2024 NHL Draft: WE DID IT, CELEBRINI IS OURS!!!

[TheBeard]

As it stands, I have no idea what I'd do at 2 and I won't even have a good guess as to what Grier would do there until we're closer to June. I'm definitely not sold on any of them.

Hopefully we draft Celebrini at 1 so we don't have to worry about it lol.

 

[LilLeeroy]

As it stands, I have no idea what I'd do at 2 and I won't even have a good guess as to what Grier would do there until we're closer to June. I'm definitely not sold on any of them.

Literally have zero idea why you keep acting like the Sharks dropping to 2 is some disaster scenario that they will never recover from.



Sharks need to completely retool their defense and this is looking like a good year to do it.

 

[TheBeard]

Literally have zero idea why you keep acting like the Sharks dropping to 2 is some disaster scenario that they will never recover from.



Sharks need to completely retool their defense and this is looking like a good year to do it.

I don't know if I'd say it's a disaster, but being this bad it would be great for fan morale to finally end up with an elite piece to show for it rather than just a good building block.

 

[LilLeeroy]

I don't know if I'd say it's a disaster, but being this bad it would be great for fan morale to finally end up with an elite piece to show for it rather than just a good building block.

And Levshunov, Buium, and Parekh all look like they will be elite pieces.

 

[Juxtaposer]

And Levshunov, Buium, and Parekh all look like they will be elite pieces.

I strongly disagree.

 

[TheBeard]

And Levshunov, Buium, and Parekh all look like they will be elite pieces.

Elite in the same way as Will Smith. Celebrini falls closer to the can't miss tier of Carlsson and Fantilli. Not quite Bedard, but more of a sure thing than the others in the 24 draft class.

 

[LilLeeroy]

Elite in the same way as Will Smith. Celebrini falls closer to the can't miss tier of Carlsson and Fantilli. Not quite Bedard, but more of a sure thing than the others in the 24 draft class.

Buium has the highest ppg of any freshman defender in NCAA history, and is outproducing fantastic prospects like the Hughes d-men, Adam Fox, Mcavoy, Werenski, and Power as an 18 year old when they were 20. Will Smith is second in scoring on his own line.

 

[coooldude]

Literally have zero idea why you keep acting like the Sharks dropping to 2 is some disaster scenario that they will never recover from.



Sharks need to completely retool their defense and this is looking like a good year to do it.

You went from zero to 100 real quick there.

There's a big difference between me saying "I have no idea what I'd do at #2, and I'm not yet sold on any of them" and you misreading it as "if we drop to 2, it's a disaster scenario that we will never recover from."

Picking top 4 will be great. But it'd be a lot better if we pick #1. Is that controversial? What else do I need to say so you don't misinterpret my pretty clear points?

Hell, I'll go one step further -- it's likely that one of Buium, Levshunov, Silayev, Parekh, or Dickinson becomes a cup-winning #1 D-man in the NHL on a perennial contender. Hell, might even be two of them.

I just don't have a friggin' clue how you would pick which one, today in January 5 months before the draft.

 

[TheBeard]

You went from zero to 100 real quick there.

There's a big difference between me saying "I have no idea what I'd do at #2, and I'm not yet sold on any of them" and you misreading it as "if we drop to 2, it's a disaster scenario that we will never recover from."

Picking top 4 will be great. But it'd be a lot better if we pick #1. Is that controversial? What else do I need to say so you don't misinterpret my pretty clear points?

Hell, I'll go one step further -- it's likely that one of Buium, Levshunov, Silayev, Parekh, or Dickinson becomes a cup-winning #1 D-man in the NHL on a perennial contender. Hell, might even be two of them.

I just don't have a friggin' clue how you would pick which one, today in January 5 months before the draft.

Maaaaan, I just looked up the date and was totally reminded the Draft is here in Vegas. Now i'm doubly excited.

