Speculation: With the third pick in the 2024 NHL draft the Anaheim Ducks select...(Plus other Draft talk)

[tomd]

I believe they'll have Silayev firmly above Levshunov for the unicorn defense.

That's my feeling as well...and if the offense comes around then they will have a Norris caliber D. That said, PV/MM may have a totally different take.

 

[Static]

Madden has earned the benefit of the doubt on dmen. If he wants the Russian, so be it.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Here is an article I just pulled up that does reference him playing the right side...about half way down...

Is Anton Silyaev the best defenseman in the 2024 NHL Draft?

The BSH Community Draft Board continues today with the hulking Russian defenseman Anton Silayev at number four.

www.broadstreethockey.com

LD LaCombe played 4 years in collage at RD. LD Zellweger played 3-4 years at RD in Juniors (WHL). LD Hinds played 3-4 years at RD at the QMJHL. Yet, Verbeek has constantly said he wants players on their shooting side.

 

[tomd]

LD LaCombe played 4 years in collage at RD. LD Zellweger played 3-4 years at RD in Juniors (WHL). LD Hinds played 3-4 years at RD at the QMJHL. Yet, Verbeek has constantly said he wants players on their shooting side.

I get that but I'm betting they'll make an exception for a unicorn D who's already been playing the right side in a pro league. If I'm wrong then they'd better hope that Chicago doesn't take Levshunov.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Madden has earned the benefit of the doubt on dmen. If he wants the Russian, so be it.

Which Russian d-man?

 

[Anaheim4ever]

Which Russian d-man?

Lev is Belarusian, Silayev is Russian.

 

[Static]

Film Room: Ivan Demidov is one of the best game breakers heading into the 2024 NHL Draft

Dylan Griffing goes into the film room to break down the Russian forward who will likely heard his name called in the first three picks.

eprinkside.com

These are stories on separate players, fyi.

 

[Ducks]

I'll be fine with whoever the Ducks pick at 3rd overall. I've stopped trying to predict who they'll pick under Madden, I'm almost always wrong. I think the only high picks I've gotten right were Drysdale and Zegras and they both felt like obvious choices at the time. I'd be most excited for one of Levshunov, Silayev, or Demidov. But I'm curious to see if Madden/Verbeek go "off the board" and grab one of the other prospects in that group. It will be really interesting to see who they go with.

 

[Dr Johnny Fever]

Is there any info on what, where, or how Lindstrom's back injury came to be? He missed a lot of time and they always reference his hand surgery but I can't seem to find anything about his back. That could either be a nothingburger or a big red flag.

If he's 100% good to go I wonder if he could be a so called off the board pick at 3?

 

[tomd]

Is there any info on what, where, or how Lindstrom's back injury came to be? He missed a lot of time and they always reference his hand surgery but I can't seem to find anything about his back. That could either be a nothingburger or a big red flag.

If he's 100% good to go I wonder if he could be a so called off the board pick at 3?

If Lindstrom is good to go then he might go to the Hawks at 2IA.

 

[Ducks DVM]

I'll be fine with whoever the Ducks pick at 3rd overall. I've stopped trying to predict who they'll pick under Madden, I'm almost always wrong. I think the only high picks I've gotten right were Drysdale and Zegras and they both felt like obvious choices at the time. I'd be most excited for one of Levshunov, Silayev, or Demidov. But I'm curious to see if Madden/Verbeek go "off the board" and grab one of the other prospects in that group. It will be really interesting to see who they go with.

I feel this way too, but I’m just concerned that at some point they’re gonna be too cute trying to be the smartest people in the room and screw up an important pick.

 

[Static]

If lindstrom's injury wasn't trauma-based I'd be pretty wary. Structural issues in the back, especially at that age, aren't things that suddenly disappear with age.

 

[FiveTacos]

I feel this way too, but I’m just concerned that at some point they’re gonna be too cute trying to be the smartest people in the room and screw up an important pick.

