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

[FiveTacos]

This is all under the assumption we don’t have interest in demidov.

If levshunov at 2 is gone I wouldn’t mind moving down (like #5-7 range)

Ducks get 5th + jets 1st from Montreal for our 3rd overall.

In a draft like this the difference between 5 and 3 is not likely to be a late 1st, it'll be much less.

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

In a draft like this the difference between 5 and 3 is not likely to be a late 1st, it'll be much less.

Also not a need to move down, I’d a team really likes lindstrom or Demidov and think he’s in the celebrini tier…. They’ll drop a late 1st pretty easily

 

[cheesymc]

Let's trade down if the tier after Celebrini is very close. Like EA trade simulator, haha. Its so difficult to rank the next 10 guys after Celebrini.

-Trade 3rd to 5th for Montreal's late 1st, so they can trade Demidov/Lindstrom
-Trade 5th to 7th (plus 4rth rounder) for Ottawa's late 1st, so they can trade for a defenseman (Buium/Parekh?)
-Trade 7th (plus 3rd rounder) to 9th for Calgary's late 1st, so they can select Igilna

We'd have 4 late 1st... packaged a few with Gibson for the Devil's 10th overall.

We potentially would have a lot to choose from: Helenius, Dickinson, Parekh, Catton, Eiserman, Nygaard, Sennecke.

If this was football, I can see it happen... for some reason NHL isn't as active or aggressive. It would be exciting though to see massive overpayments like when an NFL team trades up for a QB.

 

[Gliff]

Here's a take on Zeev about his offense and defense as to how they will/will not pan out in the NHL. The critic denotes if his play/production is elevated due to his team, but still praises him for generating so many points.

Yaaaa a player's best asset being his ability to rush the puck up the ice, when his skating is not elite, is not super appealing to me personally.

This is all under the assumption we don’t have interest in demidov.

If levshunov at 2 is gone I wouldn’t mind moving down (like #5-7 range)

Ducks get 5th + jets 1st from Montreal for our 3rd overall.

Take yakemchuk…. Then we move jets 1st + a 2nd(or whatever it takes to move up to 13-16 range) and sim at sennecke, mbn or greenreee

Honestly if the draft goes as expected it would be dumb not to do that if they don't want Demidov.

Columbus apparently is really high on Lindstrom, and no chance Montreal takes a defensemen. They would almost certainly get the same defensemen at 5 as they would at 3.

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

Yaaaa a player's best asset being his ability to rush the puck up the ice, when his skating is not elite, is not super appealing to me personally.


Honestly if the draft goes as expected it would be dumb not to do that if they don't want Demidov.

Columbus apparently is really high on Lindstrom, and no chance Montreal takes a defensemen. They would almost certainly get the same defensemen at 5 as they would at 3.

Ya extra asset to move up in draft, or use for trades to grab players for the line up

 

[Dr Johnny Fever]

If Lev is gone at 3, does anybody care to offer an opinion on Dickinson?

 

[FiveTacos]

If this was football, I can see it happen... for some reason NHL isn't as active or aggressive. It would be exciting though to see massive overpayments like when an NFL team trades up for a QB.

NHL prospects are a lot iffier as you move down .... The dropoff for star talent is steep. A 2nd or 3rd in the respective drafts have much different hit rates. Even a mid to late 1st, in the NFL you stand a good chance of getting a starter/main contributor. There are future Pro Bowlers throughout the draft every year. The NHL it's far more of a crapshoot, a lot of times there's zilch that comes out of he mid to late rounds.

Getting a haul of say two 1-3 round picks in the NFL is way better than the same in the NHL. I can get multiple starters out of 6 picks if I select well, maybe even a Pro Bowlers or two. In the NHL ... I remember looking through old draft lists and seeing entire rounds full of nobodies, not even like 7 year journeymen.

If it weren't that way, you'd see contenders trading a slew of picks to replace their old stars with top 5 picks all the time.

 

[forever1922]

If Lev is gone at 3, does anybody care to offer an opinion on Dickinson?

Fast, big, skating best asset. Despite good points, limited pro offense, but he uses his speed and skating to defend well, probably the best defensive defenseman in the draft. He creates professional projectable offense by his movement in the offensive zone, and more often by the way he joins rushes, as he is fast enough to recover. That's the way you want him to ideally play in the NHL too, and why he draws comparisons (perhaps by people day dreaming)to fast, good defenders, like Heiskanen.

