STI 2024 Devils-Centric Mock Draft For People Sick Of Everyone Else’s Cruddy Mock Drafts
Yes, I am solving this problem the same way I do every year, which is by writing up my very own cruddy mock draft. Let’s face it — mock drafts are doomed to fail. Some jerk GM always goes off the board at #4 overall and ruins it for the rest of us. I mean, not that I’m insinuating the Columbus front office is jerk-laden, but then again maybe I am.
All 32 picks were made with the team in question’s draft tendencies and organizational needs in mind. This is not a ranking. No, the Devils are not trading the pick for a 36 year old goaltender. Just trying to get all the answers to the stupidest criticisms out of the way early so I can get on with the mock draft. I think those three should cover it. And yes, I realize that “jerk-laden” is not a word, even if you hyphenate it.
1 San Jose: C Macklin Celebrini, Boston U. NCAA let’s not get creative here. Celebrini is a text-book franchise center in every sense of the word. The dude is literally great at everything in hockey which fills a major need for San Jose, who last year was literally terrible at everything in hockey.
2 Chicago: W Ivan Demidov, SKA-St.Petersburg MHL the idea of the Blackhawks passing on a potential franchise forward with elite playmaking and puck handling skills to one day pair with the best shot in the league in Conor Bedard is plain ludicrous. Also, Chicago has another pick at #18, where in the 2024 class there will be other terrific RDs. There will not be any F with even close to the skill of the sublime Demidov.
3 Anaheim: RD Artyom Levshunov, Michigan St. NCAA contrary to popular belief, Anaheim is not thin at RD, they have two very good prospects in Tristan Luneau and Noah Warren. Still, in a stacked-with-talent prospect pipeline, it’s probably their lowest-end position and Levshunov has 1D upside on both sides of the puck.
4 Columbus: LD Anton Silayev, Nizhny Novgorod KHL the Blue Jackets are actually strong organizationally at LD with Mateychuk and Svozil -- but they have concentrated on building from the blueline out over the past year-plus and Silayev’s mix of 6’7 and high-end skating is exceptionally rare.
5 Montreal: C Cayden Lindstrom, Medicine Hat WHL Lindstrom falling to 5 has to be the Habs’ pipe dream — they need centers more than anything, and they need physical forwards aside from Slavkovsky for the top 6. A trio of Lindstrom, Suzuki and Owen Beck would set them up with a strong foundation up the middle for several seasons to come.
6 Utah: RD Zayne Parekh, Saginaw OHL wherever their geographical location, this organization seems to have multiple high picks every year and yet still the wheels keep spinning. Utah lacks a high-end offensive defenseman at the pro or prospect levels, and Parekh — with all his problems off the puck — is the highest end offensive defenseman available since Luke Hughes in 2021.
7 Ottawa: LW Tij Iginla, Kelowna WHL you can just hear all the hearts breaking in Calgary. But Iginla has been a late riser with his elite combination of shooting, stick-handling and compete level, and he’d be a huge PR win for the Senators, as well.
8 Seattle: LD Zeev Buium, Denver NCAA the Kraken need high-end talent on the blueline and Buium fits the bill — he might offer the most offensive upside aside from Parekh in the 2024 class, and he’s also quite strong on the defensive side of the puck.
9 Calgary: LD Sam Dickinson, London OHL the Flames have huge needs on the blueline in the pipeline. Dickinson’s mix of size, speed and exceptional two-way upside would immediately rocket him to the top of their prospect pool.
10 NEW JERSEY DEVILS: RW Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, Mora IK Allvenskan SWE
Honestly, this came down to two players — Nygard or Finnish center Konsta Helenius, and I struggled a lot with the final choice. But GM Tom Fitzgerald has shown and stated a desire to get more physical and tougher to play against in the top 6, and Nygard also offers a lot more than simply a power forward option which the Devils lack throughout the prospect pool. Nygard is also the best defensive forward in the 2024 class and one of the fastest skill forwards available. The 6’1-200 Norwegian also possesses an elite-level shot and an otherworldly combination of hockey IQ and compete level. Throw in the fact he played a great deal of center towards the end of the season, and he just makes perfect sense to New Jersey on too many levels to count.
11 Buffalo: RD Carter Yakemchuk, Calgary WHL the Sabres’ prospect pool is literally loaded at every position except RD, and Yakemchuk has a ton to offer. An electrifying offensive defenseman who hits like a freight train, there are a lot of parallels to a young Dion Phaneuf.
12 Philadelphia: LW/C Berkly Catton, Spokane WHL the Flyers’ forced trade of Cutter Gauthier left them with any top 6 scoring prospects in the pipeline aside from Matvei Michkov, who plays on the RW, not the left. Catton probably ranks 4th in the 2024 class in terms of overall offensive upside after only Demidov, Celebrini and Eiserman… and it’s tough to see a team with John Tortorella as coach drafting a player with as many defensive/hustle issues as Eiserman.
13 Minnesota: C Konsta Helenius, Jukurit FIN the Wild have drafted exceptionally well in the Bill Guerin era, and I can’t see them passing on a talent like Helenius — a player whose hockey IQ might be 2nd in the entire class after only Demidov. Helenius’ calling card is intelligence, but he also plays with enormous heart and checks every physical tool across the board without being quite elite in any of them.
14 San Jose: LW Cole Eiserman, US-NTDP the wild-card of the draft, Eiserman has a devastating shot, the best of a past half-decade of drafts after only Conor Bedard. However, his 200-foot game and consistency of effort are both well below average, which is certain to turn off several teams. For the Sharks, however — well, Eiserman is close friends with Celebrini which they would hope brings out the best in a player with a dynamic and rare ability to regularly top 50+ goals.
