2 Round Mock Draft with Explanations

Draft Class: 2024

Created By: Z0ra

Published: Apr. 18 at 12:52 p.m.

Lottery Winners:

San Jose Sharks (1→1)
Ottawa Senators (7→2)

DRAFT

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Lottery winners
1. San Jose Sharks
2. Ottawa Senators
Round 1
1. Macklin Celebrini (San Jose Sharks) (Details: This is really obvious, what's great is that Celebrini has ties to the Sharks, having played for their junior team (Jr Sharks).).
2. Artyom Levshunov (Ottawa Senators) (Details: Between Levshunov and Demidov, I believe the Sens will take Levshunov. They love USDP, USHL, and NCAA talent, plus Lev is a RD, which is their biggest need.).
3. Ivan Demidov (Chicago Blackhawks) (Details: Chicago is reportedly high on Lev and Dickinson, but I believe Dickinson makes no sense for them given that LD is their strongest position. Instead they should take Demidov, who would be a nice playmaking option for Bedard.).
4. Anton Silayev (Anaheim Ducks) (Details: If Levshunov isn't available, I believe the Ducks go for Silayev. They need RD, but Silayev has been playing on his offside for Torpedo. Left shot, but plays the right side.).
5. Cayden Lindstrom (Columbus Blue Jackets) (Details: There are better options available, but I believe since GMs love to favor size greatly, Lindstrom might be the pick here. I personally prefer Eiserman here, but Lindstrom does address the Blue Jackets need for size and speed.).
6. Tij Iginla (Montreal Canadiens) (Details: Montreal is reportedly high on Iginla and has already spoken to him in person a couple of times. Slight reach, but I believe the Canadiens will trust their gut.).
7. Sam Dickinson (Arizona Coyotes) (Details: With Utah's first pick, they will go safe and take Dickinson. Eiserman and Connelly are ahead of him, but there is risk behind them. Utah must go safe here, and Dickinson fits what they are looking for. Arizona clearly wants to build a tall and gritty D core for the future, add Dickinson to the mix and the top 4 is nearly set.).
8. Zeev Buium (Seattle Kraken) (Details: The Kraken should go best D available, given that they haven't drafted a D in the first round out of the 3 years of their existence. Buium is the best one, there is very little chance that Buium falls out of the top 10 like many people believe.).
9. Michael Brandsegg-Nygård (Calgary Flames) (Details: This is completely off the board, but Calgary values size in their prospects. With MBN, Calgary is basically getting Tkachuk 2.0., theres a lot of similarities between the two.).
10. Trevor Connelly (New Jersey Devils) (Details: I believe the Devils should trade back here to address their need of a physical forward, but if they don't they will draft Connelly. Talent alone, Connelly is a top 5 player in the draft and he has already owned up to his shortcomings. The Devils are reportedly no longer high on Holtz, let Connelly come in and inject goal-scoring. Plus Connelly plays a lot like Jack Hughes, so there's even some mentorship with this pick.).
11. Berkly Catton (Buffalo Sabres) (Details: This is basically Zach Benson all over again. Catton falls due to teams favoring size heavily, and Catton is an undersized player. But its been proven that it doesn't matter at all, so I don't like the fact that Catton has fallen.).
12. Cole Eiserman (Philadelphia Flyers) (Details: This is where Eiserman goes. This mock is more so what I believe the GM will do rather than what I want to happen. I sure hope Eiserman goes top 5, but due to his incomplete game, he will fall. But under Torts I feel like Eiserman will buy in defensively and he will become a boomer player in the draft.).
13. Zayne Parekh (Minnesota Wild) (Details: I believe Parekh will be the pick here, the Wild need D more than forward. I considered Stiga here, but Rossi and Stramel have steadily developed into prime players.).
