NHL Draft 2023 Round 1

oh, thanks Kevin, thanks L, we're live in Nashville, Tennessee, a beautiful night to host an NHL

draft

, Kenny Town's

2023

campaign and that's the man who will be chosen first overall, the newest superstar of NHL, will make his NHL debut on ESPN. opening night on Tuesday, October 10 in Pittsburgh against Sydney Crosby on the Pittsburgh Penguins, a guy he's been compared to in terms of his love of the game, let's pick everyone in Music City, so talented but still anonymous, tonight will pronounce a name that has been expected on this stage for years and a Star Ford runs away like McDavid and shoots like Matthew, generational type player with the First Citizens, but we look beyond that number one pick and find others ready to change the story, the stage is set and the first notes of your melody will be Welcome in writing to Nashville and the

2023

NHL Draft.

Bartender Draft 2023 NHL Draft. Any City of Nashville Tennessee Draft. of them this is where it all begins Hall of Fame careers Stanley Cup championships in the NHL

draft

and this year we know that Connor Bedard, 17, turns 18 next month will be the first pick Brian Boucher, why what should be first? overall pick because he can do everything this kid is a superstar at the same time as Conor McDavid Austin Matthews electric player great hands great shot great vision does everything great uh he's going to be a superstar an absolute finisher Austin Matthews scored 40 goals his rookie season for the Toronto Maple Leafs wouldn't be surprised if this guy got 40 in his rookie season, but Staff girl Megan takes him deeper into all these numbers to help us through the NHL regular season on ESPN and to the point, it's not just Conor .

Bedard is his, although there are multiple franchise centerpieces in this year's draft, he is a high-end pick from two to five. We've heard rumors from everyone from mitchkoff the russian to NCAA player adam vantilly. We have Leo Coulson, a shl player who plays with men. Also, Will Smith has added to the mix Vision created a great top half of the night, just a great night to talk hockey and be around hockey people because we also see Kevin for weeks, there could be NHL trades preparing while we are in the air. Yes, there could be some trade-offs.

I'm very curious to see what can happen from a goalkeeper's point of view. We're both here for that reason representing the Goal Union, but I'm saying all that could Conor Hellebuck, the Michigan native, be on the move for the The Winnipeg Jets could potentially be the Boston Bruins, who have Lena Salmark, who won the best , and Jeremy Swamin. They are an excellent young goalie from the University of Maine. Could one of those two be in the Move question mark? He will be a few more moves. here tonight, that's what makes us more intriguing, but again, it all starts with this young man, he looks nervous, doesn't he?, it's like man, they're going to say my name.

I'm going to walk there and wear a Chicago go Blackhawk sweater. and hat, the salt shed, we'll see you there hello Chicago, everything goes, everything goes Commissioner Gary Beckman will start this year's draft when we return to Smashville, the first time the Chicago Blackhawks had the first pick and we probably selected of the London Knights, the Imperial Hockey League, Patrick Kane, which was 16 years ago, turned out pretty well for Chicago's free Stanley Cups and this Hall of Fame career for perhaps the greatest American-born player who ever achieved them in the National Hockey League so far. Now for the second time in franchise history Chicago picks number one overall and yes sometimes it's just luck in the draft, when you have that pick you want a guy like this available to take and Conor Bedard is available to be. taken by the Chicago Blackhawks as always NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman begins proceedings at this year's NHL Draft held in Nashville Tennessee Commissioner Gary Bettman thanks to all the prospects, family and friends and especially the hockey fans here with us at Bridgestone Arena and welcome to many more viewers around the world, welcome to the 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft.

Two nights ago in this building we honored the best of the spectacular 2022-23 NHL season at the awards of the NHL tonight and tomorrow we celebrate the future of our clubs, which means we will have had two major NHL events in four days in Nashville, the city that has also hosted a previous draft and in the last seven years a Game of Stars, a Stadium Series game and a Stanley Cup Final that There should be no doubt that Nashville loves and supports NHL hockey, so thank you and with the wonderful history of the Predators, it is worth noting that No one has done more over the last 26 years to turn this model franchise and the city of Nashville into a Hockey Market destination than David Boyle, thank you David, as this is your 26th and final draft as GM of the Predators, you are a 40th draft as general manager of the NHL, the league and the preds want to honor you on this special occasion and do So I'm enlisting the help of a couple of your all-time best draft picks, the 38th overall pick in the 2008 draft and current Predators captain Roman Yossi foreign gem Pred eighth round pick in 2004 and franchise icon Pecorane David um like.

Thank you, we want to introduce you to this Gibson guitar, so thank you Gibson. I just want to say thank you for everything you've done for the NHL, but especially for Nashville. You are the reason this place is called Smash Bros. Battle of Heart, thank you very much and we hope you enjoy your retirement, thank you for your wonderful gift, it is beautiful, and Gary, thank you for the kind words at your introduction in 1997 I came here with the goal and vision of making Nashville a successful hockey town, a GM who is only as good as the people around him and I have been very fortunate to work with many great people on and off the ice who have shared my goals and vision.

Thanks to each of my colleagues. past and present and thank you to the fantastic fans for making Nashville one of the most successful and passionate cities in the National Hockey League and as I pass the torch to Barry Trots, I am very confident that the best is yet to come for Nashville. Predators, may this year's draft class enjoy great success, good luck to all the players and all the teams, Nashville, thank you for the best 26 years in my hockey career, thank you, thank you Roman and Pekka David, congratulations and it's time to get to work. better than that thanks now you're talking about the first pick in the 2023 NHL draft belonging to the Chicago Blackhawks Chicago you're on the clock wow what a response from these Blackhawk fans but first of all always humorous encounter and Gary Bettman.

He fought to bring hockey to places like Nashville more than any other human being and he gets booed when he comes to these cities, but in the meantime listen to these Blackhawk fans, they're on the clock and they're about to do it, of course we were there for draft lottery night. I see you were there and so much anticipation that night led to tonight and now it's here, this could be a defining moment for this franchise as part of their Transcendence from where they are now and to where they ultimately want to go. for its franchise and for the city of Chicago brand and Conor Bedard's brand, it's already selling 19,000 seats in Calgary, it has Lululemon as an ambassador, it's being bigger than hockey right now, it's its own brand when he walked into the Blackhawks and saw them. jumping and screaming like executives who never do, it's a big win for them, it's a big point that you made, that he's bigger than his talent and his resume, and that can help light up an entire league. .

I mean, this kid is a superstar. It means, plain and simple, Conor McDavid Austin Matthews Sidney Crosby, players like this, Conor Bedard's name is there with him and the Chicago Blackhawks remember that they had to feel pain and order to get to this point, but like you said, it's a decisive moment. back to the top in a short time, with a franchise player like this in Conor Bedard, a lot of pressure on general manager Kyle Davidson, there he is leading the charge that he has been in charge of since March 2022. He is the youngest asset. GM in the NHL has more in common with Conor Bedard, which perhaps makes other GMS in the NHL closer to AIDS in Bernard than other GMS in the NHL and there it is, there is a lot of weight on that young man's shoulders to try to build because this is just a piece this is not the NBA this is not an NFL quarterback you need 12 15 16 good players to be a championship team but the first step is very big, these could be three steps when you have the opportunity to get a guy like that the Chicago Blackhawks are no longer on the clock they are ready to make it official here in Nashville The Chicago Blackhawks would first like to recognize the incredible career of David Boyle and congratulate him on his retirement.

We would also like to congratulate you. the Las Vegas Golden Knights in their Stanley Cup Championship and we would like to say hello to all the Blackhawks fans in Chicago at the Salt Shed, to the Blackhawks fans here tonight, and to all the Blackhawks fans watching all over the world and with the first overall selection. In the 2023 NHL Draft, the Chicago Blackhawks are very proud to select from the Regina pathways to the Western Hockey League. Conor Bedard, there's dad who let him play hockey in the living room kitchen because you can't build a rink in the backyard in Vancouver where he grew up like in other Canadian provinces and of course there's his mom who watched how many things were broken in her house, frames, vases, whatever, but the dream is now a reality.

He will make his NHL debut on ESPN on Tuesday, October 10. Opening night was part of our second triple-header coverage game in Pittsburgh against Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins. His skill set might be a little different as a player. Brian Boucher. He's more of a shooter. He is a finisher. He eventually he's going to get better. 40 50 60 maybe. 70 goals in his career, but like Sidney Crosby, he's the guy you build a franchise around. He is this guy. Look, he's had all eyes on him forever. I mean, I feel like we've known Conor Bedard for the last five, six, seven years.

We've heard about him and the amount of pressure there is on a kid like that in a country like Canada where hockey is everything and for him to deliver and be at this point in his life where he delivers as the first overall pick. and it seems like he's just scratching the surface, that's the scary part. I mean, he's got the hands, he's got the vision, he's got the elusiveness and he's got the shot to me, the shot is what stands out. He can beat you in many different ways. gives a lot of nightmares to a lot of goals in the NHL for years to come, doesn't run away like karna McDavid Megan girl, uh, she's five nine and three quarters, which can sometimes scare Sons, not a big Burly Center, ice and holy View Center.

He really will be an extreme, but what tells you the most about his greatness is when you look at his numbers and break it down on film. Well, his size isn't there, but his skill and strength are very underrated in the game, which is what makes him so good in Chicago. putting Taylor Hall possibly in line with him Taylor Hall scored five goals in the playoffs this year. He is a true finisher. Conor Bedard had more assists than goals in the playoffs, so let's hope he gets additional assists this year if he has a finisher on his line.

Yeah, for those fantasy hockey players, Taylor Hall might be a good guy to pick because that guy is already a pro tip because we see that he's the type of guy that makes his teammates better, his linemates better. better or I say it will make him rich. They will have bigger houses because they will be able to play with him. Hey, that's what Ryan Getz last put on all those years in Anaheim, guys, go to the net. I'll make you rich, yeah he made a lot of people rich, so yeah, for Connor Bedard, what? I love this here, it's everything everyone expected of him, he expected of himself and most importantly not only did he more than deliver, that's the best part for me when the games were tight when the King was the great boost from the Junior World that you mentioned earlier. the great players who have played for team canada history of the world youth graffiti tournament he is the all time scoring leader yes that tells you everything yes greetzky lemieux lindross korea how many names do we need to beat conor mcdavid and this guy He did things that They are historical scouts who used comparisons, right, they try to see what a player was before other players and the numbers you talk about.

I mean, it's amazing that he's going to be an incredible player. Chicago will pick him again in the first round at 19th overall, so Kyle Davidson in his Scouting Department path now really starts to dig in and see who couldn't be there at 19, but forhe's now celebrating with Emily Kaplan, thanks to Boutique Kyle, so much excitement for Connor Bedard, such realistic expectations for his rookie season, you know what we're going to do? We'll see, we'll let him discover that he's a very special player, a very special person and you know, we'll let him determine how special that first season is.

You know, yesterday we saw you make trades for Taylor Hall and Nick. Folino, what are some other things you're going to do to ensure it's successful in the first year? You know, we'll continue to look at the market and see what kind of veteran leadership there is to potentially surround him, but we feel like we have a lot right now within the locker room, but that's something you can never have enough of, so we'll continue to look and I know you guys are still rebuilding, but when can we expect you to be in the playoffs again?

Uh, you know what I have no idea. I wish I knew. I wish I had that crystal ball, but all we're going to do is keep collecting talent, let These players develop, put them in the best situation to develop and make the best players they can. Let's be and hopefully the best team we can be, thank you Kyle, thank you again, the Chicago Blackhawk fan base has taken care of their father, he wipes the tears from his eyes, him, his sister and mom, it's really an emotional moment for them to see their son on the precipice of a professional hockey career now here now here the reaction again that you knew it was coming since they won the draft lottery on ESPN, but when it's official it's still a moment great because now it's real and he will be in your lineup. again on Tuesday, October 10 in Pittsburgh on ESPN against Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins Austin Matthews scored 40 goals in his rookie season under Bush Conor McDonough 40 goals now you're going up to 40.

I'm going to 40 now, okay. I'm going to say less than 40, but more than 35. Okay, yeah, okay, so that's a good number, right, it's a tough number. What do you think Megan could achieve? Let's review. She's in Chicago. She will have plenty of playing time if she. she is surrounded by people who can also feed him the puck. Her shot is incredible, especially on the power play as she spanks Emily Kaplan. Connor you just got drafted by an original six-team team that won three Stanley Cups in your lifetime. He was thinking about you when you put on that sweater, yeah, it's really hard to put into words.

I mean, you know, growing up like you said in an era where you knew they were so dominant and so good with every player they had and, man, it's just amazing to look down on myself, so I couldn't be happier and can't wait to get started. You know the hockey world has so many expectations for you, but what are your expectations for your rookie season? I mean, he's concentrating right now. on having a good rest of the summer and obviously going to camp and making the team, that's the main goal and then you know, if that happens, then you set more rules from there, but you keep it short term.

From now on your first game will be on ESPN, it will be in Pittsburgh and you will play against Sydney Crosby, what will that be like for you? Yes, like I said, I have to do it first, but that will be unrealistic. favorite player growing up and a big idol of mine, so you know, I don't think if that happens, for me personally you could write a better script. Thank you Connor, welcome to Chicago, thank you, thank you, born in 2005. and Connor. Bedard is a member of the Chicago Blackhawks, we finally mentioned that he's a big guy, he's got quads, he's got Dells, he did 14 pull-ups a week at the old combine, so he should be a smart guy and just a power play threat . physically well, I had the opportunity to meet and talk to him in Las Vegas during the Stanley Cup final and he has a very similar build at this age to that of the great Sidney Crosby, large quads, large thighs, hamstrings, very developed lower half , giving them a great center of gravity and, frankly, the foundation for not only skating but, more importantly, their shooting and passing ability.

Yes, he was born the same year 2005 when Crosby made his NHL debut in the fall of 2005. Now, then, a lot of intrigue, a lot of mystery, no one can imagine what tat verbeek, the little ball of hate, is going to do with the second overall pick here are their last five first round picks again, they are strong in the middle with Mason McTavish and the departure of Trevor and there are three more centers sitting there for him to choose from: Adam Fantilly, the Michigan man, the Wolverines , Leo Carlson, the great Swede, or Will Smith, the boy from Lexington, Massachusetts, who is heading to Boston College, Pat is there for the peak, shaking hands with Gary Bettman. everything cut, no one knows what Pat Verbeek is going to do and now we'll find out that Columbus, whoever picks next, will find out who's off the board and then of course San Jose is also waiting for the Anaheim Ducks at number two overall. this year's draft pick we would like to welcome all our fans who watched our draft party at uh Brewery ice and can hang. the D also the number one international skater has size he has hands he has some marks uh and it seems like we talked about it Brian Boucher maybe the lowest floor yes of any player left for his first high round I think that and that's the What What catches my attention the most, I think this kid still has a lot of growth in him, right?

I mean, when you watch him play, maybe the only thing you could say is that maybe his foot speed isn't there yet, but look at him, he looks skinny. I, yeah, he still has a lot to grow into when you look at Adam Fantilly, a little bit more developed, this guy reminds me of Andre Kopitar, you know, and if you think about what the LA Kings had in Andre, a pretty good center that has been with him. He helped them win the Stanley Cup for a long time. This is an intelligent player and also, when he played professionally this year in Sweden, they didn't have him in the center, he played as a winger and he still performs in the forward department.

