Prospect Info: 2024 NHL Entry Draft (Ducks pick #3, They didn’t drop! OMG It’s a Miracle!)

[cheesymc]

I am intrigued with the rarity of Lindstrom and Silayev, but man this Celebrini kid looks legit and could be McKinnon-esque. Our top 6 would have a lot of talent and hopefully will help turn around our anemic offense. If we were fortunate to get Celebrini, I think organization will need to make a move like the Kings and get some high end two way gritty players. I think Danault was a big acquisition for them (and obviously Fiala/Arvidsson).

 

[GunnarStahl]

To quote myself from last month.

It’s too early for a tank thread, and “might” consider it, will discuss with the other mods.

As of now please stick with the Draft thread.

I wrote such a long and well thought out OP my wife was not happy that I was typing that up for so long, so late lol.

Let's put it like that: we should not be tanking at all. We can lose games, sure, but the time for tanking is over and I personally would have probably renamed the tank thread to something less negative such as "Ducks aiming for highest possible draft pick thread"

I did name it the “Tank” thread for this reason.

 

[WhatTheDuck]

 

[WhatTheDuck]

Celebrini then set up the go ahead goal on the ensuing powerplay.

 

[WhatTheDuck]

 

[Leonardo87]

I wrote such a long and well thought out OP my wife was not happy that I was typing that up for so long, so late lol.

Yeah, sorry. But it‘s way too early for that kind of thread.

 

[MMC]

I like the D the most out of where we might be picking as of now. Dickinson or Levshunov. I do think this could be the year where our young defensive core is put over the top. With us maybe running a defense of

Mintyukov-Drysdale
Fowler-Luneau
LaCombe-Dickinson/Levshunov as soon as next year

 

[Anaheim4ever]

I'll take Silayev over Dicky and Lev. Even if he won't become Pronger, he's gonna be massive and be extremely hard to play against. He also already plays against men and his ice time is high.
Would take Lev over Dicky, is a RH shot that will come in handy if/when the time comes to trade Drysdale. I also think Lev would develop chemistry with Mintyukov. He could be play on the right side of Mintyukov and they both left Russia/Belarus to play in NA before their draft years.

 

[Gliff]

Jiricek is out for the season with a knee injury. Gonna be interesting to see how far he drops.

 

[WhatTheDuck]

Jiricek is out for the season with a knee injury. Gonna be interesting to see how far he drops.

Terrible stretch of luck for the kid, after also taking that vicious headshot recently. Hope his sake that he can make a full recovery with no issues.

 

[AngelDuck]

I like the D the most out of where we might be picking as of now. Dickinson or Levshunov. I do think this could be the year where our young defensive core is put over the top. With us maybe running a defense of

Mintyukov-Drysdale
Fowler-Luneau
LaCombe-Dickinson/Levshunov as soon as next year

Gudas is going to be here and Zellweger would have to get moved

Fine I suppose but they better get a high upside winger if they’re trading Olen

 

[WhatTheDuck]

 

[ohcomeonref]

Celebrini and Bedard will be a great 1-2 punch for Chicago for years.

Yeah, sorry. But it‘s way too early for that kind of thread.

Not really. Teams that are in a playoff position at the end of December are highly likely to remain there. Teams at the bottom are probably the same.

 

[pbgoalie]

To quote myself from last month.

It’s too early for a tank thread, and “might” consider it, will discuss with the other mods.

As of now please stick with the Draft thread.

Can we have a “Good Lord we are bad, where will we draft thread?).


With our injury and recovery prowess history,
We can. Ever have too many d men

 

[Hockey Duckie]

We have been bad since we traded Lindholm and we still lack a big shutdown D. What if we could draft a 18yo Lindholm? Well we can.

Sam Dickinson's player comparable is Hampus Lindholm. He is the guy I want us to draft this year and would take him #2 easily.

He is the premiere defensive defensman this draft at 6'3 and also on track for close to PPG in OHL. Great skating, a booming shot, nice hands & work ethic. He is basically a complete player and IMO will be a 1D. He also just had a 4 point night.



