Which 2023 NHL Draft prospect do the major mock drafts have at 16th overall?
By Ryan Pike
9 months agoBrought to you by odds site Betway!
Folks, there’s an element of chaos in every edition of the NHL Draft. After all, your team doesn’t just select the player that they like the most: they select the player they like the most that’s available after everybody before them has selected. So as insightful as draft rankings can be, mock drafts often account for the element of other teams’ selections in the proceedings.
With that in mind, here’s a brief snapshot of which players several prominent mock drafts have the Flames landing at 16th overall.
F Nate Danielson, Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
Danielson is from Alberta and he was a leader at the WHL level with the Brandon Wheat Kings. He’s the kind of prospect who can be thrust into a variety of roles and be counted on to produce offence while competing on the defensive side of the ledger.
F Colby Barlow, Owen Sound Attack (OHL)
I’m sure the Flames would love to take a D here (it’s the thinnest part of their pool) but with three of the four big names gone, I’m not sure Craig Conroy is going to be comfortable using his first selection as general manager on the Russian Simashev. In that case, Barlow and Honzek are the two most likely considerations, I’d think, with Barlow’s goal-scoring as the premium for a team that needs more of it (Barlow, like top Flames prospect Matthew Coronato, is also a real competitor).
Figuring out Barlow’s landing spot is a bit difficult. I could see him close to 10 or 20, depending on which version of the player a team believes is legit. Is it the OHL scoring machine? Or the Team Canada version who looks like a hard-working two-way guy who may not be the most gifted offensively? My guess is he ends up somewhere in between there for those reasons. I could see Calgary tempted by Axel Sandin Pellikka here due to their organizational need for defense as well.
F Samuel Honzek, Vancouver Giants (WHL)
Honzek’s strength and hockey IQ stood out this season, his first in the Western Hockey League after coming over from his native Slovakia. He showed he could make plays off the rush and use his big body (6-3, 195) to hold off defenders to create time and space to use his quick, heavy shot. He missed nearly two months because of a bad skate cut to his left calf sustained during the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship, but he looked recovered when he returned and his testing at the NHL Scouting Combine removed any lingering doubts about his quickness and power.
Mike Morreale, NHL.com:
Honzek is a power forward with good hands and skating ability. He had 56 points (23 goals, 33 assists) in 43 games to become the third-highest Vancouver rookie scorer in a single season after Fabian Lysell (62 points, 2021-22) and Gilbert Brule (60 points, 2003-04).
F Brayden Yager, Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)
In what looks to become a long off-season for the Calgary Flames, Craig Conroy adds Brayden Yager as his first pick in charge of the organization. One of the draft’s top goal scorers, Yager has an elite shot capable of scoring from anywhere on the ice. He projects to become a force on the power play as he’ll hopefully replace some of the firepower leaving/potentially leaving Calgary this summer.
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