People claim he has high floor, low ceiling or that he is atleast very unlikely to hit high ceiling.

 

[Gliff]

If Lev is gone at 3, does anybody care to offer an opinion on Dickinson?

Everywhere I have read has said he has had the least growth out of all the NA defensemen this year. Generally not the thing you like to hear.

I think I would rather take Demidov. take a show on Silayev's upside, or Yak.

To me there is a clear 6:
Celebrini
Demidov
Levshunov
Yakemchuk
Lindstrom (assuming his injury isn't concerning)
Silayev

I would have put Buium in that group but I have been swayed by the scouting video. For a guy praised for his IQ, he only really displays it with his skating with the puck on his stick.

 

[anezthes]

Everything about the player outside of his game with the puck - is super reminiscent of Josh Manson. Skating, size, physical game, even personality and mental makeup from what I gather seem awfully similar to Manson. But of course there's a whole offensive element that Josh never really had, it's a pretty enticing overall package.

If he was a better transitional skater, I think he's a slam dunk top 5 guy. It's the one area for me that creates pause, just looks like there's a fair bit of work left before NHL speed won't have him on his heels.

Pretty much my thoughts exactly after having watched that scouting report. His skating seems to need some work for a (long) career in the NHL.

Reminds me more of Phaneuf than Weber tbh.

You're probably right, but still... Yuck(emchuk).

 

[cheesymc]

What if Verbeek and Madden go forwards with the first 2 picks, and Russians? That would be very unexpected....

1(3) - RW Demidov (if he falls)
1(24?) - C Surin (He seems like a Sam Bennett type, and I'd love to have an ass whole who also had offensive upside... really tough to find those). But I can see us liking Beaudoin, he seems like another complimentary guy that can play anywhere, like Myatovich/Gaucher.

Then utilize our scouts strengths in targeting defense:

2(35) - RHD Badinka (has size and skating that we like, and has more offensive upside than Elick/Emery)
2(61?) - LHD Fischer (Maybe Verbeek is buddies with the dad from the Wings days... Lukas has size, super young, and has 2 way upside that we like to project as an Ekholm type). I like his upside more than Stian Solberg.
3(65) - RHD Roberts (Another bid D with offensive upside) or LHD Ralph, RHD Brunicke, or LHD Skahan if he drops
3(67) - G Nabokov (Why not, dude was the youngest KHL MVP!)
3(80is) - F Wetsch (I want to have another throwback to replace Carrick...)
4(100) / 6(160s) - More complementary grinders/role players: Spellacy, Ruohonen, Traff, Berglund, Thorpe

 

[Hockey Duckie]

If Lev is gone at 3, does anybody care to offer an opinion on Dickinson?

I like Dickinson a lot due to his size (6'3 and 194), skating (see CHL combine), and high-end defense. His offense is okay, but not high-end b/c his offensive vision isn't great. Although, he does have a booming shot from the point. What makes Dickinson the 2nd best D behind Lev is he's a shutdown D with speed, but does have some offense. The problem with Dickinson is he's a LD and the Ducks are full of LD's. We're gonna have to trade a LD or two if Verbeek adheres to his his stance of keeping players on their shooting side and still be in a hunt for RD talent.

Murray drafted shutdown Lindholm 6th overall. I think Murray also probably wanted shutdown 6'2 LD Sanderson in the 2020 draft and 5'11 speedy, offensive RD Drysdale was a consolation.

Potential future D-line with Dickinson

Minty-xxx​

Dickinson-Luneau​

Zell-xxx​

​

LD: LaCombe, Hinds, Smith, Dionicio​

RD: Helleson, Moore, Warren​

Dickinson tested high in skating at the CHL Combine: source.

Here's a collection of scouting reports from MyNHLdraft

I don't know why some say that Dickinson didn't improve between the past two seasons b/c the stats show a completely different result, don't forget his skating is one of the best in the CHL.

 

[Dr Johnny Fever]

Fast, big, skating best asset. Despite good points, limited pro offense, but he uses his speed and skating to defend well, probably the best defensive defenseman in the draft. He creates professional projectable offense by his movement in the offensive zone, and more often by the way he joins rushes, as he is fast enough to recover. That's the way you want him to ideally play in the NHL too, and why he draws comparisons (perhaps by people day dreaming)to fast, good defenders, like Heiskanen.

People claim he has high floor, low ceiling or that he is atleast very unlikely to hit high ceiling.

