2024 NHL Draft guide for beginners: Who are the top picks?

Are you not a big fan of the NHL Draft? Are you the kind of hockey fan who always skips past my byline until the last week of June? If so, today’s article is for you. I will try to get you up to speed on the major conversations going on in the league over the last year about this draft class in five minutes.

What makes this Macklin Celebrini guy so good?

In an era where people have fawned over Jack Eichel and Adam Fantilli for winning the Hobey Baker in their draft seasons, Celebrini did the same while being nearly a full year younger than both at the same point. He is one of the few players I’ve seen without a true flaw. He’s a great skater, puck handler, passer, shooter and competitor. He looks like a no-doubt two-way star center.

Who’s going No. 2 after Celebrini?

When you know, feel free to tell me. A unique characteristic of this draft is the variety of opinions. Last year I think almost every scout agreed Fantilli and Leo Carlsson were top five players in the draft. After Celebrini, you can’t find a player that every scout agrees is a top-five player. It’s why some teams picking 10 or later think they are going to get a player ranked 3-5 on their list.

The favorite to go No. 2 right now, though, is either Michigan State defenseman Artyom Levshunov or SKA winger Ivan Demidov.

What are the biggest storylines about this draft class?

Where the defenseman and where the Russians go are the two most fascinating parts of this year’s class.

After a historically poor top of the draft showing in 2023 from defensemen, 2024 is expected to be the opposite. I currently have five defenseman projected in the top 10 picks and seven in the top 15. There is expected to be a quick run on these premium blueliners in whatever order of: Zeev Buium, Sam Dickinson, Artyom Levshunov, Zayne Parekh, Anton Silayev and Carter Yakemchuk.

Silayev and Demidov are considered by several scouts as top five players in this draft. They are also both signed in the KHL, Demidov for one more season with SKA, and Silayev for two more with Torpedo. Teams will have to balance that — along with the fact that they didn’t get to scout these players live all season — against their tremendous film.

Can I get a quick rundown of the top prospects and what makes them good?

Macklin Celebrini, C, Boston University • He’s a dynamic all-around two-way center. He impacts the game in all areas.

Zeev Buium, LHD, Denver-NCHC • Buium dominated college hockey this season. He’s a dynamo between his skill, hockey sense and skating. He scored 50 points, which had never been done by a draft-eligible defender in college. His defending is fine but he’s an average-sized defenseman.

Berkly Catton, C, Spokane • Catton dominated the WHL this season. He’s a 5-foot-10 center, but he’s an electric skater and playmaker with a strong compete level.

Ivan Demidov, RW, SKA • Demidov has dominated the Russian junior level, being the back-to-back MVP of that level. He is the most skilled player in the draft and is a competitive winger. He is a powerful, but knock-kneed skater with average size.

Sam Dickinson, LHD, London • Dickinson is a tremendous skater for 6-foot-3 and has very good offensive skills as well. He projects as a great two-way pro defenseman even if he may never be a major NHL scorer.

Cayden Lindstrom, C, Medicine Hat • Lindstrom is a 6-foot-3 center who can absolutely fly and has a legit mean streak in his game. He’s not a natural playmaker but he’s highly skilled with a goal-scoring touch. He missed most of the second half due to separate hand and back injuries.

Artyom Levshunov, RHD, Michigan State • Levshunov is a 6-foot-2, mobile, highly skilled and intelligent defenseman. He was a major reason why Michigan State was a top team in the country after being great in junior the prior season.

Tij Iginla, LW, Kelowna • The son of Jarome Iginla, Tij is a player with a ton of natural skill and goal-scoring ability, while also having a strong compete level. He is a 6-foot winger with good speed.

Zayne Parekh, RHD, Saginaw • Parekh may be the smartest player in the draft. He was the best defenseman in the OHL this season as an offensive force. His defending is mediocre, though.

Beckett Sennecke, RW, Oshawa • Sennecke didn’t have a great season, but he had a dominant OHL playoffs. He’s a big winger with good speed and is among the most purely skilled players in the draft.

Anton Silayev, LHD, Torpedo • Silayev is a 6-foot-7 defenseman who skates very well for a guy his size, plays hard and looked very good in the KHL this season. He has some puck-moving ability although it’s not as good as his defending.

Carter Yakemchuk, RHD, Calgary • Yakemchuk is a 6-foot-3 defenseman with high-end offensive skills and goal-scoring ability. He has highlight reel abilities and plays hard as well. He’s a player often in attack mode, and his skating while powerful is a bit odd-looking.

Where are the big decision points in this draft?

Chicago at 2, Anaheim at 3, Montreal at 5, Calgary at 9, New Jersey at 10 and Buffalo at 11.

In a wide-open draft, Chicago will dictate how it goes depending on who the team picks at No. 2. Do the Hawks take a dynamic, skilled winger in Demidov, a big center in Lindstrom or a big two-way defenseman in Levshunov? That could determine how the rest of the top 10 goes.

Anaheim has a pressing need for a defenseman. Do the Ducks go that route at 3, and take someone like Levshunov or do they go to Russia and take Silayev? If Trevor Zegras is dealt for a defenseman, does it change the calculus as well?

Montreal has a pressing need for a forward, but this is a defense deep draft and the best option on the board may be a Russian winger in Demidov.

Calgary has pressing needs to add premium young centers and defensemen, but franchise legend Jarome Iginla’s son, who is a winger and a very good player, may be staring them in the face.

Both New Jersey and Buffalo seem to have made enough draft picks in recent years and have a strong group of young talent. They both need to turn the corner and make the playoffs consistently, and it’s unclear if making this pick will help them do that.