Button's take on Dickinson: "There's a sense of comfort when they are on the ice that everything is going to go well" "He really is a well rounded, complete defenseman" "I see him as a 40-50 point guy in the NHL"


Draft Pro Profile:
View attachment 792525

Kyle Cushman - theScore - December 11th: "The London Knight has an excellent frame, listed at 6-foot-3 and 194 pounds. His defensive acumen has been lauded as some of the best in the class."

Jordan Harris - Dobber Prospects - November 18th: "Dickinson routinely kills plays, especially in transition. Players have a difficult time gaining the zone against him as he’s got the feet to stay with almost anyone, combined with the ideal length, reach, and stick work to knock pucks away."

Sam Cosentino - Sportsnet - November 15th: "Smooth, powerful skater who can transport the puck, initiate or support the rush."

Steven Ellis - Daily Faceoff - November 8th: "Another mobile defenseman with size, Dickinson is the best CHL defender this year. He’s been hovering close to a point-per-game mark, but he’s more than just offense. At 6-foot-3, Dickinson has good speed, a great first stride and makes smart decisions with the puck."

Scott Wheeler - The Athletic - November 8th: "He’s a strong 6-foot-3 defenseman who skates well in all four directions, plays hard, defends at a high level, has skill and poise with the puck (which was on display more at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup and has continued to reveal itself for the Knights this season), and has started to make better and more consistent reads under pressure (he's showing real comfort and even deception past opposing forwards these days)."

Corey Pronman - The Athletic - November 1st: "He is an excellent defender due to his feet, length at 6-foot-3 and strong compete. He has good stick skills and a big point shot to contribute with the puck."

Reading the Draft Pro profile, Dickinson isn't close to Lindholm's defense. What Lindholm was able to do as a 17-year old against men is truly underrated, especially since all those who watched Lindholm's team said Lindholm was the sole reason the team improved. Dickinson is more like a two-way d-man b/c at his size and mass; he should be dominating everyone. His lack of agile skating is a concern.

When I think of top-5 selection, shutdown D-men, I think of Power and Jake Sanderson. Guess I'm not sold on Dickinson as a shutdown D at the moment.

 

[WhatTheDuck]

This one makes me feel old, I frequently watched Radiojevic's dad play in the OHL years ago.

 

[WhatTheDuck]

 

[Gliff]

I think this draft is similar to 2021.

There were 2 guys at the top and then 7 guys that could have gone on any order. No franchise player but a good group of potential top line/pairing guys. You heard about 2021 being a weak draft and havent heard anything about this year being weak and I think that's purely just the fact that there is an elite guy at the top.

Side note, 2021 was a weak draft but there looks to be no busts in the top 9 so far. If Ottawa hadn't reached for Boucher then it would be a top 10 of no busts. Thats pretty rare.

 

[GermanRocket7]

Honestly, at this point I feel as though anything but Celebrini would be a major letdown. We have sucked for so long and, wonder oh wonder, never won the lottery in those past five years. Celebrini would probably be the last missing piece for out top-9 in the future and we could legitimately start building a monster core from next season on.

Celebrini could move to the wing, and if not him, then it could be Zegras. We could ice

Celebrini - Carlsson - Terry
Zegras - McTavish - Sidorov
Hvidston - Lindestrom - Nesterenko

As a top-9 and not have to shed a single dollar for FAs. That would be a legit contender's top-9 in 3-4 years.

Pair that with a defensive core of

Mintyukov - Drysdale
Luneau - Hinds
Zellweger - Lacombe

and you have a very good-looking core. If Dostal pans out, we could have a team full of players we drafted ourselves and not need any players through trade of FA. That's rare.

 

[MMC]

Honestly, at this point I feel as though anything but Celebrini would be a major letdown. We have sucked for so long and, wonder oh wonder, never won the lottery in those past five years. Celebrini would probably be the last missing piece for out top-9 in the future and we could legitimately start building a monster core from next season on.

Celebrini could move to the wing, and if not him, then it could be Zegras. We could ice

Celebrini - Carlsson - Terry
Zegras - McTavish - Sidorov
Hvidston - Lindestrom - Nesterenko

As a top-9 and not have to shed a single dollar for FAs. That would be a legit contender's top-9 in 3-4 years.

Pair that with a defensive core of

Mintyukov - Drysdale
Luneau - Hinds
Zellweger - Lacombe

and you have a very good-looking core. If Dostal pans out, we could have a team full of players we drafted ourselves and not need any players through trade of FA. That's rare.