Everywhere I have read has said he has had the least growth out of all the NA defensemen this year. Generally not the thing you like to hear.

I think I would rather take Demidov. take a show on Silayev's upside, or Yak.

To me there is a clear 6:
Celebrini
Demidov
Levshunov
Yakemchuk
Lindstrom (assuming his injury isn't concerning)
Silayev

I would have put Buium in that group but I have been swayed by the scouting video. For a guy praised for his IQ, he only really displays it with his skating with the puck on his stick.

Thanks. I've only started reviewing draft candidates since the season ended. Saw he was still in McKenzie's top 10 and wondered if he could be a surprise pick higher up.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

I feel like he would be one that BM would be pushing for if he was still GM. Everything about the player outside of his game with the puck - is super reminiscent of Josh Manson. Skating, size, physical game, even personality and mental makeup from what I gather seem awfully similar to Manson. But of course there's a whole offensive element that Josh never really had, it's a pretty enticing overall package.

If he was a better transitional skater, I think he's a slam dunk top 5 guy. It's the one area for me that creates pause, just looks like there's a fair bit of work left before NHL speed won't have him on his heels.

I think Murray would take Yakemchuk too if Yakemchuk was available in the 6th round, where Manson was drafted. Yakemchuk is an physical OFD who doesn't put much effort in defense and loves to take too many penalties for a projected top-4D. Can't be a top-4D if you're usually in the sin bin.

You can see his offense improve year after year. Yet, with his size and physicality, that +/- is abysmal after three years in the WHL.

Calgary Team high in +/-

2021-22: +11​

2022-23: +19​

2023-24: +29​

It's doubtful that Murray would take Yakemchuk at #3 or in the top-10. We picked defensive-minded Pettersson ahead of offensive-minded Montour in the 2nd round of the 2014 draft.

 

[Dr Johnny Fever]

I like Dickinson a lot due to his size (6'3 and 194), skating (see CHL combine), and high-end defense. His offense is okay, but not high-end b/c his offensive vision isn't great. Although, he does have a booming shot from the point. What makes Dickinson the 2nd best D behind Lev is he's a shutdown D with speed, but does have some offense. The problem with Dickinson is he's a LD and the Ducks are full of LD's. We're gonna have to trade a LD or two if Verbeek adheres to his his stance of keeping players on their shooting side and still be in a hunt for RD talent.

Murray drafted shutdown Lindholm 6th overall. I think Murray also probably wanted shutdown 6'2 LD Sanderson in the 2020 draft and 5'11 speedy, offensive RD Drysdale was a consolation.

Potential future D-line with Dickinson

Minty-xxx​

Dickinson-Luneau​

Zell-xxx​

​

LD: LaCombe, Hinds, Smith, Dionicio​

RD: Helleson, Moore, Warren​

Dickinson tested high in skating at the CHL Combine: source.

Here's a collection of scouting reports from MyNHLdraft
View attachment 868454


I don't know why some say that Dickinson didn't improve between the past two seasons b/c the stats show a completely different result, don't forget his skating is one of the best in the CHL.

View attachment 868455

His size and skating certainly make for some interesting consideration. And that booming shot is something our PP desperately needs. He doesn't seem to be getting the love some of the other D guys are getting near the top of the board. Sometimes that's where the sleepers are found.

 

[DavidBL]

His size and skating certainly make for some interesting consideration. And that booming shot is something our PP desperately needs. He doesn't seem to be getting the love some of the other D guys are getting near the top of the board. Sometimes that's where the sleepers are found.

Is a booming shot relevant in today's NHL? How many PPs actually use them these days.

 

[tomd]

Is a booming shot relevant in today's NHL? How many PPs actually use them these days.

It works for Bouchard but there aren't many like him in the league. I think a shot like Zellweger's can be just as effective. Bouchard just overpowers goalies but also benefits from having 4 other guys on the ice that teams have to focus on. Zellweger gets his shot off quickly and it always seems fast and low.

 

[Dr Johnny Fever]

Is a booming shot relevant in today's NHL? How many PPs actually use them these days.

I don’t claim to know anything about coaching. But I know a boomer from the blueline makes the D have to respect it and come out to block it rather than sag into a tight box forcing everything to the outside. The larger the ice surface, the more room you have to use your man advantage. The smaller the surface the less room you have to take advantage of that extra man.

