GDT: 2024 NHL Draft Rounds 2-7. 11:30 a.m. ET

[uncleben]

Zetterberg is 1st overall in history in scoring and 5th ever in PPG for Sweden U18 internationally. Not drafted.

Moving to NCAA next year
If he transitions well enough (stiffer competition, NA rink) he's a lock for an overager, imo

 

[Hinterland]

Wow a steep fall from Kiviharju who was in consideration for first overall not so long ago. Reminds me a bit of how Räty was dropped even though he wasn't hyped as much and is/was a forward. Also interesting that Jiricek didn't drop nearly as much, despite his bad draft season. But he has a lot less question marks than Kiviharju attached to him, I guess. While not really following this draft class much, I think some more Swedes are also among the best players left on the board. Guys like Freij and Petterson.

I wonder how many Swiss guys will be picked too. Roost is thinking 2-5 players. I am more leaning two at this point. Muggli and Ustinkov will be the only skaters that go of the board in my book. Maybe a team like the Devils takes a flyer on Kirsch or Lachat late in the draft. But its defenitely not guaranteed that one of them gets drafted.

So Roost ended up being bang on with his prediction. Not sure those were the kids he expected to go but we perhaps shouldn't be surprised. At least re Sansonnens there was smoke about him getting scouted by "multiple NHL teams" and he was listed by Central Scouting as well. While that's never a guarantee for anything (see Ustinkov) him getting selected wasn't all that crazy.

Roost was right about Muggli going in the back half of the 2nd round as well. I do think that Muggli was lucky to not get punished for his mostly underwhelming play in international game but on Sportsnet Jason Bukala made a good point saying that it was a positive Muggli played his best games in "organized" hockey at the pro level.

I think NHL teams were wrong to not select Ustinkov. It was quite a shock for me. His IQ and vision are highly questionable (I think that's the reason why he was overlooked) and I wrote that myself. I think that's what kept him from dominating the WJC's as well. He played solid hockey at pro level in Switzerland though and that should count for something as well. He also has good hands and is extremely strong on the puck so as he gets to play more minutes with good teammates his point totals should go up automatically even if he doesn't have the vision or IQ to drive play himself. He, just like Galvas, may feel treated unfairly right now but they'll get another chance next year. Just gotta put the nose in the dirt, maybe develop a bit of a mean streak and prove people wrong.

Re the forwards it may seem weird that an overager was selected over the the very talented group of 06 kids but at the end of the day Gredig was just trending better than the younger kids and the Rangers probably liked his trajectory. NHL teams always love them some late bloomers. Gredig playing Center at the WJC20 probably helped him as well. Conversely, Antenen was moved to the wing this season both at club and international level and that may be what cost him. Not all prospect playing Center in their draft year project as NHL Centers but I believe that NHL teams do value versatility.

Re the goalies I'm kinda surprised Kirsch got picked this early while Lachat got overlooked. Lachat is trending way better. Kinda came out of nowhere and seems much more mature, much more stable mentally. I like Kirsch as a prospect as well. Fantastic athlete, great mobility for a big guy. He's way more green, way more fragile mentally compared to Lachat though and at least performance wise he's not trending as well as Lachat. Kirsch kinda always had that elite talent label but never really lived up to that in international games. He did so at club level but that was behind a rocksolid defense and probably the best team in the league. Goalies are voodoo and tough to predict though so I'm not gonna lose sleep over it.

 

[Speyer]

So Roost ended up being bang on with his prediction. Not sure those were the kids he expected to go but we perhaps shouldn't be surprised. At least re Sansonnens there was smoke about him getting scouted by "multiple NHL teams" and he was listed by Central Scouting as well. While that's never a guarantee for anything (see Ustinkov) him getting selected wasn't all that crazy.

Roost was right about Muggli going in the back half of the 2nd round as well. I do think that Muggli was lucky to not get punished for his mostly underwhelming play in international game but on Sportsnet Jason Bukala made a good point saying that it was a positive Muggli played his best games in "organized" hockey at the pro level.

