Your top 7 for the 2024 draft

[themilosh]

Im with you on this one. Lindstrom would be my pick too. If he pans out, hes definitely an home run. Adding another player of his size , a lefthanded center which we need would shore up our top 6 big time

Not to mention his ceiling is top line, his probability is 2C, and his floor is 3C.. depends on the injuries, but this guy fits a serious need for us.

If not him/celli, i take best RHD available: either Levshunov or Parekh.

 

[GlassesJacketShirt]

1. Celebrini
2. Demidov
3. Buium
4. Silayev
5. Catton
6. Dickinson
7. Levshunov

One point of order: Don't feel comfortable giving a firm opinion on Lindstrom as my watching sample was tainted; if I were to judge based on what I've seen, would be closer to 10 than top 3.

 

[Deebs]

Unfortunately, I don’t think we get a chance to draft him unless we move up in the lottery.

What you saw in the highlight package is what everyone with a modicum of hockey knowledge also saw.

Lindstrom is going 2 OA or 3 OA.

If his back checks out, I'd happily add to our #5 so we can move up to get him. He's got everything you want in a player and I love the swagger that comes with his game. Nothing outlandish but the confidence is there in spades

 

[themilosh]

JK was around 7th to 10th on most list. Zadina was kind a consencus at 3rd though which woul;d have been an even worse pick. But yeah those guys you listed were usually ranked higher than JK. JK at 3rd was 100% a reach. Not a big one but definitely one.

I think with the advent and expansion of myriad scouting sites, available videos and access to players, the likelihood of outright "busts" seems less and less for the top 10..
The most important thing is the interview, clearly hugo are looking for "classy" intelligent players, and while some might say thats what MB was doing too, the diff is Hugo actually have class & intelligence to be able to identify them.

 

[ChesterNimitz]

Nah, they moved Drysdale to get Gauthier. They took MacTavish and Carlsson. They need to add a stalwart defenseman to their group. Expect Levshunov, Dickinson or Yakemchuk for them. I know Yakemchuk isn't 'stalwart' but he's big and nasty.

Watch Yakemchuk's highlights and you soon realize that he's much more than big and nasty.



If Lindstrom is gone, I would have no trouble taking Yakemchuk at 5 OA. He's big, skilled, (scored 30 goals this year) has a great shot, has better straight forward speed than most of our young defensive prospects and can physically dominant opposing forwards. Kid has a game that is built for the NHL who will be able to play effectively against all the heavy NHL teams.

Heck, with him and the Xhekaj Brothers, we might ourselves become one of the heavy teams in the NHL that other teams fear playing.

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

JK was around 7th to 10th on most list. Zadina was kind a consencus at 3rd though which woul;d have been an even worse pick. But yeah those guys you listed were usually ranked higher than JK. JK at 3rd was 100% a reach. Not a big one but definitely one.

The overwhelming majority of this board was happy with the pick and wanted him.

He looked VERY good in his rookie year considering his age and physical readiness.

There’s so much revisionism it’s crazy. He was really good in the playoffs for us. He had a lot going for him but he completely stagnated.

We were pretty damn pumped to have him with CC and Suzuki but he just never got better. He had moments of being an absolute bull in the O zone, forechecking and puck possession wise.

 

[The Last Red]

Watch Yakemchuk's highlights and you soon realize that he's much more than big and nasty.



If Lindstrom is gone, I would have no trouble taking Yakemchuk at 5 OA. He's big, skilled, (scored 30 goals this year) has a great shot, has better straight forward speed than most of our young defensive prospects and can physically dominant opposing forwards. Kid has a game that is built for the NHL who will be able to play effectively against all the heavy NHL teams.

Heck, with him and the Xhekaj Brothers, we might ourselves become one of the heavy teams in the NHL that other teams fear playing.

