Calgary Flames Draft 2023

[Brewin Flames]

Flames 2023 Draft Preview: Expect new GM Craig Conroy to make a big splash in Nashville

Calgary Flames center Elias Lindholm celebrates his goal during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the New York Islanders, Monday, Nov. 7, 2022, in Elmont, N.Y. (Julia Nikhinson/AP), 11:49 AM

 

 

CALGARY — Things promise to be a whole lot spicier for the Flames at this year’s NHL Draft than last summer when the team did not have a first round pick, and selected just three players.

 

That number could double or triple in Nashville where new Flames GM Craig Conroy will be a popular fella.

 

Plenty can happen between now and then, but with Elias Lindholm, Noah Hanifin and Mikael Backlund heading up a list of seven players with one year left on their contracts, it’s very likely Conroy will be forced into trading a key piece or two at this year’s draft.

 

The return for any of those players would have to include significant draft picks to bolster the five picks they already have in a deep draft.

 

In Lindholm’s case, the club could expect a haul even more significant than the Bo Horvat deadline deal that landed Vancouver a top-six forward, a sizable prospect and a conditional first round pick. 

 

The return for Hanifin would also be formidable, as the recent trade of Ivan Provorov demonstrated.

 

Provorov, who was selected two spots behind Hanifin as the seventh pick in 2015, netted the Flyers goalie Cal Petersen, defenceman Sean Walker and defenceman Helge Grans. As part of the three-way trade, the Flyers also got Columbus's first-round pick in 2023 (22nd overall) and a conditional second-rounder in either 2024 or 2025.

 

So, essentially one first-rounder and two second-rounders, much like the Flames coughed up to land Dougie Hamilton and Travis Hamonic years back.

 

The Flames should return to being a competitive, veteran-led team this season, but with players like Tyler Toffoli, Chris Tanev, Oliver Kylington and Nikita Zadorov signed for just one more year the Flames may have to start retooling on the fly.

 

And they’re excited to do it with youngsters, something they haven’t had much of a chance to do the last decade. 

 

As opposed to the team’s recent history of signing fourth-line veterans like Trevor Lewis and Brett Ritchie just before camp, Conroy said the team will leave roster spots open in camp for youngsters to break through.

It puts even more importance on the club restocking its shelves with savvy picks in Nashville, as last year’s trio of picks are several years away from trying to prove they can play in the league.

 

Positionally, there is no glaring hole in the organization, as the success of the Wranglers last season demonstrated.

 

Goalie Dustin Wolf won AHL MVP this year, not to mention his second straight goalie of the year award, to be the club’s top-rated prospect.

 

Defenceman Jeremie Poirier, 21, blew away expectations in his first year with the Wranglers, making it only a matter of time before he breaks through in the bigs.

 

Up front, it’s likely Wranglers grads Jakob Pelletier and Walker Duehr will be mainstays with the Flames, as will former first rounder Matt Coronato.

 

Given the likelihood of having to trade an attractive veteran or two in the next few weeks, Conroy and the Flames may well make one of the biggest splashes at Bridgestone Arena next week.  

DRAFT PICKS

 

POTENTIAL ROUND 1 OPTIONS

 

Sportsnet’s draft specialist Jason Bukala recently released his top rankings and has 5-foot-11, 165-pound right winger Gabriel Perreault at no. 16.

He’s a goal-scoring machine from the US National Development team.

 

He’d previously had 5-foot-11, 188-pound centre Oliver Moore at no. 16. 

 

The quick, energetic and skilled Minnesotan scored 31 goals and had 75 points in 61 games for the US U18 team.

 

Other’s around the mid-teens on his list include 6-foot-4, 186-pound Slovakian centre Samuel Honzek of the Vancouver Giants, as well as 6-foot-2, 185-pound Wheat Kings centre Nate Danielson, and 5-foot-11, 166-pound centre Brayden Yager of the Moose Jaw Warriors.

 

Sportsnet’s ace prospects insider Sam Cosentino has many of the same names swirling around Calgary’s pick, but has slick-skating Swede Otto Stenburg at no. 16.

 

LAST YEAR'S FIRST PICK

 

The Flames only selected three players in last summer’s draft, topped by late second-round selection Topi Ronni.

 

The 6-foot-2, 179-pound Finnish centre responded to being drafted by having an identical season to the one he had as an 18-year-old, scoring twice and adding three assists in 22 games with Tappara Tampere of the Finnish Sm-liiga loop.