A strong playoff, nine points and 13 playoff games, this guy is going to be a really good NHL pro, he's going to play for a long time and like you mentioned the floor is there, I think we'll only see better than what we see. Right now, and the young player Megan Jayco, very self-assured and confident, I think this is a great pick. I mean, Pierre Luke Dubois is listed as an NHL comparable and we saw how much he was paid this week. Puck's possession style on Zone crash tackles seems to carry the puck, a quality player with a high controlled tackle rate and attacks the middle of the ice with speed, there are no wrong answers, bantilly Carlson, both are a similar type of player playing in the shl and you know it will translate to NHL style hockey immediately third. time the ducks picked second overall, remember they were the team after sydney crosby, they also took bobby ryan 05 oleg tavardovski in 1994. so it's the great swede kevin weeks, well let me tell you why I think there might be a little bit of influence on the decision, okay Pat, from spending time with the Detroit Red Wings, yeah, the Detroit Red Wings have really had a penchant for Swedish players in their history, which makes it It really unites many great Swedish players.

I think it was like that. influential in the decision here for Pepper Peak and his staff with Leo Carlson, congratulations to him and them, but I have to get a quick note here, okay, because the hockey community is small. I want to send my best wishes to your goalkeeping coach, satsi Maharaj. who is fighting cancer right now and tuning in and watching so shout out to satsi in Oakville right now. He's done an incredible job with his goaltending here in Anaheim. Absolutely Anaheim will have three second round picks and will also go 33rd overall 59th and 60th. ...but Carlson joins mctabis and zegris and they are very young yes but in terms of the middle we just saw a win Las Vegas team with three strong skating centers Swift and now they add their third Big Time Center Leo Carlson is with Emily Kaplan Leo, you just got picked second overall in the NHL draft, were you surprised when they said your name a little? ?

Yeah, I mean, I had it in the fields, but yeah, yeah, a little surprised, but it was a super blessed growth. Who did you model your game from? I mean sit in front of what The kid sure sees the team in some highlights April when I was scared, so we got it. You won't play against them very often, but what will it be like when you finally get to play against them? It will be amazing. I mean, I said I grew up. he grew up he grew up it's going to be unreal congratulations yes, thank you very much and as many Swedes speak English very well, even at a very young age, so again he's just a big guy.

Puck for a truck with great hands, you can also hang on the defenseman, but just a high IQ hockey brain, like we said, that's why it certainly almost seems like they just write them in a thousand games, a thousand points, it seems like that kind of person and I will say that in the youth world there were some players who were chosen, uh, you. I know in previous years in the draft it was supposed to be a big moment playing for Sweden, who didn't perform up to par. Leo Carlson was a guy that stepped up and to me I thought at that moment, he really, really stepped up. this is a good pick for Anaheim you know it makes me wonder about Trevor zegrist you know he's playing you mentioned McTavish sigris you know now you have another great center they also have Nathan Goshay this is zigris the guy like that maybe eventually Does it move to the wing?

I mean, there's something to think about in that, but they definitely have a big body in Leo Carlson in the middle. Let's find out why Anaheim took Carlson with our own Emily Kaplan. Pat. Many of us were surprised to hear Leo Carlson's name there. walk us through that decision, well, I think it's been a process over the last month, so we've had a really good debate, um, many of you know, many of you know, I would say it's a really healthy debate about uh. obviously what player you know to pick and I think in the end we're really intrigued with his you know his hockey IQ his creativity um obviously he's got really good size and probably what I love about it is the depth you know.

It's really a two-way game and I think there's potential for him to be a dominant player on both ends of the ice. What can we expect from him? How will she fit into his team next season? Well, let's do it. go through that process because obviously he can go back to, you know, and go back to Sweden, he can go play Junior, there's a lot of things you can play in the world championship, you know, junior, so we're going to go through . We're going to start the process with a development camp and then once we get through that, you know there's going to be a discussion that will last all summer.

Thanks Pat, my pleasure, Richie Columbus is next. I don't think they thought of Adam Fantilly. would be here they were high on Will Smith I heard they were going to take Will Smith I told someone in the San Jose organization I heard Columbus has taken Will Smith said it would be dumb not to but now all of a sudden Fantilli is there since the state in Northern Michigan, so what are the Columbus Blue Jackets going to do? Will it be Will Smith or will it be Adam Fantilly? They have little time to make a big decision and the decision is thank you, Nashville, we appreciate it. what a great moment you have shown us all, congratulations Vegas, for a hockey player and a good friend, David Boyle again, congratulations good man, our fans in Columbus are called The Fifth Line, they are at the pins in Easton, we have a party gang.

I thank you all for making our choice. I would like to invite our general manager, Yarmo Kecalinen. The Columbus Blue Jackets are proud to select Fantilly from the University of Michigan. So Adam Pentilly was there and don't overlook this guy from Michigan at Ohio State, you're going to learn to love him at 6-1-4 because you're going to get a grown man 6-2 195, that's Jack Eichel's size, he shoots, he can fly, he can drive a line, he's a better shooter than Michael. This guy is going to fill the nets and play a 200 foot game along the wall.

He comes from a large, close-knit Italian family. He played with his brother at Michigan. He hasn't announced yet whether he'll be returning to Michigan or not, but man. This is a guy that I don't think Columbus thought he'd be there. This is the center you have been waiting for. Brian Boucher. I like it. I like Ben Tilly. And you know, what I like about him is that he's a little faster than Carlson. Now he, you know, he may already be developing what you see, that's what you get right there, he's a young man already, eh, but he can play on the walls, he can get in, he's got a powerful step.

Personally, I think I like the bigger feeling. that's how you get guys that can skate, you talked about the golden knights of Vegas, you gotta have sides, but you gotta be able to skate too. I think he can do it, he just goes for itroad from Michigan to Columbus. uh this is a great pick for the Columbus Blue Jackets and you know how important it was to play in the World Championship for him in the spring, it was a very good experience for him because it was a slow start in the junior world, but he finished strong The juniors of the world were really impressed with this young man, what does he have?

What does he have? Do you like Megan Jacob? That goal at the world championship to take advantage of that was incredible. I think he kind of dispelled that he couldn't play at the NHL level anymore and I talked. Brandon Narado, his coach at the University of Michigan, was told earlier this year that he was trying to beat people with his hands and really learn to use his body to protect himself on the wall, which translates very well to the Solid NHL pick for Columbus, I think. They were running there to get him to the Buckeye State, that's where he's going, listen to me, this guy is going to fire up the cannon real bad, you know the Canon there, Nationwide Arena boom boom, yeah, and I want to see more of that Cannon team.

There in Columbus it is a great city, it is a great area, a great market and I think they are getting a guy there who has a great body. The Hobie Baker winner prevails against the defensive players, you can see the tears in his father's eyes, yes. I talked to the Hughes family today, both Hughes parents were excited, they have three sons that are studs, they were excited about him, that says a lot, he joins the power of Owen and Manny veneers has the only top three in Michigan. I have a feeling he will be in Columbus this season and play right away.

His father, his father, trained him hard. He said, "You're going to play 200 feet at a young age. You're not going to hang up." I'm going to learn to play the right way and he will be rewarded tonight when the Columbus Blue Jackets take his son. He's a Canadian kid, but he returned to playing college hockey last year and led his team to the Frozen Four. He won the Hobie as the best university student. player in the United States, so Columbus gets that franchise center we talked about. They have spent eight first-round picks on centers in franchise history.

Five in the top ten. They haven't hit a home run yet. Brian Boucher. They hope this is a level up. explosion and off the ghost I think this will hit, this will be the one that hits and as I mentioned before you know sometimes you get a center and there's a little bit of undersize and maybe you know there's some long term question marks for them when I watch Fantilly. and the size that he has and the quickness that he has at 195 pounds to me that's telling, I think that screams longevity uh and he obviously has the finish that he showed in college 65 points as a freshman in college when he was 18 years old.

It's not easy to score 30 goals, it's very difficult to do and what he did now listen to Michigan was a very talented team, but he's obviously a guy that when you look at Eichel's numbers I think we're seeing a similar trajectory for Fantilly. in that space and a type of player similar to Jack Eichel and the Stanley Cup I can't Jack. I reunited my dad with the Las Vegas Golden Knights and he is already 18 years old. He'll be 19 in October, so those who know those years can make a little difference, uh, when you make that decision, do I go to college for one more year, turn pro in March and show up then, or do I Do I become a professional right away and start collecting?

Well welcome back John Butcher Garth Brian Boucher Megan chaika Kevin weeks While we wait for Adam Pantilly to join Emily Kaplan, my daughter works for the NHL social team and she talked to these guys and said she just sent me a message text saying that Adam Tantilly really wanted to go to Columbus. That is incredible. He's great, so close. Awesome. You're getting the guy who was a lot of fun playing for the Columbus Blue Jackets. Great nuggets. I think you'll see it here this fall. Let me give you an idea. Make sure this is something I love when you play for the world.

In championships as a young player you often defer why you got established NHL veterans, this guy wanted to get Puck on his team for Team Canada and he had that big goal in the men's world coming out of college hockey. Meg, take it beautiful and I also think our data. He's scoring on set goalies, so not only is he able to create a gift for his teammates, but he can also shoot like anyone and the NHL veteran, so let's hope he scores for Columbus as well, which they need desperately right now, yes, we had it again.

The four of them from Frozen and had fun just once on the avenue, which was awesome. He's with Emily. Captain Adam. You're a man from Michigan going to Columbus, Ohio. What do you want the Buckeyes to know about you? I'm very excited, obviously. You guys already have a lot of Michigan guys there and they're doing tremendous things for the team, so hopefully I can make an impact like them. They have 100 five people here. We just saw one listen to them. my best friends these are my family these are my coaches my teammates everyone who helped me get to where I am and them being here and taking time out of their schedules and spending money on flights and hotels that means a lot to me .

I am very grateful. Congratulations, congratulations Adam, thank you, thank you very much, so here come the sharks. Will Smith is there. There has been a lot of mystery about the path the sharks would take, but again I know they love them. Will Smith a lot, the kid is going to Boston College to play for Greg Brown, the Massachusetts native, let's see if the San Jose Sharks call his name next fourth overall. Thank you Nashville, you have been a great host. We really enjoyed our time here uh congratulations to David Boyle great career as a manager you know someone who has been great to me and helped mentor me and during my first year.

I also like to congratulate the Las Vegas Golden Knights and the cup when George McPhee and Kelly McCrimmon and like Say hello and thank you to our fans watching around the world and at the Sap rehearsal center tonight. To make our pick, Shark's Legend all-time NHL games played leader Patrick Marlow with the fourth overall pick, the San Jose Sharks are proud to select Will. Smith from US Development Programs It's no surprise, this is a high-octane Center Iceman, so Bu Terrier Mike Greer, who played college hockey at Bu, is taking the kid to BC to play this fall , only Jack Hughes scored more points in the US national team development program, this guy is really electric, Ryan Boucher, they have a good one, here he is, and Mike Greer, you know, he was in the Boston area before going to San Jose, he was very present in youth hockey circles and he knows Will Smith very, very well, he has seen him. he plays a lot so there has to be a real comfort in taking Will Smith over Mike Greer because he's seen a lot of him, this kid is a really talented player, I mean one on one, he can beat a defender right in front of him and can create.

In many ways, an unreal passer. You could argue that his line that he played with Gabe Perot and Ryan Leonard on the USA show may have been the best of all time. You know, it's worth debating if he's a really talented player and all three of them are going to Boston, they're all going to Boston College and San Jose is a long way from that, I could probably be a little patient with this player, you know, but I think It's a big choice and we didn't do it. I know how everything was going to turn out, but I know they got a really talented player in Will Smith, the Sharks did and we'll be sure their Wingers announced very soon that the letter will go first and then Perot will go shortly after, so again.

Those three players will be entering Boston College this fall, so Megan Shaika, the third time four consecutive centers have gone with the top of the draft, it happened in 1981 and it happened in 2015. We said this is a strong ice drop from the Center, What does this guy contribute? the table looking at the centers, you're stalking the closets and Will Smith has a lot of vision, the ability to see the ice and the passing lanes that others don't see and he really has the ability to complete those passes, move the puck to dangerous areas . very similar to a Sebastian Ajo comparable to the NHL excellent player Elite Level creative offensive game making Vision the calling part of Will Smith I spoke with his agents the last few days and was literally on the phone with his agent, one of them both in reality today they were able to Don't hang up the phone when I said tell me more about him, they just found more and more and established Integrity.

You very rarely hear that, yes, the skill set, yes, the ability to hit people to get them to rush and generate offense, but Integrity. they said and the reason why they said that. I asked why they said because this is a guy that plays the game the right way, that he believes in himself, believes in his teammates selflessly and believes that he has to earn everything in the game and is willing to put in the work. . To do so, he grew up in Lexington Mass, many of his family and friends are there in Burlington tonight at Tavern in the Square, supporting their young future Boston College Eagle Will Smith and yes, he walked to Fresh Prince of Bel-Air . music i heard he walked in the states a little note from pete krupsky who does the play by play for the us national development team program the reason he wears number two is his favorite player growing up was brian Leach wow and he's going to Boston College, another Eagle, so we've all done great things, the new prince of Chestnut Hill Will Smith is with Emily Kaplan, well we're all talking about it.

You have The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song when you walk in. Why did you choose what was going through your mind when you put on that shirt? I mean, I feel like I had to do it. I mean the name. I mean, I'm trying to own it. I mean, I love the song too, can you sing it for us right now on camera? Why not? csvn, let's go to West Philly, I was born and raised where the playgrounds were where I spent most of my days chilling, chilling, all cool, photographing some people outside of school.

That's awesome, but I know you're an awesome player, so tell me who did you grow up modeling your game after? Yeah, I mean, I loved Patrick and I grew up, um, I mean, since they won all those cups even though he was a Bruins fan. uh I loved them, and your two linemates in the American programmer Ryan Leonard and the gay Perot, we should see them here tonight, they will call you, you are about to be linemates also at Belton College, what will it be like and what are your expectations. them tonight, yeah, I mean, those are my brothers.

I love those two guys and I mean we also have Morty in the crowd so, I mean, they're the best. I love hanging out with them. I love playing with them and I can. Don't wait to hear his name, you just ended up on national television, you are an incredible sport, thank you, congratulations, very well done, it says a lot about his confidence and personality. Morsi is Oliver Moore, another electric skater will hear his name too. USA Program and Brian, you are obviously very aware of this USA development program, what effect does it have for some fans who don't know about it and why is it a good way to go when you are a young player of talented hockey?

Well I think. you know that the best players are selected to go there and you know that these kids are their best players in their respective regions and they have the opportunity to go for two years to Under One Roof, train together, practice together, push each other, you know that it's a lot. of alpha dogs in the same place in the end they push each other and they have tremendous success in developing not only players but also quality human beings who are good leaders when they get to their teams in the National Hockey League and this is going to be another good one in Will Smith, okay, so Montreal, there's a lot of intrigue surrounding the Montreal selection.

Would they change it? Anyone trying to get promoted? They thought the first two players that were taken were going to be taken one through four they weren't sure about the orders they probably know who they're taking here Megan I think so but I also think this is a decision that you're looking at a couple of times, I mean, there's Mitch Tos, yeah, it's rumored that we're possibly going to Montreal, but we still have some good players on the board that you might think are also a little less at risk of downside, so I could see them going different ways.

