Hossa
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Round 1, Pick 29: Yegor Surin, C/W, Yaroslav Lokomotiv (MHL)
NHL: Round 1, Pick 22 by Nashville (+7)
Surin is a 6’1” centre who blends skill and physicality in a way that makes him easily projectable to a third line role. What makes Surin exciting is that he is one of the youngest players in the draft, who has grown in the past two years and thrived in the playoffs. The hand skills are extremely impressive, especially given his willingness to play in traffic, and the skating should continue to improve to the point where it is above average in thee NHL. While Surin was not initially the target at 29, and I have not taken a Russian this early in almost twenty years, other targets went off the board right before and there simply were not many other players with this kind of upside left on the board. It was not a surprise to see him go a bit higher in the NHL Draft given the profile, with Nashville noting in post-draft interviews they had tried to move into the teens to select him. Somebody somewhere compared him to Brandon Dubinsky, which feels about right, maybe with Surin having a bit more offence.
Round 2, Pick 42: Cole Beaudoin, C, Barrie (OHL)
NHL: Round 1, Pick 24 by Utah (+18)
Beaudoin is a 6’2” centre who is frequently described as the most hard working and competitive player in the draft, with a high floor and a limited ceiling. If Beaudoin hits, his high end upside is probably something along the lines of Boone Jenner or maybe Charlie Coyle, a player that ideally locks down the third line on a contender but could play up on a weaker team. Either way, this should be a highly valuable sim player. What would help Beaudoin reach that potential would be continued work on his skating and his shot. While not the target at 42, given he was expected to go earlier in our league - and did in the NHL, by a notable margin - he is a nice complement to a growing stable of potential middle six centres in the system, after David Edstrom and Danny Nelson were taken last year.
Round 3, Pick 85: Hampton Slukynsky, G, Fargo (USHL)
NHL: Round 4, Pick 118 (2023) by Los Angeles (N/A)
The first 2023 pick off the board in our 2024 draft, Slukynsky jumped from Minnesota High School to the USHL this past season and could not have been more successful. Slukynsky was named Goaltender of the Year after going 28-3-0 in the regular season with a 1.86 GAA and .923 save percentage, before leading Fargo to the championship. Slukynsky is on the small side as a goalie at only 6’1”, but is extremely athletic, quick and smart in goal, with shades of Jonathan Quick, one of the more successful goalie picks out of high school in recent memory. Should back-up Trey Augustine at the WJC for the Amercans.
Round 4, Pick 99: Eriks Mateiko, W, Saint John (QMJHL)
NHL: Round 3, Pick 90 by Washington (+9)
The man they call Moose, Mateiko was a hard player to peg given he is a late birthday who missed time due to injury and played on a middling QMJHL team. I expected him to go higher than this in the NHL draft, so this ends up being a bit of a disappointment. Still, this is a thick 6’5” forward, with legit public skills and strong grades on character and leadership, who could be developed into a useful player at the NHL level. The skating needs work but Mateiko has enough offensive upside, especially with his ability to create in traffic and through checks, to profile as a heavy third line winger if everything goes well, in the mould of Klim Kostin (hopefully with better development and consistency).
Round 4, Pick 100: Jacob Battaglia, W, Kingston (OHL)
NHL: Round 2, Pick 62 by Calgary (+38)
Battaglia’s stock slowly rose throughout the year as he continued to put up points in Kingston, ending with 31 goals and 67 points on an average team. He jumped up in the NHL draft owing to growing confidence in his having legit skill, with enough finish to potentially play in a middle six role in the NHL. The skating is fine but needs to get better. Battaglia also protects the puck well and finds space around the net but is not the most physically engaging. All told, he is a talented prospect for an HFNHL mid-rounder with real upside as a complementary scorer in the Warren Foegele mould if developed well.