They trust their own scouting, I don't think it's trying to prove anything to anyone. Funny thing about consensus is if you go with it you're likely to be an average drafting team over the long haul, sitting in the big part of the bell curve. That's just by definition. But we wanna be better than all those teams within the standard deviation of the mean.

The good and bad drafting teams tend to buck the trend ... thankfully the Ducks seem to be at the good end of the bell curve in that regard.

But no matter who you are you're gonna miss sometimes. We've had a lot of high 1st round hits lately, but sooner or later we're gonna have a whiff.

 

[Kalv]

Can we throw Lindstrom on the blue line with those guys too? Ahlers would have a heart attack. lol "There otta be a law!

And we have Strome. We can probably sign someone named Lind as well (sign that Kevin Lind guy wjo was in our system some time ago)

 

[Gliff]

If lindstrom's injury wasn't trauma-based I'd be pretty wary. Structural issues in the back, especially at that age, aren't things that suddenly disappear with age.

I remember reading that the injury he had was a very common injury in professional athletes and shouldn’t have any long term concerns. Can’t remember where I read it but some googling might find it.

 

[ADHB]

I remember reading that the injury he had was a very common injury in professional athletes and shouldn’t have any long term concerns. Can’t remember where I read it but some googling might find it.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

If Lindstrom is good to go then he might go to the Hawks at 2IA.

Chicago has size on it's backend

• Chi towering d-men
  • LD Vlasic is 6'6
    (age 22)
  • RD Jones is 6'4
    (age 29 and 6 years left on his contract)
  • RD Murphy is 6'4
    (age 31 and 2 years left on his contract)
  • LD Del Mastro is 6'4
    (age 21 and spent most of this year in the AHL as a first year pro)
  • RD Sam Rinzel is 6'4
    (age 19 and in college, finished freshman year)

Rinzel finished with 28 points and a +23 rating for Minny. He led the team in +/- as a 19-year old rookie! For perspective, Lev had 35 points and a +27 rating for Michigan State as an 18-year old rookie. Chicago is doing well in draft d-men outside the top-10. Rinzel went 25th overall in 2022. Del Mastro was drafted in the 4th round of the 2021 draft. Vlasic got snatched up in the 2nd round of the 2019 draft and he's playing top pairing minutes!

LD Korchinski is 6'1, according to Hockey-Reference and ESPN. EP still lists him at 6'3, which was his draft height. huh...

Now, let's look at Chicago's forwards this season in the NHL

Chicago​	Forwards​	in Top-10​	Scoring​	​	​
Rank​	Player​	Position​	Age​	Height​	Points​
1​	Bedard​	C​	18​	5'10​	61​
2​	Kurashev​	C​	24​	6'0​	54​
3​	Foligno​	LW​	36​	6'0​	37​
4​	Dickinson​	C​	28​	6'2​	35​
5​	T. Johnson​	C​	33​	5'8​	31​
7​	Donato​	C​	27​	6'0​	30​
8​	Anderson​	RW​	25​	6'0​	17​
9​	Reichel​	LW​	21​	6'0​	16​
​	​	​	​	​	​
Extra​	Nazar​	C​	20​	5'9​	1​

Nazar was just signed after his college season ended. He was one of two Chicago top forward prospects who weren't in the pros (AHL/NHL) yet. The other is C Oliver Moore in the NCAA (Minnesota). Moore is 5'11.

The Blackhawks put up the fewest GF last year in the league with 179 goals. Anaheim had 204 goals last year and we considered that's a terrible offensive output for us. Defensively, the 'Hawks finished with the 4th worst GA record with 290 GA. Oddly enough, we boast the vast improvement in our GA this year from 338 to 295 GA. Our GA was worse than the Blackhawks.

Chicago has an odd dynamic were they have a lot of oompa lumpas at forward and Ents on the backend. Demidov can add some serious scoring power at the wing or Chicago can address their center depth with 6'4 Lindstrom, who also can score.

'Hawks also owns the 20th OA and the 34th OA in the 2024 draft.

