2024 NHL Draft Thread

[Sandman]

I believe we'll see Howe climb the rankings over the course of the year. I think maybe some pundits unfairly think of him as a "utility" player right now, from his performances in the Hlinka and the U-18's. He's already on pace to approach 100pts this year.

[Party Elephant]

Originally Posted by transplant99

No one talking much about Roger McQueen yet eh?

People are naming their kids Roger? That's cool I guess.

[fotze2]

Originally Posted by CroCop

Ya what a start! Not bad for a kid who was first cut from his hometown bantam team only a few years ago.

Watched him play lots at shaganappi ODR. Good kid too. Dads a chiro.

[FormerPresJamesTaylor]

Originally Posted by transplant99

Ahh....i thought he was 17....im a putz.

Birthday tomorrow so he just missed the cutoff for the 2024 draft

[mile]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1708305765654724614

[Drake]

Cole Eiserman with four goals last night in a 10-3 win against Green Bay. He is up to 10 goals on the season through six games. Could he break Cole Caufield's NTDP single-season goals record of 72?

[cral12]

In case useful for others, I had to update the direct link at Upside Hockey featuring 2023 draft results (someone requested this type of resource in Offtopics):
https://bit.ly/2023nhldraftresults

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by mile

https://twitter.com/user/status/1708305765654724614

We need multiple first and second round picks in the 2024 draft.

Tij ought to be a Flame.

[Roof-Daddy]

Not the 2024 draft, but 2026 draft eligible 15 year old Gavin McKenna has 11 points in 6 games to start the season. Scored his first WHL hattrick tonight and the OT winner to cap off an 8-7 come back win.

[Flames1217]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

We need multiple first and second round picks in the 2024 draft.

Tij ought to be a Flame.

Can you imagine how special it would be to see Jerome call his son up to the podium.

Would go down as an all time great moment.

[Canada 02]

There was the potential for a great “college” game yesterday as #1 ranked BU played the USNTDP U18 team.
So many great prospects on both teams including Celebrini, Willander, Eiserman, Emery, Skahan, and the Hutson brothers.

I would have guessed the older college team would have man handled a bunch of teenagers (albeit very talented teenagers), but it was the opposite. The U18s stomped BU 8-2.

Eiserman looked fantastic! 3 goals 2 assists. Just deadly. Speed, skill, hockey sense, shot, just phenomenal. Some team will tank for him.
Cole Hutson looks every bit as dynamic as his older brother Lane. 2 goals, controlling play a dangerous every time in the o-zone.
Celebrini was clearly the best player for BU, but his teammates didn’t show up

To be fair to BU, they played on Friday (and lost) so maybe a bit tired compared to their opponent. BU is probably over rated but that’s for another thread.

The USNTDP U18s are having 6 or 7 game series vs NCAA teams this year. Great measuring stick games to watch 17 year old prospects play older competition. They will play Western Michigan and Michigan Wolverines later this year. Should be good ones.

[devo22]

Corey Pronman's November 1 rankings:

https://theathletic.com/5014514/2023...son-celebrini/

He has Celebrini above everyone else, then Silayev and Eiserman in tier 2. Levshunov, Demidov and Yakemchuk in tier 3. Catton, Jiricek and Dickinson in tier 4.

[Ashes]

There seems to be alot of high-end D in this draft class which is good to see! It's early but Levshunov is playing for Michigan in the NCAA and has 7 points in 8 games as a Right Shot RD with size. and Silayev is HUGE at 6'7 playing in the KHL right now. Yakemchuk is another RD and he's playing for the Hitmen so you'd have to think we will have a good book on him by the draft.

Would be really nice to compliment our prospect pool with potential 1/2 Defensemen at this draft. Having a top-pair D to build around would be an exciting way to enter this next era for the Flames, please grab us some extra 1sts Conroy and let's take some swings at high ceiling players.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Ashes

There seems to be alot of high-end D in this draft class which is good to see! It's early but Levshunov is playing for Michigan in the NCAA and has 7 points in 8 games as a Right Shot RD with size. and Silayev is HUGE at 6'7 playing in the KHL right now. Yakemchuk is another RD and he's playing for the Hitmen so you'd have to think we will have a good book on him by the draft.

Would be really nice to compliment our prospect pool with potential 1/2 Defensemen at this draft. Having a top-pair D to build around would be an exciting way to enter this next era for the Flames, please grab us some extra 1sts Conroy and let's take some swings at high ceiling players.

I have never been a big fan of using 1st round picks on defensemen. I know, BPA, but optimally, if you have a top 10 pick, you want to take a C.

Especially considering the Flames current prospect pool for Cs is:

1) Zary
2) ... (crickets)

At least on the back-end, we have Morin, Poirier and Solovyov

[Monahammer]

I think that internally they hope Honzek is a centre too. But I agree. Shoot for a big centre.

I am personally most interested in Eiserman still. Every time I see him you can just tell he has "it". This guy is going to be a superstar.

[cral12]

I prefer the approach of take what the draft gives you...

i.e. Best Player Available.

Chasing positions can lead to trouble imo. Though, I would tend to agree, if you have 2 players ranked very similarly and have to make a choice, going with the centre is not a bad plan.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by cral12

I prefer the approach of take what the draft gives you...

i.e. Best Player Available.

Chasing positions can lead to trouble imo. Though, I would tend to agree, if you have 2 players ranked very similarly and have to make a choice, going with the centre is not a bad plan.

Sure, but first: BPA is not an exact science, and second: forwards tend to more consistently meet their expectations than defensemen do. Defensemen are harder to predict, because the position requires more 'learned' skill.

Whenever there are a bunch of defensemen high in the draft, it is very random as to which ones end up the best. Duncan Keith was the 15th D-man taken in 2002. Weber was the 14th D-man taken in 2003. Etc.

[ForeverFlameFan]

What constitutes a BPA? Based on the list McKenzie puts out while the draft is going on? Imo, the BPA for your specific organization is going to be different. It's not like it's a a video game draft on NHL24 and you just pick what the CS put out. You also need to draft based on need, but also not going entirely off the board if you feel a player you really like will be there at your next pick. But that mentality is generally for rounds 2-7.

For the Flames, a game-breaking forward is what is needed. I like Zary, Coronato, Honzek, Pelletier, etc, but we have yet to see a "game breaker" out of them at this very moment. But, it's still extremely early. Generally, you're going to find these game-breaking, franchise-level players in the top 5 picks with the best of odds. Obviously, the further you go the less of a chance you likely find one. It's all about finding that player that you feel is going to be able to translate his game to the highest level, continuously getting better and making a difference each and every shift.

[Jiri Hrdina]

BPA should be the approach but recognizing what are the more important positions.

Centre and D are more important than wingers.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

I have never been a big fan of using 1st round picks on defensemen. I know, BPA, but optimally, if you have a top 10 pick, you want to take a C.

Especially considering the Flames current prospect pool for Cs is:

1) Zary
2) ... (crickets)

At least on the back-end, we have Morin, Poirier and Solovyov

* Zary was asked about his productive start and said he’s been playing W this year