Round 4, Pick 110: Colin Ralph, D, Shattuck’s St. Mary’s (HS)
NHL: Round 2, Pick 48 by St. Louis (+62)
Ralph is a big bag of tools whose stock rose throughout the year, even as questions also emerged about how to contextualise the impact of a player who had clearly outgrown the prep circuit. At 6’4” and 227lbs, and sometimes listed even taller, Ralph moves remarkably well and should be able to physically handle the big jump to college. The defensive play should come in time, but the offence is a question mark, with his puck-moving erratic at times even at Shattuck’s in my viewings. The last time the HFNHL Canucks picked a blueliner out of that school it was Jackson Lacombe, a clear hit, so the hope is Ralph with three or four years of college can make the same jump, albeit with less skill and more size.
Round 4, Pick 125: Bogdan Konyushkov, D, Torpedo (KHL)
NHL: Round 4, Pick 110 (2023) to Montreal (N/A)
Drafted last year as an over-ager by Montreal after a breakout season in the KHL, Konyushkov was even better in 2023-24 as he assumed the captaincy for Igor Larionov’s team despite starting the season as a twenty year old. Konyushkov is an extremely fluid skater with plenty of offensive talent and enough defensive reliability to already log major minutes in the KHL. Signed for two more years, if he makes the jump afterwards he likely goes right into the NHL and onto a second powerplay unit, with a style similar to Sean Durzi, with his average size the biggest concern in terms of his projectability.
Round 5, Pick 146: Melker Thelin, G, IF Bjorkloven (Allsvenskan)
NHL: Round 5, Pick 134 (2023) to Arizona (N/A)
Drafted into the NHL last year after playing most of his season in the third division pro league in Sweden, Thelin was outstanding in 2023-24 across multiple levels, thriving especially in 11 Allsvenskan league games and in the J20 playoffs. At 6’2”, Thelin is only a bit bigger than Slukynsky but brings athleticism with strong reviews for his work ethic and technical details. Should start for Sweden at the next WJC.
Round 6, Pick 175: Luke Mistelbacher, W, Swift Current
NHL: Undrafted
A very unusual profile for a Canucks pick as an average sized CHL winger, Mistelbacher stands out as having been WHL walk-on who really found his stride in the second half an into the playoffs on a strong Swift Current team. At a solid 6’0”, 194lbs, Mistelbacher skates well and has good hands, with an especially dangerous shot that he can curl and drag like many of the best shooters coming through the draft these days. A long shot but a fun player to track given the trajectory. Going undrafted is not a total surprise though he should be considered for an ELC in a year or two if he continues to score.
Round 7, Pick 193: James Reeder, W, Dubuque (USHL)
NHL: Round 7, Pick 198 by Los Angeles (-5)
Simply put, if Reeder was a couple inches taller and a step quicker, he would easily be a second rounder given his production in the USHL, at the World Junior A Challenge and his competitive style of play. However at only 5’9” and without great skating, Reeder is more of a long-shot given where the game is trending down the line-up. But, he plays fast and through the middle of the ice, and is headed to Denver, a program that has developed marvellously players like Cole Guttman and Carter Mazur (two Canucks picks as well) with some similarities to Reeder.
Round 7, Pick 208: Vasili Atanasov, W, Torpedo (KHL)
NHL: Undrafted and ineligible in 2024
Undrafted into the NHL and passed over multiple times in both leagues, Atanasov exploded this year with Torpedo - the same team as Konyushkov, as well as Anton Silayev and Nikita Artamonov - notching 19 goals and 40 points in 46 games, one of the best U22 seasons in KHL history. Atanasov is 5’11” and slender, but is an extremely skilled, creative and intelligent player who plays with pace and likes to challenge players. He’s also just really really fun to watch. May not come over, and may not play a style that translates if he does, but has the talent to produce if so.
Round 7, Pick 212: Matthew Andonovski, D, Kitchener (OHL)
NHL: Round 5, Pick 140 (2023) by Ottawa (N/A)
Basically the opposite of Antanasov, Andonovski is a physical defensive defenceman who was picked last year by Ottawa and went back to Kitchener only to lead the OHL in plus-minus, playing much of the year alongside Hunter Brzustewicz. Andonovski moves well and has some skill, but if he makes the NHL it will be as a 3LD playing with a skilled partner.
