1 | | - | | The best player in the draft. A future #1 center in the league who can play a solid 2 way game but is also a solid offensive forward. Scouts have compared him to Crosby, which no offense to Celebrini, I don't think he'll be that good, but I could see him as an Elias Petterson type player. |
2 | | - | | With all the rumors going around about Chicago loving this kid and wanting to draft him, I think him and Celebrini are going to be the 1-2 punch to start this draft off. He's a solid defenseman who has the potential to be the best all around defenseman in this draft. Plus with his size, skill and being a right shot, he has a great chance to be in the NHL this October. |
3 | | - | | I could see Anaheim going with 1 of Buium or Silayev. I think in the end, they’re going to draft Silayev. Silayev is such a smooth skater for someone that is 6’7, 210lbs. He’s a beast defensively and could have some hidden offense. Anaheim doesn’t have a true defensive defenseman in their system and with Mintyukov and Zellweger there who can move the puck and put up offense, Silayev will compliment those two guys. |
4 | | - | | I think with Waddell being the new GM now, I think he’s not going to overthink this pick and take the BPA which is Demidov. Columbus has Jiricek and Mateychuk in the system so they could look for a skilled forward to pair with Fantilli in the future. Especially since it looks like Laine is on the way out. |
5 | | - | | Montreal without a doubt will select a forward at pick #5. Lindstrom is almost the perfect guy for them. They have so many young defensemen on the way and to have 2 big skilled forwards in the top 6 in Slafkovsky and Lindstrom, would only inch Montreal closer to competing. Lindstrom is listed as a center but Montreal considers Suzuki and Dach as their 1-2 punch, Lindstrom would gladly move to the wing, but he is a true center with his size, skill and speed. |
6 | | - | | For Utah I feel it really could be a toss up between 1 of Buium, Parekh or Dickinson. I think they’ll go with Buium because out of all three, he has the potential to have the best all around game. Great puck mover, great in his own end, can run a top PP, can log 22+ mins easily. Great first pick for Utah. |
7 | | - | | Ottawa is going to draft Erik Karlsson 2.0 in Zayne Parekh. A future top pairing of Sanderson-Parekh is going to be crazy. Sanderson is solid in all 3 zones and can cover Parekh defensive downsides. Parekh isn’t the worst in his own zone, but he will need someone to watch his back. |
8 | | - | | Ever since Seattle entered the NHL, every 1st round pick has been a forward. This year with Sam Dickinson being available with pick #8, Seattle will gladly draft him. He’s got some comparisons to being a Ryan Suter type player which is awesome for Seattle in the future if he can become anywhere close to a Suter. |
9 | | - | | Besides Celebrini at pick #1, if Tig Iginla is available to Calgary at 9, they will pick him. His stock since the beginning of the season has skyrocketed. Scouts have said he’s got the 2nd best shot in the draft behind only Cole Eiserman, but he has a better all around game than Eiserman. He can play center or wing but there’s a really good chance he’ll be a top 6 winger in the league. |
10 | | - | | If Eiserman is there at pick #10 for New Jersey, he’s the guy I’d like them to draft. He has the best shot in the draft, great size, underrated passing ability. Yes, he does have his downfalls such as, not great defensively, compete isn’t always there, not the best skater. The good news is that all this can be worked on in the NCAA next season. I just feel Eiserman either with Hughes, who will feed him the puck or Hischier, who can protect him defensively, I think Eiserman should be the pick here. Also, between Catton, Helenius and Sennecke, he has the highest offensive ceiling if he hits his potential. |
11 | | - | | Buffalo is just oozing with young forwards such as Benson, Savoie, Kulich, Rosen, Peterka and Ostlund which makes drafting Carter Yakemchuk even easier for Kevyn Adams. Yakemchuk isn’t the most fleet of foot, but a right shot defenseman who has snarl and a big heavy shot, is a great pick for Buffalo. |
12 | | - | | We have a trade. Philadelphia trades pick #12 in the 2024 NHL Draft and Ryan Johansen to Chicago for pick #18 in the 2024 NHL Draft. Chicago is on the clock. With this pick, Chicago will select Konsta Helenius. With Chicago already drafting Levshunov with pick #2, they add a forward in Helenius. They have some young guys coming in Nazar and Oliver Moore who can both play center just like Helenius, Chicago gets another forward to help Bedard in the future. |
13 | | - | | With Berkly Catton being on the smaller side, unfortunately he will slip and Minnesota will gladly take him. He joined only Sidney Crosby, Patrick Kane and Connor Bedard as the only draft eligible players to have 50+ goals and 115+ points this century. I could definitely see Catton as the steal of the draft with where he gets drafted. |
14 | | | | Celebrini is going to need wingers to play with and get the puck to. Beckett Sennecke is the guy. Sennecke at this position is the BPA here and the next couple of available defensemen are reaches and could be had later in the 1st round. |
15 | | - | | Brandsegg-Nygard just seems like a Steve Yzerman type of player. This is roughly where he is projected to get drafted and Detroit adds a big player with some skill. It will take him a couple of years to develop, but I think he will definitely be an NHL player. |
16 | | - | | One thing about Doug Armstrong is he loves adding big Canadian forwards. I could easily see Liam Greentree being that guy. For a big kid, he’s really quick, who has a great shot and can get the puck off his stick quickly. |
17 | | - | | Trevor Connelly is available here because of his off ice issues. Skill wise, scouts have said this kid is a top 5 player in this draft. He’s a pure offensive winger, high IQ, makes everyone he plays with better and a great skater. Just having some attitude and another issues which can be worked on, will leave him to be drafted around 14-22. Great piece for Washington to build for the future. |
18 | | | | This pick belongs to the Philadelphia Flyers after the trade earlier with Chicago. Solberg is probably the biggest riser in this draft. He was projected to go in the 5th round at the beginning of the year. His stock rose a lot of the world championship. He’s a big shut down defense with next to none offense, but he has grit, great skater for his size just like Silayev, and is a John Tortorella type player. |
19 | | - | | Just like Solberg getting drafted earlier, Jiricek has a close to same game as him. He doesn’t have as much bite as Solberg but once again, great skater, makes a great first pass, has some offense and could be a top 4 two way defenseman. He doesn’t have the ceiling like his brother, but he is working on his shot and could have a bomb from the point just like his brother. |
20 | | | | I could see the NYI grabbing the big skilled Russian winger. He will take a couple of years to develop but does have the potential to be a top 6 scoring winger. More young forwards to help the Islanders in the future. |
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