 

[Great Makohead Shork]

Macklin Celebrini the unanimous No. 1 prospect in Bob McKenzie's mid-season draft ranking | TSN

Ten out of 10 NHL team scouts surveyed by TSN have the 17-year-old Boston University freshman centre at No. 1. Almost all of them can’t see anyone other than Celebrini going first overall on June 28.

www.tsn.ca

If draft day was today. SJ would get:

1. Celebrini
13. Buium

This would speed up the rebuild by at least two years. Seriously. I'm super high on Buium and Celebrini goes without saying hah

 

[tiburon12]

How worried are people about drafting Russians? I hate to pump a stereotype but I wonder what kind of "payback" Russian hockey is going to dole out to the rest of the world for keeping them away from international hockey events. We already had that report that Putin sent a directive to keep Russians in the KHL (not sure if there was any follow up to that), does that intensify the risk?

Since sports and politics are inextricably linked in Russia, I think some concern is warranted, no?

 

[Cas]

How worried are people about drafting Russians? I hate to pump a stereotype but I wonder what kind of "payback" Russian hockey is going to dole out to the rest of the world for keeping them away from international hockey events. We already had that report that Putin sent a directive to keep Russians in the KHL (not sure if there was any follow up to that), does that intensify the risk?

Since sports and politics are inextricably linked in Russia, I think some concern is warranted, no?

I wouldn't touch anyone in Russia with a top ten pick for the foreseeable future. It's not a risk I'm willing to take.

 

[Juxtaposer]

How worried are people about drafting Russians? I hate to pump a stereotype but I wonder what kind of "payback" Russian hockey is going to dole out to the rest of the world for keeping them away from international hockey events. We already had that report that Putin sent a directive to keep Russians in the KHL (not sure if there was any follow up to that), does that intensify the risk?

Since sports and politics are inextricably linked in Russia, I think some concern is warranted, no?

I think it should be taken on a player by player basis. For example, I’d be more scared of never bringing over Silayev, who plays big minutes on an established KHL team and has a contract until 2026. On the other hand, Demidov’s situation kinda seems like he might be willing to come over sooner.

Basically, do your homework. As you should anyway.

 

[Hodge]

Literally have zero idea why you keep acting like the Sharks dropping to 2 is some disaster scenario that they will never recover from.



Sharks need to completely retool their defense and this is looking like a good year to do it.

There are some pretty terrible defensemen on that list. I think we can safely write off defensemen who score below a certain threshold (different for each league) but I wouldn’t get overly excited about a defense prospect just because he puts up huge offensive numbers.

 

[LilLeeroy]

I wouldn't touch anyone in Russia with a top ten pick for the foreseeable future. It's not a risk I'm willing to take.

We literally just saw a NCAA top 5 pick refuse to play for the team that drafted him. Should we avoid drafting them too?

There are some pretty terrible defensemen on that list. I think we can safely write off defensemen who score below a certain threshold (different for each league) but I wouldn’t get overly excited about a defense prospect just because he puts up huge offensive numbers.

I mean it is still a great predictor for success in the NHL, it is the hardest thing in the game to score points and defensive prospects that are able to do that well are able to figure out the rest usually.

 

[Juxtaposer]

There are some pretty terrible defensemen on that list. I think we can safely write off defensemen who score below a certain threshold (different for each league) but I wouldn’t get overly excited about a defense prospect just because he puts up huge offensive numbers.

Yup this is exactly it. Defensemen who can’t score in juniors above a certain level (back in the day, it used to be 0.6 PPG in your draft year), can be pretty much ignored even if they are labeled as “shutdown defensemen”. But high production in juniors is absolutely no guarantee of success.

Parekh’s OHL team is an absolute wagon and he’s a tire fire in his own zone. I also personally don’t see elite offensive tools, even when watching tape that others rave about him for.

Buium’s NCAA team is also a wagon.

