Golden Knights have options at 2023 NHL draft in Nashville

The Stanley Cup champion Golden Knights, unlike some recent winners of hockey’s ultimate prize, aren’t just going to be spectators when the NHL draft begins Wednesday in Nashville, Tennessee.

The Knights have five selections, including their first-round pick at 32nd overall. That bucks a recent title-winning trend.

Colorado only added two players in last year’s draft, with its selections coming in the sixth and seventh rounds. Tampa Bay didn’t have a first- or second-round pick the draft before that.

The Knights, if they hold onto their selection, would be the second Stanley Cup winner since 2014 to draft in the first round.

“We go to the NHL draft as the Stanley Cup champion with a first-round pick,” general manager Kelly McCrimmon said three days after the season ended. “You go backwards and look at how many times that’s happened. It doesn’t happen very often.”

The Knights’ other selections are their own third-, sixth- and seventh-round picks, plus Buffalo’s third-round pick at 77th overall as a result of the trade for center Jack Eichel.

The Knights surrendered their second-round pick in that same deal. They sent their fourth-round pick to Montreal at last year’s draft to select goaltender Cameron Whitehead 128th overall and gave up their fifth-round pick to move defenseman Shea Weber’s contract to Arizona in February.

Whoever the Knights do pick isn’t guaranteed to stay with the organization. Five of the team’s six first-round selections have been traded in the chase for a championship. Those deals allowed the team to add important players like Eichel, captain Mark Stone and left wing Ivan Barbashev.

The Knights also sent out their first-round picks before the draft in 2018 and 2022 to acquire left wing Tomas Tatar and Eichel, respectively.

“Winning was a real priority for us after we had that year one success,” McCrimmon said. “If we wanted to be a contending team on a consistent basis, we needed to improve the personnel. We’ve done that every year.”

The one prospect they’ve held onto is the 29th overall pick in 2020, right wing Brendan Brisson. The 21-year-old had 18 goals and 37 points in 58 games in his first year as a professional last season in Henderson.

The Knights have seen other draft picks develop into crucial members of the organization. Defenseman Nic Hague, the 34th overall pick in 2017, was part of arguably the best blue line in the NHL last season. Left wing Paul Cotter, a fourth-round selection in 2018, scored 13 goals.

The Knights will have a lot of options when choosing who else to add to their pipeline, which was ranked 21st before the start of last season by Elite Prospects and 23rd in January by The Athletic. Here are 10 players expected to be available around pick 32:

■ Oliver Bonk, D, London (Ontario Hockey League)

The 18-year-old has good size at 6 feet 2 inches, is a right shot and is expected to provide solid all-around value on the blue line as his career progresses. He scored 40 points in 67 games last season.

■ Gavin Brindley, C, Michigan (NCAA)

He’s on the small side at 5-9, but he was the Wolverines’ fifth-leading scorer as a freshman with 38 points in 41 games. The 18-year-old is a sharp skater with enough versatility to play a variety of roles.

■ Lukas Dragicevic, D, Tri-City (Western Hockey League)

He’s the top-rated North American defenseman by NHL Central Scouting and showed off his offensive skill by scoring 75 points in 68 games last season. The 18-year-old, who is a right shot, has work to do on defense.

■ David Edstrom, C, Frolunda (Swedish Hockey League)

The 18-year-old brings good size down the middle at 6-3 and scored 15 goals and 28 points in 28 games for his junior team last season. He also put up four points in 11 games against men in the SHL.

■ Ethan Gauthier, RW, Drummondville (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League)

The QMJHL’s first overall pick in 2021 scored 30 goals in 66 games last season for Sherbrooke before being traded this offseason. The 5-11 forward should know what it takes at the next level, given his father, Denis, played 554 NHL games.

■ Kasper Halttunen, RW, Hifk (Liiga in Finland)

The 18-year-old has a 6-3 frame to dream on as a power forward but needs more polish to reach his potential. He has shined on international duty, scoring six goals and 10 points in five games at the U-18 World Championships in April.

■ Riley Heidt, C, Prince George (WHL)

He put up 97 points in 67 games last season thanks to impressive vision and strong playmaking instincts. The 18-year-old has a chance to be a great power-play player, but will need to improve his skating to stay impactful five-on-five.

■ Tanner Molendyk, D, Saskatoon (WHL)

He’s a strong skater who can transport the puck zone-to-zone on his own. That might be enough for teams to bet on the 18-year-old left-shot blueliner, even if he’s not massive at 6-0 and doesn’t have the most exciting skillset on offense.

■ Bradly Nadeau, LW, Penticton (British Columbia Hockey League)

He had an incredible offensive season with 45 goals and 113 points in 54 games, albeit in a league that’s considered a step down from some of the others in Canada. Still, he’s got the tools to score. He’s committed to the University of Maine.

■ Charlie Stramel, C, Wisconsin (NCAA)

He didn’t make a huge impact as a freshman, scoring 12 points in 33 games for the Badgers. He still has enough power-forward potential for clubs to hope he can develop in the coming years.

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.