 

The team’s 59^th pick from 2022 has plenty of work to do if he is to pave a path to the NHL.

 

ONE BOLD PREDICTION FOR THE DRAFT

 

Flames will draft at least twice in the first round.

 

The Flames currently have one first rounder and two picks in the top 50.

 

Expect that number to swell, as the return for Lindholm or Hanifin has to include a first rounder.

[Brewin Flames]

https://www.nhl.com/news/2023-upper-deck-nhl-draft-complete-selection-order/c-344894532?tid=277764372

 

 

Calgary Flames Draft Picks 2023

 

*Subject to change

 

Round # 1 (16th overall) Samuel Honzek, C

 

Round # 2 (48th overall) Etienne Morin, D

 

Round # 3 (80th overall) Aydar Suniev, LW

 

Round # 4 (112th overall) Jaden Lipinski, C

 

Round # 5 (none)

 

Round # 6 (176th overall) Yegor Yegorov, G

 

Round # 7 (208th overall) Axel Hurtig, D

Edited June 29, 2023 by Brewin Flames

[Brewin Flames]

26 minutes ago, Brewin Flames said:

 

Sportsnet’s draft specialist Jason Bukala recently released his top rankings and has 5-foot-11, 165-pound right winger Gabriel Perreault at no. 16.

 

He’s a goal-scoring machine from the US National Development team.

 

He’d previously had 5-foot-11, 188-pound centre Oliver Moore at no. 16. 

 

The quick, energetic and skilled Minnesotan scored 31 goals and had 75 points in 61 games for the US U18 team.

 

Other’s around the mid-teens on his list include 6-foot-4, 186-pound Slovakian centre Samuel Honzek of the Vancouver Giants, as well as 6-foot-2, 185-pound Wheat Kings centre Nate Danielson, and 5-foot-11, 166-pound centre Brayden Yager of the Moose Jaw Warriors.

 

Sportsnet’s ace prospects insider Sam Cosentino has many of the same names swirling around Calgary’s pick, but has slick-skating Swede Otto Stenburg at no. 16.

 

 

 

Not sure what the hockey news ranking are...But me personally, i'd rather have Yager at # 16

 

NHL Draft Pro has Perreault at # 30

[thegx.ca]

With none of our veterans committing to extensions it really does look like Calgary in total rebuild mode...it's looking more and more now that it's confirmed none of the veterans want to stay that this team was really divided about Sutter...definitely Toffoli not signing extension is because of his favorite coach was fired and I'm guessing the rest of the vets that feel the same don't want to stay either...Lucic Backlund Hanifin Tanev Lindholm Lewis etc are all on their way out...older players don't have patience for rebuilding...I'm not going to recognize this Calgary team next season and it's pretty sad...hopefully Hushka and Connie and Iggy can keep us outta the NHL basement with our new Young Guns part II team...I'm hopeful Huska Conroy and Iginla can make the best of this situation because that Calgary choose to promote them all has been the only good news I've seen so far after Treliving left and they fired Sutter...

 

The Swedish vets not wanting to stay will cause the other Swedes to want to leave too...Marstrom Anderson etc even though Anderson loves Huska it won't be the same as when all those Swedes had each other on same team...and that goes same for the Sutter vets too Toffoli Lucic Lewis...oh well the Calgary owners have chosen out with the old and in with the new and I'm really worried were in for the same Young Guns era we had in the 90s again...

[Brewin Flames]

'SKY'S THE LIMIT'

Conroy, Flames get their guy at 16th overall

by RYAN DITTRICK @ryandittrick / CalgaryFlames.com

 June 28, 2023

•  

 

NASHVILLE - On this night, the only one with a bigger smile than the player himself was the GM who called his name.

Samuel Honzek was that much on the Flames' radar.

 

That much of a target.

 

So, when Picks 12 through 15 passed with towering Slovak still on the board, Craig Conroy had to have been doing fist-pumps under the draft table.

 

"Personally, I was hoping he was there and the scouts felt the same way," Conroy said. "The size, skill, hockey sense, skating... He's kind of that package that we're looking for.

 

"The offence... A lot of nights, he did a lot of the offence by himself there. But just to see the skating, the size... it checks all the boxes in how he reads the game and sees it.

 

"When we go through all the testing for the Combine and stuff, very good athlete. All the stuff that came back, very positive. The analytics were positive. The eye test was positive. Everything that we go through and test, he kind of checked all the boxes for us.

 

"So, it was very exciting for us to get him at 16."