Frankly, scoring has increased wildly in the last decade. That’s why so many scoring records are being broken by prospects recently, not because it’s a strong draft.

 

[LilLeeroy]

Yup this is exactly it. Defensemen who can’t score in juniors above a certain level (back in the day, it used to be 0.6 PPG in your draft year), can be pretty much ignored even if they are labeled as “shutdown defensemen”. But high production in juniors is absolutely no guarantee of success.

Parekh’s OHL team is an absolute wagon and he’s a tire fire in his own zone. I also personally don’t see elite offensive tools, even when watching tape that others rave about him for.

Buium’s NCAA team is also a wagon.

Frankly, scoring has increased wildly in the last decade. That’s why so many scoring records are being broken by prospects recently, not because it’s a strong draft.

Here's a list of era adjusted ranking of PPG by draft eligible defensemen. Think that's not a good list either?

 

[Juxtaposer]

Here's a list of era adjusted ranking of PPG by draft eligible defensemen. Think that's not a good list either?

Then you must have Buium ranked 1st overall, then, right? He’s scoring at a higher rate than Celebrini.

Scoring isn’t everything. Otherwise Will Smith would be a guaranteed star.

 

[tiburon12]

I think it should be taken on a player by player basis. For example, I’d be more scared of never bringing over Silayev, who plays big minutes on an established KHL team and has a contract until 2026. On the other hand, Demidov’s situation kinda seems like he might be willing to come over sooner.

Basically, do your homework. As you should anyway.

Definitely need to do due diligence, but I hope within that one evaluates the risk of a country-wide directive to retain homegrown talent. I'm probably being alarmist but I can totally see something irrational having a negative effect on this franchise, like drafting a Russian stud only to have them be unable to come to SJ.

We literally just saw a NCAA top 5 pick refuse to play for the team that drafted him. Should we avoid drafting them too?

No, that's not the right reaction to that news. What Gauthier's decision should mean for other teams is that you need to properly nurture your top prospects who have leverage. BUT, for all we know Gauthier's reason for not wanting to play in Philly could have personal or professional (my theory is he hates the Flyers since he grew up a Pens fan) and likely is an outlier.

 

[coooldude]

Here's a list of era adjusted ranking of PPG by draft eligible defensemen. Think that's not a good list either?

You're very energetic about high scoring prospects with great NHLe and you seem to think a lot of us are very wrong for not thinking all of these players are the next Brian Leetch / Cale Makar.

Rather than posting breathless stat tweets about all these D men, why don't you tell us what you would do with the 1st, second, third, or fourth overall pick? Do you have an actual point of view? Do you think every one of these guys (Lev, Buium, Parekh) are going to be #1 D men, for sure, no doubt? What are their floors, what are their risks? Are you agnostic or do you have a POV?

Buium's pNHLe is well above Celebrini's right now and a while ago you called me and others dumb because we didn't think Celebrini was going to be as strong a 1OA as, say, MacKinnon. What do you think today? Would you take Celebrini because he's got extremely high pNHLe versus very good draft picks in the past, even (if I recall correctly) Bedard, or would you take Buium because his is even higher?

You take a lot of pot shots and misinterpret people a lot, but it's very hard to understand what you actually think about this upcoming draft, other than that Smith is disappointing and a passenger on his own line. On that you've been very clear. I genuinely would like to understand your point of view if you have one, but if all you want to do is tell others they're wrong by sharing stat cards, without presenting a coherent alternative, I'll pass.

 

[LilLeeroy]

You're very energetic about high scoring prospects with great NHLe and you seem to think a lot of us are very wrong for not thinking all of these players are the next Brian Leetch / Cale Makar.

Rather than posting breathless stat tweets about all these D men, why don't you tell us what you would do with the 1st, second, third, or fourth overall pick? Do you have an actual point of view? Do you think every one of these guys (Lev, Buium, Parekh) are going to be #1 D men, for sure, no doubt? What are their floors, what are their risks? Are you agnostic or do you have a POV?

