a second-round pick on him. He’s a top-notch puck mover and first-round skater, but considering he’s not very dynamic, he’s 5’7 and he’s not Russian, I’m assuming he’ll make the second round. Sandin-Pellikka is slightly taller and more competitive, so he should be the first of the two chosen. Victor Soderstrom was 11th, Nils Lundkvist was in his mid-20s, and I suspect Sandin-Pellikka is somewhere in between.
Oliver Bonk will quickly become attractive to teams. Aside from Reinbacher and Simashev, the latter of whom has the KHL contract question, there is no other defender in this draft other than Bonk who has NHL size, mobility, puck movement skills, and the ability to make stops. He’s not sexy, won’t have great offensive stats or run people over, but has all the makings of a second defender. The other top tall defenders either have weaknesses in skating/defending (Dragicevic, Karki) or weaknesses in offense (Strbak, Gibson, Dvorak and McCarthy).
Because of this, it’s interesting to keep an eye on Jakub Dvorak. He’s huge, competes hard, and goes for a secondary offense. He’s had plenty of injury issues both this season and previous seasons, but when he’s healthy he’s a Tier 3 defensive talent. If a team’s medical staff gives him the thumbs up, I wouldn’t be surprised if he achieves a lot more than planned.
Karki and Karpovich are two of my favorites that I might be a bit on the fence about, but I could see them doing better than I expected on draft day. Both are strong defenders who skate well and have demonstrated offensive ability. Karki has real skills and scoring chances but struggles on defense. Karpovich is a tougher guy to play against but I don’t think he has that much natural talent. Regardless, I see a lot of pros in both games.
Tanner Molendyk has a chance to be a late first-round pick in my opinion. He is an outstanding skater who competes hard. He didn’t score big points this season but did play big minutes for a successful Saskatoon team and was often on their PP2. Over the summer, he showed for Team Canada that he can be a power play guy. He reminds me of many players like Alexander Romanov and Mario Ferraro.
Etienne Morin, Beau Akey and Theo Lindstein are all six-foot-tall puck players who can skate, and depending on who you ask in the league, some believe in them or are lukewarm because they’re not sure which exact one role they will play in the NHL.
Lukas Dragicevic’s landing site will be interesting. There aren’t many top four defenders in the NHL with average height and skate flaws, but his offensive touch is pretty good.
Maxim Strbak, on the other hand, lacks much offense but is a tall, agile defender with excellent competitions and enough hockey flair to play minutes at a higher level.
Finally, I’ll address Cameron Allen, one of the toughest reviews of this draft course. As a minor, I saw a defender zip the puck across the ice whose brain I thought was excellent and who was a real playmaker with his great mobility, extremely physical play and powerful shot. He appeared to be the first defense attorney to be called up. This season he struggled against the puck. His decisions and passes were chaotic at times and the offense evaporated. Which is the real player? Is it somewhere in the middle? I wish I had these answers.
(Photo: Minas Panagiotakis / Getty Images)