2023 NHL Draft: NHL Central Scouting's Top 10 European Prospects

Draft day is almost here!

In the coming days, arizonacoyotes.com will preview some of the top-ranked prospects, as rated by NHL Central Scouting. The list is divided among North American and European skaters based upon what league they played in during the 2022-23 season, and today's post looks at the top ten European skaters.

The second-and-final part of this series will run on Thursday.

On to the show!

Name: Leo Carlsson
Position: Center
Age: 18
Home Country: Sweden
Height/Weight/Shot: 6-foot-3; 198 pounds; Left
2022-23 League: SHL (Örebro HK)
NHL Central Scouting Rank: 1

Scouting Report
Carlsson is likely to go within the first five picks of the draft, but his name is worth highlighting in this list. The 18-year-old Swede wowed all season long in Sweden's top league, the SHL, notching 10 goals and 15 assists in 44 games played. He contributed nine points in Örebro's semifinal playoff run, and truly impressed with Team Sweden on the international stage this season at both the 2023 World Junior Championship (3G, 3A, 7G) and World Championship (3G, 2A, 8G).

The young phenom's 15 assists and 25 points were the most by any Junior - an honor also earned by Moritz Seider, Elias Lindholm, and Nicklas Bäckström, among others - and he was also named the Swedish Junior Hockey Player of the Year.

Name: Matvei Michkov
Position: Right Wing
Age: 18
Home Country: Russia
Height/Weight/Shot: 5-foot-10; 172 pounds; Left
2022-23 League: KHL (SKA St. Petersburg, HK Sochi), VHL (SKA-Neva St. Petersburg), MHL (Kapitan Stupino)
NHL Central Scouting Rank: 2

Scouting Report
The incredibly talented Michkov is high on everyone's list, and it's easy to see why, as the 18-year-old Russian is a highly skilled, highly decorated forward with a renown shooting ability. The Russian winger recovered from a knee injury last fall, but picked up right where he left off after being loaned to KHL's HK Sochi in December, recording nine goals and 11 assists in 20 games.

There's a catch with the dynamic forward, though, as he has already made it clear that, while he dreams of playing in the NHL someday, he plans on continuing his development in the KHL, where his contract runs through the 2025-26 season.

Name: Dalibor Dvorský
Position: Center
Age: 18
Home Country: Slovakia
Height/Weight/Shot: 6-foot-1; 201 pounds; Left
2022-23 League: HockeyAllsvenskan (AIK)
NHL Central Scouting Rank: 3

Scouting Report
Dvorský impressed this season in the AIK, a league below the SHL in Sweden. In 38 games with HockeyAllsvenkan he recorded six goals and eight assists, an impressive feat considering he was just 17 years old at the time. The Zvolen, Slovakia native's 14 points were the most by a U18 Junior for Hockey Allsvenskan, and he was also named to the All-Star team at the U18 Worlds after notching 13 points in just seven games.

Name: Eduard Sale
Position: Left Wing
Age: 18
Home Country: Czechia
Height/Weight/Shot: 6-foot-2; 174 pounds; Left
2022-23 League: Czech Extraliga (HC Kometa Brno)
NHL Central Scouting Rank: 4

Scouting Report
Sale recorded seven goals and seven assists in 43 games while playing for HC Kometa Brno in Czechia's top league, Czech Extraliga. Those 14 points earned him the league's rookie of the year honors, and he also had a memorable World Junior Championship after he earned a silver medal with Team Czechia. He was also named a Top-3 player for Czechia at the U18 Worlds, where he was an alternate captain.

Name: David Reinbacher
Position: Defenseman
Age: 18
Home Country: Austria
Height/Weight/Shot: 6-foot-2; 185 pounds; Right
2022-23 League: NL (EHC Kloten)
NHL Central Scouting Rank: 5

Scouting Report
The 18-year-old Austrian showed superb vision and hockey sense in Switzerland's top-tier National League, as evidenced by his 19 assists in 46 games with EHC Kloten. He was voted the media's most improved player at the season's conclusion, and was also named a top-3 player on Team Switzerland's World Junior Championship team.

Name: Otto Stenberg
Position: Center
Age: 18
Home Country: Sweden
Height/Weight/Shot: 5-foot-11, 181 pounds, Left
2022-23 League: SHL (Frölunda HC)
NHL Central Scouting Rank: 6

Scouting Report
Stenberg may not be as heralded as some of the predecessors on this list, but his accomplishments in 2022-23 cannot be ignored. The 18-year-old won a Hlinka Gretzky Cup Silver Medal in addition to earning a silver at the U18 World Championships, where he was named to the All-Star team after notching seven goals and nine assists in seven games. Stenberg isn't as experienced in the top-tier leagues, as he's played just 25 games, including two playoff games with Frölunda HC in the SHL, so it will take some time to acclimate to a more experienced league.

Name: Axel Sandin Pellikka
Position: Defenseman
Age: 18
Home Country: Sweden
Height/Weight/Shot: 5-foot-11; 176 pounds; Right
2022-23 League: SHL (Skellefteå AIK), J20 Nationell (Skellefteå AIK J20)
NHL Central Scouting Rank: 7

Scouting Report
Sandin Pellikka has enjoyed a meteoric rise up the prospect charts throughout the 2022-23 season thanks, in part, to stellar offensive performances in both the J20 Nationell Junior league in Sweden and the U18 World Championship. In J20 Nationell, the 18-year-old scored the most goals by a defenseman (16), racking up 36 points in 31 games en route to being named the league's top blue liner. He also earned top defenseman honors at the U18 Worlds -- in addition to being named to the All-Star Team -- and won a silver medal with Team Sweden.

Name: Lenni Hämeenaho
Position: Right Wing
Age: 18
Home Country: Finland
Height/Weight/Shot: 6-foot-0; 173 pounds, Right
2022-23 League: Liiga (Ässät)
NHL Central Scouting Rank: 8

Scouting Report
Hämeenaho impressed during his first season with Ässät in Finland's top league, Liiga (Finnish Elite League), potting nine goals while adding 12 assists in 51 games. He chipped in four points in eight playoff games, and also recorded a goal and an assist in five games with Team Finland at the 2023 World Juniors. The Kajaani, Finland native won bronze at the U18 Worlds in 2021-22, in addition to winning gold at the European Youth Olympic Winter Festival that same season.

Name: Daniil But
Position: Left Wing
Age: 18
Home Country: Russia
Height/Weight/Shot: 6-foot-5; 203 pounds; Right
2022-23 League: KHL (Lokomotiv Yaroslavl), MHL (Loko Yaroslavl)
NHL Central Scouting Rank: 9

Scouting Report
But played 15 games in the KHL this season, scoring two goals, but he truly shined in Russia's Junior Hockey League, the MHL. He was a point-per-game player with Loko Yaroslavl, registering 15 goals and 11 assists in 26 games, before adding another nine points in seven playoff games. He was selected to the MHL All-Star game in 2022-23, though he did not play in the game.

Name: Mikhail Gulyayev
Position: Defenseman
Age: 18
Home Country: Russia
Height/Weight/Shot: 5-foot-10; 172 pounds; Left
2022-23 League: KHL (Avangard Omsk), MHL (Omski Yastreby)
NHL Central Scouting Rank: 10

Scouting Report
Gulyayev has put up two solid seasons in a row in the MHL, following his 35-point 2021-22 campaign with 25 points in 22 games this season. The 18-year-old chipped in 10 points in 17 playoff games, and earned MHL defenseman of the week honors for the week of Nov. 28, 2022.