An expert reveals a top 10 of the combined 2022 and 2023 drafts: Juraj Slafkovsky's position is causing a stir
We are a few weeks away from the NHL Draft taking place in Nashville, and speculation is still rife about who will be the Canadiens' first choice with the fifth overall selection.
But I'm not here to talk about the identity of this famous player, but to discuss the fact that this year's draft is superior to the one presented at the Bell Centre last July, at least when it comes to the top 5 prospects.
As reported by Nicolas Desrosiers, from the site Marqueur.com, prospect expert at The Athletic, the renowned Corey Pronman, made a combined ranking of the young talents from the 2022 and 2023 drafts.
And as one can see, the talent is indeed present this year, with Pronman's top five picks all coming from the 2023 crop and the Canadiens' first choice from last year, Juraj Slafkovsky, coming in sixth place.
Here is the list of the two combined drafts:
2. Adam Fantilli - C (USHL)
3. Matvei Michkov - RW (KHL)
4. Leo Carlsson - C (SHL)
5. Will Smith - C (USHL)
6. Juraj Slafkovsky - LW (Canadiens)
7. Logan Cooley - C (Coyotes)
8. David Jiricek - RD (Blue Jackets)
9. David Reinbacher - RD (Switzerland)
10. Shane Wright - C (Kraken)
11. Cutter Gauthier - C (Flyers)
12. Kevin Korchinski - LD (Blackhawks)
13. Dalibor Dvorsky - C (Sweden)
14. Ryan Leonard - RW (USHL)
15. Simon Nemec - RD (Devils)
16. Gabriel Perreault - LW (USHL)
17. Marco Kasper - C (Red Wings)
18. Zach Benson - LW (WHL)
19. Matthew Savoie - C (Sabres)
20. Pavel Mintyukov - LD (Ducks)
While some Canadiens fans may be disappointed with this outcome, it remains that, for now, the organization could count on two of the top ten players from the last two drafts.
Also, with its fifth selection in this year's draft, Kent Hughes could land a young player who would have been a first overall pick in the last draft, which is not insignificant in the circumstances.
Even though it's still early to speculate about the future, it will be interesting to follow the progress of Slafkovsky and the Canadiens' fifth overall pick over the years, and from there we can truly evaluate whether the Tricolore organization has made the right choices.
| POLL | ||
In your opinion, who will the Canadiens draft with their fifth pick? | ||
| Will Smith | 364 | 47.2 % |
| Matvei Michkov | 318 | 41.2 % |
| Dalibor Dvrosky | 41 | 5.3 % |
| David Reinbacher | 48 | 6.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