For the most bang for buck, Chicago can probably generate more offense from either Demidov or Lindstrom than from any defensemen in the draft. Maybe double up on scoring forwards with the 20th overall with the likes of 6'2 LW Chernyshov, 6'1 LW Connelly, 6'1 C Hage, and 6'2 C Boisvert potentially available.

If Chicago does want a tall, RD with some offense at #20 overall, then 6'3 RD Badinka has been skyrocketing up the charts. MyNHLdraft has Badinka at 28th OA, Pronman (the Athletic) has Badinka at 22nd OA, and Horn (the Hockey Writers) has him at 23rd OA.

Although, I really like what they have collected so far with youth d-men: LD Vlasic (shutdown), LD Korchinski (OFD), LD Del Mastro (shutdown), and RD Rinzel (two-way). There are a few shutdown RD's that can be had at 34th overall with 6'3 Elick, 6'3 Emery, or 6'3 Brunicke potentiall at the 60th pick (originally Nashville's).

Should the Hawks look longer term, then the 2025 draft has two RD's currently projected to go in the top-8. Early projections from Wheeler has the 2025 draft similar to the 2024 draft, one tier 1 prospect and then 12 tier 2 prospects.

2025 NHL Draft ranking: Scott Wheeler's early top 28

An early look at the top prospects in the 2025 NHL Draft class.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Masch78]

I am still fully on the forward side, Demidov still - for me - is the most skilled player in the draft. And I have to says, Cole Eiserman, man oh man. If there are indications he might have more in the game than the shot, I would even consider him. I mean, if he can progress like Caufield, that would be something.

As always, there are too many interesting players for me

 

[Gliff]

The Ducks have one of the best groups of U-23 defensemen in the league, and their #1 need is still a RHD. It really makes you think about how good the Ducks future is. They have such an embarrassment of riches when it comes to young NHLers/prospects.

Still expecting the player we pick to end in "v". I wish they could trade up to get Yakemchuk with a second 1st.

 

[tomd]

The Ducks have one of the best groups of U-23 defensemen in the league, and their #1 need is still a RHD. It really makes you think about how good the Ducks future is. They have such an embarrassment of riches when it comes to young NHLers/prospects.

Still expecting the player we pick to end in "v". I wish they could trade up to get Yakemchuk with a second 1st.

For regular season impact I like Demidov and Levshunov. For playoff impact I like Silayev and Lindstrom.

 

[WhatTheDuck]

Top 5 NHL-Ready Prospects Available in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft - The Hockey Writers NHL Entry Draft Latest News, Analysis & More

Nonetheless, there are still a ton of 2024 draft prospects to get excited about, and who of the bunch is closest to reaching the NHL?

thehockeywriters.com

Sort of echoes what I've been saying about Helenius. For the teams in the top 10 who feel they should be contending next year, there's a lot of value in a prospect who looks like he should be able to step in and contribute. Maybe more than to a team like us still trying to form a nucleus.

 

[Gliff]

Top 5 NHL-Ready Prospects Available in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft - The Hockey Writers NHL Entry Draft Latest News, Analysis & More

Nonetheless, there are still a ton of 2024 draft prospects to get excited about, and who of the bunch is closest to reaching the NHL?

thehockeywriters.com

Sort of echoes what I've been saying about Helenius. For the teams in the top 10 who feel they should be contending next year, there's a lot of value in a prospect who looks like he should be able to step in and contribute. Maybe more than to a team like us still trying to form a nucleus.

What they speculate will happen is what I expect also. I think he falls outside the top 10 but gets taken by one of the NJ/Buffalo/Philly/Minny group that want to be pushing for the playoffs.

 

[tomd]

Top 5 NHL-Ready Prospects Available in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft - The Hockey Writers NHL Entry Draft Latest News, Analysis & More

Nonetheless, there are still a ton of 2024 draft prospects to get excited about, and who of the bunch is closest to reaching the NHL?

thehockeywriters.com

Sort of echoes what I've been saying about Helenius. For the teams in the top 10 who feel they should be contending next year, there's a lot of value in a prospect who looks like he should be able to step in and contribute. Maybe more than to a team like us still trying to form a nucleus.