He’ll also have to score a lot of goals since we won’t have many forwards who can score . . . This is why passing on Michkov, or even Ryan Leonard, last year, when this year’s draft is so deep in high end D, was so F’ing dumb. We’re going to draft a forward with our first pick, it’s pretty obvious. As far as Florian, he’s a very long long shot to make the NHL.

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

If his back checks out, I'd happily add to our #5 so we can move up to get him. He's got everything you want in a player and I love the swagger that comes with his game. Nothing outlandish but the confidence is there in spades

Yeah he plays with a ton of jam. With that size and shot too? Man. He’s very Slaf like.

If his back checks out, I'd happily add to our #5 so we can move up to get him. He's got everything you want in a player and I love the swagger that comes with his game. Nothing outlandish but the confidence is there in spades

Yeah he plays with a ton of jam. With that size and shot too? Man. He’s very Slaf like

 

[ChesterNimitz]

He’ll also have to score a lot of goals since we won’t have many forwards who can score . . . This is why passing on Michkov, or even Ryan Leonard, last year, when this year’s draft is so deep in high end D, was so F’ing dumb. We’re going to draft a forward with our first pick, it’s pretty obvious.

I can't disagree. But the player that should have been taken was Leonard.

Reinbacher is fine prospect. But there are several defenceman available this year who have a much higher dynamic upside than Reinbacher. Let's not repeat last year's error by passing on a number of defensemen who project to be change makers for this team. The purpose of the draft is to accumulate assets and depth for a franchise. Those drafted asset can in turn replace an existing lesser player or provide a valuable trading chip to secure what your team needs.

 

[26Mats]

Watch Yakemchuk's highlights and you soon realize that he's much more than big and nasty.



If Lindstrom is gone, I would have no trouble taking Yakemchuk at 5 OA. He's big, skilled, (scored 30 goals this year) has a great shot, has better straight forward speed than most of our young defensive prospects and can physically dominant opposing forwards. Kid has a game that is built for the NHL who will be able to play effectively against all the heavy NHL teams.

Heck, with him and the Xhekaj Brothers, we might ourselves become one of the heavy teams in the NHL that other teams fear playing.

I've heard he's bad defensively at this point.

 

[BLONG7]

I can't disagree. But the player that should have been taken was Leonard.

Reinbacher is fine prospect. But there are several defenceman available this year who have a much higher dynamic upside than Reinbacher. Let's not repeat last year's error by passing on a number of defensemen who project to be change makers for this team. The purpose of the draft is to accumulate assets and depth for a franchise. Those drafted asset can in turn replace an existing lesser player or provide a valuable trading chip to secure what your team needs.

No disrespect to Reinbacher, but agreed we really needed a forward last year to be drafted with our 1st pick...
We have a ton of kids on D and as you say, more kids coming in this years draft.

 

[LaP]

The overwhelming majority of this board was happy with the pick and wanted him.

He looked VERY good in his rookie year considering his age and physical readiness.

There’s so much revisionism it’s crazy. He was really good in the playoffs for us. He had a lot going for him but he completely stagnated.

We were pretty damn pumped to have him with CC and Suzuki but he just never got better. He had moments of being an absolute bull in the O zone, forechecking and puck possession wise.

That's not revisionism to say he was ranked around 7th to 10th on most list pre-daft he actually was. People around here being happy with the pick has nothing to do with pre-draft ranking.

 

[Habssince89]

Watch Yakemchuk's highlights and you soon realize that he's much more than big and nasty.



If Lindstrom is gone, I would have no trouble taking Yakemchuk at 5 OA. He's big, skilled, (scored 30 goals this year) has a great shot, has better straight forward speed than most of our young defensive prospects and can physically dominant opposing forwards. Kid has a game that is built for the NHL who will be able to play effectively against all the heavy NHL teams.

Heck, with him and the Xhekaj Brothers, we might ourselves become one of the heavy teams in the NHL that other teams fear playing.

so if you pick him, who are you trading to add a high-quality young forward?

 

[ChesterNimitz]

I've heard he's bad defensively at this point.