 

 

 

Described as a "high-character kid" by nearly everyone who's met him, Honzek had a beast of a season this past year with the WHL's Vancouver Giants. It was his first-ever campaign as a North American prospect, coming over from his home in Slovakia to chase his NHL dream.

 

And, boy, did he ever.

 

The 6-foot-3, 195-lb. forward took the league by storm, recording 56 points (23G, 33A) and overcoming a pair of injuries to be named a finalist for the WHL's Rookie of the Year award.

 

As Conroy alluded to, Honzek's athletic prowess is particularly noteworthy, with Flames Strength and Conditioning Coach Rick Davis raving about his scorching testing results at the NHL Combine earlier this month.  

 

While it wasn't entirely what tipped the scales in his direction, it certainly rounded out an already impressive, prospect package.

 

"We got to see him in the gym. He's an athlete," Conroy said. "Ricky said, 'Wow, this guy's impressive.'

 

"He's got room to grow and he's going to need to do it, but the movement, the strength, all that is very good."

 

Honzek commands the ice with a daunting, physical build - but it's the grace he has that makes him such a dominant, two-way presence. He's not a punishing player, per se, but he absorbs contact better than anyone in his age group, wins puck battles, and has the vision and soft hands to make plays at high speed.

 

Best of all, he's an elite finisher, using creativity and finesse to become a showstopper at the WHL level.

 

Not unlike another WHL grad in Leon Draisaitl, who lit things up in that league before becoming one of the NHL's finest strikers.

 

Lofty?

 

Maybe.

 

But Honzek, as the kids say, 'has that dog in him.'

 

"I like that comparison," Conroy laughed. "Obviously, I think, maybe, shooting a bit high right now, but you know what? The sky's the limit.

 

He does everything. Big shot, sees the ice well, can skate, score. Thinking about Leon when he was younger, maybe people said something about his skating - but his skating is not an issue. I get to see him way too often. ... (Honzek's) mechanics and the way he skates, he's a good skater. I'm not worried about that.

 

"To come over here and do what he's done… it says a lot."

[Brewin Flames]

On 6/22/2023 at 2:49 PM, Brewin Flames said:

 

 

Not sure what the hockey news ranking are...But me personally, i'd rather have Yager at # 16

 

NHL Draft Pro has Perreault at # 30

 

 

Went with Honzek...but i like it.

[Brewin Flames]

2023 DRAFT RUNDOWN

Flames' draft haul includes three forwards, two defencemen and one goaltender

by CALGARY FLAMES STAFF @NHLFlames / CalgaryFlames.com

 June 28, 2023

ROUND	PICK	PLAYER	POS	H/W	COUNTRY	AMATEUR CLUB
1	16	Samuel Honzek	C/LW	6'3" 195-lbs.	Slovakia	Vancouver (WHL)
2	48	Etienne Morin	D	6'0" 180-lbs.	Canada	Moncton (QMHL)
3	80	Aydar Suniev	LW	6'2" 192-lbs.	Russia	Penticton (BCHL)
4	112	Jaden Lipinski	C	6'4" 210-lbs.	USA	Vancouver (WHL)
6	176	Yegor Yegorov	G	6'3" 183-lbs.	Russia	Dynamo (Moscow, Jr.)
7	208	Axel Hurtig	D	6'4" 202-lbs.	Sweden	Rogle (Sweden, Jr.)

 

 

DAY 1 (ROUND 1)

1ST ROUND, 16TH OVERALL - SAMUEL HONZEK (VANCOUVER, WHL)

No. 9 Ranked North American Skater

Position: Left Wing
Shoots: Left
Height: 6' 3.25"
Weight: 195 lbs.
Birthplace: Trencin, Slovakia

 

 

 

PLAYER PROFILE

* Sits third in scoring among WHL rookies in 2022-23 with 23-33-56 (43 GP), despite missing 25 games due to injury. Honzek was named a finalist for the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy for WHL Rookie of the Year.

* Led the WHL Vancouver Giants in points per game, operating at a 1.30 pace.

 

* Played for HK Dukla Trencin in Slovakia's top men's league in 2021-22, concluding the season with 10 goals and 14 points.

 

* Won a silver medal with Slovakia at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and skated for his country at the 2022 and 2023 World Junior Championship.

 

 

 

SCOUTING REPORT (VIA NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING):

A big power forward who has a deadly shot from anywhere in the attacking zone. He has a great one-timer. Very effective at getting open and setting himself up to shoot. A pure goal scorer at every level he has played. Excellent puck skills and hockey sense. Protects the puck effectively and can be very elusive in traffic.

