2024 NHL Draft Thread Part 2 - Picks 2 & 18 in the 1st Round

[Crow]

Weird because I remember the Mercer/Reichel situation playing out quite differently...

It hasn’t played out yet.

 

[cassac]

Weird because I remember the Mercer/Reichel situation playing out quite differently...

As Crow pointed out, that is not settled yet.

Although it may end up being the one you are right on compared to the countless hot takes that you were completely wrong on.

I do like seeing your opinion and take on players and prospects. It just comes across as you have a superiority complex and look down on anyone who has a different opinion. I could be completely off but that is how it comes across to me.

 

[Hattrick Kane]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1796897651922706842

For you Musto.

I really don’t want to go defenseman at 2. I will however accept it if they manage to dump Jones this offseason.

 

[WarriorofTime]

I do like seeing your opinion and take on players and prospects. It just comes across as you have a superiority complex and look down on anyone who has a different opinion. I could be completely off but that is how it comes across to me.

Which is especially funny considering his takes are pretty bad. Like who does a victory lap about Dawson Mercer after he had a bad season lol

 

[ColbyChaos]

Where is @DiqHed when you need him?

 

[Kevin Musto]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1796897651922706842

For you Musto.

I really don’t want to go defenseman at 2. I will however accept it if they manage to dump Jones this offseason.

Silayev at #2

Artamonov at #18

Keep the Torpedo studs together

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

If Hawks, select Silayev at #2 they will be idiots

 

[hawksfan50]

Take Solberg at#34 ifcstill on tge biard .in that case do not need to take any KD earlier..
So forget a stupid idea of some to take Silayev at #2...again he isa LD where we already have a deposit pool coming..If you takeca LD simply because you think that is a BOA given hiscunicorn saktibgxand size potebtiak,the 6'2 200)b Solberg beverages isxa much harder physical hitter and defender anyway ..ticks sjating defending instinct and physicality boxes...maybe even more offebsive latent talent than Siayev has .

Fact Solberg is a LD iscirrelvant..Hawks have no defenseman I tge pipeline with such ferocious physical defending abilities Pounds oppsvforwardscibti the biards finishing checks..clear the crease...and looks NHL ready already with such great defensive instincts...But I think he has tools to actually impact on offense if he chooses to attack more ..whethervhe will add that or not I do not know..hevis never goibg to be a creative playmaker from the back end...but he has the skating and a good shot such that I think he can use his tools more in the offensive part of the game. THE thi g is the defensive part of the game is already ther and he hits so hard it can be scary for forwatds of the opposing team...so Anu bonus you get from him developing mote I the attack is a very on thevtop..If he remains just a STAH dman...at least he can skate and he can be acphysical wall to try to break through for thevooos...So I hope we draft if hebladtscto #34..Afyer the World ChMpuonships where hexwas Nirways best defenseman and shine agaivst the men pros ,he is too good notvtivwant to add to your D-Corps.Physicalky dominates but without beibg dirty..Nasty yes..but clean hitting...not a Troubadour a Gidas but even better defensive awareness and positioning to cut off attackers Gotta get this kid. You want to go to war with a force like this in the bluelibe
The problem is that if I see can't miss stalwart dependence in him ,so can alk the other NHL teams...So notcsurevniwvifvhe gets to #34 orcsone team takes him u the 20s...Plays kijecsvpro already ..does not look like a junior first tinec draft eligible who needs to improve fefebsiveky before he enters an NHK lineup or a rushed junior dtaftee who was thrown to the wolves abd struggled (eg KK)..This kid looks ready already to play pro and defend the d-zobecwell..POLISHED defensive wall now at such a young age..A steal if we can land hom at #34 but I worry he may have risen too high into round 1 now..

 

[giza]

I'm not fully convinced that moving up to 18 was a means to move up even further. I can easily see the Hawks actually moving up from that 34th spot and getting 3 in the first round......maybe heading to like #26. There's a lot of interesting "2nd tier" D men that could be at that spot. Also, that big center Letourneau might be around at that spot. I can easily see Davidson foregoing all his 2nd round picks just to better his 1st round positioning.

 

[Geoist]

Silayev could be Chara.

If Demidov could be Datsyuk, Kane, or Kucherov he'd be a lock for 1st overall. Instead there are scouts on Bob's list who have him as low as 5.

Demidov has probably the highest ceiling of anyone in this draft. When people talk about his downsides it's almost always around Russia factor and his knee. There's almost no negative talk about his skill/abilities or compete.

 

[Darkstar]

If we don't trade#34, I'd like Julius Miettinen. Good skater for his size. Good compete. Uses his size effectively. Good playmaker. Maybe not the highest upside but I think a really good floor. I think he's being underrated by some scouts and is a solid middle 6 prospect.

 

[TLEH]

We’ve got a ton of middle 6 potential guys. I’d like to see some fence swings.

 

[Darkstar]

We’ve got a ton of middle 6 potential guys. I’d like to see some fence swings.

I think his upside is a 2nd line winger. We need forwards with some size.

 

[Pez68]

Why is it ok for 2 to effect 18, but it isn’t ok for 2025 draft to effect 2024.

BPA is for suckers because you don’t know the BPA. No one does with consistency. Diversify your portfolio.

