GDT: 2024 NHL Draft Thread

pete goegan

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Interesting from the athletic today polling scouts ….

Just as there is a lack of consensus on the best defenseman in the draft, there is a lack of consensus on who is the next best forward in this draft after Celebrini. You have the three WHL forwards in Spokane’s Berkly Catton, who is dynamic but 5-foot-10, the competitive goal scorer Tij Iginla, and the 6-3 center in Lindstrom who can fly and is highly physical. There is the dynamic 5-11 SKA winger Ivan Demidov. And then you have 6-2 winger Beckett Sennecke, who was lights out in the OHL playoffs.

Scout 1:
“With Lindstrom, best case you’re getting a legit No. 1 center. I think even if you miss on Lindstrom and he’s a third-line center, he’s a type of third-line center a GM is ecstatic to have, the kind that winning teams have in the playoffs.”

Executive 1: “I do have a concern on Lindstrom that you’re just getting a second-line two-way guy. His tools are outstanding but I don’t see the high-end skill and sense to score a lot in the NHL. They’re small but my lean is to Catton or Demidov because they have so much offense.”

Executive 2: “Catton looks like a can’t-miss top-line forward. He could be a first-line center. I don’t say this lightly about 5-10 forwards, because so few of them can stay in the middle, but I’d be surprised if he wasn’t a 1C in the NHL.”

Executive 3: “I’d take Catton or Iginla. They’re highly skilled guys who compete, play fast, put the puck in the net and were excellent in the WHL. Give me a break where all the lists have Demidov. He’s lighting up the MHL, but that league is so bad. Michkov was great versus men over there and went seventh.”

Executive 4: “Iginla has a lot of pro elements to his game. He’s super skilled and can score, but he’s detailed, he competes hard, he gets offense in the tough areas of the ice. He’s not that big yet, but you look at the dad and you’re hoping when Tij fills out he’s going to be a handful to deal with. The trajectory he’s on is pointed straight up as well.”

Scout 2: “It’s Lindstrom for us. You may be getting a second-line center, but he’s a second-line center who plays super hard, is a great skater and your coaches will be able to rely on.”

Executive 5: “I can see the arguments for Catton and Sennecke but I’d pick Demidov because he’s slightly more dynamic offensively than the other guys. Sennecke has more of a power element. Catton is a complete player offensively — he has no weaknesses — but Demidov can make so many plays and is high-end with the puck. Demidov doesn’t lead with speed, but is great east-west although he doesn’t skate like the other two. Lindstrom would be fourth for me.”

Executive 6: “The body of work would go to Demidov. The pure physical tools would make you pick Lindstrom. The best player in the last six months would be Sennecke, and he would be my lean.”

Executive 7: “The disrespect I see for Catton is crazy. He scored 110 points, Captain Canada at the Hlinka where he dominated, is a dynamic play-driving center. If he were two inches taller he’s the no questions asked No. 2 pick.”

Executive 8: “Demidov. He’s just dynamic, he’s the clear No. 2 forward for me. Then it would be between Lindstrom or Iginla.”

Scout 3: “Demidov has a chance to be the next great Russian star in the NHL. He’s a game breaker.”

Scout 4: “I would probably take the big guy in Lindstrom. The skating, the heaviness, the offense, it’s all very appealing. I like Catton and Iginla but I don’t see special small-guy traits in them.”

Scout 5: “It’s clearly Sennecke for me. He has the potential to be a game breaker. He’s big, he’s fast, he has elite skill and processing, even has some bite in him. I get the concerns on his production, but you watch the last 2-3 months of his season, he looked like a star.”


Agree… see the athletic article from today ….

We’ll, that didn’t clarify much for me!
 

Doggy

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I think the most obvious indication that Anaheim is going to pick Lindstrom is that Lindstrom seems to be a consensus expected pick here at HFCBJ, which virtually guarantees Anaheim will take him just before we can like they have for the last three drafts running with McTavish, Mintyukov, and Carlsson.

