In my recent 2023 NHL Draft rankings, I’ve provided player comparables for the top-rated prospects. Today I thought I would elaborate on why I chose those specific comparables and break down my thought process in choosing the options for various players.

Connor Bedard, C, Regina: David Pastrnak

Thinking of comparables for Bedard is not easy because there aren’t many barely-5-foot-10 players in the NHL who are among the league’s elites. The exceptional players are just that for a reason — there are so few of them, giving us few examples to pull from. I went all the way back to Joe Sakic to think of a top NHL center who vaguely looked like Bedard. I would be lying if I said I can accurately recall the fine details of Sakic’s game, so I decided to keep the names more current. The names I bounced around naturally were Patrick Kane, Nikita Kucherov, Sidney Crosby and Brayden Point, to start. I didn’t like the Kane fit — the skating, size and skill fit, but Kane is an elite playmaker and Bedard an elite goal scorer.

There was some fit between him and Point, but Bedard’s skill level and finishing touch are notably higher. He doesn’t have Crosby’s frame, vision and off-the-charts compete. Kucherov was an interesting one and a comp I debated for a while, even though that’s the one I eventually gave to Matvei Michkov. I could easily see that one applied to Bedard, though. I chose Pastrnak because of how the play styles match up. Pasta’s game is defined through his elite skill and goal-scoring ability, just like Bedard. They are both good, but not elite skaters. There is a frame differential there that keeps it from being a perfect comp, and I would say realistically Bedard doesn’t touch what Pastrnak currently is as a player, but I felt it made more sense than comparing him to small playmakers.

Matvei Michkov, RW, SKA: Nikita Kucherov

Finding a comparable for Michkov is quite difficult, and frankly, I don’t think there is one. I debated Kane, who I think is a similar skater and similar frame-wise, but their play styles are very different — Kane is an elite playmaker and Michkov is a scorer — even if their pure skill levels have a lot of rhymes. I chose Kucherov because while he’s a slightly better skater and has more physicality than Michkov, he can also score a lot of goals and both have special hockey sense. I could buy either player as the comp, while also admitting there are very few players in recent history who have had the success I’m projecting Michkov to have and actually have his skill set as a barely-5-foot-10 winger with