2023 NHL Draft: Odds to be selected with the No. 3 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft

The 2023 NHL Draft should get interesting once we get to the No. 3 overall pick. The Columbus Blue Jackets own the third pick in the draft and we should see Connor Bedard and Adam Fantilli go before they're up. If that's the case, there are a few prospects who could go third overall. Let's take a look at the odds on DraftKings Sportsbook.

2023 NHL Draft odds

The odds for this market had been all over the place prior to draft day. The two most likely players to be selected here are Swedish forward Leo Carlsson and U.S. center Will Smith.

Many believe that outside of Bedard and Fantilli, Smith is the best prospect. He's pretty safe when looking at comparable American forward prospects in the past. Smith scored 127 points in 60 games for the U.S. National Team Development Program. The Massachusetts native also scored an additional 42 points in 20 games in the USHL and 20 points for the U18 U.S. team at the World Junior Championship. He's second all-time in USNTDP history in points with 191, behind Jack Hughes. His 127 points this past season are also second all-time in team history. Yes, better than Hughes, Auston Matthews, Clayton Keller, Patrick Kane and Cole Caufield to name a few stars.

As for Carlsson, he's got good size and would fit a similar need for the Blue Jackets, either at center or on the wing. He had already been playing in the SHL, Sweden's top professional league, at age 17. Carlsson had 25 points in 44 games in the SHL in 2022-23 and added six points in seven games for Sweden at the U20 WJC. He has a strong two-way game with a high hockey IQ. That combination of size and skill is why Carlsson is being touted as a top-3 pick. He shouldn't fall past the fourth or fifth pick in the draft.

Further down, there's Fantilli. It would be surprising to see the Ducks pass on Fantilli and if that is the case, the Blue Jackets would be almost guaranteed to take him at No. 3. Michkov is the other realistic option for Columbus. The Blue Jackets also could view Michkov as a good stash option since he's not expected to come over to the NHL for another three seasons. But ideally, the Jackets would like to bring in a player immediately to go with Johnny Gaudreau and Patrik Laine. With that in mind, Carlsson makes the most sense.

Leo Carlsson -175
Will Smith +200
Adam Fantilli +450
Matvei Michkov +900
Ryan Leonard +3000
David Reinbacher +3500
Dalibor Dvorsky +4500
Zach Benson +7500

  
Read Full Article