Draft takeaways: Ducks shock, D-men shuffle
LAS VEGAS - Beckett Sennecke was as stunned as everyone else inside Sphere on Friday night and countless fans watching the NHL draft on TV.
"The technology is pretty advanced in here," quipped Sennecke, the newest member of the Anaheim Ducks, and apparently also an amateur architecture critic. "It cost like $2.5 billion to build, so they better have some good technology."
The Ducks ensured early fireworks by using the No. 3 pick on Sennecke. The game-breaking 6-foot-2 winger with elite hands labelled it "definitely shocking" in part because Anaheim didn't express special interest in the lead-up to the first round. Sennecke's immediate reaction - which included an f-bomb or two and quickly went viral - certainly backs up those words.
"I kind of blacked out, I guess," he said while wearing Anaheim's new orange jersey, a smile rarely leaving his face during a lengthy scrum.
Leave it to the Ducks to steal the show. They did the same thing last year when they passed on Adam Fantilli with the second pick in Nashville, ultimately selecting Leo Carlsson (a decision that's completely justifiable in hindsight). Sennecke was a late but extraordinary riser in the 2024 class. He grew a few inches midseason, then rattled off 22 points in 16 playoff games.
Years from now, we'll remember this as the Macklin Celebrini draft, and perhaps the precise moment when the Sharks laid the foundation for San Jose's return to prominence. We'll also remember it for the collection of defensemen atop the class, starting with No. 2 pick Artyom Levshunov, the Belarusian now joining Calder Trophy winner Connor Bedard in Chicago.
"Every one of these top five, six defensemen play a different style," NHL Central Scouting bureau chief Dan Marr told theScore recently. "They all bring something different to the table. That's very unique."
Levshunov's believed to be the most complete blue-liner in the class, the surest bet to become a Norris Trophy-caliber player. Carter Yakemchuk, who went to Ottawa at No. 7, offers a fantastic shot and physicality. Zayne Parekh, ninth to Calgary, is an offensive genius. Anton Silayev, 10th to New Jersey, is a imposing shutdown guy who can pitch in offensively. Sam Dickinson, 11th to San Jose, is a big, athletic, competitive kid with wheels. Zeev Buium, 12th to Minnesota, is a smart, dynamic blue-liner who tore up the NCAA last season.
My two cents: Buium's the best value pick of the entire first round. At worst, he outperforms that 12th slot. At best, he's a longtime play-driving All-Star. (Check back on the weekend for a Buium profile we're publishing Saturday.)
Drafting's an inexact science. Even the smartest scouts in the business are guessing to some extent, and we'll find out in a few years what's in store for these young defenders. Maybe Dickinson develops better than expected and goes on to the greatest career. Maybe Silayev never comes over from Russia after his KHL contract expires and the Devils regret the pick. Or maybe he's a stud.
This year's first round was entertaining in the moment and holds immense entertainment value for the future. I'm looking forward to reading the inevitable "2024 redraft" posts in 2034 with an eye on where Levshunov and his peers land.
Isles bet on maligned sniper 🎯
While Sennecke's stock rose like nobody else's, it can be argued none fell like Cole Eiserman's. Thought to be a top-five pick before the season, the American winger ended up going 20th to the Islanders.
Eiserman's widely considered the class' best pure goal-scorer. He possesses a wicked one-timer and is lauded for consistently finding open ice, meaning he can score from distance and in tight. His 127 goals over two years set a U.S. National Team Development Program record.
There are questions galore about him, though: Is his hockey sense good enough? What about his compete level? Can he improve his OK skating? Will he blossom into a reliable 40-goal scorer or will he be a top-six passenger?
"They picked me for me, so I'm really excited," Eiserman said of the Isles.
Alexander Holtz, Arthur Kaliyev, and Oliver Wahlstrom are three goal-scoring forwards who represent the bad outcome for Eiserman. Cole Caufield and Owen Tippett represent the good. In other words: The Isles are either going to look super smart or shrug their shoulders at swinging hard and missing at 20.
Here come the Norwegians 🇳🇴
They're partying in Oslo.
