NHL Entry Draft 2024 NHL Draft Talk

[BondraTime]

His degree of difficulty, having to do several pirouttes to open a passing lane will catch up to him. When he focuses on D, his offense dries up like in the NCAA tournament.

I’m not sure what you mean by that, he doesn’t have to do several pirouettes to open a passing lane, no clue at all where that’s coming from; but he was very, very, very good in the 4 games of the NCAA tournament, and not too sure a sample size of 4 games, and 8 goals by the team, where he still had 2 points, is a very smart way to make a conclusion like that. Especially when he was defending just as well the first 35 games of the year.

He had 3 different stretches of 4 games played and 2 points this season, went 7 games with only 2 shots to start the year. The whole time he was great offensively. Like every player, he has stretches without points.

 

[Icelevel]

 

[Hale The Villain]

Casuals are going to hype Yakemchuk up almost as much as we did for Rundblad when this one dropped:



Highlight reel dangles are fun but don't work at the NHL level for defensemen, particularly those without elite skating.

We'll see if Yakemchuk can successfully adjust his game against pros because Rundblad sure couldn't.

 

[Golden_Jet]

Casuals are going to hype Yakemchuk up almost as much as we did for Rundblad when this one dropped:



Highlight reel dangles are fun but don't work at the NHL level for defensemen, particularly those without elite skating.

We'll see if Yakemchuk can successfully adjust his game against pros because Rundblad sure couldn't.

Not even close in comparison to players, Rundblad closer to a Buium comparison than Yakemchuk.

 

[dumbdick]

Highlight reel dangles are fun but don't work at the NHL level for defensemen, particularly those without elite skating.

Yeah agreed.

 

[LiseL]

"Size, speed and character" doesn't sound like much of a change from what we've been doing the last 5 years.

And I wouldn't be surprised if by "character" they mean toughness, intensity, willing to get dirty, etc...

Tools and toughness were the overwhelming focus the past 3 drafts, and we saw how that has worked out.

I was hoping they'd also focus on hockey IQ. One of the issues with the current roster is too many are indecisive or just plain dumb with the puck.

 

[Senovision]

I see in the clips above that Calgary has a player named Chichkin.

We need to draft him as well just so that I can hear the play by play guy say...
Chichkin to Chychrun to Yakemchuk to Katchouk to Tkachuk and have to say it really fast!
Talk about a tongue twister!

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Draftpro has a pretty thurough draft guide out with a ton of writeups and info on essentially every prospect available.

They've got the skills graded for each prospect in a pretty simple way to read and recognize.

Always love reading through the guides put out every year to see the different views of scouts and writers

Never looked at their guide.
Just looked at their top 64 late March rankings.. I couldn't find EJ Emery, Ben Danford, Spencer Gill or Harrison Brunicke; I have not been a fan of their rankings or "scouting" videos. They are good at the presentation and marketing so not surprised on how you described it, They are just another fish in the sea trying to make a buck off us draft nerds

 

[Micklebot]

Not even close in comparison to players, Rundblad closer to a Buium comparison than Yakemchuk

I actually found the Parekh highlights really reminiscent of Rundblad in the SEL

 

[Loach]

Examining the 2024 NHL Draft with analysis from Byron Bader (@byronmbader)

The Senators are armed with the highest overall pick they have had in possession since the famed 2020 NHL Draft which brought Tim Stützle and Jake Sanderson into their coffers. To say this is an important draft for the organization would be an understatement. The Senators have depth throughout...

gnichols.substack.com

 

[Burrowsaurus]

Not even close in comparison to players, Rundblad closer to a Buium comparison than Yakemchuk.

I mean skating maybe. But Buium actually defends at his level. And wasn’t pulling that sort of stuff like rundblad did

 

[aragorn]

Casuals are going to hype Yakemchuk up almost as much as we did for Rundblad when this one dropped:



Highlight reel dangles are fun but don't work at the NHL level for defensemen, particularly those without elite skating.

We'll see if Yakemchuk can successfully adjust his game against pros because Rundblad sure couldn't.

We see NHL players gettting dangled all the time, if Baumgartner is the defence coach he'll help the kid to learn when to try & when not to. The Calgary Hitman were offensively challenged which is one of the main reasons he took so much on himself.

