Grading the 2023 NHL Draft: How did the Canadian teams do?

A week after the 2023 NHL draft, the dust has settled and fans have had a chance to get to know their potential new players. It is one of the most exciting parts of the season for any sports bettor, with new blood filtering into teams, changing their chances for the seasons ahead.

Three of the seven Canadian teams made it into the playoffs last season with two of them, the Winnipeg Jets and Edmonton Oilers, falling to the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Las Vegas Golden Knights.

How well did each team fare in the recent draft in Nashville and how has it changed their odds if you are placing a bet on the best betting sites in Canada for the 2023/24 season? Let’s explore the new players drafted by each franchise. 

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The Leafs finally made it out of round 1 of the playoffs last season, finding the Panthers too strong in the second round. As a team, they have been in the hunt for the last few seasons, lacking top picks as a result. 

Easton Cowen who went 28th from the London Knights was the only Leafs selection in the top 150 picks. The Leafs had success when taking Mitch Marner from the Knights but Cowen has seemed more of a stretch. 

Most pundits had Cowen going late round 2 or early round 3, to go in round 1 was a shock. He put up strong numbers in the playoffs last season and this will be a feast-or-famine selection for the new GM Brad Treliving. The Leafs also took Hudson Malinoski at 153 and Noah Chadwick at 185.

The Maple Leafs are +1200 to lift the Stanley Cup next season. A strong core is there but they have struggled to build any momentum going into postseason play for a number of years. The side has the quality to lift a cup but perhaps not the mental fortitude required to end the near 60-year wait.

Two poor seasons have followed a trip to the 2021 Stanley Cup Finals for the Habs. They had the 5th pick this year, going with David Reinbacher who was the sole player drafted from Austria. With 307 goals against last season, the 6’2” blue liner will be a key addition in a bid to shore up the defence in the coming seasons. 

Jacob Fowler was a brick wall between the pipes in the playoffs for the Youngstown Phantoms in the USHL last season. A 1.36GAA and .952 save percentage for the 69th pick in nine games helped the team to their first Clark Cup title.

Seven picks from 101 to 197 means that they have been able to stock the farm but what NHL quality there is there is a question only time will be able to answer. Habs fans will be hoping that there is some talent there that other teams missed ahead of them.

+15000 are the current odds on the Montreal Canadiens lifting the Stanley Cup in 2024. It might seem insulting for a team just three seasons after making the finals but the lack of class the last two seasons has been stark. The Habs look set for a struggle again.

In defence of their poor grade, the Sens did not have a pick until 108 where they took Hoyt Stanley. A mobile D-man, Stanley produced 38 points in 53 games last season for the Victoria Grizzlies. Most pundits predicted he would go higher so perhaps the Sens have a long-term prospect to mould. 

Owen Beckner went 204th having picked up 50 points in 53 games for Salmon Arm, though the BCHL tends to be seen as a weaker junior division. Vladimir Nikitin was the sole player drafted from Kazakhstan at 207. Only 10 Kazakh-born players have even suited up in the NHL and only one of those (Nikolai Antropov) played more than 85 games. 

1927 was the last time an Ottawa team hoisted the trophy, the current franchise which has been around since the 1992/93 season has gotten close, losing in the finals to the Ducks in the 06/07 season. They have been rebuilding for the last six years and could do with a quicker start to their season than in recent years to justify +4000 odds.

With just a single pick in the top 180+, it was a quiet draft for the Oilers. In Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, they boast the top offensive talent in the league but the back end could do with some help. Perhaps that is where Beau Akey, the 56th pick can come in.

He is not the biggest out there but he has plenty of strength for his stature. With 47 points in 66 games last season, he is not afraid to get forward which will no doubt prove popular in an attacking juggernaut in years to come. 

It was a case of third-time lucky for the 216th pick Matt Copponi. Eligible in 2021 and 2022, he finally got drafted in the seventh round this year. Copponi now has a point to prove and that may just make him a steal in time going this late.  

No surprise to see the Oilers at +900 given the generational talent they have in Connor McDavid. He and Leon Draisaitl can not do it alone, they need help between the pipes and on the blue line if they are to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup again.

Six picks for the Flames as they look to the future with Samuel Honzek their top selection at 16. 

