AnalysisConnor Bedard was selected by the Blackhawks with the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. David Gonzales / Imagn ImagesAug. 26, 2026 6:00 am EDT Updated The 2023 NHL Draft was highly touted due to a great top grouping of forwards.Connor Bedard, Adam Fantilli, Leo Carlsson, Will Smith, Matvei Michkov and Ryan Leonard were all very highly regarded going into the draft and remain so a few years later, albeit to varying degrees. There were also two strong blue line prospects in Dmitri Simashev and David Reinbacher. Reinbacher has fallen off a bit, but he’s still quite good.The biggest mover in this draft class is second-round winger Roman Kantserov, who has lit up the KHL the last few years. He’s a smaller, but highly skilled, intelligent and competitive winger.
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