Sekeres and Price: Rick Dhaliwal on who the Vancouver Canucks could be interested in with their No. 11 pick in the first round of the 2023 NHL draft.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Dhaliwal: “I think they showed a lot love to the Swedish right-shot defenseman Tom Willander. If he’s there at 11, I’ve talked to some people who won’t be surprised if the Canucks take him.
Now, I always come back to this. We always do this every draft year. Do you draft for position or do you draft best player available?
The Canucks have not taken a defenseman in the first two rounds in the last four straight years, and 2019 there were no defensemen taken. It’s one of the reasons why you don’t have a ton of hot-shot prospects that are ready for the NHL in Abbotsford.
So anyways, they showed a lot of love to Tom Wallinder. Zach Benson, Matthew Wood, couple of local kids. Showed a lot of love to them as well.
I heard also that the Canucks really like this center Nate Danielson out of Brandon. Six foot two, 185 (pounds). They’ve got him ranked pretty high. They’ve got him ranked pretty high. Higher than I was told most teams. Connor Bedard said in an interview that Danielson was the hardest player to play against in the Western Hockey League. That meant, when Connor Bedard says that, and Connor Bedard didn’t mention a 19 or 20-year-old, he mentioned a fellow prospect. He’s the same age and going to go in the draft.
Also, hear the Canucks like this center Dalibor Dvorsky out of Sweden, Slovakian kid. But I think he might be a guy that goes in the top 10.”
Matt Sekeres: “Hey Rick, just one of the things I’ve heard is that the Canucks may also prioritize size at this draft. That because of the head coach. Because of the way they want to play going forward. Because they’re not the biggest team to begin with. Don’t be surprised if they have a lot of the bigger guys further up their draft list and go with a bigger body at No. 11.”
Dhaliwal: “Nate Danielson, six-two 185. He falls right into that. Matthew Wood is huge. Zach Benson is not but Zach Benson’s hockey sense is out of this world. He’s the kid from Chilliwack and just a great kid. And you know what? Zach Benson the skill, he drives the play. He’s a difference-maker offensively.
So, Wallinder’s pretty big. Matthew Wood’s pretty big. Nate Danielson’s pretty big. So, maybe you’re right there Matt.”