HF Habs: 2024 NHL Draft Thread

[waitin425]

Dickinson is a great defenseman and the 2nd dman on my board, but the marginal improvement from Guhle to him is nowhere near the improvement we'd get with one of the forwards there compared to what we have in the system.

Dickinson is number #1 D-man on my board, and #2 overall on my board. But.....your point is very valid and I tend to agree with you re: forward. I don't always say draft for need, but if either Demi or Lindstrom are there, I take them over Dickinson. The difference is marginal and fluxtuates for me day to day anyway.

 

[Benstheman]

The best dmen are also the most productive dmen.

Respectfully disagreed.

 

[SannywithoutCompy]

What if it's not so marginal...?

Then even if we take him we're no closer to being contenders since our forward depth is still shallow as hell. We'd also create a logjam where all our left handed defensive prospects lose value because they can't get any playing time to develop or showcase their abilities.

 

[NotProkofievian]

Respectfully disagreed.

Top 10 DMen ppg all time over 300 games

Bobby Orr
Paul Coffey
Cale Makar
Denis Potvin
Raymond Bourque
Quinn Hughes
Al MacInnis
Paul Reinhart
Adam Fox
Brian Leetch

Looks like some pretty good DMen to me, maybe there's something to it?

 

[waitin425]

My top 5 for rankings...

1. Celebrini
2. Dickinson
3. Levshunov
4. Demidov
5. Lindstrom


My Habs board (combination of my ranking and team needs)

1. Celebrini
2. Demidov
3. Lindstrom
4. Levshunov
5. Dickinson

If we end up with anyone of these guys I will be ecstatic.

Guys I will be fine with in no particular order (ie I trust the real scouts)

Silyayev
Catton
Iginla
Sennecke
Buium

Guys that I will be confused by, but again.....trust the scouts.

Parekh
Eiserman
Helenius


Ive put 13 names down there. 10 of which, I would be ecstatic to fine with. 3 who I also think are in the conversation, but I would be a little more tepid about. It is a crap shoot on who we take at this point!

 

[ReHabs]

Then even if we take him we're no closer to being contenders since our forward depth is still shallow as hell.

Believe me, I'm crazy about picking up a forward who can dish the puck. I was crazy for Michkov/Benson and I'm crazy for Catton this year. But we're far from contender status for the next few years anyway. This rebuild isn't close to over. Caufield didn't turn out to be a 80pt player but so far he's a 60pt supporting player. Dach is a complete unknown. Slafkovsky developed 2x as fast as some of us feared but his ceiling is unknown...

I was the loudest voice to end the rebuild asap but it's going to take a while until we see what we have and what we don't have. What we know we don't have is a sufficiently good team. All positions are open for upgrade.

We'd also create a logjam where all our left handed defensive prospects lose value because they can't get any playing time to develop or showcase their abilities.

Who's going to eat whose icetime?

Hutson is in the AHL to start the season unless he really impresses. Matheson and Guhle on the left are the only defenders who matter. Matheson is prime trade-bait for a win-now team... or Guhle can be shuffled off in a deal for a similar forward player in return (ie good upside, good development trajectory, but not a finished product yet). If we pick a LD like Dickinson and then strike a deal involving Guhle for Necas/Zegras/Laine we come out ahead in the rebuild process and none the worse for wear... and then we can trade Matheson for a king's ransom when two of the new LD, Hutson, or Reinbacher are ready for the top-pair minutes.

 

[ReHabs]

Gm who's the pick today?

https://x.com/i/web/status/1800580804424405144

Translatable skills. He's got 'em.

 

[SannywithoutCompy]

Believe me, I'm crazy about picking up a forward who can dish the puck. I was crazy for Michkov/Benson and I'm crazy for Catton this year. But we're far from contender status for the next few years anyway. This rebuild isn't close to over. Caufield didn't turn out to be a 80pt player but so far he's a 60pt supporting player. Dach is a complete unknown. Slafkovsky developed 2x as fast as some of us feared but his ceiling is unknown...

I was the loudest voice to end the rebuild asap but it's going to take a while until we see what we have and what we don't have. What we know we don't have is a sufficiently good team. All positions are open for upgrade.