14. Carter Yakemchuk (San Jose Sharks from Pittsburgh Penguins) (Details: A lot of Sharks fans seem to be high on Yakemchuk, plus the Sharks need a RD badly.).
15. Liam Greentree (Detroit Red Wings) (Details: The Red Wings need size and grit, and I believe Greentree addresses both of those. Zadina didn't work out, let Greentree come in and inject size and scoring.).
16. Leo Sahlin Wallenius (Washington Capitals) (Details: THIS IS ST. LOUIS PICK!!!! CapFriendly hasn't updated the draft order, this pick should belong to the Blues. No matter what, the Blues should take a D here, I could even see them trading up to the 11-14 range. If they don't, they take Sahlin Wallenius. A bit of a reach, but he plays a nice two-way game, similar to Pavel Mintyukov.).
17. Teddy Stiga (St. Louis Blues) (Details: THIS IS THE CAPITALS PICK!!!! Washington doesn't have a big prospect pool, I see them going BPA. That would be Stiga, who's the best defensive forward in the draft and second best skater.).
18. Konsta Helenius (New York Islanders) (Details: The Islanders finally get their center that they wanted. Barzal and Helenius would make for a solid 1-2 punch down the middle.).
19. Igor Chernyshov (Los Angeles Kings) (Details: The Kings will go for best non-center available, given their deep prospect pool. They can afford to wait on Chernyshov to get to his full potential.).
20. Adam Jiricek (Chicago Blackhawks from Tampa Bay Lightning) (Details: Jiricek had top 10 status at the start, but injuries took a toll on his ranking. He could bounce back and become a solid top 4 guy for the Blackhawks.).
21. Sacha Boisvert (Vegas Golden Knights) (Details: It doesn't matter who Vegas picks here because they will likely be gone next year, given the Edstrom, Dean, and Krebs pick. I went for BPA, which is Boisvert.).
22. EJ Emery (Nashville Predators) (Details: The Predators ideally need a shutdown guy for Josi, I believe they take Emery here.).
23. Alexis Beaulac (Toronto Maple Leafs) (Details: I went random with this pick because the Leafs took a big reach with Cowan, and so far its paid off. Beaulac I know nothing about, but at the same time we knew nothing about Cowan. Who knows, maybe this pick will eventually pay off.).
24. Nikita Artamonov (Anaheim Ducks from Edmonton Oilers) (Details: The Ducks select Silayev's teammate in Artamonov.).
25. Kamil Bednarik (Colorado Avalanche) (Details: Given how deep Colorado is, I believe they go BPA, which is Bednarik.).
26. Cole Hutson (Montreal Canadiens from Winnipeg Jets) (Details: This would create a nice storyline, having the two Hutson brothers on the same team.).
27. Henry Mews (Ottawa Senators from Boston Bruins) (Details: Ottawa gets a guy that plays in their own backyard in Mews. I see a lot of Erik Karlsson in his game too.).
28. Charlie Elick (Calgary Flames from Vancouver Canucks) (Details: Once again, the Flames value size in their prospects, they need D more than anything. Elick would be the pick here, offensive upside is in question but defensively he's really good.).
29. Cole Beaudoin (Philadelphia Flyers from Florida Panthers) (Details: A bit off the board, but Beaudoin is a power forward, something that the Flyers lost when trading Gauthier. Beaudoin is arguably the best puck protector in the draft.).
30. Hagen Burrows (Carolina Hurricanes) (Details: Underrated player, plays a solid two-way game. However, he's a high schooler but Carolina has had very good luck with high schoolers before.).
31. Andrew Basha (Dallas Stars) (Details: The Stars have become a deep team, I believe they go BPA here, which is Basha.).
32. Terik Parascak (New York Rangers) (Details: Parascak is this year's Gabe Perreault, so he fits the Rangers system well.).

