Up next in 10
2024 NHL Draft Superlatives: Best Skater, Shot, Playmaker, Most Underrated Prospect & More
1K views
Jun 22, 2024
Host Matthew Zator gets together with Peter Baracchini and Dayton Reimer to do some superlatives for the 2024 NHL Draft. 0:00 Intro 0:34 Best Skater 1:41 Best Shot 3:00 Best Hockey IQ/Sense 4:43 Best Hands 6:49 Best Playmaker 9:24 Best Compete Level/Work Ethic 11:47 Most Likely to Succeed in the NHL in 2024-25 14:35 Most Likely to Rise/Fall on Draft Day 16:34 Most Underrated Prospect THW's 2024 NHL Draft Guide (prospect profiles, rankings, features, top-10 lists & more) - https://thehockeywriters.com/2024-nhl-draft-guide/ Check out our panel's work: Matthew Zator - https://thehockeywriters.com/author/mzator/ Dayton Reimer - https://thehockeywriters.com/author/dreimer/ Peter Baracchini - https://thehockeywriters.com/author/pbaracchini/
View Video Transcript
0:00
Hello everybody, welcome to another draft video with the Hockey Writers as the countdown
0:07
has begun on the draft, 2024 draft. And in this video, we're going to be doing some superlatives as we do in like high school
0:14
yearbooks, you know, those types of things. Logan put one of these articles out last year, and I believe he's working on one for this
0:22
year as well, but we're just going to do a video on these
0:26
So as always, joined in by Peter Barikini, Dayton Reimer, Prospect Corner, and we're
0:32
going to do some superlatives here. So let's start with the best skater of this draft
0:37
Now there's lots to choose from, but Peter, who's your best skater
0:43
I'm going to go with Berkley Caton. I think this is a guy who can turn on a dime, can evade pressure in all situations
0:52
Even when the pressure is mounting, he's able to come out on top and he's able to use his
0:55
speed, edge work, agility to his advantage. You know, he's just so smooth when he's, you know, cutting across
1:04
He's quick in transition too, when he's able to push the fenders back. I think he's probably one of the best skaters in this draft as a result of that
1:12
Dayton, do you agree with Berkley Caton being the best skater or you got someone else
1:16
No, I think Berkley Caton is the best skater in the class
1:21
He just weaves in and out and it doesn't look like he's trying
1:25
He's just so good. He's so fast. It's so much fun to watch
1:29
Runner up for me would be Luke Mesa. He's been really fun to watch as well, but Caton is just another world
1:35
Yeah, I agree. I was going to have Caton for mine as well
1:39
All right, Dayton, what about best shot? Yeah, I think it still belongs to Cole Iserman
1:47
I think there's a couple of guys who are pushing him for it, but right now we're heading into
1:51
the draft. Cole Iserman has the best shot. He just, you can't stop it. Yeah
1:56
Peter, you got Iserman as well? It's hard not to take anybody other than Cole Iserman, really
2:02
I mean, not just the shot, but the ability to score anywhere on the ice, too
2:08
Even in tight, when it's quick rebounds, I think maybe, aside from deflections, but he's
2:16
able to find an open ice so easily and get in undetected that he's just lethal anywhere
2:20
from in tight or far out with that release. I think you can't deny the fact that, you know, Maklo Celebrini, we've seen him wire
2:27
it down low on a goal line, far board so many times
2:31
He's got the power and accuracy. And same with Sasha Blovair. I think his shot is very, very underrated, too
2:36
And I think it's up there along with, you know, Celebrini and Iserman as well. Right
2:43
So good names there. But Iserman, I think, I think probably takes it. But yeah, there's a lots of guys that have some really good shots
2:51
But Iserman, yeah, he's they've she's been prepared to Austin Matthews with his shot
2:56
So that's a pretty good comparable. All right, Peter O'Dell, best hockey IQ
3:03
I think he's got to go to this may be the easy answer, but it's got to go to Celebrini
3:07
I think on both sides of the park, he shows that awareness with and without the puck
3:13
And especially when he has it, he's able to, you know, fool defenders very easily manipulate
3:18
situations and, you know, create more space for him that allows him to be more dangerous
3:23
And without the puck, he's still hunting down, cutting down lanes, chasing loose pucks, battling hard
3:29
He's got the ability to be in position, even to break up plays and quickly counterattack
3:34
and just leave the opposition in the dust. I think he's always in the right spot at the right time
3:40
And it's hard to try and find anybody else that can, you know, surpass the awareness
3:46
and IQ that he does have. Celebrini is mine. To Dayton, what about you