I think NHL teams were wrong to not select Ustinkov. It was quite a shock for me. His IQ and vision are highly questionable (I think that's the reason why he was overlooked) and I wrote that myself. I think that's what kept him from dominating the WJC's as well. He played solid hockey at pro level in Switzerland though and that should count for something as well. He also has good hands and is extremely strong on the puck so as he gets to play more minutes with good teammates his point totals should go up automatically even if he doesn't have the vision or IQ to drive play himself. He, just like Galvas, may feel treated unfairly right now but they'll get another chance next year. Just gotta put the nose in the dirt, maybe develop a bit of a mean streak and prove people wrong.

Re the forwards it may seem weird that an overager was selected over the the very talented group of 06 kids but at the end of the day Gredig was just trending better than the younger kids and the Rangers probably liked his trajectory. NHL teams always love them some late bloomers. Gredig playing Center at the WJC20 probably helped him as well. Conversely, Antenen was moved to the wing this season both at club and international level and that may be what cost him. Not all prospect playing Center in their draft year project as NHL Centers but I believe that NHL teams do value versatility.

Re the goalies I'm kinda surprised Kirsch got picked this early while Lachat got overlooked. Lachat is trending way better. Kinda came out of nowhere and seems much more mature, much more stable mentally. I like Kirsch as a prospect as well. Fantastic athlete, great mobility for a big guy. He's way more green, way more fragile mentally compared to Lachat though and at least performance wise he's not trending as well as Lachat. Kirsch kinda always had that elite talent label but never really lived up to that in international games. He did so at club level but that was behind a rocksolid defense and probably the best team in the league. Goalies are voodoo and tough to predict though so I'm not gonna lose sleep over it.

Yes he was right with his prediction. I still thought the draft was somehow disappointing for Switzerland. Sassonens and Gredig in all likelyhood won't ever get a serious shot at an NHL career. I was surprised they were picked in the first place because in the last few years teams were reluctant to throw picks at "bottom six prospects" from Switzerland. Partly because the NL is so attractive for prospects like that, so they wont be content slaving away as career AHL players.

Which basically leaves Muggli and Kirsch as the only serious prospects with an NHL outlook in the forseeable future from this birth year. This is less than I hoped for for the 06 group. Sure there is still the possiblitity that some more players will get picked as overagers. But it still somewhat stings as I hoped Muggli, Ustinkov, Reber, Kirsch and maybe Lachat too would be gone before the late rounds.

 

[Hinterland]

Yes he was right with his prediction. I still thought the draft was somehow disappointing for Switzerland. Sassonens and Gredig in all likelyhood won't ever get a serious shot at an NHL career. I was surprised they were picked in the first place because in the last few years teams were reluctant to throw picks at "bottom six prospects" from Switzerland. Partly because the NL is so attractive for prospects like that, so they wont be content slaving away as career AHL players.

Which basically leaves Muggli and Kirsch as the only serious prospects with an NHL outlook in the forseeable future from this birth year. This is less than I hoped for for the 06 group. Sure there is still the possiblitity that some more players will get picked as overagers. But it still somewhat stings as I hoped Muggli, Ustinkov, Reber, Kirsch and maybe Lachat too would be gone before the late rounds.

I think it's an okay draft for Switzerland and the Gredig pick also once again proves you can get selected out of Switzerland even as an overager. So while we all kinda expected more from that strong 06 group we also have to say that most of them didn't have a good season. If they do better next season they'll have every chance to sneak into the 2025 NHL draft. We'll see how next year shakes out but I could see a similar number of Swiss born players drafted. Lots of options once again. A few 06 late birthdays (Neuenschwander, Körbler, Mottard, Giger) and a few 07 kids (Steiner, Schenk, Moret) are well positioned to get selected if they have themselves a good season. That's particularly true for Körbler who has been playing on Ottawa's topline last season's playoffs already.

In this context, from a Swiss perspective, the CHL import draft on Wednesday is also gonna be interesting. Those NHL draft eligibles who don't have guaranteed ice time in Swiss pro hockey or a spot in Swedens J20 should consider going. I'm also curious if Sansonnens or Gredig are gonna get drafted into the CHL. I know that Gredig has his pro gig in Davos but he hasn't played since running into that Weber hit and the Rangers are gonna want him to play C...which is gonna be difficult in Davos. Sansonnens is probably more likely than Gredig though. Don't see him getting many NL games in Lausanne and he'd be wasting time playing another year of U20 Elites.

Edit: I keep on forgetting that Steiner is a late birthday. Not NHL draft eligible until 2026.