Round 2
33. Spencer Gill (San Jose Sharks) (Details: The Sharks double down on RD by taking Gill.).
34. Tanner Howe (Chicago Blackhawks) (Details: A good storyline pick, the Hawks take Bedard's former linemate. I did consider Hage here given that he plays in Chicago's backyard.).
35. Emil Hemming (Anaheim Ducks) (Details: I went with best non LD available, which is Hemming. Pretty much he's a worse version of Stiga.).
36. Luke Misa (Philadelphia Flyers from Columbus Blue Jackets) (Details: I considered Hage, but Misa plays a Cam Atkinson type game, and Torts loves how Atkinson plays.).
37. Aron Kiviharju (Winnipeg Jets from Montreal Canadiens) (Details: LD is Winnipeg's strongest position, but Kiviharju has fallen far enough. He is this year's Lambert, and Heinola hasn't worked out, give Winnipeg a guy that plays a similar style. The once best player in the draft gets stolen by Winnipeg.).
38. Colton Roberts (Arizona Coyotes) (Details: Utah adds to their tall D core by drafting Roberts.).
39. Carter George (Ottawa Senators) (Details: The first goalie in the draft goes to Ottawa.).
40. Matvei Shuravin (Seattle Kraken) (Details: Shuravin is a project pick with a lot of upside and adds more depth to Seattle's D core. Now the Kraken have a future top 4 of Buium, Nelson, Evans, and Shuravin would be a great setup for the future.).
41. Dean Letourneau (Calgary Flames) (Details: Calgary goes BPA which is Letourneau.).
42. Clarke Caswell (San Jose Sharks from New Jersey Devils) (Details: Caswell once had the pedigree of being a top 10 player in the draft coming into the season. Its not like he's bad, he's actually really good and there's still some upside. Caswell was just jumped by other players who had stronger second halves of their seasons.).
43. Alfons Freij (Buffalo Sabres) (Details: Buffalo has this trend of picking a Canadian born player first, then a Swedish born player after. The trend continues here. Freji is a late season riser.).
44. Maxim Massé (Pittsburgh Penguins from Philadelphia Flyers) (Details: I see a lot of Malkin in Masse's game, he fits the Penguins system well.).
45. Adam Jecho (Minnesota Wild) (Details: I believe the Wild should rebuild, take a guy who was projected to go top 15 a year ago. Jecho feels like a Guerin type pick given his size.).
46. Michael Hage (Pittsburgh Penguins) (Details: I believe next year is the final straw for Pittsburgh to make the playoffs, I would go for a high upside player. This is where Hage finally goes.).
47. Linus Eriksson (Detroit Red Wings) (Details: I've seen some comparisons to Robby Fabbri with Eriksson, so I believe he will fit Detroit's system well. Plus, he's from the SHL, where Yzerman loves to scout.).
48. Beckett Sennecke (Arizona Coyotes from Washington Capitals) (Details: I believe Utah will once again go safe with this pick, but this time they take a forward.).
49. Will Skahan (St. Louis Blues) (Details: The Blues need a bigger presence on D, they take Skahan would could be a nice shutdown guy for them.).
50. Dominik Badinka (New York Islanders) (Details: I believe the Islanders will draft a D here, Badinka would be the pick here.).
51. Julius Miettinen (Philadelphia Flyers) (Details: Miettinen addresses size, which is something that Philly needs after trading Gauthier. Will fit well with Eiserman and Michkov, who are both smaller.).
52. Yegor Surin (Chicago Blackhawks from Los Angeles Kings) (Details: Surin has been a great late season riser, I believe he will go here.).
53. Ryder Ritchie (Nashville Predators from Tampa Bay Lightning) (Details: Nashville goes BPA, they get a steal here in Ritchie.).
54. Matvei Gridin (Washington Capitals from Vegas Golden Knights) (Details: Washington isn't afraid of drafting Russians, Gridin doesn't have much risk given that he's transitioned to the USHL.).
55. Adam Kleber (Nashville Predators) (Details: Around this spot is where picks start being random. The Predators go Kleber.).
56. Lucas Pettersson (St. Louis Blues from Toronto Maple Leafs) (Details: Thomas-Dvorsky-Pettersson would make a solid 1-2-3 down the middle. Put Stenberg on the wing.).
57. Luke Ashton (Edmonton Oilers) (Details: Completely random, but addresses a need for the Oilers. Holland must address a need in order to keep his job.).
58. Tanner Adams (Montreal Canadiens from Colorado Avalanche) (Details: Montreal has an exciting prospect pool at this point, they go with the first overager of the draft.).
59. Seth Constance (Nashville Predators from Winnipeg Jets) (Details: Again, completely random. Love the name.).
60. Jesse Pulkkinen (Anaheim Ducks from Boston Bruins) (Details: Anaheim has a deep prospect pool, they go with an overager.).
61. Chris Able (Chicago Blackhawks from Vancouver Canucks) (Details: Love the name, the Blackhawks take another RD.).
62. Brodie Ziemer (Arizona Coyotes from Florida Panthers) (Details: Completely random here.).
63. Bauer Berry (Carolina Hurricanes) (Details: Love the name, just having fun with this at this point.).
64. Jett Luchanko (Calgary Flames from Dallas Stars) (Details: Normally at the end of the second round, theres always a steal. Luchanko could go a lot higher than this, and I've seen a lot of Dillon Dube comps. Fits Calgary's system well.).
0. Eric Olsson (Seattle Kraken from New York Rangers) (Details: Normally two goalies go in the 2nd round. Ottawa and Seattle are the teams to do it. Olsson is the #1 goalie on my board, but he's an overager so he will fall.).

