How is the 2024 NHL Draft Shaping Up with the Season Almost Over (Lottery Mock)?

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It is now just 79 days until the picks are made inside the Sphere (Las Vegas). Moreover it is within a month (rumored to be May 6th or 7th) that the league will find out the order of the teams picking. The bottom 4 teams though look nearly locked into place (odds wise) as the Sharks, Blackhawks, Ducks, and Blue Jackets finish their 23-24 campaigns.

Venturing over to Tankathon (www.tankathon.com) we did a 1 time lottery simulation to determine order. While it would be nice just to hit the button until the Hawks' pick 1st overall, it didn't go Chicago's way (this time):

Here is a quick look at how a potential draft (in just the lottery) could play out.

1. Senators - C Macklin Celebrini (They would jump up 6 spots in the simulator and keep the talented center in Canada to pair with Tim Stutzle for a long time)

2. Ducks - RD Artyom Levshunov (Anaheim would leap over San Jose in the second drawing and would likely select the talented right shot D from Michigan St.)

3. Sharks - C Cayden Lindstrom (The worst case scenario would still net the San Jose fanbase a legit franchise talent in Lindstrom. Having Smith and Lindstrom as the two cornerstones isn't a bad way to restart at all.)

4. Blackhawks - LD Sam Dickinson (Another team that moved down the maximum amount of spots, Chicago would likely pick from a group that includes Ivan Demidov, Berkly Catton, Anton Silayev, and Sam Dickinson if picking fourth. As eluded to earlier this week (link below), at least some scouts believe the Hawks' interest in Dickinson is quite high.

5. Blue Jackets - LW Ivan Demidov (While Demidov has likely the 2nd best star potential in this draft, it will take a team with the confidence to bring him to North America and make him seamlessly integrated into their system. Columbus is one of the teams that could and should take a risk on a talent such as Demidov.

6. Coyotes - RD Carter Yakemchuk (While Sean Durzi has now established himself as a legit top 4 defender on the right side, Yakemchuk is too tantalizing here. A big, mobile, and offensively gifted right shot blue liner, Yakemchuk is primed to hear his name called earlier than some anticipate.

7. Canadiens - LW Berkly Catton (Yes they need size, yes they need some two way defenseman... However, Catton is too good to pass on here and Montreal would be wise to add in yet another skilled forward.)

8. Flames - LD Anton Silayev (Out goes one big Russian defender, in comes another one. Silayev is still a raw prospect with alot to learn, but if he pans out then this could be a potential top pairing staple for any team that drafts the 6'7 player. )

Picks 9-16 on next page

9. Sabres - LW Tij Iginla (Once a 2nd round thought, Iginala has had an outstanding season and has really boosted his draft stock. The Flames could certainly select him, however his range is likely in the 8-13 range at this point.)

10. Devils - F Konsta Helenius (No one thought that New Jersey would select this high, least of all the Devils. With a talented roster and prospect pool already in hand, a player like Helenius that projects as a high floor, dependable, and position flexible forward could be the pick here.)

11. Kraken - RD Zayne Parekh (Parekh is one of the wildcards in the draft as his offensive skill traits merit a pick inside the top 6 or 7 selections. His drawbaks on defense / average size though make him a mid first round graded player. More than likely a pick in the middle will commence and a team like Seattle would be an absolute perfect fit.)

12. Flyers - F Michael Brandsegg-Nygard (Good sized and tough player with a high IQ to be a really good middle 6 two way player quickly. While there are some better names on the board, MBN will quickly endear to any fanbase that is a fan of a reliable forward that should be quick to the NHL.

13. Wild - LW Cole Eiserman (It's all about his shot. That's all you hear. After diving deeper than you hear and see on the footage a player that "disappears" for large stretches of the game you start to see why his stock is down. He is unlikely to be a top 10 pick at this point, but a team like Minnesota with defensively dependable forwards already in tow could nestle in a spot for Eiserman to do what he does best.)

14. Red Wings - LD Zeev Buium (Chalk this one up to the "we drafted brothers" conversation. Zeev however is the better prospect at the same stage and represents a different type of defender than even Seider or Edvinsson. While Detroit took Sandin-Pelllikka a year ago, Buium is a better passer (opinion) at the same juncture. There is also the management side of this where the best player on the board now becomes an asset moving forward (or one of the other young defenders do in the pipeline). If this was the way the board fell, Detroit would likely move this pick for a 2nd and a pick in the late teens (to select say Igor Chernyshov).

15. Sharks (from Penguins) - RW Liam Greentree (With Lindstrom and Smith now down the middle, adding in a good sized goalscorer on the right side is going to become a big need. Greentree in a lesser draft could be inside the top 10. This is likely the area he will go however and the Sharks would be wise to select him.)

16. Blues - LW Andrew Basha - (Fast and clever, Basha has gone from a hard working 3rd liner to goal scoring annoyance to most WHL foes. The skating is incredible, and while only sporting average size, Basha plays a hard nosed game that could make him a lottery pick at this point.)

Special Selection: 22. Blackhawks - F Luke Misa (While commonly mocked in the 25-40 range, Misa represents alot of what the Blackhawks' brass is targeting. Namely skating, puck skill, and finishing ability. Misa looks like a player that could slot in at most forward positions and has 81 points in 66 games for Mississauga in the OHL this year.). Players of size in this draft range are mostly "darts at a board" whereas Misa is more likely to be an NHL contributor over a longer period of play.

To summarize: While it's not ideal to miss out on the top 3 picks, the Hawks will still acquire a great player in this upcoming draft. Could the lottery picks in the first round play out this way? Perhaps. but right now this appears to be the way the players are trending. Blackhawk Up for one believes that Kyle Davidson will select the 2 players in the first round that best help this young team progress back towards not only a playoff run but ultimately towards a championship roster for the decade ahead. As Davidson said, "Hop on the ride now".

Could the Blackhawks lean towards selecting Sam Dickinson?

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