[sureLoss]

Bob Mckenzie's mid season rankings. Top 80 plus honourable mentions. Russian d-man Silayev at #2.
https://www.tsn.ca/macklin-celebrini...king-1.2066050

Some highlights:

Macklin Celebrini is all but 100 per cent certain to be the first-overall pick in the 2024 NHL draft.

Ten out of 10 NHL team scouts surveyed by TSN have the 17-year-old Boston University freshman centre at No. 1. Almost all of them can’t see anyone other than Celebrini going first overall on June 28 at The Sphere in Las Vegas (which, incidentally, is the final convention-style NHL draft gathering).

“When you look at how well he has played in the NCAA (16 goals and 32 points in 19 games) and the World Junior Championship, and he’s the youngest player in college hockey, and then you realize he should still be a high school senior who doesn’t turn 18 until (June 13), well, it’s pretty wild what he’s done and what he’s doing,” one scout said. “He’ll be the guy; I can’t see anyone [eclipsing him for top spot].”

That is certainly the prevailing opinion, but it’s worth noting one scout who was surveyed by TSN suggested it’s close to a 50-50 toss-up between the No. 1 ranked Celebrini and No. 2 on the TSN Mid-Season list, towering 6-foot-7, 211-pound Russian defenceman Anton Silayev.

“I do think it’s close enough [to at least ponder the question],” the scout said. “If the team that wins the [draft] lottery is already loaded with young talent at forward, and really needs a building block on defence, could I see that team having to make a decision? I think I could.”

No. 3 on TSN’s Mid-Season list is another blue-chip defenceman — Michigan State’s Artyom Levshunov, a 6-foot-2, 208-pound Belarusian who is the third youngest player in college hockey. He has some eye-popping NCAA stats of his own (seven goals and 26 points in 24 games) for an 18-year-old freshman who projects as a top-pair NHL blueliner.

The consensus seems to be that Celebrini is not considered generational — certainly not McDavid and maybe not Bedard either — but there are equal amounts of support for him being a franchise player or being at the superstar level.

“He’s a franchise player,” one scout said definitely. “He will be a game changer for the franchise that gets him.”

“He’ll be very good, he’ll consistently put up great numbers, but I don’t know if he will carry a franchise,” said another scout.

“If Auston Matthews is a franchise player and Mitch Marner and William Nylander are superstars, I would project Celebrini closer to Marner and Nylander than Matthews,” said another scout.

Silyaev:

Putting aside the Russian factor and how soon or far of he is to being available for NHL teams— he’s a striking package of size, strength, mobility, offence and defence.

“He’s not as offensively gifted as, say, Chris Pronger at the same age and he’s not as physically intimidating and punishing as, say, Zdeno Chara was in his draft year [1996],” one scout said. “But he has shown that he combines elements of both of those guys.”

Another scout said: “If he’s as good as we think he is — geez, I really wish we could be there in the rink to see him live instead of just on video or getting reports from our Russian scouts — he’s going to be a No. 1 defenceman, maybe in the same sort of universe as a Victor Hedman. If he’s not quite what we think he is, with that size and mobility, I still think he’ll be really good top-pairing guy or outstanding 2-3.”

Levshunov:

The No. 3 ranked Levshunov, unlike the 2006-born Celebrini and Silayev, is a late 2005 birthdate. His physical maturity, strength and strong skating give him the tools to project as a high-end two-way defenceman. Scouts still aren’t sure what his offensive ceiling will be in the NHL, but he has put up some noteworthy numbers in each of the past two seasons.

He had 13 goals and 42 points with the USHL’s Green Bay in 2022-23. His seven goals and 26 points at Michigan State this season are gaudy totals for an 18-year-old freshman.

“I don’t think he’ll be a high-end, big numbers offensive defenceman in the NHL but he’s such a good skater and puck mover he will still contribute offensively,” one scout said. “I could see him being on a No. 2 power play, but he’ll be on the No. 1 penalty-killing unit and log big minutes in all situations. He’s strong, he can defend. He has a really good two-way game.”

Eiserman:

So what gives with his stock falling?

“He has not developed any kind of backup game to his scoring,” one scout said. “He’s so one dimensional, so interested in just getting his goals that it’s sometimes a detriment to his play. You would like to see him play with more pace, be more competitive, because the goals may not be as plentiful at the next level.”

But he quite likely owns the best shot in the draft and from the blueline in there’s no one more dangerous.

“If you’re going to be a one-trick pony, scoring goals is the best trick to have,” another scout said. “He’s better than a goal-a-game player, which is incredible. But we certainly expected more from him in terms of his play this season and we haven’t seen it yet.”

For the Lindstrom fan club:

TSN’s fifth-ranked prospect is Medicine Hat Tiger centre Cayden Lindstrom, the 6-foot-3, 210-pound hard-driving centre who is rocketing up the draft chart. Lindstrom was an honourable mention in TSN’s pre-season Top 16 and is now the second-ranked centre and Canadian behind only Celebrini.

Lindstrom was a third-round pick in the WHL bantam draft and put up some nice rookie numbers last season — 19 goals and 42 points in 61 games. But he has blossomed this year. It’s not just his 27 goals and 66 penalty minutes in 32 games; it’s his size, strength and ability to, at times, physically overwhelm opponents that scouts have noticed

“He’s something of a unicorn in this draft,” one scout said. “A big, strong physical centre with skills and vision who’s putting up great numbers and demonstrating he maybe has the potential to be a big No. 1 NHL centre. If he’s not prolific enough to be a No. 1 C, he’s going to be a helluva No. 2.”

Scouts surveyed ranked him as high as No. 3 and no lower than No. 8.