Even when he doesn’t have the puck, Michkov is often controlling the entire offensive zone due to his gravity (defenders are always thinking about him), and his ability to find space and time regardless of defensive coverage. Matvei Michkov has one of the most impressive hockey minds that I’ve ever seen, with elite instincts for manipulating goalies, defenders, shooting lanes, and more. Best Hockey IQ Winner: Matvei Michkov (Runners up: Gabe Perreault, Mikhail Gulyayev, Connor Bedard, Axel Sandin Pellikka) The way he adjusts the release point of his shot immediately before shooting is remarkable and will make him a nightmare for NHL goalies as soon as next Fall. That top group in the entire league would include guys like David Pastrnak, Auston Matthews, Leon Draisaitl, and maybe Elias Pettersson (among a few others), so for Bedard to even have a chance at cracking that group as a teenager is impressive. In fact, Bedard will have the best shot on the Chicago Blackhawks as soon as they select him, and has the power and crafty release to become one of the very best shooters in the entire NHL. This one’s a no-brainer, with Connor Bedard clearly possessing the best shot in the draft. Best Shot Winner: Connor Bedard (Runners up: Matvei Michkov, Colby Barlow, Andrew Cristall, Brayden Yager, Bradly Nadeau) Moore is going to be one of the better skaters in the NHL from the first moment he steps on the ice and has the potential to be an impactful top-six center. He projects as a high-end NHL skater as a result, with the speed and hands to provide his team with tons of controlled zone entries. Oliver Moore is easily the best skater in the 2023 Draft, with the power to accelerate remarkably quickly, and the edgework to dance around d-zone coverage with the puck. With all that out of the way, let’s get into it! Best Skater Winner: Oliver Moore (Runners up: Connor Bedard, Mikhail Gulyayev, Bradly Nadeau, Tom Willander, Dmitri Simashev) Remember, this is all in the name of fun and is meant to give you an idea of who is great at what in this year’s draft, just with a bit of a different format. The first few will have a list of runners up listed in no particular order as well so you can get a sense for some of the other prospects who excel in that particular area. Who has the best shot? Who has the best chance to succeed in the NHL next year? Who will drop on draft day due to size? Those are the sort of questions I’m going to be sharing my answers for here today. Connor Bedard, Team Canada (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

Salaries at sizewise