The five biggest fallers heading into the NHL Draft

So much can change in an instant during NHL Draft season.

Prospects have to deal with “first impressions” every single night of the year. For all they know, the scouts watching them that night might be seeing them for the first time. You want to stand out, and a bad showing can leave a bad taste in the mouth of a talent evaluator – someone who might possess the power to make or break your career.

And then there’s the fact we’re dealing with teenagers, many of whom are still growing, both from a physical and a maturity standpoint. There’s so much pressure on these young men to perform every single night, and, sometimes, they can’t live up to the hype.

In a draft as strong as 2023, some players fell just due to the depth of talent available. Others just didn’t improve enough, or even took steps back in their game. Luckily, if they’ve been deemed a “faller,” they had to have been highly rated at one point. Maybe one of the players listed below will end up becoming a nice sleeper candidate.

Here’s a look at five prospects that fell down the ranks this year.

Cameron Allen, D (Guelph, OHL)

Early on, Allen was projected to be a top five prospect and the first defenseman taken. Fast forward to June, and he’s looking more like a third-round pick. Allen wasn’t able to build upon a successful rookie campaign with Guelph, with many of his defensive inconsistencies getting exposed this season. The good news: he still played close to 30 minutes a night and was capable of some great performances. He is confident enough to get creative with the puck, which allowed him to succeed as a rookie. But at the U-18s, and throughout the early parts of the season, he looked completely lost. In two weeks in Switzerland, it was like he erased all goodwill he gained on the ice with some terrible decision-making mistakes.

Luckily, falling outside the top 70 could end up making him an incredible value pick, and one scouts aren’t ready to write-off. If he can relax and play the more calm, cool and collected game that made him dominant as a Draft+1 year, he’ll be able to bounce back. Right now? It’s hard to get a true read.

Charlie Stramel, C (University of Wisconsin, NCAA)

Stramel was projected to be a first-rounder heading into the season, but one most accepted would need to find some hidden offensive talent to remain that high. That never happened, with the 6-foot-3, 216-pound forward scoring just five goals and 12 points for Wisconsin.

Fortunately, the other qualities that make him an interesting prospect remain. He has size and isn’t afraid to use it, he’s difficult to take the puck off of and he’s a stout small-area passer. When you look at his size, it’s easy to label him a power forward, but he doesn’t generate offense like that. Put it this way: I wouldn’t want to go 1-on-1 with him along the boards. But right now, he needs to show he’s more than just a bruiser.

Theo Lindstein, D (Brynas, SWE U-20)

Lindstein made his SHL debut at 16 and was almost always ahead of his age group growing up. But at a certain point, it seemed like his progress started to fizzle out a bit. It was great to see him play so much with Brynas’ pro team, but it seemed like his previous confidence against his own age group didn’t shine through until the latter part of the season.

If teams are hoping to find the bright young defender we were watching a year or two again, they might take him much earlier. I just didn’t love his progress this year. Like Allen, there’s potential for him to find that magic again.

Tyler Peddle, LW (Drummondville, QMJHL)

After going second overall at the 2021 QMJHL Draft, there were many that expected Peddle to blossom into a high-end talent. He’s also a perfect example of why we shouldn’t be labeling 13-year-olds as “elite” prospects. In a year where draft talent out of the QMJHL was sparse, Peddle’s inability to stand out was prominent. The Drummondville Voltigeurs were not a good team, and he didn’t have great setup guys to work with.

The biggest reason why he went from a potential first-rounder to the 137th-ranked prospect by Daily Faceoff was a lack of true progress in his game. Fortunately, he’s a lethal shooter that can absolutely fly out there. If he can put that together and his offensive game skyrockets, then Peddle could become one of the best steals of the draft. The potential is there, but he needs to actually do something with it.

Ondrej Molnar, LW (Erie, OHL)

After a difficult start to the year in the top Slovakian league, there was hope a change of scenery with the OHL’s Erie Otters would help put Molnar back on track. The potential was there, his transition game was already high end and he showed some definite upside. But the numbers didn’t follow, as he scored just four goals and 19 points in 34 games.

Granted, he played on one of the lowest-scoring teams in the league. Fortunately, the group should take some steps forward next year with Malcolm Spence leading the charge. He wasn’t able to replicate the success he saw a year ago which made him part of the surge of Slovak talent, but a fresh season in one place could have its benefits.