Buium's pNHLe is well above Celebrini's right now and a while ago you called me and others dumb because we didn't think Celebrini was going to be as strong a 1OA as, say, MacKinnon. What do you think today? Would you take Celebrini because he's got extremely high pNHLe versus very good draft picks in the past, even (if I recall correctly) Bedard, or would you take Buium because his is even higher?

You take a lot of pot shots and misinterpret people a lot, but it's very hard to understand what you actually think about this upcoming draft, other than that Smith is disappointing and a passenger on his own line. On that you've been very clear. I genuinely would like to understand your point of view if you have one, but if all you want to do is tell others they're wrong by sharing stat cards, without presenting a coherent alternative, I'll pass.

A good example would be Levshunov is probably the safest defensive prospect outside of Dahlin in recent history. He is leading a top 4 NCAA team, has great all-around tools, and great stats. People who want to focus on negatives in spite of all those positives are just looking for things to not like.

You still mad I joked about how you thought this team would be better without Karlsson?

 

[coooldude]

A good example would be Levshunov is probably the safest defensive prospect outside of Dahlin in recent history. He is leading a top 4 NCAA team, has great all-around tools, and great stats. People who want to focus on negatives in spite of all those positives are just looking for things to not like.

You still mad I joked about how you thought this team would be better without Karlsson?

Yeah man, you're kind of a troll. "Joked?" You attacked me.

This time, you first told me that I thought the sky was falling when I didn't, and then here you didn't even answer my questions, you just flippantly mentioned one of the prospects. And once again even there, you give no credence to pro scouts, who undoubtedly know better than you or I, who have concerns about Levshunov's floor and don't think he's the surest thing since Dahlin. Doesn't mean they won't put him high, but you simply hand wave away any criticism and act like you know the only truth.

All that and only mentioned Levshunov and none of the other prospects, nor did you rank them. Way to put some effort in. Every one of these exchanges, I get closer to just muting you so I don't have to deal with whatever it is you think you're doing on here.

 

[LilLeeroy]

Yeah man, you're kind of a troll. "Joked?" You attacked me.

This time, you first told me that I thought the sky was falling when I didn't, and then here you didn't even answer my questions, you just flippantly mentioned one of the prospects. And once again even there, you give no credence to pro scouts, who undoubtedly know better than you or I, who have concerns about Levshunov's floor and don't think he's the surest thing since Dahlin. Doesn't mean they won't put him high, but you simply hand wave away any criticism and act like you know the only truth.

All that and only mentioned Levshunov and none of the other prospects, nor did you rank them. Way to put some effort in. Every one of these exchanges, I get closer to just muting you so I don't have to deal with whatever it is you think you're doing on here.

"You also thought this Sharks team would be improved without Karlsson, so not hard to imagine why you don't see the value in a puck moving RHD."

I would hardly call that attacking you but, fair enough let's just drop it. You're annoyed by me, I'm annoyed by your constant need to post how unimpressed you are with the prospects in a prosect hyped thread so let's just ignore each other.

 

[Stewie Griffin]

A good example would be Levshunov is probably the safest defensive prospect outside of Dahlin in recent history.

I'm a huge Levshunov guy, and would gladly take him 2nd overall, but he is not the safest defensive prospect at all. Whether it's a good or bad time to step up (in the ozone or dzone) Levshunov gets involved. It's those "bad timing" decisions that makes some scouts worried.

With that said, he's a physical beast. Apparently he's jacked for his age, and always working out. While they don't play the same, his tools/ambition remind me of Burns. He's got the highest ceiling out of the defenseman IMO.

I like Dickinson too. He's the best defensively out of the top group this year, and the offense has been really good as of late. I'd take him in the 4-6 range if we somehow ended up there. Maybe by year's end he passes Lindstrom in my top 3 though.

 

[Shark Finn]

The team needs to finish last. Period.