They haven't won a cup since '93, picking the now is in the top five in the consecutive draft for the first time since the '60s here's Montreal's pick. We would like to start by congratulating the Las Vegas Golden Knights. We would also like to wish David Poyell all the best in his retirement. Generous mom, ENT, to make our selection. I will invite him. our former fifth overall in 2005 Carrie Price, Canadian Demario, is proud to select David, we planned it that way David Reinbacher, so David Reinbacher, that was the player that a lot of people thoughtthey would choose.

He's a great right-footed defenseman who shoots. Megan Chaika 6-2 225. Why is he the first defenseman off the board tonight? When you're thinking about picking that defenseman, you think someone is going to pick him soon after, so Montreal hustles, focuses on simple plays on the way out, distributes a puck with good timing, and his teammates make. He also offers that good first pass and leaves the Zone, so he actually committed to playing in Switzerland. I talked to some of his coaches who said he's a great person, not just a hockey player, he trains well, he's a big kid who skates well combined with a great skill set and maybe compared to cider, although cider she's a little tougher and meaner, her city code actually thinks David has a higher threshold to get to such a solid defender, a little higher than I'd expect, but he'd be first on my list, second.

The Austrian was included in the top five, Thomas Vacuum, former predator in 2003. Well, this is what I would tell you, now with him, the D is open for the defender and Reinbacher because he was not sure if he was going to be Cinema Chef . here on the right and goes with reinbacher, but Montreal has a history of having players born in Europe, certainly in the last 30 years they have had many players born in Europe who have flourished in Montreal. Montreal has kind of an international cultural push and I think this is a good piece to add to their blue line, which is very impressive right now.

Right shot. D-man, good size. You can see that he can move. He was able to approach players quickly with his feet. Maybe not too unpleasant but I think there is an intelligence to his game playing a professional game in the Swiss League the swizzling is a good advantage very good he is very skilled it is a good league and for a big guy like that he has a great back yeah , a big big backs yeah you can carry a lot of people yeah a good pick I mean look I think there's a lot of D in this in this draft that people are thinking about simichev like you mentioned maybe he has a little more bite to his game, but a lot of people that I talked to, they felt like Ryan was the guy that was going to go first, so I wasn't too surprised by Montreal's problems. the second best player in this draft, but due to obviously geopolitical reasons, the three-year PHL contract is not immediately available, he is still on the board at five 2023 NHL picks.draft broadcasts are being made reality the Arizona Coyotes first of two number one picks the coyotes on the clock will make their next pick on ESPN welcome back to the 2023 NHL draft John Butcher Goss Megan girl from stop Leafs with us again like she was last year Kevin weeks Brian Boucher those are the top five picks taken so far for future NHL number one centers on a truly complete defenseman and David Reinbacho should just be a solid NHL player with an oversized right-handed shot like we see in the Stanley Cup.

Last years playoffs, those are the type of guys that win cups with Big D and can move the puck. This is interesting. The Arizona Coyotes need a new Arena. They have two number one picks, six and 12. They are Russian Matt Damonkov. is on the board, some say that after Conor Bedard, the most talented player in this draft, you have him for sure and his color coordinated suits once again, the coyotes taking the stage to make this pick, it seems like Boo should rush and you right, you have a great asset anyway, I mean, you're years away from being that team, you have some talent, you don't know where you're playing, right, you don't know where you're playing.

You've got some talented prospects, why not add a true game-changer in Matt Bay Mitchcock? I think the Coyotes should pick them, but I think if you look at what they need, I think defense is also an area of ​​need, you ask. if they go a different route but i would take mitchkoff since it's there sometimes we see a run right when a defenseman goes you want to make sure you get one the arizona coyotes with the 6th overall pick in this draft on behalf of the Arizona Coyotes, we would like to congratulate the Vegas Knights on winning the Stanley Cup.

We would also like to thank the Nashville Predators and their amazing fans for hosting us this week and all of our fans in Arizona at Wasted Grain in Scottsdale. and to make our selection I would like to invite Ryan Janikowski the Arizona Coyotes are proud to select from the yaroslavl locomotive Dimitri simuchev weak seat that's your boy Zima chef and look he's surprised like me that's right get up there I'll tell you one Right now some people have him as the best D in the draft. This is a great pick by the Arizona Coyotes and keep in mind the fact that defenseman Jacob Chicman is no longer there, he is in Ottawa.

Also note the fact that the Offensive Defenseman and Shane Gosses Bear are no longer there. Ekman Larson is no longer there, so there is a big void and a big opportunity. I should rather say in the defense position. I like this choice of theirs. I'm not going to go from defense to defense, maybe there are ideas. which was going to go sooner than they expected, but it's still a bit of a surprise to bring one of his actions to Michelle, it's great to accentuate and get into the zone, the ability to create and transition into it, you know, it's a good centerpiece, just a little surprised, without really kicking mitchkoff's tires, that they left him on board 6-4 198 now he'll probably go back to being one of those 6'4 215 beats can't teach that can't teach that I'm He's not the big guy, his vest is too small, that's how big he is now, good hands right there, looks like he's got some skill, yeah, he's got some offense.

I think the only thing you hear is people wondering if there's offense in his game, but one thing that's evident to me is his size and the fact that he competes, he finishes and I like defenders like that, it's hard to play against those guys. I agree with Bouche and I will repeat this, he also only has a two year contract at the time, according to what sources said, not a three year contract, that is a big change because in the event that it is a three-year contract, what happens if they want to keep you? I think that's part of the challenge. right now with range golf, yes that's part of the challenge, so simichev is a range defender, he closes the gaps well, he's very aggressive, he's hard to play against.

I think this is a very good value pick for them, he is a great chess player, he plays like one. twice a day to improve his IQ, that's why he does it. He played 18 KHL games last year, won a bronze medal with Team Russia at the 2022 European Youth Olympic Games Winter Festival, so Dimitri Simichev will go to the Arizona Coyotes, who again pick 12 30. We will also get a really good player at 12 years old again for this franchise and flock, they do not have an arena contract and therefore their future in Arizona is still in doubt, they are confident that they will find someone and a place to play soon and we'll see if that announcement comes this summer.

The best players available from the 2023 NHL draft are gone according to our vegan chaika from Arizona last time they picked a top ten d-man Oliver Ekman Larson, who is in the world. again Flyers on the clock when we come back welcome to the 2023 NHL draft welcome back and that guy Connor Bedard went first overall tonight we're so proud to draft Connor Bedard man he's amazing to look down and see it in myself so I couldn't be happier and I can't wait to get started and it will make its debut on ESPN opening night on October 10th in Pittsburgh so here come the Flyers Keith Jones, the new president, of course, our boy John Tortorella, second year as head coach, new general manager.

Daniel Briere, his name has been talked about, Ryan Leonard, as the ideal midfielder, a lot of teams like Ryan Leonard, he's got muscles on his face, I mean, he's just a guy that translates to the postseason and we wonder if he'll be the next one. choice here. Does Daniel Brier look like a young Paul McCartney? Isn't he the new general manager? That's good, let it be, brother, let it be. The Philadelphia Flyers would like to thank the city of Nashville for their outstanding hospitality. We have had a very good time, it will get more fun. I would like to thank David Poyle, he was my general manager with the Washington Capitals and he drafted me in 1988 in the seventh round.

He improved a lot after that selection. Danny with pick seven, the seventh pick of the draft that the Flyers are proud to select from St. Petersburg in the KHL matvey mishkov there you have the Russian there is Matt Bay meechoff some say he is the second best player in this draft but due to his three year contract in the KHL certainly the geopolitical situation with the country, are you sure you're going to get this guy to come play for your team? There is no mystery about his talent, although Kevin Weeks no, no, no, there is no mystery about his talent, this guy is an absolute player, he is a player's player, he is very skilled. some people gave me two police of people in the cage, all in Russia, they said it reminds me a little bit of capris of a capris hybrid of and evgeny Malkin, it just says that it walks in size, all that to say all that is to say, you are getting an absolute hack from a player who can play the game any way you want, he is so electrifying, he has a unique talent and talent and now the question is for the people of the city of the City of Brotherly Love, where Fue ago a couple of days, market your house in Philly, how can we get this guy here?

What can we do to get him here? That's why I say it reminds me a little of the capris off situation, but it's a great choice to bring it here. you are in a rebuild, you just traded Kevin Hayes, you have time, these three years are well developing in the cage, everyone comes back through the scorer 30 40, be like capris of our staff, Leaf data actually has it as Couture out when his style of play is outlined, an elite shooter, a goal scorer, 20 points in 27 games, a higher clip than Ovechkin in his draft year. A huge ceiling for the seventh pick.

I think this is incredible for Philadelphia, he is exactly the type of player they need to rebuild. midfielder fans, the only argument they would probably keep over the years, they are missing a break in the game, right, true, true, yes, very true, this is a deal breaker, yes, this is a deal breaker , this is a guy who is going to be electrifying, he doesn't need a lot of time or space to put the puck in the back of the net. Look, foreigner, you're right, Megan, in three years, it will go fast. I mean, because the Flyers aren't a rebuild, there will be more pain to feel. this organization in the next while, but after that, if you do it right, you can see the optimism comes because you see the Chicago Blackhawks, they took away some of the pain, now they have a lot of picks, they start to get a game. switch in bedard flyers in their own right get a game switch in mitchkoff this is a really exciting pick for the philadelphia flyers uh you just wish you could fast forward those three years really fast exactly and now you gotta start building some bridges with some of their friends from your club about the complicated KHL it is very complicated but you are going to have to build bridges there you are going to have to establish relationships some of the representatives of the chesca club are here with them they told me well, which was a little worrying for some of teams in the interview process, but all but one thing that is undeniable is how good this prospect is and how electrifying he is as a player, so you're right, Bush Dave needed a Game Breaker for a long time in Philly, work on your Russian grievances.

Matte Michkov is with Emily Kaplan Matt Bay. What do you want NHL fans to know about you? foreign ERS. I have no words for such an emotional moment, when do you hope to come to the NHL stuff very soon is your dream to be there and what does it mean to you to be selected for the NHL? He says it means a lot to him, it's his dream and his dream is to win the Stanley Cup, so with Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals on Deck they're next at eight and you know they would have been picked.

Liars, yes, take Matte Michkov, so he's back in the USSR for Daniel Briere and Paul McCartney exactly the first pick of this 2023 draft and again, this is what could. It will be a big moment for the Flyers. Megan is a big time and it's a little bit of a swing for the fences, but if she hits, he steps up and develops as he is and what is already a men's league, you can know that he can score against. Comparable NHL players, this is a gift to the seven, correct me if I'm wrong Megan, but in other years, in a perfect world, this could be a first overall pick, absolutely think about those goats, GMS, everyone has said off-ice issues aside from elite skill. incredible first shot mentality, you know, the highest pick they had, you know, was number two ofNolan Patrick, right and that didn't work out so well.

This talent in due time, this could be the electrifying player the Flyers have been. so I looked for so long to tell Emily that he wants to be there soon, well how soon Daniel Briere maybe has an answer Emily Danny is the question we all want to know when is Metvay Mitchkov joining the Philadelphia Flyers? Well, we can't wait. We have that answer ourselves, um, that's what it is, we know that he has a contract for three more seasons, but for us we feel like you know after seeing him play and after knowing him we feel that he is a talent that we can't pass up and If we have to wait, we'll wait and um it's what he said at that meeting that convinced you that he was your guy um he seemed to have a really good time we met him actually we met him a couple of times um and you could tell that for some reason he loved to the Flyers, I wanted to be a part of the Flyers.

We saw it on stage. His reaction was incredible. You know, he basically he convinced us in the meeting that he wanted to be there and he wanted to. be a flyer so our entire staff felt great about drafting him, amazing great position, only a third Russian was drafted by the flyers in the first round and listen, the Philadelphia Flyers are a global brand, make no mistake, they have global reach. Global fan base, I think it's the best choice they could have made based on who was available. He's the best player left on the board, guys, so now what do the Capitals do?

Ryan Leonard is still there, devorski Matthew Wood, here come the Caps, eighth. Overall, with their first-round pick, the Washington Capitals would like to recognize David Poyle's longtime contributions to our organization and congratulate him on an outstanding career with the eighth pick. Washington selects Ryan Leonard from the US development program. Well, there it is, we mentioned that this is a The man with muscles on his face who plays means he played on that American line with Will Smith and Gabe Perot and they already have Tom Wilson and they are bringing another bad player to the team who is not the size of righty Tom Wilson, but he certainly has some. bite and some jam in his game and maybe Washington saying: okay, you want to take our boy, we'll take yours.

I thought this kid would have been a great Philadelphia Flyer just because of the way he plays, but this is a good pick for Washington, you can't go wrong. You know we talk about certain types of players that help you win in the regular season and then you figure out the players you need to win in the playoffs. This guy falls into the category. He's a guy that will help you win in the playoffs. His game translates to spring hockey. He's a sturdy guy, he hits, he gets there but he's got skill and he can finish.

He really made significant strides in the national program. a good choice here for Washington Capital. He will head back to Boston College to play at least one year of college hockey this fall. Look when you look at Tom Wilson and what I call him Mr. Wilson has had an impact on the game for the Washington Capitals maybe this is a Tom Wilson diet, someone they're looking at just says, hey, a little low calorie, but a lot of the same flavor, the same taste. The scouts are lulling the world for another Tom Wilson tight player Baby Ben, so the fact that he has a lot of those attributes, Meg, I think fits exactly into the well of the world, rather exactly for what they're looking for in the nation's capital and not only does he have those attributes, but he scored great goals, he had that goal in overtime, he also had the most scoring opportunities per game in that under-18 world championship.

Leonard has that tendency to shoot first, he always looks to shoot in the offensive zone and the quality of Volume Plus makes him score. Leonard has that in Spades, so scoring with a big body will be good for Washington, but he'll certainly look like a Philadelphia Flyers guy. The player he made has guts and I'll say this: You play with Tom Wilson and you're in the same locker room on the same ice as Tom Wilson. You gain even more guts and become a little braver. He will learn from him. one of the best in Wilson, eh, I'm very excited because I feel like I like these types of players too.

I like these guys who aren't afraid to come in and do the dirty work, but also. I have the skill. I think we celebrate skill and speed so much that we forget what it takes to win and then when I look at him and the way he plays, I think this is the type of guy who wins hands down. That's how when the Washington Capitals won their Stanley Cup against Las Vegas in their inaugural year on the road Tom Wilson, think about the problem they had in that lineup, yeah, and those are space creators. I love the fact that he is a spatial sorter.

Emily Kaplan is with Ryan Leonard Ryan at GMS combine one said he reminds you of the Chuck Brothers, what do you think of that comparison? Yes, I think it's a great honor. Those guys are really special players and they hit a rhythm compared to those guys. It's truly an honor that you have the opportunity to play with Alex Ovechkin, what will that be like? Yes, who knows. Hopefully he doesn't hit me with a single punch in practice or anything like that, but yeah, it's really special and for the fans in Washington. What are you most proud of in your game?

Probably my competitiveness. I think it's kind of who I am. Congratulations, Ryan, thank you. He grew up in western Massachusetts. Will Smith grew up in Boston and there's his family and, again, he's just great. The night we had this draft last year was in Montreal, it was still hard to cross the border before it was the virtual draft, so it's cool that it's like the first old school draft in a long time, but here he is, how does your game work? Translate to the next level, specifically Brian Boucher, does he play a heavy game well at 511?

