Habs Prospects
McKenzie Draft List Gives Canadiens Fans Insight To Possible Pick
One of the most respected voices in hockey published a Top-15 2024 NHL Draft Prospect list on Monday, giving Montreal Canadiens fans insight as to the possible player the team will end up choosing.
Bob McKenzie’s list is a little different than most. He speaks to scouts and creates a consolidated list based on different voices, rather than deciding upon the rankings himself.
Montreal Canadiens Angle
The NHL’s Draft Lottery will take place on Tuesday. This will determine the order for the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, based on the Draft Lottery odds that were established at the end of the season.
Simply put, the Canadiens can end up picking first, second, third, fifth, sixth, or seventh overall.
With that in mind, we can cross reference their potential landing spots with the players McKenzie listed at that position to get a better idea of how things will shake out.
McKenzie has Macklin Celebrini ranked as the top prospect, which should come as no surprise. The talented forward was a dominant force in the NCAA last season, putting up 32 goals and 32 assists in 38 games alongside Canadiens prospect Lane Hutson.
But once Celebrini is off the board, things should get interesting.
Bob McKenzie Top 15 Prospects For 2024 NHL Entry Draft
1 – Mackline Celebrini (F)
2 – Ivan Demidov (F)
3 – Anton Silayev (D)
4 – Artyom Levshunov (D)
5 – Cayden Lindstrom (F)
6 – Sam Dickinson (D)
7 – Zayne Parekh (D)
8 – Zeev Buium (D)
9 – Kostas Helenius (F)
10 – Tij Iginla (F)
11 – Berkly Catton (F)
12 – Carter Yarmenchuk (D)
13 – Cole Eiserman (F)
14 – Beckett Sennecke (F)
15 – Trevor Connelly (F)
Montreal Canadiens Brass Tacks
We know the Montreal Canadiens have mentioned they will likely focus on drafting a forward at the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, due to their abundance of talented defensive prospects.
Depending on when the run on defencemen takes place, this could leave the Habs in a situation where players such as Catton, Iginla, and perhaps even Lindstrom would be available.
The list also gives credence to the idea that Finnish forward Konsta Helenius should be considered one of the top forwards, as we suggested in our recent first-round mock draft.
As has been the case throughout the majority of the season, sniper Cole Eiserman fell outside the top 10, whereas Beckett Sennecke has enjoyed quite a rise in the rankings during the second half of the season.
Regardless of where the Montreal Canadiens end up drafting, McKenzie’s list confirms one thing, the Habs will have an opportunity to add a very talented player to the mix at the 2024 NHL Entry Draft in Las Vegas.
Canadiens Wrap: Habs Trade Assets, 2024 NHL Draft, Hughes
Canadiens Lessons Learned From The Jesperi Kotkaniemi Saga
Habs Daily: Interview With Cole Eiserman, Caufield’s Goals
Canadiens 2024 NHL Draft Targets: The Intrigue Of Cole Eiserman
Habs Daily: Kaiden Guhle’s Evolution, Juraj Slafkovsky’s Growth
Canadiens Best Trade Assets Going Into The NHL Draft
Montreal Canadiens State Of the Rebuild – Grading Trades (Part 2)
Player Insight: Why St-Louis Is The Perfect Canadiens Coach
Montreal Canadiens State Of The Rebuild – Management
Draft eiserman
I agree, we will have several options of high end forwards. I don’t expect Demidov to be available beyond the three slot but there is potential for all other forwards listed to fe available not named Macklin. Unless Hughes goes off the board I expect our selection to be an offensive needle mover, potentially becoming our best offensive player in time. We will know our draft spot in less than a day, exciting times.
Patterns are tells. Through 2 drafts,( a very small sample size) Hughes has used his high impact selections to pick size. He also said he picked guys that he believes are clutch players, playoff performers- confident but not arrogant which is leadership centric. Neither of the two top 5 picks were consensus by the establishment. That said, which prospects does that point to or eliminate? Not sure it means anything but not sure it doesn’t.
I never heard of Beckett Sennecke so I watched some videos of him and he is an exceptional stickhandler and passer. He doesn’t have hardest shot and is not he fastest skater, but looks like an elite talent to my eyes. I am very impressed with him. Nevertheless I would draft Lindstrom or Iginla, even though I like Zayne Parekh, a defensemen who scores more goals than most forwards. I wish we could draft all of them but unfortunately we can only chose one.
I wonder, if possible, what it would cost to move into top 10. I only see Seattle, Calgary and maybe NJD as potential targets.
If seatlle are looking for youngsters could we move 2 young D and winnipeg first for their first?
Too much?
Definitely not too much. Once you’re in the top 5 it is very difficult to move up. I gave been wondering if our second pick plus a D prospect could move us up one or two spots. I want Lindstrom but I trust H&G. I won’t be surprised if Hughes pulls off a second pick and a prospect for a solid forward prospect trade this year. Here’s hoping!
In spite of being a defenseman they should draft Sam Dickinson who has size, great puck moving skills, a cannon for a shot and tremendous skating ability. The total package who will be a star in the NHL. Detroit has been scouting him all year long in London.
So sick of hearing fit and locker room guy and leadership. Sounds like 3rd line grinder. We have 0 snipers. I want high upside scorer. Enough frigging defense already. I want 3 or 4 over 6 ft tall scorers no more small guys.