Prospect Info: 2024 NHL Draft Thread

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NiWa

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Any thoughts on RHD Ben Danford? He seems to be mostly ranked around the end of the second by most of the main public draft writers/outlets, but there's a few that have him around early 2nd.
 
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evnted

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Any thoughts on RHD Ben Danford? He seems to be mostly ranked around the end of the second by most of the main public draft writers/outlets, but there's a few that have him around early 2nd.
ill make a note to do a profile on him

tl;dr version is really strong defensive fundamentals (in particular as good of a shot blocker as you can ask for in a prospect) and solid mobility/poise in transition. some flashes of offensive ideas but largely only ever contributing in a pretty vanilla supporting role. comfortable 2nd rounder for me. i think the team taking him is gonna be hoping for a defender in the mold of alec martinez

one quick note, he and mews are the next batch of OHL D behind dickinson/parekh, and will naturally get compared because of it. mews is more individually talented, that would be pretty hard to argue against, but i like danford more because hes easy to project. a mobile, shot blocking DFD is not just always in demand, but very easy to see slotting in on a roster, even if it's only as a 4-6D. mews is a bit more of a question of what he turns into, will he be dynamic enough offensively to be an OFD? will he stabilize enough defensively to be a TWD? im not sure
 

StevenToddIves

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ill make a note to do a profile on him

tl;dr version is really strong defensive fundamentals (in particular as good of a shot blocker as you can ask for in a prospect) and solid mobility/poise in transition. some flashes of offensive ideas but largely only ever contributing in a pretty vanilla supporting role. comfortable 2nd rounder for me. i think the team taking him is gonna be hoping for a defender in the mold of alec martinez

one quick note, he and mews are the next batch of OHL D behind dickinson/parekh, and will naturally get compared because of it. mews is more individually talented, that would be pretty hard to argue against, but i like danford more because hes easy to project. a mobile, shot blocking DFD is not just always in demand, but very easy to see slotting in on a roster, even if it's only as a 4-6D. mews is a bit more of a question of what he turns into, will he be dynamic enough offensively to be an OFD? will he stabilize enough defensively to be a TWD? im not sure
Mews is very attractive because of the skating, but I wonder about the hockey IQ. I like Danford's defensive game, but I'm not sure I would take him unless he fell to the later rounds. Nothing against Danford, just there will be other available players I'll like more in the first 3 rounds.
 

evnted

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2024 Draft Profile:

LW Max Plante, USNTDP


Plante was a tale of two different seasons for me. In my early viewings, he felt like a soft, perimeter focused playmaker who could pile up assists on a good USNTDP squad but didn't offer much else beyond that. As the season progressed, I started to grow a bit more optimistic about his projection since I began to see him deliberately try to address the deficiencies in his game. The undersized winger (and I say winger in spite of him playing a decent center load this year) is generally regarded as a 3rd rounder, though Craig Button currently has him just outside the 1st.

The best part of Plante's game is quite easily his playmaking ability, and this was apparent in every viewing I had. The player showcases some exceptional vision and creativity with the puck, applying a mix of deception, manipulation, and patience to find lanes. He can hit long, multi-line breakout passes just as effectively as he can finesse pucks in smaller areas and through traffic. And it's not even the case that he needs these lanes either, Plante is more than capable of threading the puck through the tiniest of openings. He complements this ability with an equally impressive level of timing, evasion, and spatial awareness while skating to ensure he's finding space for himself just as easily.

As the year progressed, I noticed him increasingly willing to try to play through contact as well. Now, at a meager 5'10" 170lb, he stands very little chance of holding up against larger defenders right now, but I want to reiterate that we're thinking intent. Plante shows signs of leveraging his body up and under bigger players to buy himself space, while simultaneously applying some impressive puck protection ability with his stick. His shot is a bit of a contested topic, but I want to make sure I highlight his ability to identify shooting lanes and his general instincts with the puck. Plante applies all the hallmarks of his vision, patience, and handling to put himself in the most dangerous scoring opportunities possible, and his instincts in terms of when to shoot and when to continue to make a move are impressive. Plus, it helps that he has a knack for being able to elevate the puck in tight.

