Editor's note: Scouting reports for some of these players come from B/R's 2023 NHL Draft Big Board. You can read those reports here.

The first round of the NHL draft may be complete, but teams still have a lot of work to do. There are six more rounds to complete with a ton of talent still available. Round two may not come with the same glamour, but this is where scouts have to really make their homework count. A handful of players are going to make teams regret passing on them; it's up to the 32 NHL teams to sift through the lot and find the gems.

Here are 13 players worth grabbing on Day 2 of the 2023 NHL Draft.

Andrew Cristall, LW, Kelowna Rockets (WHL)

Cristall is one of the most creative players in the draft. Listed at 5'10" and 165 pounds, Cristall is undeterred simply because he's so elusive. He is among the best in the draft at moving with the puck and changing directions.

Cristall is an adept playmaker who knows how to find critical passing lanes and then exploit them without giving away his intentions with his body language; his hips and eyes will indicate a desire to shoot before he slips the puck to a teammate waiting in his periphery.

The left wing has become a better goal scorer, too. In September, I highlighted his ability to get into scoring positions but unable to finish chances. Cristall's shot is still underwhelming, but he has vastly improved his touch and now placing pucks past goaltenders from closer distances. His 39 goals in 54 WHL regular-season games is a critical improvement from the 28 he had in 61 games last season.

Cristall's 1.76 points per game in the WHL ranked only below Connor Bedard and Logan Stankoven, a top prospect for the Dallas Stars. And while playing on a mediocre Kelowna Rockets team allowed him a lot of ice time and touches of the puck, there's the thought that the best is yet to come for the Vancouver resident. Too often he'd make plays that were beyond the cognition of his linemates.

Some scouts are skeptical of how his game will translate at higher levels. But counterintuitively those problems are why I rate him so highly. Cristall has had to work around his physical shortcomings, and those problem-solving skills will serve him well as he faces new challenges.

With some improvements in his skating and better application of his cerebral style to defensive concepts, Cristall has upside as a top-six, playmaking winger.

Cristall was ranked 15th on the B/R Big Board.

Riley Heidt, C, Prince George Cougars (WHL)

Heidt is one of the most fascinating players in the draft. His highlight reel is mesmerizing. His point totals reflect a surefire top-15 pick. Yet it's far from a given that the former WHL No. 2 overall pick goes in the first round of the NHL draft.

Outside of the top five, Heidt may have the best hands in the draft. He's a gifted stickhandler who casually misfoots defenders. Some of his dekes are Globetrotter-esque. What's more, it's not all for show. Heidt will seamlessly combine a move with a shooting or passing sequence. He's a high-end playmaker who hits teammates on the tape every time.

Heidt is also a hard worker. He skates hard for pucks and battles for ice off the puck. In the defensive zone, he certainly at least puts in an effort.

The end-product for Heidt last season was an impressive 25 goals and 72 assists in 68 WHL games.

However, scouts have concerns about how his game will translate at higher levels. Heidt was overly reliant on power-play production, where he has the time to process developing plays and the space to cook with his hands. He has a much more difficult time at five-on-five. As he moves up the pro ladder and team structures become better and space comes at a premium, it's uncertain how he'll adapt. He's not a great skater, either, which is problematic for someone who needs space to make plays.

But the biggest red flag may be his defensive game. Simply put, it's putrid. To be fair, it's not for lack of effort. It seems he just has trouble figuring out his assignments and assessing threats. Sometimes he is too aggressive and overextends in his attempt at coverage. At other times it looks like his controller came unplugged. He loses or is late to his man far too often. Maybe a move to the wing would be in his best long-term interest.

It's difficult to see Heidt making the NHL as, say, a third-line checking forward. He's either going to be a top-six scorer or peak in the AHL. Perhaps he is an ideal target for a team that either already has a strong prospect pool or owns multiple first-round picks and can afford a high-risk/-high-upside swing.

Heidt ranked 27th on the B/R Big Board.

Lukas Dragicevic, RD, Tri-City Americans (WHL)

If you're looking for the offensive-zone blueliner in this draft, it's currently Lukas Dragicevic.

In the defensive zone, Dragicevic is a one-man zone exit. He commands play from behind his own net and finds all outlets, whether it's a teammate along the boards or the stretch pass through the neutral zone. He is tranquil while under pressure from forecheckers, finding the right balance of not panicking with the puck while also moving possession before he's cornered.

In the offensive zone, is a distributor from the top of the zone but he also loves to play the role of the shooter. The Canadian activates from the blue line and beats goaltenders with an impressive dragging wrist shot, holding onto the puck before torquing it past the goaltender.

