2024 NHL Draft Thread

[ForeverFlameFan]

Parascak at 28 would be such a big win. Either he or Kiviharju would be great.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by ForeverFlameFan

Parascak at 28 would be such a big win. Either he or Kiviharju would be great.

Parascak at 28, and either Hutson or Vanacker at 41 would be incredible.

I have a feeling all 3 are going before 28 though.

[Samonadreau]

Originally Posted by Sandman

If we get #10, I want Beckett Sennecke if he’s still there, he’s so underrated and one of the best forwards in the draft. Big, skilled, and a great skater.

Looksnlike a great pick but if we took a Iginla at 9 would be a tough pill to come away with 2 wingers in the top 10.

[Savvy27]

Originally Posted by Ba'alzamon

The craziest list I've seen is definitely Will Scouch's: Alfons Freij 5th overall, and the top ranked blueliner.

https://www.scouching.ca/the-blog/sc...-draft-ranking

I saw that and started watching video of him and I get it. I like the way he plays a lot and feel he is being underrated. He was good in the U18s and I enjoy his mobility and puck play. He's also very good defending on the rush.

I prefer him to some of the highly rated D like Dickinson and Parekh.

[Sandman]

Draft Thoughts (Re-entry Edition, Vol. 2):

As far as Draft re-entries go, LW/RW Noah Powell is worth getting excited about. The now-19 year-old, 6'1",210lb righty was relegated to bottom-six duty for Dubuque of the USHL in 2022-23, and could only manage 19 points in 53 games- which resulted in him being being passed over in the draft. He was stuck in the same spot to start the 2023-24 season, and remained there until about mid-November when he was promoted. Powell had 5 goals and 11 points in his first 20 games, but exploded with more ice-time and opportunity, amassing 38 goals and 63 points in his next 41 games, to finish first in goals in the USHL with 43, and 5th in points with 74. The rugged winger added 5 points in 11 playoff games, to go with 19 PIM. Much like Austin Burnevik, he possesses NHL-quality passing and shooting, but is held back by poor mobility.

Powell is a physical power-forward who frequently drives the middle of the ice and uses deception and manipulation very well, drawing defenders towards him to open space for passes. He puts his shoulder down to lean into opponents on the way to the net, and uses his body and strength to create space for himself while moving around intelligently off-puck. Even though he racked up the goals this season, scouts seem most enamoured with his passing ability, which might be his best skill. He has every pass in his repertoire, from saucers to stretch-passes, and is as equally adept at dishing from his forehand as his backhand. He can thread the needle through traffic, over sticks, through triangles, and between feet, employing a skillful delay game to maximize his effectiveness, and passes frequently to the slot, as well as through it- he shows creativity, as well as high-end deception. With regards to transition, his metrics are good with a high number of clean entries with control, working the give-and-go's to push pace. He forechecks with physicality and a disruptive stick to rack up steals and pick pockets. He practices tight puck-protection, and owns smooth puck-skills- his pass reception is amazing, as he can settle down, and take control of wild passes. He can deke around and through checkers with his 1-on-1 moves, and handles around the reach of his opponents' sticks. Powell plays with high energy, and unrelenting motor, always staying in motion.

Powell's goal-scoring skill is highly weaponized, with a deadly arsenal of shots including a hard and heavy one-timer, a killer slapshot, a quick and accurate wrister, and a drag-and-release around sticks. To better facilitate these skills, he uses a high amount of deception with a quick release that fools goalies, and can fire in flight while under duress with little room to unleash. Unlike Burnevik, Powell plays a highly physical brand of hockey, always winning body position and hitting everything that moves in order to kill plays and dislodge pucks. He bullies his way around, and fights hard in battles in all of the greasy areas. As in transition, Powell's defensive metrics are also very good, but he's not necessarily going to be a specialist in this area- he backchecks hard, and has good awareness in his own zone. He's highly disruptive, and causes turnovers- especially near the top of the zone. Unfortunately, his mobility is a huge concern, with a weak stride and deficiencies in most areas- including a slower first-step, sluggish acceleration, and poor edgework and agility. These deficits in speed pervade his whole game, and can limit his effectiveness against faster players- he does a lot of chasing, and his issues affect his ability to play with pace. Skating aside, Powell has big upside, with all the tools he needs to be a middle-six power-winger in the NHL, and will have plenty of time to work on his mobility at Ohio State, starting this fall. Look for him in rounds 4-6.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by devo22