Who's going to eat whose icetime?

Hutson is in the AHL to start the season unless he really impresses. Matheson and Guhle on the left are the only defenders who matter. Matheson is prime trade-bait for a win-now team... or Guhle can be shuffled off in a deal for a similar forward player in return (ie good upside, good development trajectory, but not a finished product yet). If we pick a LD like Dickinson and then strike a deal involving Guhle for Necas/Zegras/Laine we come out ahead in the rebuild process and none the worse for wear... and then we can trade Matheson for a king's ransom when two of the new LD, Hutson, or Reinbacher are ready for the top-pair minutes.

I'd say Caufield's next season will be a defining one. Let him rehab the shoulder over the summer and see what he can do, since he still generated plenty of chances but shot with the lowest S% of any player in the top 10 for shots.

If he'd shot his career average up to that point, he'd have put up 44 goals. If he does it again next year and shoots his current career average, that's 37 goals.

As for who is going to eat whose icetime, even with Matheson gone we're going to have Hutson, Guhle, Dickinson, Engstrom, Xhekaj, Struble, Harris as NHL-projectable LHD in the system.

 

[sampollock]

I've heard (from multiple sources) that Chicago might take Levshunov at 2nd. And we're hearing about Silayev at 3rd. » –Grant McCagg

 

[ReHabs]

I'd say Caufield's next season will be a defining one. Let him rehab the shoulder over the summer and see what he can do, since he still generated plenty of chances but shot with the lowest S% of any player in the top 10 for shots.

If he'd shot his career average up to that point, he'd have put up 44 goals. If he does it again next year and shoots his current career average, that's 37 goals.

He'll look great with Dickinson dishing him the puck

 

[SannywithoutCompy]

He'll look great with Dickinson dishing him the puck

Love Dickinson but he's more of a Weber type as far as distributing the puck goes (without saying anything about his skating or defense). Good outlet pass, big shot, not very creative or deceptive.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Not sure if you saw THG’s mock, but IIRC, he had the same top-5 but in a different order…

1. Celebrini
2. Demidov
3. Levshunov
4. Lindstrom
5. Silayev

I know there’s some chatter about Sennecke who I have warmed up to, but if the first four go something like the above, is Sennecke a better option than the remaining D, despite D being an organizational strength? IMO, I think we’re still lacking that stud #1D. Not saying Silayev is the answer BTW, but maybe he is.

Nah I didn't check his mock, I'm not very interested in guys guessing.. I like this mock because it's writers covering their teams and analyzed by Pronman who is pretty good at getting info lately.

 

[ReHabs]

Love Dickinson but he's more of a Weber type as far as distributing the puck goes (without saying anything about his skating or defense). Good outlet pass, big shot, not very creative or deceptive.

Yeah good point. I think I'd like a young homegrown Weber tbh. I trust the profile more than a potential Karlsson. We have Hutson already... as the frail but skilled PMD... and Reinbacher can be our Hamrlik/McDonagh.

---

A thought comes to mind about Silayev, depending on HuGo's timeline they might think Silayev is a DND at 5OA because of his commitment to his KHL team. I believe he has two years left until the summer 2026.

 

[Benstheman]

Top 10 DMen ppg all time over 300 games

Bobby Orr
Paul Coffey
Cale Makar
Denis Potvin
Raymond Bourque
Quinn Hughes
Al MacInnis
Paul Reinhart
Adam Fox
Brian Leetch

Looks like some pretty good DMen to me, maybe there's something to it?

Man, stop trying to convince me by confirming your own bias.

 

[SannywithoutCompy]

Yeah good point. I think I'd like a young homegrown Weber tbh. I trust the profile more than a potential Karlsson. We have Hutson already... as the frail but skilled PMD... and Reinbacher can be our Hamrlik/McDonagh.

---

A thought comes to mind about Silayev, depending on HuGo's timeline they might think Silayev is a DND at 5OA because of his commitment to his KHL team. I believe he has two years left until the summer 2026.

Agreed and I'd take him over Parekh or Levshunov (though not over Buium).

