2024 NHL Draft Thread

[stemit14]

I would love to get a prospect like Buium of course. Would end up being a prospect that makes us nervous from the moment he is drafted until he signs… that happens every time the flames draft an American college player for the last 15 years. But if Conroy was confident in him signing, it would be worth the risk I guess if he’s available at their pick.

[fotze2]

Another Former Flames connection, not 2024 Draft Related but good to keep the kid in the memory banks.....

Was at John Reid Tournament (Big Bantam tournament in Edmonton) this weekend.

A kid named Sam Roberts led the round robin in scoring for the Toronto Titans. You may have heard of his dad. He looked good but nothing crazy like a Bedard, but you know how sons of former players seem to get the best development.

[Tacoman]

The one thing I would say about Zeev is that he's not a "typical" American. His parents came to the US from Israel and settled in San Diego. He's a very down to earth kid that I believe would be ecstatic to play in Calgary. He's a great teammate.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Trade Hanifin to Detroit for a 1st and Shai Buium and then draft his brother.
Win.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by fotze2

Another Former Flames connection, not 2024 Draft Related but good to keep the kid in the memory banks.....

Was at John Reid Tournament (Big Bantam tournament in Edmonton) this weekend.

A kid named Sam Roberts led the round robin in scoring for the Toronto Titans. You may have heard of his dad. He looked good but nothing crazy like a Bedard, but you know how sons of former players seem to get the best development.

Gordie? I mean he did play 1K games, but other than was pretty "meh".

[Sandman]

More Draft Thoughts:

Jerrod Smith, who took over coaching duties of the OHL's Windsor Spitfires from Marc Savard, was fired 4 months into the current season after the Spits came out of the gate poorly, to say the least. After a 2022-23 season that saw the team winning a Division title, finishing 3rd overall, and scoring the most goals in the league with 320 (22 more than the next highest team), they are currently in last place in the OHL and tied for 12th in goals-for. Players like Matt Maggio and Brett Harrison are gone. The one thing giving Spits fans a reason to cheer this season is team Captain, power-forward Liam Greentree- a 6'2", left-handed RW who is currently sitting at 57 points in 39 games, a pace that would put him at 95 points in 65 games. Greentree is performing this feat without much help, as he's up 10 points on his next highest teammate, Oliver Peer (who attended Flames camp), and 25 points up on Windsor's third-highest scorer. In 2022-23, he led all OHL rookies in goal-scoring with 25, and had 45 points in 61 games. When you watch Greentree's highlights, the first thing you will likely notice is his deficient skating, so let's get that out of the way first. Greentree owns a bit of a short, choppy stride that lacks power and explosiveness, and pervades many areas of his game. His start-up, acceleration, and top speed are all concerns, and make it hard for him to evade pressure in all 3 zones. The good news for him is that he's extremely strong on the puck, with magnificent puck-control, and his balance is outstanding- he's strong on his skates, and hard to knock off the puck, meaning he can play keep-away with the biscuit while eluding defenders. Puck-protection is not an issue here, as he handles the puck with ease, and keeps it close to his body. His east/west quickness is actually not bad as well, giving him some extra evasiveness. Despite his mobility issues, he can drive play, gain the blueline, and make entries with full control. Greentree's stickhandling is exceptional, and he exudes confidence and poise when carrying the puck, as well as outstanding decision-making. While he can be considered a dual-threat offensive player, his specialty right now is goal-scoring- he has a deep arsenal of hard, accurate shots with power, and a lightning-quick release, and is threat to score from anywhere. His hands are silk-soft, and he can score in tight, outmanouvre a goalie, or park himself in front to capitalize on tips and deflections. There has been criticism this year in regards to Greentree's physicality, as he's not hitting nearly as much as previous years (or in the Hlinka), but still uses his size well in puck battles, jockeying for position in front of the goalie, and driving to the middle of the ice, or to the net. These attributes make him a big presence on the forecheck, and down low, where he applies good pressure and battles hard to win pucks. Like most players who carry elite IQ and vision, LG shows a heightened sense for positional awareness, and always finds the best places to be to execute plays with his creativity, or to score. As the marquee player for the Spits, he draws plenty of attention from checkers, but that opens ice for his teammates, and he has that uncanny spacial awareness to capitalize. Usually, he's the most skilled player on the ice, and those skills are polished and well-developed. There are no issues with work-ethic, as he's quite competitive and hard-working- definitely not a perimeter player. While he's considered a fine 200-ft player who engages opponents in the defensive end of the rink, putting pressure on attackers, his skating can give him some trouble with closing space and time. Still, he exhibits positional awareness, and will readily engage in battles along the boards, or down low in the defensive zone. This player reminds me a bit of a former Spitfire- Gabe Vilardi, who had (and still has) mobility issues while being a top offensive player in his draft year. If Greentree can improve his speed, he will surely become a top-line force in the NHL.

