Three teams that could steal the show in the first round of the 2023 NHL Draft

The first round of the 2023 NHL Draft is almost upon us, and we can speak for the majority of the hockey world when we say: “Finally!”

It feels like it’s been an eternity since the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Florida Panthers to capture the Stanley Cup. And with all the trade action seemingly dissipating as quickly as it came along in the first place, hockey fans across the continent are eager to see the movement resume on Wednesday.

Everyone knows about the Chicago Blackhawks possessing the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft. They’ll use it to select Connor Bedard. But the intrigue will increase shortly afterward, as the teams situated immediately thereafter begin to sift through the impressive pile of top prospects available to them.

By default, the Blackhawks will be called the “winners” of this year’s draft. Bedard is an impressive prize. But there are a few other teams out there, those with multiple picks in the first round and a willingness to make big trades, who could feasibly steal the show this week.

Here’s a look at three of the most intriguing teams to keep an eye on during the first round of the 2023 NHL Draft.

Arizona Coyotes

The ‘Yotes are the only team with two picks in the top 15 of this year’s draft, having acquired the No. 12 selection from the Ottawa Senators in the Jakob Chychrun deal at the trade deadline. They’re uniquely situated to make a splash at both the top and the middle of the first round.

But, in an unusual turn of events, Arizona has also shown a willingness to part with some of its impressive draft capital to add players to its core. As our own Frank Seravalli noted last week, the Coyotes are “aiming to be more competitive next season,” and they’ve already added Sean Durzi to their existing complement of young defensemen. They likely aren’t done buying.

Don’t expect the Coyotes to move players like Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz, and Lawson Crouse at this year’s draft. If anything, they’ll be looking to bring in guys who can slot in next to those three players in their lineup. They also have RFA forwards Matias Maccelli, Jack McBain, and Christian Fischer to sign, having already inked goaltender Connor Ingram to a three-year deal over the weekend.

The playoffs aren’t quite on the horizon in Arizona, but the Sun is beginning to rise in the Valley. If the Coyotes can snag, say, Dalibor Dvorsky and Zach Benson at No. 6 and 12 overall while also adding a couple of experienced NHL forwards to their ranks, they’ll come out of the 2023 NHL Draft in much better shape as an organization. And that’s not even getting into whether they’ll pick Matvei Michkov—or if they’ll make a trade with a team interested in grabbing him…

Philadelphia Flyers

At this point, there isn’t a whole lot we know about Matvei Michkov’s situation. As has been extensively discussed, his contract in Russia runs for three more years and there’s no telling whether he’ll be able to wriggle out of it early to come to North America. Michkov has all the skill in the world, but he’s almost guaranteed to fall out of the top three picks of this year’s draft.

The Flyers currently own picks No. 7 and 22 in the first round. That’s right: Philly is one spot behind Arizona at the top of the draft. What if Michkov ends up being available at No. 6, but he also indicates he’s more willing to play for the Flyers than the Coyotes? But also…what if Michkov wants to play with Alex Ovechkin in Washington? The Capitals pick No. 8. As such, the Flyers are uniquely situated right in the middle of Michkov Madness.

And that’s only scratching the surface of what the Flyers can do this week. They’ve been hammering away at a blockbuster deal with the St. Louis Blues (more on them later) for what feels like an eternity at this point, with Blues defenseman Torey Krug seemingly holding up the process with his no-trade clause. If the Flyers pull the trigger on draft night, that deal could overshadow much of the draft floor's action.

With the No. 22 pick, which the Flyers acquired from Columbus in the Ivan Provorov deal, we could see new GM Danny Briere add a defenseman to his somewhat depleted pipeline. And if the trade with the Blues goes through, perhaps the Flyers end up making a third pick in the first round. Hey, speaking of St. Louis…

St. Louis Blues

As of right now, the Blues are the only team with three picks in the first round of the 2023 NHL Draft. That’s right, three. In addition to their own pick (No. 10), the Blues possess picks No. 25 (acquired from Toronto in the Ryan O’Reilly trade) and 29 (from NYR, for Vladimir Tarasenko).

The main question surrounding the Blues has to do with whether they’ll end up actually making picks at all three of those spots. It’s hard to envision them not picking at No. 10 (Dmitri Simashev might be a good fit), but the Blues are unlike most other teams in the top 10 in that they likely have their eye on returning to the playoffs as soon as next season. Doug Armstrong hasn’t exactly signaled a rebuild—yet.

The big rumored trade with Philadelphia notwithstanding, it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see the Blues look to take a swing on the draft floor and move one of their two late firsts for immediate help. The Blues added those two selections in the first place by selling 30-somethings at the trade deadline; what if they turned around and flipped one (or both) of those picks for help closer in age to Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou? If Travis Sanheim is part of their blockbuster deal with Philly, he’d help stabilize their defensive group for years to come.

And then there’s the whole business with Krug, whose standing in the Blues organization is uncertain after he reportedly exercised his right to block a trade to the bottom-feeding Flyers. If the relationship between the Blues and Krug has soured in any way as a result, perhaps he gets dealt somewhere else during the draft. There are a lot of moving parts in St. Louis, and Krug sure looks like one of them. And he certainly wouldn’t be the only one.