2023 NHL Draft live blog: How each pick affects who the Canucks select at 11th overall

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10 months ago

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The day has finally come! Tonight, we find out who the Vancouver Canucks will select with the 11th overall selection of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft live from Nashville.

CanucksArmy’s very own Chris Faber is on the draft floor in Nashville and will be bringing plenty of content following the Canucks’ first round selection. Faber will also have a live blog of his own going tomorrow where he will keep you locked in with everything you need to know through rounds 2-7. (Shoutout to the commenter on CanucksArmy who gave us this idea!)

But before that, the first round needs to wrap up, and that’s exactly what will happen tonight. Be sure to check back with this article throughout the night and in the picks leading up to the Canucks’ selection at 11th overall.

Throughout the night and as each pick is made, we’ll discuss how each pick affects what the Canucks might do at 11.

Some key things to watch out for tonight:

Where does David Reinbacher go? Once thought to be a late-teens pick, most scouting outlets seem to agree that Reinbacher is the top right shot defenceman in this draft and will go in the top ten. It’s unlikely he’s there at 11th for the Canucks to select.
How many defencemen go in the top ten? Faber is convinced that Dmitri Simashev is the best defenceman in this entire draft class, but there’s been plenty of noise surrounding Axel Sandin Pellika, and to a lesser degree, Tom Willander as defenceman who could be taken somewhat early on in this draft.
Do the Canucks have Zach Benson or Matvei Michkov fall into their hands? It’s unlikely that either of Matvei Michkov or Zach Benson fall all the way to the Canucks at 11th overall, but Patrik Allvin made it clear that the club wants to take the best player available to them tonight. Does that mean that the club could walk away with one of the most talented wingers in this draft class?

The draft gets going at 4 PM Pacific and we’ll see you back here shortly after!

Draft Order:

1st overall (CHI) Connor Bedard, F

It gives us no joy to report that the Chicago Blackhawks drafted Connor Bedard with the first overall pick. Sure, we all knew it would happen, but part of you hoped that maybe Bedard bombed his draft interview so badly that he’d fall to 11th overall. But no, he is a Chicago Blackhawk.

2nd overall (ANA) Leo Carlsson, F

That didn’t take long! In the months leading up to the draft, Adam Fantilli was thought to be a sure-fire lock for second overall, but the Anaheim Ducks gave us our first shake up by instead drafting Leo Carlsson out of the SHL.

3rd overall (CBJ) Adam Fantilli, F

A bit of a no-brainer. The top three is done. Now the fun starts!

4th overall (SJS) Will Smith, F

Patrick Marleau made the San Jose Sharks selection and somewhat unsurprisingly, selected Will Smith from the US development program. Matvei Michkov watch is officially on.

5th overall (MTL) David Reinbacher, D

The biggest riser from early draft boards, Austrian-born right-shot defenceman David Reinbacher goes fifth to Montreal.

6th overall (ARZ) Dmitri Simashev, D

The player that CanucksArmy’s own Chris Faber called the best defenceman in the draft goes sixth overall. Most public scouting outlets had Simashev being available outside of the top ten, and Sportsnet’s draft analyst called the Simashev pick by Arizona a reach.

7th overall (PHI) Matvei Michkov, F

Michkov watch is over, as Daniel Briere announced the Flyers’ selection of the Russian forward at seventh overall. Arguably a top three talent in the draft, it was always a long shot that Michkov would fall out of the top ten.

8th overall (WSH) Ryan Leonard, F

Ryan Leonard is a very talented player. We didn’t really think he’d be there for the Canucks at 11th, but hey, it would have been nice! When Allvin mentioned moving up in the draft, many people thought that the club may have their sights set on Leonard.

9th overall (DET) Nate Danielson, F

Okay, this is big, and it matters if you’re a Canucks fan. The Canucks were reportedly very high on Nate Danielson, but most scouting outlets agreed that Danielson at 11 would be a reach. A defence-first centre, Danielson has one of the highest floors of anyone in the draft. He’s almost certainly going to play in the NHL, but it remains to be seen if he’ll ever be a top six centre.

The Canucks are going to have a shot at Oliver Moore or Dalibor Dvorsky, two very good centres. Detroit did Vancouver a favour in 2018 when they took Filip Zadina over Quinn Hughes. Did they just do the Canucks another favour on draft day?

10th overall (STL) Dalibor Dvorsky, F

Dalibor Dvorsky would have been a nice player for the Canucks to draft, but they still have a chance to get an excellent player with their choice of Oliver Moore, Zach Benson, and others.

11th overall (VAN) Tom Willander, D

Yup, the Canucks took a right shot defenceman. Tom Willander is a smooth skating rearguard and is a solid two-way defenceman. Read an extended scouting report on him by clicking here.