2024 NHL Draft Picks 14, 42, 43, 76, 108, 109, 161, 172, 204 (Draft on 6/28 and 6/29)

[Reddawg]

I agree with this. I think there is lots to debate about Pronman’s rankings, but he does a better job than most of factoring in what is likely to happen vs. his own own personal rankings.

I think that dynamic is what makes Pronman and Wheeler a very good unofficial team at the Athletic. Pronman uses his information and his own scouting abilities to try and paint the clearest picture of what's going to happen at the draft. Wheeler is a better amateur scout and a better writer so he focuses on painting the clearest picture of the prospects themselves and his own ranking of them.

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

I think that Pronman used to come out with 2 mock drafts close to the draft -- a mock that is based solely upon what he hears from others and then a mock based solely on what he thinks a team should do/what he would do.

It seemed like last year, he started doing like two per week as we got closer to the draft -- almost to the point where it becomes meaningless. But yeah, I think he tries to clarify if he's doing a mock draft or personal ranking.

But with his mock draft, I feel like he tries to predict what the team will do instead of what he thinks they should do? Or he may do different lists for each? One for predicting and one for prescribing.

Im seeing other criticism about his game beyond the injuries. Here’s from Steve “draft analyst” Kouruanos:

“Although he centered a potent line alongside fellow 2024-eligible and playmaker extraordinaire Andrew Basha, Lidstrom served as either a shooter option or the net-front presence — two areas he dominated to the tune of 27 goals in only 32 games. But concerns do exist beyond his hand and back injuries that shortened his season, beginning with the fact that he mustered only 19 assists for a 0.59 assists-per-game average that is among the lowest from a top-rated WHL first-year-eligible forward in the last 11 years. Central Scouting never budged on ranking Lindstrom third in either of their North American skater lists, but the aforementioned concerns make him less of a guarantee.”

This basically says to me that he is concerned about his IQ, which others has mentioned as well.

What do folks think about Lindstrom's IQ? How much will it hold him back, if at all?

 

[Chainshot]

It seemed like last year, he started doing like two per week as we got closer to the draft -- almost to the point where it becomes meaningless. But yeah, I think he tries to clarify if he's doing a mock draft or personal ranking.

But with his mock draft, I feel like he tries to predict what the team will do instead of what he thinks they should do? Or he may do different lists for each? One for predicting and one for prescribing.


This basically says to me that he is concerned about his IQ, which others has mentioned as well.

What do folks think about Lindstrom's IQ? How much will it hold him back, if at all?

I didn't see nearly enough of him when he was at 100% to feel like I have a grasp on his game. He looked tentative in his playoff return which seems likely given part of what was ailing him was his back but I digress. Perhaps it's more akin to the conversation about Cozens in his draft year - is he actually a center or is he more of a power winger? Hell, I think a bigger question would be what is the nature of his back injury and what sort of drag does that put on his development going forward.

If he slides to 11, race to the podium to take him. There is inherent violence in his game, of taking space and imposing himself on others that this team could certainly use. Is he actually a center? He moved to center last year in MH, I think I read he was a winger before that but Desjardins. It sounds like he's very grounded and stable off the ice in bits I've read up on him, takes improving his game very seriously, and is very coachable. With the tools and size - skating that fast while being that big AND relishing in the physical contact of the game - I just don't see how he's not going in the top 5.

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

I didn't see nearly enough of him when he was at 100% to feel like I have a grasp on his game. He looked tentative in his playoff return which seems likely given part of what was ailing him was his back but I digress. Perhaps it's more akin to the conversation about Cozens in his draft year - is he actually a center or is he more of a power winger? Hell, I think a bigger question would be what is the nature of his back injury and what sort of drag does that put on his development going forward.

If he slides to 11, race to the podium to take him. There is inherent violence in his game, of taking space and imposing himself on others that this team could certainly use. Is he actually a center? He moved to center last year in MH, I think I read he was a winger before that but Desjardins. It sounds like he's very grounded and stable off the ice in bits I've read up on him, takes improving his game very seriously, and is very coachable. With the tools and size - skating that fast while being that big AND relishing in the physical contact of the game - I just don't see how he's not going in the top 5.

That makes sense! People who don't like him as a top5/top 10 candidate compare him to Crouse on the main board. I'll take a Crouse at 11! People who love him compare him to Lindros lol.

 

[Chainshot]

That makes sense! People who don't like him as a top5/top 10 candidate compare him to Crouse on the main board. I'll take a Crouse at 11! People who love him compare him to Lindros lol.

A dominant physical player who can chip in 20 goals in the top nine? That would be great.

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

A dominant physical player who can chip in 20 goals in the top nine? That would be great.

What have I been complaining about since Byslma was coach? We can't win puck battles. Lindstrom's calling card is puck battles.

