Prospect Info: 2024 NHL Entry Draft Discussion

[rt]

Elite Prospects Jan Rankings:

1. Celebrini
2. Demidov
3. Lindstrom
4. Levshunov
5. Dickinson
6. Parekh
7. Eiserman
8. Catton
9. Helenius
10. Silayev
11. Buium
12. Greentree
13. Iginla
14. Brandsegg-Nygard
15. Connelly
16. Chernyshov
17. Marques
18. Ritchie
19. Sennecke
20. Brunicke
21. Yakemchuk
22. Pulkkinen
23. Jiricek
24. Basha
25. Freij
26. Artamanov
27. Misa
28. Letourneau
29. Emery
30. Hemming
31. Kiviharju
32. Danford

This should be taken with a grain of salt. They’re just fans who watch lots of games on tv. Glorified versions of me. Not serious scouts.

 

[rt]

Really like this Tyler Thorpe kid on the Vancouver Giants. He was undrafted last year, but was one of the youngest players eligible for the last draft. He’s only like a month older than Yakemchuk. Anyway, he’s 6’5, he’s mean, and he’s leading the Giants in scoring. I like his game. Good shot, good sense, takes care of his own zone. Poor man’s Lawson Crouse.

Would love to use one of our 3rd rounders on him.

 

[rt]

Fun game between Spokane and Kelowna tonight. Both Iginla and Catton impressing. I don’t want another winger but that Iginla is really rising on my list. Catton I fear is too small for BA but he’s quite a player. Both are right in our range.

 

[Jakey53]

Fun game between Spokane and Kelowna tonight. Both Iginla and Catton impressing. I don’t want another winger but that Iginla is really rising on my list. Catton I fear is too small for BA but he’s quite a player. Both are right in our range.

Iginla and Doan on same team, just like the father's.

 

[Vinny Boombatz]

yeah, I know Best Player Available, but we could really use Catton at C, and the 1 RHD Levshunov will be gone by our pick...so let's take Catton and then load up on RHD in the 2nd round.

It's ok to have a smaller center if they've covered by big wingers

 

[Grimes]

Is Catton 5'11"? That doesnt seem too bad in today's league, especially with the size we have elsewhere like Vinny pointed out. His frame does look pretty slight but he can bulk up and that didn't stop Pettersson from being successful. I'm still more inclined to draft a defenseman but if Catton fell to us it would be very tempting

 

[lanky]

Is Catton 5'11"? That doesnt seem too bad in today's league, especially with the size we have elsewhere like Vinny pointed out. His frame does look pretty slight but he can bulk up and that didn't stop Pettersson from being successful. I'm still more inclined to draft a defenseman but if Catton fell to us it would be very tempting

He's a hair taller than Cooley. However Cooley is strong and scrappy. I've heard Catton described as very light on his skates.

 

[rt]

I think Cooley is maybe an inch taller. He’s got those orangutan arms, too. Knuckles drag on the ice. Catton is a lot more…compact. More like Zach Benson size.

He's a hair taller than Cooley. However Cooley is strong and scrappy. I've heard Catton described as very light on his skates.

We’ll find out at the combine. I suspect Catton will shrink.

 

[Schemp]

My initial guess is Yakemchuk, but I am going to keep dreaming about finally winning the lottery.

 

[lanky]

Yakemchuk has cracked top 5 on at least one recent list by scouts. I expect he'll be firmly up there with Silayev and Levshunov by the time the draft comes.

I think Silayev, Levshunov and Yakemchuk are out of our range.

I think Jiricek is likely available when we pick. Our scouts will have a thick book on him, despite his shortened season.

 

[rt]

Yakemchuk has cracked top 5 on at least one recent list by scouts. I expect he'll be firmly up there with Silayev and Levshunov by the time the draft comes.

I think Silayev, Levshunov and Yakemchuk are out of our range.

I think Jiricek is likely available when we pick. Our scouts will have a thick book on him, despite his shortened season.

