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2024 NHL Mock Draft – Final Picks, Top 16 Draft Selections

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11 months ago

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Mock NHL Entry Draft: picks 13 to 16

We’ve reached the fourth and final article in our 2024 top 16 Mock Draft, which means we can also take an overview of which players are expected to head to specific teams.

Previous Mock Draft Articles

2024 Mock Draft Picks No.1 to No.4

2024 Mock Draft Picks No.5 To No.8 (Including the Montreal Canadiens)

2024 Mock Draft Picks No.9 To No.12

Before we get into the final list, it’s time to detail which players will be drafted 13th to 16th overall.

13. Minnesota Wild: Berkly Catton, C/LW

Every year, a small, talented forward falls in the NHL Entry Draft due to their size, and this year is no different.

With quite a shallow defensive prospect pool, an influx of quality blue line prospects would be welcomed in Minnesota. But getting their hands on Berkly Catton, one of the top forward prospects of this draft at 13th overall, would be quite the coup.

In the 21st century, only four players scored over 50 goals and 100 pts, as draft-eligible players in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL): Sidney Crosby, Patrick Kane, Connor Bedard, and Berkly Catton.

His scoring prowess simply cannot be ignored at this point in the draft.

The Wild keep amassing young, promising attackers that slip through, like Danila Yurov or Liam Ohgren, and could one day look at trading from a position of strength, to address positional needs.

14. San Jose Sharks (via Pittsburgh): Adam Jiricek, RD

After nabbing multiple forwards this year and last with their top selections, the Sharks now look at shoring up their defence, adding Adam Jiricek, one of the top ranked European skaters.

The brother of David Jiricek, one of the Columbus Blue Jackets’ top prospect, was injured in December, and missed most of his draft-year season, causing him to slip in most rankings since he hasn’t played in 2024.

However, the talent has been noticeable in previous years, and with his family pedigree in mind, the Sharks could feel comfortable taking a swing with their second pick of the first round.

This could prove to be an excellent gamble in a few seasons.

15. Detroit Red Wings: Trevor Connelly, LW

Before we discuss Connelly’s playing style, we must point out that the Providence College commit once posted a swastika on social media after his teammate had built the Nazi symbol with children’s playing blocks. Connelly was 16 years old at the time, and he has provided an honest apology for his action, but it’s not something that can be ignored. To his credit, he has since visited the L.A. Holocaust Museum, has read literature written by Holocaust survivors, and has gotten involved in a group called ‘Hockey Players Of Colour‘ that improves inclusivity within hockey.

We don’t want to suggest that he should be completely exonerated from what he did, as it was certainly a terrible thing to do, but there does seem to be evidence of a legitimate attempt to better himself following the incident.

General Manager (GM) Steve Yzerman has shored up his defensive core with some recent first-round selections, and added a few well-rounded prospects up front with Marco Kasper and Nate Danielson.

However, the latter are somewhat ‘vanilla’ prospects with limited offensive potential.

It would be logical to see the Wings opt to draft Konsta Helenius, who arguably has a similar profile to Kasper and Danielson, but has a higher ceiling. However, rather than going for “meat-and-potatoes” player, they may switch it up to add a little spice to their mix, by drafting highly-skilled forward Connelly.

His incredible stick-handling and deceptiveness fool defenders and goaltenders regularly. He can also play a very aggressive style of hockey, something he has to rein in at times. But the appeal of his skill set could be a solid gamble at this stage of the draft, as he brings something the current Red Wings prospect pool lack: exciting offensive potential.

 

16. St. Louis Blues: Konsta Helenius, C

One of the more complete players of this draft who played wonderfully well in professional league, where the quality of competition is higher than junior leagues.

Helenius is a fantastic addition at 16th overall.

His 14 goals and 36 points in Finland’s Liiga have some recruiters and pundits very excited about his potential, some ranking him as high as third overall, in their prospects rankings.

Helenius, who can score while playing a solid 200-foot game, could help the Blues solidify an already legitimate centre line, although it is possible he may move to the wing for the start of his NHL career – and perhaps for its entirety.

The young Finn could be NHL-ready sooner than later, a rare feat for a player taken at this point of the draft.

 

2024 MHN Mock Draft Top 16 Final List

1st – San Jose Sharks: Macklin Celebrini, C

2nd – Chicago Blackhawks: Ivan Demidov, RW

3rd – Anaheim Ducks: Artyom Levshunov, RD

4th – Columbus Blue Jackets: Anton Silayev, LD

5th – Montreal Canadiens: Cayden Lindstrom, C

6th – Utah ‘Hockey Club’: Zeev Buium, LD

7th – Ottawa Senators: Zayne Parekh, RD

8th – Seattle Kraken: Sam Dickinson, LD

9th – Calgary Flames: Tij Iginla, LW/C

10th – New Jersey Devils: Beckett Sennecke, RW

11th -Buffalo Sabres: Carter Yakemchuk, RD

12th -Philadelphia Flyers: Cole Eiserman, LW

13th – Minnesota Wild: Berkly Catton, C/LW

14th – San Jose Sharks (via Pittsburgh): Adam Jiricek, RD

15th – Detroit Red Wings: Trevor Connelly, LW

16th – St. Louis Blues: Konsta Helenius, C

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Do you agree with our mock draft picks? Disagree?  Let us know with a comment below the article.

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