Despite having little talent around him, Dragicevic produced an outstanding 15 goals and 60 assists in 68 regular-season games. That's the highest points-per-game (1.10) by a draft-eligible WHL defenseman who has played at least 20 games since 2002. Better than standouts such as Bowen Byram, Morgan Rielly, and 2022 seventh-overall pick Kevin Korchinski.

Yet he is at the end of the first round on this list. In fact, some analysts have him outside the first round altogether.

For one, he is just not a good defensive player. Even if Dragicevic hits his upside, his NHL team is going to have to take its lumps in that regard. Still, plenty of offensive defensemen have gone in the first round of the NHL draft.

The biggest knock on him is his skating. Dragicevic is awkward on his feet. He lacks acceleration, he's okay at best on his edges, and he isn't the type who will be able to solemn through the neutral zone.

The counterpoint is that he's made it this far nonetheless. Dragicevic makes up for his clumsy skating with great compensatory decision-making and the ability to beat defenders with the rest of his body. Dragicevic evades defenders by telegraphing decoy intentions. He uses his knees, hips, shoulders, and head to sell one move before going to another.

Dragicevic's numbers indicate that he is very likely to make the NHL with reasonable upside as an impact player. While stats are only part of the equation, there is a risk of overthinking a scouting report. At the end of the first round, someone with palpable upside as a top-four offensive defenseman and power-play quarterback seems well worth the swing.

Dragicevic ranked 28th on the B/R Big Board.

Gavin Brindley, RW, University of Michigan (NCAA)

Brindley offers an interesting challenge that comes up from time to time; how does one evaluate the play of someone who is the linemate of a superstar?

The Michigan freshman played on a stacked team but particularly benefited from flanking projected second-overall pick Adam Fantilli. There's no denying that his 12 goals and 26 assists in 41 NCAA games are inflated.

Of course, one does not land on that opportunity by accident. The 5'9" forward is the exact type of versatile player a coach might seek to complement a dominant center. Brindley makes up for lack of size with two traits; speed and energy.

His skating earns high marks in basically every category. He's explosive in open ice. He moves well laterally and uses his edges to get around and out of small areas of the ice.

And he's a nuisance. Brindley chases pucks like a dog might a tennis ball, showing resolute commitment in the defensive zone and surprising effectiveness on the forecheck. Despite his size and inexperience at the college level, Michigan head coach Brandon Naurato was quick to use Brindley on the penalty kill. There are times when Brindley waits for the puck to come to him rather than going to the puck.

Some scouts might be scared of Brindley's makeup; he doesn't have the traditional look of a bottom-six grinder and his hands are roughly average, which lends some fair questions about his potential effectiveness on a scoring line in the NHL. But he has a diverse skill set and a strong will.

Gracyn Sawchyn, C, Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)

There may not be a tougher player in the draft to place than Gracyn Sawchyn.

The 5'11" center is one of the best in the draft at taking on defenders one-on-one. Or even one-on-many. He packages slick hands with a lot of evasiveness. So often he'll literally spin or sidestep contact. Sawchyn is very effective in small spaces.

Thus, Sawchyn is very effective at creating zone entries and escaping pressure. He's great at keep away. However, not often enough does he then turn those moves into a scoring chance either via his own shot or a pass.

His shot itself is subpar, and often when he scored from a distance this season, he could thank poor goaltending. In fact, his most sustainable form of scoring was from the net front. Credit to the undersized Seattle forward; he doesn't lack determination. One can see that as well in the way he pressures pucks and attempts the occasional hit.

As great as he is on his edges, the straight-line speed is poor. He lacks the explosiveness one would hope from an undersized forward. And, at 154 pounds, he is utterly undersized. His evasiveness can only take him so far and he is pushed off of pucks far too easily.

Evaluating Sawchyn has been difficult for two reasons. One, it's hard to determine how effective he will or won't be once he does bulk up. Second, he was on a stacked Seattle team that won the Memorial Cup. Per InStat, Sawchyn ranked ninth among all Seattle forwards by overall time-on-ice. He also did not play on the top power-play unit in most instances.

Sawchyn brings a lot of uncertainty to the table, but with increased strength and more playing opportunities, it's quite easy a scenario where his stock surges 12 months from now.

Sawchyn ranked 30th on the B/R Big Board.

Ethan Gauthier, LW, Sherbrooke Phoenix (QMJHL)

A lot of the difficulty of the NHL draft is trying to project what a player will look like in five years. That is not the case with Ethan Gauthier. The QMJHL winger plays a simple game with obviously translatable elements.

