Seattle Kraken select Oscar Fisker Molgaard No. 52 overall in 2023 NHL Draft

For the first time in four years, a Danish player heard his name called at the NHL Draft. On Thursday at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, the Seattle Kraken made Oscar Fisker Molgaard the No. 52 overall pick of the 2023 Draft, landing him in the second round.

Fisker Molgaard, 18, is a two-way center who profiles as a coach’s pet. He has elite defensive awareness in all three zones and has a knack for breaking up scoring chances. Because of his natural maturity, he spent the majority of his season playing with and against men. He played 41 games with HV71 in Sweden’s top league and competed for Denmark at the 2023 World Championship.

Offensively, his game doesn’t pop nearly as much. His refined hockey brain equips him with decent playmaking skills and vision. He’s shown scoring chops when playing against his contemporaries in the Swedish junior circuit. Earlier this year, he told Daily Faceoff prospect analyst Steven Ellis that he models his game after Sidney Crosby and fellow Dane Frans Nielsen. The more accurate comparable is definitely Nielsen, however. And it’s unlikely Fisker Molgaard even reaches Nielsen’s ceiling as a 50-point player.

But Fisker Molgaard brings such great defensive acumen that he has as strong chance to play in the NHL as a bottom-six forward, the type a coach trusts to protect a lead late in games.

STEVEN ELLIS’ SCOUTING REPORT

“The fact that a 2005-born played more than 40 games against some of the best competition in Europe is nothing to sneeze at. He was excellent against U-20 competition, and, honestly, the smart, controlled center could end up becoming one of the biggest steals of the draft given his pro-ready tools.”