It’s time to update and expand our 2024 NHL Draft rankings. Since our preliminary ranking in December, we’ve passed some major events on the scouting calendar, like the World Juniors, CHL Top Prospect’s Game, World Junior A Challenge, and the USA Hockey All American Game.
Macklin Celebrini still sits comfortably at the top of our rankings. Not only has he continued to be a difference maker for Boston University, but he was also a solid contributor at the World Juniors for an underwhelming Canadian team, an impressive feat for a double underager. In our opinion, he is unquestionably the top prospect available this year and is the one player we view as a near surefire high impact player at the NHL level.
One player moving up our ranking inside the top ten is Ivan Demidov. While ice time issues have limited his impact at the KHL level, he has been an absolute monster at the MHL level and in a draft that we feel lacks high end upside, he stands out as a potential difference maker. One player falling inside of our top ten is Cole Eiserman. While the goal scoring ability is unquestionably impressive, we’ve been left wanting more from the rest of his game and feel that his development is showing signs of plateauing.
Saginaw defenseman Zayne Parekh is another big-time mover and shaker for us as he pushes his way inside the top ten. At this point, his production and offensive upside is too vast to ignore. Yes, there are questions regarding his defensive game. Yes, there are questions about how he fits into an NHL system given Saginaw’s unique modern approach. However, the skill and sense are so high end that we believe the reward outweighs the risk.
Other movers and shakers include Jett Luchanko (40th to 18th), Alfons Freij (32nd to 21st), Harrison Brunicke (HM to 25th), and Dom Badinka (58th to 28th). Luchanko is a speedy, playmaking pivot who brings consistent effort in all three zones. As he bulks up, he should be able to become a more consistent point producer. Freij has been terrific internationally this year for the Swedish U18 team and is starting to remind us of Tom Willander in regard to his steady presence on the ice at both ends. Brunicke is a very mobile, right-handed shot defender with size who remains a work in progress. He flashes high end skill and upside in the defensive end, and we believe that he is just scratching the surface of what he is capable of. Dom Badinka has a similar profile to Freij in the sense that he has a very projectable frame and skill set. He has been steadily improving in the SHL this year with Malmo and the Czech blueliner projects as an all situations top four, right shot blueliner.
Overall, 2024 is still holding strong as a quality draft for defenders. In fact, 14 of our first round graded players are defenseman. On the other hand, the strength of this goaltending crop remains to be seen. OHL netminders Carter George and Ryerson Leenders remain our top ranked goalies and the only ones inside of our Top 70. There are others pushing up the list (like NTDP netminder Nick Kempf and WHL re-entry Lukas Matecha), but it’s not looking like the ideal year to use a high pick on a stopper.
In the coming weeks, expect to see a podcast on our new YT channel (here), where Director of Scouting, Brock Otten, Associate Director of Scouting, Derek Neumeier, and Director of Video Scouting, Josh Bell, debate the midseason list and provide some insight into why certain players are ranked where they are.
