With the amount of talented centers expected to be selected in the top-five of the 2023 NHL Draft, Dalibor Dvorsky could be the Arizona Coyotes best option.
The 2023 NHL Draft class is headlined by young talented centers.
It seems likely that centers Connor Bedard, Adam Fantilli, Leo Carlson and Will Smith will be selected in the top-five of the first round. If the Coyotes are in search of a center with the sixth overall pick, Dalibor Dvorsky could be their best available option.
The Slovakian born forward played 38 games with AIK’s junior team where he had six goals, eight assists and 14 points. He also placed third among all Under-18 skaters in goals with 20 while on the Nationell junior under-20 team.
Standing at 6 '1'’and weighing at about 201 pounds, Dvorsky has a good frame for a center which he uses to make an impact defensively.
“He’s sound positionally defensively. He uses his body to gain inside positioning on defenders and shields pucks effectively,” The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler wrote. “He has struggled in spurts with the pace required of centres at higher levels (whether that be last summer’s world juniors, or the pro game, he could stand to get and play a little quicker) and some scouts worry about his consistency at five-on-five, but he has shown important progress on that front and showed well at this winter’s world juniors at evens.”
While the 17-year-old still needs to develop as a skater, his hockey IQ on top of his rocket of a shot make Dvorsky a formidable offensive talent coming into the draft with plenty of time to develop.
“Dvorsky is a versatile forward with hands and offensive smartness that is one of the best in the 2023 draft class,” Fredrik Haak of FC Hockey wrote. “When you combine that with a shot that has both enormous power and accuracy you know you won’t get disappointed when he gets into the offensive zone.”
If Dvorsky lives up to his potential, he has the ability to be a reliable two-way center and a top-six forward in the NHL.
The Coyotes already have a promising young center in their prospect pool. Logan Cooley is a natural goalscorer and extremely fast skater who very well could be an offensive juggernaut playing in Arizona for years to come.
Dvorsky meanwhile can balance out the lineup by playing more of a defensive center role matching up against the opposing team's best players while logging in critical short-handed minutes. Having Cooley and Dvorsky down the middle would be extremely valuable since both bring completely different traits to the table.
The draft begins on June 28 in Nashville, Tennessee at Bridgestone Arena.