3:52
Is that Celebrini for hockey IQ? Funny enough, when I was preparing my list, I forgot about Celebrini because I've done
4:01
so many things. It's like, OK, think of your favorite guy aside from Celebrini
4:05
Yeah, that's true. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's true. Celebrini. So once you mentioned Celebrini, I'm like, yeah, he's the smartest
4:13
Yeah, totally. I was going to say maybe Berkley Catton is a runner up
4:17
Yeah, intelligent. I really like how he sees the game and sort of adjusts on the fly
4:25
But no, Celebrini is the choice. It's true. We always say aside from Celebrini
4:32
I think it's the one point where you can't find anybody else other than Celebrini
4:37
You can't. No. All right. Dayton, I believe it's your turn to start
4:43
Who's got the best hands? I think this one goes, I think it's a tight race
4:48
I'm going to pick Ivan Demidov. He is really good with the puck
4:52
And I think there is some legitimate concerns with his skating and maybe overall awareness
4:58
of things. He didn't look super great in the KHL when he had a few cups of coffee there
5:03
But no, he can do things with the puck that shouldn't be possible
5:07
And he just has the patience and he has the ability to go through players
5:13
It's fun. It's really fun. Yeah. Demidov is really, really fun to watch just because of that
5:20
And of course, some other things that he's got in his arsenal too. He's got pretty good shot too. Yeah
5:26
Peter, what about you? Who has the best hands? Yeah. Demidov, hands down
5:32
I mean, no pun intended. Every single time he has control, it's like the puck is on a string and he totally fools
5:41
the defenders of what he's going to do. And not even just that, but with his movements, his body positioning, the way he handles the
5:47
puck itself. He's very deceptive and deceiving, whatever word you want to call it
5:55
He's a master at that. And there's a big reason why he's always been in my top three, because he's very deceiving
6:02
as a result of that. And he can fool opponents every single time he's on the ice
6:07
Seneca, I think is a very strong runner up because of his ability and that strength and
6:12
size to get to the middle of the ice and have the puck control and soft touches that he
6:18
has as a result of that. I think he's very phenomenal. Obviously, Demidov has the best hands, but I think Seneca is in that category as one
6:30
of the best puck skills, puck control, hands, whatever you want to call it
6:35
I think he's up there. Yeah, I would have said Seneca would be the runner up, too
6:40
I did his draft profile and yeah, he definitely is fun to watch, too, because of that as well
6:47
All right, Peter, best playmaker? This one is really tough because there are so many at this point
6:59
I have to say Tijagunla. I know the goal totals, he almost hit the 50 mark
7:08
It's going to outweigh that. Well, why is a sniper or shooter going to get the best playmaker
7:13
But it's his ability. It's not just making passes. It's about creating the space
7:19
It's about getting open. It's about creating a play, whether you're passing it, starting it, or whether you're
7:24
finishing it. And he's able to do it on both sides of the puck, whether he's passing or whether he's shooting
7:31
He is a play driver. He is one that constantly excels every single shift
7:35
And I always go back to the CHL top prospects game where he was on that line with Kattenham
7:41
Parasic, Tarik Parasic, and he was just dominating every single time he had the puck
7:46
Yeah, he would dish it out to both of them, but he was always in control of the play
7:50
So that is why he is my top playmaker. Dane, what about you
7:54
Who's your best playmaker? Is that Tijagunla, too? No, I went for someone different, actually
8:01
We divert here a little bit. I went with Becket Seneca. I think with his hands and his ability to create space and to move the puck, he can
8:09
just create so many plays through his intelligence and through the movement
8:15
He has really strong passes. He's just, yeah, a really, really solid player that got overlooked at the beginning of the
8:23
year and just took over and now could be like a top 10 pick
8:31
I'm just struggling to come up with new words to say because we've talked about him already
8:35
He's fun to watch and moves the puck really, really well. And so he's my top playmaker
8:41
You know what? Seneca was my thinking, too, because I did his profile and I think he's going to end
8:49
up being as, yeah, his playmaking is just, apart from where he talked about his hands
8:55