Summary:
As always when picking near the end of the first round and without a bucket full of early picks, it is difficult to come away from a draft feeling ecstatic. Moreover, neither Surin or Beaudoin were the top targets at their respective locations, although Surin was a best case scenario at 42, if he had made it there. Plus, in a draft known at least at the top for its defensemen, the hope was to yield more than three amongst the 12 picks made in total, especially given one is signed for a few years in the KHL and the other has only two games of experience above high school.
Nonetheless, on value and talent this feels like a solid crop. Both Beaudoin and Surin going comfortably in the first round is a validating outcome, especially for Surin given it sounds like his performance on and off the ice at the Millstein camp last week was important in cementing his place as a first rounder. Nashville apparently tried to move up several times to take him, and Utah traded up for Beaudoin as well, always a good sign. Both also profile well in a sim context, which has been a point of emphasis with some picks of late.
As for the rest, Ralph and Battaglia both ended up as very good value for mid round picks, even if Matteiko not going in the second round is a disappointment. With the benefit of hindsight, I might approach those three early fourth round picks differently but it's encouraging to see a team use a premium pick on such a raw player as Ralph at least. The later skaters were mostly flyers, with the bonus of Joe Connor, a seventh rounder in the 2023 HFNHL draft, sneaking into the 2024 NHL draft as well after a strong USHL season.
Finally, after mostly sticking with one goalie a year in recent drafts, adding both Slukynsky and Thelin is a nice bonus even if efforts to land a Russian goalie were ultimately unsuccessful. Still, both had outstanding D+1 seasons, and are still WJC eligible. Their relative lack of size is notable but it was an interesting 2024 NHL draft for average and undersized goalies, with several going earlier than expected. Those two will join goalies like Jakub Malek, Kevin Reidler, Remi Poirier and Artur Akhtyamov as darts thrown at pandora's goalie box for the future.
NHL: Round 1, Pick 22 by Nashville (+7)
Surin is a 6’1” centre who blends skill and physicality in a way that makes him easily projectable to a third line role. What makes Surin exciting is that he is one of the youngest players in the draft, who has grown in the past two years and thrived in the playoffs. The hand skills are extremely impressive, especially given his willingness to play in traffic, and the skating should continue to improve to the point where it is above average in thee NHL. While Surin was not initially the target at 29, and I have not taken a Russian this early in almost twenty years, other targets went off the board right before and there simply were not many other players with this kind of upside left on the board. It was not a surprise to see him go a bit higher in the NHL Draft given the profile, with Nashville noting in post-draft interviews they had tried to move into the teens to select him. Somebody somewhere compared him to Brandon Dubinsky, which feels about right, maybe with Surin having a bit more offence.
Round 2, Pick 42: Cole Beaudoin, C, Barrie (OHL)
NHL: Round 1, Pick 24 by Utah (+18)
Beaudoin is a 6’2” centre who is frequently described as the most hard working and competitive player in the draft, with a high floor and a limited ceiling. If Beaudoin hits, his high end upside is probably something along the lines of Boone Jenner or maybe Charlie Coyle, a player that ideally locks down the third line on a contender but could play up on a weaker team. Either way, this should be a highly valuable sim player. What would help Beaudoin reach that potential would be continued work on his skating and his shot. While not the target at 42, given he was expected to go earlier in our league - and did in the NHL, by a notable margin - he is a nice complement to a growing stable of potential middle six centres in the system, after David Edstrom and Danny Nelson were taken last year.