What isn't great, though, is that Plante loves to look off scoring opportunities for himself. I don't think it's nearly as bad now as it was early season, but there's a level of predictability to his game insomuch as defenders generally can assume he's looking for a pass when the puck's on his stick. Even when he does opt for a shot, it's not particularly threatening most of the time either. Additionally, Plante can't really be considered a high pace player, but I should note there's a caveat to that. He's almost always moving, trying to bait defenders, willing to fight for pucks, and he's even got a quick first couple steps, but generally speaking everything's happening a touch slower than you'd typically want for a player of this frame. Plante is engaged as a backchecker and, while not super active, will support down low, it just comes down to a matter of projecting whether or not this will be that much of a strength moving forward considering his lack of reach, pace, and pure speed.

There's a lot to like with how Plante's game has grown this year. He applies a ton of skill and vision to drive play regardless of the line he's playing on, and there's legitimate earnestness in competing for pucks, supporting defensively, and essentially being more than just a pass-first player. The progression in terms of physical contact, shooting, and even pace to a smaller degree were all apparent this season, which I really do like to see. The issue lies in the fact that, even with those positives considered, he still has a ways to go. The exciting part is more the framework from which he can build off of, rather than the current translatability, or lack thereof, of his game. I think it's worth taking a look at the player in the middle/late rounds and hoping you get some sort of Guentzel-style swing out of him, where the player is savvy enough and committed enough to overcome his lack of tools.
 

TBF1972

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absolutely agreed, we should’ve drafted askarov. but this is the hand we’ve been dealt, and unfortunately we’re going to have to overpay for an above average goalie. this team is shaping up really nice, especially with the best coach we’ve had in a decade. we just need a goalie that isn’t terrible, and i trust fitz to finally rectify that with our pick.

and it doesn’t have to be a one for one swap. we can add and potentially get someone who isn’t ullmark or saros. that’s right- i’m talking about markstrom! no no he sucks shit, but you know what i mean.
i have never done it. tell me more about your shit sucking experience.

while i agree improving in the goal should be a priority, #10 doesn't have to be the solution. no need to overpay for the sake of solving a hole, as it creates more holes down the line. our prospect pipeline at lhd got substantially weaker with the meier trade and our c depth is non existent, which even got more obvious when mcleod disappeared.

i am willing to trade #10. but i wouldn't be enamoured if the return is only an aging goalie (saros, ullmark, markstrom, gibson). for shesterkin, sorokin, demko, oettinger or swayman sure. but all of them won't be available. so either boston and nashville are willing to throw in an additional asset or trade back scenarios could be entertained.

in the end i prefer a buium, dickinson, mbn or helenius pick over a retained markstrom/gibson or saros/ullmark without term.
 

TBF1972

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When? Your top-3 takes about Lovejoy, third line center Hischier and every take about Hutson are always perfect. Hundred times worser than Shestyorkin but still more solid than average hfboard poster can make. I would pick Igor by 1OA but I would pick your takes by second, may be third(Hutson is still exist). 10OA? It’s not a question.
you should reconsider. he is a lawyer.
 

TBF1972

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I have a strong sense that if Helenius is available at 10OA, Fitz is going to draft him. He fills a need and isn’t far off from being NHL ready. Since we are in “win now” mode with Fitz probably feeling his seat is warming up, it makes perfect sense.
lafreniere and kakko were also deemed nhl ready. i would be careful to call any prospect nhl ready and even more careful to take it as the deciding factor to draft one prospect over an other. there are a selected few players, who made an instant difference for their clubs in their d+1 season.
 