 

[BeliveauFan4ever]

You gotta have 5 names if you're picking 5th. I think those names for me are Celebrini, Lindstrom, Buium, Parekh, and Iginla.

Post your 5 names people.

Celebrini, Dickinson, Lindstrom, Demidov, Sennecke.

Please add, somehow, some way: Catton.

 

[le_sean]

Man, stop trying to convince me by confirming your own bias.

Ignore Bobby Orr because that’s like saying point producing centres are important, look at Wayne Gretzky.

Apart from him, only two of those defencemen won multiple Cups, mainly because they were a part of ridiculous dynasties.

Two-way types like Chris Pronger, Scott Niedermayer, Nicklas Lidstrom, Scott Stevens, Sergei Zubov are all better defencemen. Less points but far more influential to team success.

 

[NotProkofievian]

Ignore Bobby Orr because that’s like saying point producing centres are important, look at Wayne Gretzky.

Apart from him, only two of those defencemen won multiple Cups, mainly because they were a part of ridiculous dynasties.

Two-way types like Chris Pronger, Scott Niedermayer, Nicklas Lidstrom, Scott Stevens, Sergei Zubov are all better defencemen. Less points but far more influential to team success.

30th, 27th, 6th, 12th, and 22nd all time in scoring.

 

[G0bias]

I think Lindstrom is a lock to go high. Probably even higher than he should.
He's the kind of profile GMs might take over guys they consider arguably better players.

And I'd probably do the same.

 

[Playmaker09]

With all hockey events over, here is my final top 80 with some player comps for the top 32.
The comps are a mix of style and expected role in the NHL.

For context, a 1W is what I would want a top winger on a team to be, likely paired with a 1C. A 2W is what I would want the second best winger on a team to be, either flanking the 2C or the third member of one of the best 1st lines in the league. A 1D is a player who can elevate a #4 to form a solid top pair (think Weber/Chiarot). A 2D is a player who can elevate a #4 to form a solid second pair (Petry/Edmundson). A 3D still needs to partner with another 1/2/3 to form an effective top 4 pairing (Brett Pesce, Adam Pelech, Filip Hronek, John Klingberg).

I've expanded my tiers from previous years to avoid being too rigid and have a little more nuance within them.
Within tiers, I typically valued low-risk/high-likelihood over swinging for the fences and while I used to have it strictly C>D>W, I've come around to valuing defensemen a little more outside of the top couple of tiers.

Demidov/Catton/Lindstrom would be my order of preference at 5. They've all been discussed to death, so I'll leave it there.
Connelly is as low as I could reasonably put him but is basically DND for me. Without the question marks he'd be top 12.
At 26, players on my radar include Artamonov, Badinka, Surin, Gridin and Danford.

• Artamonov is a buzzsaw with skill, and proven at the pro level. We've seen the development in both Benson and Brindley from last year. Don't overthink it and make the same mistake twice.
• Badinka at his best reminds me of Reinbacher with a weaker shot. Excellent skating, retrievals and first pass with physicality, length and a high motor. There's a reason he played 33 games in the SHL as a foreigner. Will make some poor reads from time to time though.
• Surin is a complete wrecking ball with above average tools that could play any position up and down a lineup and has an extra gear in the playoffs.
• Gridin, on his good days, reminds me a lot of a smaller version of Slaf. Disruptive stick and great board work to go with high-end vision and shot. Compete level improved a lot towards the end of the year but is still a work in progress.
• Danford is my favorite of the glut of shutdown RHDs in the 20-50 range. He has the best baseline of tools across the board with no weaknesses and a fantastic stick. Great anticipation and IQ as well. Will sacrifice everything to block a shot. Just a beauty.

In the 2nd and 3rd rounds I'm looking mostly at defensemen. This is a seriously deep class and there are a ton of big, mobile, rangy defensemen that are worth taking a shot on. Admittedly, my viewings start to decrease significantly from picks 50 onwards, so there are surely some gems both up front and on D that I'm missing. There also weren't any goalies worth considering for a first round pick and I didn't really scout any beyond that, so they did not make the list.