[boogerz]

Kenta Isogai sounds interesting as a possible 7th round pick. Born and mostly trained in Japan. Currently in his D+2 season and is leading the Wenachee Wild in scoring. Size doesn't seem to be much of an issue and WHL has him listed at a decent height (5'11"). He's been in North America for his entire junior career and is fully fluent in English.

His skating is quite fast in highlights and he seems to have a nose for the net or the open man. Might be a future 4th liner/energy-type player. It would also be a cool footnote in history for the Flames to draft the first non-goalie Japanese player.


Tommaso De Luca was slated as a mid to late-round pick last year, but was passed over in last year's draft (probably because he left the Dub to back home), but his stat line in the Swiss league looks good for a D+1 player. Might be another potential candidate for a 6th or 7th round pick.

[sureLoss]

Dean Letourneau might be this draft's Jankowski:

https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/video/~2851498

6'6'' right shooting forward is known for skill rather than physical presence. Playing prep school and committed to Boston College, McKenzie says that some scouts have him as a top 15 pick while others have in the 2nd or 3rd round.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

Dean Letourneau might be this draft's Jankowski:

https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/video/~2851498

6'6'' right shooting forward is known for skill rather than physical presence. Playing prep school and committed to Boston College, McKenzie says that some scouts have him as a top 15 pick while others have in the 2nd or 3rd round.

So in other words a guy you pick in the 5th round or later. Too bad Wisebrod isn't working for the Canucks anymore.

[Sandman]

More Draft Thoughts:

One of the players that I was most impressed with at the most recent edition of the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup was 6'2", 198lb LHC Cole Beaudoin. 3 goals and 6 points in 5 games, tied with Maxim Masse for 6th in scoring for Team Canada- ahead of names like Justin Poirier and Cayden Lindstrom. Beaudoin was seemingly everywhere, constantly in his opponents' faces, displaying a work-ethic and physicality that made him really stand out. He skated hard, taking away all time and space from his enemies and applying constant pressure with his speed, wingspan, and tenacity. This season, in OHL play, he has collected 19 goals and 35 points in 39 games for the Barrie Colts, who are currently 3rd-worst in the league, and have the 3rd-worst goals-for. Those 35 points put him second on the team in scoring, and his 19 goals are first. I believe there's more in this player than what the numbers say.

Beaudoin's most prominent attribute may be his size/skating ratio. He moves very well for a big man, with excellent acceleration and straight-line speed, and is fully capable of winning races to pucks against smaller players. His east-west may be a little weaker, but he's more of a north-south linnear player anyway. His speed helps him be effective in transition, and in storming back to the defensive zone. As one can imagine, he's a nightmare on the forecheck, and a load to handle in puck-battles. He also owns great balance, and is strong on his skates, making him hard to knock off the puck, or off stride.

Size and physicality are another pillar to Beaudoin's game, and he uses his size often, finishing checks, punishing opponents along the boards, and using his body to leverage his way to the net. He consistently wins puck battles, and is dominant down low. He likes to play in the middle of the ice, and will go to the front of the net to cause havok. He's quite competitive, and very gritty, and wears opponents down with his physical game. Beaudoin is an effective player in all 3 zones, and really seems to take pride in his defensive game. He's an excellent penalty-killer, and has substantial defensive awareness- he backchecks as hard he forechecks. His most prominent offensive weapon is his shot, and his hands-as his 19 goals might attest. He's got good hands around the net, and can capitalize on tips or rebounds, and he's got moves to beat goalies in tight. He can also score from further out, as he owns a top-notch wrister, and snapshot, with a quick release. Like most goal-scorers, he knows where to be to recieve a pass in order to unleash his shot, and he knows how to create, and exploit, open space.

Beaudoin should not be overlooked in the early-to-mid second round, and could conceivably slip into the first, as he could one day make a fine middle-six center in the NHL. His weakness may be the questions about whether he possesses high-end vision for playmaking, and thus, what his offensive ceiling really is. A lot of the more difficult passes he attempts miss their mark, increasing the chance of turnovers- so he needs to work on getting more crisp in his distribution, but he'll likely never be a big playmaker. He's the type to play a simpler, more linnear game, while providing a valuable two-way presence. He skates well now, but must continue to build his stride, and he'll be a scary, Ferland-type.

[1qqaaz]

Originally Posted by cral12

We at Upside just posted are super early Top 96 for the 2024 NHL draft, so thought I might as well fire up this thread.

