2024 Entry Draft

[isam]

On 11/20/2023 at 8:18 PM, Hammertime said:

I really like the grouping around us on mynhldraft 

 

http://www.mynhldraft.com/nhl2006/Philadelphia.gif

27

Michael Hage

Ht/Wt:6' 1"/181 lbs
Position:C
Team: Chicago (USHL)

 

http://www.mynhldraft.com/nhl2006/Vancouver08.gif

28

EJ Emery

Ht/Wt:6' 3"/181 lbs
Position:RHD
Team: US NTDP

 

http://www.mynhldraft.com/nhl2006/Dallas-13-pres.gif

29

Tij Iginla

Ht/Wt:6' 0"/181 lbs
Position:F
Team: Kelowna (WHL)

 

 

Would be thrilled with any of these guys. Trying not to get my hopes up. These are the players we need to be drafting.  

Hage will be drafted higher and probably in the early teens

[Hammertime]

3 hours ago, isam said:

Hage will be drafted higher and probably in the early teens

So will Tij may have a shot at Emery we don't have a player like him in the system. 

[isam]

26 minutes ago, Hammertime said:

So will Tij may have a shot at Emery we don't have a player like him in the system. 

Like to see a bit more offense out of him in the coming months, but do like his mobility and how he tracks the puck.

[MatchesMalone]

Some brief summaries on the top defensemen in the draft, in more or less rough order I'd rank them now:

 

Artyom Levshunov - I will rave about the hockey IQ of a lot of the D on this list, but let me say from the start that, excepting maybe Kiviharju, Levshunov is on a different level. Fantastic skater, highly skilled in all aspects of the game.

 

Carter Yakemchuk - I like his decision-making better than Dickinson's both on and off-puck. Of course we have to keep in mind he and Levshunov are a season ahead of others in their development.

 

Adam Jiricek - One of my personal favorite defensemen this year. He loves to jump up, both offensively - keeping pucks alive at the halfwall - and also defensively - killing rushes at his own blueline. One of the better skaters in the draft, with some dynamic and deceptive elements. About 6'2 and somehow at 160 lbs he has managed to more than hold his own in puck battles at the pro level.

 

Sam Dickinson - Kind of like with Simon Edvinsson a couple years back, the first game I saw him he made a handful of bad mistakes and now I'm jaded on him forever. He doesn't have Edvinsson's offensive upside, but he's much better in his own zone; most of his worst mistakes come with the puck on his stick.

 

Zayne Parekh - Another of these new-age dynamic-skating defenseman like a Hughes or Makar. Of course similar things were said of Byram and Drysdale. I think GMs are starting to cool on the idea of drafting small defensemen so early, after it was all the rage for a few years there. Still though, Parekh is incredibly talented and could turn out to be a gamebreaker at the NHL level.

 

Zeev Buium - If he really hits he could be in the mould of a Duncan Keith or Roman Josi: other guys who were never pegged as offensive dynamos as prospects, but perfect examples of what IQ and skating ability can do for a smaller defenseman. As much as I thought Minnetian was the more dynamic puck-rusher for the Program last year, I always liked Buium better running the point on the powerplay.

 

Anton Silayev - Without question the least skilled player on this list, but he makes up for it with his hulking 6'7 frame and decent skating. Hockey IQ is pretty good. Upside could be along the lines of a Chara or Byfuglien... or he could be closer to an Oleksiak or Myers. My best guess is somewhere in between.

 

Henry Mews - Doesn't have the same kind of shifty, dynamic element to his skating as does Parekh, but he's a very fast and agile skater in a more traditional way. I think he's better defensively than Parekh, but most of his mistakes come from doing too much with the puck on his stick.

 

Aron Kiviharju - There was a time I thought he was a favorite for first overall. His skating is good, with both smooth and dynamic elements. But he just doesn't have the explosiveness you'd like in a small offensive defenseman. Hockey IQ looks elite against his peers, but we've yet to see him translate at the pro level and he's missed significant time with injury.

 

Cole Hutson - He's up there with anyone on this list as the most dynamic and purely skilled offensive talents. When Cole Eiserman and James Hagens rewrote the record books at the U17 Challenge, if you had asked "who was the third person on the line?" they cycled different people but that's the wrong question because it was always Cole Hutson who was the third main cog in that well-oiled machine. But he's barely 5'10 and 159 lbs.