It's hard to say that he's heavy, okay, but I think he's one that has a bite, he has pajamas, he's not afraid to get his nose dirty, you know, so you know. I think Wilson is heavy, he's six feet tall, but he certainly has those same attributes and what I also like about him is that it's clear that he can play with good players, that's right, this is not just the guy that's going to come in and throw his body around and try to play a role, you know, he knows he's got some skills, his game is adaptable, it's an NHL game.

I think he's a guy that a lot of teams, honestly, need more of. They would kill half. I agree, yes. Guess what it was about the golden knights of Las Vegas, those players in spades, which is the big part of why they lifted Lord Stanley's Cup a couple of weeks ago. The red rings are on the clock, they chose nine and 17. I'm told they really like Matthew Wood. Yukon Husky, who played last year, will play again for coach Mike Kavanaugh, will play center for them, probably translates to an NHL winger, was 17 when the college hockey season started last fall, is a kind of a big hockey brain, a big quad.

Again, he's no roadrunner, he's still only 18, but maybe Matthew Wood could be the guy the Red Wings take here. He wants to get into college hockey because they have two teams. I think they need a center. I think they're looking for a number one center, I mean obviously Dylan Larkin is their number one guy, but I think in a perfect world, whether it's through trade or whatever, I think that's what they're looking for, maybe, maybe, Dallas, maybe, but you know. I have a lot of good Wing prospects for me, as does his Deer, but I think they could use some centers.

I think Casper is going to be a good guy, a guy who was drafted last year, but we'll see what they do here. They missed the playoffs for seven consecutive seasons Steve Eiserman obviously has a lot of rope in Detroit the longest postseason drought for the Red Wings since the early 70's these picks are very important as they try to take the next step, the first round pick of the Red Wings first. I would like to congratulate David Poyle, a fantastic general manager, a fantastic person and a great friend on a tremendous career. I would also like to congratulate the Vegas Golden Knights on a Stanley Cup championship with the ninth pick in the draft, the Red Wing selection of Brandon Wheat.

Kings Center Nate Danielson well there's your Center Bush yeah six foot 186 led Brandon's weak Kings in goals, assists and points 33 goals in 68 games what do you like about Nate danielson's game? Well, he's a complete player, from what I see, Brandon's team. He wasn't as strong as the one he played with, so you know that could have hurt his point production. You know, it's 78 points and maybe that doesn't jump off the page, but it wasn't like he necessarily played on a Powerhouse Powerhouse team. some concerns about his skating, but he's an all-situations type of player and those players are, honestly, valuable players.

I mean, PP PK five on five, he's six foot one in the videos I watched, Megan, we talked about this, right? I thought he stayed out too much for my liking? But there's an improvement there, there's something he can work on coming up to this, but maybe that speaks to not playing with players that you know weren't capable. in closing, so he just knows that if it's a little tough you don't have the guys or the horses to play with, maybe that's why you shoot from the outside, but overall it seems like this guy is a very good prospect.

Versatility comes to mind that he's a guy that can do everything pretty well and by the way, the only good thing about Brandon is that they have a really good program, the fact that they developed NHL players. He is an NHL factory. Kelly McCrimmon Vegas GM. as part of the ownership part of the ownership there, they've done a very good job developing players with Brandon's weaknesses, he seems extremely relaxed, he's calm, he knows he's an original sixth friend, you're kind of a big deal right now, yeah, and by the way. You're exactly, you're drafted by the Detroit Red Wings, but I like the fact that there's versatility, that's the biggest thing that comes to mind in terms of his calling card as a player, yeah, and that kind of two-way .

The heart and soul guy will do well in Detroit, who said he reminds them of Newton Hopkins in the early days, maybe with the grit and the penalties, not quite on the offensive end, but he has that bite to his game that a lot. A lot of people really like that he's a native of Edmonton Alberta and he's also right-handed, so again, obviously the red Red Wings, as smart players, have Lucas Raymond right now and you know, did you hear Gary Bettman? Keep in mind, keep in mind here, I want. To give fans at home an idea, okay, the Blues have multiple picks here in this draft in this first round, so let's keep an eye on what the Blues end up doing.

Some actions. There could be some action with the Blues sitting. and they don't want to just rebuild, this is a new tool for Doug Armstrong, he is aggressive, they won the cup just a few years ago and they know if they can make some key moves this offseason they could be contenders again. Yes, they are trying to get D out and bring in a new D. That's right, the Ford group seems solid, maybe they will bring back Ryan O'Reilly. Yes, in free agency I always love hearing from Steve Eisenmann. Emily Kaplan. Nate Danielson fits your team.

Both short term and long term, well, you know, obviously, it's a hub. You know, honestly, we feel like we need help. You know we're looking for him to add at every position, but we like the fact that he's a big, strong two. -way centerman uh we'll plan on seeing him play in all situations so I think he's kind of a valuable player to have on your team in your organization. I asked you last year. I'm going to ask you again where they are. the Detroit Red Wings in their rebuild, well, I try to give them a better answer than last year, uh, obviously, with the picks that we have, with the moves that we made at the deadline, we are still in a rebuilding phase, still we're in a I know collecting assets, uh, uh, during the draft, we're still there, we're not at a point where we feel like we can really start trying, so to speak, so we're making progress.

I hope to be there sooner rather than later. but where we are again is trying to use these draft picks, use them wisely and build a group of good young players. Thank you, okay, thank you. I know the wings are really hoping Ryan Letter is there for that pick. That was the guy. they really had their eyes on it, but again, like Steve Eisman says, you're at the mercy of what the draft board looks like, right, you need some luck, sometimes, like the Flyers, this could speed things up if this guy gets here exactly . and then you're bad again, you're going to get another pick next year, now you're going to get these assets, the cutter coaches are coming back next year, so Nate Danielson Detroit Red Wing Emily Kaplan Nick, what does it mean to you to be a Detroit Red Wing?

It's really special, I mean, it's been a dream of mine sincethat was small. The kids are selected, so I have to be part of the Red Wings. I'm very excited, the fans in Detroit want to know a little more about you. You take pride as a player. I think my skating is one of the best parts of my game. Furthermore, I think I have a very complete game and defensively very responsible and offensively very creative and skillful. What players did you model? yourself, after I really like Dylan's cousins, he's something I've seen, such a Western guy, so I watched him a lot and then someone else like Nick Suzuki.

I've seen it a lot too and what are your expectations for yourself next year? I'm not too sure right now, I mean a lot of emotions going through my head right now, so I'm really excited to be a part of the Red Wings. Incredible congratulations, thank you. From Detroit to St. Louis, the Blues have three in the first round. The picks on the board for the second time in franchise history were the ones taken in 2007 by Laura Zeller Ian Cole David Perado had solid careers in the NHL, yes absolutely, but man are they really trying to change the rhythm of their team big time, we'll see. what they do here how is this the base of the knee is simply take the best player available and we will let him develop at a slow pace.

I think the blues needed the defender if you look at his back, you know the back of him, who do you do? look, he's the guy they could pick, there's age, I mean look, it could be Axel Sandeen, yeah, it could be Wheelander and their last top 10 pick was Petro Angelo, boom, there you go, there's Doug Armstrong without the tie, the general manager, many of you know the ages of their back end, you know, 30 years old, I mean, a lot of them are 30 years old, so I think the defense that they had to grab here in the first place, I'm with you , it makes sense when you have three teams like they have, there is Doug.

Armstrong, the gym, Craig Barube, the head coach, sees what the blues do and if they really take that young defenseman with their first three picks, the St Louis Blues are happy to select Dillalabor divorceki aik Sweden, maybe They were a little surprised that I was there. in this 10th pick and they probably see him, Megan, as the best player available, maybe divorce is also like Bo Horvat, so he is an incredible player, high-stick Puck possession game driver in possession time Puck, can transport the puck out of the d-zone and into the offensive zone creating offense and could create his own shot by carrying the puck and creating space for himself was the top scorer for the Slovakia team at the 2023 U18 World Championship and He let all the forwards have possession time per game, so he likes the puck in his deck. in just over two minutes a lot of Blues like the puck on their stick Robert Thomas Jordan Cairo uh at some point we're going to have to get rid of it and shoot it guys but this is a good guy to get a strong draft for the centers, we mention that yes. and another one goes here, the fourth time six centers were in the top ten happened in 2006, 2011 and 27.

Well, I can tell you that Craig Verube wants the guys to compete properly and yes, the business card and this guy that compete, play 200. footwork and if you don't do that Craig Beruby system you're going to have a problem and I think this is a guy I maybe don't know, a lot of handicappers had him slide to 10. but the fact that he was available again Senator Ice when we talk about what are the most important positions on your team, yes, I mean, yes, the goalkeepers are probably the most important, we would say we see an eye, but the central defense, that's how Las Vegas was built , this guy, uh, he competes, you know? maybe skating is a concern, but I always think that it can be done, that's something that can be worked on.

The guy who wants to compete has skill, he has Vision, he has hands, that is a little more difficult and he has it, yes, and I think of the same Lewis Blues team. that won the Stanley Cup and you think about the factor that Ryan O'Reilly found in the middle, you start to look through the middle of the players that they had in that lineup, how those players were able to affect him from the dawn position and yes, Craig verube Chief , out there, he is there, an exceptional coach has intensity, he is old school but new school and he wants guys that all he has to do is watch them to get over the boards.

Diversity born in Dallas, he is one of those players who look at him on the UA Team. I was very impressed every time he came down the stretch and they also use him in all situations including the power play and penalties so I can touch him and he has a high number of pocket shot recoveries and shot blocks in the defensive zone at 200 feet. So he's a great all-around player and another high pick for Slovakia, yeah, a big year for them last year, with Jerry Slokovski going to Montreal. This is a very good sign for his program because it is an exceptional hockey country that is often overshadowed only by his core. in their size, but they have had some outstanding players throughout their history and Megan, you mentioned it just now in 22 u8 22 u18 in five games, had 12 points led by the team that had slavkovsky who had major and then had Nemeth and him. he was the guy who led the team in scoring, so another one on the list of players coming out of Slovakia.

They are doing a great job. They gave Canada a scare. They were almost there. They almost made it. It probably would have been good for the United States, no doubt, they were definitely absolutely sweating, yeah, this is good, it's a great sign because the more countries develop young players, the better the NHL teams will reap the benefits on the men's side and certainly the same can be. said on the women's side if we can get more countries that are rising in the girls' side of the game yeah come on we're going well we're 10 picks in the 2023 NHL draft let's recap if maybe you're just joining us now started a little early Conor Bedard as expected to be the number one overall for the Chicago Blackhawks again opening night ESPN on October 10 will be in Pittsburgh against Sydney Crosby Leo Carlson Swedish great Adam fantilly falls to Columbus to three the man from Michigan will play hockey in Ohio Will Smith came up to the music of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air as he makes his way reinbacher the first defenseman big right shot Montreal a lot of people thought they could move that pick defense we get two D's in a row Arizona with a couple of selections we thought maybe The Running Back would go there, but not Matt Bay.

Meechoff goes to Denver. Brier Keith Jones and the Philadelphia Flyers, the first draft pick in the new administration. Ryan Leonard, the American from Boston College, goes to the Washington Capitals at the eighth spot. Nate Danielson at number nine overall. Detroit Red Wings, the Iceman center Brian Boucher said they needed to fill their organizational depth then divorced the 200-pound Slovak already at 18 years old. St Louis blue, so six of the best tenors, center from six countries, as weeks mentioned more players We develop the more teams we can add, the more expansion fees we can charge, the more the game can grow.

There are no commercial airplanes. We thought there would be some action, but so far the top 10 picks have stayed put in this talent-rich draft and takers. The player picks the good young player, maybe the trades will resume later, but the Vancouver Canucks don't have a second-round pick that Rick Tockett signed last January, they missed the playoffs in each of the last three seasons, one very important pick for them at 11. Gary Bettman welcomes Jim Rutherford Tammy Granado and the rest of the Vancouver Canucks I think he defends here out of his prospects, only one is a d-man among his top prospects, so the Vancouver Canucks with their first rounded palika think about it, okay. that's how I like it, yeah, here's your choice of who's going to step up, come on, don't be shy, get involved Vancouver Canucks proud to select from the roguela Swedish Junior League Tom willender okay, take the defense, take a d-man, good for them though good for them I I echo your point increase in the fact that they really need to rebuild that barn in the back they have to do stunts on Quinn Hughes right now but he needs help they need help in the back, Meg, they need that and the NHL.

Comparable for him are Seth Jones' guys with a puck High success rate when under pressure and in traffic, which translates well to Willender's NHL puck distribution, making quick decisions and setting up the teammates in position to make the next play. I think this is a solid choice for Vancouver. If they are looking for a defender and they are hard to find, you usually build through the draft, you know how expensive they are on the trade market or how impossible it is to get the demon with the right step, he has good size. I mean one thing about Axel Sandeen Kalika. he's a little bit smaller, yeah, I think Wheelander is a guy that can run the power play, he's a good skater, he moves the puck, he plays hard, he's solid all around, he's going to Boston University, yeah, in The fall, I think Jay Pandolfo, my man, was right there in the shot and I think this will give him a little more time.

They will get a little stronger, but they needed prospects as I said before choosing between their top nine prospects who only have one. he's a demon and that's Jack Rathbone they needed to get a d-man and I think this one is good yeah if you're a college hockey fan you're excited about all this high 10. high target for talent in the first round to play college hockey, yeah it just goes down, another Tom Wheelander is coming playing for Jay Pandolfo, both Bu and BC will be loaded this year, they will be top 10 preseason teams to beat Pop, it will be fine.

I was going to say Frozen Fours and St Paul's this year. We'll see the great people from Minnesota down in St Paul next April for the Frozen Four and Vancouver gets there. Swedish defense. They have done quite well with the Swedes over the years. My boy Ryan Johnson RJ with a little mint top on the side. Arizona Coyotes will pick again remember they pick sixth now they will pick 12 again for their second of two first round picks it's all been for Conor Bernard a large contingent of Blackhawk fans traveled to Chicago to cheer him on yeah thank you for everything you love, I'm so proud of you, oh yeah, number one overall who's going to be ranked 12th overall.

This is the pick Arizona got in the Ottawa Jacob Chicken Trade. The election is next Sports and also a beautiful night in this great American city of Nashville, Tennessee. The stakes are high here come the color coordinated Arizona Coyotes, we saw Matt Bay Mitchcock who had the same color suit, maybe he thought he was going to Arizona, that's how they got this pick, remember the Jacob chicken trade that we waited an eternity to exchange Jacob. chick when he finally did and we got a 12th overall, now this pick is a conditional second one next year and then the second one in 2026 so this is the result of the Jacob chicken trade, they could take another D here too if they wanted , there's some good stuff on the board Here comes the Arizona Coyotes contingent to make the 12th overall pick in their second year of the first round the Arizona Coyotes are proud to select the Yaris level Daniel boots okay, so there's no way that fans either boots about it weeks no offense or boots about it and another rush, it's absolutely taken and for Arizona counties right now and electing someone like Boot is a little bit sooner than some people anticipated there would be been selected, but anyway there is a lot of skill, it is a very good size. and they have the benefit, as we mentioned before, of not having that urgency in their window to be able to allow someone like Boot to develop, so by picking this early, you hope they see a very high seal, exactly his comparable in the NHL is a Alex talk. to the first tendency always looks to shoot when the offensive zone Elite Russian in that sense is in and around the puck in the ozone and gets to the net as a passer has a high completion rate but tends to keep things simple which might not translate so much in the NHL, Arizona takes two Russians with these, yes, the first two picks at six and twelve, yes, high-level skill is a long draw, yes, in a long time, well, you know it better than short one like mine, yeah I agree, I guess I think a long tie is better than a short guy, but you know, a high level of skill for a big guy, yeah right Rangey, not the guy more physical, but clearly there's room to grow within that framework, if you have a big guy like that who can hang me guys. those guys are hard to find and if the comparable is Alex Tucker, you know he's the guy that when he's on he's on and look at his hands there, I mean, able to get around that Defender, catch a guy like that in an area dangerous andguy replaces David Poyle, who has been honored tonight.

