2024 NHL Draft Thread - Upd: Draft Lottery is May 7th

[Callidusblackhawk]

From the "Coulda shoulda, woulda club". What was Bowman and crew thinking when they took Boqvist over Dobson or Bouchard? And then to compound lunacy, took Beaudin (similar player) with the late 1st round pick? Yikes.

Bowman was all about swinging for the fences in those days. Boqvist was viewed as a potential top 3 pick going into that draft year before concussions derailed him a bit.

IMO if Boqvist was a plus skater he would be a good NHLer, but he's not and that should have been pretty easy to identify before drafting him.

 

[x Tame Impala]

From the "Coulda shoulda, woulda club". What was Bowman and crew thinking when they took Boqvist over Dobson or Bouchard? And then to compound lunacy, took Beaudin (similar player) with the late 1st round pick? Yikes.

IRRC after getting spanked by Nashvile and their mobile PMDs I think Bowman & Kelley thought there was a turning of the tide with dmen. The smaller/shiftier guys who could skate the puck up out of their zone would be more effective than the 6'3" "slower" defenseman.

 

[Kevin Musto]

IRRC after getting spanked by Nashvile and their mobile PMDs I think Bowman & Kelley thought there was a turning of the tide with dmen. The smaller/shiftier guys who could skate the puck up out of their zone would be more effective than the 6'3" "slower" defenseman.

Also around the time that players like Mitch Marner were coming up and making a splash

There was a misguided trend toward smaller, skill players

 

[Chuck Testa]

Who would be bitter about having the best odds in the lottery for a team designed to be in exactly that position?

I just mean another horrible season is a bitter pill to swallow. It’ll turn around sooner than later and another top pick should expedite that process.

 

[bwana63]

I just mean another horrible season is a bitter pill to swallow. It’ll turn around sooner than later and another top pick should expedite that process.

what were you expecting? we're built to suck...and we do. next season should be better, but we'll still be a lottery team.

 

[WarriorofTime]

Think the Hawks are too far away from catching Anaheim, so it's more or less a bottom 2 finish guaranteed, that's a top 4 pick guaranteed (finishing second to last would give a 59.3 % chance at a top 3 pick).

In alphabetical order, the players I am personally hoping the Hawks brass are keyed in on from a scouting perspective:

Macklin Celebrini - C (Boston University)
Ivan Demidov - RW/C (SKA-1946)
Sam Dickinson (D - London Knights)
Cole Eiserman (LW - USNTDP)
Artyom Levshunov (D - Michigan State)
Cayden Lindstrom (C/LW/RW - Medicine Hat Tigers)
Anton Silayev (D - Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod)

I am hopeful that one of those seven is selected. Nothing against that next group of Buium/Catton/Helenius/Parekh/Yakemchuk, but I think barring an unexpected power up I don't see any of them being up to where the Hawks will end up picking. Hopefully they pick the right one wherever they end up drafting. Number 1 is easy, after that it's pretty wide open.

 

[Kevin Musto]

Think the Hawks are too far away from catching Anaheim, so it's more or less a bottom 2 finish guaranteed, that's a top 4 pick guaranteed (finishing second to last would give a 59.3 % chance at a top 3 pick).

In alphabetical order, the players I am personally hoping the Hawks brass are keyed in on from a scouting perspective:

Macklin Celebrini - C (Boston University)
Ivan Demidov - RW/C (SKA-1946)
Sam Dickinson (D - London Knights)
Cole Eiserman (LW - USNTDP)
Artyom Levshunov (D - Michigan State)
Cayden Lindstrom (C/LW/RW - Medicine Hat Tigers)
Anton Silayev (D - Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod)

I am hopeful that one of those seven is selected. Nothing against that next group of Buium/Catton/Helenius/Parekh/Yakemchuk, but I think barring an unexpected power up I don't see any of them being up to where the Hawks will end up picking. Hopefully they pick the right one wherever they end up drafting. Number 1 is easy, after that it's pretty wide open.

Yeah I don't think they can catch Anaheim either.

While a guaranteed top 4 pick is nice, I really hope 4th is not where they land.

Celebrini, Silayev, and Lindstrom are a top 3 with high upside. After that, I think there's a fall off. Of course one of the three could slip to 4, but I'd still rather not have to cross my fingers.

 

[ello]

Demidov is my guy after Celebrini. We need scoring talent badly and IMO no one else has true top line upside like he does. Purely based on his highlights he looks 6 foot plus as well, I think his height needs updating.

 

[HawksDub89]

Demidov is my guy after Celebrini. We need scoring talent badly and IMO no one else has true top line upside like he does. Purely based on his highlights he looks 6 foot plus as well, I think his height needs updating.