 

[Irie]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1794051614497763438

Haven't seen him mentioned here, but a kid I think eventually goes higher than Solberg is Jesse Pulkinnen. Overager who's development curve apparently exploded this season. 6'6" 216 physical D that is playing 20 minutes a night in Liiga. I think McKenzie had him in the early 2nd round a while back, but even as an over-ager, it's going to be hard for scouts to ignore his size, physicality and skill. Watching his positioning and his lateral skating at his size and age, and I feel the upside there is pretty insane.

Jesse Pulkinnen

I have him right at that 14-15 bubble tier on my board, which is higher than he will go due to age, but based on what his is doing at 19 in the Liiga, I feel he is being grossly under-rated due to the stigma that is traditionally placed on over-agers in juniors, but should not be the same factor when evaluating kids that are playing in adult leagues imo.

 

[Beerz]

Haven't seen him mentioned here, but a kid I think eventually goes higher than Solberg is Jesse Pulkinnen. Overager who's development curve apparently exploded this season. 6'6" 216 physical D that is playing 20 minutes a night in Liiga. I think McKenzie had him in the early 2nd round a while back, but even as an over-ager, it's going to be hard for scouts to ignore his size, physicality and skill. Watching his positioning and his lateral skating at his size and age, and I feel the upside there is pretty insane.

Jesse Pulkinnen

I have him right at that 14-15 bubble tier on my board, which is higher than he will go due to age, but based on what his is doing at 19 in the Liiga, I feel he is being grossly under-rated due to the stigma that is traditionally placed on over-agers in juniors, but should not be the same factor when evaluating kids that are playing in adult leagues imo.

Sounds dreamy.

 

[HaNotsri]

The "Jack Quinn pick" would be Brandsegg. His development took off like a rocket.

 

[Chainshot]

Haven't seen him mentioned here, but a kid I think eventually goes higher than Solberg is Jesse Pulkinnen. Overager who's development curve apparently exploded this season. 6'6" 216 physical D that is playing 20 minutes a night in Liiga. I think McKenzie had him in the early 2nd round a while back, but even as an over-ager, it's going to be hard for scouts to ignore his size, physicality and skill. Watching his positioning and his lateral skating at his size and age, and I feel the upside there is pretty insane.

Jesse Pulkinnen

I have him right at that 14-15 bubble tier on my board, which is higher than he will go due to age, but based on what his is doing at 19 in the Liiga, I feel he is being grossly under-rated due to the stigma that is traditionally placed on over-agers in juniors, but should not be the same factor when evaluating kids that are playing in adult leagues imo.

I like Pulkinnen, keep seeing him in the 30-40 range probably due to the age issue. Big kid, moves well, that'll go far.

 

[Chainshot]

The "Jack Quinn pick" would be Brandsegg. His development took off like a rocket.

I would love MBN at 11.

 

[Chainshot]

Yakemchuk video -

 

[Old Navy Goat]

Yakemchuk video -

I'm still a fan. I think he would have been more structured in his play if he didn't feel he needed to do everything on that lousy Calgary team

 

[Jim Bob]

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

11. Buffalo Sabres (Pick by Wheeler): Cole Eiserman, LW, U.S. NTDP

We’re now in the range in the draft where the best players available are wingers (Eiserman, Iginla, Sennecke) or a smaller center (Konsta Helenius). The Sabres’ pool is such that they don’t have any clear hole or position they need to target. So I like operating from a position of strength, taking a swing on Eiserman and his unique one-shot scoring package.

Eiserman over Sennecke, Iginla, MBN, and Helenius...

 

[Fjordy]

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

Eiserman over Sennecke, Iginla, MBN, and Helenius...

Looks bad

 

[buffalorules]

I'm still a fan. I think he would have been more structured in his play if he didn't feel he needed to do everything on that lousy Calgary team

Does he not remind everyone of RR?

 

[Old Navy Goat]

Does he not remind everyone of RR?

Much better hands and offensive awareness. His issue is he gets singularly focused too much. Calgary was terribad, so he was the engine driving that and tried doing everything vice letting the game come to him. Another year in the WHL then a year or two in the AHL and you should have a top 4 D at least

 

[HOOats]

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

Eiserman over Sennecke, Iginla, MBN, and Helenius...

I get the doubts around Eiserman and his present shortcomings, but isn't he still regarded as a top 3 offensive ceiling talent in this class? It feels like some are nearing the point of over-discounting his prodigious production (and overall size/skill package).

In general if Adams remains reluctant to trade his top prospects, I don't hate the idea of continuing to take swings on the highest upside kids who have a chance to be impossible-to-acquire stars if they hit their high-end. The August 29th birthday is uber-intriguing and puts him well behind our current crop of young skill. Two years at BU, one year in Roch, and it doesn't take too much imagination to picture him as a steal of the draft.