Round 3, Pick 85: Hampton Slukynsky, G, Fargo (USHL)
NHL: Round 4, Pick 118 (2023) by Los Angeles (N/A)
The first 2023 pick off the board in our 2024 draft, Slukynsky jumped from Minnesota High School to the USHL this past season and could not have been more successful. Slukynsky was named Goaltender of the Year after going 28-3-0 in the regular season with a 1.86 GAA and .923 save percentage, before leading Fargo to the championship. Slukynsky is on the small side as a goalie at only 6’1”, but is extremely athletic, quick and smart in goal, with shades of Jonathan Quick, one of the more successful goalie picks out of high school in recent memory. Should back-up Trey Augustine at the WJC for the Amercans.
Round 4, Pick 99: Eriks Mateiko, W, Saint John (QMJHL)
NHL: Round 3, Pick 90 by Washington (+9)
The man they call Moose, Mateiko was a hard player to peg given he is a late birthday who missed time due to injury and played on a middling QMJHL team. I expected him to go higher than this in the NHL draft, so this ends up being a bit of a disappointment. Still, this is a thick 6’5” forward, with legit public skills and strong grades on character and leadership, who could be developed into a useful player at the NHL level. The skating needs work but Mateiko has enough offensive upside, especially with his ability to create in traffic and through checks, to profile as a heavy third line winger if everything goes well, in the mould of Klim Kostin (hopefully with better development and consistency).
Round 4, Pick 100: Jacob Battaglia, W, Kingston (OHL)
NHL: Round 2, Pick 62 by Calgary (+38)
Battaglia’s stock slowly rose throughout the year as he continued to put up points in Kingston, ending with 31 goals and 67 points on an average team. He jumped up in the NHL draft owing to growing confidence in his having legit skill, with enough finish to potentially play in a middle six role in the NHL. The skating is fine but needs to get better. Battaglia also protects the puck well and finds space around the net but is not the most physically engaging. All told, he is a talented prospect for an HFNHL mid-rounder with real upside as a complementary scorer in the Warren Foegele mould if developed well.
Round 4, Pick 110: Colin Ralph, D, Shattuck’s St. Mary’s (HS)
NHL: Round 2, Pick 48 by St. Louis (+62)
Ralph is a big bag of tools whose stock rose throughout the year, even as questions also emerged about how to contextualise the impact of a player who had clearly outgrown the prep circuit. At 6’4” and 227lbs, and sometimes listed even taller, Ralph moves remarkably well and should be able to physically handle the big jump to college. The defensive play should come in time, but the offence is a question mark, with his puck-moving erratic at times even at Shattuck’s in my viewings. The last time the HFNHL Canucks picked a blueliner out of that school it was Jackson Lacombe, a clear hit, so the hope is Ralph with three or four years of college can make the same jump, albeit with less skill and more size.
Round 4, Pick 125: Bogdan Konyushkov, D, Torpedo (KHL)
NHL: Round 4, Pick 110 (2023) to Montreal (N/A)
Drafted last year as an over-ager by Montreal after a breakout season in the KHL, Konyushkov was even better in 2023-24 as he assumed the captaincy for Igor Larionov’s team despite starting the season as a twenty year old. Konyushkov is an extremely fluid skater with plenty of offensive talent and enough defensive reliability to already log major minutes in the KHL. Signed for two more years, if he makes the jump afterwards he likely goes right into the NHL and onto a second powerplay unit, with a style similar to Sean Durzi, with his average size the biggest concern in terms of his projectability.
Round 5, Pick 146: Melker Thelin, G, IF Bjorkloven (Allsvenskan)
NHL: Round 5, Pick 134 (2023) to Arizona (N/A)
Drafted into the NHL last year after playing most of his season in the third division pro league in Sweden, Thelin was outstanding in 2023-24 across multiple levels, thriving especially in 11 Allsvenskan league games and in the J20 playoffs. At 6’2”, Thelin is only a bit bigger than Slukynsky but brings athleticism with strong reviews for his work ethic and technical details. Should start for Sweden at the next WJC.