Parekh makes him look like Scott Stevens.

Kid scored 23 goals in his first WHL season and 30 goals this season. He's big, fast and has a physical presence. He is a perfect replacement for Savard.

 

[McGees]

1. Celebrini
2. Demidov
3. Lindstrom
4. Iggy
5-7 interchangable: Buium/Catton/Helenius

 

[26Mats]

Parekh makes him look like Scott Stevens.

Kid scored 23 goals in his first WHL season and 30 goals this season. He's big, fast and has a physical presence. He is a perfect replacement for Savard.

It depends how good he is defensively. He sounds more like a replacement for Matheson in 2, 3, 5 years:

Guhle - Yakumchuk
Hutson - Reinbacher.

 

[ChesterNimitz]

so if you pick him, who are you trading to add a high-quality young forward?

This is a deep draft. Take any of Vanacker, Beaudoin, Luchanko, Sennecke, or Parascak who would immediately become one of our best forward prospects with Winnipeg's pick (moving up if necessary).

This team is still two years away from competing, regardless if we pick a forward. Adding one young, quality forward will be expensive and will only produce marginal positive results. Such is the current state of this team. It would be much more prudent to see if Dach is recovered. A healthy Dach will be a more impactive player than any forward we draft this coming draft not, named Celebrini.

The core of the team is slowing forming and improving. Hutson should be a major contributor; Slafkovsky will only get better and our youthful defence should continue their development and provide us with more personnel options.

Pick the best player available at 5 OA. Don't try to address the many ills that afflict this team by over drafting a forward to address a need. We have many needs.

 

[Twisted Sinister]

and I'd put 85% odds on the Habs not drafting Buium.

 

[Habssince89]

This is a deep draft. Take any of Vanacker, Beaudoin, Luchanko, Sennecke, or Parascak who would immediately become one of our best forward prospects with Winnipeg's pick (moving up if necessary).

This team is still two years away from competing, regardless if we pick a forward. Adding one young, quality forward will be expensive and will only produce marginal positive results. Such is the current state of this team. It would be much more prudent to see if Dach is recovered. A healthy Dach will be a more impactive player than any forward we draft this coming draft not, named Celebrini.

The core of the team is slowing forming and improving. Hutson should be a major contributor; Slafkovsky will only get better and our youthful defence should continue their development and provide us with more personnel options.

Pick the best player available at 5 OA. Don't try to address the many ills that afflict this team by over drafting a forward to address a need. We have many needs.

As usual, your posts are thoughtful and I don't disagree with your reasoning, but picking another D at 5 would be a tough sell because I think the forwards who may be available there have a case for BPA anyway. The team needs another forward that can produce goals. The team needs to be assured that we will have two scoring lines and not fall into the trap of being a one line team. Yes, Dach needs to be healthy for us to do that, but in the event he isn't, we'll need another high-end forward that's the right age to fill that hole.

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

That's not revisionism to say he was ranked around 7th to 10th on most list pre-daft he actually was. People around here being happy with the pick has nothing to do with pre-draft ranking.

As I was writing this reply, I realized that I shouldn’t have replied to you haha. You weren’t really saying anything controversial. Sorry about that.

1. Celebrini
2. Demidov
3. Lindstrom
4. Iggy
5-7 interchangable: Buium/Catton/Helenius

That’s about 2-4 for me out of the guys I’ve seen. I might take Lindstrom over Demidov but they’re so damn close. Either one of those guys would feel like a f***ing coup

 

[ChesterNimitz]

As usual, your posts are thoughtful and I don't disagree with your reasoning, but picking another D at 5 would be a tough sell because I think the forwards who may be available there have a case for BPA anyway. The team needs another forward that can produce goals. The team needs to be assured that we will have two scoring lines and not fall into the trap of being a one line team. Yes, Dach needs to be healthy for us to do that, but in the event he isn't, we'll need another high-end forward that's the right age to fill that hole.