Eiserman at 11 followed by the much clamored for "heavies" at 43, 75, 107, and 108 feels like a reasonable approach if the board falls a certain way. If Catton, Lindstrom, and Iginla are gone, I'm fine with it. (I've removed all D from consideration at 11, we're too crowded asset-wise and bodies-wise for me atm)

 

[Jim Bob]

I get the doubts around Eiserman and his present shortcomings, but isn't he still regarded as a top 3 offensive ceiling talent in this class? It feels like some are nearing the point of over-discounting his prodigious production (and overall size/skill package).

In general if Adams remains reluctant to trade his top prospects, I don't hate the idea of continuing to take swings on the highest upside kids who have a chance to be impossible-to-acquire stars if they hit their high-end. The August 29th birthday is uber-intriguing and puts him well behind our current crop of young skill. Two years at BU, one year in Roch, and it doesn't take too much imagination to picture him as a steal of the draft.

Eiserman at 11 followed by the much clamored for "heavies" at 43, 75, 107, and 108 feels like a reasonable approach if the board falls a certain way. If Catton, Lindstrom, and Iginla are gone, I'm fine with it. (I've removed all D from consideration at 11, we're too crowded asset-wise and bodies-wise for me atm)

They are way more crowded with skill-only wingers than they are on D, especially RHD.

 

[Chainshot]

I get the doubts around Eiserman and his present shortcomings, but isn't he still regarded as a top 3 offensive ceiling talent in this class? It feels like some are nearing the point of over-discounting his prodigious production (and overall size/skill package).

In general if Adams remains reluctant to trade his top prospects, I don't hate the idea of continuing to take swings on the highest upside kids who have a chance to be impossible-to-acquire stars if they hit their high-end. The August 29th birthday is uber-intriguing and puts him well behind our current crop of young skill. Two years at BU, one year in Roch, and it doesn't take too much imagination to picture him as a steal of the draft.

Eiserman at 11 followed by the much clamored for "heavies" at 43, 75, 107, and 108 feels like a reasonable approach if the board falls a certain way. If Catton, Lindstrom, and Iginla are gone, I'm fine with it. (I've removed all D from consideration at 11, we're too crowded asset-wise and bodies-wise for me atm)

That gets into the art of scouting - do scouts think he will work on the prodigious holes in his game everywhere else other than shooting/finishing plays? It's not like they don't have a couple of players in their pool already who lit up their respective development leagues or dev tournaments like the U18's as high-end finishers. Eiserman isn't particularly large - he's 6' and 196 lbs at the moment. Does he play at 205? 210? Will he find his own zone? Will he give a damn about a loose puck anywhere other than near his shooting spot? Will he show he cares about team goals rather than personal ones?

If those answers are mostly yes, sure, he's a choice. But guys like Oliver Wahlstrom have shown it isn't always a linear translation from being the shooter at the Program to being a successful pro. And I thought Wahlstrom showed more in the care and play other than finishing parts of his game than Eiserman has. I'd happily be wrong if they do take him, but my spidey sense on this kid tingles. I don't see it. I don't get that "oh, hey, he gets it" moment when I watch him live or on tape. *shrug* I would be very disappointed if they go to that profile of player with all of the other deficiencies in their pool.

 

[HaNotsri]

I would love MBN at 11.

Honestly haven't seen him much but he took off like a rocket which I suspect is a factor for our scouts/analytics department.

 

[Jim Bob]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1796236657693266331

 

[HOOats]

They are way more crowded with skill-only wingers than they are on D, especially RHD.

Skill-only wingers get paid a lot and eventually need to be replaced by ELCs on good teams.

I get the handedness point, but I don't agree that we're more crowded on wing than D. We have 75% of our D minutes spoken for for the next 5-10 years with a pretty legit pipeline in Novikov, Komarov, Johnson, Strbak, and McCarthy. We have more U25 sure things at D than at scoring winger at the moment.

I just think we could do worse than the EXTREMELY young, best NTDP goal-scorer of all-time at 11.

That gets into the art of scouting - do scouts think he will work on the prodigious holes in his game everywhere else other than shooting/finishing plays? It's not like they don't have a couple of players in their pool already who lit up their respective development leagues or dev tournaments like the U18's as high-end finishers. Eiserman isn't particularly large - he's 6' and 196 lbs at the moment. Does he play at 205? 210? Will he find his own zone? Will he give a damn about a loose puck anywhere other than near his shooting spot? Will he show he cares about team goals rather than personal ones?