You lack the critical thinking ability necessary to engage in this topic.

 

[TheFridge]

Demidov has probably the highest ceiling of anyone in this draft. When people talk about his downsides it's almost always around Russia factor and his knee. There's almost no negative talk about his skill/abilities or compete.

They talk about his awkward skating mechanics and the fact that he hasn't shown anything against better competition (no fault of his own, but a fair point nonetheless).

 

[TheDachKnight]

Been off of here for quite a while as I wasn’t able to log in on my phone. Anyway, I like Demidov, Levshunov, and Lindstrom for 2nd overall in that order. Demidov’s ceiling is just ridiculous.

As for 18, I like Michael Hage a lot if he’s there. Adam Jiricek is intriguing to me too. If we trade up, I’d love to get one of the D (Parekh is my personal favorite) or Catton if he fell. Also really like Tij Iginla. Carter Yakemchuk is the guy I’m torn on as he’s just an alright skater but everything else is really good. I don’t think Davidson would take him, much less trade up for him, but a Korchinski-Yakemchuk pairing could be really good.

 

[Mjul Qvist]

Silayev could be Chara.

If Demidov could be Datsyuk, Kane, or Kucherov he'd be a lock for 1st overall. Instead there are scouts on Bob's list who have him as low as 5.

If that is the case Silayev should be lock top 2 pick at least. There are scouts who have him fourth. And there were one scout who had Demidov at 5. Five of them had him at #2 and two had him 3rd. McKeen, McKenzie, Button etc. have him at number two slot for a reason. And that is the potential he has. Again, we don´t know how good these players eventually will be. That is the tricky part of drafting. If everyone knew drafting would be easy.

But when we are talking about how good let say Demidov or Silayev could be we are just guessing based on their potential. No one had said that Demidov will be next Kucherov. But there are people who think he is better prospect than Michkov and who compares him to Kucherov because of his skill set. We all have our opinions and no one is right or wrong at the moment. But there are people who have better understanding about these prospects and I find it amusing that some people here ignores their views on things. And if people knew how good Kucherov will be he would´ve been first pick in 2011.

Question for Musto; what made you so strong advocate for Marat Khusnutdinov but you don´t like Demidov to picked by Hawks?

 

[wladyslaw]

They talk about his awkward skating mechanics and the fact that he hasn't shown anything against better competition (no fault of his own, but a fair point nonetheless).

Yet, many scouts say he skates better than Michkov AND has MOST skill in this draft ( even more than Celebrini) ... some very confusing scouting reports to say the least on this kid ( I assume due to lack of Head to head versu TOP Jrs and actual PRO players)

But fact is many scouts do agree some of BEST skills-- Stick handling and IQ/Instincts-- So I don't see how Hawks can Pass on Him--- unless something "Off the ice" - scares Hawks off

 

[Mjul Qvist]

Yet, many scouts say he skates better than Michkov AND has MOST skill in this draft ( even more than Celebrini) ... some very confusing scouting reports to say the least on this kid ( I assume due to lack of Head to head versu TOP Jrs and actual PRO players)

But fact is many scouts do agree some of BEST skills-- Stick handling and IQ/Instincts-- So I don't see how Hawks can Pass on Him--- unless something "Off the ice" - scares Hawks off

This! There shouldn´t be any off the ice issues but if you consider "The Russian factor" to be one so there you have it. Well that should be case with Silayev also and he has two years left in his contract with Torpedo and Anton ain´t client of Dan Milstein though.

 

[Mjul Qvist]

Here is Steven Ellis take on who should Blackhawks pick with number two pick:

 

[Kevin Musto]

Question for Musto; what made you so strong advocate for Marat Khusnutdinov

Marat was a two-way machine.

People compare Demidov to Datsyuk, but Marat actually plays much more similar to him. He's a pickpocket wizard.

 

[Mjul Qvist]

Marat was a two-way machine.

People compare Demidov to Datsyuk, but Marat actually plays much more similar to him. He's a pickpocket wizard.

But he wasn´t scoring machine like Demidov. Under ppg player in MHL his draft year with SKA. Sure he wasn´t considered as a top pick 2020 like Demidov is now so this is kind of silly of me. But still I have seen, red and heard enough from Demidov to made me believer. I´ve heard people compared Demidov to Kucherov much more than to Datsyuk.

 

[Kevin Musto]

But he wasn´t scoring machine like Demidov. Under ppg player in MHL his draft year with SKA. Sure he wasn´t considered as a top pick 2020 like Demidov is now so this is kind of silly of me. But still I have seen, red and heard enough from Demidov to made me believer. I´ve heard people compared Demidov to Kucherov much more than to Datsyuk.

In the same draft class, I'm ranking Demidov ahead of Khusnutdinov. Just to be clear.

 

[Castle8130]

Anyone know what time the combine starts today?

 

[WarriorofTime]

I think Hawks can take Demidov, get a 2nd super skilled guy along Bedard, continue to take swings at big forwards with later picks and hope one of those eventually hits. Only thing that scares me on passing up Levshunov is there's a lot of pressure on Rinzel to hit. But it is what it is. There is also the '25 Draft where you hope you can get a RD or Big Forward with what should be a high pick.