That also tells me that we'll still turn out okay regardless of the ensuing worry.
I am so not worried about who goes 2 & 3 because no matter what we are getting a great prospect I will be happy with and vote top two on our summer prospect pool survey regardless. I know its fun to debate all of this but absolutely nobody here knows which player taken between 2-8 is truly the best pick for us as we sit here in June 2024.
 
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CBJWerenski8

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The Ducks have a clear need at RD in their pool. I don’t see why they’d pick Lindstrom when they already have McTavish Carlsson and Gauthier. Unless they think one of these four guys is going to be better as a winger, I think Anaheim is picking a D.
 
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cbjthrowaway

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The Ducks have a clear need at RD in their pool. I don’t see why they’d pick Lindstrom when they already have McTavish Carlsson and Gauthier. Unless they think one of these four guys is going to be better as a winger, I think Anaheim is picking a D.
i could actually see them going with demidov, catton or sennecke. they may look to move zegras, and even after that they'll have center locked down long-term. and they have a pretty nice defensive pipeline.

a dynamic playmaking wing would actually seem to align pretty well to their needs, especially with them having bigger centers.
 

majormajor

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I think the most obvious indication that Anaheim is going to pick Lindstrom is that Lindstrom seems to be a consensus expected pick here at HFCBJ, which virtually guarantees Anaheim will take him just before we can like they have for the last three drafts running with McTavish, Mintyukov, and Carlsson.

That also tells me that we'll still turn out okay regardless of the ensuing worry.

I think you found it.

We did have probably more conversation about those players than anyone else for those picks. Though for most that was thinking they'd be there and liking them, and for myself and some others simply being infatuated with those players and not necessarily expecting them to be there. Cayden Lindstrom seems to be the guy this year.

Those three were the highest players left on my list when Anaheim took them. Ducks fans were joking with me about this draft that they want to see who I want at #4.
 
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majormajor

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I am so not worried about who goes 2 & 3 because no matter what we are getting a great prospect I will be happy with and vote top two on our summer prospect pool survey regardless. I know its fun to debate all of this but absolutely nobody here knows which player taken between 2-8 is truly the best pick for us as we sit here in June 2024.

If we draft Levshunov or Silayev I would probably not have them top two in our prospect pool.

The Ducks have a clear need at RD in their pool. I don’t see why they’d pick Lindstrom when they already have McTavish Carlsson and Gauthier. Unless they think one of these four guys is going to be better as a winger, I think Anaheim is picking a D.

Power forwards are like a different category to my mind. Gauthier or Lindstrom can end up on the wing and still provide a ton of value, certainly I think Lindstrom can because he's more naturally assertive than Gauthier.

If you think that he's the most valuable player then you figure out the positional balance out later. It looks like they'd sooner move Zegras and maybe even Terry for an RD.
 

KJ Dangler

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IMG_3576.png



Regarding Lindstrom….

 

CBJWerenski8

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I know we're picking 4th overall so the goal is to get a star or a top level player, but to me, we already have a lot of that (not that you can have too much). Its about picking the right guy who can be an important piece to the team in some way or the other.

Look at Sam Bennett. He was picked 4th overall too. Look at his production, does it scream 4th overall pick worthy? On its face, no. But when you watch Florida and see how important he is to that team in the role he's in, and you can bet your bottom dollar that Calgary wishes they had that trade back.

If Lindstrom is a Sam Bennett, then I think we'd be very happy with that. If he's a star, even better.
 

squashmaple

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I know we're picking 4th overall so the goal is to get a star or a top level player, but to me, we already have a lot of that (not that you can have too much). Its about picking the right guy who can be an important piece to the team in some way or the other.

Look at Sam Bennett. He was picked 4th overall too. Look at his production, does it scream 4th overall pick worthy? On its face, no. But when you watch Florida and see how important he is to that team in the role he's in, and you can bet your bottom dollar that Calgary wishes they had that trade back.

