The easiest way to understand what we lack in-depth knowledge of is to compare it to something we do know.

When it comes to the prospects to be drafted later this month in Nashville during the 2023 NHL Draft, it's the best way to illustrate what the top players of this year's class might be able to do when they make it to the top.

After all, a lot of fans spend most of their time watching their favorite NHL teams and that's about it. Only the most ravenous of us watch junior or college hockey games or even games in Europe to see who among the 17-and-18-year-olds appeals most to them.

After taking in the scouting combine this weekend in Buffalo and with the Vegas Golden Knights a win away from winning the Stanley Cup, it's really time to focus on the draft. Hundreds will be chosen, but we'll keep our eyes on a handful of the players we'll see (likely) chosen in the first round and tell you who they remind us of the most.

Some players mentioned guys they liked to watch and others said they have players they like to model their game after, but their size and skills tell us everything we need to make the call. Will they be the second coming of the players we're comparing them to? If we're lucky and they're that good, they will.

A player like Connor Bedard is a unicorn and he's been endlessly put in the same boat as Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby. The same can be said for Adam Fantilli being like one of either Matthew or Brady Tkachuk. But there are others in the draft you may not know as well, and we'll highlight six of them for you.

Ryan Leonard: Matthew Tkachuk

Florida's Matthew Tkachuk is going to spawn a lot of imitators in the years to come, especially among strong players who enjoy mixing it up and scoring goals.

Ryan Leonard from the US National Team Development Program Under-18 team grew up a Boston Bruins fan (being from Massachusetts and all) and said he loves watching the guys that mix it up, like Tkachuk. At nearly 6'0" and 190 pounds, he's not nearly the size of Tkachuk (who is 6'2", 200), but he plays with tenacity and feeds on playing a physical attacking game.

Leonard was ranked fifth among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting and he'll almost certainly be selected in the top half of the first round, if not the top 10. He plays center or wing and, like the Tkachuk boys, he can get under the skin of just about everyone on the opposing team. Playing for the USNTDP, those opportunities don't always arise, but playing on the top line also means putting the puck in the net more than sitting in the box. He scored 51 goals with 94 points so he showed he can handle all aspects of the game rather well.

If he can fill the net at the next level and do it while also terrorizing defenders and goalies, whoever lands him will be well beyond happy they did if for no other reason than to have a countermeasure against opposing irritants.

Given his Boston-area background and love of the Bruins, that offers Leonard more than a few examples to draw from through recent history for scorers that play strong and upset opponents (see: Milan Lucic and Brad Marchand).

Matthew Wood: Tage Thompson

You don't always take a player's word for it when they say who they think they can play like or who they'd ideally want to be. But sometimes the evidence forces you to make the comparison.

Matthew Wood said he wants to be like Buffalo Sabres star Tage Thompson and sees that he can take the same path. He's even taking the same steps as Thompson as he enters the draft after he finished his freshman season at Connecticut.

Even though Wood isn't 6'7" like Thompson, at 6'3" he's not exactly a little guy. He's able to use his size to make space for himself and he can wire shots with accuracy and velocity like Thompson can. He's also a strong puck handler and does creative things with it when he has it.

Wood scored 11 goals with 34 points in his freshman season in 35 games. Spookier still, Thompson had 14 goals and 32 points in 36 games in his freshman season at Connecticut. Unlike Thompson, however, Wood is ranked fourth among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting which means he heads into the draft with higher expectations (Thompson was ranked 20th in 2016 and was drafted 26th by St. Louis).

Wood said he probably doesn't have another growth spurt on the way so he may not wind up as big as Thompson, but if he develops into a 40-goal scorer in the NHL, that's the kind of emulation everyone should aim to achieve. He might wear 71 because of Evgeni Malkin, but it's Buffalo's No. 72 he hopes to follow right behind.

Will Smith: Jack Hughes

Maybe it's because they're both American players, but when watching USNTDP star Will Smith you can't help but think of Jack Hughes.

Smith is a shifty skater, great on his edges and can handle the puck as if it was on a string and he's a master puppeteer. He's capable of turning nothing into something amazing you'll watch repeatedly on YouTube and he's intensively competitive.