At 6’4”, it is no surprise that he is a solid option when protecting the puck but he can produce the goods as well. The Slovakian picked up 56 points in 43 games with the Vancouver Giants last season in the WHL, a similar return this season will see him in a Flames jersey sooner rather than later.

21 goals and 51 assists from the blue line for the Monkton Wildcats in the QMJHL saw Etienne Morin go 48th. He also picked up 50 penalty minutes, not afraid to get stuck in with the hits. He only turned 18 in March so in a league with players almost all his senior, he looks a solid pick-up.  

Aydar Suniev went with the 80th pick. He is another in the long line of players who can end up better than their position in the draft due to the general option on the strength (or lack of strength) of the BCHL. 90 points in 50 games this last season was an excellent return.

51 points with the Vancouver Giants was only enough to see Jaden Lipinski go 112th. He led the team with five game-winning goals and while he did not play much with fellow new Flame Samuel Honzek, they did have some power play time together. 

+3000 are the odds on offer for the Flames at present. Inconsistency has been their foe in recent seasons. Twice in the last five years they have won the Pacific division, another two of those five they have failed to make the playoffs.

In Colby Barlow the Jets have taken a player of huge potential with the 18th pick. Captain of the Owen Sound Attack, he led the team in goals and points last season. Predicted to go higher than he did, the Jets could have got themselves a bargain at 18.

Barlow has an eye for goal and does not mind getting down and dirty in front of the net looking for tips. His passing is perhaps a touch lacking for a true star but he makes up for it with the hard work he puts in at the defensive end of the ice. 

The only other pick the Jets had in the top 100 was Zach Nehring at 82. His Mum’s family are all Jets fans so he has landed in the right city. It is hard to tell exactly what his numbers at Shattuck St Mary’s are worth but 85 points in 54 games is solid at any level.

They picked up an interesting goaltender in Thomas Milic with the 151st pick. He helped the Seattle Thunderbirds to the Memorial Cup Final, going 27-3-1 in the regular season with a 2.08 GAA and a .928 save percentage. This was his third year of eligibility so it is no surprise he was passed over by many but the Jets may have got a solid recruit for the future. 

The Jets have taken four trips to the playoffs in the last five years, three of those getting knocked out by a finalist and twice by the eventual Stanley Cup winner. That said, +6600 looks about right for a side in disarray having put ex-captain Blake Wheeler on waivers plus the future of Connor Hellebuyck being in doubt.

Tom Willander was the first player to head to a Canadian franchise in this year’s draft at 11. The Canucks needed reinforcements on the blue line so it is no surprise that they went after a player like Willander with their first round pick. 

His strength is his skating ability, able to contribute offensively as well as being responsible defensively. Considered by many to be the top D-man in the entire draft, the fact he went third at his position can be to the benefit of the Canucks in the long run.

The Canucks had a long wait until Hunter Brzustewicz at 75 but then added another four players before 120. Brzustewicz had a strong season on the blue line for the Kitchener Rangers, notching up 57 points in 68 games. 

Continuing their quest for defence, Sawyer Mynio was picked up at 89. He was a +50 for the Seattle Thunderbirds this season as they went to the Memorial Cup Final. A left-hander with speed, he has the potential to make an impact within a few years.

If the Canucks have drafted a sleeper pick then perhaps it was Matthew Perkins at 119. What he lacks in size, he makes up for in the ability to pick a pass. Undrafted in 2022, he plays with grit and the generally negative opinion of fans on the forums will only drive him to prove them wrong. 

+6000 is the current Canucks price to land the cup. Strong attacking but poor at the back has seen them miss the playoffs in seven of the last eight seasons. The draft has seen them pick up blue liners but it will be a while before they can make the necessary impact.

Fans of the Calgary Flames should be the happiest of all the Canadian teams following the recent draft. They not only added a big powerful forward in the opening round but they followed that up with some excellent value in the later rounds. 

The Jets will be happy with their opening pick as will the Oilers. Both teams picked up a player who will be helping them sooner rather than later while the Canucks have picked up a string of blue-liners for the future which was the biggest issue that they had to address. 

Quantity over quality was the way the Habs went while the Senators had little chance of making any sort of an impact in the draft with no picks in the top 100. The Leafs only had one shot at making an impact with the 28th pick and most experts have been left scratching their heads. Toronto are all about the here and now which is just as well as their draft was the worst of the seven Canadian sides.