2024 Draft Thread - Friday June 28 and Saturday June 29 - Sphere Las Vegas

[TheDoldrums]

Has low upside, IMO.

What makes him a good pick for you?

I disagree. RHD version of Mattias Samuelsson a realistic upside if he develops well. RHD version of Hjalmarsson if he hits his top ~5% upside. Either way if he pans out he could be a top 4, even top pair guy as the perfect partner for a star offensive LHD (like a Rielly). I'd rather have Solberg but assuming he's gone I think Emery could be a solid choice.

Having said that he's not without risk. He's the best defensive defenseman in the draft, but with his near complete lack of puck skills and offensive tools, if his defense doesn't translate at higher levels for whatever reason than he would be a bust.

 

[francis246]

Happy to see Stolberg there. I like Petterson and Emery as well. Interesting that they think Eiserman's a possibility. He is a player I could see dropping out of the lottery.

You’d think they might move up to get him? I read the Leafs love this Eisermann kid. Buffalo and New Jersey are willing to move their picks

 

[Peasy]

You’d think they might move up to get him? I read the Leafs love this Eisermann kid. Buffalo and New Jersey are willing to move their picks

Yeah 100%. Hes the kind of player teams wont really want to ever give up, need to draft these type of players. He will be loved come playoff time every year. He could help pull his team into the fight. Dudes a dog. Hes probably the only player in this range id be fine with the leafs trading up to get unless theres an obvious faller.

Dont really want the leafs taking Eiserman. Too much risk, hes been falling all year, hasnt expanded his game at all. Hes good at one thing, scoring goals, but there have been other USNTDP guys that were in a similar mould and never panned out. Bellows and Wahlstrom. If Eiserman cant translate his goal scoring to the pros he will never stick, just like those 2. Last thing the leafs need is a one-dimensional goal scoring winger.

 

[TheDoldrums]

Last thing the leafs need is a one-dimensional goal scoring winger.

Eiserman seems to be the most one-dimensional goal scorer in a long time. Even guys like Bellows and Wahlstrom that you mentioned didn't have the other parts of their games criticized this much. A black hole that doesn't seem capable of doing anything else. I agree that he scares me and think a lot of people interested in him reuslts from a hangover from his earlier hype, a la Liljegren. When you remember him being talked about a top 3, even top 1 pick years ago it's easy to talk yourself into him being a steal now but the concerns seem pretty legitimate.

 

[Rare Jewel]

I read the Leafs love this Eisermann kid.

Where did you read this?

 

[JSn0w93]

Eiserman getting to 23 would be a redflag in itself, so we'd probably be better off taking someone else.

Can he be a player like Owen Tippett or is he a bust?

 

[darrylsittler27]

My concern is that the Leafs will take a guy they shouldnt because they dont have a 2nd round pick. It isnt that long ago that 23rd was the same as a 2nd rounder. This seems to be a decent draft for us with a lot of C and Dmen. We need both.

 

[uncleben]

My concern is that the Leafs will take a guy they shouldnt because they dont have a 2nd round pick. It isnt that long ago that 23rd was the same as a 2nd rounder. This seems to be a decent draft for us with a lot of C and Dmen. We need both.

I mean, last time 23rd was in the second round was 1991

I get the point you're making, I'm more just amazed how quickly time moves sometimes

 

[darrylsittler27]

I mean, last time 23rd was in the second round was 1991

I get the point you're making, I'm more just amazed how quickly time moves sometimes

There may be very little difference from say 16 to 40 in this draft. Chicago moved up for a reason.

 

[francis246]

Where did you read this?

All over Twitter yesterday and Friday. I’ll locate the teeets

 

[WTFMAN99]

My concern is that the Leafs will take a guy they shouldnt because they dont have a 2nd round pick. It isnt that long ago that 23rd was the same as a 2nd rounder. This seems to be a decent draft for us with a lot of C and Dmen. We need both.

You can probably liquidate a guy like Jarnkrok and/or Robertson for some additional draft capital.

 

[LeafChief]

Remember this name come draft time ... He really intrigues me.

Dean Letourneau.

Would the Leafs take him with their 1st round pick the 2024 NHL Draft's 'Tage Thompson 2.0'?

View attachment 880487

Letourneau has opted to play at Boston College next season , a potential late first-round pick, had a dominant showing at the Canadian high school level, recording 61 goals and 66 assists in just 56 games.

Oh did I mention the 18 year old Centre is 6-7 and 210lbs

View attachment 880489

Scouting Report:

Letourneau is gigantic, but contrary to other players his size, it doesn’t feel like he’s trapped in his own body. He moves quite freely, especially because he uses crossover techniques to avoid the long, slower strides, and there’s a good upper-body/lower-body separation and some agility. A lot of his offence consists of downhill attacks where he surveys pressure, drives the net with his range and size, or leverages the attention he receives to find open teammate. -EliteProspects 2024 NHL Draft Guide

When your NHL Central Scouting listing comes in at 6-foot-6 (SAC measured him at “a hair under 6-foot-7” in the fall and he might even be taller than that now) and 210 pounds, and you start to rack up two points per game against the top prep schools in North America, everyone pays attention. When NHL Central Scouting released its players to watch list in October, Letourneau was given a “B” rating, which “indicates a second/third-round candidate.” By their midseason list, he ranked 20th among all North American skaters.

