4 top defencemen Canucks could pick at the 2023 NHL Draft
With the 2023 NHL Draft top-heavy on the forward side, the Vancouver Canucks may have an opportunity to select one of the top defencemen available at 11th overall.
While multiple defenders could be selected within the first 10 picks, there is a tier of blueliners that could be options when the Canucks makes their way to the podium next week.
1. Axel Sandin-Pellikka (Skellefteå, SHL, J20 Nationell)
- Age: 18
- Nationality: Swedish
- Position: Right defence
- Size: 5-foot-11, 181 pounds
- 2022-23 stats (J20 Nationell): 31 GP, 16 G, 20 A, 36 PTS
Axel Sandin-Pellika is one of this draft’s premier offensively-inclined defenders. At 5-foot-11, 181-pounds, he isn’t one of the biggest blueliners available, but he may be the most dynamic.
Central to Sandin-Pellikka’s game is his involvement in any given attack. A true power play quarterback who blends high-end shooting and mobility, it’s not rare to see the Swedish right-shot defender dominate off the blue line. A constant rotator who switches off seamlessly with his linemates, Sandin-Pelllika eats up all the available ice on his downhill attacks.
The Skellefteå defender’s shot is his signature tool. He wires pucks through layers like a professional golfer to find seams through the thick foliage. He blends manipulations through lateral feints and constantly looks to release through his opponent’s defensive triangles. When he’s activating, Sandin-Pellika does a masterful job of keeping sequences alive with well-timed pinches and even has the ability to beat aggression on the blue line with one-on-one small-area handles. Still developing his playmaking, he likes to use the threat of his shot to create more open lanes for his teammates but struggles to create high-end opportunities off his activations
One of the bigger questions about Sandin-Pellika’s game is how he will handle the rigours of the NHL forecheck. Swedish defenders of his archetype have struggled in recent years, as the larger ice surface often means fewer reps against physical and aggressive pressure. His ability to defend physicality is also a major question mark. Will he be able to develop the nuances that successful smaller defencemen have to learn to survive in the NHL?
Regardless, Sandin-Pellikka has a legitimate top-four upside, but with an inclination towards the power play, one has to wonder how well he fits the Canucks long term. If he isn’t provided the touches or even the opportunity with the man advantage, the WJC U-18 silver medalist could end up being marginalized on a roster, especially one with a superstar puck mover like Quinn Hughes. Value is value at the end of the day, however.
Even if he doesn’t fit the roster construction perfectly, Sandin-Pellikka is still a valuable asset, and if the Canucks believe he is the best player available, that’s worth consideration alone.
2. Tom Willander (Rögle BK J20, J20 Nationell)
- Age: 18
- Nationality: Swedish
- Position: Right defence
- Size: 6-foot-1, 179 pounds
- 2022-23 stats (J20 Nationell): 39 GP, 4 G, 21 A, 25 PTS
Tom Willander, a right-shot defender for Rögle BK, was thought of as an option for the end of the first round across the public sphere — until his play at the U18s blew evaluators away. The 6-foot-1, 179-pound defenceman may not be as offensively gifted as his countryman Sandin-Pellikka, but that’s not saying he may never be.
An outstanding, near-top-of-the-class skater, Willander’s mobility is translated throughout every aspect of the game. He manipulates with his edges on retrievals and can easily punch-turn off pressure, making forechecking pressure fruitless. The Swede employs body manipulations, heel-to-heel manoeuvres, and deceptive weight-shifting when attacking north-to-south to beat opponents with ease.
He gaps early, drives opponents to the outside, and contains transitional attackers to limited space, looking to create a turnover and burn the other way. He almost traps opponents in one-on-one scenarios, constantly forcing them into bad situations. In sustained pressure, Willander is a relentless disruptor and harasser, constantly in opponents’ grills, forcing panic-based decisions. The motor he possesses, combined with how physical he plays, creates an always in-motion monster to deal with.
Evaluators question the level of nuance in Willander’s offensive game. To say he plays fast is an understatement. His game is devoid of a delay element, which is typically used to break down defenders more effectively. The 2023 Elite Prospects Draft Guide mentions that while he can create advantages with his feet, he often failed too much after the fact. If he can slow down and play more methodically, the offensive game could grow leaps and bounds.