Gauthier is an unapologetic north-south forward. When he has the puck in the neutral zone, he chips it up the ice and chases it down. He's an eager first forechecker and loves to engage physically. When his teammates carry the puck into the offensive zone, he immediately drives toward the net.

When his team has the puck in the offensive zone, he spends most of his time between the end-boards and the faceoff dots. Gauthier has good hands in tight and will bang home dirty goals. He also shows some vision, slipping passes across the crease or low-to-high. The slot area is not typically a playmaker's playground, but he finds a way to make it work.

Gauthier knows who he is as a player and plays to that identity with confidence. He lacks compelling upside and, if he does manage to find a way into an NHL's top-six it will be because he happens to complement particular linemates. He looks every part of a future third-line NHL winger who does everything his coach wants and brings some energy to his team.

Gauthier ranked 31st on the B/R Big Board.

Nick Lardis, LW, Hamilton Bulldogs (OHL)

The objective of a hockey game is to outscore the other team. The most fundamental requisite for doing so is for someone on the team to put the puck into the net.

Nick Lardis does that. He scored only 12 goals in 36 games with the Peterborough Petes while playing limited minutes. Following a midseason trade to Hamilton, he exploded. Lardis tallied 25 goals in 33 games and followed that up with five goals and five assists in six OHL playoff games and four goals in seven matches at the U18 World Championship. His shooting percentage jumped about three percent in Hamilton, which is an increase but hardly the indicator of an unsustainable run. His goal-scoring prowess looks legitimate.

What is encouraging about Lardis is not just that he is scoring but how he does so. His shot itself is high-caliber. His one-touch shooting is clinical. But he's not one to wait in the faceoff dots for the perfect setup. Lardis times his movements below the circles so that he can arrive at the moment a teammate is able to feed him for quick finishes.

Lardis is also a great north-south skater who creates his own shot off the rush. The multitude of ways in which he scores is translatable at the higher levels of hockey.

The rest of his game ranges from subpar to milquetoast, but Lardis lacks any glaring red flags. Scoring goals in the NHL is hard and, once one moves outside the top 25 of the NHL draft, there are few who offer the material ability to do so. Lardis does, and while he won't drive a line at the NHL level, he'll be a welcome presence on any NHL team if he becomes a 20-25 goal-scorer.

Lardis was ranked 32nd on the B/R Big Board.

Jayden Perron, RW, Chicago Steel (USHL)

Though Perron had a successful 16-year-old season with the Chicago Steel, he got cushy minutes alongside top 2023 draft prospect Adam Fantilli. With Fantilli moving on to Michigan, how would Perron fare?

Granted, Chicago is still a fantastic team with elite talents, but Perron proved he was not merely riding coattails. The 5'8" forward collected 24 goals and 48 assists in 61 USHL games.

As the numbers indicate, Perron is a playmaking winger. He loves to be in possession and is an elusive stickhandler. He controls play through the neutral zone and into the offensive zone. He's a high-caliber passer who threads pucks to teammates from difficult angles and in tight windows. He's among the top players in this draft class when it comes to hitting teammates on passing plays across the slot.

Perron does show a secondary ability to score. He's not a physical player by any means but I do like his effort. And while one shouldn't anticipate him becoming known for his defense at higher levels, it is worth acknowledging that Chicago head coach Mike Garman frequently deployed Perron on the penalty kill and to defend leads with the opposing goaltender pulled.

Perron did not make B/R's list of the top-32 prospects available in the 2023 draft, but had the list been expanded to 33 he may have landed there. He's a borderline first-round talent and has second-line upside.

Beau Akey, RD, Barrie Colts (OHL)

Every team is looking for mobile defensemen and Beau Akey is among the top of the class in that regard.

His skating itself is excellent. His movements are so smooth in every direction. He is agile and has quick bursts. His backward and 10-2 skating are fantastic and his ability to transition from one form of skating (for instance, forwards-to-backward) is flawless.

But skating is merely an input. What matters is what how a player makes use of it. Akey is the player you want with the puck in your back-end because he escapes pressure easily just by skating the puck out of danger and up the ice. He weaves through the neutral zone. In the offensive zone, Akey walks the blueline well to create lanes of opportunity.

Akey plays almost as a rover at times. He joins the rush not merely as the late trailer but often as if he's a forward. He rotates down from the blue line often towards the goal line. Because of how mobile he is, he can afford to take chances. He has the wheels to get back into a defensive position when necessary.

