2023 NHL Draft intrigue debated on 'NHL Draft Class' podcast
Staff writers Kimelman, Morreale share mock selections after Bedard, Fantilli
ByNHL.com @NHLdotcom
Connor Bedard and Adam Fantilli will be the first two picks of the 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft, but there's great intrigue on what happens next.
That's the opinion of NHL.com staff writers Adam Kimelman and Mike G. Morreale, who discussed their first mock draft of the season on the latest episode of the "NHL Draft Class" podcast.
The Chicago Blackhawks, who won the 2023 NHL Draft Lottery on Monday, will have the opportunity to select Bedard, the 17-year-old center from Regina of the Western Hockey League, when the draft is held at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on June 28-29.
They also agree the Anaheim Ducks will take University of Michigan center Adam Fantilli at No. 2.
The lottery set the order for the first 16 selections of 2023 draft and was the basis for the mock drafts.
The hosts explained their decisions on why they placed several of the top prospects, among them SKA St. Petersburg forward Matvei Michkov and center William Smith from the United States National Team Development Program Under-18 team, as well as which team could select the first defenseman in the draft.
The podcast is free, and listeners can subscribe on all podcast platforms, including iTunes, Spotify and Google Podcasts. It also is available on NHL.com/multimedia/podcasts and the NHL app.