Franchise
1 Macklin Celebrini - 5'11.75 C - Boston University - NCAA - Joe Sakic

2 Ivan Demidov - 5'11 RW - SKA - MHL - Claude Giroux

Low End 1C / 1W / 1D
3 Berkly Catton - 5'10.25 C/W - Spokane - WHL - Artemi Panarin

4 Zeev Buium - 6'0 LD - Denver - NCAA - Adam Fox
5 Cayden Lindstrom - 6'3 C/W - Medicine Hat - WHL - Chris Kreider

2C / 2W / 2D
6 Artyom Levshunov - 6'1.75 RD - Michingan State - NCAA - Mikhail Sergachev
7 Sam Dickinson - 6'2.75 LD - London - OHL - Jeff Petry
8 Tij Iginla - 6'0 LW - Kelowna - WHL - Chris Kunitz

9 Zayne Parekh - 6'0.25 RD - Saginaw - OHL - Mike Green
10 Beckett Sennecke - 6'2.75 RW - Oshawa - OHL - Drake Batherson
11 Carter Yakemchuk - 6'3 RD - Calgary - WHL - Dustin Byfuglien

Middle 6 C / Top 6 W / 3D / 1G
12 Anton Silayev - 6'7 LD/RD - Torpedo - KHL - Nikita Zadorov
13 Konsta Helenius - 5'11 C - Jukurit - Liiga - David Krejci
14 Michael Brandsegg-Nygård - 6'0.75 RW - Mora - Allsvenskan - Patrick Sharp
15 Nikita Artamonov - 5'11 RW - Torpedo - KHL - Brandon Hagel

16 Michael Hage - 6'0.75 C - Chicago - USHL - Ryan Strome
17 Igor Chernyshov - 6'2 LW - Dynamo Moskva - MHL - Jake Debrusk
18 Liam Greentree - 6'2.5 RW - Windsor - OHL - Andre Burakovsky
19 Cole Eiserman - 5'11.75 LW - USNTDP - Jeff Skinner

20 Dominik Badinka - 6'2.75 RD - Malmo - J20 - Brett Pesce
21 Yegor Surin - 6'1 C - Yaroslavl - MHL - Brandon Dubinsky
22 Matvei Gridin - 6'1.5 RW - Muskegon - USHL - Martin Havlat
23 Trevor Connelly - 6'0.75 LW - Tri City - USHL - Jesper Bratt

3C / 4D / Middle 6 W
24 Ben Danford - 6'1.5 RD - Oshawa - OHL - Dan Girardi
25 Stian Solberg - 6'1.5 LD - Valerenga - Norway - Brayden McNabb
26 Alfons Freij - 6'0.5 LD/RD - Växjö - J20 - Nick Leddy
27 Julius Miettinen - 6'3 C - Everett - WHL - Adam Lowry
28 Cole Beaudoin - 6'2 C - Barrie - WHL - Jason Dickinson
29 Sacha Boisvert - 6'2 C/W - Muskegon - USHL - Nick Foligno
30 Andrew Basha - 5'11.25 LW - Medicine Hat - WHL - Alex Newhook
31 Teddy Stiga - 5'10 LW - USNTDP - Joel Farabee

32 EJ Emery - 6'3.25 RD - USNTDP - Brandon Carlo
33 Cole Hutson - 5'10 LD - USNTDP -
34 Adam Jiricek - 6'2 RD - Plzen - Czechia -
35 Jesse Pulkkinen - 6'6 LD - JYP - Liiga -
36 Jett Luchanko - 5'11 C - Guelph - OHL -
37 Maxim Massé - 6'2.25 RW - Chicoutimi - QMJHL -
38 Emil Hemming - 6'1.25 RW - TPS - U20/Liiga -

39 Adam Kleber - 6'5.5 RD - Lincoln - USHL -
40 Harrison Brunicke - 6'2.5 RD - Kamloops - WHL -
41 Charlie Elick - 6'3.25 RD - Brandon - WHL -
42 Linus Eriksson - 6'0 C - Djurgårdens - Allsvenskan -
43 Sam O'Reilly - 6'1.25 C - London - OHL -
44 Miguel Marques - 5'10.25 RW - Lethbridge - WHL -