and stuff, his playmaking is up there, too. He's one of his best attributes and that definitely is going to help in the NHL, a
9:03
sniper on his line. He's going to be one of those. He is a winger. Yeah
9:08
A playmaking winger that, you know, there's not many out there that are as good at playmaking
9:13
as usually centers are the ones that are great playmakers. So Seneca definitely is up there for me
9:20
So I'm going to call him my best playmaker. All right. This category I love, best compete level, because I love all these players that have
9:27
this as one of their big, better attributes. Dayton, who's your best
9:31
Who's the player with the best compete level for you? And there's so many guys that would fit well here, but I picked Michael Brancic-Nygaard
9:40
I think he has a fantastic level of like a work ethic
9:46
He's always involved in the play. He is a really smart player, too
9:51
And so he knows where to put himself when he's most needed. Yeah
9:56
He's my top hardest worker. Yeah. You could call it hardest worker, too
10:01
Best compete. That's best compete. We forgot what it was. Best compete hardest worker
10:05
We have two ways to describe this one. Whatever it is. Who do you got, Peter, for this one
10:13
Oh, that is my mistake. Sorry about that. It is Jutlacenko from the Gulf Storm
10:20
High motor, high energy type of player. Again, not the biggest. May need to add some strength, but the speed that he has to get in on the attack, relentlessly
10:33
battle for possession, regain it. He shows no fear at all every single time he's on the ice
10:40
Again, kind of like you with Seneca, I wrote his profile. I watched a ton of him because I'm so drawn into his game
10:48
He's just fantastic at what he does. I probably could have given him an honorable mention as a playmaker as well
10:55
Very deceptive. But he's willing to go in and establish that attack and get into the dirty areas
11:01
Even though he may get knocked down, he shows no fear. So he's my player with the high compete level
11:07
Give a big shout out to EJ Emery on the back end. We haven't really shown any love for defensemen on here because forwards are pretty good
11:19
But he, again, on the back end, he's very, very strong, very aggressive, very physical
11:25
and tenacious. I want to give a shout out to EJ Emery. Good stuff. Yeah
11:30
EJ Emery definitely should fall into this. I mean, some defensemen, we haven't talked about any of these
11:35
Usually all these other categories are going to be forwards, but I could have some defensemen
11:41
in there too. All right. This one could be an obvious one because it's probably going to be Celebrini, but most likely
11:48
he's going to succeed in the NHL next season. Peter, is it Celebrini for you or do you have a defenseman that could potentially succeed
11:55
next season? See, again, Celebrini is the easy answer. I hate to say that, but there's probably that slim chance that he goes back to college and
12:08
maybe nobody makes the jump next year. But aside from Celebrini, and I'm not saying this because I do think it's going to happen
12:18
but maybe collegiate level, maybe a little bit too easy for Artem Lachunov
12:27
Maybe he does make that jump because Chicago needs more help on the right side
12:32
You don't want to rush defensemen. That's the one thing you don't want to do. But I think he probably has some pro qualities that could be ready to jump up and even Sam
12:40
Dickinson as well. I think there's a lot of pro qualities to his game that can easily ease his way into
12:46
the pro level, whether it's AHL, NHL. I think we're talking, you know, making the jump to NHL, but I do like a lot of aspects
12:54
of their game that can translate easily to the NHL. I could see Dickinson
12:59
I don't know about a full season. I could see him getting the 10 games and we'll see, but I think he definitely is NHL ready
13:07
I don't know if the team that gets him thinks that, that he'll play a full season, but Celebrini
13:13
is going to be in San Jose unless, like you say, he goes back to college, decides to do that
13:17
It's the only reason he won't be. Dayton, do you think it's Celebrini or you have a defenseman in mind
13:24
Or another forward. I mean, yeah, so I might be a little bit different here
13:30
I think the person who might have the most success next year is Michael Brancig-Nygard
13:37
I think he is the most complete player coming into the draft
13:41
I don't think he'll have the highest upside. I think Celebrini will take that bar, like there's no compete, at least compared between
13:50
the two. But he is just a very well-rounded player. He's been playing professional in Sweden
13:59
