[Athletic] NHL scouts poll: Connor Bedard will go No. 1, but is there debate at No. 2?
May 11, 2023
[Athletic] NHL scouts poll: Connor Bedard will go No. 1, but is there debate at No. 2?
3 comments
Paywall so here are some excerpts (focused on the Carlsson hype since he seems to be the likely pick atm):
>Scout 3: First of all, Fantilli and Carlsson are both really good players. If we were talking about last year, I think either Bedard, Fantilli or Carlsson would’ve gone first overall. All three of the top guys are better than the top of the draft class last year.
>Scout 4: All three are exceptional prospects, and they’d have all gone No. 1 overall last year. Without question. Like, I think you might have to get to pick 6 or 7 before you’d find a player who wouldn’t have been the consensus No. 1 overall pick last year. It’s probably the best top-10 we’ve seen since 2015.
> Scout 1: …That said, Carlsson is No. 2 for me. I think he’ll be a centre at the next level. When you compare him and Fantilli, Carlsson has superior hockey sense. Carlsson doesn’t have the same pace, he doesn’t play with the same frenetic motor, but he’s like a (Anze) Kopitar with the two-way brain, size and he’s going to make his linemates better. I think the high side is higher than with Fantilli.
>Scout 2: The top three in the draft are elite players who process the game at a high level. Bedard is obviously No. 1 but (the gap between Bedard and Carlsson) is probably closer than a lot of people may think.
>Bedard has been so big in world juniors and sort of that international stage over the last couple of years where it gives him the bright lights of stardom, but Carlsson is a dynamic player in his own right and probably isn’t getting enough credit for how good he is.
>Scout 3: For me, honestly, it’s a very good debate between No. 2 and No. 3. I think Carlsson at the end of the day might be the best pick at second overall.
>Now is he the second best prospect in the draft class today? No. And I think it would be hard to argue that Carlsson is more advanced than Adam Fantilli right now, but Carlsson is potentially a 6-foot-3, first-line centreman and I wonder if Fantilli might be more inclined to play the wing going forward.
>I love Carlsson and I don’t think you’re seeing everything that he can do just yet. Down the road he may be the second best player in this class, heck, he could be the best player in this class down the road — I don’t know. When you get a 6-foot-3 player with his size and skill, that’s very hard to find.
Seems like the gap between Fantilli and Carlsson/Smith may be smaller than we originally thought. Losing out on Bedard sucks but we will be able to draft a prospect with legitimate 1C upside at 3OA
I definitely prefer Carlsson to Smith.
Fantilli and Carlsson will be playing in Worlds for the next month. We’ll see how both perform and alter scouting reports and mock drafts
3 comments
Paywall so here are some excerpts (focused on the Carlsson hype since he seems to be the likely pick atm):
>Scout 3: First of all, Fantilli and Carlsson are both really good players. If we were talking about last year, I think either Bedard, Fantilli or Carlsson would’ve gone first overall. All three of the top guys are better than the top of the draft class last year.
>Scout 4: All three are exceptional prospects, and they’d have all gone No. 1 overall last year. Without question. Like, I think you might have to get to pick 6 or 7 before you’d find a player who wouldn’t have been the consensus No. 1 overall pick last year. It’s probably the best top-10 we’ve seen since 2015.
> Scout 1: …That said, Carlsson is No. 2 for me. I think he’ll be a centre at the next level. When you compare him and Fantilli, Carlsson has superior hockey sense. Carlsson doesn’t have the same pace, he doesn’t play with the same frenetic motor, but he’s like a (Anze) Kopitar with the two-way brain, size and he’s going to make his linemates better. I think the high side is higher than with Fantilli.
>Scout 2: The top three in the draft are elite players who process the game at a high level. Bedard is obviously No. 1 but (the gap between Bedard and Carlsson) is probably closer than a lot of people may think.
>Bedard has been so big in world juniors and sort of that international stage over the last couple of years where it gives him the bright lights of stardom, but Carlsson is a dynamic player in his own right and probably isn’t getting enough credit for how good he is.
>Scout 3: For me, honestly, it’s a very good debate between No. 2 and No. 3. I think Carlsson at the end of the day might be the best pick at second overall.
>Now is he the second best prospect in the draft class today? No. And I think it would be hard to argue that Carlsson is more advanced than Adam Fantilli right now, but Carlsson is potentially a 6-foot-3, first-line centreman and I wonder if Fantilli might be more inclined to play the wing going forward.
>I love Carlsson and I don’t think you’re seeing everything that he can do just yet. Down the road he may be the second best player in this class, heck, he could be the best player in this class down the road — I don’t know. When you get a 6-foot-3 player with his size and skill, that’s very hard to find.
Seems like the gap between Fantilli and Carlsson/Smith may be smaller than we originally thought. Losing out on Bedard sucks but we will be able to draft a prospect with legitimate 1C upside at 3OA
I definitely prefer Carlsson to Smith.
Fantilli and Carlsson will be playing in Worlds for the next month. We’ll see how both perform and alter scouting reports and mock drafts