Several times you can see that they have a new coach and Andrew Morena is going to have another opportunity to go after Joe Cuenville in Florida last year he guided them through a presidential trophy that the Panthers let go with those who decided to go Paul Maurice Bruno went to New Jersey will be Lindy Ruff's assistant Nashville encourages him and it's interesting about Trice, right, we consider him a defensive coach, no now he wants talent, third and fourth line, get me skill, get me a lot of skill, get me a lot of creativity, speed. That's a big part of the mandate under Barry trots into the transition from David Foyle and with my man Andrew Burnett as head coach, they want to make it fun to play, fun to watch and play at a very fast pace, they got a 15 cap space millions. yeah, building that bottom six if you want to do it that way missing the playoffs for the first time in nine years in Nashville, they were a team that was so deep on the back end, not as deep as before, I wonder. if they go defensive or maybe go for the X Predator guy and Yannick Perot yeah, I'd like to see David Boyle say before I make my choice.

I would like to honor myself for my contribution to the NHL, okay, the press, will it be Perot? in a sixth skill, here we go smashville from the University of Connecticut Matthew Wood, so there it is, yeah, Matthew Wood. I spoke with his college coach, Mike Cavanaugh, on Monday. Will return to college hockey and play for Kavanaugh in the fall, says He will play center for him at UConn, is a product of British Columbia, was 17 when the college season started last year, led the UConn Huskies in scoring, He's still only 18, but he's 6'4, big, yes, he has a good lower frame and I asked him what his best attribute is.

The coach has his brain. He thinks the game well and he is an intelligent player because his skating is not correct. The strength of him. I think you have to think about the game to be successful, but make no mistake. The guy has high-level skills and the numbers that he's put up, as you mentioned at UConn, are impressive, almost a point per game at the under-18 level, 13 points in seven games. Wow, this is a really talented player again. I feel like skating is something you can work on. maybe the first step isn't there, he's a big kid, maybe it takes a little longer, but make no mistake, make no mistake, this guy can fill the net and more advanced under-18 stats in scoring opportunities per game, was third and also Leading Canada, behind Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perot, who we could see leave as well, high-level talent that is competing to get those high-quality shots that you want to see because that's what translates to the NHL , so here is the salary cap you should achieve. some moves and got creative, the Predators made they were able to move on from Ryan Johansen, move him to Colorado and this is a similar player to Ryan Johansen in terms of size, he has the ability to 6'4 Center, he can pass and shoot, so I think this is a really good, solid pick for Brock Besser threats, comparable to the NHL, so do it exactly like this.

I like it, i like it so much. I will go back to university, maybe even three years at university, this is a long-term project. here, but a guy who could become a very good pro with that size of stone is made with his head in his hand, you have Elite head in your hands, you can play in this and I love that you say that because you saw those attributes of Mark Stone. in Ottawa, yes, by the way, absolutely Ottawa is sent to change and give credit to the Las Vegas goal, the gentlemen were being aggressive coming out, coming in and bringing them into the fold, by the way, two back surgeries later and they are just holding the cup of Lord Stanley, he is the captain. of that team, so I like to point out that UConn hasn't been a D1 program for very long, but they have two number ones now.

Tage Thompson was the first in 2016 and this is not as big as Tage Tage was very skinny in This age this guy is already again, he has big legs and he will be a strong guy who, you know, it will be difficult to move around the net and use those hands and hit well, and you can see that he is an intelligent player, here he knows it. where to go to get the spaces where he can get to Puck, get the puck and then smash it. When you have those instincts, those are the guys that get the points.

The fourth Husky chosen in the NHL draft. Emily Kaplan is with Mr. Wood Mather. You were the youngest player in college hockey last season, what was that like for you? Um, yeah, I mean, I was able to go to the University of Connecticut and they welcomed me very well. There is a great culture there and I love playing there. I love playing. for the coaches there and I love the guys there and I'm very happy to be able to play there. I heard you wear number 71 because you love Evgeny Malkin. What do you like specifically about it? um um I mean, I've always admired him, he's a great forward that can score and makes incredible plays and he's a really special player so I've always admired him, we talk a lot about something that I don't know. about that kid um I mean you probably already know this but he's an amazing down to earth person and um I mean he works really hard and he's going to be really special amazing congratulations thank you yeah okay , I'll tell you this too.

Matthew Wood is another product of the bcj, yes, the BC Junior League in western British Columbia, which is the best tier two league in terms of producing college players in North America, right now they are in a heat in terms of produce college hockey players. Offensive players like the right ones, the guys that come out of there can score, yeah, create offense. I would say USA. I love the USHL too, USA Joe's, it seems more structured, yeah, you know, we're the BC League like that, top two lines. guys can go and they can create and generate and that's what you're looking for, yeah, that's where you can find some talent and you know, Matthew Wood is obviously a bigger guy.

I think college is the right path to see that it's going to take a little more time to mature physically Barry jogs with Emily Kaplan Barry Where does Matthew Wood fit on his team both in the short and long term? Well I think in the short term we're going to let them develop you know look at the scoring profile we feel like he's a long wait to grow I mean but he's a great body uh he can score um you know we're just going to to let it develop and you know we feel like we can get the right right profiles, you know those dynamic people that will get you out of your seats a little bit, you have to score goals in this game and you need a certain amount of playoff victory, so that I hope he checks two of those boxes and I keep going You know, I'm just trying to do it.

You know it's my first time at this. I have a great mentor and David and I'm surrounded by some great assistant general managers right now and you know I'm just trying to touch base. I'm trying to try different things, you know, we want to know, we have so many young kids coming in, you know, I want to change the profile, we were, you know a defensive team for several years and I coached it. we found ways, you know, we had the best rest for everyone and the Chicago teams, we have to take care of themselves with a little different profile starting with their coach and the guys are recruiting a little more offense, awesome, thanks Barry o congratulate Las Vegas Golden. gentlemen in the Stanley Cup Championship and finally there is no GM sitting at the table tonight nor anyone who has been a manager in their sleep for the last 25 years.

He has not possibly been influenced by David Foyle. He did his job with class and dignity. and honesty and I wish him much success, much success in his future for our first election. I would like to introduce you to our new general manager Craig Conroy. I want to thank all of our season ticket holders at the draft party at the Telus Club at the Scotiabank Saddle Dome I hope you're having a good time uh with our first pick that we're taking from the Vancouver Giants Samuel hanzig Conroy The popular flame begins from Calgary so much energy for Craig Conroy and another Slovak go weeks that he was going to Let's say this continues, Trend and Samuel Hanzick has potential.

There is a high ceiling. Certainly for the Calgary Flames they would have the opportunity to see Hanzek play against the Calgary Hitman right there in their own building, so they got a really good sample size in terms of. to lay eyes on them, but I see it as a more positive choice at this point. Getting out of that size is also NHL comparable to Teemo Myers, who we talked about a lot today, grows to the front of the net in the offensive zone and around high traffic areas consistently High number of shot attempts off rebounds the jury is still out it's decided for some people in warehill land but Essentials is there, good skater, good hand, solid strong pick for Calgary, you've seen it a lot in the who it's a big year for who yeah it's absolutely hey it's a great north-south type player, so if you want an honest player, this is what you're going to get and I think look, I mean, he's got, he's got, he's got, he's got, he's got, he's got, he's got, he's got, he's got, he's got , has, has, has, good The skills are not great, but he is the kind of person who can play on a top line and congratulate.

You know some high-level players, but he's also a guy if you have to drop him, so maybe the bottom half of your back nine can. go in there and be a big hit too, so I think he's going to determine what he becomes at the next level, is he going to be that guy that's more of a third line guy, that's big and physical and keeps it simple or is he a guy? who is your north-south boy who plays on the walls and can play with good players and then produce his second half of his season was really good after the world juniors, he got hurt at the world secondary in Slovakia and his second half was really strong, which is a positive sign okay, a new era begins in Calgary new GM new head coach alongside the Detroit Red Wings with their second first round pick Broadway in Nashville is cooking up the Red Wings on the clock and yesterday collect upcoming foreign hockey news in 2021 and a continued effort to grow hockey at the college level the NHL and NHL PA in collaboration with Tennessee State, the Predators and college hockey Inc funded a feasibility study through the NHL and the PA Industrial Growth Fund Armed with positive results from that study, all parties continued to work to make TCU hockey a reality that announcement came yesterday, making the first HBCU to have an ice hockey program in any level, congratulations to the state of Tennessee, the Red Wings picked us when we come back, welcome back to the draft, the Red Wings on the clock, this chosen part of the deal with Philip Heronic no trade yet quiet I can't understand very quiet the silent cell service not good here maybe that's why it's not good it's trifi we're trying to find it four NCAA prospects drafted in this draft another good night for it's Russia and Slovakia and since they mentioned there will be no trade, the top 16 picks kept their picks, the Red Wings on the clock now can certainly move down if they want or do something.

Jim Mill got the Jim Gregory Award for GM of the Year, so The clock was, uh, the draft clock stopped for a moment, so here's the Red Wings Steve Eiserman, of course, with another first-round pick , while they continue to slowly build assets. They don't have that kind of home run franchise like icon Bedard when he picked High, that's the heroic trade, he went to Vancouver along with a fourth, they got the 17th overall pick and also a second round pick. They have three seconds, so they will take five of the top 43 players in this deep draft.

See the selection originally. belongs to the Islanders trades the connection the deal with Horvat and is now the best available red wing pick Megan, how about if you were in Steve Eisenman's shoes as they head to the stage? Well, I have Perot, but you're looking at Eiserman. He loves to select players from these European professional teams. I think he goes with the NHL's Kalika defenseman, comparable to Chris Letang, a strong pick for him and he's still available right now, so I'm guessing he leans that way, but you can't go wrong. with parole again missed the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season 80 points last year was the highest point total in seven years so they are on an upward trend but there are a lot of teams coming Ottawa Buffalo New Jersey certainly on the rise already They made the playoffs last year, so these picks are very important.

Here comes the Red Wings pit number two in the first round for them. Here comes Steve Eiserman at the microphone one more time before we make our selection. I would like to thank all the Red Wing fans. Back in Detroit at Little Caesars Arena, those of you watching the draft live, we really appreciate your support with the 17th pick, Red's pickWings by Celestia Sweden from shl Axel sand and palika here we go oh they did it give us some of this guys uh. a little more juice on him in that under-18 tournament in 2023, he was an excellent defenseman and not only did he make shot attempts, but he was also second in time of possession per game with 245.

That palika of puck possession influences the pace of the game with decision making and puck. control toys Beyond his age, he bends the puck and makes those plays, you can see why Detroit would like that style of player, a little obvious in terms of Eiserman always looking for Europe, but he didn't have to look in this case , fell before him. There were some people who feel this is the best defenseman in the draft. He may not be wise, yeah, sure, and he may not have the size of Reinbacher or Simichev, but from a skills standpoint, this guy is.

He made it and can skate his way out of trouble. Great feat, he has a good time. I think this fits the mold of what the Detroit Red Wings are trying to become, which is a skill-based team that has talent not only on the frontcourt but also on the backend. They also ended up and had quite a bit of success with a Swedish defenseman and Nick Lynch from years before their pedigrees, yes that's exactly his pedigree in Detroit. They've had so much success and familiarity with Swedish-born players in their modern history and in Saying all that, you've got Simon Edmondson back there, you've also got more cider and now you've got a guy who's kind of a policeman for a player like Crystal Tang-esque, yes, and a defenseman who can generate offense and when, when the Puck is on. the tape of him is that skill, these high level Morse expert forwards that is absolutely dynamite for the wingspan in Motown and for the pure michiganders that are tuned to drink the Vernors right now during this draft.

I like this selection, this one is a little slow. build for Detroit, but they will get ahead when they are ready. Yeah, neither of them are playing the long game here and they're going to hit a lot of teams really hard with their high-level talent, and there's my man. Chris Draper, on the left in the film, yes, he had such a successful career with Detroit, he is an outstanding executive, he is on the slopes all the time and I will say the same about Steve Eisman, plus he is not the warmest in terms of your personality.

I know, but he's also on the slopes all the time. He has beaten the harder working Steve Eisman. I have to give him a lot of credit for that. Do you know how much respect I really have for Steve Eiserman and his staff? so real in their assessment of their group if you ask them as if they are not, they are not trying to paint a picture that does not exist, they are honest, they know they are still very far away, they are not ready to attack, they want it like you mentioned, that construction Slow, that's what they want to get at.

I really respect that because a lot of teams at the trade deadline, yeah, they would have gotten excited and really said, "Hey, maybe we can make it." a push here and in comes Steve Eiserman knows it's still a couple of years away, keep building, stay the course and in the end this team could be good again for a long time Emily Kaplan with the new Red Wing Axel The Detroit Red Wings have such a rich history with Swedish players, what does it mean to you to wear this jersey? I mean, it's an amazing feeling, I mean, I've had great conversations with Detroit before and you know, I had a great feeling when when they came to pick and I'm very happy that they picked me, so I'm very happy with what happened in those conversations when you talked to Steve Eiserman and his staff, uh, nothing special, really, meetings are pretty standard for the other teams, but you know the Swedish Scouts talk to me a lot and you know they like me and, yeah, I have a great feeling about the organization.

I'm excited to join them, yeah, when do you think you'll be able to play in the NHL? We'll see, it's hard to tell but next year I'll be playing shl so we'll see what happens after that amazing technology to do it yeah thanks one of two defensemen in this class under six feet 180 pounds or lighter , so those are the two red wing picks tonight, they will also be active in the second round alongside the Winnipeg Jets, you could do that if you go on Craigslist and see a Winnipeg jet for sale, don't be surprised because, uh, we see they are there to be aggressive they are a great player they are looking to replenish and they are kind of like St Louis they don't want to stink they don't want to tear it down they want to reward their fan base for the loyalty they show and the ticket prices they pay and they have a good team, what can they do well?

I don't know, I talked to some of his staff that I know pretty well along the way. here and asked specifically what's the latest on Conor Hellebuck, can a staffer tell you? I don't comment on individual players, well I have news for you, I have news for you. Spicy Cooks was very real in his season-ending press conference. and he says that he doesn't want to be part of a rebuild and that he's a Michigan native, so I know there are a lot of teams that are looking at Connor Hellebuck, what will be very interesting to me is what they end up doing with Connor.