Smith had 51 goals and was second on the team with 127 points with the Under-18 team in 60 games. He was only outscored by Gabe Perreault by five points, although Perreault played three more games. His 2.12 points per game were the best on the NTDP. For comparison, Hughes had 112 points in 50 games during his draft year at the Program, a rate of 2.24 points per game. It's rarified air to be that close to the numbers Hughes posted and Smith was right there with him.

Connor Bedard and Adam Fantilli deserve the top billing and hype at the top of this year's draft, but Smith, ranked third by Central Scouting, is certainly no slouch and the teams checking in after the top two can cash in big time if they're smart. Smith's play makes him a no-brainer for any team in need of elite skill and a fierce competitor.

David Reinbacher: Alex Pietrangelo

Defensemen aren't exactly in vogue for the 2023 draft and that's not really a knock on the quality of blue liners to be had. The forward crop is outstanding and offers more opportunities for teams to make a big splash. But Austrian defenseman David Reinbacher, the top-ranked defenseman and No. 4 skater by NHL Central Scouting among international skaters, provides a team in need of a solid defender to build around the chance to get a good one.

Reinbacher plays in the Swiss National League as opposed to junior hockey and that experience affords him the chance to grow his game. It also gives him an advanced course to prepare for a future in the NHL. In 46 games with EHC Kloten, the right-handed defender had 22 points including three goals. He said Swiss superstar Roman Josi is his favorite defenseman to watch, but Reinbacher's game isn't quite the same style.

Where Josi is an elite puck handler, Reinbacher is a heads-up skater and uses his instincts and intelligence to set him apart. He's also not quite as offensive-minded as Josi, which is fine because Reinbacher will still be able to get his points by making great passes and the right play at the right time, just the way Pietrangelo does with Vegas and certainly did during his time in St. Louis. Using top defensive ability to create offense is every coach's dream from the blue line and Reinbacher excels at that.

Axel Sandin Pellikka: Erik Karlsson

Before you start leaving comments saying, "Dude, this is comparison is ridiculous," or "you're an idiot," let's make this very clear: No one can be the next Erik Karlsson, but Swedish defender Axel Sandin Pellikka is going to do everything in his ability to emulate his game.

Sandin Pellikka stands at nearly 5'11" and 176 pounds and the right-shot defenseman is ranked seventh among international skaters by NHL Central Scouting along with being the No. 2 defenseman behind Reinbacher. Sandin Pellikka said Karlsson is his favorite defenseman to watch and wants to adopt as much of his game as he can into his own. He loves having the puck on his stick and controlling the play.

He's a smooth skater with an excellent handle on the puck and his mind is wired to create offense. Old-school NHL types might grimace about that, but the NHL is meant to be more offensive now and having defensemen that can lead the charge there puts teams at an advantage. If a player like Sandin Pellikka came along 10 years ago at his size and with those ideas of how he liked to play the position, he wouldn't get drafted until later on in the first round. Now a player like that can see success right away in the NHL just so long as they don't totally forego defensive responsibilities.

You can't always draft the next Karlsson, but if you can get someone similar enough to him to be a star, that's a pick worth making.

Matvei Michkov: Patrick Kane

It will be fascinating to see where Russian forward Matvei Michkov is selected in the draft because, on talent alone, he should be in the running to go second overall with Adam Fantilli.

Of course, Michkov's contract in the KHL and the uncertain nature of Russia's invasion of Ukraine may cause him to slip down the board. How far he goes is anyone's guess, but a team choosing Michkov might be able to land one of the best players in the draft, period.

Michkov is listed at 5'10"and 170 pounds which makes him a bit slight, but watching any of his highlight reels out of the KHL will show you he's a young player with the kind of offensive capabilities that only come along once in a while. He's a brilliant puck handler and top-tier creative with it and has a shot that can beat any goalie no matter how well prepared they are.

His skills are breathtaking and a player his size who can both get in and out of traffic with ease as well as speeding past any defender evokes memories of Patrick Kane early on in his career. He's like a water bug with rocket skates with a wicked shot that has laser accuracy.

Any team that can select him and wait for him to join the NHL should do that. The Minnesota Wild did with Kirill Kaprizov and it worked out brilliantly. Michkov might be even better than Kaprizov and that's saying something.