45 Spencer Gill - 6'3.75 RD - Rimouski - QMJHL -
46 Raoul Boilard - 6'1 C - Baie-Comeau - QMJHL -
47 Terik Parascak - 5'11.75 RW - Prince George - WHL -
48 John Mustard - 6'1 LW - Waterloo - USHL -
49 Ryder Ritchie - 6'0.25 RW - Prince Albert - WHL -

4C / Bottom Pair D / Bottom 6 W / High Risk
50 Henry Mews - 6'0.25 RD - Ottawa - OHL -
51 Matvei Shuravin - 6'2 LD - Krasnaya - MHL -
52 Dean Letourneau - 6'6.5 C - St Andrews - U18 AAA -
53 Tanner Howe - 5'10 RW - Regina - WHL -
54 Adam Jecho - 6'5 RW - Edmonton - WHL -
55 Luke Misa - 5'10 C/LW - Mississauga - OHL -
56 Justin Poirier - 5'8 RW - Baie-Comeau - QMJHL -
57 Marek Vanacker - 6'0 LW - Brantford - OHL -

58 Luca Marrelli - 6'1.5 RD - Oshawa - OHL -
59 Lukas Fischer - 6'3 LD Sarnia - OHL -
60 Daniil Ustinkov - 6'1 LD - Zsc - NL -
61 Will Skahan - 6'4.5 LD - USNTDP -
62 Simon Zether - 6'3 C - Rogle - J20/SHL -
63 Lucas Pettersson - 5'11.5 C - MoDo - J20 -
64 Jacob Battaglia - 6'0.5 RW - Kingston - OHL -
65 Brodie Ziemer - 5'11 RW - USNTDP -
66 Clarke Caswell - 5'11 RW - Swift Current - WHL -

67 Aron Kiviharju - 5'9.5 LD - HIFK - Liiga -
68 Tomas Galvas - 5'10.25 LD - Bili Tygri Liberec - Czechia -
69 Leon Muggli - 6'0.5 LD - Zug - NL -
70 Colton Roberts - 6'3.75 RD - Vancouver - WHL -
71 Tomas Lavoie - 6'4 RD - Cape Breton - QMJHL -
72 Tarin Smith - 6'1.25 LD - Everett - WHL -
73 Leo Sahlin Wellenius - 6'0 LD - Vaxjo - J20 -
74 Noel Fransen - 6'0 LD - Farjestad - J20 -
75 Jakub Fibigr - 6'0 LD - Mississauga - OHL -
76 Heikki Ruohonen - 6'1 C - Kiekko-Espoo - U20 SM-sarja -
77 Kamil Bednarik - 6'0.25 C - USNTDP -
78 Blake Montgomery - 6'4 LW - Lincoln - USHL -
79 Melvin Fernstrom - 6'0.75 RW - Orebro - J20 -
80 Riley Patterson - 6'0.25 RW - Barrie - OHL -

 

[KevSkillz4]

I've heard (from multiple sources) that Chicago might take Levshunov at 2nd. And we're hearing about Silayev at 3rd. » –Grant McCagg

If a team are stupid to take Silayev at 3, let's freaaakiing gooooo!!! I hope that happen please!!

 

[Hannibal]

Please let Lindstrom fall to us.

 

[Schooner Guy]

If a team are stupid to take Silayev at 3, let's freaaakiing gooooo!!! I hope that happen please!!

Haha! I love it Skillzie!!! I'm almost hoping the Habs take him to see your reaction!

He's been the #1 D on Bob McKenzie's poll of scouts all season. Playing D in a KHL team's top 4 for an entire season rarely ever happens. The only thing that might drop him is the Russian factor.

 

[Hannibal]

If somehow Hughes pulls the trigger on a Zegras trade, we won’t be drafting Demidov.

 

[KevSkillz4]

Haha! I love it Skillzie!!! I'm almost hoping the Habs take him to see your reaction!

He's been the #1 D on Bob McKenzie's poll of scouts all season. Playing D in a KHL team's top 4 for an entire season rarely ever happens. The only thing that might drop him is the Russian factor.

Erik Gudbranson, Cam Barker, Griffin Reinhart have been aswell high on Bob McKenzie list all season long and play big minutes on their junior team.