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GDT: 2024 NHL Draft (June 28 - June 29, Las Vegas Sphere)

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THW 2024 Mock NHL Draft Round 1: Our Writers Make Their Picks - The Hockey Writers Latest News, Analysis & More

With the 2024 NHL Entry Draft about a month away, it’s time for the THW writing staff to make their picks in the annual mock draft.
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17. Washington Capitals: Michael Hage, C, Chicago Steel (USHL)
THW Writer: Lukas Bernasiewicz

A player who was a star in minor hockey for the Toronto Jr. Canadiens, Hage decided to take his talents south of the border and join the Chicago Steel of the USHL. Michael Hage did not see the ice much in his rookie season due to an injury he sustained in the summer of 2022 but once he returned near the end of the season, he scored 10 points in 13 regular season games and two points in six playoff games while also committing to the University of Michigan for the 2025-26 season. Hage struck back in his draft year after a full training camp and produced 75 points in 54 regular season games and four points in two playoff games.

Hage will need some time to develop which is why Washington picking him at this spot would be perfect. The Capitals took a step forward this year in making the playoffs but the team is not in any rush to win a Stanley Cup just yet. The team will be waiting on recent first-round pick Ryan Leonard for at least another year and also have 2023 second-round pick Andrew Cristall in the pipeline. Alex Ovechkin isn’t getting any younger and the Capitals need to think of a future where he is no longer on the team anymore. Adding Hage to an already promising offensive prospect pool will do wonders for the franchise after Ovechkin retires.
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www.flohockey.tv

Talking Hockey Sense With Chris Peters | FloHockey | Hockey

Talking Hockey Sense is FloHockey's weekly podcast covering the world of prospects with veteran NHL Draft and prospects analyst Chris Peters.
www.flohockey.tv www.flohockey.tv

Caps mocked going with Jiricek over Solberg or Hage. I'd probably go Solberg, in part due to his physicality. But the injury-related slide is certainly something they've invested in several times in recent memory.
 
hopefully one of catton/helenius/yakemchuk falls to us. if not; id like to see chernyshov or connelly if we go forward or freij/kiviharju if we go defense. brandsegg-nygård would be acceptable as well but i dont think he has any kind of x factor. can we just avoid boring low ceiling/high basement guys.
 
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JayBeagleFanAccount said:
hopefully one of catton/helenius/yakemchuk falls to us. if not; id like to see chernyshov or connelly if we go forward or freij/kiviharju if we go defense. brandsegg-nygård would be acceptable as well but i dont think he has any kind of x factor. can we just avoid boring low ceiling/high basement guys.
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Sure hope so! Need to keep swinging for the fences even if we miss a pick or two. Gotta get some talent up in this pipeline.
 
Caps do seem to attach themselves to the highly rated pre-season guys and get them as sliders (Lapierre, Miroshnichenko)

So Jiricek makes sense but I also think that approach is generally pretty risky. It looks like both picks are looking decent for us when we went that route but I wouldn’t mind taking the Riser this year.
 
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www.nytimes.com

2024 NHL Mock Draft: Pronman, Wheeler and Bultman play GM and pick the first round

The Athletic's Corey Pronman, Scott Wheeler and Max Bultman make their own selections for each team in the 2024 NHL Draft's opening round.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com

17. Washington Capitals (Pick by Wheeler): Michael Hage, C, Chicago Steel

This is where things start to open up in the draft. The Caps’ pool is strong at wing but could use a boost at both C and D. I like Hage’s skating, length, skill level and premium position for them in this range over the available D. He’s probably going to go a little lower than this on draft day but I’m a big believer.
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wickedwitch said:
If Buium slips past ~5, I hope the Caps aggressively try to go after him. I think I feel about Buium the way a lot of people felt about Michkov last year. I'd throw in another (protected) 1st to get him.
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I'd do it for Parekh or Eiserman in the range they have them listed(11-15). Not sure weve got the assets to get near the top 5 without hurting the rebuild.
 
As much as I think he's an asshole If Conno is there at 17 I might have to go for it. I didn't like our options with the mock draft poll we just did. Kid has top side elite scoring skill and that's hard to find at 17. He could easily be like Kuz, Bura, and Vrana and shine bright a few seasons and burn out, Might be worth it still.
 
Langway said:
www.flohockey.tv

Talking Hockey Sense With Chris Peters | FloHockey | Hockey

Talking Hockey Sense is FloHockey's weekly podcast covering the world of prospects with veteran NHL Draft and prospects analyst Chris Peters.
www.flohockey.tv www.flohockey.tv

Caps mocked going with Jiricek over Solberg or Hage. I'd probably go Solberg, in part due to his physicality. But the injury-related slide is certainly something they've invested in several times in recent memory.
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Watching Jiricek’s 20-year-old brother excel for Cleveland Monsters, I am intrigued with his brother at pick #16.
 
Ovechkins Wodka said:
As much as I think he's an asshole If Conno is there at 17 I might have to go for it. I didn't like our options with the mock draft poll we just did. Kid has top side elite scoring skill and that's hard to find at 17. He could easily be like Kuz, Bura, and Vrana and shine bright a few seasons and burn out, Might be worth it still.
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Ideally I think in such a scenario they'd either trade up or perhaps bundle the pick and some others for a more established talent like Zegras, if possible. Solberg does have some real two-way upside along the lines of maybe an Ekholm potentially and that's not nothing when building out a competitive, hard-working team. Watching the playoffs and talents like Panarin and Marner struggle on the wing suggests fixating on top-end talent isn't necessarily decisive come playoff time when space is at such a premium. Such talents also need Drive and that can be tough to gauge due to all forms of immaturity. Other team factors come into play in limiting output but being desperate for talented upside shouldn't lead to overlooking shortcomings or sacrificing perspective when it comes to its ultimate relative impact.