It’s helpful to make a list when you’re going through these thought exercises. Because you’ll accidentally name 11 sure fire top 8 picks, otherwise.

I’ll suggest that Celebrini and Demidov have run away with the 1st and 2nd spots at this point. Now that Demidov is healthy, he’s putting up historic numbers.

1. Celebrini
2. Demidov

Now you’ve named your next four;

3. Catton
4. Silayev
5. Levshunov
6. Yakemchuk

You’ve left out Lindstrom, Eiserman and Dickinson who are generally 3rd to 8th on most lists, so we better add them in.

7. Lindstrom
8. Eiserman
9. Dickinson

And now we’ve arrived at our pick. We’re already there. And we’ve got the Bob McKenzie Poll’s 8th (Helenius), 9th (Parekh), 11th (Connelly), and 13th (Buium) ranked prospects - who are all ahead of Jiricek (14th).

 

[Vinny Boombatz]

It’s helpful to make a list when you’re going through these thought exercises. Because you’ll accidentally name 11 sure fire top 8 picks, otherwise.

I’ll suggest that Celebrini and Demidov have run away with the 1st and 2nd spots at this point. Now that Demidov is healthy, he’s putting up historic numbers.

1. Celebrini
2. Demidov

Now you’ve named your next four;

3. Catton
4. Silayev
5. Levshunov
6. Yakemchuk

You’ve left out Lindstrom, Eiserman and Dickinson who are generally 3rd to 8th on most lists, so we better add them in.

7. Lindstrom
8. Eiserman
9. Dickinson

And now we’ve arrived at our pick. We’re already there. And we’ve got the Bob McKenzie Poll’s 8th (Helenius), 9th (Parekh), 11th (Connelly), and 13th (Buium) ranked prospects - who are all ahead of Jiricek (14th).

Is Connelly a C? If he is, I'd take him, he's got 1C speed & skills and attacks the net like he's on a mission. If he plays C then I'd take him over Helenius/Parekh (who'd I stay away from - defensive liability)/Buium another LHD, Jiricek)

Unless of course our scouts like Jiricek and pick him, I'm going to be on board given their recent track record.

Demidov through first 20 games was pedestrian, but since then, as stated, he's on a historic run of production - 28pts in his last 10 games...unbelievable

 

[rt]

Is Connelly a C? If he is, I'd take him, he's got 1C speed & skills and attacks the net like he's on a mission. If he plays C then I'd take him over Helenius/Parekh (who'd I stay away from - defensive liability)/Buium another LHD, Jiricek)

Unless of course our scouts like Jiricek and pick him, I'm going to be on board given their recent track record.

Demidov through first 20 games was pedestrian, but since then, as stated, he's on a historic run of production - 28pts in his last 10 games...unbelievable

Connelly is a winger and he scares me. Like Levshunov he plays hockey outside of a system, just doing whatever all the time and living off of skill. Very chaotic. But Levshunov is built like a tank, just stacked, where as Connelly is built like Kyle Turris doing meatless Mondays and Tofu Tuesdays.

I don’t think Parekh is a defensive liability. He’s made a ton of progress this season. I wouldn’t be shocked if he was the 2nd or 3rd D off the board, honestly. He’s shaping up to be a special player. I might be biased because I’ve watched a lot of Saginaw games this season and have become a little bit of a fan of the team.

 

[rt]

Helenius I do think is a center. I’m just a little worried about the absolute upside. Then again he was playing #1C for a top team in Finland that underperformed at the WJC. He’s 17 years old in a 19 year old tournament. So I’m worried I’m downgrading him too much for being totally ok but not great there. Despite him being a top six center in Liiga currently.

I just worry about a 5’10-5’11 center that doesn’t flash ultra high end skill like Catton, and stakes his name more on being well rounded. I’m not sure there’s a ton of very valuable undersized NHL centers are are just well rounded, solid point getters who don’t let you down defensively. How valuable is a 5’10.5 Barrett Hayton for example?