I think Lindstrom has massive upside. Like big time ceiling if he hits it.

But I agree Demidov would be a great pick at #2

 

[Larmer83]

Demidov is my guy after Celebrini. We need scoring talent badly and IMO no one else has true top line upside like he does. Purely based on his highlights he looks 6 foot plus as well, I think his height needs updating.

I think Lindstrom has massive upside. Like big time ceiling if he hits it.

But I agree Demidov would be a great pick at #2

Celebrini

Demidov
Lindstrom
Sort the dmen and Catton

That's how I look at it at this point.

 

[TLEH]

I prefer Demidov to Lindstrom at this point.

 

[scorehawks]

Is Quinton Byfield a fair comp for Cayden Lindstrom?

 

[bwanajamba]

If you can guarantee no Russia shenanigans I would be very happy with Demidov in the 2-5 range. Wish SKA wasn't dicking him around so we could see him at a higher level of competition, but maybe it's for the best if it means he can come to NA sooner.

 

[TLEH]

Is Quinton Byfield a fair comp for Cayden Lindstrom?

They don't really play alike, no. I would say Lindstrom reminds me more of Josh Anderson or maybe Jamie Benn on the higher end comp.

 

[ello]

Is Quinton Byfield a fair comp for Cayden Lindstrom?

Byfield's more talented. PLD is a good one. Really impressive raw tools that will have GMs salivating come draft day but play doesn't really flow through him and he's not the kind of player who elevates his teammates. To me his ceiling is complimentary top 6 power forward, which is not really someone I'd ideally be targeting with a top 3 pick.

Would not be shocked at all if he's the Blackhawks target. We all know how much we love speed/skating and size is something we need to address with our forward prospects

 

[bwanajamba]

Lindstrom plays a lot harder than PLD. I don't remember if PLD's compete level was a question as a prospect but it's the biggest thing holding him back as a pro, while it's one of Lindstrom's best traits. He's too raw to safely project as a top line player which is plenty of reason not to pick him top 3 but I heavily disagree that his ceiling is a complementary piece.

 

[hawksrule]

Just looked at the schedule, and March is a huge tank month. Multiple games against San Jose, ducks, and all the worst teams.

 

[ello]

Lindstrom plays a lot harder than PLD. I don't remember if PLD's compete level was a question as a prospect but it's the biggest thing holding him back as a pro, while it's one of Lindstrom's best traits. He's too raw to safely project as a top line player which is plenty of reason not to pick him top 3 but I heavily disagree that his ceiling is a complementary piece.

I live in Winnipeg , I’ve seen plenty of PLD. Compete wasn’t even really a question mark for him when he was here, it’s more so consistency, vision/IQ and soft skills that held him back from challenging Scheifele for 1C when he was here. If anything Scheifele is the one who gets crapped on for low effort. Can’t speak to his shit show year in LA

prospect evaluation is a very incomplete science so I’m not going to push back on your stance. He could very well blossom into a Draisaitl/Rantanen in 5 years, but the current iteration I’m seeing of him doesn’t have the elite offense skills/sense to be that guy in the NHL

 

[Darkstar]

I prefer Demidov to Lindstrom at this point.

I've only seen his highlights which are hard for me to judge if he's that dynamic or if he simply looks great playing against future forklift operators. I wish he would get some time in the KHL. I wouldn't complain if we drafted Demidov and Artamonov with our first two picks, but when do we get some forwards with both size and skill?

 

[belfour30]

If they don't get 1st , I want Lindstrom or Levshunov.

Also if Yakemchuk falls out of the top 10 due to being an early birthday, I'm not against a trade up if they go Forward wirh their first pick.

 

[TLEH]

I've only seen his highlights which are hard for me to judge if he's that dynamic or if he simply looks great playing against future forklift operators. I wish he would get some time in the KHL. I wouldn't complain if we drafted Demidov and Artamonov with our first two picks, but when do we get some forwards with both size and skill?

I’ve seen a few shift by shift videos. He’s dynamic and has pretty good compete and defense. But yeah the MHL is a terrible league.

 

[SimpleJack]

I wouldn’t waste too much time debating the options. We’re gonna get Celebrini. I can feel it in my soul.

 

[MicronMega]

Is Quinton Byfield a fair comp for Cayden Lindstrom?

Yes. Which would be a perfect fit for the Hawks

 

[scorehawks]

Just looked at the schedule, and March is a huge tank month. Multiple games against San Jose, ducks, and all the worst teams.

The Hawks will be lucky to get 4 regulation wins to finish out season. Throw in a few OT games, what, finish with 45-47 points?

 

[Wally1112pac]

Demidov is growing on me. If we don't get the 1st pick I wouldn't be upset if we drafted him. He has elite talent.