Hey Hey! With the lottery balls settled now seems like a good time for a mock draft. I think I have the draft order correct as of May 9th 2023, so here we go:

2023 BRHL Mock Draft:

1. Sharks (From ARI) - Logan Cooley C

Cooley has separated himself from the pack early on with his 60 points as a freshman for the Golden Gophers. The prospect cupboard is pretty bare in San Jose so there isn’t really one position that stands out as a need over any other position. So I think Sumit just goes BPA or trades this pick.

2. Penguins - Pavel Mintyukov LHD

Toby has mentioned taking Mintyukov 1^st overall in the chat. Not sure how accurate that was, but it’s certainly not a stretch here at 2^nd overall. I’ll assume he stays true to his statement and selects the offensive Dman with this pick.

3. Ducks - Simon Nemec RHD

With Devon starting another rebuild, taking a Dman here makes some sense. Which one between Nemec or Jiricek is anyone’s guess, but since Nemec went 2^nd overall in the NHL I’ll put him above Jiricek in this mock.

4. Kraken - David Jiricek RHD

I can’t see Rex going with a goalie here, it would be far too big a reach. I think Rex likely goes with a Dman here at 4^th, and BPA for Dmen is Jiricek.

5. Rangers - Juraj Slafkovsky LW

The 1^st overall pick slips to 5^th in our draft. One thing the Rangers system seems to be lacking are high end wingers, well this pick solves that problem. Slafkovsky can jump right into the BRHL next season and it looks like PJ has an opening there for him.

6. Blackhawks - Shane Wright C

I don’t think Dave would wander too far from the NHL order and picks BPA here which is Shane Wright. Center prospects are lacking in the Hawks system and Wright would step right in as the top prospect there.

7. Kings - Matthew Savoie C

I think Savoie would be at the top of Rumpy’s list here at 7^th on the back of his 95 points this season. I could also see a reach around this spot to some of the draft risers, but ultimately think this is where Savoie goes.

8. Senators – Lane Hutson LHD

There is no history to pull from when it comes to Steph drafting in round 1, but I have a hunch he goes off the board for one of the guys who had great draft +1 seasons. Hutson looks like a big riser and put up over a PPG pace at BU this season.

9. Ducks (From WSH) - Jimmy Snuggerud LW

With the Ducks 2^nd pick in the top 10, I could see him swinging for the fences here on a draft riser. With Hutson off the board, the next riser looks to be Snuggerud. His 21 goals as a freshman and ability to play with top players, it would be a solid pick.

10. Jets – Kevin Korchinski LHD

I really have no clue what Doc’s preference would be here at 10, but it looks like adding a Dman could be a good add for the Jets. I can’t see Korchinski dropping past 10^th.

11. Sabres – Cutter Gauthier LW

I would be surprised if Gauthier slides this far, but he won’t make it past the Sabres here at 11^th.

12. Devils – Marco Kasper C

BPA on the NHL draft board is Kasper, who had an up and down season in the SHL and ended his season in the NHL with a broken kneecap in his debut. He’d look good as the 2C behind Stutzle.

13. Golden Knights - Jiri Kulich LW

I was back and forth a bit here but ultimately settled on Joe picking Kulich. He’s got good young pieces at every position but could use a high end wing prospect.

14. Panthers – Joakim Kemell RW

Tyler is stocked at all positions when it comes to prospects, but I think he takes the dynamic Kemell here at 14^th. He can step in right away to the farm team.

15. Bruins (From TB) – Frank Nazar C/W

The highly skilled forward would be a good player to start restocking the prospect pool with. He missed most of the year with an injury but looked very good when he returned to a stacked Michigan team.

16. Canucks - Jonathan Lekkerimaki RW

Canucks fan taking a Canucks prospect. Yeah, maybe it’s lazy. Lekkerimaki played okay when healthy in the Sweden but stepped up his game big time during qualification, just missing out on a promotion with Djurgardens.