2023 NHL Draft: Complete First Round Draft Order

The 2023 NHL Draft is on Wednesday night beginning with the first round at Bridgestone Arena. It begins at 7 p.m. on ESPN.

Here’s the official draft order of the 1st Round as of 6/23/23:

1. Chicago
2. Anaheim
3. Columbus
4. San Jose
5. Montreal
6. Arizona
7. Philadelphia
8. Washington
9. Detroit
10. St. Louis
11. Vancouver
12. Arizona (from Ottawa)
13. Buffalo
14. Pittsburgh
15. Nashville
16. Calgary
17. Detroit (from NY Islanders via Vancouver)
18. Winnipeg
19. Chicago (from Tampa Bay)
20. Seattle
21. Minnesota
22. Philadelphia (from Los Angeles via Columbus)
23. NY Rangers
24. Nashville (from Edmonton)
25. St. Louis (from Toronto)
26. San Jose (from New Jersey)
27. Colorado
28. Toronto (from Boston via Washington)
29. St. Louis (from Dallas via NY Rangers)
30. Carolina
31. Montreal (from Florida)
32. Vegas

(via ESPN.com)

So as of right now the Washington Capitals hold the eighth overall pick but we recently talked about the team being rumored to trade up so this draft order is of course subject to change.

It looks like based on that rumor the Caps are all in on Matvei Michkov but so are other teams like the Montreal Canadiens and Philadelphia Flyers. So that’s the motive behind trading up.

Here’s what Elite Prospects said about Michkov in their 2023 NHL Draft Guide:

"The rare triple-threat winger, Michkov is a constant threat to find the back of the net. His puck skills are near the top of the draft, owing to immense creativity, hip pocket handling, dextrous hands, and a never-say-die attitude. You may think that you have him, but most of the time, you really don’t. His ability to problem-solve his way out of defensive pressure is at a level all its own. Michkov creates plays on the ice that we can’t even fathom with the benefit of a bird’s eye view."

For SKA Neva St. Petersburg he had 10 goals and four assists for 14 points in 12 games. When he was loaned to HK Sochi he recorded nine goals and 11 assists for 20 points in 27 games.