15 Detroit: RW Igor Chernyshov, Moskva KHL like the Devils, the Red Wings have a lot of skill in their scoring forwards but not a lot of power/interior play. Chernyshov is in the conversation with Lindstrom and Nygard for the best power forward in the 2024 class and also features an outstanding two-way game and some of the softest hands in the class.
16 St. Louis: RD Adam Jiricek, HC Plzen CZE the Blues are absolutely bereft in the prospect pool at RD and Jircek’s draft-year injury and subsequent rankings-drop could be a gift to them in the long run. Jiricek is a do-it-all bulldog with big-time upside on both sides of the puck.
17 Washington: C Michael Hage, Chicago USHL the Caps are extremely thin organizationally up the middle, and Hage is perhaps one of the most underrated players available for the 2024 class. Hage features high-end skating and a litany of high-end offensive tools, and was far-and-away the best player in the entire USHL over the last couple months of the season when he finally recovered from injury and personal tragedy enough to put his game together.
18 Chicago: RD EJ Emery, US-NTDP the Blackhawks need RD more than anything buy a long-shot. This pick might raise a few eyebrows, but it’s fair to argue that Emery is the best defensive defender in the entire 2024 class and he’s also a terrific skater and athlete. Emery is incredibly competitive and physical; he offers extremely smart play with and without the puck. This kid is just a winner, and as such I expect him to be drafted far higher than his consensus ranking might indicate.
19 Vegas: RW Beckett Sennecke, Oshawa OHL after years of trading picks and picking low, Vegas needs some high-end offensive upside in the system. If he falls this far, Sennecke would fit the bill — his hands are electrifying and his playmaking is high-end, while his size and skating are both very good.
20 NY Islanders: C Sacha Boisvert, Muskegon USHL very much a Lamoriello-type player, Boisvert is an excellent defensive center who can also score and competes and think the game at high levels. After years of dealing away picks, the Islanders need pretty much everything, but Boisvert can certainly make the case for best player available this deep in the draft.
21 Los Angeles: RW Emil Hemming, TPS U20 FIN JR. the Kings looked downright slow and old in a first-round exit from the 2024 playoffs, and Hemming’s combination of speed, size and a canon-like shot would juice some athleticism into the future top 6.
22 Nashville: LD Stian Solberg, Valerenga NOR no organization drafts and develops defenders better than the Predators, who hit it again big-time with Solberg. The young Norwegian mixes outstanding speed and play with the puck with a 6’2-205 frame and perhaps the most devastating physicality of any defender in the draft class. Solberg is a steal here, offering huge upside and near-NHL readiness.
23 Toronto: C Cole Beaudoin, Barrie OHL tough to figure what a desperate Leafs organization will do at the draft in 2024, and trading the pick is certainly a possibility. I have them taking a potentially elite defensive and physical middle-6 center who oozes character and compete, the very things they have seemingly lacked in the Dubas and post-Dubas eras. Beaudoin offers everything but speed and flash, but his in-tight game and forechecking/cycling abilities might be tops of the 2024 center class.
24 Colorado: LW Andrew Basha, Medicine Hat WHL the Avs have been building with team speed for years, and Basha can downright fly. He’s also a high-end playmaker and puck-handler with big-time offensive upside.
25 Ottawa: RD Charlie Elick, Brandon WHL like many teams, the Senators have needs at RD and Elick is everything their front-office loves — huge (6’3-200), physical, Canadian, skates well, smart with the puck and exceptional without it.
26 Montreal: RD Dominik Badinka, Malmo J20 SWE JR. The Habs have built a stunningly talented prospect pool but, like many teams, have needs at RD. Fortunately for these teams, the 2024 class is overflowing with potential top-4 RD. This young Czech is a terrific skater with a smart and polished defensive game, size/physicality and some sneaky offensive upside.
27 Carolina: LW Trevor Connelly, Tri-City USHL as one scout has said, “Connelly has first round talent but last round character”, and that drops a kid who should be a top 10 pick on skill and speed alone far lower in the draft than his natural abilities would normally indicate. Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour has shown a repeated belief that he and he alone can take low character players and make them into clutch team guys, and though it hasn’t really worked yet there is no visible indication of him stopping any time soon.
28 Calgary: RW Ryder Ritchie, Prince Albert WHL the Flames reach into their backyard to take a high-motor speedy winger who can excel on a checking or scoring line. Ryder has more skill than some have credited him with, and he's a player who gets every last ounce out of his natural ability, making him pretty much a can't-miss NHLer.
29 Anaheim: LW/RW Nikita Artamonov, Nizhny Novgorod KHL the Ducks might already have the top prospect pool in the NHL and they get another really good one in the high-effort, high-IQ two-way winger with near elite playmaking ability.
30 NY Rangers: LW/RW Liam Greentree, Windsor OHL though some have him slotted for the top half of the 1st round, it’s possible Greentree’s skating woes drop him a bit towards the end of the round. Rangers GM Chris Drury likes big forwards with skill, and this 6’2-200 forward lit up the OHL for 90 points.
31 Dallas: C Jett Luchanko, C Guelph OHL the Stars draft exceptionally well, and there’s no reason to believe this will not continue with the speedy, smart, skilled and high-motor Luchanko. He’s a versatile player who can slot perfectly into any line and excel on both the PP and PK.
32 Philadephia: LD Alfons Freij, Vaxjo U20 SWE JR. the Flyers need some bolstering in the prospect ranks at both sides of the blueline. Here I have them swinging for the fences with the lightning-fast and sublimely skilled Freij — a project perhaps, but one offering some big-time upside.