Willander is somewhat of a safe bet to become an NHL player. With his already-developed defensive habits, escapability, and elite mobility, his floor very well could be in the range of a number four defender. Suppose he doesn’t figure out the offensive game at the professional level. In that case, you will at least be left with a responsible, high-end skater who can potentially eat some hard minutes for your organization. Willander has committed to Boston University, a very different route than most Swedish prospects.
The Canucks seem interested as well, as reported by The Athletic’s Harman Dayal, they took the mobile Swede out for dinner at this year’s combine. A player who can keep up with Hughes on a top pairing? It could be an amazing fit.
3. Dmitri Simashev (Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, KHL, MHL)
- Age: 18
- Nationality: Russian
- Position: Left defence
- Size: 6-foot-4, 201 pounds
- 2022-23 stats (MHL): 29 GP, 1 G, 9 A, 10 PTS
When we look back at this draft, there’s a strong chance that Dmitri Simashev is the best defender out of this year’s crop of players. The 6-foot-4, 201-pound Russian possesses one of the mechanically cleanest strides in the draft. This hulking size and mobility combination is in unicorn territory, for how rare it is.
Simashev is a constant manipulator through his skating, making puck retrievals almost trivial for himself, and disastrous for his opponents. The left-shot defender shakes off forechecking pressure with ease, snapping hard, accurate, cross-rink breakouts to start transitional attacks.
His rare size and mobility combination makes him a relative monster defending the rush. He’s aggressive, exploits his above-average range, and finishes opponents on the outside of the ice. He protects the dotted lines as if there was a median painted up and down the ice.
An incredible processor in sustained pressure, Simashev is constantly scanning, locking down secondary threats, and leveraging his size advantages to crush opponents on the boards. Even when opponents try to shake off his pressure, he can match their movements, edge-to-edge to lock them on the perimeter.
There are caveats that come with Simashev, especially on the offensive side of the puck.
While he flashes high-end mobility on the blue-line and has activation habits, offence alluded him this season, pushing his future projection into more of a lock-down defender archetype rather than a two-way option that most teams look for. Regardless, he’s a lock top-four defender despite not scoring much this season, as the skating, size, and translatable habit blend is just too immense.
With a contract until the 2024-2025 season, Simashev’s ETA is no different than the others featured on this list, that’s if he doesn’t sign an extension. With the buy-out of Oliver Ekman-Larsson, there’s a hole on the left side of the Canucks’ blue line. Simashev may be a smart option, especially for a team that needs defending and has a lot of Russian-born players available to help a transition.
4. David Reinbacher (EHC Kloten, NL)
- Age: 18
- Nationality: Austrian
- Position: Right defence
- Size: 6-foot-2, 187 pounds
- 2022-23 stats (National League): 46 GP, 3 G, 19 A, 22 PTS
Likely to be the first defenceman selected in this draft, David Reinbacher’s profile is the thing of dreams for some evaluators. Big at 6-foot-2 and 187 pounds, the right-shot defender is already a standout play-stopper in the professional, Swiss-based, National League.
With his suffocating gap, the Austrian-born defender absolutely clobbers opponents as they attempt to work around him on the rush. He’s aggressive on the large ice surface, and mobile enough to swing across long distances to provide immediate disruption on opposing puck carriers. His feet are steady, rarely manipulated, and even in open ice, he’s difficult to turn.
Mature habits are plastered throughout Reinbacher’s sequences when he defends against pressure. He’s overly disruptive, enveloping opponents on the perimeter of the ice. Constant mental mapping and scanning have allowed the EHC Kloten player to lock out secondary threats, especially at the net front and back door.
The physical profile, the habits, the right-shot-handedness, even the above-average offensive tools — the pros go on and on. Like the others on this list, Reinbacher has all the makings to be an impactful, top-four defender, and an impactful one at that.
There’s proof of concept here, having success in one of the better European hockey leagues. For this season, and the habits and tools described above, makes it hard to believe he will be available at 11 for Vancouver to take. The draft is unpredictable though, and if he does make it to the Canucks by some miracle, you are looking at a player that compliments Hughes’ skillset to almost a perfect degree and could be in the NHL sooner rather than later.
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