CapFriendly.com User-Generated Mock-Draft

ROUND 1	TEAM	ORIGINAL	PLAYER	DETAILS

1	-	Macklin Celebrini	This is really obvious, what's great is that Celebrini has ties to the Sharks, having played for their junior team (Jr Sharks).
2	-	Artyom Levshunov	Between Levshunov and Demidov, I believe the Sens will take Levshunov. They love USDP, USHL, and NCAA talent, plus Lev is a RD, which is their biggest need.
3	-	Ivan Demidov	Chicago is reportedly high on Lev and Dickinson, but I believe Dickinson makes no sense for them given that LD is their strongest position. Instead they should take Demidov, who would be a nice playmaking option for Bedard.
4	-	Anton Silayev	If Levshunov isn't available, I believe the Ducks go for Silayev. They need RD, but Silayev has been playing on his offside for Torpedo. Left shot, but plays the right side.
5	-	Cayden Lindstrom	There are better options available, but I believe since GMs love to favor size greatly, Lindstrom might be the pick here. I personally prefer Eiserman here, but Lindstrom does address the Blue Jackets need for size and speed.
6	-	Tij Iginla	Montreal is reportedly high on Iginla and has already spoken to him in person a couple of times. Slight reach, but I believe the Canadiens will trust their gut.
7	-	Sam Dickinson	With Utah's first pick, they will go safe and take Dickinson. Eiserman and Connelly are ahead of him, but there is risk behind them. Utah must go safe here, and Dickinson fits what they are looking for. Arizona clearly wants to build a tall and gritty D core for the future, add Dickinson to the mix and the top 4 is nearly set.
8	-	Zeev Buium	The Kraken should go best D available, given that they haven't drafted a D in the first round out of the 3 years of their existence. Buium is the best one, there is very little chance that Buium falls out of the top 10 like many people believe.
9	-	Michael Brandsegg-Nygård	This is completely off the board, but Calgary values size in their prospects. With MBN, Calgary is basically getting Tkachuk 2.0., theres a lot of similarities between the two.
10	-	Trevor Connelly	I believe the Devils should trade back here to address their need of a physical forward, but if they don't they will draft Connelly. Talent alone, Connelly is a top 5 player in the draft and he has already owned up to his shortcomings. The Devils are reportedly no longer high on Holtz, let Connelly come in and inject goal-scoring. Plus Connelly plays a lot like Jack Hughes, so there's even some mentorship with this pick.
11	-	Berkly Catton	This is basically Zach Benson all over again. Catton falls due to teams favoring size heavily, and Catton is an undersized player. But its been proven that it doesn't matter at all, so I don't like the fact that Catton has fallen.
12	-	Cole Eiserman	This is where Eiserman goes. This mock is more so what I believe the GM will do rather than what I want to happen. I sure hope Eiserman goes top 5, but due to his incomplete game, he will fall. But under Torts I feel like Eiserman will buy in defensively and he will become a boomer player in the draft.