If Lindstrom is a Sam Bennett, then I think we'd be very happy with that. If he's a star, even better.
And Sam Bennett is not currently doing it for the team that took him fourth overall. A guy drafted five years ago by someone else who needs a change of scenery is our Sam Bennett.
 

CalBuckeyeRob

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I know we're picking 4th overall so the goal is to get a star or a top level player, but to me, we already have a lot of that (not that you can have too much). Its about picking the right guy who can be an important piece to the team in some way or the other.

Look at Sam Bennett. He was picked 4th overall too. Look at his production, does it scream 4th overall pick worthy? On its face, no. But when you watch Florida and see how important he is to that team in the role he's in, and you can bet your bottom dollar that Calgary wishes they had that trade back.

If Lindstrom is a Sam Bennett, then I think we'd be very happy with that. If he's a star, even better.
The hardest challenge when you are losing is figuring out what skills you need to add to the existing talent to stop losing. Often, the playoff success stories are not superstar filled rosters. They are many role players that complement each other so the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. When you have a bunch of young guys it is even tougher because you need them to get individually better but you have no idea if they will or what their "best" will look like.
 

majormajor

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And Sam Bennett is not currently doing it for the team that took him fourth overall. A guy drafted five years ago by someone else who needs a change of scenery is our Sam Bennett.

Yes, you don't want to draft Sam Bennett, you want to trade for him.
 
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koteka

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This is a really tough group to rank.

One thing I keep going back to is who looks like he could be a really good player on a team making a deep playoff run. Lindstrom, Iginla, Yakemchuk, and Dickinson all fit that bill.
 
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majormajor

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I think this model can be a good way to check which prospects (on scouts rankings) are ranked far below or above what their point totals would suggest (Bader's is a points model).

Cole Eiserman certainly has a lot of red flags and is not surprisingly much lower on real scouts rankings. Sennecke and Lindstrom have developing physical packages and impressive trajectories that put them much higher than the point totals would suggest. Yegor Surin is ranked much lower than his points would suggest and as far as I can tell is the total package, so that one I can't figure out.

But that's about as much use as I can get from Bader. I get annoyed because folks think it is some fancy analytics product, it's basically just points and league with small adjustments for a couple other things. People were posting Desjardins equivalencies for years here before Bader came along and relabeled those equivalencies as a proprietary analytics project. There's no fancy inference going on here, no advanced stats, it's points.
 

Xoggz22

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Can we make a move and get both? :sarcasm:


But in all seriousness, I'm glad I don't have to make the decision..
Why not? KJ and whatever to Montreal at 5. They're you go. Then we can talk about how terrible that move was until KJ flames out, at which point we can then say told you so... perfectly aligned with this board right now.
 
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Aaaarrgghh

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I think you found it.

We did have probably more conversation about those players than anyone else for those picks. Though for most that was thinking they'd be there and liking them, and for myself and some others simply being infatuated with those players and not necessarily expecting them to be there. Cayden Lindstrom seems to be the guy this year.

Those three were the highest players left on my list when Anaheim took them. Ducks fans were joking with me about this draft that they want to see who I want at #4.
Alright, Mr. Verbeek, the jig's up. Stop playing with our emotions like this.
 
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AnonCommentary

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NHL Staff Mock Draft 2.0: Celebrini is No. 1, but where do Levshunov, Silayev, Demidov land?

“CBJ selects Lindstrom: The Blue Jackets have invested heavily in the draft in recent seasons, so they could go in a lot of different directions with this pick, especially with such a wide-open draft class. But Lindstrom, an exceptional athlete and imposing player at center ice, is a rare find. Yes, his injury-riddled season is a concern, and the Jackets would be wise to investigate that further. But for a franchise that has historically been chronically weak down the middle, a 1-2-3 punch (in some order) of Adam Fantilli, Lindstrom and Cole Sillinger is too tempting to pass.” — Aaron Portzline

Blue Jackets’ Don Waddell discusses free agency, the draft, Pascal Vincent’s future and more


“Waddell had almost no input on the draft in Carolina, and there’s no way he will have enough time to get a grip on this year’s draft class with only weeks to go before the draft is staged in Vegas. So he’s doing what any wise GM would do, leaning hard on his amateur scouts.

