Previewing the 2023 NHL Draft with Assistant GM Martin Madden

The scouting trips are complete, and it's almost time to hear the names called at next week's NHL Draft in Nashville.

The Ducks will find themselves right in the thick of the action from the beginning, currently set to make the third second overall pick in franchise history (Bobby Ryan '05, Oleg Tverdovsky '94).

With nine picks in total on the docket, AnaheimDucks.com caught up with one of the sport's premier draft gurus, Ducks Assistant General Manager and Director of Amateur Scouting Martin Madden, for his thoughts heading into the big two days on Broadway.

How does this draft class stack up to those in recent years?
Madden: Well, I know there's been a lot of hype on this class for a while now. It looks great statistically. The way I would characterize it is that it is very good at the top, and we'll see 10 years from now just how deep it was.

Having said that, we're happy with the type of players we're looking at in the second and early third rounds. We're excited about who we're gonna get with those picks. Going through our meetings, I think there's no doubt we're gonna get players that we're excited about in the first three rounds.

With the draft scouting process heavily affected by COVID-19 challenges in recent years, how was it this season to get back to a relatively normal scouting schedule?MM:It was basically 100% back to normal. I didn't miss one scouting trip because of some unforeseen event or last-second illness. The only thing I would say is not 100% back is the flying is not quite as easy as it was. That's probably the only thing that hasn't totally gotten back to normal. But even at that, it didn't affect us much as a group. We didn't miss any major events. Really, just a few longer days in the airport (laughs).

With a full year now of working with General Manager Pat Verbeek, how was your relationship progressed and how does that help identify players who fit his vision for the Ducks style of play?MM: The more time we spend talking about the type of player he wants for our team, the easier it is to narrow our focus. It's evolved too because he likes to scout, which makes it much easier to discuss players. He hasn't just seen those top guys on video. He's seen them live, so we can discuss nuances of players and he can relate to that. It's made the transition easy.

For a fan unfamiliar with the scouting process, how long have you been studying the top players available in the draft?MM: I would say, for the top 15 picks, we have been watching them closely for two years, because they were really good players last year as well. At the very, very top, those guys were good as double underagers, so we've seen them in events against guys two years older. So I would say three years for the top-end guys in the class.

With several projected top prospects available to the Ducks at No. 2, what quality of player do you expect that pick to become?MM: I don't mind characterizing the top five, or certainly top four depending on if you want to include one extra player, as excellent. I think 2, 3 and 4 are going to be impact players in the league. They're all going to be different players, I think actually quite different in what they bring and how they bring it, as much statistically as the impact they have on a team and its competitiveness in the league. I believe those players are all special.

How would you describe the play styles of Adam Fantilli, Leo Carlsson and Will Smith?MM: Fantilli is a fast-paced, straight line, skilled forward. Carlsson is an intelligent, creative big man who is imposing and competitive. Smith is a creative, fast, elusive and dynamic forward.

When will you finalize who you are selecting with the second overall pick?MM: Well, I think we know, but as scouts we're not the only ones involved in this process. It is still a draft pick, and a lot of things can happen with a draft pick. We've debated the order of our top five and I think we know where the passions of the staff lie. There have been impassioned arguments for those five players. So we know where we stand as a group, and I understand where everyone is at individually. When we have gathered all the information, Pat has made his rounds around the league and has all the info there, that's when we'll make the final decision.

Obviously, most fans will be primarily focused on that second overall selection but what sort of opportunity do the Ducks have to add to their developing young core with four of the first 33 picks on Day 2 of the draft?MM: When you look back at organizations that have won in this league, they have a base of core produced players, and those players come mostly from the first three rounds. We know it's not an exact science but when you've got more opportunities to add more players from that pool, that's how you build your depth. We've started that process and it's exciting because we'll keep building on it. That's the way we approach it.