An interesting 2nd degree of separation for me for this draft class. The nurse practitioner I work closely with at my day job - she's the aunt of our projected 1st rounder Andrew Basha. So intrigued to follow his progress this season. We have him ranked 31st for our first rankings.

Please enjoy, in E-Mac's typical pretty awesome spreadsheet format. As the season goes on and with more rankings updates, the spreadsheet gets more and more features and more robust.

We hope to have Sandman back to write more sweet prospect profiles, but we're still letting him recover from the 2023 draft class and 160+ profiles!

direct link: https://bit.ly/upside2024nhldraft

https://twitter.com/user/status/1681029948319088640

I have to say, one this I like about Cral's ranking is that it goes almost 400 prospects deep. I haven't seen any other list like this. You can really get into the weeds if you want to.

[cral12]

^Really appreciate this!
this link will always take you to the latest instalment of the rankings as well (latest was just before Christmas) https://bit.ly/upside2024nhldraft

We've also began the process of collating Sandman's prospect profiling over at Upside Hockey. Posting alphabetical for now. Stay tuned!

*Oh - strange ask - anyone happen to have a good quality pic of a potential 2024 1st round prospect (for use on the website). I should hopefully be able to get one of Basha as I work with his aunt, but hoping for a Lindstrom shot. Oh, just dawned on me I gotta reach back out to my WHL contacts of yeateryear lol...

[Sandman]

More Draft Thoughts:

RW Ryder Ritchie (say that three times fast) is a Calgary boy, and the son of former Flame Byron Ritchie, as well as the nephew of Andreas Johansson- another former Flame. Currently, he is toiling with the WHL's Prince Albert Raiders, who sit at 15th overall, picking up 31 points in 34 games- although he is injured right now. It's puzzling as to why his production this season has flatlined, as he amassed 55 points in 61 games in 2022-23, totals that would foretell of much greater draft year numbers. Berkly Catton, for example, had 55 points in 63 games in 2022-23, and is currently on pace for well over 100 points, and although they are different players with different skillsets, their respective situations are quite similar. Prince Albert went from 18th overall last year (19th in goals-for) to 15th this season (14th in goals-for), whereas Catton's Spokane Chiefs were 21st last year (20th in goals-for), and 19th (13th in goals-for) in this year's campaign. Ritchie was second in scoring to Catton for Team Canada at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, and tied for 4th in the tourney, with 9 points in 5 games, and both players were standouts. Eliteprospects has him listed at 6'0", 174lbs, although most other publications have him listed as being smaller. Ritchie is a far better player than his stat line would indicate, and he's an offensive talent with high-end skill, IQ, and vision.
Ritchie appeared to have a clunky-looking skating stride in my viewings at the Hlinka, but his rather upright stance and choppiness generated surprising power and quickness. Even without perfect skating, he owns excellent speed and acceleration, but perhaps not the greatest balance. He's fantastic on his edges, giving him the escapability to shake off checkers. Scouts rave about his puckhandling, and he's confident with the puck on his stick, with great 1-on-1 skills to make opponents look foolish. Ritchie is a dual threat offensive winger, with an attack mentality, but he specializes in goal-scoring. His shooting has built-in deception, with the ability to change the angle of his stick in motion in order to fool goalies. He has a deep arsenal of hard, accurate shots with pinpoint accuracy, and a sublime release. He possesses good hands in tight as well, with a nose for the net, and the ability to beat goalies with toe-drags and dekes. Even though he likes to shoot a lot, he's also a talented playmaker with creativity and vision, who can generate a ton of chances.
Though he's obviously an offensive specialist, Ritchie is an effective player in the other 2 zones as well. As one would expect, his speed, puck control, and elusiveness make him the ideal candidate to lead the rush. He's defensively aware, and exhibits good positioning with an active stick- although he has been criticized for his urgency in this area. He can come off as a bit lackadaisical from time to time when it comes to backchecking. He has no fear, and wins puck battles with sheer tenacity, but he needs more strength to help him for when he turns pro. Ritchie, like his Father, has guts, high motor, and a great work ethic. He's a sure-fire first-rounder.

