A year ago, Anaheim Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek surprised many draft observers by taking Swedish teen Leo Carlsson of the SHL with the No. 2 pick instead of Hobey Baker Award-winning Adam Fantilli.
While his rookie season was marked by a load management plan in the half and some injuries that knocked him out of the lineup, Carlsson showed the flashes of his high-end talent that left the Ducks playing him as their No. 1 center.
Now, could Verbeek have another shocker in mind with the No. 3 pick Friday night?
Beckett Sennecke has been shooting up draft boards following an outstanding finish to his Ontario Hockey League season. The 18-year-old Toronto native had seven goals and 22 points over his final 12 regular-season games for the Oshawa Generals and then had 10 goals and 22 points in 16 OHL playoff games. He’d lead the Generals with 207 shots on goal.
It is the skill set that Sennecke has which makes teams think he could be a star on right wing. He’s grown to 6 feet, 2 inches and could get bigger, yet is a strong skater that’s using his growing body to his advantage while having soft hands and silky moves to make skilled plays for himself and his teammates. At one point, Sennecke was thought to be chosen in the middle of the first round. Now it’s looking like he could go in the top 10, perhaps even into the top five if a team is that high on his potential.
There is a sense that Chicago could go with Michigan State defenseman Artyom Levshunov at No. 2 and a strong feeling that Verbeek could turn to towering KHL blueliner Anton Silayev if that plays out. But as there was growing suspicion in the days before the 2023 draft that the Ducks would go in the direction of Carlsson, momentum appears to be building for Sennecke to be the one they call. He’d add to a burgeoning forward prospect pool that complements their existing strong group of young defensemen.
Verbeek is not one to tip his hand. Almost about anything. But one shouldn’t rule out his capacity to throw a curveball on draft night.
