Welcome to the 2023 NHL draft. From the first round all the way to pick No. 224, this page will be your home for tracking every selection, including notes on team fit for the 32 players taken in the first round from Ryan S. Clark, Kristen Shilton and Greg Wyshynski.
ESPN will broadcast the first round of the draft, with a simulcast on ESPN+. Rounds 2 through 7 will take place on Thursday, beginning at 11 a.m. ET, and will be broadcast on the NHL Network, with a stream available on ESPN+.
How he fits: There’s a reason why this was colloquially known as the “Bedard Draft.” Bedard is considered by several evaluators as a generational talent. He gives the rebuilding Blackhawks a playmaking center who is also prolific. The 17-year-old scored 71 goals and 143 points for the Regina Pats in the WHL this season. Everything Bedard provides is why there is a belief he can be the face of a new Blackhawks era with the club entering its first season without Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews for the first time since 2007. — Wyshynski
How he fits: Getting a center was a priority for the Ducks, who had a number of options. They surprised a number of people by taking Leo Carlsson. The 6-foot-3 center showcased his skills across all levels in 2022-23 by playing for Orebro in the SHL, the highest division of Swedish hockey and when he represented Sweden in various international competitions. The hulking two-way center adds to what was an already promising nucleus that has Jamie Drysdale, Mason Marchment, Troy Terry and Trevor Zegras. — Wyshynski
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Ducks select Leo Carlsson with the No. 2 overall pick
The Anaheim Ducks select Leo Carlsson with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 NHL draft.
How he fits: Columbus absolutely needed a player like Adam Fantilli — and Anaheim’s surprising selection of Leo Carlsson at No. 2 left Fantilli at the Blue Jackets’ feet. Fantilli — a standout freshman at the University of Michigan and the reigning Hobey Baker winner as the NCAA’s top men’s hockey player — is an imposing center who will immediately make Columbus more dangerous down the middle (assuming, of course, he decides to leave the college scene). Regardless of when Fantilli slots in, he’ll be able to drive his own line, elevate teammates and generate consistent production across the board. He already put together a 65-point season for the Wolverines. What would his NHL output look like out of the gate? After the bitterly disappointing season the Blue Jackets just endured, they have to hope that answer comes sooner than later. — Shilton
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Blue Jackets take Adam Fantilli with the No. 3 overall pick
The Columbus Blue Jackets take Michigan’s Adam Fantilli with the third overall pick of the 2023 NHL draft.
How he fits: The first thing we can recognize about WIll Smith — a center from the U.S. National Team Development program — is he’s got a healthy sense of humor: The Sharks’ draftee chose as his walk-out song after being selected the theme song to — naturally — “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.” Gotta appreciate that. What San Jose will appreciate is the high-end skill set Smith brings to its ranks. A smart two-way center, Smith is a gifted puck handler and primetime playmaker who can make skaters around him better and contribute on special teams, particularly in a penalty killing role. And given the rebuilding mode San Jose has been through in recent years the promise of what Smith will eventually add on a regular basis has to be truly exciting. Smith is a spark plug who should eventually be a top-line skater for the Sharks. — Shilton
CHICAGO — Kyle Tucker had the fans on their feet, roaring and pumping their fists as he rounded the bases after hitting the go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning. His screaming line drive cleared the right-field wall with plenty of room to spare.
The Chicago Cubs went from giving up 10 runs in the eighth to scoring six in the bottom half and beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 13-11 on Friday in one of the wildest games on record.
The two teams combined for 21 runs in the seventh and eighth innings, with the Cubs scoring 11 runs and the D-backs plating 10. It was the first nine-inning game in MLB history in which both teams scored 10 or more runs from the seventh inning on, and the third game overall, according to ESPN Research.
“That’s kind of baseball,” Tucker said. “There’s a lot of ups and downs in this game, especially with how many games we play.”
There haven’t been many games like this, though.
The Cubs are just the seventh team in at least the past 125 seasons to allow 10 or more runs in an inning and win. They are also the fifth team to give up 10 or more runs and score six or more in the same inning.