LHC Berkly Catton had an eye-catching Hlinka Gretzky Cup performance as Captain of Team Canada, scoring in each game and ending up with 8 goals in 5 games. He was first in tournament goal-scoring by 3, and led all skaters in points, with 10. To date, he has amassed 67 points in just 41 games with Spokane of the WHL, a pace that puts him on a 111-point trajectory, on a team that sits currently in 19th place, and 13th in goals-for. Catton leads the team in points by 7, and is 19 points ahead of the 3rd-highest scorer. He's capable of playing all 3 forward positions, both sides of special teams, and you can put him out when your team is down, or when you are protecting a lead.
Catton is a special talent, a complete player, and is said to be one of the best playmakers in this Draft. He can get tape-to-tape passes off through traffic, and has a wide variety of ways he can distribute. He sets pace, drives play, and is a dazzling offensive weapon- always a step or two ahead of everyone else. He possesses elite skill, IQ, spatial awareness, and vision, and always makes good decisions with the puck. Catton is also a dynamic skater with blistering speed, and effortless agility and edges. He's highly elusive, with excellent lateral mobility and changes of pace. Defenders often end up looking stupid trying to play him 1-on-1, as his puck-control is infallible, and he protects well, with stunning 1-on-1 skill. He rarely loses the puck or overhandles, it's like it's glued to his stick. It's seemingly impossible to get a takeaway from him, and he's composed and confident under pressure. Catton is a clutch player with unending motor and compete, and has a slight chip on his shoulder, evidenced by his 33 PIMs.
Catton's shot is quick and accurate, and obviously effective, but he doesn't use it enough, and needs to work on it's power. He likes to weave in and out of the high slot, and has the hands to capitalize on tips and rebounds, as well as the moves to beat goalies in tight. Catton is always in the thick of the action, does all the little things to win, and backchecks hard. He's a quality defensive player, and is always in position to pressure attackers with stick checks, and take away time and space- when he's not outright beating them to pucks with his speed. There's very little to nitpick here, except maybe size- he's listed at 5'11",163lbs, so he needs to bulk up significantly, and get much stronger. Even then, the team that drafts him may elect to keep him on the wing, rather than center. Look for him in the top-10.

[sch19lks]

I’ve been high on Catton since he lit up the Hlinka. This guy is a top 5 talent IMO. Some rankings have him ranked outside the top 10, which is insane to me. I would be ecstatic if he ended up a Flame

[Sandman]

Originally Posted by sch19lks

I’ve been high on Catton since he lit up the Hlinka. This guy is a top 5 talent IMO. Some rankings have him ranked outside the top 10, which is insane to me. I would be ecstatic if he ended up a Flame

Reminds me a bit of a Mitch Marner. Offensive dynamo.

[fotze2]

Where do you find the prospects game updates? I cannot find a score, box score

[Roof-Daddy]

Originally Posted by fotze2

Where do you find the prospects game updates? I cannot find a score, box score

https://chl.ca/prospects/gamecentre/551/

[sch19lks]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

https://chl.ca/prospects/gamecentre/551/

Iggy Jr. won player of the game

[Tbull8]

Whether it’s the flames or someone else, Tij is going top 10, calling it now

[Sandman]

More Draft Thoughts:

One forward that stuck out for me in a good way while watching the Hlinka besides Catton, Ritchie, and Beaudoin, was big RW Carson Wetsch. He seemed to be everywhere, in the thick of all the action, hounding puck-carriers, while crashing and banging. The 3 points he put up in the 5 games in that tournament came in a 14-4 win over Slovakia (2 points), and a 5-0 win over Switzerland, but he made his presence felt every game. For the currently 15th-place Hitmen this season, the 6'2"187lb power-forward has 14 goals and 32 points in 41 games, to go with 45 PIM. Wetsch was selected 12th overall by the Hitmen in 2021.
Wetsch skates very well, especially for a player of his size, and is quite shifty, making him hard to read for opposing defensemen. In the on-ice testing leading up to the Top Prospects Game, Wetsch finished 3rd best of all the CHL players who participated, showing just how underrated his speed is by some. He is able to beat defensemen to pucks, and is a load to handle on the forecheck. Though he is not devoid of skill, he plays a more simple, meat-and-potatoes style, patrolling the wing, engaging in puck battles in the greasy areas, and dominating down low. When he's on, he's quite physical and intimidating, wearing opponents down with his heavy game, but he's not consistent in doing so- some games he's much more dialed-in physically than others. Don't poke the bear though- Wetsch will drop the gloves, and he's a capable fighter, even though he doesn't do it too often. His shot is hard and heavy, but he does get more credit for his crisp passing and playmaking. He doesn't create as much as the more elite offensive players can, but he has good vision and IQ. He doesn't mind driving the net to cause havok, get tips, or to pounce on rebounds.
Wetsch's best quality may be the fact that he's an excellent defensive forward. He shows keen awareness and positioning in the defensive zone, and has the speed and tenacity to take away time and space from attackers. He will use body or stick to separate man from puck, and is a sharp penalty-killer. These abilities might turn out to be his bread-and-butter in the pros, as he might be better suited to bottom-6 duties in the future. Look for him to be taken in the 2nd round.