You're asking to be disappointed if you're going to view this draft this way. Both if you think only Celebrini would be a major addition to this young core, and if you think guys like Sidorov, Hvidston, Nesterenko, and Hinds can be pencilled in as top-9 F/top-4 D

 

[Gliff]

Honestly, at this point I feel as though anything but Celebrini would be a major letdown. We have sucked for so long and, wonder oh wonder, never won the lottery in those past five years. Celebrini would probably be the last missing piece for out top-9 in the future and we could legitimately start building a monster core from next season on.

Celebrini could move to the wing, and if not him, then it could be Zegras. We could ice

Celebrini - Carlsson - Terry
Zegras - McTavish - Sidorov
Hvidston - Lindestrom - Nesterenko

As a top-9 and not have to shed a single dollar for FAs. That would be a legit contender's top-9 in 3-4 years.

Pair that with a defensive core of

Mintyukov - Drysdale
Luneau - Hinds
Zellweger - Lacombe

and you have a very good-looking core. If Dostal pans out, we could have a team full of players we drafted ourselves and not need any players through trade of FA. That's rare.

Never in the history of the NHL has a lineup consisted of all homegrown talent like that. Go look at the "Your teams roster in 5 years" threads and you will see how pointless it is. The odds are that half the players you listed will not even be on the Ducks in 5 years.

Celebrini would be amazing, but I would gladly take any of the top 10. All of the forwards would by far be our best forward prospect, and all 3 of the top defensive prospects have what we are missing in the back end, size.

 

[Terry Yake]

zero reason to tank this season. last season was the one to tank and carlsson was a nice reward

they're never getting a #1 pick and not even celebrini is worth tanking for

 

[ohcomeonref]

zero reason to tank this season. last season was the one to tank and carlsson was a nice reward

they're never getting a #1 pick and not even celebrini is worth tanking for

I don't think the team or management is willfully tanking. We just suck, lol.

 

[Leonardo87]

zero reason to tank this season. last season was the one to tank and carlsson was a nice reward

they're never getting a #1 pick and not even celebrini is worth tanking for

At this point you take each game one game at a time and hope to see our kids improve and get on the scoresheet. Rather they develop in a more competitive atmosphere than losing most games.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

At this point you take each game one game at a time and hope to see our kids improve and get on the scoresheet. Rather they develop in a more competitive atmosphere than losing most games.

This season and next will be development seasons b/c the majority of the future roster makeup will be populated with prospects.

• 2023-24
  • 2nd year in NHL
    • C Mac's 2nd year in the NHL
    • RD Drysdale's 2nd full year in the NHL
  • 1st year in NHL
    • C Carlsson (part-time)
    • RD Luneau (quarter-time)
    • LD Minty
    • LD LaCombe
  • Still considered a rookie in NHL
    • C Groulx
    • G Dostal
  • 1st year in AHL
    • C Gaucher
    • LW Nesterenko
    • RW Caulfield
    • LW/RW Pastujov
    • D Zellweger
    • D Hinds
    • G Clang

Many aren't realizing the process that Verbeek is trying to achieve, which is an emphasis of developing depth to help control the salary cap.

Our defense is better than last year due to two factors, better talent and better talent roster balance. We have added more defensive-minded defensemen from outside the org in Gudas and Lyubushking, Vaak is finally healthy and displaying good defense in a sheltered role, as well as LaCombe being good enough to be a staple on the PK unit. The problem is we don't really know if we have any top-pairing D. Defensemen do take time to develop.

The offense is a mystery. Our offensive players this year are 20-year old Mac and 18-year old, part-time 1C Carlsson. Our best scoring vets one streaky winger in Vatrano and a wily player on his last year of his contract in Rico.

Finally, we have a rookie head coach that's being propped up by an improved (yet streaky) PP and PK unit. Anaheim has a discipline problem. Last year, they were the 5th most penalized team at 3.41 PP opportunities against (PPOA). This year, we're the most penalized at 4.72 PPOA. I find this development a head scratcher b/c HC Cronin is supposed to be very disciplined and hold players accountable.

There's just plenty of growing pains abound this year. It is great experience for all of our youths with the expectations that next season will be better than this season's introduction to the NHL.