2024 NHL DRAFT Talk

[GoPuckYourself]

Iginla would be the only prospect i want in this draft class. His dad was 1 of my favorite players of all time and to see him come to our games to watch him would be amazing. The player is not necessarily like his father in every way but his brand of hockey is exactly what we're looking for.

[PerreaultForever]

40 minutes ago, GoPuckYourself said:

Iginla would be the only prospect i want in this draft class. His dad was 1 of my favorite players of all time and to see him come to our games to watch him would be amazing. The player is not necessarily like his father in every way but his brand of hockey is exactly what we're looking for.

There's a lot of people in different fanbases talking Iginla. I wouldn't be surprised if he goes quite high. I'd be surprised if he goes past Seattle but Calgary, I mean.........

Bottom line forget about him, he will be gone. 

[Sabres73]

2 hours ago, GoPuckYourself said:

Iginla would be the only prospect i want in this draft class. His dad was 1 of my favorite players of all time and to see him come to our games to watch him would be amazing. The player is not necessarily like his father in every way but his brand of hockey is exactly what we're looking for.

Have to be careful taking him too high from being a little biased by his last name. Having said that, I'd take him at 11.

[French Collection]

I’ve listened to a few podcasts about the draft.

It’s tough to get a read on prospects weaknesses because all they focus on are the strengths. I like to hear about the areas of their games they need to work on to get a full report on a kid.

I realize they can’t be too negative but these guys are not all the next great one.

[steveoath]

28 minutes ago, French Collection said:

I’ve listened to a few podcasts about the draft.

It’s tough to get a read on prospects weaknesses because all they focus on are the strengths. I like to hear about the areas of their games they need to work on to get a full report on a kid.

I realize they can’t be too negative but these guys are not all the next great one.

Slouching tends to be fairly balanced. Admittedly I have not listened to many this year. 

[LGR4GM]

36 minutes ago, French Collection said:

I’ve listened to a few podcasts about the draft.

It’s tough to get a read on prospects weaknesses because all they focus on are the strengths. I like to hear about the areas of their games they need to work on to get a full report on a kid.

I realize they can’t be too negative but these guys are not all the next great one.

Which kid?

11 hours ago, thewookie1 said:

Would love it to fall this way so we could take Iginla.

Iginla will not be available at 11. Calgary picks at 9 and that is about as far as I could see him go and expect he could go anywhere 5-9

[pi2000]

Just throwing this out there...   Trevor Connelly is a top 5 talent.     He's a Kyle Connor clone.

I understand the baggage, but he's made a complete 180 from where he was 5-6 years ago.     His character development has been outstanding and he's been a model teammate.     

What doesn't get talked about enough is the effort he's put in to learn from his mistake... the volunteer work, taking classes, speaking with various groups, etc..

Sure, he can't undo what he did and he has to live with that, but he's done everything in his power to learn from his mistake and he's a better person today because of it.     

I have no concerns about his character, and he's an uber talented kid..  he'd been a steal at 11.     

 

[kas23]

36 minutes ago, pi2000 said:

Just throwing this out there...   Trevor Connelly is a top 5 talent.     He's a Kyle Connor clone.

I understand the baggage, but he's made a complete 180 from where he was 5-6 years ago.     His character development has been outstanding and he's been a model teammate.     

What doesn't get talked about enough is the effort he's put in to learn from his mistake... the volunteer work, taking classes, speaking with various groups, etc..

Sure, he can't undo what he did and he has to live with that, but he's done everything in his power to learn from his mistake and he's a better person today because of it.     

I have no concerns about his character, and he's an uber talented kid..  he'd been a steal at 11.     

 

So, I had never heard of this kid. I like to give people 2nd chances, especially young kids. I also think it’s very hard for people to change who they really are. I went into it with an open mind anyways.
 

I came across the swastika incident and maybe a racial slur. Ok, kids do really dumb stuff. Even our very own golden boy Josh Allen had similar baggage, but we still drafted him. Then I read this article:

 

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5290107/2024/02/22/nhl-draft-prospect-trevor-connelly/

 

I can’t see how we would possibly draft him. He’s played on a billion teams, leaving each one due to “no comment” or some other attitude/bullying issue. Even got kicked out of Bishop Kearney after 2 weeks. And all this stuff really wasn’t that long ago. 

[LGR4GM]

If we are looking at drafting a talented wing at 11 with more size than a Savoie type, I would lean Eiserman over Connelly. 

[PerreaultForever]

2 hours ago, pi2000 said:

Just throwing this out there...   Trevor Connelly is a top 5 talent.     He's a Kyle Connor clone.

