NHL Draft Top 5 Best Bets: Fantilli or Carlsson to Ducks?
The 2023 NHL Draft is set to go down tonight from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. Who will go in the top five, and is there value to bet on?
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Let’s start with this. The Chicago Blackhawks are on the clock with the first overall pick, and it’s such a slam dunk that they’ll be selecting Connor Bedard from the Regina Pats that the odds aren’t even on the board. There are many more question marks regarding which players will be chosen, two through five.
NHL Draft 2023 – #2 Overall Pick
It’s not considered a lock yet, but Adam Fantilli is listed as a sizable favorite at -700 to be taken by the Anaheim Ducks second overall. There are rumblings that the Ducks also have at least some interest in Leo Carlsson, who’s priced at +480. These are the only two players really in the conversation right now. Fantilli is the likely pick here, but crazier things have happened on the draft floor.
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NHL Draft 2023 – #3 Overall Pick
The draft gets much more interesting with the third overall pick, which the Columbus Blue Jackets own. Swedish center Leo Carlsson is the odds-on favorite to go third overall at -300. Not so fast, though. Many scouts in the know suggest that the Blue Jackets are enamored with Will Smith, who’s listed at +210 as the third name off the board. The value here is excellent, and this is a number we’ll be very content in backing. There’s an outside chance that Adam Fantilli (+550) is there at third overall, which would complicate things, but we are gravitating towards Smith at third overall as our best bet of the day in the NHL draft.
NHL Draft 2023 – #4 Overall Pick
The San Jose Sharks own the fourth overall pick, and the idea here is that the team will select whichever of the four consensus players remain. Will Smith has some juice attached to his name to fourth at -185, while Leo Carlsson (+270), Matvei Michkov (+400), and David Reinbacher (+460) are also in the conversation. Will the Sharks take a gamble on Michkov? Considering that new general manager Mike Grier has some runway, it’s possible. Still, if Carlsson is on the board for the Sharks at four, there’s too much value to pass up at +270.
NHL Draft 2023 – #5 Overall Pick
Some say the draft starts with the fifth overall pick, factoring in that there’s a strong consensus top four. If there weren’t concerns out of teams control surrounding Russian forward Matvei Michkov, it’s safe to say there would even be a stronger consensus top five. That’s not the reality, though, and the draft will get even more interesting at number five, where the Montreal Canadiens sit.
The Canadiens selected Juraj Slafkovsky with the first overall pick in 2022. Ryan Leonard is the betting favorite to go fifth overall at +165, followed by David Reinbacher (+210), Matvei Michkov (+240), and Will Smith (+550). If the Canadiens trade the fifth overall, a team moving up for Michkov would be the reason why. Leonard and Reinbacher are the safest bets if Montreal sticks with the pick. The Canadiens reportedly love Smith, but he’ll unlikely be on the board. There isn’t a lot separating Reinbacher and Leonard, and a defenseman rarely gets passed in the top five. As a result, we’ll take the slightly better value in Reinbacher at +210.
All odds courtesy of the FanDuel Sportsbook.