Coming into draft weekend, the highest Norwegian ever selected was Marius Holtet, a Dallas Stars second-round pick in 2002. On Friday, the Red Wings snagged Michael Brandsegg-Nygard at 15, and the Ducks selected Stian Solberg eight picks later after acquiring the 23rd pick from Toronto.
Brandsegg-Nygard is a power winger with scoring touch. He played in Sweden's second-best pro league in 2023-24 and is headed for full-time SHL action this fall. Solberg, a two-way defenseman with a mean streak, is also SHL-bound after spending his draft year competing in Norway's pro loop.
Nine Norwegians have appeared in an NHL game. Mats Zuccarello of the Wild is by far the most well known. Brandsegg-Nygard and Solberg, close buddies for years, just took their first step towards joining or usurping Zuccarello.
Player to watch: Aatos Koivu
The Canadiens own two third-round picks, a fourth-rounder, and two fifths; the Ducks own a trio of thirds and a fourth. That adds up to nine chances for Koivu to hear his name called by one of his father's former NHL clubs.
Aatos, the son of longtime Montreal captain and Anaheim fan favorite Saku Koivu, is projected to go off the board sometime in the middle rounds. The 6-foot, 170-pound center was listed 27th on NHL Central Scouting's ranking of international skaters and 64th on FloHockey's overall ranking.
Aatos split the 2023-24 season between three squads within TPS, the Liiga team based in Turku, Finland. He registered nine goals and 22 points in 20 Under-18 games, 16 goals and 31 points in 28 Under-20 games, and zero points in four pro games.
Koivu is a raw prospect who steadily progressed over the year and has good offensive instincts. He's more of a shooter than a passer and can really pick a corner thanks to a quick and reliable release. The righty loves to launch one-timers on the power play from the "Ovi spot" inside the left faceoff circle.
Scouts are most impressed with Koivu's motor and work ethic. He's a two-way player with solid skating who left strong impressions during fitness tests and team interviews at the scouting combine in Buffalo in early June. That said, Koivu can be frustrating to watch at times as he rarely attacks the interior of the offensive zone, often settling instead for shots from distance.
Koivu - who was born in Finland over the 2006 offseason, spent his early years in Quebec, and first learned to play in California - doesn't have vivid memories of his dad's career. He's said in predraft media interviews that he could usually be found horsing around with other kids during his dad's games.
Player to watch: Mikhail Yegorov
Yegorov, who should be one of the first goalies picked, counts playing chess among his various non-hockey hobbies. He became enamored with the game after binge-watching "The Queen's Gambit" on Netflix in 2020.
"It's mostly my hobby, but I think it helps my brain to work quicker and be sharper," the Russian said of his daily sessions on Chess.com. "It helps me analyze information and make decisions. In chess, I need to analyze the whole board. In hockey, I need to analyze the whole zone, where every player is."
Yegorov did plenty of analyzing this past season. He was under siege between the pipes for an awful Omaha Lancers team that won just 16 of 62 USHL games. The Boston University commit finished with an .892 save percentage in 43 appearances - solid given the circumstances.
Yegorov has NHL starter upside, though backup is a more realistic projection. He's a strong skater, athletic, positionally sound, and big at 6-foot-5.
Player to watch: Aron Kiviharju
Once considered the next can't-miss prospect out of Finland, Kiviharju's one of the class' biggest mysteries. Teams simply don't know what to think of him.
The puck-moving left-shot defenseman is incredibly smart. He's elusive. A nifty passer. There are no personality or work ethic red flags to worry about.
However, Kiviharju - who was born in Denmark but represents Finland internationally - is listed at 5-foot-10, 184 pounds. He regularly gets bullied by opponents and appeared in just seven Liiga games all year due to injury.
When evaluating smaller defensemen, scouts often ask themselves what kind of impact the player can make without the puck on his stick. The small guy often needs to be exceptional offensively to earn a full-time NHL job.
The jury's definitely still out on Kiviharju. He'll likely go in the second round, but the industry, concerned about his trajectory, has softened on him.
John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email ([email protected]).