His defensive game is good, although at times lacking in structure, and he is very raw offensively. Right now he is overly reliant on skating to create opportunities. He does not show particular poise with the puck, an ability to break down a defense, or a good shot. But the base is there and one can imagine him eventually finding more offense. He has top-four upside as a fire extinguisher in the defensive zone and a one-man zone exit machine. If he doe find the offense then look out. He just barely missed the cutoff for B/R's 2023 top-32 player rankings.

Koehn Ziemmer, RW, Prince George Cougars (WHL)

Ziemmer does a lot of things that will certainly win him fans. He scores goals and he plays a physical game.

His goal-scoring comes both through finesse as well as more tactical, rugged means. Ziemmer disguises his release when shooting from higher areas of the slot, getting pucks past goaltenders who are late to react.

But Ziemmer also shows a strong down-low game. He's sturdy on his skates and he finds the right balance of fighting for position or innocuously hovering around the slot before slipping off his check and getting open for the easy ones around the net.

I also like his compete level a lot more now than I did 9 months ago. Ziemmer shows tenacity and fight when chasing down pucks, battling for positioning, or forechecking. His roughly 200-pound weight may be too much for his 6'0" frame, however. Trimming that down some may help him to improve his below-grade skating, though he does show decent edgework.

He showed a lot more playmaking prowess this season and his 89 points in 68 WHL games make him seem like a clear first-round value. He got every opportunity to shine on a Prince George team that lacked older talent and there are some worthwhile questions about how his size and skating will translate at higher levels of hockey. But he is a defendable pick late in the first round and, if not, should come quickly off the board early on Day 2.

Caden Price, LD, Kelowna Rockets (WHL)

Price is a capable puck-moving defenseman who hasn't fully tapped into his upside.

A decent skater, Price evades pressure well in the defensive zone and makes good outlets out of the zone. At this stage of his career, he's definitely good for advancing possession. His performances in the offensive zone are mixed. Price tallied 35 assists in 65 regular-season WHL games and totaled five more in seven games with Canada at the U18 World Championship. He can break through defensive-zone structures with passes to teammates in scoring areas.

But the 17-year-old is also overambitious and maybe even careless with the puck. Too often, including in pivotal power-play shifts, he makes ill-advised passes at the blue line that lose his team possession and also make them vulnerable to counter-attacks.

Price is a strong 1-v-1 defender and there is definitely enough to his game that leads one to buy into his upside as a second-pairing, two-way defenseman. He won't turn 18 until Aug. 24, which makes him one of the youngest players in the 2023 draft class. He's an underbaked prospect, but he could prove worth it in the end. He'd be good value in the range of picks 35-45.

William Whitelaw, RW, Youngstown Phantoms (USHL)

Whitelaw is gifted offensively in a variety of ways. He's a plus-skater who is especially great at maneuvering with the puck. He weaves through the neutral zone to create entries into the offensive zone. He thinks the game at a high level while in motion. Whitelaw executes high-difficulty passing plays and creates his own shooting opportunities. His ability to contribute offensively comes both via the rush as well as more traditional cycling opportunities.

I like his competitiveness. Although he is 5'9", he plays a physical game. He fights hard for pucks, throws hits both to create a change in possession or to punish a defender who just got rid of the puck. He gets his stick in there for puck battles.

Yet he leaves scouts wanting more. All of these abilities in his came come in ebbs and flows. Not often enough does he put it all together.. At times he seems disjointed with the rest of his teammates and play doesn't flow. For all of his talent and competitiveness, his 61 points in 62 USHL games is nowhere near enough to get him a definitive first-round grade. To be fair, the jump from high school hockey to the USHL is significant, particularly for a player like him who was used to dominating singlehandedly. He also didn't have a ton of like-minded players in Youngstown with whom he could collaborate.

Enough uncertainty exists about whether he'll ever become a finished product, but if he gets there he has a top-six upside. He's exactly the type of player I'd be targeting in the second round of the draft. And if he drops even lower then someone is getting a steal.

Danny Nelson, C, USNTDP

Nelson was outshone by the others atop an elite USNTDP forward class, but he was an integral piece to the team.

The Minnesota-born forward has his fair share of skill. Nelson likes to attack with the puck and holds onto it for prolonged stretches in the offensive zone, wheeling both down low and high in attempts to create breakdowns in the defense through movements. He's a good shooter of the puck and complements it with adequate playmaking.

His role on the USNTDP, which was perhaps more humble than his offensive firepower calls for, may reap benefits. Forced to diversify his game, Nelson made more of his 6'3" frame and became a more complete player of the puck. He keeps his motor running until the end of his shifts, puts in an effort in the defensive zone, and is developing a bit of an edge.

He probably does not have enough pure skill to become a major offensive contributor, but I like his odds of turning into a third-line forward who provides secondary offense.