Lottery Picks Coming into Focus for the 2024 NHL Draft

First up is Artyom Levshunov. The Michigan State Spartan is the odds on favorite to go 2nd overall. With size, skill, and at a premium position it looks like the Belarusian defender will likely go 2nd or 3rd overall. As of this writing it appears that scouts across the board all generally favor the likes of Ivan Demidov, Berkly Catton, and Cayden Lindstrom as 3 players that all have top 5 talent.

When it comes to the draft, the strength appears to be on the defensive side and thusly players like Sam Dickinson, Anton Silayev, and Carter Yakemchuk should all be selected in the 6-12 range. After the main defenders go there appears to be a good run on high floor forwards such as Konsta Helenius and Liam Greentree.

Two wildcards could be Cole Eiserman and Zayne Parekh. Both offensive players that offer a team a ton of excitement but also perhaps not the well rounded games that merit a top 10 selection. Expectation will be that these 2 are going to be selected in the early teens.

When it comes to the last 4 spots of the first half it appears that there will be a solid group of prospects competing for those draft slots. Tij Iginla, Zeev Buium (D), Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, Igor Chernyshov. Michael Hage, and Trevor Connelly all will look to improve their draft stock as they wind down their seasons.

After the top half of the 1st round it looks like the group will be a big one in which each team drafting could have varying opinions on their outlooks. A player like Ryder Ritchie for instance could go 18th to a team that wants his particular skill set or he could slide another 25 spots and go early in the 2nd round. It just depends, but make no mistake about the top half of the 1st round player pool has come into focus of late.