LATEST | NHL.com makes an announcement regarding the draft and the Canucks' 11th overall

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Felip Gosselin
June 19, 2023 (8:39 PM)

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We're just a few days away from the NHL amateur draft, and the speculation regarding what the Canucks will do with their pick is at its peak. Will they select a forward or a defenseman, or will they trade down? The panellists at NHL.com gave their thoughts on the event's possible outcomes.

The Canucks could use many things in this draft class; one is certain, with that much depth in the prospect pool, the team's margin for error is up to 0. While the first 5 picks seem to have already been made, the possibilities from the 6th to the 20th are endless, as shown by the various mock drafts the different analysts have made available.

Mike Morreale and Adam Kimelman have placed their bet for the draft, and the pair respectively had Allvin and his group selecting the defenseman Tom Willander and the winger Eduard Sale.

The explanation Morreale gave regarding the Canucks' selection of Willander makes plenty of sense, but it also falls right into the team's needs:

''Willander (6-1, 180) is a skilled right-shot defenseman with excellent mobility, skating speed and a good understanding of the game. He finished third among defensemen at the U-18 Worlds with eight points (three goals, five assists) for Sweden.''

Kimelman, on his end, had the Canucks selecting yet another winger; felt like Sale was a no-brainer for Allvin at the 11th:

''Finding depth at left wing is an organizational need for the Canucks, whose recent top draft selections have played on the right side: Jonathan Lekkerimaki (2022, No. 15), Danila Klimovich (2021, No. 41) and Vasily Podkolzin (2019, No. 10). Sale, who has high-end puck skills and is a smooth skater, has two seasons of experience playing against older competition in the top Czech league.''

The first round of the 2023 NHL Draft is set to take place in Nashville on Wednesday. We expect to learn more about the Canucks' plan the closer we get to the events.

SOURCE:NHL.com