I understand the baggage, but he's made a complete 180 from where he was 5-6 years ago.     His character development has been outstanding and he's been a model teammate.     

What doesn't get talked about enough is the effort he's put in to learn from his mistake... the volunteer work, taking classes, speaking with various groups, etc..

Sure, he can't undo what he did and he has to live with that, but he's done everything in his power to learn from his mistake and he's a better person today because of it.     

I have no concerns about his character, and he's an uber talented kid..  he'd been a steal at 11.     

 

uber alles?

[French Collection]

9 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

Which kid?

Eiserman is one kid where you hear he is the best scorer and has the best shot of this class. They don’t say why he dropped from #1 or #2 to around 10-16 in a year. Some hint at his skating, others say he doesn’t pass or doesn’t play a 200’ game.There must be more to this story.

Parekh is another. Lights out offensive production and they say his defense is OK. If that was the case then he should be top 5. I’ve seen him play so I know his warts and I hope the Sabres stay away.
 

The worst podcast for this was The NHL Network who had Dan Marr from Central Scouting on.

 I just like to hear about a few warts so that you get a more accurate picture. This podcast was all about accentuating their qualities.

We know they won’t all become all-stars.

[LGR4GM]

35 minutes ago, French Collection said:

Eiserman is one kid where you hear he is the best scorer and has the best shot of this class. They don’t say why he dropped from #1 or #2 to around 10-16 in a year. Some hint at his skating, others say he doesn’t pass or doesn’t play a 200’ game.There must be more to this story.

Parekh is another. Lights out offensive production and they say his defense is OK. If that was the case then he should be top 5. I’ve seen him play so I know his warts and I hope the Sabres stay away.
 

The worst podcast for this was The NHL Network who had Dan Marr from Central Scouting on.

 I just like to hear about a few warts so that you get a more accurate picture. This podcast was all about accentuating their qualities.

We know they won’t all become all-stars.

Eiserman isn't great defensively. He puck watches and loses his guy at times. He tends to cheat a bit offensively which contributes to that. He's not very deceptive on the rush, he's more like Peterka than a Quinn or Benson. Might make one move but it's very north south. His motor has a bit of a low high thing depending on the game, there's a consistency issue. Some scouts feel he didn't improve much defensively from last year to this year and other guys overtook him, hence his slide. 

The question is, does a guy only 17 days shy of being 2025 draft eligible, simply have more in the tank that need development, or is he just going to be a one dimensional sniper. I think he has more and his slide is more due to him not exceeding expectations. Still, it's a gamble but a 6'1" 200lb winger with that shot is pretty intriguing. 

Eiserman isn't a chaos creating line driver. He's a passenger with decent puck possession and an absurd shot. 

Edited May 20 by LGR4GM

[PerreaultForever]

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

Eiserman isn't great defensively. He puck watches and loses his guy at times. He tends to cheat a bit offensively which contributes to that.

Sounds like a Sabre 🙂

 

[Crusader1969]

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

Eiserman isn't great defensively. He puck watches and loses his guy at times. He tends to cheat a bit offensively which contributes to that. He's not very deceptive on the rush, he's more like Peterka than a Quinn or Benson. Might make one move but it's very north south. His motor has a bit of a low high thing depending on the game, there's a consistency issue. Some scouts feel he didn't improve much defensively from last year to this year and other guys overtook him, hence his slide. 

The question is, does a guy only 17 days shy of being 2025 draft eligible, simply have more in the tank that need development, or is he just going to be a one dimensional sniper. I think he has more and his slide is more due to him not exceeding expectations. Still, it's a gamble but a 6'1" 200lb winger with that shot is pretty intriguing. 

Eiserman isn't a chaos creating line driver. He's a passenger with decent puck possession and an absurd shot. 

I can get behind this selection

[LGR4GM]

42 minutes ago, Crusader1969 said:

I can get behind this selection

I wouldn't hate it. We'll have options if we keep 11, Eiserman is but 1 possibility. 

[LGR4GM]

Let's talk about an option at 11 that isn't sexy but he's going to be a pain to play against:

Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, 6'1" 198lb, C/W from Norway. He put up 18pts in 41 games in the 2nd tier Swedish pro league this year as an 18yr old. That's .44ppg in the Swedish AHL equivalent which is pretty good. 

Do you want a guy taller and bigger than Benson who's forechecking is like Benson? Here. Dude is a high motor, physical, forechecking forward. He'll hit when needed, very good at body positioning, stick work for days. Might be the best defensive forward in the draft. He's near elite in terms of getting the puck back. 

That's good but he's not the guy you want leading the rush. Like Eiserman, he's somewhat straight line. He doesn't have multiple levels of deception. He does have nice hands and a good shot. His skating is strong and powerful. He is smart and links plays together well. 