Connelly does have some grit to his game, particularly for a more slight player. He does back check more than some loafing wingers. He's potentially more well-rounded than Burakovsky or Vrana, assuming he fills out, but it's hard to say how polished he'll be or how long it'll take him to fill out. Skill-wise I don't think he's on the level of a Kyle Connor so considering him a top line talent seems generous. Were he on that level he'd still be getting more buzz to go pretty early IMO in a draft not loaded up front. I did like his 5v5 game at the U18s for the most part but still don't quite know what to make of his game. Not a sniper per se nor a high-end creator. He's good...but does he have that next level?

Teams need those extra layers of fortitude, simplicity, discipline, patience, locked-in anticipation and defensive intensity to stymie the opposition and establish the upper hand. There's wisdom IMO in valuing defensive upside, high IQ, high character future leaders instead of fixating on a few more offensive categories. The Caps do need upside to be sure but upside comes in a lot of different forms and overall it takes a blend of two-way skill sets to compete at the highest levels. Systems and tactics can compensate for individual limitations here and there but they do need more fluid two-way glue guys. In the past they could maybe discount intangibles, two-way play and grit and get away with it given the stability and quality of their core. But no longer you'd think. Maybe they do shoot for the pure offensive upside in a Connelly or maybe a move for Eiserman but for a lot of reasons it's hard to say if that's ultimately such a home run move. When it comes to playoff hockey where team play is so crucial it helps to have more diverse skill sets and sounder foundational play through the middle of the ice first and foremost. And long-term the Caps still have considerable work to do in those crucial areas as well to at least better facilitate more dominant 5v5 play. Perhaps BPA at 17 is another winger...but even with some promising ones likely to be on the board it's tough to say if that's really much of a game-changer.

ClevelandCapsfan said:
Watching Jiricek’s 20-year-old brother excel for Cleveland Monsters, I am intrigued with his brother at pick #16.
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I don't know about excelling. Offensively? Sure. But he kind of looks like Sheldon Souray out there overall.
 
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Whats the 2025 draft looking like in the way to early should we tank talk? Sportsbooks has the Caps 7th worst odds. Next year could end up a tank season and not by choice.
 
Ovechkins Wodka said:
Whats the 2025 draft looking like in the way to early should we tank talk? Sportsbooks has the Caps 7th worst odds. Next year could end up a tank season and not by choice.
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No bonafide #1 (Ovi/Bedard/Crosby/McDavid) unless you really believe in Hagens. I see him more like Jack Hughes lite. I actually prefer Mike Misa. I think there are 2-3 guys at the very top depending on preference and then through 10 you'll likely get a top liner. After 10 the talent remains strong into the early 2nd but there's definitely going to be some speration as their draft season rolls next year. You'll have a handful of risers to add to the mix so you'll probably see a top 15 and then everybody else up until 40 jockeying for position. To me, a layman of course, 2025 looks deeper than 2024 but I like some of the top talent in 2024 better. Not a bad time to have all the extra picks we have in 2025.
 
Ovechkins Wodka said:
Whats the 2025 draft looking like in the way to early should we tank talk? Sportsbooks has the Caps 7th worst odds. Next year could end up a tank season and not by choice.
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Tanking's for losers.

We have a few young guys who should be improved next year. We haven't even seen what GMBM will do to improve the roster. We could easily be competitive if the kids take the next step and we pick up somebody with high end talent to lead the offense.

Those lines really don't matter anyway. The book isn't risking much with them. They're just up there to give degens another button to press and give their money away. The smart money, the people that can really hurt them if they get it wrong, isn't going anywhere near those bets at this time. If you're a serious (pro) gambler, there is too much uncertainty to have enough confidence to lock up any meaningful amount of money for over a year.
 
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Cool the Odds markers think we will be one of the worst teams in the league and planning on improving the future in the draft is for losers.
Even if we make the playoffs again what's wrong with looking into the 2025 draft.
 
Ovechkins Wodka said:
Cool the Odds markers think we will be one of the worst teams in the league and planning on improving the future in the draft is for losers.
Even if we make the playoffs again what's wrong with looking into the 2025 draft.
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Nothing wrong with looking at future drafts. Tanking is for losers, though.

Whatever odds are being published right now just don't mean anything.
 
The Elite Prospects Draft Guide was released today, and some of the scouts/writers are hanging out in the Prospects thread answering questions with insane depth and clarity and honesty.

The guide is apparently 2000 pages(!).

Elite Prospects 2024 Draft Guide

The (IMHO) best of all the great draft guides will be available in a few hours, really looking forward to digging in and finalizing my personal rankings within the next week or so… https://www.eliteprospects.com/nhl-draft-guide
forums.hfboards.com forums.hfboards.com
 
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Random schmoe said:
The Elite Prospects Draft Guide was released today, and some of the scouts/writers are hanging out in the Prospects thread answering questions with insane depth and clarity and honesty.

The guide is apparently 2000 pages(!).

Elite Prospects 2024 Draft Guide

The (IMHO) best of all the great draft guides will be available in a few hours, really looking forward to digging in and finalizing my personal rankings within the next week or so… https://www.eliteprospects.com/nhl-draft-guide
forums.hfboards.com forums.hfboards.com
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For those among us too lazy to click a link, here's the top 32.
 

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