I’m probably over thinking it. I don’t watch Liiga and I’m likely putting too much stock into a 2wk 19yo tourney. And he wasn’t bad or anything. He was good. Just not the type of good I wanted.

 

[Vinny Boombatz]

Helenius doesn't have 1C potential, so taking him with our pick would be settling on a lower level player.

Like I said, if our pick is Catton, Levshunov or Jiricek I'll be thrilled knowing our scouting department.

Still hoping we can win the lottery for Celebrini

Funny thing is, if we win the #2 pick, who would it be? Would they swing for Demidov or take Levshunov?

 

[lanky]

I think Bill's bias for size is spreading across the league. I think there will be a run on big boys at the top of the draft.

1 Celebrini
2 Lindstrom
3 Levshunov
4 Demidov
5 Silayev
6 Yakemchuk

Then Catton, Eiserman, Dickinson etc.

 

[rt]

Helenius doesn't have 1C potential, so taking him with our pick would be settling on a lower level player.

Like I said, if our pick is Catton, Levshunov or Jiricek I'll be thrilled knowing our scouting department.

Still hoping we can win the lottery for Celebrini

Funny thing is, if we win the #2 pick, who would it be? Would they swing for Demidov or take Levshunov?

Demidov - I think Celebrini is ranked 1st because of nationality, position and reputation. But on-ice stuff only, it might be Demidov. I haven’t watched many full games of him. But just following stats and clips and write ups, it seems pretty unprecedented what he’s doing lately.

Then again, Silayev looked like that in November.

Levshunov is interesting. He’s a roller coaster.

 

[rt]

I think Bill's bias for size is spreading across the league. I think there will be a run on big boys at the top of the draft.

1 Celebrini
2 Lindstrom
3 Levshunov
4 Demidov
5 Silayev
6 Yakemchuk

Then Catton, Eiserman, Dickinson etc.

Maybe there will be three forwards at the top and then a run on all six top D in a row…

1 celebrini
2 Demidov
3 lindstrom
4 Levshunov
5 Silayev
6 Parekh
7 Dickinson
8 Yakemchuk
9 Buium

Then we have to pick between Eiserman and Catton.

 

[Llewzaher]

Looks like we have the 7 th pick as of today

 

[Jakey53]

Looks like we have the 7 th pick as of today

February is a brutal schedule. We are still on pace for around 82pts. but that might take a blow by the end of February.

 

[MIGs Dog]

Looks like we have the 7 th pick as of today

This could be our year. It only took 20 spins.

 

[Grimes]

After the collapse tonight I think it should be clear to everyone that another top ten pick is needed for the longevity of the team. Even if we use that pick to aquire another player, it the value of the capital of a top 10 pick that we need.

The blueline is brutal right now. It's very strange being on the wrong side of being up 4-2 and losing. Usually we are the team that cant come back or the team who wins 3-2 or 2-1.

We clearly have magic at home, and this team is way more competitive than it deserves to be (on paper). There are constantly flashes of greatness.

But the inconsistency is absolutely coming from defensive depth. This is a no shit Sherlock moment, but my point is Lamoureux + Simashev is not enough. Add in Duda and our other defensive prospects and it's still probably not enough coming up in the backend unless four of them hit.

This is the perfect draft to get the 2nd or 1st defenseman on our list. End up with pick 7-10 and use picks to get our guys. I want to be aggressive this draft and leave it like Chayka, grinning ear to ear saying we got the 2nd guy on our list.

This is a win-win situation in my mind. We've had a very entertaining season. At times we have been in a playoff spot or right outside of it, and at times bottom 8. Either scenario is great but I know which one I prefer.

 

[Vinny Boombatz]

Need to replace 4 of our 6 Dmen.

 

[rt]

https://x.com/scottcwheeler/status/1756690856201887978?s=46&t=7TY7xhXKLIY1MTzPzPZ29A

 

[Schemp]

This could be our year. It only took 20 spins.

View attachment 817299

I did it on my 1st try! That kinda suxs. Now what am I gonna do?