[Smashian Kassian]

Edit: wrong thread

Edited December 8, 2023 by Smashian Kassian

[Smashian Kassian]

Edit: also wrong thread lol

Edited December 8, 2023 by Smashian Kassian

[isam]

6 minutes ago, Smashian Kassian said:

I love having Zads. Great job by him down low there. Allowed the clear.

Ummm

[Smashian Kassian]

Just now, isam said:

Ummm

 

Thx, didn't see what tab I was on there lol My bad

[isam]

13 hours ago, MatchesMalone said:

Some brief summaries on the top defensemen in the draft, in more or less rough order I'd rank them now:

 

Artyom Levshunov - I will rave about the hockey IQ of a lot of the D on this list, but let me say from the start that, excepting maybe Kiviharju, Levshunov is on a different level. Fantastic skater, highly skilled in all aspects of the game.

 

Carter Yakemchuk - I like his decision-making better than Dickinson's both on and off-puck. Of course we have to keep in mind he and Levshunov are a season ahead of others in their development.

 

Adam Jiricek - One of my personal favorite defensemen this year. He loves to jump up, both offensively - keeping pucks alive at the halfwall - and also defensively - killing rushes at his own blueline. One of the better skaters in the draft, with some dynamic and deceptive elements. About 6'2 and somehow at 160 lbs he has managed to more than hold his own in puck battles at the pro level.

 

Sam Dickinson - Kind of like with Simon Edvinsson a couple years back, the first game I saw him he made a handful of bad mistakes and now I'm jaded on him forever. He doesn't have Edvinsson's offensive upside, but he's much better in his own zone; most of his worst mistakes come with the puck on his stick.

 

Zayne Parekh - Another of these new-age dynamic-skating defenseman like a Hughes or Makar. Of course similar things were said of Byram and Drysdale. I think GMs are starting to cool on the idea of drafting small defensemen so early, after it was all the rage for a few years there. Still though, Parekh is incredibly talented and could turn out to be a gamebreaker at the NHL level.

 

Zeev Buium - If he really hits he could be in the mould of a Duncan Keith or Roman Josi: other guys who were never pegged as offensive dynamos as prospects, but perfect examples of what IQ and skating ability can do for a smaller defenseman. As much as I thought Minnetian was the more dynamic puck-rusher for the Program last year, I always liked Buium better running the point on the powerplay.

 

Anton Silayev - Without question the least skilled player on this list, but he makes up for it with his hulking 6'7 frame and decent skating. Hockey IQ is pretty good. Upside could be along the lines of a Chara or Byfuglien... or he could be closer to an Oleksiak or Myers. My best guess is somewhere in between.

 

Henry Mews - Doesn't have the same kind of shifty, dynamic element to his skating as does Parekh, but he's a very fast and agile skater in a more traditional way. I think he's better defensively than Parekh, but most of his mistakes come from doing too much with the puck on his stick.

 

Aron Kiviharju - There was a time I thought he was a favorite for first overall. His skating is good, with both smooth and dynamic elements. But he just doesn't have the explosiveness you'd like in a small offensive defenseman. Hockey IQ looks elite against his peers, but we've yet to see him translate at the pro level and he's missed significant time with injury.

 

Cole Hutson - He's up there with anyone on this list as the most dynamic and purely skilled offensive talents. When Cole Eiserman and James Hagens rewrote the record books at the U17 Challenge, if you had asked "who was the third person on the line?" they cycled different people but that's the wrong question because it was always Cole Hutson who was the third main cog in that well-oiled machine. But he's barely 5'10 and 159 lbs.

Kvi still has the game and has done well. The test will be coming back from his injury

[isam]

Just now, Smashian Kassian said:

 

Thx, didn't see what tab I was on there lol My bad

No prob

[Smashian Kassian]

13 hours ago, MatchesMalone said:

Some brief summaries on the top defensemen in the draft, in more or less rough order I'd rank them now:

 

Artyom Levshunov - I will rave about the hockey IQ of a lot of the D on this list, but let me say from the start that, excepting maybe Kiviharju, Levshunov is on a different level. Fantastic skater, highly skilled in all aspects of the game.

 

Carter Yakemchuk - I like his decision-making better than Dickinson's both on and off-puck. Of course we have to keep in mind he and Levshunov are a season ahead of others in their development.