Thank you for your kind comment.

I will never disagree with the strategy/process of taking the best player available. You don't use the draft to fill holes in your roster. There are other and more targeted strategies to do so: trades and free agency.

I don't think that Yakemchuk will always be the best player available when we draft. But if the draft goes as I suspect and the forwards that I believe are superior prospects to Yakemchuk are gone, then in my opinion, reaching for a player who is inferior in projected talent and impact than Yakemchuk simply because that player is a forward, would constitute a regressive approach.

Last year, my issue with the selection of Reinbacher, wasn't because he played defence, but that there were a couple of forwards that offered superior potential impact for our talent starved franchise.

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

You left out “Malcolm”, who was at the top of the same post that featured your Kevin.

Malcolm "Celebrini" Young

 

[JeffreyLFC]

I have 3 forward prospects that I really love their upside and wish we could draft them, which is why I would be very receptive to trade down if needed to get them. Somehow nobody ever mention them as we are solely focused on the top 5 forwards. (who are IMO not that significantly better other than Demidov and Macklin obviously)

1. Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, his profile is so intriguing, size, great skating, very high compete, NHL caliber shot and he has shown improvement toward the whole year, I think he should be in consideration for top 10 talk and I am serious. He has some Roope Hintz in him. I am a huge admire.
2. Beckett Sennecke, another huge riser, he is showing improvement everytime I watch him play, very high skill level for his size, great skater, watch out when he start filling out, huge upside. He has some Wyatt Johnston in him, I would not be surprised if next year he double his points tally. I could see him as top 6 forward.
3. Michael Hage, another riser, for some reason I don't see that much talk about him but he has the talent to become a top 6 forward, very fluid skater, another player that has got better and better toward the year, he is also going to Michigan which is a good program to develop players.

 

[MasterMatt25]

Not omitting any positions:
1. Celebrini
2. Demidov
3. Levshunov
4. Catton
5. Buium
6. Parekh
7. Dickinson

 

[Michoulicious]

This is a deep draft. Take any of Vanacker, Beaudoin, Luchanko, Sennecke, or Parascak who would immediately become one of our best forward prospects with Winnipeg's pick (moving up if necessary).

This team is still two years away from competing, regardless if we pick a forward. Adding one young, quality forward will be expensive and will only produce marginal positive results. Such is the current state of this team. It would be much more prudent to see if Dach is recovered. A healthy Dach will be a more impactive player than any forward we draft this coming draft not, named Celebrini.

The core of the team is slowing forming and improving. Hutson should be a major contributor; Slafkovsky will only get better and our youthful defence should continue their development and provide us with more personnel options.

Pick the best player available at 5 OA. Don't try to address the many ills that afflict this team by over drafting a forward to address a need. We have many needs.

Totally agree. If our scouting staff feels the best players are by far Ds when it is our time to pick, either trade down for assets or pick a D.

I have 3 forward prospects that I really love their upside and wish we could draft them, which is why I would be very receptive to trade down if needed to get them. Somehow nobody ever mention them as we are solely focused on the top 5 forwards. (who are IMO not that significantly better other than Demidov and Macklin obviously)

1. Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, his profile is so intriguing, size, great skating, very high compete, NHL caliber shot and he has shown improvement toward the whole year, I think he should be in consideration for top 10 talk and I am serious. He has some Roope Hintz in him. I am a huge admire.
2. Beckett Sennecke, another huge riser, he is showing improvement everytime I watch him play, very high skill level for his size, great skater, watch out when he start filling out, huge upside. He has some Wyatt Johnston in him, I would not be surprised if next year he double his points tally. I could see him as top 6 forward.
3. Michael Hage, another riser, for some reason I don't see that much talk about him but he has the talent to become a top 6 forward, very fluid skater, another player that has got better and better toward the year, he is also going to Michigan which is a good program to develop players.

Sennecke will no doubt rise with his playoffs performance.