If those answers are mostly yes, sure, he's a choice. But guys like Oliver Wahlstrom have shown it isn't always a linear translation from being the shooter at the Program to being a successful pro. And I thought Wahlstrom showed more in the care and play other than finishing parts of his game than Eiserman has. I'd happily be wrong if they do take him, but my spidey sense on this kid tingles. I don't see it. I don't get that "oh, hey, he gets it" moment when I watch him live or on tape. *shrug* I would be very disappointed if they go to that profile of player with all of the other deficiencies in their pool.

Very fair points that I appreciate you laying out. I'm curious if he plays at 200 or 210 as well. Having never seen him in his skivvies, I'm not sure how well he's built. Any idea if there are body concerns? I haven't seen any work ethic concerns, which gives me hope that he's just very young and it hasn't clicked yet because it hasn't really had to at lower levels.

He just seems like someone that our FO might really like based on recent precedent. Late birthday, elite peer-vs-peer production that lights up their models, a singular best-in-class skill, pure upside.

Re: the Wahlstrom example, 0.98 and 0.77 GPG are very different NTDP scoring rates, but warning acknowledged. Any idea where people project Eiserman as an overall shooter relative to say Bedard or Kulich?

 

[Chainshot]

Skill-only wingers get paid a lot and eventually need to be replaced by ELCs on good teams.

I get the handedness point, but I don't agree that we're more crowded on wing than D. We have 75% of our D minutes spoken for for the next 5-10 years with a pretty legit pipeline in Novikov, Komarov, Johnson, Strbak, and McCarthy. We have more U25 sure things at D than at scoring winger at the moment.

I just think we could do worse than the EXTREMELY young, best NTDP goal-scorer of all-time at 11.

I'm also in the camp that they don't need to focus on defense at this 11OA pick because they have so much already under 24 and they have a number of RHD that could fill out as the "safe" option for the more rush or offensive oriented guys already in Buffalo as cheaper partners in the long run. They can keep adding to that group too as opportunities for UDFA and later round picks will continue to arise. What they don't have in the pipeline though are tenacious or larger players. And that's part of me being so interested in someone like MBN.

Very fair points that I appreciate you laying out. I'm curious if he plays at 200 or 210 as well. Having never seen him in his skivvies, I'm not sure how well he's built. Any idea if there are body concerns? I haven't seen any work ethic concerns, which gives me hope that he's just very young and it hasn't clicked yet because it hasn't really had to at lower levels.

Haven't heard any body concerns, only some on things like effort away from the puck. If everything goes right for Eiserman, he could be an excellent pickup. Edit - what is the possibility he does that is the big question. I see enough from casual views and some folks talking about it that I have questions of him getting to that level.

He just seems like someone that our FO might really like based on recent precedent. Late birthday, elite peer-vs-peer production that lights up their models, a singular best-in-class skill, pure upside.

They have stayed away from NTDP guys under Adams though. So in terms of trend, that is a consideration. They've dipped into the USHL - Richard, Strbak, and McCarthy - but it seems they are looking elsewhere mostly. If he was named Coel Eissermansson or Cvole Eisenstein and playing in the J20 or the MHL... that seems like their roundhouse.

Re: the Wahlstrom example, 0.98 and 0.77 GPG are very different NTDP scoring rates, but warning acknowledged. Any idea where people project Eiserman as an overall shooter relative to say Bedard or Kulich?

I haven't seen straight comps between those sorts. Kulich was a strong player away from just his shot if we're looking at it comparing either one. The shot is his primary weapon but he did have elements that made him a strong player on national teams in non-scoring situations. Bedard is a freak and is one of the most dangerous shooters I've seen in the WHL. It feels like he could score every time he decided to put the puck on net.

 

[Der Jaeger]

I didn't see nearly enough of him when he was at 100% to feel like I have a grasp on his game. He looked tentative in his playoff return which seems likely given part of what was ailing him was his back but I digress. Perhaps it's more akin to the conversation about Cozens in his draft year - is he actually a center or is he more of a power winger? Hell, I think a bigger question would be what is the nature of his back injury and what sort of drag does that put on his development going forward.

If he slides to 11, race to the podium to take him. There is inherent violence in his game, of taking space and imposing himself on others that this team could certainly use. Is he actually a center? He moved to center last year in MH, I think I read he was a winger before that but Desjardins. It sounds like he's very grounded and stable off the ice in bits I've read up on him, takes improving his game very seriously, and is very coachable. With the tools and size - skating that fast while being that big AND relishing in the physical contact of the game - I just don't see how he's not going in the top 5.

He's the kind of player Anaheim takes (MacTavish, Carlsson, trading for Gauthier). I wouldn't be surprised to see him go 3rd overall. He's also the type of player Columbus takes. I don't see him making it past 4.

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

Eiserman over Sennecke, Iginla, MBN, and Helenius...

If I'm Adams, I'm going purely BPA on this one if he retains the pick. I think he may need to make some prospect trades to strength the NHL roster, so the holes we see now won't be the same.