“He’s a hell of a player and he’s really creating a lot of buzz,” De Langley said on a phone call midway through this season. “I call him like a Tage Thompson 2.0. His skating, his shot, and the way he can control a puck in tight for a guy that’s 6-foot-7 or 6-foot-8, it’s crazy.” “Coming into this year, I knew that he was going to rock it. Just from his workouts, you could see the overall balance and coordination, especially as a big guy,” said Greco, who will be travelling to Vegas for the draft with Letourneau and fellow client Henry Mews. “His power and his strength has gone way, way up. We knew he could have a huge impact on the ice because a guy with his size and his speed, woof, it’s crazy. And now the results speak for themselves. This kid I think is going to be dynamite.”

View attachment 880490
View attachment 880492

"Remember this name come draft time" as if everyone hasn't been talking about this guy.

Lmao.

 

[darrylsittler27]

You can probably liquidate a guy like Jarnkrok and/or Robertson for some additional draft capital.

Jarnkrok.

 

[TheMadHatTrick]

 

[Burnie97]

Jarnkrok.

I'm not saying Robertson will ever be unreal but you're never getting a pick for him right now that will come up in the next 3 years that he could do next year. He'd maybe get a 3rd and a 6th. It isn't worth it.

 

[darrylsittler27]

I'm not saying Robertson will ever be unreal but you're never getting a pick for him right now that will come up in the next 3 years that he could do next year. He'd maybe get a 3rd and a 6th. It isn't worth it.

I wouldn't trade him for less than a 2nd. I think he will be good but is it here?

Doubt Robertson gets you a 3rd

Then no deal.

 

[-DeMo-]

last thing this team should be doing is trading up with our current lack of picks don't waste more picks when the prospect still has a real chance of never playing. trading down imo in our spot makes more sense teams like Calgary / Anahiem / Philly all have high 2nd's if we could move down and grab there 2nd aswell I would make that move.

 

[RomanianLeafs]

NHL Agents Could Look to Shorten NHL Draft to 4 Rounds - The Hockey Writers NHL Entry Draft Latest News, Analysis & More

The NHLPA could negotiate for a shortened NHL Entry Draft in the next CBA negotiations, looking for a four-round draft.

thehockeywriters.com

 

[LaPlante94]

NHL Agents Could Look to Shorten NHL Draft to 4 Rounds - The Hockey Writers NHL Entry Draft Latest News, Analysis & More

The NHLPA could negotiate for a shortened NHL Entry Draft in the next CBA negotiations, looking for a four-round draft.

thehockeywriters.com

Idk if I'd like this. I know they tried to compare it to the NFL and say they have a much bigger roster but the NFL also signs everyone of their draft picks and they either play or rot on their practice squad. It also helps they have Special Teams units to put a lot of these players on too unlike the NHL. 7 Round draft works for the NHL even though it's only a 23 man roster because they have 2 development leagues close by to their NHL team usually with the AHL and ECHL and they also have players from other countries un who play in their pro leagues unlike the NFL who only has NA players pretty much. I also forgot that a majority of these kids are 18 when they are drafted unlike NFL players who are anywhere from 18-24 so they still got their Junior leagues like the CHL and NCAA over here in NA. NHL teams also don't have to sign their prospects to contracts right away and can see if they develop a bit before commiting to doing that unlike the NFL I believe. I hope they don't ruin the draft, I know a lot of players drafted from rounds 5-7 don't make the NHL but the ones who do it's nice to see them overcome the odds.

 

[Kiwi]

I'm really warming to Yegor Surin

Every team needs at least one loose unit, why couldn't he be ours?

 

[TheDoldrums]

NHL Agents Could Look to Shorten NHL Draft to 4 Rounds - The Hockey Writers NHL Entry Draft Latest News, Analysis & More

The NHLPA could negotiate for a shortened NHL Entry Draft in the next CBA negotiations, looking for a four-round draft.

thehockeywriters.com

Feel like this could help us. Between being the hometown for a lot of guys and the Marlies being a really desirable AHL team, we’d probably get more volume and quality of these prospect free agents than most teams.

 

[Torontonian]

Iffy on taking 1-dimensional wingers, good if you hit on them, but if they don't develop into what they are suppose to do, they really struggle at a NHL level.

 

[horner]

Feel like this could help us. Between being the hometown for a lot of guys and the Marlies being a really desirable AHL team, we’d probably get more volume and quality of these prospect free agents than most teams.

It would suck for the crappy team

 

[Trapper]

Iffy on taking 1-dimensional wingers, good if you hit on them, but if they don't develop into what they are suppose to do, they really struggle at a NHL level.

Unless a winger blows you away with a quality package of skill and hard play style, I’d stay away from them in the draft for a while.
We need quality players that can project into a 2C or top 4 D. That’s our biggest organizational need.
Wingers are easily available every year UFA.

 

[SprDaVE]

NHL Agents Could Look to Shorten NHL Draft to 4 Rounds - The Hockey Writers NHL Entry Draft Latest News, Analysis & More

The NHLPA could negotiate for a shortened NHL Entry Draft in the next CBA negotiations, looking for a four-round draft.

thehockeywriters.com

This seems good but the trading aspect will get a lot tougher to do without those late picks. I like the idea of a lot of prospect free agents choosing where to go, and there would be some very good pick ups to get. You can probably make it 5 rounds.