Evaluating the top 2023 NHL Draft talent at the IIHF World Hockey Championship

Steven Ellis
Steven Ellis
Evaluating the top 2023 NHL Draft talent at the IIHF World Hockey Championship

We’re now in crunch time at the men’s World Hockey Championship, with the round-robin done and eight teams sent packing early.

It’s been an interesting tournament, with no team managing to put a beating on the competition. USA and Switzerland are the top teams in the tournament, with Canada and Sweden both looking capable of competing for gold, as well. But we’ve seen some interesting upsets, including Latvia’s big overtime win against Switzerland to qualify for the quarterfinal by the skin of their teeth.

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For NHL Draft fans, things started off slow. There weren’t many eligible prospects to watch to begin with, and they all seemed to start slow. But the big three – Adam Fantilli, Leo Carlsson and David Reinbacher – all seemed to play their best hockey of the tournament near the end of the round-robin, especially Carlsson. The first two, both projected to go in the top five, will move on to the playoff round, while Reinbacher, and Denmark’s Mølgaard, are done for the 2023 NHL Draft season.

With just a few days to go until the tournament concludes on Sunday, here’s a look at how the top NHL Draft prospects have fared at the 2023 World Championship in Riga, Latvia and Tampere, Finland:

Adam Fantilli, LW (Canada, No. 2)

It’s been an interesting tournament for the projected No. 2 pick, who started the tournament on the second line, bounced to the 13th forward spot and now is manning the first trio. Through seven games, Fantilli has averaged around 12 minutes a night with two assists to show for it. He has gotten better as the tournament as gone on, with the seventh game against Czechia being his most complete effort. He had six shots on a line with Cody Glass and Milan Lucic, but they just couldn’t seem to figure out a way to beat Karel Vejmelka.

From a statistical standpoint, it’s been a quiet tournament for a player many expect to be NHL ready next year. And part of that is by design. When Fantilli was on the second line, he was playing much less than his linemates, and that was the same once he got promoted to the top line. Canada’s NHL-dominated offense makes it tough to justify playing him over experienced veterans. Fantilli was also ejected in the game against Norway for a hit that, while it had some head contact, likely was just a minor, if anything in the NHL. He played a far less physical game against Czechia, which makes me think he was trying to overcompensate.

Either way, there have been promising signs, but not much to show for on the scoresheet.

Leo Carlsson, C (Sweden, No. 4)

Carlsson has manned the top center position all tournament long, skating alongside Lucas Raymond and Jonatan Berggren for the most part. He has five points in seven games with Sweden, which is 10th all-time among first-year draft eligible prospects at this tournament. That’s the same output Jaromir Jagr had in 10 games in 1990, and it’s more than Leon Draisaitl, Jack Hughes and Alex Ovechkin. Juraj Slafkovsky had nine points in eight games a year ago on a lesser Slovak team, while Patrik Laine is the gold standard with 12 points in 10 games in 2016.

So Carlsson is in some good company, and he could have as many as three games left before its all said and done. He scored his first goal against Austria, a game that was already essentially over once he got on the board. It was his two-goal game against USA that really mattered, helping to force overtime in his team’s bid to win the top spot in Group A. They fell short, but Carlsson was Sweden’s best player in the game. He’s averaging 14:51 in ice time, three minutes less than Raymond, but he has really looked comfortable the past two or three games. We’ll see how he performs in the medal round.

David Reinbacher, D (Austria, No. 8)

One of the top defensemen in the draft, Reinbacher missed three games due to an injury after taking an awkward hit from Sweden’s Rasmus Sandin early on. Thankfully for Austria, he bounced back to set up the game-tying goal that sent Austria to overtime in a must-win game to avoid relegation, his only point of the tournament.

Austria avoided relegation, and Reinbacher deserves a ton of credit. The defensive unit was much better with him there, especially when trying to clear pucks and help generate scoring chances. It didn’t help that Austria was a one-line team (Marco Rossi’s group) and Reinbacher rarely played with them. But if your team is in the hunt for a smart, puck-moving defenseman, Reinbacher has shown what he’s capable against high-quality competition.

Oscar Fisker Mølgaard, C (Denmark, No. 42)

It was a quiet tournament for Mølgaard, who finished with no points and just 9:16 of average ice time and two shots. The Danes didn’t seem willing to use their youth often, instead shuttering the the team’s bottom line and focusing mainly on Nikolaj Ehlers and company. That’s to be expected on a team where scoring is hard to come by, and if you have an NHL star, you use him.

It was disappointing to see Mølgaard have such a quiet showing, but good to see that scouts still perceive some positives. He can clearly skate, and he’ll attack the puck as often as he can. When you’re playing so sparingly, it cane be difficult to stay focused, but Mølgaard always looked rested and ready to go whenever called. He’s still a project player, but one many think could be a real diamond in the rough after a solid season in Sweden.

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