2024 Mock Draft

Cayden Lindstrom yessssss

I see Vinni going a bit earlier, maybe in the 40-60 range. Eiserman is a great but that high is risky imo,

I love the Michael Brandsegg Nygard hype but that also seems high, although he was phenaomenal at the WJC so I could see it. also seems a bit high on Jiricek but you never know, I think he could rise a lot for no reason in particular.

Overall this draft is gonna be wild; round one is gonna be full of surprises

I'd be alright if the Blues ended up with Catton, Hutson, and Muggli. My ultimate hope would be to grab Jiricek in the 17 range.

I love that you are still high on Eiserman. He's 8th on my draft board, but unlike what some scouts are thinking, I don't see him going outside the top 10.

EDIT: Another one that stuck out to me was Lindstrom. Islanders would be getting a steal, I think he goes at least top 10 because of his size and speed. Silayev I could say the same about.

Viktor Olofsson

I would love Luke Misa if he's still around by the time the Hurricanes pick. I'm a little concerned about his size but he seems to be able to put up points very well

I'd cry if the Sharks fall to 4. But if they do, I think there's just not room for Buium on that left side, especially if they keep Ferraro, with Thrun really establishing himself as a true middle paring d-man, and Mukhamadullin right on the cusp of being a full time NHLer. They also Furlong and Cagnoni who look promising and even Pulli has started to really adjust to the North American game.

I think they'd reach a bit and take Parekh who honestly seems like he could be the best pure offensive d-man in this draft. If he can establish a physical game I don't thing 4 would be a huge stretch. Then with the PIT pick I'd love to take Iginla. I don't think he has a super high ceiling but I've said before, he already plays like an NHLer. at worst you're getting a hard working, physical depth forward with skill

I believe pick 22 "NSH (via TBL)" should be CHI's pick unless you've got insider trading knowledge i dont know about.

I wouldnt mind the Hawks taking Eiserman but I think Demidov is better. Eiserman probably plays a year in college anyway so we would get our hands on them at the same time.

Read through as many old draft reports as you can. Make two lists.

1. A list of all 1st rounders where "Size" is first thing they mention.
2. A list of all the 1st rounders where US players are described as "lazy" or they "lack compete"

Then check how they are doing in NHL today.

The list of big bodies, whose greatest attribute is size, that have not (not yet) fulfilled expectations is loooooong. It is, by far, the most over-drafted characteristic.

Meanwhile, there is an age-old trope about US-players being "lazy" or lacking compete or physicality. Its usually a word salad to negate skill. But never challenges a players skating, shot, passing, etc. Its usually, "some scouts say..." (but not me! I'm not saying that).

Once you see it, it will be hard to unsee.

"Some scouts detected a few lazy habits"
"Where some scouts feel he has the potential to become a first-pairing defenceman, I have some reservations"
"NHL front offices talk about the team that gets you into the playoffs, and the team that wins in the playoffs. [This guy] is on the team that gets you in."
"Some scouts have a concern about his effort"

I feel like the stories about Eiserman are just noise. Watch a NTDP game.

Good news is....SJS gets the real prize in 2025 in James Hagens.
No reason to burn a lottery win on this sorry lot.

(I don't think 2024 will be all that bad of a year...maybe not a year to win lottery, but still plenty of names in that top-15 or 18)

I have insider knowledge.
The pick belongs to Chicago
(look up)

He's quick...probably more suited for other systems...but at #24 they are right at the drop-off where warts appear.

I can see that he might work in a better system but a quick, feisty but undersized forward just screams the Hurricanes.

I have actually watched a few NTDP games, and what are you saying makes a lot of sense.

Just read through the links. Honestly my take on Eiserman has changed. I now see him around the 3rd to 5th range for a different reason.

Defensive game can be developed easily by an NHL coach. Take JT Miller for example. Under Boudreau, Miller was abysmal defensively. Now under Tocchet, he's gotten much better. I feel like under the right coach, Eisermans defensive game and is inability to use his teammates can be easily worked upon.

Lindstrom won't drop outside the top 10, and wouldn't be surprised to see him go in the top 6. Demidov to me is the best forward prospect outside of Celebrini, and even though he has only 1 year left on his Russian contract it still is a factor and for that reason could see Lindstrom going ahead of him as well as Eiserman.

Personally I'm hoping for Sharks win the lottery this year, the Pens pick falls into the top 10 and they push back the pick to next year. Next year the Pens regress even more and win the lottery so the Sharks pick 1st overall with that one, then in 2026 the Sharks win the lottery from around 8-10. I know the Sharks have never picked 1st and now I'm talking about them getting it 3 years in a row, but a man can dream.

What are your thoughts on Hagens vs. Celebrini if you were to pick a player 1OA?

I like the Bednarik pick at 34 and so will Mike Grier picking a BU kid.

I think 2025 has potential to have 3-4 guys at top that would go #1 if they were in 2024 (much like Bedard, Fantilli, Carlsson would have all probably gone #1 if they were in 2022). It may one of the better drafts. If I had to guess…

1. Hagens

2. Hensler
3. McQueen
4. Celebrini

5. Misa
6. Levshunov

Then Eiserman, Demidov, etc

There is a rule that only allows two lottery wins in five years It’s linked to the team, not the original pick. So even if they win with PIT pick, it would still count against San Jose.

What if we added in Carlsson, Bedard, and Fantilli to that list?

Probably something like this…

1. Bedard
2. Hagens
3. Fantilli
4. Carlsson
5. Hensler
6. McQueen
7. Celebrini
8. Misa
9. Levshunov

I'm aware of the rule and that it's linked to the team, but I interpret it differently than you. I don't think the pick is transferred until after the lottery, so it would be Pittsburgh as the team moving up by winning the lottery, not the Sharks. A clearer option would be if it happens this year...let's say the Pens finish with the 11th worst record. Their pick belongs to them unless they have a top 10 pick so theoretically it would transfer to the Sharks. However, if they win the lottery it's in the top 10 and therefore they keep their pick. Next year there's no protection, but I'm pretty sure it still works the same way. They couldn't use it for further transactions since it's still promised to the Sharks but the pick doesn't get transferred until the draft.

There are honestly a few things to be interpreted in the rule and I'm surprised they didn't phrase it more clearly or add examples to clear it up. The restriction is on moving up in the draft, so if the Sharks finish dead last in the league this year and they're picked in the first lottery, they're not moving up. Does that count as them using one of their two 'move-ups'? If not, how about if they finish dead last and the team with pick 13 wins the first lottery and moves up to pick 3. The last place team didn't win any lottery so that definitely shouldn't since they're not winning any of the lotteries.

Whoever owns the pick at the time of the lottery. If the 2024 picks becomes an unprotected 2025 after the 2024 lottery, San Jose then owns the 2025 pick at the time of the 2025 lottery, so it’s result counts against SJS. Using your example...

- 2024: Sharks win lottery with own pick, Pens transfer 2025 pick
- 2025: Sharks win lottery with Pens pick
- 2026: Sharks finish 8-10, would then pick 8-12 (now allowed to win lottery).

Often pick protection gets reported as “lottery protected” but the protection is usually top-2 protected. I believe this came up with Seth Jones trade a couple of years ago.

But there is a way to obtain three straight #1oa.

- 2024: win lottery
- 2025: win lottery
- 2026: finish last, two 12-16 teams win lotteries

Odds are pretty low though.

I don't think the Sharks will be finishing last in 2026. Hopefully by then they've begun to climb out of their hole a bit, hence the 8-10 prediction. Of course things could be swapped up to finish last in 2024 with a 12-16 winning the lottery and then winning in 25+26.