Hellebuck made the big change, of course, with Pierre Luke Dubois. I think they got a great return and Gabe Velardi and I followed some of the pieces of that deal, so I'm curious to see what they do with the pick, but it's all good. For your franchise goalie, aka franchise quarterback, where is this going? That's what I want to see, yeah it's a tough loss and there's no doubt about that in Winnipeg, let's be honest, I mean it's a tough place to attract players so you've got to do it. You have to draft well, you have to develop them while you have them under your control, the trade with the LA Kings, those are young guys that are under their control, so when you draft the player right now, you hope to draft a good one, you hope to have him. him for at least seven years and if you leave him out, he will be gone after that, but I hope he can get the talent and skill that will help him win in that period of time when they were young, they made the 2005 play of the last six seasons, of course, they lost to the eventual Stanley Cup champions in five games, the Las Vegas Golden Knights, the pick goes to the Winnipeg Jets at 18th overall in the 2020 free draft on behalf of the Winnipeg Jets.

I would like to thank the city of Nashville for the tremendous events. I would love to congratulate David Poyle on a tremendous career. Thank you very much for all your mentoring. I would also like to say hello to all of our fans at Canada Life Centre. Our draft barbecue. The Winnipeg Jets are proud to select. OHL's Owen Sound Colby Barlow you like the wig you like boosh I do it um again if you pay attention to the players that I like I mean there's a trend you're a ruffian yeah I like guys that play the game it's hard and this is another one of those guys that plays hard, he reminds me when you look at him, he reminds me a little bit of Mason McTavish that type of build um he has a great Dragon pitch his one time is great he plays hard he is strong he was a captain in the sound of Owen is an old school player the only thing maybe is that when you look you can see he has a full beard yeah maybe that's what he's right and maybe that's why he goes to number 18 but the intangibles are there for a player that I think you can, you can wrap your team up and say this is. a guy who will lead us into the fight and be a good player for us.

Hey, look, I wouldn't be here right now if I hadn't played Owen Sound in two years, my first two years as a junior, and one thing about Playing Owen Sound is a small, tight building and you have to be willing to pay the price. . You can't put ghost numbers playing in that building and this guy is a Hard Edge player, a skill player, a true prototype. The power forward goes to all the areas that not everyone loves to go to generate their offense and he is a leader and you can see by his face that he is already the man that he is already an NHL guy and will only be allowed to grow even more physically.

I love this Winnipeg Jets pick and he gets to those tight areas, but he also has good hands in those tight areas to be able to finish and you're right, Brian, effective once. I had that underlying thing twice. I heard that from everyone, but so did he. he's smart, he was actually the OHL Scholastic Player of the Year award. You're getting a smart delivery, a good human being and also off the ice dedicated to being better, which should translate to the NHL when you think about that long way he has 46 goals and had a great year and in Sound Man 46 goals, I want I mean, he could have gotten to 50, fifth in the league, yeah, with that 46.

I mean, to me, he's an NHL type of player, his game translates to the NHL game and again another one of those players. that triumph when you reach the postseason. I think his game becomes even more valuable. The youngest captain in the history of the Owen Sound attack. He is now the first player selected from O. OHL. The Ontario Hockey League this year. It's been a great night for Who, but the first one was the O and there's still nothing from the Q. We're still waiting for the first proper kick from him when we get back.

Chicago, who started the night with Conor Bedard, once again selects his second choice number. 19 in total they got four in the second round they got two in the third they are building the closets in Chicago the draft continues with the Blackhawks the next foreigner won the Jim Gregory GM of the year congratulations to him, you see, the candidates were Bill Zito of Florida Don Sweeney from the Bruins, everyone deserves it, yes, congratulations to Jim Mill, one of the great statesmen in the game, he is a long time 100 class gentleman, Red Wing's front office mate. Opening night is Tuesday, October 10.

We have a triple header for you that will be a lot of fun, we will start in Tampa, you got it as the Predators, these draft host Predators will play the Tampa Bay Lightning, then it will be Conor Bernard's first NHL game in Pittsburgh and then Vegas will lift the Banner Cup against Seattle, so here it is. how the Blackhawks got this 19th overall pick the big trade last year when once again Tampa Bay made an exciting trade they gave us a lot of entertainment in the trade again Brandon Hagel turned out to be a great acquisition so he got a fourth and a fourth give him a couple of prospects and this number one, so what is Kyle Davison doing here?

The youngest active general manager in the NHL. Anna Bedard was the easy choice. She now she gets a little bit tougher at 19th overall and again, she can really go anywhere. She is very sincere. Long-term project for them, this is several years, three, four, five, let's see what Davidson does with his second first-round pick of the night. He also has four seconds to play with two-thirds with the 19th pick in the NHL draft, Chicago. The Blackhawks are very proud to select Oliver Moore from the US National Development Program. I love this guy, I mean this guy is electric, everyone can skate well, this guy stands out, yeah this guy can fly, oh my god, can he move without a doubt?

The best skater in the world. draft uh his Giddy Up step I mean it's something else he can create with haste the question is if he can create other forms but the only thing I know if he can or not is speed is a problem if speed is a problem for defenders and for the opposition and this guy has it in abundance uh he, you know, along with Connor Bedard, as you think, you know you have a dynamic player in Bedard who can do it all and then you have a guy and Oliver. Moore, who is probably planning another line that will just blow people away with his speed.

The thing about Oliver Moore is that on the show he didn't play on the top line, he's the guy who plays on the other line and he still scored 75 points. He scored nine points in the under-18s, so this wasn't the guy who played with the best players all the time and is still productive, but he's a guy with speed that you don't see all the time, he's probably going to play with him. Logan Cooley in Minnesota this year man he's a gopher and I'll tell you gopher fans this guy is going to get you out of your seats at Mariucci oh yeah he's definitely going to take you to the land of ten thousand lakes and what he does is attacking opponents with that speed puts them under duress yes it has a V12, it's not a V8 engine it's a V12, you can hear that exhaust when you step on it in the blink of an eye, it can gain not only acceleration but also zones with Its speed is so electrifying according to our data, it puts you in the loop.

He can actually move the puck to that middle of the ice and set up your teammates. High participation players, so he can probably have an impact on the cycle, but outside of the record, it's his bread and butter. and butter with that speed, Puck's recovery with anticipation, you know, it shows that determination and tenacity, which is maybe why he got to this point, yeah, the second and third efforts are the things I saw in him , that's a great point, right? when I think of Dylan Larkin when I see him because he is comparable to the NFL.

I have some data, yeah, you know, I like speed kills. I mean,It's difficult to play against him. I hope he can get up to speed at the NHL level. everyone can click if they can, you have a dangerous process. I love that you say second and third efforts because very often with speed, traders realize that speed is enough to get them there and win a battle to be the first to put. position to create an opportunity, so when you add that speed with the second and third efforts, it's being so competitive there and that's why I was saying on this desk all year that Dylan Larkin is free, yes, in Detroit you have him and me, do you remember Booty?

Yes, I remember that and I'm glad he finally got it because he has that ability. He saw his mother Shauna saw his mother Shawna. She has run 10 marathons including a Boston one she is so amazing she has a lot of stamina and Emily Oliver has speed Oliver we are still talking about your speed someone in the US program said you are in the same speed category as Conor McDavid, what do you think of that comparison? Yeah, I mean, that's a stretch, sure, I think he's obviously a great player, but I think so, I like to use my speed to my advantage and, every time I can, it's amazing, so Bougie mentioned that your mom, Shawna, she ran marathons.

I heard you ran a sub Five Mile when you were in high school, how does that fit in? you as a hockey player, yeah, in high school, I was in high school, I remember, so, yeah, I mean, I think it helped me be athletic and obviously, like I said, I like to use my speed. and I'm an athletic player, so um. Yeah, that's probably what helped me, but yeah, and you come to the Chicago Blackhawks ushering in something new like what's going on, even when I say that, I'm just as excited as watching it all year, it's amazing what's happened. could do and have. the Blackhawks organization recruited me and they have confidence in me.

I mean, it's an amazing feeling right now. I can't even describe it. Congratulations, welcome to Chicago, thank you very much, yes, he ran track at St John the Baptist High School in New Brighton, Minnesota, four. minute 55 Second Mile in high school, but listen, if you're going to run marathons, you won't be able to run fast if you hold yourself back for marriage. Yes, I suggest you never run a marathon with the 800. stay with the 400 stay with the 100. yes, keep the speed up, everything ready, well configured, but you know which legs feed the Wolves well and I was talking, I I mentioned before.

I was talking to a Hughes family this afternoon, one of the first hockey families of course, with Luke Jack's parents and of course Quinn in Vancouver and his mom really had a big hand in his development. Absolutely true. Escape from a skating standpoint, she and her father had played college hockey, and here's a look. with my former teammate, the great Ron France, they are not wasting their time investing in Seattle, but they are next, they are next and it was an exceptional season for Seattle. I have to give them a lot of credit. I did not see it. that 40 point improvement from their inaugural season and only the Devils had a bigger improvement yeah it's nice to see a team like that make that jump so quickly and they took Shane well he didn't have to play more than eight games this season, allowing it to It's really interesting to see what they're stocking the closets with this season.

Yes, Ron Francis got that three-year contract extension. They are great. They are a high profit team. They sell merchandise in the top five in terms of revenue. the ticket prices are high, so they can generate a lot of revenue, yes, and a Crown Jewel gaming rink and a Crown Jewel practice facility very similar to what Las Vegas did from that standpoint. I feel like they need defensive prospects, I mean, when you look at their draft picks. right, their prospects are all forwards, yes they are, you know, Larson's Alexia x30, 30, Justin Schultz is 32. He already had a great year.

Vincent had a great year but I think I agree with that but is there anyone saying the next best player available that's the question I have a question Megan now you're back now you're back so let's see what Ron does Francis with the 20th overall pick. Normally the third year team would be under 20, but they were good last one. year Seattle crocken is proud to select de comet berno eduard Charlotte here we go, yes, he seems like a sell-out like Chris Sale, right, but he's superficial and what do we know about him? Megan Jacob, his NHL comparable is cassberry.

Kaepernick's management does not force plays and limits gifts, creates space and excels using skating and tight turns to separate himself from his opponents, averages almost a point per game and controls you in the 2022 2023 World Junior Championship and also led the team in scores, so they're getting great offense. skater, this looks like a Crockett, right? What's that? It just seems like a crack and they plug him into his deep team and keep deploying them, look, I mean, I think they need defense in their system, there's no doubt about that, but this. He's a case of Best Player Available, yes, and he has offensive ability, there's no doubt about those top two lines, if he can get there and play there, he'll be an effective player.

I think the only question mark about him is sometimes the competency of him and whether or not he could, if he doesn't play in the top six, could he play? You know, on the third line in that role. So is he in the top six or not? That's exactly what you are, yes, he is the best player. available maybe the defense prospects that were there just didn't feel like there was a high enough ceiling, give this guy a chance who has a nice size six two, yeah, and if he and he pan out, you've got a skilled player. in your top six, yeah, and there's room to grow physically, not necessarily from a height standpoint, but more in terms of the height of his body, being a 175-pound guy, could he complete 200 195?

And when you look at the Seattle Krakens team, right? Now what's interesting for them is that they don't have Game Breakers that are going to open a game per se. I really love Maddie veneers. I love what Maddie Veneers is and will be, but for his team, the way they are built. do it collectively yeah right so this is a guy that you could integrate into your folds and he doesn't necessarily have to be the guy in time but there's enough there and there are some advantages because he's a good skater yeah that's you . I know he's a guy that you talk about being a game-breaker, he can be that guy that I feel like, uh, with that ability, the question is, do you know if he's going to grow in that role to be able to be a top ticket?

That's the question that some people just don't feel like if he doesn't get to that point, it's going to be like he's having a hard time and it's going to have to be handed over to him well, we'll see if he can do it, but there's no doubt about that. The skating ability is there, the offensive instincts are there, he definitely has a shoot-first mentality as well, so you're right, if they don't attack him, there can be a challenge and that's something with this Seattle that is preparing for its career where Maybe I put high level players with them, they're not there yet, they're still on the development side Emily with Edward Shala Edward, what were you thinking when you put that jersey on?

I hate that it was amazing, yes, a little. Long wait and a long day all day, but yeah, I'm really excited to be on the Kraken and yeah, I can't wait for you to know, when you were a kid, how much NHL you got to see and if you've seen any Seattle Kraken, yeah. I don't know, yeah, I have some teams, yeah, but yeah, I like it here and yeah, we'll see what happened growing up. Which players did you model your game after? uh, why I don't know, I think so. a little bit of the same style as him and I see it all the time amazing congratulations to your queen, yes, thank you, thank you. 17 years old, played in the biggest men's league, exactly good at the shooters in the world, plus one goal, five assists in seven games, that's the first game of the year opening night Nashville in Tampa the second game of our opening night triple header on October 10th Conor Mcdark's debut against Sydney Crosby and the Penguins and then Heather's opening night triple ends with Vegas raising their Stanley Cup banner against a team they would like to get one themselves, the Seattle Kraken, It's all part of our triple header on Tuesday, October 10 on ESPN.

We can't wait to get back to the Stanley Cup Final next year on ESPN and the Minnesota Wild on the clock next 21 overall, they got two. the two then hope for the fifth 103-point season last season for Bill Garren's organization after the regular season, yes, the 100-point season for the second time in franchise history lost the opening playoff series in each of their last six playoffs, well that brings me to this Caprice outside of The best player ever, of course, Gabrick, right there, who is outstanding and electric for them, but what I want to see now is the next step for this team in the postseason and I'm curious to see if they finish.

I see Megsby. I'm curious to see if they recruit anyone who feels like the bushes you said all night could help them from April to June, right, and Bill has done a good job of transforming this team, he told me we're too vanilla, we're two vanilla. So he's done a good job turning this team around, but now I think the next step in the progression would be to add a player who can help them in crunch time. Gucci gets involved, but gay Perot is still there, he really has a lot of talent this year playing with Leonard and playing with Will Smith, so he's fallen a little further than people thought.

I agree, you know, maybe, but like you said, maybe they're looking for a certain trait or the best player available, let's find out one of the most popular guys. stay with the always funny Bill Garren look who makes the Picker it won't be Billy for Minnesota oh there we go first of all I would like to congratulate David Poyle for an incredible career David thank you for your friendship uh like Kyle said being a mentor to so many young GMs , we appreciate everything you have done for us in the game, also a big thank you to the city of Nashville, especially the tootsies for keeping this entire group well hydrated and entertained, Minnesota Wild with pride.

University of Wisconsin pick Charlie schrammel okay, okay, we had back-to-back nights at Tootsie, so we know what Billy's talking about, but then a badger says, what are you wearing? This is a big guy, this is a guy who was ranked in the top ten coming into this season and he fell apart because the points weren't there, yeah, he didn't score last and it was a tough first year for him. I got to see it first hand at the world juniors in the US and he played a fourth line penalty roll and he played that role perfectly, he's got some real Jam in him and that size and that physicality, that physical game and he likes to get in in the four, um, so stop by Billy Garen I think he can relate to this player, you know, understanding that look around him with some players gives him some confidence.

I'm not saying this guy is going to score 50 goals on you, but there's something about his game that I think can translate to the National Hockey League because he's willing to play hard and he's got a big body and we'll see how that plays out. . I mean, look, look, his role models in the NHL. Matthew could shoot, yeah, he can play a little bit like that. That to me is What Billy Garen is looking for is the heaviest guy at the Combine 222 and born in Saint Paul Minnesota, perfect, exactly, and listen if he can play 75 from Matthew or Brady could shoot, that would be huge for the Minnesota Wild because , as we talked, I love it. where your team is, but for them to take that next step, ladies and gentlemen, for me it's just about having the type of players that can get into those tough areas against both Nets and make those plays.