 

Adam Jiricek - One of my personal favorite defensemen this year. He loves to jump up, both offensively - keeping pucks alive at the halfwall - and also defensively - killing rushes at his own blueline. One of the better skaters in the draft, with some dynamic and deceptive elements. About 6'2 and somehow at 160 lbs he has managed to more than hold his own in puck battles at the pro level.

 

Sam Dickinson - Kind of like with Simon Edvinsson a couple years back, the first game I saw him he made a handful of bad mistakes and now I'm jaded on him forever. He doesn't have Edvinsson's offensive upside, but he's much better in his own zone; most of his worst mistakes come with the puck on his stick.

 

Zayne Parekh - Another of these new-age dynamic-skating defenseman like a Hughes or Makar. Of course similar things were said of Byram and Drysdale. I think GMs are starting to cool on the idea of drafting small defensemen so early, after it was all the rage for a few years there. Still though, Parekh is incredibly talented and could turn out to be a gamebreaker at the NHL level.

 

Zeev Buium - If he really hits he could be in the mould of a Duncan Keith or Roman Josi: other guys who were never pegged as offensive dynamos as prospects, but perfect examples of what IQ and skating ability can do for a smaller defenseman. As much as I thought Minnetian was the more dynamic puck-rusher for the Program last year, I always liked Buium better running the point on the powerplay.

 

Anton Silayev - Without question the least skilled player on this list, but he makes up for it with his hulking 6'7 frame and decent skating. Hockey IQ is pretty good. Upside could be along the lines of a Chara or Byfuglien... or he could be closer to an Oleksiak or Myers. My best guess is somewhere in between.

 

Henry Mews - Doesn't have the same kind of shifty, dynamic element to his skating as does Parekh, but he's a very fast and agile skater in a more traditional way. I think he's better defensively than Parekh, but most of his mistakes come from doing too much with the puck on his stick.

 

Aron Kiviharju - There was a time I thought he was a favorite for first overall. His skating is good, with both smooth and dynamic elements. But he just doesn't have the explosiveness you'd like in a small offensive defenseman. Hockey IQ looks elite against his peers, but we've yet to see him translate at the pro level and he's missed significant time with injury.

 

Cole Hutson - He's up there with anyone on this list as the most dynamic and purely skilled offensive talents. When Cole Eiserman and James Hagens rewrote the record books at the U17 Challenge, if you had asked "who was the third person on the line?" they cycled different people but that's the wrong question because it was always Cole Hutson who was the third main cog in that well-oiled machine. But he's barely 5'10 and 159 lbs.

 

I've kinda felt the opposite about Levshunov's IQ. In the games I've seen there's time where he's just missing his guy off the puck, or throwing the puck away in his zone when he has it. Also not as dynamic offensively as I'd like, he does get involved but he's not pushing the envelope like Parekh/Yakemchuk/Buium. Alot of the time he's just kinda there, I've watched a number of Michigan State games but this is one of those players I think I really need to get the fine tooth comb out to feel confident in my evaluation. 

 

I agree on Jiricek, he's one of my favourites aswell. Maybe its b/c I really liked his brother but Adam battles really hard & I think he has more offense to his game than his stats in the Czech league show. Hope he's alright after taking that big hit recently, world juniors will be a great opportunity to see him against his own age group.

 

Might be a tad higher than you on Dickinson but I agree with the idea he's not clearly the top D as some have him. I like his game & think he's a pretty safe top 4 bet, but I think others have more upside. And while he's great defensively & uses his size well, I do agree he's not perfect. Maybe I'll post my notes at some point but I'd say he handles the puck just good, not great. Overall good 2-way IQ but not an elite player.

 

Lastly on Parekh, he reads the play great offensively but his defensive game is very bad. First couple viewing he looked like he wasn't even interested in playing defense, rather just looking for a turnover & chance to go up ice on every play. Lately he's more committed which is good, but his details are really lacking & off puck he still gets caught puck watching and missing his guy. Also doesn't have a bomb of a shot. I'd feel more confident projecting him as a Gostisbehere/DeAngle type but you can't deny the offensive ability. It is very good. (I am starting to like Yakemchuk's offense atleast as good tho, I'll say that)

[billydakid]

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/sportsnets-2024-nhl-draft-prospect-rankings-november-edition/

 

Given we will likely be drafting in the 22-32 spot, barring a complete collapse, my picks are

 

Iginla - 6'0 center, 186, character, physical, 20 goals in 27 games, 31 pts so far. If he's got 1/2 the heart of his father he will be a player

Mews RD Ottawa, nice performance at the Hlinka cup

Badinka 6'3 183 RD from Czech, already played 9 games in the SHL and solid performance at the Hlinka cup. RD and size...