The one pick that Waddell will study in-depth is the No. 4 overall selection. He’ll press his scouts on their opinions, he’ll do his own video scouting (he did not attend the combine) and the players will bring at least a few players to Columbus for pre-draft interviews before the big day on June 28.

“We’ll take a really hard look at four or five players we’d consider with that No. 4 pick,” Waddell said. “Obviously, we know who is going No. 1 (Macklin Celebrini), but there’s a lot of work to be done after that, a lot of different ways this can go.”

Waddell has made reference on several occasions — his introductory press conference, as well as interviews with other outlets — that the Blue Jackets don’t have a second-round pick this season.

That would seem to indicate that the Blue Jackets have already decided to send their second-round selection (No. 36 overall) to Philadelphia to complete the Ivan Provorov trade last summer. As part of that deal, the Blue Jackets were to decide after this year’s first round if they were sending the Flyers this year’s second-round pick or the second-round pick in 2025.

Waddell, when asked if a decision has already been made, said he’d misspoken. He clarified with The Athletic via text message.

“We have not decided and won’t decide until after the first round,” he said.

The pro scouting meetings figure to be more intense than the amateur scouting meetings. Not only is Waddell trying to get a grip on his rosters, but he’s trying to get a feel for what’s going on around the league. Now, much of that he’d already know from having his finger on the pulse in Carolina.

But how does the current NHL landscape apply to Columbus’ needs? Waddell would like to add some veteran players to the roster, he has said, to help guide this very young, very inexperienced roster. Those players are hard to come by and they don’t come cheap, but summer is the time to grab them.

“I want to hear everybody’s opinion on our team, the depth of our team,” Waddell said. “I know this team from watching it as a visitor, and I know some of the guys I’ve had with USA Hockey. But I want to hear everybody’s thoughts.

“There’s always a lot of action at the draft. We have to be prepared for that. I don’t want to be sitting there scrambling when something ends up with us, trying to huddle with six guys to evaluate something before us. If you’re prepared for it, those decisions come easy.”
 
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CBJWerenski8

Rest in Peace Johnny
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Waddell has made reference on several occasions — his introductory press conference, as well as interviews with other outlets — that the Blue Jackets don’t have a second-round pick this season.

That would seem to indicate that the Blue Jackets have already decided to send their second-round selection (No. 36 overall) to Philadelphia to complete the Ivan Provorov trade last summer. As part of that deal, the Blue Jackets were to decide after this year’s first round if they were sending the Flyers this year’s second-round pick or the second-round pick in 2025.

Waddell, when asked if a decision has already been made, said he’d misspoken. He clarified with The Athletic via text message.

“We have not decided and won’t decide until after the first round,” he said.
It’s kind of awkward that it took the media to correct him or ask for clarification for him to get the 2nd rounder is conditional. I get misspeaking once in his first presser, because he was so new here, but he’s in week 3 of the job, you’d think his scouting/support staff would have reminded him and he’d have that down.

Not a big deal obviously but kind of weird.
 

DoingItCoolKiwi

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It’s kind of awkward that it took the media to correct him or ask for clarification for him to get the 2nd rounder is conditional. I get misspeaking once in his first presser, because he was so new here, but he’s in week 3 of the job, you’d think his scouting/support staff would have reminded him and he’d have that down.

Not a big deal obviously but kind of weird.
Eh, I sympatize with him. Last time I changed jobs it took 2 weeks to actually get started on the first task.

Large part of the three weeks has likely gone in non-hockey operation matters such as press duties, and personal matters such as moving.
 

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