By Bob Trask – With the calendar year coming to a close it’s time to update and review my projected draft order for the 2023 entry draft. A tough week for the Habs along with including the remaining strength of schedule into the calculation sees the Canadiens rising to #4 overall in the projected draft order. That increases their odds of choosing 1st overall to 9.5% and 2nd overall to 9.8%. Florida comes in at #7 in this edition of the draft projection and that puts Montreal’s odds of choosing 1st overall with that pick at 3.5% and 2nd overall at 3.8%.
Should the draft order remain the same, Montreal would have a greater than 25% chance of drafting 1st or 2nd overall. For the sake of brevity this week, I have shortened the table this week.
| DRAFT | TEAM | PTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chicago Black Hawks | 47.0 |
| 2 | Columbus Blue Jackets | 55.8 |
| 3 | Anaheim Ducks | 56.1 |
| 4 | Montreal Canadiens | 65.3 |
| 5 | San Jose Sharks | 66.4 |
| 6 | Philadelphia Flyers | 72.6 |
| 7 | Florida Panthers (Montreal Canadiens own this pick) | 74.5 |
| 8 | Arizona Coyotes | 78.7 |
| 9 | Vancouver Canucks | 80.8 |
| 10 | Ottawa Senators | 81.5 |
| 11 | Nashville Predators | 81.6 |
| 12 | Detroit Red Wings | 83.6 |
| 13 | St Louis Blues | 84.1 |
| 14 | Edmonton Oilers (currently a wildcard team – not lottery eligible) | 91.3 |
| 15 | Seattle Kraken | 91.3 |
| 16 | New York Islanders (currently a wildcard team – not lottery eligible) | 91.5 |
| 17 | New York Rangers | 93.7 |
| 18 | Calgary Flames (currently a playoff team – not lottery eligible) | 94.7 |
| 19 | Buffalo Sabres (currently not a wildcard team – lottery eligible) | 94.8 |
I recently published a list of players who could be available at #5 overall. Given the change in the projected draft order that has the Canadiens at #4 overall, the potential to draft a high quality NHL player increases.
Adding a 1st Round Pick
Many fans have been hoping that Kent Hughes can add one more 1st round pick with a pre-deadline trade but given the lacklustre performance of veterans who could be on the trade block, it is hard to see that happening. We may have to content ourselves with the two 1st round picks that the team already has.
More reading…
- An Extremely Cold December by JD Lagrange
- And With the 5th Overall Pick… by Bob Trask
- CTL Hot Stove – January 1st, 2023 by JD Lagrange
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