The 16 combined runs in the eighth were the most in an inning at Wrigley Field, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
“If you’ve seen that one, you’ve been around for a while,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said with a laugh. “It was crazy. You know, we gave up 10 runs in an inning and we won. So it was a wild game, but we kept going, and, you know, there’s 27 outs in a game and this kind of proves it, and you’re just happy to get out with a win.”
On a warm day with the ball carrying, Carson Kelly homered twice. Ian Happ belted a grand slam and Seiya Suzuki went deep, helping the Cubs open a weekend series on a winning note.
“You’ve seen it early — having some tough losses, coming back winning the next day,” Happ said. “Losing the first game of the series, winning the series. Little things like that. Today’s a great example of professional hitters going out there and continuing to have really good at-bats.”
The way things transpired in the final two innings was something to see.
Kelly hit a two-run homer in the second against Corbin Burnes, and Happ came through with his grand slam against Ryne Nelson as part of a five-run seventh. But just when it looked as if the Cubs were in control with a 7-1 lead, things took a wild turn in the eighth.
The crowd of more than 39,000 let the Cubs hear it, but their team regrouped in the bottom half. Bryce Jarvis hit Nico Hoerner leading off and walked Pete Crow-Armstrong before Kelly drove a three-run homer to center. Tucker, the Cubs’ prized offseason addition, came through after Happ singled with one out. Suzuki followed with his drive against Joe Mantiply to give the Cubs a 13-11 lead.
Arizona, which had won five straight, became just the third team over the past 50 seasons to lose a game in which it had a 10-run inning at any point, according to ESPN Research.
“You just got to stay locked in,” Kelly said. “Obviously, you don’t want to … give up 10 in an inning. Obviously, you don’t want to do that. I think the biggest thing is coming back, regrouping and continuing to fight.”
Major League Baseball suspended New York Yankees infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. for one game and fined him an undisclosed amount, the result of his actions during Thursday night’s win against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Chisholm was ejected in the seventh inning by plate umpire John Bacon for arguing after a called third strike on a full-count pitch from Mason Montgomery that appeared low.
Minutes later, he posted on his X account, “Not even f—ing close!!!!!” then deleted the post.
“I didn’t think before I had anything that I said was ejectable but after probably,” Chisholm said after the game. “I’m a competitor, so when I go out there and I feel like I’m right and you’re saying something to me that I think doesn’t make sense, I’m going to get fired up and be upset.
“I lost my emotions. I lost my cool. I got to be better than that. … I’m definitely mad at myself for losing my cool.”
Michael Hill, the league’s senior vice president for on-field operations, said Friday’s discipline was for Chisholm’s “conduct, including his violation of Major League Baseball’s Social Media Policy for Major League Players.”
MLB regulations ban the use of electronic devices during games. The social media policy prohibits “displaying or transmitting content that questions the impartiality of or otherwise denigrates a major league umpire.”
Chisholm did appeal the decision, allowing him to play in Friday night’s 1-0 win against the Rays. He started at second base and went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Manager Dave Roberts said before the Dodgers’ series opener Friday night against the Rangers that Ohtani was with his wife and going on MLB’s paternity list.
“He and Mamiko are expecting at some point. That’s all I know,” Roberts said. “I don’t know when he’s going to come back and I don’t know when they’re going to have the baby, but obviously they’re together in anticipation.”
The 30-year-old Ohtani posted on his Instagram account in late December that he and his 28-year-old wife, a former professional basketball player from his native Japan, were expecting a baby in 2025.
“Can’t wait for the little rookie to join our family soon!” said the Dec. 28 post that included a photo showing the couple’s beloved dog, Decoy, as well as a pink ruffled onesie along with baby shoes and a sonogram that was covered by a baby emoji.
Ohtani can miss up to three games while on paternity leave. The Dodgers have a three-game series in Texas before an off day Monday, then play the Cubs in Chicago on Tuesday.