13	-	Zayne Parekh	I believe Parekh will be the pick here, the Wild need D more than forward. I considered Stiga here, but Rossi and Stramel have steadily developed into prime players.
14		Carter Yakemchuk	A lot of Sharks fans seem to be high on Yakemchuk, plus the Sharks need a RD badly.
15	-	Liam Greentree	The Red Wings need size and grit, and I believe Greentree addresses both of those. Zadina didn't work out, let Greentree come in and inject size and scoring.
16	-	Leo Sahlin Wallenius	THIS IS ST. LOUIS PICK!!!! CapFriendly hasn't updated the draft order, this pick should belong to the Blues. No matter what, the Blues should take a D here, I could even see them trading up to the 11-14 range. If they don't, they take Sahlin Wallenius. A bit of a reach, but he plays a nice two-way game, similar to Pavel Mintyukov.
17	-	Teddy Stiga	THIS IS THE CAPITALS PICK!!!! Washington doesn't have a big prospect pool, I see them going BPA. That would be Stiga, who's the best defensive forward in the draft and second best skater.
18	-	Konsta Helenius	The Islanders finally get their center that they wanted. Barzal and Helenius would make for a solid 1-2 punch down the middle.
19	-	Igor Chernyshov	The Kings will go for best non-center available, given their deep prospect pool. They can afford to wait on Chernyshov to get to his full potential.
20		Adam Jiricek	Jiricek had top 10 status at the start, but injuries took a toll on his ranking. He could bounce back and become a solid top 4 guy for the Blackhawks.
21	-	Sacha Boisvert	It doesn't matter who Vegas picks here because they will likely be gone next year, given the Edstrom, Dean, and Krebs pick. I went for BPA, which is Boisvert.
22	-	EJ Emery	The Predators ideally need a shutdown guy for Josi, I believe they take Emery here.
23	-	Alexis Beaulac	I went random with this pick because the Leafs took a big reach with Cowan, and so far its paid off. Beaulac I know nothing about, but at the same time we knew nothing about Cowan. Who knows, maybe this pick will eventually pay off.
24		Nikita Artamonov	The Ducks select Silayev's teammate in Artamonov.
25	-	Kamil Bednarik	Given how deep Colorado is, I believe they go BPA, which is Bednarik.
26		Cole Hutson	This would create a nice storyline, having the two Hutson brothers on the same team.
27		Henry Mews	Ottawa gets a guy that plays in their own backyard in Mews. I see a lot of Erik Karlsson in his game too.
28		Charlie Elick	Once again, the Flames value size in their prospects, they need D more than anything. Elick would be the pick here, offensive upside is in question but defensively he's really good.
29		Cole Beaudoin	A bit off the board, but Beaudoin is a power forward, something that the Flyers lost when trading Gauthier. Beaudoin is arguably the best puck protector in the draft.
30	-	Hagen Burrows	Underrated player, plays a solid two-way game. However, he's a high schooler but Carolina has had very good luck with high schoolers before.
31	-	Andrew Basha	The Stars have become a deep team, I believe they go BPA here, which is Basha.
32	-	Terik Parascak	Parascak is this year's Gabe Perreault, so he fits the Rangers system well.