There's a great photo of his mother there. presumably, can you imagine what goes through the mother's hearts? Oh man, to see your son up there, that's amazing, amazing, kind of amazing, so that's what I see here in Megu. Absolutely that grid and jam that you were talking about beforehand, you predicted this election here, comparable to the NHL, Anders. Lee actually said that he's a lot like Alex, trapped in Alex's mind. High success rate in tight areas and under pressure, and he plays an aggressive, physical game that we all know translates to the playoffs, the fourth US-born player to be drafted.

Will Smith was the first to reach his linemate. Ryan Leonard, both headed to Boston College this fall, Moore heading to Minnesota, Charlie's Dremel returning to the Madison Flyers, next WNBA game on ABC Saturday afternoon, a rematch of last year's finale. These teams have the best running back in the league and also the sun. Eastern Noon, Pacific, Aces, Suns coverage begins with WNBA countdown, well the Flyers landed another first-round pick at 22nd overall. You see, it's pretty complicated, of course, the pro out of the trade to go to Columbus La retains part of the provocative salary for not doing it andHodgkin go there and you can see the Flyers getting a second one next year, this first one now and also some options at 24-25, there is a lot going on but the only thing that matters is that they are picking again, yes they are picking again and you think I could take a radical box, son, maybe I think or maybe Perot, okay, either way, they can't go wrong, yeah, I'm also involved in those and different types of players, so you're taking decisions on what you think is critical in This point with the 20-second pick the Flyers are proud to select from the OHL's London Knights Oliver bunk played 969 games, was drafted on his father's 29th birthday, radic was third generally by Ottawa in 1994, that's why it was born. in Ottawa, a London Knight and I and I like guys that have a family pedigree in the National Hockey League.

I think that's a real plus for some of these kids. You know you get that feedback from your father. you know you're really getting it, I mean this is a guy that London took their time with him, they sent him back to Junior B because they wanted him to play more the year before and then he came to London this year and he just got better and he got better and better as the year went on, he's got it, he's long, he kills plays. You know, I think there's more offense there than maybe you see, but I think defensively he gets close to the guys really well.

The question is What I have is will that offense get there Megan, maybe you know more about that and the London Knights are an extremely good program, in some cases their player development is comparable to some NHL teams, so no. Make no mistake, the bomb was there for the development, he was actually second in even-strength possession time per game of over a minute with his stick and led the London Knights in the playoffs in pass completion rate with just under the 82 percent, so he's making those passes. The scouts are looking at those little aspects of his game that they are working with him and being able to play that long game or they are holding them back, they are the hunters, they focus on making incredible NHL players and it's not sexy but it's effective and Dale Hunter is good friends with Keith Jones, so there's a real comfort between those two, they play together in Washington.

I'm sure they had many conversations about this player. Yes, I'm just talking to his representatives and they said there have been many. of conversations with the Knights of London about Bach. This is a great selection. I love the fact that you mentioned that he returned to level two, Junior B at St Thomas. He turned it on before returning to the London Knights fixtures. Well, it's been a great week for the New Jersey Devils and their general manager Tom Fitzgerald. Let's get a Devils update with Emily Kaplan. Tom, what a week, you know, he quit. Yes for Brad.

You hired Timo Meyer again. You trade for Tyler tofoli in case we're watching the Devils of Stanley. Cup contenders right now, well, you know, last year was a glimpse of what we really think we can be. We had a fantastic year led by our coach Lindy Ruff, our entire staff, the growth and development of all of our young players, um, yeah, I think We're there and you know we have a great ownership that has allowed me to show them my vision and, of course, In fact, simply exercise it. Did you finish this summer, always trying to improve and what is your plan and goal?

You know, we traded Mackenzie Blackwood. but you have Banner, check if you have Schmidt, are you comfortable with those two guys? Great question, we're definitely comfortable with those two guys, we just want to figure out internally what's best for us, what's best for Carrie Schmidt, what's best for a V-Tech, so you know what it is, it's something we discuss daily, so could you be active on July 1st? After all, I am always trying to improve the team. Well, we'll have to wait and see, thanks Tom. I have to make a move on that, unless they are too good up front.

Now I played with Tom Fitzgerald. I'm going to tell you this right now if I'm the New Jersey Devils when you look and see Igor Schusterkin. and you're watching saroka on long island and you have a chance to maybe attack for hellebuck, you gotta look at it for hell, if so his legit stanley cup contender takes it. Gucci only five picks for the Rangers, of course, new head coach. Peter Laviolette Chris Drury was signed on May 5, 2021. Will see his cap space, there have been some trade rumors about the franier still having an RFA signed in Keandre Miller, maybe a bit of a tricky sign there after the year past, of course, here yes, I have some ufas like Well, with Kane, I don't think he will come back, you never know Vladimir Tarasenko, so the Rangers are an interesting place, they are seeing that the Devils are trending upward quickly, of suddenly, suddenly, they close the gap they bring.

Peter Laviolette has obviously been around, he won a cup training here. The cup finals coached here in Nashville took them to a cup final, as well as the Flyers, one with Caroline, that's right, eight, this is it. I like your point for the New York Rangers, I thought. It was a bit of a disappointing postseason to be at a lot of their games in New York on off nights and watch them play at the Garden. I feel like they took a step back this year from where they were last season, but there are so many good pieces there.

I'm curious to see what they're going to achieve here, maybe a Callum Richie coming from the Ottawa Generals. I like his game. He is a really good player. They also have a young man in their group. Hoffmann. He's also kind of a tough forward and Brennan often, so I'm curious to see what they do here Meg, there's also Gabriel Perot, he's out there too. Gavin Brinley is a small guy, but I love him, yes, smart and a competitor, yes. he played with Adam Fantilly and will play with him again if Tantilly comes back so I don't think he will but here soon yeah exactly your point so the Rangers pick is 23rd overall as they They didn't have a first-round pick last time. year, so here comes the Rangers' first round pick.

The New York Rangers are proud to select from the US Under-18 team. Gabrielle Perot scored 50 goals as did her linemates Leonard and Smith. I also saw my best available. I go to that. He podiumed pretty quickly because the NHL comparables in Jake gunsold Earth in the ozone with passing and shooting and he also gets to the slot, so when you're looking to add some of those players, you can know that Dynamic Attack Pro slipped and so did I. I think some of those teams were picked a little higher that they overlooked him they were looking for defense, right, it's not that he's not good enough to be a top 12 player, it was just a different pick, the skating was the problem, the correct skating is The problem is a lot like his father Yannick Perot, he slows down the game, but the IQ is off the charts with this guy, he's probably the smartest player in the draft.

Wow, and if you think about ntdp's single season points record, he broke it by 15 points. Who did it? he beat Austin hello, so thanks for coming, he was part of that, he's part of that dynamic line, there on the show with Will Smith and Ryan Leonard, right, he makes guys fail, even though this guy creates without moving, Yes, it is very interesting to see. because I see him create food, sorry again, another player who comes from a father who played, yeah, I think you know what you're getting in a player, it's predictable, huh, but like I said, the IQ is off. . graphics here uh yeah, maybe the pacing is a problem, but when you're that smart you find a way to get points, the new head coach here in an original Predator Andrew Burnett.

I played with Jamie Store and I played with him, our rookie or not. In sound, Andrew Burnett had 162 points to lead the CHL, it was the seventh round, everyone told us that he couldn't escape, that's what everyone said and we know that was one of his deficiencies. He played over a thousand games in the National Hockey League and now he's the head coach here in Nashville, so all that to say and this young man, the Anak girl's son, Gabriel Perron, is a very, very hockey mine. brilliant, almost an offensive savant on the ice and the ability to make plays all over the offensive zone I think this is a steal for the Rangers potentially here in this pick, well he certainly struggles with them, I mean he was second in the World Championship under 18 in scoring Kansas for games when you talk about hockey IQ, it's not just the volume of correct shots, it's getting high quality expected goals. he scores on a shot that he will play at Boston College with his linemates in the program and he's with Emily Kaplan, what are some of the?

Yeah, I think when I was a kid he always wanted me to have fun and, oh, you always wanted me to. Be creative and I think I took those things and they always stayed with me. You said the USA program record for points passed Austin Matthews, also the single season record for assists and Jack Hughes, what did that mean to you? Yeah, I think he's great. I think those are the guys you look up to, so having my name with those guys is definitely pretty special. Come on, yes, so I made my suit with the glorious Customs.

They had a couple of pages there with family friends. I had my equipment. there, so, oh yeah, I think that's what was there, do you like the style? Are you going to put your personality out there, oh yeah, a little bit. I think I like nice jackets and stuff, so I've always liked having good style. You will find that none of those in New York will find it difficult to buy. Thank you so much. The line is already taken. We told you all three would be in the first round. He waited. a little more than Gabe Pro thought he could do, but again these three played the program and will be headed and playing together at Boston College at the dance like you mentioned for Greg Brown in a few months, so Smith Perot and Leonard are teammates team in the program and will continue in college, but then they are on three different teams.

Hey, the program is well-named, the program they have done and they do an incredible job of not only developing players but also coaches. and the coach of their under-18 team there on the show, Dan Muse, is now an assistant coach with the New York Rangers, so maybe in due time they'll have some sort of reunion, oh good call, hey, another pick for the Predators here, the local predators, some. reports that they will be in Vegas next year because of the drought we will see that come true love that every time they got this pick that was the yak house trade to Edmonton the Oilers gave up this first round pick .

No cap space and no draft. picks for the Oilers, it's going to be an interesting summer for them as they try to get their players the Stanley Cup, so it's the preds again, very Trot David Boyle, kind of a combined effort this year and the home team will get to see your team do. another pick still no trades here in the 2023 draft oh and Barry jogs his tenure to his Scouts was hey let's make trades here just getting into this exactly Matthew Wood I think I think it was a trade yeah my question is is there a d -man let it be a swing that remains on the board um maybe Ghoulia is very talented, very, very skilled d-man.

I'm just wondering if there's another striker, he's not the size he is, get up out of your seat, yeah, yeah, I wonder if there's another striker out there. There's that thing that can do what Barry Trots mentioned, you know, the electricity that they're looking for. Crystal is one of those guys that people think is unsafe, right, yeah, he's definitely a super polarizing pick in terms of risk, reward, right, smaller guy. alright let's see what barry trots and the preds do with their second first round pick thank you thank you smashville now to make our second pick in the first round our captain roman yosi and legendary goalie pekarini guys with the pick number 24 in the 2023 draft, Nashville. is proud to draft Tanner, duh, tell me more than Dyke from Saskatoon, welcome to Nashville Tanner, yeah I was expecting Will Smith but he didn't get it right, is this a swing?

Megan Jacob, it's a bit of a swing, a lot of people actually. They have turned on him because he didn't put up crazy numbers, but he has poisoned talking possessions High success rates in tight areas Under pressure Brandon Montour is one of his comparables in the NHL, so if so, people look at Florida, yeah , absolutely, and he also makes plays that allow a team to transition to offense, so he's creating offense for what comes naturally, constantly looking to advance, his point totals went down because he didn't get a lot of power play time, which affected his point production, but he moves the puck and creates.

The offense has good feet, so yeah, maybe this is one of those changes, well, it's smart and capable, but maybe you don't think the bar is as high as it might need to be to make it to the NHL and have an impact. day after day, butit's very impressive to me Nick and you can't hide from analytics we watch every game and he actually had a lot of steals interceptions which means the anticipation and reading plays in a tough league like the OHL comes out very strong past year. He was teammates with Oscar Olison, who was selected 21st in the first round and 28th overall to Colorado, so I'm sure the Colorado Scouts had a chance to see him.

The year before, when he was healthy a little younger and then the next season and he felt comfortable making this choice, he couldn't agree more. I give a lot of credit to the Colorado Scouts for what they have done, they have done an outstanding job. In working with their group, they've gotten players from different regions, they've gotten different styles of players, which is a big point of why the Stanley Cup is there, they won that Stanley Cup a couple of years ago. I have to give them a lot of credit for that they certainly seemed like a team that could repeat but then Gabriel Landiscog's unexpected setback lost him all year and what is his future for next year yes, that will be the question, he started his Rehabilitation process, he has just over a month on his Captain.

For the actual rehabilitation process for him, it's a long and arduous road, it's daunting, but it's not impossible with the sports science and medical science that's available, there's no big comeback, yeah, that would be amazing. Well, they always lead by grabbing the Toronto Maple Leafs as they honor boredom. Me there and the lady behind us, obviously, while the AVS just made their pick and the Maple Leafs now with a new reinvented front office, Kyle Dubus goes to Pittsburgh, already made his first Penguins pick and now Brad Tree, who lives in Brendan Shanahan, will try to get this.

The Toronto team, once again, goes back to the playoffs, wins the first round again and then wins the second round, and if we look at the latest Broad Tree Living drafts, they only selected five forwards in the first round, okay, Emily Kaplan Callum and we are using. light blue pants almost match the sweater are you waiting for this? um no, I mean, you never know what's going to happen on draft day and, uh, yeah, you're waiting for them to call your name and I. I mean, it's a dream come true to be drafted by Colorado. Is incredible.

I can't, I can't express it in words. There is a team that won the Stanley Cup just two years ago. Which players are you most excited to play with? there I mean, they all have all the guys, they're like Nathan McKinnon, obviously, Atlanta skal granted and um, those guys are obviously really tough guys and uh, yeah, they all, they all really do it, they do everything really well and they're great leaders, so I mean, anything I can learn from them would be great. We talked about your shoulder injury that you had to deal with this year.

How did that affect you? I mean, yeah, it was tough to start the season off with an inning and, uh, kind of going. to wait until the season was over to do the procedure, but I'm glad I was able to play the season and finish strong. I thought great, congratulations, thank you, thank you, I really appreciate it, so Toronto is next. big decisions last year on Austin Matthews and William Nylander contracts Hawking extension what's going to happen to them this pick is probably for the future Let's see which way they could go as they make their first pick in the 2023 draft Jared Bettner and I, for true They both wear the same tie which happened last year during an NHL game tonight to thank the city of Nashville for their great hospitality.

Thanks to Billy Garrett for the open bar account at Tootsies all week. And we would like to congratulate and thank David Poyle. He has been a mentor to many of us and congratulations on a great race in making our selection. I'll call our heads. Wes Clark Toronto selects Easton Cowan from the London Knights. Alright, another night. Understand it. Boosh, this kid went up. In the second half of the year and into the playoffs, the London Knights' hearts were beating and I got a couple of rumors from people who felt this guy could slide into the first round.

I mean, the grades really weren't there, but he had such a good second half of the year and the players played on the line with Denver Barky and Ryan Winterton. He's a smart, quick little pppk, but make no mistake, this guy's got a motor, he's fast, and he works hard, so kudos to this kid because you know he might not have been on people's radar from the beginning, but had a solid second half in the playoffs and finds himself a first-round pick for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Great points there. Boosh, some people I've talked to say he has some shades of Mitch.

Martin and Mitch Marner played in London. Now he doesn't have the same offensive output as Mitch Marner, but the versatility plan in all situations, the fact that as the year went on he got better and better and showed that improvement and, by the way, the less president of operations of hockey Brandon Shan had also played for the London Knights, so he looks very familiar, it's two hours west of Toronto down the road and this guy is a player. What impressed me is that as the season went on he got better and better, that's what really impressed me with him in Ontario, we watched the London Knights on national television, so we watch them a lot, and he plays in all those situations.