I think Dickinson gets pushed down on some lists because he's more a "safe" pick, not a "sexy" one. But to me, everything about him screams "perennial minute-eating top 4 defenseman who can play in all situations". To me, that's probably more enticing than a question mark like Silayev.

That's fair for most teams but the Flames need potential homeruns.
We don't need our next Anderson/Weegar. As good as players like that are, this team goes no where til we have a true franchise superstar.
It's time to swing for the fences.

[Funkhouser]

Basing this on the bare minimum of research, I really hope we can grab one of the following players with our late first/second rounders:

-Yegor Surin
-Stian Solberg
-Sam O'Reilly
-Cole Hutson

[YyjFlames]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

That's fair for most teams but the Flames need potential homeruns.
We don't need our next Anderson/Weegar. As good as players like that are, this team goes no where til we have a true franchise superstar.
It's time to swing for the fences.

I don't think they'll have much of a choice. Four and maybe five of the top d-men are likely going before Calgary's pick (and hopefully NJ's pick). If they take a defender, they likely just grab the last top guy left unless they go a little off the board because they have someone ranked higher.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by YyjFlames

I don't think they'll have much of a choice. Four and maybe five of the top d-men are likely going before Calgary's pick (and hopefully NJ's pick). If they take a defender, they likely just grab the last top guy left unless they go a little off the board because they have someone ranked higher.

Then go for a forward. If that many skilled defenders are gone by 9; we should have good forward selection
Personally, I'd rather go for a potential gamebreaker, even if it's the riskier pick. Solid, steady d-man would be the lowest priority on my list.

[ForeverFlameFan]

Originally Posted by Savvy27

I saw that and started watching video of him and I get it. I like the way he plays a lot and feel he is being underrated. He was good in the U18s and I enjoy his mobility and puck play. He's also very good defending on the rush.

I prefer him to some of the highly rated D like Dickinson and Parekh.

I would hate if we didn’t grab him at 28 if he was still there.

[dammage79]

It's a toss up between Brunicke and Freij down in the late 1st and 2nd round for me. Elick is the other one I'm looking at too. Emery gets an HM and I don't think Mews makes it to 28.

[Buzzard]

Originally Posted by Ba'alzamon

The craziest list I've seen is definitely Will Scouch's: Alfons Freij 5th overall, and the top ranked blueliner.

https://www.scouching.ca/the-blog/sc...-draft-ranking

When asked by Steinberg who Sam Cosentino thought may come out of nowhere to be picked top ten this year, he suggested Alfons Freij .

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by Buzzard

When asked by Steinberg who Sam Cosentino thought may come out of nowhere to be picked top ten this year, he suggested Alfons Freij .

That's nice. What I really want to see is a mock draft by Crazy Bacon Legs.

[Sandman]

Draft Thoughts (Re-entry Edition, Vol. 3):

C/RW Anthony Romani may be the highest profile re-entry into this year's draft, after going unselected in his first year of eligibility in 2023. In this, his D+1 season, he put up offensive totals of 58 goals (1st in the league) and 111 points (2nd in the league) in 68 games for North Bay of the OHL, who finished 5th in the regular season, but lost in the Conference final to the Oshawa Generals in 7 games. Romani, who is still 18 until July 12th, only played 3 of North Bay's 16 playoff games, posting 3 goals and 4 points. Looking back to the 2022-23 regular season, Romani finished with 23 goals and 43 points in 66 games, with 8 points in 20 playoff games. In my profile of Romani from 2023, I wrote that Romani was already a polished player in the neutral, and defensive zones but needed work on his offense, although I pointed out that he was 4th in the OHL in even-strength goals per 60. At the time, he was playing middle-six minutes, which ate a bit into his numbers, but he wasn't driving the middle enough, didn't do much to create space for himself or teammates, and lacked high-end creativity. Despite those deficiencies, plus a perception that he lacked speed, it was my contention that he might just look like a totally different player in his next two OHL seasons, though I wouldn't have dared to predict the kind of production he had this year. Ironically, his numbers from this season beat every OHL player that was drafted in 2023.