ROUND 2	TEAM	ORIGINAL	PLAYER	DETAILS

33	-	Spencer Gill	The Sharks double down on RD by taking Gill.
34	-	Tanner Howe	A good storyline pick, the Hawks take Bedard's former linemate. I did consider Hage here given that he plays in Chicago's backyard.
35	-	Emil Hemming	I went with best non LD available, which is Hemming. Pretty much he's a worse version of Stiga.
36		Luke Misa	I considered Hage, but Misa plays a Cam Atkinson type game, and Torts loves how Atkinson plays.
37		Aron Kiviharju	LD is Winnipeg's strongest position, but Kiviharju has fallen far enough. He is this year's Lambert, and Heinola hasn't worked out, give Winnipeg a guy that plays a similar style. The once best player in the draft gets stolen by Winnipeg.
38	-	Colton Roberts	Utah adds to their tall D core by drafting Roberts.
39	-	Carter George	The first goalie in the draft goes to Ottawa.
40	-	Matvei Shuravin	Shuravin is a project pick with a lot of upside and adds more depth to Seattle's D core. Now the Kraken have a future top 4 of Buium, Nelson, Evans, and Shuravin would be a great setup for the future.
41	-	Dean Letourneau	Calgary goes BPA which is Letourneau.
42		Clarke Caswell	Caswell once had the pedigree of being a top 10 player in the draft coming into the season. Its not like he's bad, he's actually really good and there's still some upside. Caswell was just jumped by other players who had stronger second halves of their seasons.
43	-	Alfons Freij	Buffalo has this trend of picking a Canadian born player first, then a Swedish born player after. The trend continues here. Freji is a late season riser.
44		Maxim Massé	I see a lot of Malkin in Masse's game, he fits the Penguins system well.
45	-	Adam Jecho	I believe the Wild should rebuild, take a guy who was projected to go top 15 a year ago. Jecho feels like a Guerin type pick given his size.
46	-	Michael Hage	I believe next year is the final straw for Pittsburgh to make the playoffs, I would go for a high upside player. This is where Hage finally goes.
47	-	Linus Eriksson	I've seen some comparisons to Robby Fabbri with Eriksson, so I believe he will fit Detroit's system well. Plus, he's from the SHL, where Yzerman loves to scout.
48		Beckett Sennecke	I believe Utah will once again go safe with this pick, but this time they take a forward.
49	-	Will Skahan	The Blues need a bigger presence on D, they take Skahan would could be a nice shutdown guy for them.
50	-	Dominik Badinka	I believe the Islanders will draft a D here, Badinka would be the pick here.
51	-	Julius Miettinen	Miettinen addresses size, which is something that Philly needs after trading Gauthier. Will fit well with Eiserman and Michkov, who are both smaller.
52		Yegor Surin	Surin has been a great late season riser, I believe he will go here.
53		Ryder Ritchie	Nashville goes BPA, they get a steal here in Ritchie.
54		Matvei Gridin	Washington isn't afraid of drafting Russians, Gridin doesn't have much risk given that he's transitioned to the USHL.
55	-	Adam Kleber	Around this spot is where picks start being random. The Predators go Kleber.
56		Lucas Pettersson	Thomas-Dvorsky-Pettersson would make a solid 1-2-3 down the middle. Put Stenberg on the wing.
57	-	Luke Ashton	Completely random, but addresses a need for the Oilers. Holland must address a need in order to keep his job.
58		Tanner Adams	Montreal has an exciting prospect pool at this point, they go with the first overager of the draft.
59		Seth Constance	Again, completely random. Love the name.
60		Jesse Pulkkinen	Anaheim has a deep prospect pool, they go with an overager.
61		Chris Able	Love the name, the Blackhawks take another RD.
62		Brodie Ziemer	Completely random here.
63	-	Bauer Berry	Love the name, just having fun with this at this point.
64		Jett Luchanko	Normally at the end of the second round, theres always a steal. Luchanko could go a lot higher than this, and I've seen a lot of Dillon Dube comps. Fits Calgary's system well.
65		Eric Olsson	Normally two goalies go in the 2nd round. Ottawa and Seattle are the teams to do it. Olsson is the #1 goalie on my board, but he's an overager so he will fall.

Top Comments

Apr. 18 at 1:04 p.m.

mokumboi

Joined: Apr. 2019

Posts: 29,313

Likes: 11,371

Was looking forward to this. Love the Skahan pick, not feeling the other two so much. Give me Jiricek and not a tiny C. Honestly though, I do not feel like the Blues will be drafting in all their spots like last summer.

Apr. 18 at 1:57 p.m.

ggha777

Joined: Jun. 2018

Posts: 1,587

Likes: 744

Even though it's lanes brother I just don't see the Habs taking another LHD, At least early in the draft.

Apr. 18 at 2:01 p.m.

GiggywithGibby

Future Ducks legend

Joined: Jun. 2022

Posts: 9,955

Likes: 6,748

Between Mintyukov, Zellweger, and LaCombe, I would be shocked if the Ducks took a LHD with our first even in Leshunov is off the board. Maybe we trade back, maybe we take a forward, maybe we grab one of the other RHD at our pick, but I don't think we're taking Silayev.

Apr. 18 at 2:17 p.m.

SpiderSpiderSpider28