I don’t know what other teams are doing but I can’t imagine a team with a cannon wouldn’t be using it on the PP.

 

[DavidBL]

I don’t claim to know anything about coaching. But I know a boomer from the blueline makes the D have to respect it and come out to block it rather than sag into a tight box forcing everything to the outside. The larger the ice surface, the more room you have to use your man advantage. The smaller the surface the less room you have to take advantage of that extra man.

I don’t know what other teams are doing but I can’t imagine a team with a cannon wouldn’t be using it on the PP.

It can also be dangerous. In general it's your own best players in front of the net too and getting hit by those shots risks injuring them.

 

[Dr Johnny Fever]

It can also be dangerous. In general it's your own best players in front of the net too and getting hit by those shots risks injuring them.

The same shot at 80 mph can be just as lethal to a player. Players are always at risk of getting hurt from being hit with a shot. That’s no reason to not want a guy who can fire bullets from the blueline.

 

[DavidBL]

The same shot at 80 mph can be just as lethal to a player. Players are always at risk of getting hurt from being hit with a shot. That’s no reason to not want a guy who can fire bullets from the blueline.

I think there is still risk with the slower shot for sure but it sounds like you're saying it's the same risk. I find it a hard argument to accept that a 80 mph shot is just as dangerous as 100 mph shot. This is about risk mitigation not elimination. To me the Canon shot is just something not really utilized like it was. Maybe it's more to do with the skill not being developed more than anything but it doesn't seem like we see a lot of teams utilizing it. What you tend it see is the 1 timer option being the driving force behind successful powerplays and not the Canon on the blue line.

 

[Anaheim4ever]

I remember Josi firing a booming shot against the Ducks this season that went in for a goal.
Having a booming shot also means opening up passing options because the other team thinks he may shoot. Its also nice not seeing muffin shots be easily blocked by the other team.

 

[Dr Johnny Fever]

I think there is still risk with the slower shot for sure but it sounds like you're saying it's the same risk. I find it a hard argument to accept that a 80 mph shot is just as dangerous as 100 mph shot. This is about risk mitigation not elimination. To me the Canon shot is just something not really utilized like it was. Maybe it's more to do with the skill not being developed more than anything but it doesn't seem like we see a lot of teams utilizing it. What you tend it see is the 1 timer option being the driving force behind successful powerplays and not the Canon on the blue line.

What I’m saying is you don’t stop trying to score goals because one of your teammates might get hurt on the shot. It’s not about splitting hairs on the speed of the shot. That’s just not a reasonable answer to why you don’t think you see it as much as before.

 

[Bender66]

Is a booming shot relevant in today's NHL? How many PPs actually use them these days.

I'm surprised a fan of team that has trotted out Mr Muffin shot for last 14 yrs on the PP has to ask this question ... (and motherforking shirtballs, yes i had to look that up to make sure i wasn't counting wrong, its been 14 yrs)

 

[LeBrun is a Clown]

New scouting report for Yakemchuk. He calls him the most balanced D in the draft with both his offence and defence at a high level.

I really want Yakemchuk but feel like pick 3 may be too early. If he ends up hitting his potential then he would easily be worth pick 3.

Could easily see the ducks scouting staff drooling over him if Chi town goes Lev at 2.

Id imagine if it plays out like that, the ducks would be torn between:

C Yakemchuk
S Dickinson
A Silayev
Z Parekh


Yakemchuk really could be the complete package. If our D continues to develop in addition to his skating and is insulating him around offense, he could be the best player of the draft.

He could be a way more offensively inclined Manson, especially paired with a player like Zell.

S Dickinson is similar to Yakemchuk, however between Yaks development curve, combined with being a RHD is what I find, more impressive. Yak is also significantly more physical with having stupid offensive upside.


Silayev is enticing because he is so damn rangy off the rush and quick in transitions, combined with his size, is something really unique. I could see his offense stagnating, but also blowing up paired with the right, OFD.

Z Parekh is a better Drysdale with some bite. If Anaheim sees the next Makar, I wouldn’t be surprised if they reach slightly. His offensive instincts really are a step above. Also has some speculated character issues, though, like spitting on someone, I believe. Betting on the next Makar, Fox or DeAngelo/Merkley is too big of risk at 3. It will really all fall on the ducks doing their DD at the draft with interviews.

Yak really does check off all the markers and I would gamble a fair bit of money that he is snagged up 3rd by Anaheim.