| RK | Name | POS | TEAM | GP | G/GAA | A/SV% | TP | PIM | HT/WT | DOB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Macklin Celebrini | C | Boston University (HE) | 25 | 22 | 19 | 41 | 10 | 6-0/190 | 13-Jun-06 |
| 2 | Sam Dickinson | D | London (OHL) | 52 | 14 | 39 | 53 | 24 | 6-3/195 | 7-Jun-06 |
| 3 | Ivan Demidov | RW | SKA-1946 St. Petersburg (MHL) | 23 | 20 | 25 | 45 | 16 | 5-11/170 | 10-Dec-05 |
| 4 | Anton Silayev | D | Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod (KHL) | 57 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 8 | 6-7/210 | 11-Apr-06 |
| 5 | Cayden Lindstrom | C | Medicine Hat (WHL) | 32 | 27 | 19 | 46 | 66 | 6-4/215 | 3-Feb-06 |
| 6 | Berkly Catton | C | Spokane (WHL) | 49 | 38 | 44 | 82 | 37 | 5-11/170 | 14-Jan-06 |
| 7 | Artyom Levshunov | D | Michigan State (B1G) | 30 | 8 | 20 | 28 | 40 | 6-2/200 | 28-Oct-05 |
| 8 | Konsta Helenius | C | Jukurit (Fin-Liiga) | 40 | 12 | 19 | 31 | 6 | 5-11/180 | 11-May-06 |
| 9 | Cole Eiserman | LW | USN U18 (USDP) | 37 | 38 | 22 | 60 | 28 | 6-0/195 | 29-Aug-06 |
| 10 | Zayne Parekh | D | Saginaw (OHL) | 49 | 25 | 49 | 74 | 40 | 6-0/180 | 15-Feb-06 |
| 11 | Carter Yakemchuk | D | Calgary (WHL) | 48 | 24 | 29 | 53 | 95 | 6-3/190 | 29-Sep-05 |
| 12 | Tij Iginla | C | Kelowna (WHL) | 48 | 35 | 28 | 63 | 25 | 6-0/185 | 1-Aug-06 |
| 13 | Liam Greentree | RW | Windsor (OHL) | 46 | 28 | 41 | 69 | 25 | 6-2/200 | 1-Jan-06 |
| 14 | Trevor Connelly | LW | Tri-City (USHL) | 34 | 17 | 31 | 48 | 40 | 6-1/160 | 28-Feb-06 |
| 15 | Zeev Buium | D | Denver (NCHC) | 26 | 7 | 27 | 34 | 16 | 6-0/185 | 7-Dec-05 |
| 16 | Michael Brandsegg Nygard | RW | Mora (Allsvenskan) | 32 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 14 | 6-1/195 | 5-Oct-05 |
| 17 | Adam Jiříček | D | HC Plzen (Czechia) | 19 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6-2/175 | 28-Jun-06 |
| 18 | Jett Luchanko | C | Guelph (OHL) | 50 | 17 | 37 | 54 | 32 | 5-11/185 | 21-Aug-06 |
| 19 | Matvei Shuravin | D | CSKA Moskva (KHL) | 22 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 26 | 6-2/170 | 22-Mar-06 |
| 20 | Michael Hage | C | Chicago (USHL) | 37 | 21 | 23 | 44 | 35 | 6-1/190 | 14-Apr-06 |
| 21 | Alfons Freij | D | Vaxjo Lakers (Swe J20) | 33 | 11 | 15 | 26 | 12 | 6-1/190 | 12-Feb-06 |
| 22 | Emil Hemming | RW | TPS (Fin-Liiga) | 35 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 0 | 6-1/200 | 27-Jun-06 |
| 23 | Ryder Ritchie | RW | Prince Albert (WHL) | 34 | 13 | 18 | 31 | 16 | 6-0/175 | 3-Aug-06 |
| 24 | Sacha Boisvert | C | Muskegon (USHL) | 41 | 27 | 18 | 45 | 42 | 6-2/180 | 17-Mar-06 |
| 25 | Harrison Brunicke | D | Kamloops (WHL) | 46 | 10 | 11 | 21 | 45 | 6-3/185 | 8-May-06 |
| 26 | Andrew Basha | LW | Medicine Hat (WHL) | 47 | 23 | 44 | 67 | 32 | 6-0/185 | 8-Nov-05 |
| 27 | Henry Mews | D | Ottawa (OHL) | 46 | 8 | 34 | 42 | 46 | 6-0/185 | 9-Mar-06 |
| 28 | Dom Badinka | D | Malmo (Swe J20) | 15 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 39 | 6-3/185 | 27-Nov-05 |
| 29 | Beckett Sennecke | RW | Oshawa (OHL) | 46 | 19 | 26 | 45 | 53 | 6-2/180 | 28-Jan-06 |
| 30 | Igor Chernyshov | LW | MHK Dynamo Moskva (MHL) | 18 | 10 | 14 | 24 | 8 | 6-2/190 | 30-Nov-05 |
| 31 | E.J. Emery | D | USN U18 (USDP) | 41 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 51 | 6-3/185 | 30-Mar-06 |
| 32 | Leo Sahlin Wallenius | D | Vaxjo Lakers (Swe J20) | 34 | 7 | 23 | 30 | 30 | 6-0/180 | 10-Apr-06 |