The question is do you want a guy that probably is ROR or take more risk for a guy that might have a higher ceiling but a lower floor. Do you want Marco Kasper or Lekkerimaki? 

 

[SabreFinn]

11 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Let's talk about an option at 11 that isn't sexy but he's going to be a pain to play against:

Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, 6'1" 198lb, C/W from Norway. He put up 18pts in 41 games in the 2nd tier Swedish pro league this year as an 18yr old. That's .44ppg in the Swedish AHL equivalent which is pretty good. 

Do you want a guy taller and bigger than Benson who's forechecking is like Benson? Here. Dude is a high motor, physical, forechecking forward. He'll hit when needed, very good at body positioning, stick work for days. Might be the best defensive forward in the draft. He's near elite in terms of getting the puck back. 

That's good but he's not the guy you want leading the rush. Like Eiserman, he's somewhat straight line. He doesn't have multiple levels of deception. He does have nice hands and a good shot. His skating is strong and powerful. He is smart and links plays together well. 

The question is do you want a guy that probably is ROR or take more risk for a guy that might have a higher ceiling but a lower floor. Do you want Marco Kasper or Lekkerimaki? 

 

Norwegians are usually hard to compete, it's in their blood.

[French Collection]

3 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

Let's talk about an option at 11 that isn't sexy but he's going to be a pain to play against:

Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, 6'1" 198lb, C/W from Norway. He put up 18pts in 41 games in the 2nd tier Swedish pro league this year as an 18yr old. That's .44ppg in the Swedish AHL equivalent which is pretty good. 

Do you want a guy taller and bigger than Benson who's forechecking is like Benson? Here. Dude is a high motor, physical, forechecking forward. He'll hit when needed, very good at body positioning, stick work for days. Might be the best defensive forward in the draft. He's near elite in terms of getting the puck back. 

That's good but he's not the guy you want leading the rush. Like Eiserman, he's somewhat straight line. He doesn't have multiple levels of deception. He does have nice hands and a good shot. His skating is strong and powerful. He is smart and links plays together well. 

The question is do you want a guy that probably is ROR or take more risk for a guy that might have a higher ceiling but a lower floor. Do you want Marco Kasper or Lekkerimaki? 

 

Watched him up close for two games in Prague.

Skates well and tried to battle vs men but obviously needs to get stronger. Scored a nice goal on a feed from Zuccarello, who was on his line.

He doesn’t drive play but gets involved in all of it.

Coach didn’t put him out in final minutes of close game.

Decent size.

[Rasmus_]

I'll take a defensemen, or whatever useful center that falls.  I would love one of Iginla, Catton or Helenius.  Or in the defensive side, Yakemchuk, or Jiricek.  We will get a useful prospect, unless we trade it for a much more ready NHL'er.

[Flashsabre]

https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/craig-s-list-konsta-helenius-tij-iginla-push-into-top-five-1.2124326
 

Button has Helenius #3. What a fascinating draft this will be after SJ pick. Celebrini first.

[LGR4GM]

28 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:

https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/craig-s-list-konsta-helenius-tij-iginla-push-into-top-five-1.2124326
 

Button has Helenius #3. What a fascinating draft this will be after SJ pick. Celebrini first.

I think the first 3 are set tbh.

[Flashsabre]

31 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

I think the first 3 are set tbh.

Who do you think they are?

I can see Demidov going 2 I think talent wise he deserves to go there but I can see teams being dumb liike every year and he drops a few spots.

[LGR4GM]

7 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:

Who do you think they are?

I can see Demidov going 2 I think talent wise he deserves to go there but I can see teams being dumb liike every year and he drops a few spots.

Mack, Levshunov, Demidov

[SabreFinn]

11 hours ago, Flashsabre said:

https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/craig-s-list-konsta-helenius-tij-iginla-push-into-top-five-1.2124326
 

Button has Helenius #3. What a fascinating draft this will be after SJ pick. Celebrini first.

I do not see Helenius as a top 3, maybe top ten. Can be seen as a "safe pick" and thereby get drafted high.

Stian Solberg is interesting, but ranked higher than I think he should be, played well tough against men for Norway.

[French Collection]

38 minutes ago, SabreFinn said:

I do not see Helenius as a top 3, maybe top ten. Can be seen as a "safe pick" and thereby get drafted high.

Stian Solberg is interesting, but ranked higher than I think he should be, played well tough against men for Norway.

There are no consensus picks after Celebrini but most lists have Helenius around 7-12. His performance in Liiga was really good for a 17 year old. My concern with him at 3 is he turns out more like Kakko than Barkov.