Interesting that they say Silayev as the most NHL ready prospect in the draft based on ability even ahead of Celebrini. Would the Ducks be ok waiting two years for him? He'd be 20 and could step right into the NHL in a top 4 role.

 

[KickHisAssZegrass]

Interesting that they say Silayev as the most NHL ready prospect in the draft based on ability even ahead of Celebrini. Would the Ducks be ok waiting two years for him? He'd be 20 and could step right into the NHL in a top 4 role.

Yeah I'm totally expecting the 3rd pick to be Silayev or Lev... can't imagine them picking Demidov. I think the most likely off the board pick would be Yakemchuk.

 

[WhatTheDuck]

Underway with our third and final mock draft of the season. Hawks went with Demidov at #2 and after some negotiations trying to acquire Noah Dobson in a package involving #3, I ended up selecting Anton Silayev.

Prepare to be angry if you already would have preferred Levshunov. Vegas had acquired pick #11 from Buffalo and then moved up to #7 to grab Lev.

In the mean time I had Colorado message me about Gibson, ended up moving him for Manson and Georgiev in a straight two for one. They save 1.5M in cap and should see more stability in net if Gibby can rebound.

Then immediately had NJ reach out about Georgiev and flipped him for pick #75 and RW prospect Leeni Hameenaho, a second rounder from a year ago who had a great D+1 in SM Liiga (Silf type upside?)

Started contacting teams about mid first round picks to get into that top 15 tier and ended up moving the EDM 1st (#24) and Boston 2nd (#59) to move up to #15. Came down to a choice between Greentree and MBN, I went with RW Brandsegg-Nygard who plays that heavier pro style game already.

Would have been content to stay at #35 where some interesting RHD would be available, but Jiricek started to drop and there's reason to believe his upside is a tier above the late first/early second round guys. Sent pick 35+the acquired pick 75 to COL for #25 to grab Jiricek.

1) SJ - Celebrini
2) CHI - Demidov
3) ANA* - Silayev
4) CLB - Catton
5) MTL - Lindstrom
6) UT? - Buium
7) VGK - Levshunov
8) SEA - Dickinson
9) CGY - Yakemchuk
10) NJ - Helenius
11) OTT - Parekh
12) PHI - Iginla
13) MIN - Sennecke
14) SJ - Eiserman
15) ANA* - Brandsegg - Nygard
16) STL - Greentree
17) WHS - Basha
18) NYI - Letourneau
19) OTT - Boisvert
20) CHI - Freij
21) CGY - Elick (pick acquired from LA as part of a deal for Markstrom)
22) NSH - Chernysov
23) NYI - Solberg
24) TB - Hage
25) ANA* - Jiricek
26) OTT - Beaudoin

That's where we're at so far

27) MTL - Connelly
28) CAR - Badinka
29) CGY - Ritchie
30) PHI - Luchanko
31) DAL - Parascak
32) NYR - Hutson

33) SJ - Kiviharju
34) CHI - Artamonov
35) COL - Stiga
36) PHI - Hemming
37) WPG - Emery
38) UTA - Pettersson
39) SJ - Sahlin Wellenius
40) SEA - Mews
41) LA - Howe
42) SJ - Brunicke
43) BUF - Miettinen
44) PIT - Misa
45) MIN - Surin
46) PIT - Masse
47) DET - Bednarik
48) STL - Shuravin
49) UTA - Marques
50) NYI - Vanacker
51) ANA* - Jecho

Started to see another really intriguing RW prospect dropping and traded our 3rd (68) + 4th (100) to Philly for pick # 51.

Adam Jecho - 2024 NHL Draft Prospect Profile - The Hockey Writers Latest News, Analysis & More

In this article, we take a look at Adam Jecho and what he could possibly bring to an NHL team at the upcoming 2024 NHL Entry Draft.

thehockeywriters.com