HF Habs: 2024 NHL Draft Thread

[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.

 

[Schooner Guy]

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.

Very true but top 4 minutes in KHL at age 17 and 6ft7 with high end wheels! Oh man!

In any event, please post pictures of your busted up TV if the Habs do happen to take Silayev!

 

[le_sean]

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

Okay? You said points=better. Those guys racked up points because of longevity.

The original argument is Pietrangelo vs Karlsson. Pietrangelo gets you 50 points AND great defensive play. That’s more valuable than 80 points and dogshit defence.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

I'd take Karlsson over Pietrangelo in a redraft, cups or not. He's just a better player. For me it's about the ceiling.

I still think Eiserman has a higher ceiling than anyone other than Cellebrini. Came into this year as a possible number one and has slid - for good reason - due to holes in his game. But STILL put up mind boggling numbers.

I think he’d kill it here.

 

[waitin425]

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

If Zegras gets traded.....even if it isn't to us....Anaheim probably picks Demi to replace Zegras.

 

[Andrei79]

Wow, I didn't know that. He's just an exceptional kid all around. But he need to learn rispek

From Wheelers article:
"Both Zayne and his brother Aydin “blew through school.” Where some players manage to accelerate their high-schooling by one year, Parekh did by two, finishing at 16 so that he was done when he entered the OHL. He has already taken some courses through the University of Toronto."

He apparently takes an analytical approach to his game and recognizes his weaknesses. I'm just hoping he's not drafted within the division.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Okay? You said points=better. Those guys racked up points because of longevity.

The original argument is Pietrangelo vs Karlsson. Pietrangelo gets you 50 points AND great defensive play. That’s more valuable than 80 points and dogshit defence.

Karlsson was a 100 point player a couple of years ago. And he should actually have four Norris trophies.

 

[Milhouse40]

 

[NotProkofievian]

Okay? You said points=better. Those guys racked up points because of longevity.

The original argument is Pietrangelo vs Karlsson. Pietrangelo gets you 50 points AND great defensive play. That’s more valuable than 80 points and dogshit defence.

I said that the best Dmen are also the most productive Dmen. And they are.

You gave a few counter examples so let's go through them:

Niklas Lidstrom won cups in 97, 98, 2002, and 2008. In those seasons he was 5th, 1st, 2nd and 1st in dman scoring. In 1998, the top three scoring Dmen were three of your examples, Scottie, Nik, and Zubov in that order. 2007, the top dman scorer was Scott Niedermayer. Pronger was 7th.

How you thought listing several of the most productive Dmen of their generation was any kind of a counter to the claim that the best Dmen are also the most productive ones is beyond me.

 

[Doublechin]

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.

They all had one thing in common and were not known for their skating ability

It's one of Silyaev's forces, add his elite defensive abilities and shutdown effectiveness and you've already got a top 5 player with his size in most drafts

Add the raw offensive potential and Sky's the limit, if he wasn't playing in the KHL, he'd be the odds on favorite for number two

 

[Andrei79]

I could see something like this happening. Though I would be floored if Dickinson lasted until 11.

I think Ottawa is definitely in on either Yakemchuk or Parekh. Both would fit their team. Hell, both would fit our team. I would absolutely hate if it happened though.

Seeing how close ranks 2-12 are, Hughes really needs to find a way to get another pick in that range.

 

[Leto]

I could see something like this happening. Though I would be floored if Dickinson lasted until 11.

I think Ottawa is definitely in on either Yakemchuk or Parekh. Both would fit their team. Hell, both would fit our team. I would absolutely hate if it happened though.

A successful Yakemchuk on the Senators make them even more insufferable. I'd much rather see him go to a team in the West.​

 

[Redux91]

Karlsson almost singlehandedly dragged Ottawa to the cup final Price-style, I don't think he was the reason they didn't win one lmao

Great! I'm convinced! Go on and draft Parekh then,
Go on!
We'll get to 'almost a cup final'!

We're SET

 

[Andrei79]

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.

Zherdev, Galchenyuk, Yakupov were high on Bobs list too once upon a time.

The lesson here is players of all styles and size succeed and bust.

Silayev's defensive game at his age is very impressed. At least part of his game is already pro polished, which you don't usually expect from a 6'7" player. He's a Seider type pick. The tools are there to develop an offensive game and if he does, he suddenly becomes one of the most sought out players in the league

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

I think if Demidov and Dickinson are available at 5, it's a coin flip as to which player Habs take.

It will be an easy choice to pick Demidov. They aren't going to pick an LD if Demidov/Lindstrom is there.