Round 6, Pick 175: Luke Mistelbacher, W, Swift Current
NHL: Undrafted
A very unusual profile for a Canucks pick as an average sized CHL winger, Mistelbacher stands out as having been WHL walk-on who really found his stride in the second half an into the playoffs on a strong Swift Current team. At a solid 6’0”, 194lbs, Mistelbacher skates well and has good hands, with an especially dangerous shot that he can curl and drag like many of the best shooters coming through the draft these days. A long shot but a fun player to track given the trajectory. Going undrafted is not a total surprise though he should be considered for an ELC in a year or two if he continues to score.
Round 7, Pick 193: James Reeder, W, Dubuque (USHL)
NHL: Round 7, Pick 198 by Los Angeles (-5)
Simply put, if Reeder was a couple inches taller and a step quicker, he would easily be a second rounder given his production in the USHL, at the World Junior A Challenge and his competitive style of play. However at only 5’9” and without great skating, Reeder is more of a long-shot given where the game is trending down the line-up. But, he plays fast and through the middle of the ice, and is headed to Denver, a program that has developed marvellously players like Cole Guttman and Carter Mazur (two Canucks picks as well) with some similarities to Reeder.
Round 7, Pick 208: Vasili Atanasov, W, Torpedo (KHL)
NHL: Undrafted and ineligible in 2024
Undrafted into the NHL and passed over multiple times in both leagues, Atanasov exploded this year with Torpedo - the same team as Konyushkov, as well as Anton Silayev and Nikita Artamonov - notching 19 goals and 40 points in 46 games, one of the best U22 seasons in KHL history. Atanasov is 5’11” and slender, but is an extremely skilled, creative and intelligent player who plays with pace and likes to challenge players. He’s also just really really fun to watch. May not come over, and may not play a style that translates if he does, but has the talent to produce if so.
Round 7, Pick 212: Matthew Andonovski, D, Kitchener (OHL)
NHL: Round 5, Pick 140 (2023) by Ottawa (N/A)
Basically the opposite of Antanasov, Andonovski is a physical defensive defenceman who was picked last year by Ottawa and went back to Kitchener only to lead the OHL in plus-minus, playing much of the year alongside Hunter Brzustewicz. Andonovski moves well and has some skill, but if he makes the NHL it will be as a 3LD playing with a skilled partner.
Summary:
As always when picking near the end of the first round and without a bucket full of early picks, it is difficult to come away from a draft feeling ecstatic. Moreover, neither Surin or Beaudoin were the top targets at their respective locations, although Surin was a best case scenario at 42, if he had made it there. Plus, in a draft known at least at the top for its defensemen, the hope was to yield more than three amongst the 12 picks made in total, especially given one is signed for a few years in the KHL and the other has only two games of experience above high school.
Nonetheless, on value and talent this feels like a solid crop. Both Beaudoin and Surin going comfortably in the first round is a validating outcome, especially for Surin given it sounds like his performance on and off the ice at the Millstein camp last week was important in cementing his place as a first rounder. Nashville apparently tried to move up several times to take him, and Utah traded up for Beaudoin as well, always a good sign. Both also profile well in a sim context, which has been a point of emphasis with some picks of late.
As for the rest, Ralph and Battaglia both ended up as very good value for mid round picks, even if Matteiko not going in the second round is a disappointment. With the benefit of hindsight, I might approach those three early fourth round picks differently but it's encouraging to see a team use a premium pick on such a raw player as Ralph at least. The later skaters were mostly flyers, with the bonus of Joe Connor, a seventh rounder in the 2023 HFNHL draft, sneaking into the 2024 NHL draft as well after a strong USHL season.
Finally, after mostly sticking with one goalie a year in recent drafts, adding both Slukynsky and Thelin is a nice bonus even if efforts to land a Russian goalie were ultimately unsuccessful. Still, both had outstanding D+1 seasons, and are still WJC eligible. Their relative lack of size is notable but it was an interesting 2024 NHL draft for average and undersized goalies, with several going earlier than expected. Those two will join goalies like Jakub Malek, Kevin Reidler, Remi Poirier and Artur Akhtyamov as darts thrown at pandora's goalie box for the future.
