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2023 NHL Draft: 3 players that might be drafted higher than they should be
The first round of the 2023 NHL draft goes down on Wednesday and in every draft, a few players are always selected higher than many predict and this year will be no different.
For some players, it is due to the position they play while for others, it is due to their upside and chances of being special.
With that, here are three players who likely will be selected earlier than projected at the 2023 NHL draft.
#1, Axel Sandin Pellikka, D, Skellefta AIK
The top of the 2023 NHL draft is full of forwards, so with that, teams that need defensemen will likely reach for them and Axel Sandin Pellikka is likely the defenseman they will reach for.
David Reinbacher will be the first defenseman drafted and likely be in the top 10. Sandin Pellikka should likely be drafted in the 20s but with the draft not having many top defensemen, he will likely be drafted in the teens - a few selections earlier than many projects.
Even though I think Sandin Pellikka will be drafted earlier than many predict, he still projects to be a solid defenseman. But, due to his position and the draft not having a ton of high-end defensemen, Pellikka will find himself being drafted early.
#2, Eduard Sale, RW, Brno
Eduard Sale is ranked as the fourth-best international forward as he has a lot of upside and could even be drafted as high as 11th overall by the Vancouver Canucks.
Sale should be somewhere in the mid-20s but he is considered a bit of a home run swing by teams. There will be much safer picks than him, but Sale has a ton of upside and promise and could develop into one of the best players in this draft, which is why a team will reach for him.
#3, Mikhail Gulyayev, D, Omskie Yastreby
Mikhail Gulyayev is one of the weirder prospects in the NHL draft as a lot of respected NHL writers who scout prospects don't even have him in the first round. Others, meanwhile, have him going in the first half of the first round which would be a huge reach.
Gulyayev, like Sandin Pellikka, will go earlier than predicted due to him being a defenseman and this draft not having many top-level defensemen available. But, his skating and puck-moving is NHL ready which is why he will go earlier than expected in the first round.
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