[Herberts Vasiljevs]

It's that time of year again, hey?

[Smashian Kassian]

12 hours ago, billydakid said:

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/sportsnets-2024-nhl-draft-prospect-rankings-november-edition/

 

Given we will likely be drafting in the 22-32 spot, barring a complete collapse, my picks are

 

Iginla - 6'0 center, 186, character, physical, 20 goals in 27 games, 31 pts so far. If he's got 1/2 the heart of his father he will be a player

Mews RD Ottawa, nice performance at the Hlinka cup

Badinka 6'3 183 RD from Czech, already played 9 games in the SHL and solid performance at the Hlinka cup. RD and size...

 

If our pick was 22 going off this list. I'd be looking at; Basha, Shuravin, Iginla, Fischer.

 

I think I'd lean taking Shuravin, as he's got more offensive upside than Fischer, but those forwards are good too I really like both.

[isam]

On 12/7/2023 at 8:31 AM, MatchesMalone said:

Some brief summaries on the top defensemen in the draft, in more or less rough order I'd rank them now:

 

Artyom Levshunov - I will rave about the hockey IQ of a lot of the D on this list, but let me say from the start that, excepting maybe Kiviharju, Levshunov is on a different level. Fantastic skater, highly skilled in all aspects of the game.

 

Carter Yakemchuk - I like his decision-making better than Dickinson's both on and off-puck. Of course we have to keep in mind he and Levshunov are a season ahead of others in their development.

 

Adam Jiricek - One of my personal favorite defensemen this year. He loves to jump up, both offensively - keeping pucks alive at the halfwall - and also defensively - killing rushes at his own blueline. One of the better skaters in the draft, with some dynamic and deceptive elements. About 6'2 and somehow at 160 lbs he has managed to more than hold his own in puck battles at the pro level.

 

Sam Dickinson - Kind of like with Simon Edvinsson a couple years back, the first game I saw him he made a handful of bad mistakes and now I'm jaded on him forever. He doesn't have Edvinsson's offensive upside, but he's much better in his own zone; most of his worst mistakes come with the puck on his stick.

 

Zayne Parekh - Another of these new-age dynamic-skating defenseman like a Hughes or Makar. Of course similar things were said of Byram and Drysdale. I think GMs are starting to cool on the idea of drafting small defensemen so early, after it was all the rage for a few years there. Still though, Parekh is incredibly talented and could turn out to be a gamebreaker at the NHL level.

 

Zeev Buium - If he really hits he could be in the mould of a Duncan Keith or Roman Josi: other guys who were never pegged as offensive dynamos as prospects, but perfect examples of what IQ and skating ability can do for a smaller defenseman. As much as I thought Minnetian was the more dynamic puck-rusher for the Program last year, I always liked Buium better running the point on the powerplay.

 

Anton Silayev - Without question the least skilled player on this list, but he makes up for it with his hulking 6'7 frame and decent skating. Hockey IQ is pretty good. Upside could be along the lines of a Chara or Byfuglien... or he could be closer to an Oleksiak or Myers. My best guess is somewhere in between.

 

Henry Mews - Doesn't have the same kind of shifty, dynamic element to his skating as does Parekh, but he's a very fast and agile skater in a more traditional way. I think he's better defensively than Parekh, but most of his mistakes come from doing too much with the puck on his stick.

 

Aron Kiviharju - There was a time I thought he was a favorite for first overall. His skating is good, with both smooth and dynamic elements. But he just doesn't have the explosiveness you'd like in a small offensive defenseman. Hockey IQ looks elite against his peers, but we've yet to see him translate at the pro level and he's missed significant time with injury.

 

Cole Hutson - He's up there with anyone on this list as the most dynamic and purely skilled offensive talents. When Cole Eiserman and James Hagens rewrote the record books at the U17 Challenge, if you had asked "who was the third person on the line?" they cycled different people but that's the wrong question because it was always Cole Hutson who was the third main cog in that well-oiled machine. But he's barely 5'10 and 159 lbs.