Romani has made some improvements to his skating, but some say he still has a way to go before his speed is close to being NHL-caliber- he could still use another separation gear, and more explosiveness, although he's able to push pace at times in junior and has fairly strong edges to evade checkers. There's no questioning his top-shelf hockey sense and vision, or his ability to make high-end plays, with distribution skill that enables him to stretch the ice with complex passes in transition, and across the ice (and crease) in the offensive zone. A great deal of his offense comes off of the rush, and he showed much more of a willingness to carry the puck this year, although he mostly relies on quick touches and give-and-go's- he doesn't often hang on to the biscuit for too long. He's highly manipulative, using deception to get around and employs a smart delay game, ragging the puck until a more high-percentage play becomes available, and he finds teammates in high-danger quite often. In contrast to his draft season, he's more inclined this year to get his nose dirty, with increased physicality in using his body to win pucks in hard areas, but isn't one to throw a lot of hits. He does possess a high work-ethic with unrelenting motor, and stays active.

Even though he does possess playmaking prowess, his best asset is still his goal-scoring ability, and his deep arsenal of hard, heavy shots that he can pick corners with. The big difference this season is that Romani is much more eager to cut to the inside and use the middle to get business done, and he's better at hunting down open spaces in coverage to operate in. He sneaks into high danger, staying out of his opponents' sightlines, and owns a lightning-quick release that can fool goalies. His metrics are still sterling when it comes to his dynamic transitional skills and defense, and both will be important assets in the future. Romani backchecks hard, and has top-notch awareness, with the ability to make high-end breakout passes. In transition, he will work the give-and-go's but can push the pace with long-bomb passes that cross the ice, and exhibits proactive defense in the neutral zone by breaking up plays and snuffing the rush before it gets to the blueline. Off the puck, he works hard and displays solid positioning in relocating on give-and go sequences, and he's always in the right place to support the action and stay playable.

Though he produced gaudy offensive numbers this season, with sparkling metrics, Romani's critics still question how his game will translate, and point to his skating and overall pace. He has inconsistent physical skills that he will need to work on, and his engagement and intensity have their ebbs and flows, but there's no denying his elite brain. I could see him in an NHL teams' middle-six in the future, but he could settle in to a bottom-6 defensive role with the solid base of skills he has shown, if all else fails. Some say they would be comfortable in taking him as high as the second round of the 2024 NHL Draft, but I think he'll have to wait until the 4th round, with the chance of moving up to the 3rd.

[ComixZone]

Random post of appreciation:

Sandman, thank you for all the contributions!

[Sandman]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

Random post of appreciation:

Sandman, thank you for all the contributions!

Thank you for the post, and thank you for reading!

[jayswin]

Yeah, pretty awesome to have all your takes here.

[Snuffleupagus]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

If Dickinson is still available at 9, I’d take him instead of Iginla.

That would be a massive misstep.

[ForeverFlameFan]

Originally Posted by Snuffleupagus

That would be a massive misstep.

Disagree, it’s not massive. I prefer Dickinson as well. Could definitely see top pairing potential in him.

[Cheese]

Originally Posted by Sandman

If we get #10, I want Beckett Sennecke if he’s still there, he’s so underrated and one of the best forwards in the draft. Big, skilled, and a great skater.

I really like Sennecke as well, or Eiserman. We absolutely need pure scorers on the Flames.