his profile resembles that of Jesperi Kotkaniemi in 2018

There is just over a month to go before the 2023 NHL Draft takes place. Unless you’re living under a rock, you probably know the Habs will be drafting fifth overall and will have the opportunity to draft another quality prospect with that pick.

That said, considering that the club seem cautious about drafting Matvei Michkov, there is a good chance that they will be forced to look outside the consensus top-5 (Bedard, Fantilli, Carlsson, Michkov and Smith). And this is where it gets interesting.

Among the options available, there is in particular Dalibor Dvorsky. After Juraj Slafkovský and Filip Mesar last year, it would be another Slovak drafted in the first round for the Montrealers.

However, in a paper published on The AthleticCorey Pronman brings an interesting element: Dvorsky’s profile is reminiscent of that of a certain Jesperi Kotkaniemi, drafted third overall by the Canadian in 2018.

Pronman recalls in his text that Kotkaniemi was seen as a very intelligent and talented center player, but who did not have the best skating and who had a disappointing offensive production in Europe for a player drafted so high.

And actually, that looks like Dvorsky, who has 14 points in 38 games this season and isn’t the greatest skater. That said, he is a cerebral player and he has some interesting assets.

Obviously, we’re not talking about a carbon copy, but the fact that the two guys look so much alike should attract the attention of the CH in the event that he fishes out the Slovak. We will have to avoid rushing him into the NHL as was done with Kotkaniemi in 2018 and we will have to accept that his development could take longer.

Five years after being drafted, KK is finally starting to look like a second-line center. And the process hasn’t exactly been linear.

I don’t know if, like Kotkaniemi, Dvorsky will be drafted sooner than he should be simply because of his profile, but the team that drafts him will have to deal with the same risks that surrounded KK when he was drafted by the Habs.

It remains to be seen if it is the Canadian who will have to juggle this reality.

A lot of

– Speaking of potential draft targets for the CH.

– Joël Bouchard didn’t really like his time in Arizona.

Joël Bouchard tells how surreal his time with the Coyotes was! 🤯🤯🤯https://t.co/bpjxZtuFT9

— TVA Sports (@TVASports) May 17, 2023

Neither does Guillaume Latendresse.

A former player empties his heart on the treatment he received in Arizona! 😳😲🤯https://t.co/j4xNfOMr8z

— TVA Sports (@TVASports) May 17, 2023

– Nick Suzuki was honored last weekend. [HF]

– It was Ilya Kovalchuk himself who brought Bob Hartley to Russia. [BPM Sports]

– Nice read.

– Tough defeat for CF Montreal last night.

⚽️😬⚽️ https://t.co/apGsvzxLCy

— TVA Sports (@TVASports) May 18, 2023