He's got the physicality. He's got pretty decent size. Yeah, I think he would adjust very quickly to the NHL and could be a pretty solid rookie
14:09
next year if they bring him in. Yeah. I mean, like you say, some of these guys that could, I see that too
14:16
He's very good two-way player already and could end up being a third, fourth liner again
14:21
maybe not a full season. He could have the 10 games and succeed and we'll see
14:27
But yeah, a bottom six guy that could potentially be a surprise to play in the NHL and be really
14:32
pretty good. All right, a couple quick ones. Most likely to rise and most likely to fall
14:38
We'll put them together here. You have two names. So Peter, rise and fall on draft day. Rise
14:46
I'm still going to stand by this, Don Soberg. I think his World Hockey Championship really paved the way for him to be a top 20, top
14:53
15 possibly as a selection. Biggest faller
15:03
I think it's probably going to be Luke Mesa. I probably had him as a first rounder
15:09
May not be in other circles, but I have a feeling that, you know, he's probably going
15:14
to fall even further than where I have him right now as a second rounder. He possibly could fall the third round as well
15:20
I'm just going to say that there. All right, Dayton, a riser and a faller
15:26
Yeah, I think the biggest riser is. I had him here for a second
15:33
Oh, no. Well, I think it might be Dean Letourneau. I think someone could snag him probably in the top 20
15:41
I don't think they should, but I think they could. And then biggest faller
15:48
I don't know if it's going to be the biggest, but maybe the one that catches everybody's
15:54
attention will be Berkley Catton. Yeah, I think he's going to slip out of the top five
15:58
He could slip out of the top ten, which would be a massive mistake, and somebody should
16:04
get fired for that. That's my opinion, and maybe no one else's
16:08
That's OK. Yeah, well, mine is Berkley Catton. It's going to happen
16:13
I mean, he won't fall like crazy, like Stankov and out of the first round where he shouldn't
16:18
have, but Catton will fall from where he should be. It's just like Zach Benson did
16:26
It's going to happen. I don't know if Buffalo's going to be the team that gets him out of there
16:32
All right, final one. Most underrated prospect of this draft. Dayton, start with you
16:39
Lukas Pedersen from Sweden. I think he is being slept on as one of the more intelligent players in the draft
16:46
He thinks the game, at least it looks like he thinks the game, two steps ahead of everyone else
16:52
He reminds me a lot of Nate Danielson last year. I've made that comparison before
16:57
He's a really good skater. He did really well at the under 18s, which I think maybe it turned a few people onto
17:03
his his case. But for me, he's a lock for the first round and he's not for everyone else, which I'm
17:09
like, what's going on? He's he's criminally underrated, in my opinion. Yeah, I did the top 10 Swedes, and I think he's he's definitely even on NHL Central scouting
17:23
I think he's the second best Swede and he may even be the best
17:27
And well, this is the top ranked Swede. So I think he's third because Ericsson is second, which was kind of surprising to me
17:37
when I was looking. Not very big gaps, but that's how it is
17:42
Peter, what's your most underrated prospect? I am going to take Spencer Gill
17:49
I think he had a lot of offensive upside during the season and the fact that he rounded out
17:55
his defensive game and is using his size more to his advantage in terms of generating that
18:02
offense and being a little bit more aware with his defensive game
18:05
I think he has a foundation to be a really strong, solid two way game or two way player
18:13
It's it's basically a tie between him and Maxi Massé as a top QMJHL player
18:20
And I know I had Massé ahead of Gill, but I wouldn't surprise me if Spencer Gill overtakes
18:27
him for that because of the development and progress that he made all season
18:30
All right, well, there's a bunch of names to keep an eye on again for the draft
18:36
Lots of names we've mentioned already, but there's we'll see how it all plays out on
18:42
the draft, which is now a week and a half away as we're recording this
18:47
But check out everything at thehawkperiods.com. We got great content coming out every day
18:51
And of course, on draft day, we're going to have we'll be throwing out their live announcements
18:59
as they happen. So make sure you're tuned into that and our draft tracker as it comes out
19:04
But thanks, Peter. Thanks, Dayton, for joining me for another video here. And we'll see you next time
#Hockey