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Draft Preview 2024
In this year's edition of The Hockey News' Draft Preview, we give you the lowdown on the top 100 prospects available in the 2024 NHL draft. As we count them down from No. 1 to 100, we have in-depth scouting reports, bio info and stats for each youngster. Also, we have NHL Team Reports on all 32 clubs (including Utah!), which look at the short- and long-term needs of each team. And finally, you'll find feature stories on top-prospect Macklin Celebrini, as well as Taj Iginla, Cole Eiserman, Artyom Levshunov, Sam Dickinson, Michael Hage and more.
CALGARY FLAMES
GM CRAIG CONROY calls it a retool. Most fans call it a rebuild. But semantics aside, Calgary greatly reshaped its roster this season. A half-dozen UFAs were traded away, and a whole lot of draft picks and younger players came back. These aren’t your father’s contending Flames anymore. IMMEDIATE NEEDS: Front-line center. After Elias Lindholm was dealt to Vancouver, Yegor Sharangovich took on the role of center on the top scoring line. He was miscast there, but connecting for 31 goals kept him in that role. Rookie Connor Zary was tried at center down the stretch, but it’s clear that it’s a position of need both now and when Nazem Kadri and Mikael Backlund age out in a few seasons. LONG-TERM NEEDS: Calgary secured a number of prospect defensemen while offloading its…
VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS
IT’S NOT THAT Vegas doesn’t like drafting in the first round, it’s just that the Golden Knights often trade their prospects before they make the NHL. Just one of seven Vegas first-rounders – Brendan Brisson (29th overall in 2020) – is still with the organization. That’s the price the team pays to remain a Cup contender. IMMEDIATE NEEDS: The offensive depth Vegas enjoyed down the stretch will soon be a thing of the past. Leading scorer Jonathan Marchessault is coming off a bargain contract and will want to cash in as a UFA at 33. Chandler Stephenson is also due a big raise, and the Golden Knights simply don’t have the cap room. Vegas needs its youngsters to step up their production immediately. LONG-TERM NEEDS: In the coming four summers, the Golden…
COMPLETE COMPETE
THE PROSPECT world loves a phenom, particularly if that player is given exceptional status to join major junior a year early. But getting there is just the beginning. Once you’ve suited up, the real work begins. Left winger Michael Misa put his name on the map at the 2022 OHL Cup, when he broke Connor McDavid’s tournament scoring record as a member of the champion U-16 Mississauga Senators. That’s when the hype train really started chugging, and not long after, Misa was granted exceptional status to enter the OHL a year early. The Saginaw Spirit had the No. 1 pick in the draft and happily snapped up the young talent. While Misa made hockey look easy in the OHL Cup, the OHL itself was obviously going to be a bigger challenge. Luckily,…
THN DRAFT RANKINGS
UNLESS MACK GUZDA has a heckuva training camp in Florida, Macklin Celebrini will surely be the first ‘Mack’ to play in the NHL. What’s with the unusual name? Before his son was born in 2006, Rick Celebrini said he was looking through a list of names and ‘Macklin’ jumped out as being strong. Makes sense. It’s strong enough to be the No. 1 prospect for the 2024 draft on the list of 20 NHL scouts who THN editor in chief Ryan Kennedy consulted with in compiling this top-100 ranking. Profiles were written by Kennedy and Ken Campbell. ‘Best Case’ comparisons were assembled by Tony Ferrari. Macklin isn’t the only unusual name you’ll see in this draft. There’s an Emil, an Eemil, a Kamil and a Veeti. You’ll see a Zeev, a Zayne…
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