7. Ottawa Senators: Zayne Parekh, RD, Saginaw Spirit (OHL)​

Zayne Parekh is the most skilled offensive defenseman in the 2024 Draft, and it doesn’t hurt that he’s a right-handed shot either. I could see Carter Yakemchuk being in play here as well given his size advantage over Parekh, but both are goalscoring defenders with defensive questions so the gap between them isn’t significant. Artem Zub is the only right-handed defender the Sens have on contract past next season so I think a strong RD prospect is the priority here.

 

[aragorn]

Should they be picking small & weak?

I was hoping they'd also focus on hockey IQ. One of the issues with the current roster is too many are indecisive or just plain dumb with the puck.

Does that include Stutzle?

 

[Joeyjoejoe]

Should they be picking small & weak?

The issue is no mention of skills, not because of size.

Also last time we went all in on size and character, we had a draft where we didn’t qualify a single prospect from it. Try to guess which draft that is. It’s pretty recent. Every single pick wasted.

 

[Hale The Villain]

Someone bumped the prospect thread for Alex Schoenborn, a plug drafted ahead of Brayden Point in the 3rd round of 2014, despite having 55 less points in the same league while being a year older.

Reminded me that we drafted Miles ****ing Gendron over Point that year.

How could a team come to the conclusion that a kid playing mediocre hockey at the U.S prep school level was the better choice than a kid with excellent WHL production and evident NHL level skill and IQ?

Well Gendron had size and speed and Point was small and not a great skater (at least at the time).

Team thought they could mold some attractive tools into a hockey player, but it turns out that's easier said than done.

 

[Cosmix]

I was hoping they'd also focus on hockey IQ. One of the issues with the current roster is too many are indecisive or just plain dumb with the puck.

Does indecisive mean slow to make plays?
Does dumb with the puck mean they give it away or lose possession more often than not without making a play?

We see NHL players gettting dangled all the time, if Baumgartner is the defence coach he'll help the kid to learn when to try & when not to. The Calgary Hitman were offensively challenged which is one of the main reasons he took so much on himself.

7. Ottawa Senators: Zayne Parekh, RD, Saginaw Spirit (OHL)​

Zayne Parekh is the most skilled offensive defenseman in the 2024 Draft, and it doesn’t hurt that he’s a right-handed shot either. I could see Carter Yakemchuk being in play here as well given his size advantage over Parekh, but both are goalscoring defenders with defensive questions so the gap between them isn’t significant. Artem Zub is the only right-handed defender the Sens have on contract past next season so I think a strong RD prospect is the priority here.

BPA in my view for #7 (RD if he is the BPA). Could draft an RD at #25 (Ellick for example).

 

[Mark Stones Spleen]

Should they be picking small & weak?

I prefer towering guys who run over the other team. I just want them to be able to play hockey at a high level, first and foremost.

The priority can't be strength. The Boucher pick was a colossal waste of a premium asset, and this super strong guy can't stay healthy.

 

[Tuna99]

I prefer towering guys who run over the other team. I just want them to be able to play hockey at a high level, first and foremost.

The priority can't be strength. The Boucher pick was a colossal waste of a premium asset, and this super strong guy can't stay healthy.

Go check out the Florida Panthers draft page and outside of Lundell (who scored 12 goals this year) find me 1 NHL player on Their roster. Busted on basically every first round pick and high picks picks at #10, #15, #13 overall they have busted on every 1st round pick going back to 2014

 

[PlayOn]

Go check out the Florida Panthers draft page and outside of Lundell (who scored 12 goals this year) find me 1 NHL player on Their roster. Busted on basically every first round pick and high picks picks at #10, #15, #13 overall they have busted on every 1st round pick going back to 2014

Tippett is good but they traded him. Spencer Knight still has a chance, who knows.

I think draft picks are infinitely less valuable to teams like Florida and Vegas, who can attract any talent on the trade block and who never have to worry whether a player will extend. They CAN build through the draft - Tampa opted for that route - but they don’t have to.

As a small-market team in Canada, if you try to build any other way, you are going to fail.

Anyway, Florida has a great shot of winning the cup this year. It would turn the 4th we got in the Tarasenko trade to a 3rd. Not a huge deal but it could potentially be used to move up in the 2nd if we want to.

