NHL Entry Draft Odds Watch for June 2023
The 2023 NHL Entry Draft will be held on June 28th in Nashville and the winners of the lotter, the Chicago Blackhawks, will select Connor Bedard with the first overall pick. The draft class is deep, though, and there are some debates to be had about which players will be selected in the No. 2 and No. 3 spots.
Check out NHL Draft Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook
Who will the Anaheim Ducks draft with the No. 2 pick?
Adam Fantilli (-450)
The Duck didn’t win the draft lottery despite finishing last in the NHL with 58 points, but they will get a nice consolation prize in the No. 2 spot by the name of Adam Fantilli. Fantilli joined the Michigan Wolverines program followed other elite players who recently turned pro like Matty Beniers and Owen Power and immediately became the best player on the team scoring 65 points in 36 games. Fantilli might end up spending another year in college, the Ducks can rest knowing he’ll be developing in the right place and it’s not like they don’t have the time. There’s still some debate between him and Leo Carlsson (+550), but Fantilli has long been considered the player that will most likely be selected by the Ducks.
Who will the Columbus Blue Jackets select at the No. 3 spot?
Here’s where the real debate starts. The Columbus Blue Jackets need a center, and there are a few options assuming Fantilli goes to Anaheim as expected.
Leo Carlsson (-120)
While there’s a chance that Carlsson could be drafted by the Ducks, The Athletic’s prospect expert Corey Pronman listed him as the No. 3 overall pick in his recent mock draft. Carlsson impressed at the World Championship this spring scoring three goals and two assists in eight games, and that performance has likely created a belief among NHL general managers that the 18-year-old looks ready to begin his NHL journey. Carlsson has played the wing most of his career, but he’s shown that he can play the position and that might be enough to sway the Blue Jackets and Will Smith’s recent move from +350 to +180 has resulted in Carlsson’s odds of going No. 3 overall being reduced.
Will Smith (+180)
Smith just turned 18 in March, and he is committed to playing hockey for Boston College in 2023-24 if he doesn’t go pro. The Massachusetts native put up 51 goals and 127 points in 60 games with the U.S. National Team in 2022-23 and followed that up by producing a whopping nine goals and 20 points in seven games at the (under 18) World Junior Championship. Smith’s 191 points with USNTDP puts him on track to follow in the footsteps of recent American-born players who have become stars in the NHL like Jack Hughes, Auston Matthews, and Cole Caufield.
Matvei Michkov (+450)
There’s a decent chance Michkov would be selected in the top-three if not for one problem: the 18-year-old is signed to a KHL contract until the end of the 2025-26 season. He will be 22 years old by the time he can attend his first NHL training camp. Kirill Kaprizov was 22 when he joined the Minnesota Wild for his rookie season, and he was an impact player by then. There’s a decent chance Michkov will follow in Kaprizov’s footsteps, but teams must decide whether a three-year wait makes sense. Columbus has had success with Russian players like Kirill Marchenko, but Michkov isn’t a centre.