 

CRAIG CONROY'S TAKE:

 

"A lot of nights, he did a lot of the offence by himself. ... When we go through all the testing for the Combine and stuff, very good athlete. All the stuff that came back, very positive. The analytics were positive. The eye test was positive. Everything that we go through and test, he kind of checked all the boxes for us. So, it was very exciting for us to get him at 16.

 

"The one thing when you talk to everybody behind the scenes, he's just a good person and a good teammate. He'll probably be the captain next year in Vancouver, which says a lot about the kind of player he is. To come over here and do what he's done, says a lot.

"I've seen most on his wing. If he cold play centre, that would be a bonus. But I see him as a left-winger."

 

 

 

DAY 2 (ROUNDS 2-7)

 

2ND ROUND, 48TH OVERALL - ETIENNE MORIN (MONCTON, QMJHL)

No. 19 Ranked North American Skater

Position: Defenseman
Shoots: Left
Height: 6' 0"
Weight: 180 lbs
Birthplace: Valleyfield, Que.

 

 

PLAYER PROFILE

* Finished the 2022-23 season with the most goals among all QMJHL defensemen (21) and finished third in points after producing at a 1.07 points-per-game pace (21-51-72 in 67 GP). He more than doubled his point total from his rookie season (+30 points), after recording 8-25-33 (64 GP) in 2021-22.

 

* Concluded the 2023 playoffs tied atop scoring by defensemen with 2-15-17 (12 GP) and finished with the highest points-per-game average (1.42).

 

* Was a part of Team Canada's bronze-medal entry in the 2023 Under-18 World Junior Championship.

 

* Grew up wanting to emulate his childhood idol, Nicklas Lidstrom, and wears no. 5 because of him.

 

SCOUTING REPORT (VIA NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING):

Left-handed defenseman with excellent puck skill and offensive upside. Poise with the puck in all three zones. Handles the puck with confidence and will find his outlets all over the ice. Good passing skill - snaps them with authority and precision. Quality skater with agility and edge work.

 

Possesses good puck carrying skill but would consider him more a puck mover who excels at supporting rush plays on the second wave. Excellent quarterback on the power play. High level of hockey sense, vision and feel for the offensive game. His defensive game is progressing well. Can play with some bite and push back - will finish some sneaky hard hits.

 

 

 

3RD ROUND, 80TH OVERALL - AYDAR SUNIEV (PENTICTON, BCHL)

No. 40 Ranked North American Skater

Position: Left Wing
Shoots: Left
Height: 6' 2"
Weight: 192 lbs.
Birthplace: Kazan, Russia

 

 

PLAYER PROFILE

* Posted totals of 45-45-90 in 50 games in the 2022-23 season with the BCHL's Penticton Vees - ranking in the league's top five in goals (t-1st), points (3rd) and assists (5th).

* Won back-to-back BCHL championships with Penticton Vees in 2021-22 and 2022-23.

* Finished the 2022-23 season named to the BCHL's All-Rookie Team and was selected as a First Team All-Star. His 45 goals were tied for the League lead.

 

SCOUTING REPORT (VIA NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING):

Good combination of size and skill that can play a power forward type of game. Top-six winger that is very effective on the power play. Excellent shot that is heavy with a quick release. Shows a good touch and short game in all zones. A high-end playmaker to go with his scoring ability. Powerful skater with good edges and agility. Good work ethic and compete level. Hunts the puck well on the forecheck. Creates chances and turnovers by being dogged on the puck.

 

4TH ROUND, 112TH OVERALL - JADEN LIPINSKI (VANCOUVER, WHL)

No. 49 Ranked North American Skater

Position: Centre
Shoots: Right
Height: 6' 4"
Weight: 210 lbs.
Birthplace: Scottsdale, Ariz.

 

 

 

 

6TH ROUND, 176TH OVERALL - YEGOR YEGOROV (DYNAMO, MOSCOW JR.)

Position: Goaltender
Birthplace: Moscow, Russia

 

 

7TH ROUND, 208TH OVERALL - AXEL HURTIG (ROGLE, SWE-JR.)

No. 100 Ranked North American Skater

Position: Defenceman
Shoots: Left
Height: 6' 4"
Weight: 202 lbs.
Birthplace: Hogas, Sweden

[thegx.ca]

Man I love Connie as a player and a person but jeeez he seems to always be in denial of Calgary not being in win now mode anymore...while Edmonton definitely is in win now mode