 

[Tuna99]

Tippett is good but they traded him. Spencer Knight still has a chance, who knows.

I think draft picks are infinitely less valuable to teams like Florida and Vegas, who can attract any talent on the trade block and who never have to worry whether a player will extend. They CAN build through the draft - Tampa opted for that route - but they don’t have to.

As a small-market team in Canada, if you try to build any other way, you are going to fail.

Anyway, Florida has a great shot of winning the cup this year. It would turn the 4th we got in the Tarasenko trade to a 3rd. Not a huge deal but it could potentially be used to move up in the 2nd if we want to.

Shows how pro scouting is more important then amateur scouting.

Funny thing is Florida and Edmonton probably going to meet in the Cup finals and 7 years ago these were the two least desirable places to play in hockey.

 

[PlayOn]

Shows how pro scouting is more important then amateur scouting.

Funny thing is Florida and Edmonton probably going to meet in the Cup finals and 7 years ago these were the two least desirable places to play in hockey.

I don’t think that’s true, it depends on the market.

Also I think you ideally want a mix of both. It’s worked for Florisa but I don’t think there’s a team in the league that’s done a better job with pro acquisitions than Florida so they can afford the bad drafting. I’d say we’re a B- for amateur and a F for pro scouting. We draft fine imo, but not like it’s enough to compensate for the fact that we’ve made like 2 good pro acquisitions in 6 years.

 

[Icelevel]

Part 1 of this mock draft by fans has
1 celebrini
2 demidov
3 levshunov
4 lindstrom
5 iginla
6 parekh
Part 2,

 

[Joeyjoejoe]

Shows how pro scouting is more important then amateur scouting.

Funny thing is Florida and Edmonton probably going to meet in the Cup finals and 7 years ago these were the two least desirable places to play in hockey.

Absolutely, because their amateur scouting team effectively built a solid core through the draft, making the team more competitive and attractive to professional players looking to be traded or signed as free agents.

The reports from your amateur scouting team are utilized year-round, not just during the draft, but also when acquiring professional players through trades or free agency. Florida, for instance, acquired key players like Forsling, Luostarinen, Verhaeghe, and Lomberg early in their careers, when they had barely any NHL experience, relying heavily on amateur scouting in the process.

Moreover, to trade for players like Tkachuk, Bennett, Reinhart, and Montour, you need attractive prospects that other GMs are willing to trade for. Examples include trading Heineman for Bennett, Devon Levi for Reinhart, Weegar and Huberdeau for Tkachuk, and even Tippett for Giroux.

 

[Sens in Process]

Casuals are going to hype Yakemchuk up almost as much as we did for Rundblad when this one dropped:



Highlight reel dangles are fun but don't work at the NHL level for defensemen, particularly those without elite skating.

We'll see if Yakemchuk can successfully adjust his game against pros because Rundblad sure couldn't.

No, casuals look at Buium doing cartwheels against Switzerland in a blowout and think he is all world.

Casuals think that Zadina has more skill than Tkachuk, because he smashes cone drills. They forget skill is augmented when attached to a big, athletic frame.

Casuals think Drysdale is better Sanderson, because he has better edges and be fancy.

Yak can do one simple move with a change of angle or deke to find a passing lane or snipe. Buium dominates the outside on big ice surfaces by playing keep away, while sometimes getting lost after doing his seventh pirouette. When he simplifies, and plays against better competition, with bigger stakes, his offense goes dry. In the elimination rounds of the WJC, where USA scored 16 goals in 3 games, Buium had one point - a goal in a 6-2 victory over Sweden. Buium had 2 point in 4 games in the NCAA playoffs.

It is funny because I brought the Runblad comparison up early in this thread, when comparing it to Buium's use of stiff arm when goes his right. Runblad had this stutter step, fake to the left and go right move that failed to materialize in the NHL, so will Buium's stiff arm move, which is one of signature moves. Runblad did his stuff on big ice surfaces, so does Buium, so beware.

Buium is a good player, but Yak will be better. Look at those highlights baby!

Since we are sharing, look at 6:45 mark of this video to see how all that deception and improvisation often leads to nowhere.

Buium

 

[BigRig4]

I watched a few of those shift by shift videos for Levshunov and came away pretty underwhelmed... anyone else?