Keeping an eye out on hemming. Skill and the size are there, but will need to work on positioning.

[Bure_Pavel]

On 12/5/2023 at 2:52 PM, MatchesMalone said:

 

Now it's a pun.

 

I had Connelly first overall in my pre-season rankings. Haven't watched him play since, but it's hard to imagine anyone over Celebrini at this point. I'll have my top five overall right now:

 

1. Macklin Celebrini

2. Artyom Levshunov

3. Trevor Connelly

4. Cole Eiserman

5. Ivan Demidov

Do you know if Connelly has some baggage or any off ice issues going on that could make him drop? I found the Sportsnet description of him very weird:

 

 Trevor Connelly, C, Tri-City Storm (USHL): From a pure hockey perspective, he’s a first-round talent. 

[MatchesMalone]

2 hours ago, Bure_Pavel said:

Do you know if Connelly has some baggage or any off ice issues going on that could make him drop? I found the Sportsnet description of him very weird:

 

 Trevor Connelly, C, Tri-City Storm (USHL): From a pure hockey perspective, he’s a first-round talent. 

 

The only thing I'm aware of is an incident when I believe he was 15, he or a friend posted a picture of a swastika they built out of Lego on social media. If it's just a thing of cancel culture getting him over a dumb incident then I wouldn't be worried about it. But USA Hockey decided for one reason or another to leave him off the NTDP. On talent alone he would be clearly a top 3 player on this edition with Eiserman and Hagens.

 

On the ice he's also on the extreme end of the do-it-all-yourself scale, but maybe not quite to the extent of a Trikozov or Stranges. Will need coaching.

Edited December 13, 2023 by MatchesMalone

[isam]

1 hour ago, MatchesMalone said:

 

The only thing I'm aware of is an incident when I believe he was 15, he or a friend posted a picture of a swastika they built out of Lego on social media. If it's just a thing of cancel culture getting him over a dumb incident then I wouldn't be worried about it. But USA Hockey decided for one reason or another to leave him off the NTDP. On talent alone he would be clearly a top 3 player on this edition with Eiserman and Hagens.

 

On the ice he's also on the extreme end of the do-it-all-yourself scale, but maybe not quite to the extent of a Trikozov or Stranges. Will need coaching.

Hmmm. Overall skill set is higher the both those two, but do think that USA hockey is playing the politics game

[MatchesMalone]

Pretty entertaining game for draft fans on right now in the World Junior A Challenge. USA's non-NTDP USHL U19 team vs. Sweden's U18 team. USA team includes draft-eligibles Trevor Connelly, Mac Swanson, Will Felicio, Adam Kleber, and Sweden has mostly all of their top draft-eligibles.

Edited December 17, 2023 by MatchesMalone

[MatchesMalone]

29 minutes ago, MatchesMalone said:

Pretty entertaining game for draft fans on right now in the World Junior A Challenge. USA's non-NTDP USHL U19 team vs. Sweden's U18 team. USA team includes draft-eligibles Trevor Connelly, Mac Swanson, Will Felicio, Adam Kleber, and Sweden has mostly all of their top draft-eligibles.

 

Connelly with a hat trick (not quite natural) in the span of about 10 minutes.

[MatchesMalone]

Connelly with his 4th of the game, with the Mike Legg.

[ABNuck]

I think Iggy Jr. is Tocchet's kind of player...tough with a goal scoring touch.

[CaptainQuin]

Is this year suppose to be a strong draft class ? 

[Diamonds]

2 hours ago, CaptainQuin said:

Is this year suppose to be a strong draft class ? 

I believe it's supposed to be relatively strong, but not quite as strong as last year. This year's draft is definitely a bit more defensemen heavy though.

[MatchesMalone]

5 hours ago, CaptainQuin said:

Is this year suppose to be a strong draft class ? 

 

2 hours ago, Diamonds said:

I believe it's supposed to be relatively strong, but not quite as strong as last year. This year's draft is definitely a bit more defensemen heavy though.

 

Yup, I'd call it pretty average. Maybe slightly above average. Lots of good depth but doesn't have those bluechip superstars at the top like Bedard, Fantilli, Carlsson.

 

Celebrini comes close but I don't think he's quite on the level of any of those three.

 

It is a really strong class for defensemen though, maybe even better than 2021 or '22.