The elite penalty killer is willing to take the puck to the net. My NHL is comparable from the data. TJ Oshie is fine, he's a pretty skilled player, like you said, Puck's full recoveries, quick reactions also allow him to recover pucks, so if you're still watching an arena, that's something that stands out to you, yeah, and For me, what stood out. It's just that London was kind of in the weeds at the beginning of the year and caught fire in the second half and they ended up having a fantastic playoff and this guy was a big reason they were able to go.

Deep in the OHL playoffs, he really made his way to the competitive first round, yes, he got a lot of respect for that absolutely no OHL pick in the first 17, but now five of the Ontario Hockey League's last 11 , part of the Canadian junior team. system in Canada, another emotional mother and the second of the Knights of London, that's right, so let's go back to that well once more. St Louis is on the clock for the third time as we watch some of Easton's videos. Good hockey name. Amazing hockey name. my friend Dave Demarovski named his son after a budding young player who grew up in Toronto and I think specifically here for Easton Cowan the fact that when you're a bit of a small player but you're willing to play in traffic and you're willing to beat yourself your time on the ice, that's why I like that policeman in your point of view by TJ Oshie.

I like that policeman too. I also mentioned Mitch Marner, but this is a very, very good choice, it shows me that the Toronto Maple Leaf Scouts did their thing. homework and geographic location is a big advantage for them, so this is a very good choice for them Emily Kaplan Brad you're starting to put your stamp on this list Why is Easton in Maple Leaf and when can we expect him? your team, well, our staff really loved his competitiveness, as he is a kind of player who adapts to all situations, a great engine, a really competitive guy, we think he really knows the development that he has had and the growth he has had in this game in the last two years.

He's been phenomenal and you know it's going to take him some time, you know he's joining his development team right now and I think he's going to have a little bit of a longer runway, but he's going to be a really competitive player. and we think he has a lot of upside, so you're talking to an American audience here, we have to ask about our American born Austin Matthews. How are things with contract negotiations right now? Oh, we're working on it, you know, these things take time. uh Austin is a great guy, I think it's a great opportunity, like I told him when I came to Toronto.

I think it is a great opportunity to work with him, but it is a great responsibility to be able to work with one of the best in the world. game, so we will continue working on it and I am very confident that we will reach a good conclusion so far. What are some of the important considerations for the club and also for Austin in these contracts? Well, I think everything is fine at all times. The contract has negotiations, it has its own ebbs and flows and, first of all, it was actually him and I know each other as the new manager here, so, you know, just explaining to him what the plan is for the team and where these things are going. . and he's been very positive, he's excited, he loves Toronto, he wants to win in Toronto and, you know, that's the goal of all of us, thanks for Brad, thanks for having me, so it looks like Austin Matthews is going to stay in some way Toronto.

At the moment, whether it's short term or long term, that's fine, so the Blues are once again very active on first round picks 10, 25 and 29. They already made picks 10 and 25 right there, now they get their third first round pick, they don't have any. the second one, so this pick was acquired as part of the deal that sent Vladimir Tarasenko to the Rangers, make everyone get as many as you can right if you're St Louis, like we talked about, they're a team that's not shy. They are not shy, they are very aggressive and they are led by Doug Armstrong and they are personnel that the coaching staff could throw away.

I'll tell you what: He's had his fingers all over this organization in a good way. of youth hockey, by the way, yes, it has had a good pulse of players here in the United States and in Canada, in addition to talking about a hockey nerd like you mentioned 100, it doesn't need to be anything, it doesn't need to be there doesn't mean that he made a lot of sheets, a lot of sheets and his kids are making a lot of sheets, but a lot of balloons, but this is what shows his love and commitment to the game and he loves it, it's a Rick Rat loves it and his boys play like rink Rat .

I love you both. Well, pick number three in the first round for the St.Louis Blues St.Louis Blues are pleased to select Theo lidstein breenis Sweden, another Swede, a defenseman who played in the top professional league last year, didn't do much. He only had one goal and one assist, so he's obviously a long-term late bloomer. development project and that's exactly why Bush you mentioned a little bit earlier on the show how you feel like they need to add more defenders to the group and in this one you add someone that you don't necessarily have to rush into your lineup. right now, but someone who feels that there is a very good opportunity for growth in this game and I will return to this point for our panel.

Meg, I'll pass it on to you when the St Louis Blues won, a lot of teams are trying. to replicate the defense that they had with their and, by the way, the Vegas Golden Knights bringing Petrangelo there and the composition of the defense that they had, is a big part of why the bigger Golden Knights won, to Who do you think the NHL is comparable to? he then based on your answer right there oh that's difficult I understood it with the data is Petra Angelo I would say gasoline yes, I was going to smell if I was going to go with Martínez from Las Vegas I was going to Vaya with Martínez and in reality he was second and assisted in shots per game meeting.

He is setting up his teammates for high-quality shots and puck touches as well, making him a high-involvement player. Puck possession influences the pace of the game with decision making like you said you saw in Las Vegas. I won and then I also had a lot of success with Petra Angelo, the most success at all, so if you see shades of him again in a big player pick for a third pick in the first round, yeah, I was wondering if they could go the route of the goalkeeper. with that third pick in the first round, you know you want, you just know you got that third first round pick, go for it, but like I said, when they chose, when they chose divorce against Denberg, they needed a defense on your part.

I'm baffled, you know we're in it, but this is a guy who's smooth, puck-moving, and he's going to take a little time, but this could be a good pick for them, the fifth Swedish foreign player taken. away tonight matching last year's first round total in terms of Swedes selected we are finishing up three picks remaining Carolina Hurricanes Colorado Avalanche Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights beautiful night in Nashville Tennessee three picks remaining in the first round the rest of the draft tomorrow Atlanta hurricanes taking the stage about to make their first pick they have a pick in the first second third fourth fifth sixth and seven they have you know two in the fifth two in the six yes, I spoke to their head coach my madrod renamore ex NHL teammate Jack Adams, coach of the year and one of the best coaches and leaders in the business, so he would be very curious to see me.

I still think they need to score goals and I told them that today. I'm really curious to see what Don does. Waddell says here's DonWaddell, picking for the first time in the first round since they took Seth Jarvis, who was a good pick at 13th overall in 2020. Waddell heads to the microphone. I would like to congratulate the Las Vegas Golden Knights for winning the Stanley. Copa, thank you to the city of Nashville for all your hospitality and then to my good friend David Poyle, he has been a great friend, mentor to all of us here in the league, enjoy the next chapter of your life to make our team, Darren York, our assistant.

General Manager Carolina is proud to select Bradley Nadeau selections. about the bcj before, you did right, you warned us, so on BC day and the USHL we know they are the two leagues with the most production, certainly for college hockey, but there is a lot of high octane, like Boo said before, a lot of coming high octane players. out of bcj and now for the Carolina Hurricanes again here. I'm going to make it clear that many people may not recognize their head coach. Rod providesmore is from BC. I know he's been here for over 30 years, but he's a BC native. and what they're getting here is an offensive player that has a lot of skill and a lot of hockey sense that can make the plays that our analytics map to Corral solves it, so it's very offensive that Puck is comfortable with the puck in a pile that did lead. bchl regulations and goals help in points and his brother had 35-2 seconds in front of his brother and assists, so the family is dynamic there too.

The quality entry player attacks the middle of the ice with speed. Carolina is very analytical with Eric Talski guiding them through another AGM, so you. I know you're looking at that data and finding those gems in the bchl tonight. This guy is a top-level Junior, a player in North America. Right, he's not a major Junior, so for people to understand that you're not playing on the show, he's not exactly the right one. I know he didn't play against the UA teams because he wanted to stay with his team in Texas and will go to the University of Maine next year. 113 points, I mean this guy, this guy has a great shot one time, he shoots it out of the running. has an NHL pitch where you talked about the need for Game Breakers, this guy could potentially become a Game Breaker with his shot and the University of Maine has seen black bears get fair shaved over the years and , by the way, the one with the number nine.

The great Paul Korea, who is also from BC and also played in the bcj, but in this case, when you have an offensive player, it is a 50-50 player between his ability to pass and generate, but also to finish and score, which which makes those players very difficult to defend, absolutely true, yes, if you try to take the shot, he will beat you on a play and he is in that league where you can develop, they give them time, space and ice time to play, so that it is already a hometown. an idea or get more playing time for him to be a first round overall pick yeah, that's great, he's a very good value pick for them, like I said before, I told you guys, I told Ron Bridmore, I think They need more offense in their group. they are an exceptional team, they are well coached, this is a very good choice for Don Waddell in their group and will play for Ben Barr at the University of Maine Emily Kappa with Don Waddell Atlanta Thrasher Pride Don, you have one of the most energetic coaches in the league, why is Bradley one of the players Rod Braidmore would love to coach?

Yeah, yeah, if he just watches his player, he brings it every night. You know he has a tremendous work ethic, great skill and you know doing interviews, background checks, we have to have good players, but we have good people and he certainly ticked all the boxes as we head to freedom to address our goal. . You know, we're still talking to the goalies we had last year. Anderson Naranta. And then, you know, if we can add some goals, you never have enough goal scorers, so you know, last year when I had a couple of injuries, you know we felt like we were a little short, but you know we like our group, so if we don't.

I won't make any changes. I think we're going to be fine. Sebastian Ajo is one year away from UFA. Where are we with contract negotiations? Excellent conversations with Jerry Johansson, his agent. We met again yesterday. There is no real deadline or timeline. I am very confident that we will achieve this in the near future. Excellent thanks Don, great, thanks, yes, they will find out for sure. Sebastian Ajo, yes, and it's also a long road back for Andre Spetsnikov, one of his All-Stars. They are young All-Stars, we know that Sebastian has also been an All-Star several times, there is Jared Bretner with my time, yes, exactly, did he go to the same stylist or something?

Yes, he looks that he is falling in the store, yes, who used him? better, that's how the AVS got so big again, they get picks one out of 37. The Canadians get a new hook, spin those two for oomph. Colton, that's a big value pick for them and now this guy I was going to say now, the ads I know. Talking about people in their group on numerous occasions, they want to really emphasize getting skilled players, but they want to have size in the group. OK, they've had a lot of that, that was a big part of their DNA winning.

Landis Gog rantanen McKinnon those The guys play hard, Natushkin, there are a lot of guys who played hard in their group, by the way they missed Nazim Kadri, but anyway I'm curious to see where they go here on the board, there's the tie, it's a great tie. building tie tied for first Ty Domi first pick second to last pick of the first round will be taken by the Avalanche with the 31st pick Colorado Avalanche are very proud to select from Omsk Mikhail guliaev yeah well look I don't have the size but he has an amazing set of skills an amazing set of skills do you need another demon?

Hey, listen, I love your question, there's your agent Dan Millstein. I'll tell you this in four years, you might be right, hey, everyone fight him hard if not Not everyone I talked to praised this kid, they said if he was six foot six, he'd be one of the top five based on his skills on the back end, a very very talented defenseman and the NHL is comparable to Adam Fox if that's what you jump off the page, maybe he's not getting as many views because he's in Russia but really drives that transition by looking to create an unusual vision with offensive instincts, all the benchmarks of a great NHL defenseman, so they probably have enough defense, but you're going to take someone who maybe has a high ceiling, yes, to participate in the NHL?

I agree with you, I mean build up to the Blue Line, absolutely, you filled it to the brim and then you know. decide options which guy is an asset that you can move correctly to help you in the future he is a runaway man this guy is right this guy is very skilled very good Poise on the blue line you can see the highlights there what he was able to do to me, this is a good choice because I just don't know if there is a striker who has a higher ceiling than he has now, so you think he is the best player and stylistically, yes, he fits the way they play, yes.

I like his attitude also a lot of energy smiling he has a little bounce final pick of the first round the champions the golden knights of Las Vegas started with Conor Bernard more than three hours ago the first pick of the draft Connor Bedard Leo Carlson the great Swede came second to Tilly, Anaheim fan Adam, the Michigan man who went through o-h-i-o, welcome back, the final pick of the 2023 NHL draft is up for grabs, they are the champions my friend, and they will make the final selection. The Las Vegas Golden Knights would like to congratulate David Poyle on a tremendous career. as general manager of the National Hockey League and I echo the comments of many of my past colleagues thanking you for your mentorship and leadership in the game, so all the best to you in the future.

David, the Las Vegas golden knights are pleased with the 32nd pick in the first round of the entry draft to select for Londa Sweden David edstrom good evening to the Swedes he is number six and another center as well and I can tell you this from people who they talk closer to vegan gold tonight Las Vegas Golden Knights this is what they wanted this was the guy on their board based on where they were drafting correctly they figure he's a top 15 player and for the Vegas Golden Knights the new champions Stanley Cup reigning champions in Las Vegas, Nevada, it's amazing the fact that they identified this player and that this player was still available to them and, more importantly, they went out and selected them as a first-line center in that under-18 team.

Reminds me of Joel Erickson. He performs well, he is well-rounded, yes, consistent, not flashy, but he wins battles, he competes hard, that seems to fit well. In the mold of exactly how Vegas wants to play, he comes to the front instead of saying that the high percentage of shot attempts come from the slot and that ability to score, so he doesn't just take the shots in front of network. he's converting, yeah, and you like to see that in a player that you know when you look at the Erickson Law, actually the data was comparable too, so you did it, but his poise and patience with a puck on his penis also stops the maturity to endure. him on the puck and he wants to make that game an aggressive style, physically engaged and wins Punk battles.

We had a lot of Puck battle wins on our data sheet, so it's a nice tick for the center, like they just come in, grab the puck, and dunk it for someone. otherwise so late too, yes all this is worth it, you can take the time and develop them, you don't have to rush it to get it out of Sweden, look at the exact size, the length it has, this is a really good choice for the golden knights of Las Vegas and me. Could Dairy tell I've been breaking this today? that they moved Riley Smith right, that they traded Riley Smith today for that third round, they pick the Vegas Gold Bites, you know they have to make some decisions, they quit, Barber Chef and you quit too, Aiden Hill.

We're cooking in Vegas, guys, round one is over. Gary Bettman will take a bow at this afternoon's NHL draft. The draft will resume tomorrow with the second round at 10 a.m. PT. Central local time, 11 a.m. ET and you can watch it on NHL Network ESPN Plus Rogers Sportsnet or TVA thank you have a good night and travel safely so you can watch the second round streaming on ESPN and there are still a lot of good players on the board tomorrow Okay, final thoughts, time with the Brian Boucher panel you wanted. to get things out of the headline, well for me, the US national program again, producing high level players, uh, four guys from the US national program in the first round, Quinton musty, another American He does such good things, Megan, a great year for those of us who watched too. two of the London Knights and I'm actually surprised to see Andrew Kristel still on the board.

I would say Sweden had a great year in this draft as well, many players born in Sweden being selected here once again. Great year for Sweden in this draft and for Chicago Blackhawk fans, man to get a couple of really good senior youngsters, Oliver Moore and of course Connor Bedard, the future is bright in Chicago, one night when dreams came true once again here in Nashville, the draft continues tomorrow for our entire ESPN team. We love this game like you do. I feel honored to be here. It's great to be in the city of Nashville Scotty