Guadana

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lafreniere and kakko were also deemed nhl ready. i would be careful to call any prospect nhl ready and even more careful to take it as the deciding factor to draft one prospect over an other. there are a selected few players, who made an instant difference for their clubs in their d+1 season.
I like more NHL ready player on the draft. In fact he isn't nhl ready, but I like him because of his combination of vision and skills.
Overall I would say its way too much to wait nhl game from 18 yo player. Its funny that may be Nemec was the most ready player for NHL game after the draft from what I saw. Even he wasn't fully ready. Even with their production- Carlsson and Bedard were not fully ready for nhl game, at least if their team would want to compete.
 

StevenToddIves

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May 18, 2013
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In what can only be disastrous, I've agreed to go on my friend's hockey podcast about the draft this afternoon.

Every time I'm alone in my apartment and talk out loud, my cat assumes I'm talking to her and starts meowing. I think it's because during the pandemic I went a bit stir crazy and would sit there talking to her about Kierkegaard or whatever. My cat f--king hates Kierkegaard.
 

Darkauron

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Jul 14, 2011
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In what can only be disastrous, I've agreed to go on my friend's hockey podcast about the draft this afternoon.

Every time I'm alone in my apartment and talk out loud, my cat assumes I'm talking to her and starts meowing. I think it's because during the pandemic I went a bit stir crazy and would sit there talking to her about Kierkegaard or whatever. My cat f--king hates Kierkegaard.

Smart cat. No one likes the Danes!
 

TBF1972

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May 19, 2018
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can you name some other solutions for that problem?
if i could simply solve that problem i should get paid by the new jersey devils.

somehow fans seem to think that the solutions are always obvious and easy. 32 teams compete with each other and each team gives their best effort. other gms are not trying to help the devils. therefore limiting the strategy to get a better pairing in goal should not be limited to trade the 10th oa. this is bound to fail.
 

MartyOwns

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Apr 1, 2007
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if i could simply solve that problem i should get paid by the new jersey devils.

somehow fans seem to think that the solutions are always obvious and easy. 32 teams compete with each other and each team gives their best effort. other gms are not trying to help the devils. therefore limiting the strategy to get a better pairing in goal should not be limited to trade the 10th oa. this is bound to fail.
i'm not limiting anything, reality is. forwards grow on trees, you can even snag a nice defenseman in UFA like we did with dougie. goalies are just a different breed. when you have #10, which is a nice bargaining chip, combined with the unusually high number of goalie names floating around as available, combined with our desperation to backstop our talented roster with a goalie who isn't a wet paper towel, you kind of have to make that move. on top of all that, if this was fitz's first year he'd probably keep allen, sign stolarz and call it a day. but it's not, and he knows it.

by all indications, fitz is going to shop the #10 pick hard, as he should, for those reasons. i'd much rather lose #10 than one of the few blue chip prospects we have in the system. we shouldn't still be at the point where a #10 pick is seen as untouchable.
 
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My3Sons

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i'm not limiting anything, reality is. forwards grow on trees, you can even snag a nice defenseman in UFA like we did with dougie. goalies are just a different breed. when you have #10, which is a nice bargaining chip, combined with the unusually high number of goalie names floating around as available, combined with our desperation to backstop our talented roster with a goalie who isn't a wet paper towel, you kind of have to make that move. on top of all that, if this was fitz's first year he'd probably keep allen, sign stolarz and call it a day. but it's not, and he knows it.

by all indications, fitz is going to shop the #10 pick hard, as he should, for those reasons. i'd much rather lose #10 than one of the few blue chip prospects we have in the system. we shouldn't still be at the point where a #10 pick is seen as untouchable.
the issue is that teams are typically trying to pawn off their old overpriced declining vets for picks. Think Anderson or Markstrom. These sorts of players aren't worth what their teams want for them. If Markstrom was available for anything remotely reasonable he'd almost certainly be a Devil already. If they want 10 for Markstrom I wouldn't want Fitz to say yes.
 
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